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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Town Board Study Session Budget Meeting 2008-07-25 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, July 25, 2008 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the TOWN BOARD PRE-BUDGET STUDY SESSION of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at Town Hall in Rooms 201/202/203 in said Town of Estes Park on the 25th day of July, 2008. Board: Mayor Pinkham, Trustees Blackhurst, Eisenlauer, Ericson, Homeier, Levine and Miller Attending: All Also Attending: Town Administrator Halburnt, Deputy Town Administrator Richardson, Dept. Heads Dorman, Goehring, Kilsdonk, Kufeld, Joseph, McFarland, Pickering, Smith and Zurn and Town Clerk Williamson Absent: None Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. REVIEW TOWN VISION. Administrator Halburnt reviewed the current Town vision statement. A work session will be scheduled to review the vision. FIVE YEAR OUTLOOK. Mayor Pinkham provided a five year economic outlook for the Town. The U.S. economy is experiencing a downturn and the recovery may take several years. Energy cost will have a significant impact as they continue to escalate due to “Peak Oil” and environmental regulations. The U.S. tourist industry will face increasing competition from developing countries and long distance domestic tourism is directly affected by the higher fuel costs. The Colorado tourist industries rely on Coloradoans with 82% of the state’s population living within the Front Range. Issues at the local level continue to increase as the national and state deficits increase with a result in reduced support for programs at the local level. Estes Valley’s current economic drivers (RMNP, premier mountain resort, location, geography and logistics) and seasonality rule out attracting manufacturing or distribution to augment the economy. The future economic drivers for the Estes valley include tourism, an increase in the retiree population and the potential to attract location neutral businesses as the Front Range gets more congested. Tourism activities that are currently lacking in Estes Park range from mountain biking, road biking, rafting/kayaking, powerboat waters, alpine skiing, Nordic alpine skiing, snowmobile trails, ballooning and skydiving. Estes Park’s economy is at risk due to the reliance on tourism, disposable income, increase in real estate values driven by an increase in retiree population, young families leaving and relocating to the Front Range, loss of work force due to increasing gas prices and lack of child care. Estes Park’s economic advantages include it is a gateway community to Rocky Mountain National Park, proximity to Denver International Airport, proximity to Front Range, accessibility, shuttles/car-less vacations and the quality of life. The Town needs to develop an economic plan that will address the issues and give the Town direction on where to spend its money. Trustee Blackhurst stated the characteristics of today’s economy are the same as those displayed in 1982. This is a normal economic cycle and Estes Park will always face competition from the surrounding areas. He suggested Estes Park should target the higher income visitor that is not affected by the economy. Estes Park continues to be insulated from the housing bubble with property values increasing. Discussion continued and is summarized: the importance of the Local Marketing District (LMD) to address some of the economic issues and to provide a revenue stream for Town Board Study Session – July 25, 2008 – Page 2 advertising; the proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) addresses many of the economic issues the Town faces; the visitor’s expectations are higher and the Town needs to meet their needs with the aid of the retail community; there is a need to identify and attract location neutral businesses to provide additional jobs in the Estes Valley; the Town must identify the level of service to maintain and determine how to pay for the increase costs, i.e. property tax or pass the cost on to development; the Town must address the need for 800 new housing units by 2015 including workforce housing; the population growth rate at 30% is relatively low; however, the Town should protect and maintain the community base while developing new investments to improve the overall assets of the community; land costs are driving the development of multi-family housing development that are not desirable by the community; the downtown core needs to be rejuvenated to attract the upper income visitors. Town Administrator Halburnt stated the target population should be reviewed. The recent Longwood study stated Estes Park was number three on the list of places to visit while Vail and Eagle County were not even listed. Mayor Pinkham called a break at 9:46 a.m. and reconvened the meeting at 9:56 a.m. Finance Officer McFarland reviewed comments from several financial institutions that reflect an economy that is slowing down; however, most institutions are forecasting a gradual recovery in 2009. Locally property tax assessment will exceed the overall Larimer County tax in 2009 by 5%. The real estate market has slowed but property values continue to rise. The Colorado Government Finance Officer Association has reported sales tax flat to down by 10% in Colorado communities. He stated budgets for 2009 and the next couple of years may be flat; however, the Town is insulated from trends and less likely to fall into a recession. A review of the forecasting methods (linear regression, historic percentages and weight multiple forecast – occupancy, traffic and RMNP visits) revealed Estes Park as a destination independent of RMNP. The long range forecast shows a possible decrease in revenue of approximately $2.2 million over a six year period if revenues are flat for the next couple of years. This decrease in revenue would impact available funds for the completion of major capital improvements. The average sales tax/month rate of change of 3.3% would indicate the Town might reach budget, 2.2% the Town would freeze spending and a growth of 0% would require cuts in current budgets. He stated General fund balances between 25 – 30% would have the Town in a cautionary spending mode and a fund balance below 25% would have the Town cutting back expenditures. 