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PACKET Town Board 2013-10-22
The Mission of the Town of Estes Park is to provide high‐quality, reliable services for the benefit of our citizens, guests, and employees, while being good stewards of public resources and our natural setting. BOARD OF TRUSTEES - TOWN OF ESTES PARK Tuesday, October 22, 2013 7:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. (Any person desiring to participate, please join the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance). SWEARING IN: Commander Pass & Police Officer Jared Paul. PROCLAMATION: National Philanthropy Day. PUBLIC COMMENT. (Please state your name and address). 1. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Town Board Minutes dated October 8, 2013. 2. Bills. 3. Committee Minutes: A. Public Safety, Utilities, Public Works Committee – October meeting cancelled. 4. Estes Valley Planning Commission Minutes dated October 1, 2013. (acknowledgement only). 2. ACTION ITEMS: 1. CONSIDERATION OF THE SALE OF LOT, 4 STANLEY HISTORIC DISTRICT FOR THE ANSCHUTZ WELLNESS CENTER. Administrator Lancaster. 2. RESOLUTION # 31-13 ESTES PARK LOCAL MARKETING DISTRICT BUSINESS AND OPERATING PLAN FOR 2014. Administrator Lancaster. 3. TREE TRIMMING CONTRACT FOR 2014-2018. Director Bergsten. 4. ENGINEERING CONTRACT FOR ELM ROAD ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT/MITIGATION MASTER PLAN. Director Zurn. Prepared 10/14/13 *Revised NOTE: The Town Board reserves the right to consider other appropriate items not available at the time the agenda was prepared. 3. PLANNING COMMISSION ITEMS. Items reviewed by Planning Commission or staff for Town Board Final Action. 1. CONSENT ITEMS: A. PRELIMINARY PLAT, Mountain River Townhomes, Metes & Bounds parcel, 650 Moraine Avenue; Item Tabled until the Estes Valley Planning Commission provides a recommendation to the Town Board. B. AMENDED PLAT, Estes Park Medical Center, Rezoning Request, and Special Review 2013-03, All Hospital Addition, Lot 18 and a portion of Lot 17, Little Prospect Mountain Addition, 555 Prospect Avenue, 161 1/2, 163, & 165 Stanley Circle Drive; Item Tabled until the Estes Valley Planning Commission provides a recommendation to the Town Board. C. PRELIMINARY PLAT, The Sanctuary on Fall River Townhomes, Tract 59A, Amended Plat of Tracts 59, 61, 62, & 63, Fall River Addition, Item Tabled until the Estes Valley Planning Commission provides a recommendation to the Town Board. 4. REPORTS AND DISCUSSION ITEMS: 1. MULTI-PURPOSE EVENT CENTER & STALL BARN CONSTRUCTION UPDATE. Director Zurn. 2. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE QUARTERLY REPORT. Public Information Officer Rusch. 3. TOWN BOARD COMMENTS / LIAISON REPORTS. 4. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT. 5. ADJOURN. Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, October 8, 2013 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Town Hall in said Town of Estes Park on the 8th day of October, 2013. Present: William C. Pinkham, Mayor Eric Blackhurst, Mayor Pro Tem Trustees Mark Elrod John Ericson Wendy Koenig Ron Norris John Phipps Also Present: Frank Lancaster, Town Administrator Greg White, Town Attorney Jackie Williamson, Town Clerk Absent: None Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and all desiring to do so, recited the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENTS. Lindsey Lamson/Accommodations owner requested the Town provided timely information on the possible road openings to ensure accommodation businesses can retain reservations. He suggested staff contact CDOT and report updated information. Rob Gordon/Park Hospital District Board member provided clarification of the Board’s recent actions to support the Stanley Wellness Center. The Board supports the preliminary exploration of the center while continuing to support the Community Wellness Center being explored by the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District. Bill Darden/Town citizen questioned the continuation of the MPEC and stall barn projects during the flood recovery. Angela Meyers/Larimer County Clerk and Recorder provided updated election information for the coordinated election on November 5, 2013, including the early delivery of ballots to areas affected by the flood; all other mail ballots would be mailed on October 15, 2013; drop off location at the Larimer County office on Brodie beginning tomorrow; service center open on October 28th in Town Hall; and voter registration can be completed up to and on the day of the election. She also commented on the Department of Revenue decision to waive emission testing for those affected by the flood if requested by December 31, 2013, and all fines related to vehicle registration have been waived for flood victims. PRESENTATION Keri Kelly/Parks Municipal Worker presented the Town Board with awards the Town received from America in Bloom, including a four out of five bloom rating, population category for 4,000 – 7,000, special award for most effective use of foliage, and outstanding achievement award for landscaped areas. The Board recognized Kelly for her efforts and achievements in organizing the steering committee for this new program. TOWN BOARD COMMENTS / LIAISON REPORTS. Trustee Norris stated the Visit Estes Park (LMD) Board met to discuss the implications of the flood, the shutdown of the Rocky Mountain National Park and the accessibility of Estes Park. The Board raised concern with the delayed remittance of lodging tax receipts, and therefore the need to cut the budget and reduce staff. On a positive note the Town has received excellent media and social media coverage. Board of Trustees – October 8, 2013 – Page 2 Trustee Koenig commented the volunteer center continues to operate and volunteers are still needed. The support of the citizens has been overwhelming. She stated the “No” flush zone remains in place and is not voluntary. Trustee Ericson expressed appreciation for the efforts demonstrated by the Town staff and the citizens that came together during and after the flood to work together. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT. Policy Governance – Performance Report. - Town Administrator Lancaster provided the quarterly monitoring report and stated full compliance. He noted a number of budgetary items have been affected by the recent flooding event; however, he continues to monitor the budget closely and would report any issues to the Board. 1. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Town Board Minutes dated September 24, 2013 and Town Board Study Session Minutes dated September 24, 2013. Special Town Board Minutes dated September 12 & 18, 2013. 2. Bills. 3. Committee Minutes: A. Community Development/Community Services, September 26, 2013, Cancelled. 4. Estes Valley Board of Adjustment Minutes dated September 10, 2013. (acknowledgement only). 5. Estes Valley Planning Commission Minutes dated August 20, 2013. (acknowledgement only). 6. Technical Review Committee Minutes dated September 3, 2013 (acknowledgement only). 7. Halloween Road Closure – Elkhorn Avenue from Riverside to Spruce, October 31, 2013 It was moved and seconded (Blackhurst/Koenig) to approve the Consent Agenda, and it passed unanimously. 2. ACTION ITEMS: 1. RESOLUTION #28-13 BUY LOCALLY AND USE LOCAL BUSINESSES AND SERVICES. Administrator Lancaster presented Resolution #28-13 which recommends all Estes Park residents and businesses consider buying locally and using local services during the flood recovery to help strengthen the local economy. It was moved and seconded (Koenig/Norris) to approve Resolution #28-13, and it passed unanimously. 2. RESOLUTION #29-13 TERMINATING THE STATE OF LOCAL EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AUTHORITY TO THE TOWN ADMINISTRATOR TO ENTER INTO CERTAIN AGREEMENTS FOR CONTINUED RECOVERY FROM THE FLOOD. Attorney White stated Resolution #27-13 continued the local disaster emergency until such time as conditions warranting the local emergency no longer exist. The need for emergency action and remediation of Town activities has moved from emergency actions to recovery and remediation of Town facilities. Resolution #29-13 officially ends the emergency on October 9, 2013; continues to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into intergovernmental and mutual aid agreements, and any other documents to Board of Trustees – October 8, 2013 – Page 3 facilitate the recovery efforts; and the suspension of the procurement policy authorized by the Town Board on September 12, 2013. The official disaster was ended by FEMA on September 30, 2013. It was moved and seconded (Blackhurst/Koenig) to approve Resolution #29-13, and it passed unanimously. 3. RESOLUTION #30-13 IN SUPPORT OF CONSTRUCTING A NEW COUNTY OFFICE BUILDING IN LOVELAND, COLORADO. Larimer County Commissioner Gaiter requested the Town Board’s support of Ballot Issue 1A to allow the County to use funds collected from the current sales and use tax to build a new County office building in Loveland rather than remodel the current building as outlined in the 1997 ballot language. The approval of the ballot issue would not establish new taxes but rather use the taxes already collected to build a new building. After discussion, it was moved and seconded (Norris/Ericson) to approve Resolution #30-13, and it passed unanimously. 4. REVISED PROBLEM STATEMENT: ESTES VALLEY DEVELOPMENT CODE TEXT AMENDMENT, CONCURRENT REVIEW AND PROMULGATING PROCESSING SCHEDULES. Director Chilcott presented a proposal to revise the Estes Valley Development Code to require review and approval of development proposals by the Estes Valley Planning Commission and the Town Board prior to the review of variances by the Estes Valley Board of Adjustment. If approved by the Board, staff would present the problem statement to the County Commissioners. Once a problem statement has been approved by both the Town and County recommended code amendments would be present to the Planning Commission for consideration. It was moved and seconded (Norris/Phipps) to approve the revised problem statement for the Estes Valley Development Code Text Amendment, Concurrent Review and Promulgating Processing Schedules, and it passed unanimously. 