HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Study Session 2014-10-28
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, October 28, 2014
Minutes of a Regular meeting of the TOWN BOARD STUDY SESSION of
the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at the
Town Hall Board Room in said Town of Estes Park on the 28th day of
October, 2014.
Board: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Koenig, Trustees Ericson,
Holcomb, Nelson, Norris and Phipps
Attending: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Koenig, Trustees Ericson,
Holcomb, Nelson, Norris and Phipps
Also Attending: Town Administrator Lancaster, Attorney White, Deputy Town
Clerk Deats
Absent: None
Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 5:10 p.m.
TRUSTEE COMMENTS & QUESTIONS.
In response to an inquiry from Trustee Phipps, Town Administrator Lancaster reported
that a summary of comments gathered at the October 8th public meeting regarding the
Downtown Estes Loop realignment project is being compiled by the consultant. He said
in addition to summarized comments, the report will contain a frequently asked
questions section to provide information to help alleviate confusion about the NEPA
process and explain why a downtown parking structure is not being addressed. He said
it is unclear as to when the Town will receive the report. PIO Rusch noted that once
received the information will be broadly distributed to help lessen confusion related to
the process and the project.
Trustee Norris said CML has a publication that addresses affordable housing in small
communities that might be of interest to the Board. Town Administrator Lancaster said
he would distribute the booklet information electronically to the Board and a hard copy
of the booklet is available in the Town Clerk’s office. On the subject of Estes
Performance, Inc. (EPIC), Town Administrator Lancaster said an update will be
forthcoming at a November Town Board meeting, and also noted that he is expecting to
receive an update in the next few days related to the Wellness Center project. Trustee
Norris brought up the proposed national park fee increases and the Board agreed they
would not be taking a position on this matter. Trustee Norris attended a CDOT meeting
related to repairs on Highway 34 in Big Thompson Canyon. He said the design phase
will extend through most of next year with construction to begin in the fall of 2015.
Trustee Ericson said that public input on the 2015 budget will be taken at the November
11th Town Board meeting and the adoption will take place at the second Town Board
meeting in November. He said discussions related to funding requests for the Scottish
Festival and Visit Estes Park that may affect the budget are not scheduled until
December 9th and asked if the Board wanted to speak to these topics prior to the
adoption of the budget. After brief discussion, the schedule was not changed and the
Scottish Festival and Visit Estes Park will remain on the agenda for the December 9,
2014, Town Board Study Session. Additionally, Trustee Ericson requested that a
conversation about investing in infrastructure and contributions to the infrastructure fund
be held in early 2015.
Town Administrator Lancaster provided initial information about the air ambulance item
on the Town Board agenda. He noted that the air ambulance service is being proposed
as a new addition to the employee benefit package at an approximate cost to the Town
of $6,000 annually. He said for a relatively small cost the air ambulance coverage
Town Board Study Session – October 28, 2014 – Page 2
would provide peace of mind, as the cost of air ambulance services can run into the
tens of thousands of dollars.
FUTURE STUDY SESSION AGENDA ITEMS.
PIO Rusch will be presenting the results of the Citizen’s Survey at the Town
Board meeting. If further review of the results is necessary it will be scheduled
for the November 25th Town Board Study Session. Logo discussion is tentative
for November 25th.
Request of Additional Funding to Support the Scottish/Irish Highland Festival and
Visit Estes Park; and Discussion of Community Service Grants – December 9,
2014.
Cancellation – The Town Board Study Session and the Town Board meeting
scheduled for Tuesday, December 23, 2014, will be cancelled due to the
Christmas holidays.
Vacation Rental Discussion – January 27, 2015.
Vision for the Downtown Area will remain on the Future Study Session Agenda
items list as unscheduled at this time. Staff will prepare to speak to a
neighborhood approach to redevelopment in the downtown area.
Dangerous Buildings Code Discussion will be incorporated into the adoption of
the building code in late 2015.
TOWN’S ROLE IN HOUSING & FORMATION OF STUDY COMMITTEE.
Town Administrator Lancaster said that the Estes Park Housing Authority (EPHA), the
Economic Development Corp., (EDC) and the Town of Estes Park are interested in
working together to discuss and address housing in the Estes Valley. He noted that
even though the EPHA has been concentrating primarily on affordable and low income
housing, the organization has the expertise and ability to address housing on any level.
In addition, the EDC Board has identified housing as a key topic to potentially address
through a project committee in 2015. All three entities are interested in identifying
community-defined needs in order to choose a focus and more forward.
The Town of Estes Park is a member of the Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST).
At a recent meeting of the organization, the CAST executive director reported that the
group is interested in using the expertise of its membership to provide assistance
programs to member municipalities. As a first project, it was proposed that a team
experienced in dealing with housing issues come to Estes Park to meet with staff,
community members and business owners to evaluate the situation, share their
experiences and offer ideas/options/solutions, and talk about what types of solutions
work and don’t work when addressing housing issues. Town Administrator Lancaster
said that the assistance program would be provided at no cost to the Town and
suggested this as a starting point, prior to forming a study committee.
Discussion is summarized: sounds like a great idea; work with CAST prior to the
program to gather necessary and useful information; gather information about workforce
turnover from local employers; consider seasonal housing issues; Estes Park is not the
only community with housing issues; joining forces will help to identify successful
solutions; rather than provide solutions, the Town may take on a catalyst role in helping
to make solutions happen; deed restrictions, public/private partnerships, and code
changes may be considered; focus on comprehensive and long-term planning; agree on
terminology and use a standard lexicon; buy-in from the business community is key;
EPHA has the ability but not the resources; federal and state funding sources define
specific qualifying groups for housing developments; and vacation rentals are a different
issue and will be addressed as a separate subject.
Town Board Study Session – October 28, 2014 – Page 3
Town Administrator Lancaster will contact the CAST executive director to express the
Town’s interest in the assistance program and work on getting the program scheduled
for March or April of 2015.
There being no further business, Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 6:07
p.m.
Cynthia Deats, Deputy Town Clerk