2009 POLICY GUIDANCE. Board Priorities/ 5-yr CIP The Board was presented with a list of projects to rank in order to develop a five year CIP plan. The following items were discussed: Trustee Homeier questioned the method of ranking the CIP projects by subject and the addition of maintenance items, equipment and policy/code revisions. Staff would remove those items from the CIP plan and have departments place those items in the budget. A new CIP would be presented at the next budget meeting. • Stanley Park – The Board ranked the multi-use barns as the top priority for improvements at the fairgrounds. The dual functioning facility would increase revenues and the quality of life for the citizens of Estes Park. The best funding option for building the barn would be to use cash available and borrow the other portion through a mechanism such as Certificates of Participation (COPs). The Board would support building the entire building with the ice rink. The parking lot should become a high priority with the possibility of developing a park and ride area. • Bond Park – A Request for Proposals (RFP) has been completed for the Master Plan and will be sent out in a couple of weeks. The estimated cost Town Board Study Session – July 25, 2008 – Page 3 for improvements on a per square foot is $1 million. There may also be EPURA funds available. • Recycling Center – This item received a high ranking. Discussion followed: single stream recycling exists in Estes Park and efforts should not be duplicated; this is a private industry issue; the Town should continue to investigate a new facility and grant funds to offset the initial building costs; cardboard recycling needs to be addressed; review the cost/benefits of a facility; what are other communities doing to address the issue; would a new facility be competition for Waste Management; are the citizens looking at recycling as an essential service. • Development Code and Comprehensive Plan – The Development Code needs to be reviewed and updated. The Comprehensive Plan is not essential at this time and money should be spent on infrastructure. • EPURA Funding – The Town has budgeted $200,000 for the operational costs of EPURA in the past. Administrator Halburnt questioned whether or not the Board would like to continue funding EPURA. Director Smith stated the tax increment would take several years to build up, and therefore, EPURA would need funds for operations and projects. A general sense of the Board was to continue funding EPURA with the Town Board setting the priorities and assigning projects to EPURA. • Moraine/Crags Intersection – Trustee Miller stated signalization at the intersection of Moraine Ave. and Crags Dr. would be beneficial and questioned how to approach CDOT. Director Zurn stated the Town would have to purchase the signals at a cost of $350,000 per signal as CDOT only has funding for half of a signal per year. • Fire Code – The Board would support the addition of a Fire Code with the administration of the code by the Fire District. • Performing Arts Center – The Town has a MOU with SOPA for the preparation of the Stanley Fairground site and funding for the operations of the center of $217,000/year. The site preparation has been contingent on the sale of Lot 4, Stanley Historic District. Discussion followed regarding the funding for the site preparation without the sale of Lot 4. The Board suggested setting aside the $217,000/year beginning in 2009 for possible site preparation in lieu of using proceeds from the sale of Lot 4. Staff will place operational funds in a separate account for consideration by the Board during the budget process. • EVRPD Recreational/Community Center – The Board discussed the Rec. Districts request to waive building fees and fund the construction of the community center portion of the building. Trustee Eisenlauer stated the center would be an asset to the community, and therefore, the Board should consider their requests. Trustee Miller expressed concern of the overall cost of the project. Town Administrator Halburnt stated the Community Development Department operates partly on the revenue it generates and a fee waiver policy has been adopted by the Board to waive no more than $2,500 in fees. • Transportation – The Board considers transportation within the Town a high priority issue that should be addressed. Administrator Halburnt stated the Town has received a grant to conduct a transportation study to determine the Town’s needs as related to the shuttle system. The issue of purchasing versus renting buses for 2009 will be discussed during the budget process. Trustee Homeier stated the Town should consider a valley wide bus system. The Board expressed concern with the potential for flat sales tax revenues for 2008 and 2009 and the increase cost of fuel. Essential services must be maintained by the departments; therefore, the Board needs to consider the additional costs to provide those services. Town Board Study Session – July 25, 2008 – Page 4 Trustee Miller stated the Town needs to be creative and find other funding sources for projects. MISCELLANEOUS. Parking Lot • Schedule a vision workshop. • Establish a plan for pursuing business development. • Address public expectations and distrust of the Town/Board. • Address lack of workforce housing. • Single family homes will not be affordable due to land costs. • Downtown appearance an issue for some member of the Board. The Town needs to ensure “improvement” doesn’t result in destroying the charm and character of Estes Park. • Engage the Urban Land Institute to address development issues. • Identify the Town’s competition. • Local Marketing District issues need to be resolved and agree on a final IGA with the County. • Review the use of Design/Build concept. • Develop a vehicle policy – type, cost, additions, etc. • Establish new IGA with EPURA. Priority Filters Outlook: 2009 revenues flat; costs increasing Need to ensure funding for: 1. Essential Services (Public Safety and Maintenance) 2. Revenue Producing Services (CVB, Transportation, Barns) There being no further business, Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 12:00 p.m. Jackie Williamson, Town Clerk