3. REPORTS AND DISCUSSION ITEMS: 1. SCHOOL DISTRICT MILL LEVY OVERRIDE. Superintendent Hickey provided an overview of the School District’s Ballot Issue 3A which would increase property taxes by $750,000 annually only if Amendment 66 does not pass. The increase would average an additional $3 per year for a home valued at $315,000. The State of Colorado ranks 47 in funding education at $8,771 per student, approximately $1,543 less than the national average. The Park R-3 School District is solely financed by local funds and receives no State funding. The average State funding is 40%. As property tax has increased the mill levy has decreased from over 45 mils to just under 31 mils. The current general fund budget for the district is below that expended in 2006/2007 while the cost of doing business has increased, including salaries, benefits, retirement, supplies, etc. 2. VISIT ESTES PARK FLOOD RECOVERY COMMUNICATION UPDATE. Brook Burnham/VEP Public Relations & Social Media Director provided a short presentation on the communication efforts conducted during and since the flood, including addressing misinformation, developing and distributing talking points, partner outreach, and continuing long-term media pitches. The Town has received positive media coverage with an equivalent ad value of over $2 million. Tourism recovery marketing efforts have included the “Stay Mountain Strong” campaign, holiday packages and shopping campaigns, and stakeholder support. 3. MULTI-PURPOSE EVENT CENTER & STALL BARN CONSTRUCTION UPDATE. Director Zurn presented a project update stating both projects continue to move forward as of September 30, 2013. Staff has worked with Dohn Construction to negotiate change orders related to additional expenses Board of Trustees – October 8, 2013 – Page 4 and delivery charges since the flood. The Town has agreed to an additional $20,000 per month in fees. It has been agreed to review the costs and strategies for modifying work and work schedules monthly as access conditions change. Both projects have been delayed and are now estimated to be complete in April 2014. The stall barn perimeter metal siding has been completed with the final roof panel placement to be completed in a few weeks. The MPEC foundations are complete, underground utility work and plumbing nearing completion, and steel placement to begin within the week. 4. LIQUOR LICENSING & VIOLATION GUIDELINES. The Town Board requested input from both liquor licensees and the public on licensing practices and violation guidelines prior to establishing revised guidelines. Those speaking on behalf of licensed establishments included Steve Nagl & Ty Nagl/Wheel Bar, Ian Lane/Stanley Hotel Food and Beverage Manager, Keith Johnson/Cables Pub and Grill, and Morgan Mulch/Mary’s Lake Lodge. Comments have been summarized: in favor of local control that is fair and utilizes common sense; the formation of a separate liquor license board comprised of Town Board member and local business owners to hear new, transfer and show cause hearings; an understanding that human error occurs and should be considered when reviewing compliance check violations; recommend a warning or fine in lieu of closing a business for a first offense; progressive fines for multiple offenses; consideration of the type of business, i.e. small business versus corporation and bar versus a 3.2% license that can still operate while serving a suspension; all businesses should be subject to compliance checks equally; closure of businesses negatively affect local sales tax collection and scheduled events such as weddings; fines collected for violations could be used for educational programming; provide rewards or credits for businesses that pass compliance checks; provided incentives or rewards for businesses that send employees to trainings and for maintaining training efforts; require all liquor establishments to develop and file Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); require TIPS training for permanent staff and online training for seasonal staff before they can sell alcohol; creation of a local association for liquor establishments; each case should be reviewed independently considering the type of business, the violation that occurred, and mitigating factors such as training; the Town should consider the language and value differences of international seasonal staff that work in Estes Park and would advocate for personal training rather than online training; would encourage the Board take into account the affect a closure has on a small community; more access to TIPS training would be helpful; there should be more emphasis placed on the employee causing the infraction rather than the business unless there are multiple infractions at the business; and recommend a change in state law to allow an establishment an annual pass if a violation occurs. Lindsey Lamson/Lodging owner stated the guidelines should be consistent, fair and consider the economic impact to the community. He would support local control and review of violations to the state liquor code. He would not support penalties that are more punitive than those outlined in the state law. The affect is punitive against the entire community as a whole and not just the business. Johanna Darden/Town citizen stated she would support additional checks on liquor licensed businesses with costly penalties for businesses that fail compliance checks. She would advocate for firm guidelines to secure the safety of the community. 5. ORDER OF AGENDA ITEMS. The Board discussed the order of agenda items and requested action items with a great deal of public interest should be discussed earlier in the agenda. After further discussion, it was determined to review each agenda and determine the order of items on the agenda; however, it was agreed to move reports including the Town Board comments and the Town Administrator report to the end of the agenda. Board of Trustees – October 8, 2013 – Page 5 4. REQUEST TO ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION: It was moved and seconded (Blackhurst/Koenig) to enter Executive Session for the purpose of determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations, developing strategy for negotiations, and/or instructing negotiators, under C.R.S. Section 24-6-402(4)(e), PERA Agreement, and it passed unanimously. It was moved and seconded (Blackhurst/Koenig) to extend the meeting to 11:00 p.m., and it passed with Trustee Ericson voting “No”. Mayor Pinkham called a break at 9:40 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 9:50 p.m. to enter into Executive Session. Mayor Pinkham reconvened into regular session at 10:35 p.m. 5. ADDITIONAL ACTION ITEM: 1. PERA AGREEMENT. For the past year staff has been reviewing the benefits provided to all employees. Staff completed a thorough review of the ICMA and PERA retirement plans. In May of this year staff brought forward action to increase ICMA contributions to match those paid to PERA accounts and to drop FPPA coverage for the dispatchers because they did not meet the qualifications as a member. With the removal of FPPA coverage in May, the dispatchers became eligible for membership in PERA, and therefore, required to move to PERA by state statute. As some of the dispatchers have been in ICMA for a number of years and may be close to retirement, it was necessary to provide dispatchers a choice on moving to PERA. Therefore, staff and Attorney White began discussions with PERA to develop an agreement allowing the qualifying members to make a one-time election to either move to PERA or stay with ICMA. During these discussions it was discovered there were Police civilian staff that should have been included in PERA rather than ICMA, and that individuals hired as senior management were placed in ICMA without the proper opportunity to elect PERA retirement. Therefore these two classes of employee have also been added to the agreement. The agreement would allow the affected employees a one-time offer to change retirement plans and move from ICMA, a defined contribution plan, to PERA, a defined benefit plan. Mayor Pro Tem Blackhurst commented he lacked the financial information to make a responsible informed decision and would not support the agreement. It was moved and seconded (Elrod/Koenig) to approve the PERA agreement, and it passed with Mayor Pro Tem Blackhurst and Trustee Ericson voting “No”. Whereupon Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 10:38 p.m. William C. Pinkham, Mayor Jackie Williamson, Town Clerk RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 1 October 1, 2013 – Continued from September 17, 2013 Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall Commission: Chair Betty Hull, Vice‐Chair Bowers, Commissioners Doug Klink, Charley Dickey, Nancy Hills, Steve Murphree, Wendye Sykes Attending: Chair Hull, Commissioners Bowers, Klink, Hills, Murphree, and Sykes Also Attending: Senior Planner Shirk, Planner Kleisler, Town Attorney White, Town Board Liaison Elrod, and Recording Secretary Thompson Absent: Commissioner Dickey The following minutes reflect the order of the agenda and not necessarily the chronological sequence. Chair Hull called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. There were approximately 14 people in attendance. Chair Hull explained the purpose of the Estes Valley Planning Commission and stated public comment is invaluable. Each Commissioner introduced him/herself. This meeting was continued from the regularly scheduled meeting of September 17, 2013, which was delayed due to flooding in the Estes Valley. Chair Hull formally welcomed Commissioner Wendye Sykes as a County representative, replacing Commissioner Joe Wise. 1. PUBLIC COMMENT Johanna Darden/Town resident was opposed to any development on Lot 4 of the Stanley Historic District. Chair Hull stated any proposed project at that location would be heard by the Town Board, and all comments should be directed to the Trustees. 2. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of minutes, August 20, 2013 Planning Commission meeting. Recording Secretary Thompson will correct the minutes to reflect those Commissioners in attendance. B. Estes Park Medical Center North Parking Lot Expansion Project; All Hospital Addition, Lot 18, Portion of Lot 17, Little Prospect Mountain Addition. Staff request to continue to a future date once the submitted application is complete. C. Development Plan 2013‐02 & Zoning Amendment, Wildfire Development; Tract 2, Hillery Parrack Exemption Plat, 1753 Wildfire Road. Applicant request to continue to a future date to be determined. D. Preliminary Subdivision Plat & Development Plan 2013‐05, The Sanctuary on Fall River Townhomes; Tract 59A, Amended Plat of Tracts 59, 61, 62, & 63, Fall River Addition, Address to be determined (south of 1260 Fall River Road). Staff request to continue due the proximity of the proposed project to an area affected by recent flooding. It was moved and seconded (Klink/Bowers) to approve the consent agenda as presented and the motion passed unanimously. 3. MINOR MODIFICATION 06‐01C TO DEVELOPMENT PLAN 06‐01, MARYS MEADOW, Lot 4A, Marys Meadow Replat, 351 & 355 Kiowa Drive Planner Kleisler reviewed the staff report, stating this minor modification request would replace a planned common building with a residential duplex (Units 9 and 10). The original development plan, approved in 2006, was intended to be a co‐housing project. Market conditions have driven the owners of the property to desire the requested modification. Planner Kleisler stated the Planning Commission would be the decision‐making body. The application was routed to all affected agencies and adjacent property owners, with no concerns received by the Community Development Department. If approved, the applicant would have thirty (30) days from the Commission’s approval to submit the final plan. Planner Kleisler stated the original development plan called for thirty‐five (35) residential condominium units to be built in four phases. The lot area, number of units, parking spaces, RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 2 October 1, 2013 – Continued from September 17, 2013 Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall utilities, and drainage improvements would not change with the proposed minor modification. With the proposed duplex, the lot coverage would be reduced by 2%, and the building footprint reduced by 5% when compared to the originally proposed common building. He stated the residential use was permitted in the A–Accommodations zone district, and the proposed plan met the dimensional standards as outlined in the Estes Valley Development Code (EVDC). Staff Findings 1. Legal notice was published in the Estes Park Trail‐Gazette. 2. The plan complies with EVDC Section 3. 3. The development plan is consistent with the policies, goals and objectives of the Estes Valley Development Code. 4. The Planning Commission is the decision‐making body for this minor modification. Staff recommended approval of the proposed minor modification, with conditions listed below. Staff and Commission Discussion There was brief discussion concerning the finished height of the proposed duplex. Planner Shirk stated a height certificate would be required to ensure compliance with the EVDC. Public Comment Frank Theis/applicant stated the development area was not affected by the recent flooding. Jim Tawney/property owner stated the property was originally conceptualized as a co‐housing project, similar to those in the Boulder area. The concept was unsuccessful in the Estes area, and it was determined a duplex would be better suited for the site. Conditions 1. Compliance with the approved development plan; 2. Provide, in writing, a detailed plan (including timeline) to address the presence of noxious weeds on Lot 4A for staff review and approval; and 3. Submit revised plans to address the following: a. Call out original grade at corners and roof lines of duplex Units 9 and 10 for the purpose of height verification; b. Replace Town of Estes Park Mayor and Clerk signature blocks with that of the Estes Valley Planning Commission Chair. It was moved and seconded (Hills/Bowers) to approve the Minor Modification 06‐01C to Development Plan 06‐01 with the findings and conditions recommended by staff and the motion passed unanimously. 4. PRELIMINARY SUBDIVSION PLAT & DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2013‐03, MOUNTAIN RIVER TOWNHOMES, Metes & Bounds parcel located at 650 Moraine Avenue Senior Planner Shirk reviewed the staff report. The owner is B & L Development, LLC, and the applicant is Dallman Construction. They desire to redevelop the former Telemark Cottages property into a proposed townhome subdivision project to include twenty‐six (26) single‐family units. Planner Shirk stated the parcel is zoned A–Accommodations, and single‐family dwellings are permitted in that zone district. Properties to the west are zoned A–Accommodations, properties to the north and east are zoned RM–Multi‐Family Residential, and the zoning to the south across the river is A‐1–Accommodations. There is a large parcel across Moraine Avenue that is zoned RE‐ 1–Rural Estate and under a conservation easement. Planner Shirk stated the northeast quadrant of the property is currently undeveloped. The existing units are along the river and the west property line. The Planning Commission would be the decision‐making body for the Development Plan, and the recommending body for the Preliminary Subdivision Plat, with the final decision made by the Town Board. The applicant has RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 3 October 1, 2013 – Continued from September 17, 2013 Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall requested several modifications to the EVDC design standards which have not yet been approved by the Town Engineer. Of the eight (8) requested modifications, the Planning Commission would be able to grant two (sidewalk width and height of required trees). These were discussed later in the meeting. Planner Shirk stated the applicant made several revisions to the original plan in response to staff requests. The current plan aligns the entrance point with Cedar Ridge Circle on the opposite side of Moraine Avenue as well as creating an extension of Park River Place on the east side of the property. The most significant change is from duplex units to single‐family units. The current plan would also allow a right‐of‐way connection to the Mountain Haven Condominiums on the west. Earlier discussions with the Public Works Department included a right‐of‐way connection to the south across the river; however, those plans were abandoned. Planner Shirk stated the development plan does not comply with the provisions of the EVDC. Areas of noncompliance are outlined in detail in the Statement of Intent as “Waivers Requested.” For example, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has requested a modified Traffic Impact Analysis; no report has been received to date. He stated the project cannot move forward until this and other issues are resolved. Other areas of noncompliance include, but are not limited to the right‐of‐way and driveway, stormwater, and trail designs. In the staff report, the following requirements were briefly addressed: (1) Weed Management Plan, (2) Wildlife Habitat Protection Plan, (3) Revisions to the Homeowners Association declarations, and (4) Submittal of an approved amended floodplain map. There was extensive discussion about the areas of noncompliance. The modifications and subsequent decisions are not in the purview of the Planning Commission. A submittal to the Estes Valley Board of Adjustment would be required. Of the eight requests, the Planning Commission was authorized by the EVDC to grant two, as follows: (1) Width of sidewalk along Park River Place reduced from eight (8) feet to six (6) feet. The A– Accommodations zone district requires eight foot sidewalks; and (2) Height of required trees reduced from 50% being six to eight (6‐8) feet tall to allowing 50% being four to six (4‐6) feet tall. Planner Shirk stated the neighboring property, Park River West Condominiums, has five‐foot sidewalks. The difference between these two projects is the zone district. Park River West is zoned RM–Multi‐Family Residential, which has a five‐foot wide sidewalk standard. A– Accommodations standards require eight‐foot wide sidewalks. He stated staff recommended continuance until the project can comply with the standards of development as listed in the EVDC. Staff Findings 1. The development plan does not comply with applicable standards set forth in the EVDC, as outlined in the staff report and Findings of Compliance dated September 11, 2013. 2. The development plan is consistent with the policies, goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan. 3. The Planning Commission is the Decision‐making Body for the development plan, and the Recommending Body for the subdivision, with the subdivision recommendation going to the Estes Park Town Board of Trustees. There was discussion about the proper procedures concerning the Board of Adjustment. Other options would be to revise the plans to comply with the code, or present sufficient evidence to the Town Engineer to waive those code requirements. Town Attorney White stated the Town Board is currently considering amending the EVDC to prohibit any Board of Adjustment action until development plans or special reviews are completed. Staff may not allow a submittal to the Board of Adjustment until the Town Board and County Commission review that proposed amendment. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 4 October 1, 2013 – Continued from September 17, 2013 Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall There was brief discussion about a soft‐surface trail along the river versus a paved trail, and the difference in standards in different zone districts. Planner Shirk stated the property is not in the floodplain, as stated by an approved Letter of Map Correction issued by FEMA. Public Comment Jeff Moreau/applicant stated the property has been used for accommodations since 1930 and currently has 29 structures. The proposed plan calls for 26 townhomes distributed over more than seven acres, less than the density allowed in the existing A–Accommodations zone district. The planning for this project has included more than 30 meetings over a two‐year period. The developers have worked with the neighbors and utility agencies to keep the project moving forward. Lonnie Sheldon/Van Horn Engineering presented the applicant’s view of the major areas of noncompliance with the EVDC. Because these items are not in the scope of the Planning Commission’s decision‐making authority, they are listed briefly and may not be inclusive of the entire list: CDOT modified traffic analysis, stormwater drainage plan, floodplain, wildlife habitat protection, trails and trail easements, right‐of‐way width, ADA accessibility, parking standards, street frontage buffer, and road design. Concerning those items within the purview of the Planning Commission, Mr. Sheldon stated smaller trees have a better chance of survival than larger trees. Although there is also a cost savings, survivability was the intent. Mr. Sheldon stated the applicant’s desire is to continue working on this proposed project, and would appreciate a motion to continue to the November Planning Commission meeting. Scott Zurn/Public Works Director, expressed his views on the requested modifications. Again, these items were not in the scope of the Planning Commission’s decision‐making authority. They mainly addressed right‐of‐way and ADA accessibility. Town Attorney White explained the legality of the modifications, stating this was uncharted territory for the Town and the developer. Typically, the Town departments and/or agencies have been able to work through their differences and reach satisfactory agreements. The Planning Commission does not have the authority to overrule decisions made by the Public Works Department, and the correct legal procedure for this situation has not been determined. Johanna Darden/town resident opposed the development, stating the Town would destroy itself by continuing to accommodate visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park. It seemed unreasonable to her to increase development and extensively promote Estes Park as a destination at the expense of the character of the town. She was also concerned about wildlife corridors in this proposed development. Van Mielke/town resident and Vice‐President of Park River West Homeowners Association (PRWHOA), spoke on behalf of the PRWHOA. He stated they were pleased and impressed with the changes made to the development plan. They were disappointed Town staff and the developer could not reach agreement on the various issues. Mr. Mielke’s comments were centered on the modifications that were not in the scope of the Planning Commission’s decision‐ making authority. His written comments are available for review on the Current Applications page of the Town website. Mr. Sheldon requested direction from staff to assist with additional information concerning the requested modifications. Mr. Moreau requested a motion for continuance to allow additional research, and asked for information regarding the process to resolve the issues. Town Attorney White stated some issues relate to Town policies that may be directed to the Town Board; the accessibility issues are spelled out in the ADA Code and a court system is in in place to resolve those issues. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 5 October 1, 2013 – Continued from September 17, 2013 Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall It was moved and seconded (Klink/Sykes) to continue the Mountain River Townhomes Development Plan 2013‐03 and Preliminary Subdivision Plat to the November 19, 2013 Planning Commission meeting and the motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Murphree and Town Attorney White excused themselves from the remainder of the meeting. 5. Reports and Discussion Items 1. Staff Level Review a. Craftsmans Corner Staff‐Level Development Plan. Planner Shirk reported conditional approval was granted in August, but the revised plan had not been submitted. The applicant may have found an alternate location for the proposed business venture and may be withdrawing the application. 2. Planning Commission Reviews a. North End Ranches Amended Plat will be heard at the October 15th meeting. Planner Shirk reported the lots were created prior to the adoption of subdivision standards but did not comply with zoning standards in place at the time. b. Al Fresco Place Amended Plat will be heard at the October 15th meeting. Planner Shirk reported this is a lot line adjustment. 3. Board of Adjustment Reviews a. 217 Big Horn Drive. Planner Shirk reported this variance request for an addition to a deck was approved on September 3, 2013. 4. Town Board Reviews a. The Meadows Supplemental Condominium Map #2 was approved August 27, 2013. b. Lake Pines Amended Plat was approved August 27, 2013. 5. Board of County Commission a. Stanley Heights Amended Plat was approved on September 16th. Planner Shirk reported County staff will be attending those meetings on our behalf until Fort Collins is more accessible from Estes Park. 6. Other a. Visitor Center Parking and Transit Facility Update. Planner Shirk reported this project will move forward with the design phase, but construction will be delayed until further notice. b. Stanley Historic District Technical Review Committee for proposed Event Pavilion. Planner Shirk reported the Committee granted a heavily‐conditioned approval. The final application packet has not been submitted to date. 7. Flood Update a. Planner Shirk stated the Town website contained the most recent updates. More than thirty (30) structures were “red‐tagged,” out of approximately 8000 structures in the Estes Valley. Planning and Building staff have put in many long days with mapping and building inspections (Town and County). Planner Kleisler has been using GPS units to determine the high water marks, which exceed the 500‐year flood in many areas. Planner Shirk reported the impact on the EVDC is undetermined. There are many questions to be answered concerning setbacks, property lines, etc. Several agencies (governmental and private) are coming forward to offer assistance. 8. Comprehensive Plan Update a. Due to the priority shift created by the recent flood, modernization of the Comprehensive Plan have been suspended for the time being. There being no further business, Chair Hull adjourned the meeting at 3:45 p.m. ___________________________________ Betty Hull, Chair ___________________________________ Karen Thompson, Recording Secretary TOWN ADMINISTRATOR Memo To: Honorable Mayor Pinkham Board of Trustees From: Frank Lancaster, Town Administrator Date: October 22, 2012 RE: Consideration of the sale of Lot 4, Stanley Historic District, for the Anschutz wellness center Objective: To receive direction from the trustees if staff should proceed with an accelerated process for the sale of Lot 4 and development review for the Anschutz/Stanley Wellness Center, as requested by the Stanley Hotel. Present Situation: On October 15th, John Cullen, owner of the Stanley Hotel, presented a proposal for a Wellness Center at the Stanley, to be built on the Town owned Lot 4, Stanley Historic District. This project would be associated with the Aurora Medical Center and be part of a group of Anschutz medical clinics throughout the state. According to Mr. Cullen, financing for the project is secure due to State and Federal credit enhancements, however these enhancements are only guaranteed through the end of the year. They may or may not be available for the project after December 31, 2013. Lot 4 is owned by the Town of Estes Park and sale of the land is restricted by voter approved ordinance #29-07 which requires voter approval. It is the opinion of the Town Attorney that the use is an allowable use on Lot 4 with the current zoning and the proposal requires no variances. There is currently a no build restriction on the western third of Lot 4. There will have to be a plat amendment required to address the current no build restriction. The only other process required is a special review standard development review. Proposal (including budget if applicable): Should the Board desire, we believe it is possible to complete what needs to be done within the proposed time frame, based on the following steps and dates: 1. Complete an appraisal of the property and prepare proposed ballot language, including the terms of sale in a proposed sales contract for board consideration on November 12th. Contract and ballot language would include the purchase price and a description of the proposed project. Sale would be specific to the Wellness Center use and would not allow any other use on the property. 2. Prior to the meeting on the 12th, the Stanley would need to work out any concerns related to the relationship of the proposed destination wellness center and the proposed community wellness and recreation center, to the satisfaction of the Town Board of Trustees. 3. The Stanley will file all necessary information and an application for development review as soon as possible. The Town would contract for development review with an outside consultant, the cost of which to be 100% reimbursed by the Stanley. All development review would be completed and scheduled for hearing by the Estes Valley Planning Commission prior to the December 17th election. 4. A special election will be scheduled for December 17th. This will be a poll election. There is insufficient time to have an all mail in election. Post cards would be sent November 13th to all registered voters who have signed up for automatic absentee voting. (Since this is a polling place municipal election, absentee ballots are not automatically sent out, they must be requested.) If the Board approves the ballot language on November 12th, we would immediately proceed with procurement of the printed ballots. 5. The Stanley must agree to cover 100% of the cost to the Town to conduct a special election. 6. The election would be held on December 17th. 7. The Special Review would come before the Town Board the first meeting in January. Advantages: This timeline meets the financing restrictions of the Stanley. Construction could start sooner, thus creating jobs and income during the flood recovery. The Town would receive an influx of cash from the sale of the property that would help with the expected budget issues anticipated due to the impact of the flood on sales tax revenue. Disadvantages: This is a very aggressive time line for a large project. Any issue at any step along the way, particularly with the code compliance and the development process, would make meeting the end of the year deadline impossible. The Community Wellness and Recreation Center Feasibility Study will not be complete within this time frame. Requested Action and Sample Motion: I move to direct staff to proceed with the outlined process for the sale of Lot 4, Stanley Historic District and the development review for the Anschutz/Stanley Wellness Center as outlined above. I move that staff not proceed with the accelerated process for the sale of Lot 4, Stanley Historic District and the development review for the Anschutz/Stanley Wellness Center as outlined above. Level of Public Interest Extremely high Comments for 2013-‐10-‐22 Town Board Meeting Don Sellers 490 Prospector Ln Estes Park, CO 80517 The Association for Responsible Development recently completed a yearlong study of properties that are owned by the town of Estes Park. From this data, I would judge that Lot 4 is one of the two most valuable properties that the people of Estes Park own, not only in dollars but also in terms of aesthetic value, quality of life, and majestic views. This land belongs to the people. You as legislators and we as informed citizens owe it to the people and future generations of Estes Park residents to consider well what we do with their property. Now is not the time to make a hasty decision on the ultimate use of Lot 4 • We are still reeling from the effects of the flood • Nearly half of the valley residents are still using portable toilets • Town staff is already overtaxed. To bring in an outside contractor who is not familiar with the Town and our specific issues to do the planning portion of the project, which is normally done by our competent planning staff, will only compound an already difficult situation. I recommend that you not be hasty. Hasty decisions can lead to unwanted results. Instead, take the time between now and when this project will very likely come again, and develop a plan. Decide what is the best and highest use for Lot 4 by the people of Estes Park. Perhaps develop a policy that will aid in long term decision making for land use in the Town. Maybe adopt an amended version of Administrator Lancaster’s proposed policy #105 submitted back in July. Then we can move forward. But lets not decide all this tonight. Wayne Newsom <newsome@frii.com> October 18, 2013 TO: JACKIE WILLIAMSON, Town Clerk FROM: Patricia F. Newsom, residing @ 450 W Wonderview Ave, Estes Park, CO Jackie, will you please distribute the following letter before the Trustee meeting on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 to: Mayor: Bill Pinkham Town Administer: Frank Lancaster Trustees: Eric Blackhurst Mark Elrod John Ericson Wendy Koenig Ron Norris John Phipps RE: STANLEY HOTEL WELLNESS CENTER PROJECT Lady and Gentlemen: With this letter I wish to convey my sentiments and opinion regarding the Stanley Hotel Wellness Center that has recently come before the Town officials and community. As always when in a crisis one does not rush into making decisions on major issues. At this point in time, our community is in a crisis and will be for quite some time to come. Major decisions should not be forced upon us! · I believe there is a lot of history, both on Lot 4 and of the Stanley Hotel that some of you – and the community - may not be aware of. · I believe, with this project, as with past actions/proposals from the Stanley Hotel, their motives are self-serving and do not have the best interest for the community in their plans. · I believe the Stanley Hotel would like to take advantage of an opportunity as many of our residents are out of town. There is no chance for them to know about or have input on such a critical issue as this rushed proposition…absentee ballots cannot be forwarded if this issue were to come to a vote before the end of the year. · What’s the rush if this has been in their plans for quite some time? · Effect on local businesses MUST be taken into consideration!!! (Is it fair to all concerned?) · I could say more but want to leave with two thoughts! “Character is doing what’s right when no one is looking.” “Poor planning on your (The Stanley’s) part does not necessitate an emergency on our (the community’s) part.” Thank you for your time. Signed Patricia F. Newsom, 450 W Wonderview Ave, Estes Park, CO newsom@frii.com Stanley Views Homeowners Association, Inc. Tuesday, October 22, 2013 Proposed Anschutz/Stanley Hotel “Wellness Center” – Lot 4 Stanley Historic District We are Lot 3 in the Stanley Historic District, the closest town residents to Lot 4. Lot 4 in its present form serves an important – perhaps vital – function of separating the iconic Stanley Hotel and Lot 3 (Findley Court) from the commercial area of the Stanley Village Shopping Center. Our preference would be that Lot 4 remains as open space. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Having said that, we turn our attention to the latest proposal to develop Lot 4. At this time we do not feel there is sufficient information to enable us to make a decision on whether the proposal is desirable or not. But, based on what is available, we have the following concerns: 1. Height of Buildings. The height of the proposed structures could block or infringe upon the views of several of our homes on Findley Court. The plan shows buildings up to three stories tall, plus a gable roof. These buildings do not appear to be recessed into the landscape as Upper Stanley Village is. As presented, the plan would appear to result in a significant degradation of homeowner views. We await specific data on the roofline heights. 2. Physicians’ Residence. The location of the proposed physicians’ residence is directly across from the entrance to Findley Court. Rather than here, this should be located farther south. Otherwise, it will have a negative impact on our community. We also question the need for a physicians’ residence when a variety of housing is already available in Estes Park. 3. Vastness of the Project: 117,500 square feet of buildings and parking for 125 cars on Lot 4 alone? As proposed, Lot 4 would essentially turn into roofs and paved parking lots. It is similar in density to an earlier proposal in 2008, which was turned down by 74% of the voters. Also, the business plan does not seem adequate to support that amount of construction. Mention has been made of the Broadmoor Hotel’s having an “Anschutz Health and Wellness Center.” That in no way correlates to this proposal. The Broadmoor’s “Women’s Weekend of Wellness” began in 2011, is for ladies only and is held annually. This bears little resemblance to what is being proposed for Estes Park. 4. Target Market/Business Plan. It is not clear to us that this proposal is a fit for our town, as we are not generally considered a “high end” market. It seems more like something for a resort destination like Aspen. 5. Parking lots on the front lawn of Hotel and Lodge. At least three new parking lots are shown on the plan. One has 92 spaces right on the front lawn of the hotel. This is heavy congestion and would detract from the hotel proper. Is there an architect’s photographic survey on this concept available? 6. Time for Consideration. Much more needs to be known before any informed decision can be made by the voters on whether this is really a fit for our town. We embrace the wellness concept but on a much smaller scale. As the plan evolves, and given enough time to carefully refine the details, it could be beneficial for both the Town of Estes Park and the Stanley Hotel. The timing of this project is unfortunate, given the devastation of the flood and all the rebuilding and recovery that must take precedence. Due deliberation on this seems the wise choice, as mistakes are made when decisions are taken with haste. If it is a good idea today, it will be a good idea tomorrow. 7. Wildlife Corridor. The trading of open space – the development of Lot 4 for declaring the land to the east of the hotel as a Wildlife Corridor ‐‐ is inspired. We hope the corridor can be extended south to the east part of Lot 4, toward the “Lily Pond” by Steamer Drive. 8. Access Road. We support the suggested removal of the public access road to the Stanley Hotel (and “Wellness Center”) between Steamer Parkway and Findley Court. Doing so might help, at least somewhat, to reduce the negative impact of the proposed new commercial activity on our lives and property values. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on this proposed development. Stanley Views Homeowners Association, Inc. Jim Cope, President 631 Findley Court 586‐4684 JimCope631@Q.com RESOLUTION # 31-13 WHEREAS, the Estes Park Local Marketing District has filed with the Town Clerk the Estes Park Local Marketing Business and Operating Plan for 2014 along with its proposed budget for the 2014 calendar year; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 29-25-110 C.R.S. and the applicable provision of the Intergovernmental Agreement dated August 26, 2008, between the Town of Estes Park and the Board of County Commissioners, Larimer County, the Town Board shall approve or disapprove the Operating Plan within thirty (30) days after receipt of said Plan, the proposed budget and all additional documentation requested by the Town; and WHEREAS, the Town Board has reviewed the Operating Plan and proposed budget and has determined that the Operating Plan will provide efficient and cost effective marketing and promotion services for the Estes Park Local Marketing District Service Area. NOW, THEREFORE, BASED UPON THE RECITALS SET FORTH ABOVE WHICH ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF ESTES PARK, COLORADO AS FOLLOWS: 1. The Estes Park Local Marketing District Business and Operating Plan for 2014 as filed with the Town Clerk is hereby approved. Dated this___________________________, 2013. ______________________________ Mayor ATTEST: ________________________________________ Town Clerk Estes Park Local Marketing District: Visit Estes Park 2014 Operating Plan The deadline for submitting this Operating Plan to the Town of Estes Park and Larimer County is September 30, 2013. It was approved by the Visit Estes Park Board of Directors on September 17, 2013. Please note that it was written before the devastating floods, which began on September 11, 2013, and the subsequent road closures from the Front Range to Estes Park (Rt. 34, Rt. 36 and Rt. 7). Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 1 Introduction While the Estes Park Local Marketing District (LMD) is still the legal entity under which the 2% lodging tax is submitted, in January, 2012, our ‘doing business as’ name changed to the more user-friendly ‘Visit Estes Park’. An increasing number of official Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO’s) have adopted the name ‘Visit’ preceding their destination, making the shift a natural move toward this emerging industry standard. As a result, the organization will sometimes be referred to as Visit Estes Park throughout this document, but the two names are essentially interchangeable. As this 2014 Operating Plan will outline, the Visit Estes Park Board of Directors and staff have again made significant progress in 2013, and we are planning for continued success in 2014. As a results-driven organization, Visit Estes Park’s strategy led to significant accomplishments in 2013. Accomplishments will be discussed in more detail throughout, but among the most notable are: 1. DMO Accreditation: Visit Estes Park is awarded the highly prestigious DMO accreditation from Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) 2. New Website: Launched a powerful, consumer-driven VisitEstesPark.com website and mobile site resulting in significant growth and consumer engagement 3. New Advertising Creative: Retained new advertising agency who brought our brand to life with fresh new advertising creative based on brand strategy learnings 4. Integrated brand strategy creative and messaging across all advertising and marketing platforms including print, digital, social and the new VisitEstesPark.com website 5. Began roll out of Phase Four of brand strategy ‘Delivering the Estes Park’ to the entire community 6. New Media Agency: Retained new media planning and buying agency. Visit Estes Park Organizational Structure Organization The formation of the Local Marketing District and the 2% lodging tax were approved by District voters in November 2008 and lodging tax collections went into effect on January 1, 2009. Staffing and operations began in January 2010. The Visit Estes Park Board focuses direction directly to the President & CEO of the Visit Estes Park staff. All Visit Estes Park Board direction Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 2 will be focused through the President & CEO, other than ordinary involvement in committees, in order to keep reporting direct and focused without confusion. We believe this is very important to keep individual agendas from getting involved in the direct line of reporting and direction that could cause confusion. Any necessary communication and direction to be given to the President & CEO during periods between Board meetings will be handled by the Visit Estes Park Chair with a follow-up summary to the entire Board. In the absence or incapacitation of the Chair, this responsibility will be handled by the Vice Chair. The Local Marketing District (LMD) Model According to Colorado State Statute, the Local Marketing District may provide any of the following services within the district: Organization, promotion, marketing, and management of public events; Activities in support of business recruitment, management, and development; Coordinating tourism promotion activities. (II) No revenue collected from the marketing and promotion tax levied under section 29-25-112 may be used for any capital expenditures, with the exception of tourist information centers. (f) To have the management, control, and supervision of all the business and affairs of the district and of the operation of district services therein; (g) To appoint an advisory board of owners of property within the boundaries of the district and provide for the duties and functions thereof; (h) To hire employees or retain agents, engineers, consultants, attorneys, and accountants; (i) To adopt and amend bylaws not in conflict with the constitution and laws of the state or with the ordinances of the local government affected for carrying on the business, objectives, and affairs of the board and of the district; and (j) To exercise all rights and powers necessary or incidental to or implied from the specific powers granted in this article. Such specific powers shall not be considered as a limitation upon any power necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and intent of this article. Visit Estes Park Board of Directors Bill Almond, Chair, YMCA of the Rockies Jon Nicholas, Vice Chair, Estes Valley Library Scott Webermeier, Secretary/Treasurer – National Park Village Lindsay Lamson – Rocky Mountain Resorts Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 3 Lynette Lott Chris Wood – McGregor Mountain Lodge Adam Shake - Neanderthal Productions Social Media Consulting Kathy Palmeri was Chair in 2012 through August of 2013. Palmeri resigned when she moved to Loveland, Colorado, outside of the District, as she was no longer eligible to serve. Bill Almond became Chair at that time, and Jon Nicholas became Vice Chair. Scott Webermeier continues as Treasurer. In September, Adam Shake was appointed to the Board to replace Palmeri. The seven member Board is appointed, with five members appointed by the Town of Estes Park Board of Trustees and two by Larimer County Board of County Commissioners. Visit Estes Park Staff Peggy Campbell – President & CEO Suzy Blackhurst – Director of Operations & Finance Brooke Burnham – Director of Public Relations & Communications Janice Mason – Group Sales & Services Manager Kirby Nelson – Stakeholder Relations & Communications Manager Mike Oline – Administrative Assistant Kellen Schaffer – Digital Communications Manager Key Players Visit Estes Park Board of Directors Visit Estes Park Staff Town of Estes Park Government Officials Town of Estes Park Staff Larimer County Officials Rocky Mountain National Park Leadership Tourism Business Partners Community Stakeholders Visit Estes Park Mission, Vision, Core Values Mission: Attract visitors to the District through effective and efficient marketing in order to drive year-round economic growth. Vision: To be a year-round tourism and group destination that supports our healthy mountain community with a balance of financial success, memorable experiences for visitors and quality of life for our residents and employees. Core Values: Accountable, Ethical, Proactive, Respectful, Responsive, Transparent Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 4 Travel & Tourism Tourism: The Basis of the Estes Park Economy In 2012, Visit Estes Park commissioned the first ever study to define the impact of tourism on the Estes Park economy. The Economic & Fiscal Impact of Tourism on the Estes Park Economy research study was conducted by Tucker Hart-Adams of Summit Economics, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The study found that: · Tourism is the basis of the Estes Park economy · Estes Park welcomes over 2 million visitors per year · Estes Park’s 2 million visitors spend about $187 million per year in the area · Tourism provides more than half the jobs in Estes Park · Tourism jobs result in $46.7 million in earnings each year · Visitors provided the Town of Estes Park about 54.1% of its revenues, almost $18 million annually · The tourism industry saves each Estes Park resident $418 annually in municipal costs · Tourism enhances the quality of life for each resident Travel Trends American enthusiasm toward leisure travel remains strong, according to The State of the America Traveler study conducted by Destination Analysts, Inc. and Miles Media in July 2013. The national study revealed that the proportion of leisure travelers planning to travel more increased to 30.2 percent, up from 27.5 percent over the same point one year ago. Spending expectations is also encouraging, with 31.1 percent expecting to increase their leisure travel spending in the coming year. Improvements in traveler finances and moderate gas prices continue to drive these positive results. The improved financial positions of leisure travelers are also shown in the diminishing interest in travel deals and discounts. The proportion of American leisure travelers who expect to actively look for travel deals and discounts has been in decline over the last three years as less than half of travelers (49.8%) were so inclined. In comparison, in January 2010, a 63.1 percent of travelers said they would actively seek out deals and discounts. The report examined the differences in travel behaviors between three key generations: Millennials (generally born 1984 - 2002), Generation X (generally born 1965 - 1983) and Baby Boomers (generally born 1946 - 1964). The study found that ‘we are all humans with similar needs and aspirations’ and so the three generations had some striking similarities. However, there are distinct differences that do exist between the generations. Nowhere are these Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 5 generational differences more pronounced than in how they plan their trips and the technology they use to do so. For example: · Used mobile phone to plan travel: 51.1% Millennials; 35.9% Generation X; 19.2% Baby Boomers · Took a laptop on a leisure trip: 52.1% Millennials; 50.6% Generation X; 45.6% Baby Boomers · Used social media to complain about a travel experience: 14.8% Millennials; 9.8% Generation X; 3.3% Baby Boomers · Accessed Twitter for travel planning info: 19. 2% Millennials; 10.2% Generation X; 1.8% Baby Boomers Millennials are more likely to travel and take more leisure trips than their older counterparts and they are more interested in urban destinations. Boomers show a pronounced desire for exploring and connecting with the great outdoors on their leisure trips. Data gathered about growth markets revealed that by comparing the percent of leisure travelers actually visiting (in the past 3 years) to the percent expecting to visit in the next 3 years, a measure of a destination’s latent potential for growth emerges. Encouraging for Estes Park, Denver, Colorado is among the top domestic destinations poised to capture more Millennials and Generation X’ers in the next three years. Denver did not make the cut for Baby Boomers. It’s clear that U.S. travelers overall are using a complex range of media and diverse sources of travel information. More than half use social media and/or user generated content. About 40% use a mobile phone to plan their travel. Around 44% use print publication of some type – illustrating continued strength in print use. About 34% use DMO websites and 15% use DMO print publications. The Power of Travel & Tourism Promotion* Wise and strategic investments in travel and tourism promotion feed a virtuous cycle of economic benefits. Travel promotion programs spur interest in visiting destinations among potential travelers. Stronger travel interest generates more visitors. Additional visitors spend more at local attractions, lodging properties, restaurants, retail stores and other businesses. Greater travel spending supports more local jobs and generates additional tax revenue for state and local governments There are many case studies that clearly demonstrate that investments in travel promotion pay for themselves many times over. During the ongoing economic recovery, the travel industry has emerged as a key driver of U.S. economic growth. The data clearly demonstrate that travel has a major economic impact at the national, state, and local level. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 6 Wise investments in travel promotion programs feeds the cycle of economic benefits – growing the number of travelers boosts spending at community businesses, which supports more jobs and increases tax revenue. Data and case studies yield several clear lessons for state and local government leaders: · Travel is a vital contributor toward local communities. Travel spending not only sustains local jobs and businesses; it also represents a critical source of tax revenue for funding local services such as streets and police protection. Additionally, it creates an appealing environment to recruit even more travel and non-travel related businesses. · Investment in travel promotion is crucial to maintaining market share. Reducing investment in tourism promotion results in fewer visitors, less travel spending and lower tax revenue. This underscores the importance of protecting and growing the funding source for Visit Estes Park. · Enhanced travel-related offerings produce dividends for destinations. Destinations with stronger travel assets and more developed product offerings improve the quality of life for local residents, attract new businesses and skilled employees, and increase the appeal to potential visitors. * Source: U.S. Travel Association – The Power of Travel Promotion 2013 Operating Highlights In July 2013, Visit Estes Park was awarded prestigious accreditation designation from DMAI (Destination Marketing Association International), the global trade association for official destination marketing organizations. Achieving accreditation through DMAI’s Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP), this accomplishment puts Visit Estes Park in elite company, joining just two other Colorado destination marketing organizations that achieved this distinction: Visit Denver and the Colorado Springs CVB. “By applying for and receiving DMAP accreditation, Visit Estes Park has demonstrated a commitment to quality programs and services,” said Shelly Green, DMAP Board Chair. “Earning DMAP accreditation tells the community and potential guests that your DMO has attained a measure of excellence assuring that their trust is well placed and their business in good hands.” “Congratulations to Visit Estes Park,” said Richard Scharf, President & CEO of Visit Denver. “This recognition is just another way of illustrating their professionalism, effectiveness and significance to the Estes Park Community and economy.” Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 7 To achieve this distinction, Visit Estes Park was required to document its practices and policies in 15 key areas associated with destination marketing: Governance, Finance, Human Resources, Technology, Marketing, Visitor Services, Group Services, Sales, Communications, Membership, Management and Facilities, Brand Management, Destination Development, Research and Stakeholder Relationships. More than 75 specific documents were provided in the course of answering 155 questions, including items such as the budget showing the accepted use of account numbers, the employee handbook, insurance policies, the marketing plan, a media kit, the destination brand assessment, economic impact studies, and more. When Visit Estes Park submitted its application in late March, only 137 other DMOs in the world had achieved the status. The designation was awarded during the Washington, DC based Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) organization’s annual convention in Orlando, Florida. In 2012, Visit Estes Park became an independent Destination Marketing Organization. Due to office space limitations, we moved our offices from the Estes Park Visitor Center to 1200 Graves Ave. With the move came a new address, new phone number, new email addresses, and independent IT infrastructure. In addition, we created and implemented our own Employee Handbook/HR policies and our own separate PERA (Public Employees Retirement Account) and payroll processing service. In September 2012, an IGA between the LMD and Larimer County was developed. The ‘Agreement for Distribution of Payment Between Larimer County, Colorado and Estes Park Local Marketing District’ will result in payments by the County to the District. The County agreed to pay the Estes Park LMD two percent (2.0%) of all camping and cabin rental fees and charges collected from accommodation users of Larimer County’s Hermit Park Open Space. Visit Estes Park very much appreciates our partnership with Larimer County. In 2013 Visit Estes Park followed the Town of Estes Park’s lead in choosing CliftonLarsonAllen, LLC. to conduct the Local Marketing District’s annual financial audit. CliftonLarsonAllen, LLC. included the Visit Estes Park financials as an integral part of the Town’s CAFR (certified annual financial review). In June, the company informed Visit Estes Park’s President & CEO, Operations & Finance Director and accountant, that Visit Estes Park received a clean audit. Beginning in early June, the Operations & Finance Director began working closely with our accountant to create ongoing cash flow projections through 2013. Having the document bridges the gap between budget projections and quarterly receipts of sales tax disbursements through the Colorado Department of Revenue. In May 2013, the analysis of 2% lodging tax collections was transferred from Visit Estes Park Treasurer to staff, Director of Operations & Finance. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 8 In 2013, we produced the 2012 Visit Estes Park Annual Report which was redesigned to include new photography, a new format, new creative look and feel and relevant content for our stakeholders. On December 31, 2012 long-time veteran Advertising Manager Peter Marsh retired from Visit Estes Park. Peter, a respected advertising professional, valiantly fought cancer for seven years. We continue to be saddened by his death in January 2013. A new hire was approved by the Visit Estes Park Board of Directors, and as a result, a new employee was added to staff in July. Kellen Schaffer, Digital Communications Manager, began on July 22, 2013, bringing the total number of employees back to seven. The President & CEO continues to report directly to the Visit Estes Park Board and directs the staff. The Visit Estes Park Board of Directors and staff continue to benefit from a great working partnership with the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County and Rocky Mountain National Park. 2013 Marketing Highlights Overview In 2013, Visit Estes Park completed the last of the major strategic marketing projects identified as critical to the success of the newly formed Local Marketing District, now doing business as Visit Estes Park. Marketing Consultant, Scott Hannah of Hannah Marketing, hired by the Local Marketing District Board of Directors in 2009, was charged with a Brand and Marketing Assessment of what was then the Estes Park Convention & Visitors Bureau. From this, Hannah created the 2010 Strategic Marketing Plan, a marketing road map for the LMD and the foundation on which Visit Estes Park has been operating. These strategic Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) marketing projects are major undertakings which can occur once every 5-10 years. They require significant funding, human resources, retaining experts in the field, and focus. These major achievements include a year- round visitor study (completed in 2011), destination brand strategy (completed in 2012), new marketing creative and messaging (completed in 2013), a new website/mobile site (completed in 2013), and a Customer Relationship Management system (completed in 2013). While not specifically defined by Hannah, in 2013, Visit Estes Park also earned DMAI (Destination Marketing Association International) DMO accreditation, which is in effect for four Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 9 years. At the same time, we achieved success in other areas of on-going marketing efforts, including advertising, media planning/buying, public relations, social media, and others. It should be noted that like 2012, the 2013 summer season again started with catastrophic wildfires in Colorado and the west, and again garnered much unwanted national media attention. The Black Forest fire, near Colorado Springs, began on June 11, 2013. The evacuation area covered 94,000 acres, 13,000 homes and 38,000 people. The fire was 100 percent contained on June 20, 2013, but 14,280 acres had burned, at least 509 homes were destroyed, and two people had died. This was the most destructive fire in the state's history, surpassing the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire which also began near Colorado Springs. The Colorado wildfires affected tourism, in varying degrees throughout the state, as safety is the number one concern for consumers when making travel plans. Fortunately, summer in Colorado continued with the more typical monsoon weather, resulting in rainfall, which while there were wildfires later in the summer in Colorado, the fire danger was significantly reduced for the remaining part of the summer. Launched New VisitEstesPark.com Website A planned and purposeful multi-year strategy, the completion of several major strategic initiatives gave us the foundation on which to design, develop and launch a powerful, creative, feature rich website in June 2013. Completed strategic projects that were critical to developing and implementing the new website included the year-round visitor study (2010-2011), the national consumer brand awareness/perception study (2011), the destination brand strategy initiative phases 1, 2 and 3 (2011-2012), and new marketing creative and messaging based on brand strategy learnings (2013). The result is a new website that elevates the on-line Estes Park experience and provides consumers the travel tools they have come to expect. An RFP (Request for Proposal) process began with assembling a stakeholder website selection committee to guide Visit Estes Park throughout the process. The team defined website requirements, performed research to determine qualified DMO website providers, studied each proposal, interviewed final candidates, and ultimately, unanimously, chose the Visit Estes Park website partner. This process resulted in the team choosing Simpleview Inc., located in Tucson Arizona. Simpleview is the leader in destination marketing solutions, providing products and services to more than 200 Destination Marketing Organizations. Simpleview was the first company to create a web-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system tailored to DMOs. Simpleview was also the first to integrate CRM systems with web-based Content Management Systems (CMS), giving DMO’s the ability to maintain the websites that are designed and built by Simpleview. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 10 A major undertaking for the first half of 2013, the new Visit Estes Park website was launched on June 5th. As will be discussed later in this document, new advertising creative based on brand strategy went to market early summer. As expected, the new creative drove consumers to the website, resulting in a streamlined and consistent message. The website is a creative and feature rich, utilizing the latest technology and destination marketing best practices. The goal of the website is to improve internal efficiencies, provide real value to our stakeholders, reflect the Estes Park brand promise, delight the consumer planning their trip, effectively compete with any other destination website, and increase visitor conversion. The website was developed with the consumer in mind, giving them the features they have come to expect from a travel website. New website functionality includes: · Lodging on-line BookDirect feature integration with JackRabbit systems · Mobile website which also includes the JackRabbit Lodging Book Direct feature (more than 50% of Americans now own a smart phone) · Tablet enabled · Language Translation which allows virtually any web user in the world to use the site · Advanced search feature where consumers can view results based on their individual preferences, e.g., pet friendly, hot tub, free Wi-Fi, etc. · Trip builder allows the user to create and email to their friends and family their vacation itinerary based on their specific interests · Social media integration · Google maps integration · Trip Advisor integration · Enhanced advertising opportunities for stakeholder businesses to be showcased · Dynamic content options, e.g. homepage megawidget, Visit Estes Park blog integration, media gallery, etc. · Integrated SEO (Search Engine Optimization) · Visit Estes Park DMO public ‘Partners’ section includes information about Visit Estes Park board meetings, staff contact info, DMO marketing programs, research and reports, and more. · Stakeholder extranet allows stakeholders, via a password protected section of the website, to update their listings, contact information, photos, social media channels, submit communication to Visit Estes Park staff members, read important bulletins and messages posted by Visit Estes Park staff, and more. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 11 BookDirect JackRabbit Integration Included in the website launch on June 5th is the JackRabbit on-line BookDirect lodging search feature. Potential guests enter dates they may want to travel, along with preferences such as pet friendly, hot tub, on the water, etc. JackRabbit Systems automatically pulls data from stakeholder booking engines, displays those properties which have availability with rates, photos, description, amenities, etc. The JackRabbit BookDirect feature is also integrated with Visit Estes Park’s Facebook page, on Facebook.com/EstesPark. This feature is available at no charge to lodging properties. If a lodging property does not have a booking engine, the property still displays, but instead of displaying rates, a ‘Call for Availability’ message with phone number is listed. JackRabbit Systems lodging on-line BookDirect feature was implemented with the new website with the goal of driving higher lodging revenue to the Estes Park market. Research shows that consumers demand search efficiency. In fact, the most important travel website features cited by consumers is, #1, the ability to immediately check rates (84%), and #2, easy to use booking feature (74%) Source: YPartnership/Harrison Group 2011 Portrait of American Travelers. JackRabbit Systems, which first launched in 2007 works with about 225 DMO’s, including the State of Colorado, Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association and 15 other DMOs in Colorado, making JackRabbit the most widely used booking solution by DMO’s in North America. Visit Estes Park chose the BookDirect solution because unlike OTA’s (Online Travel Agencies), such as Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz, JackRabbit’s BookDirect solution: 1) is the only solution dedicated to driving booking reservations directly to the lodging property website, 2) there is no cost to our stakeholders, 3) does not require lodging properties to manage separate inventory, 4) there are no additional ‘middleman’ fees incurred by our stakeholders, 5) results in a better guest experience as the guest has a direct relationship with the lodging property, 6) even if a property does not have an on-line booking engine, they can still participate and be listed, 7) includes Facebook and mobile integration for DMO’s, 8) drives high quality leads directly to our lodging partners helping to increase and realize more bookings for our stakeholders from VisitEstesPark.com, and 9) is cost effective. Website Change from EstesParkCVB.com to VisitEstesPark.com The website URL was changed from EstesParkCVB.com to VisitEstesPark.com to align with website name used on our advertising and marketing, and also as a call to action to inspire consumers to ‘visit Estes Park’. Launching a new domain is challenge even for the most established online brands. When an organization changes its name and appearance, consumers must go through a process of recognizing the new name and Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 12 navigating to the new domain. This challenge is compounded with the technical process of reintroducing the new domain name and URLs to the search engines. In an effort to protect the old domain’s stream of traffic, 274 page redirects were installed on the new site. The pages were mapped and matched up to maintain a consistent user experience. Meta data was installed on the site in accordance with SEO best practices to insure accurate page indexing. Also, Webmaster Tools for Google and Bing were installed and monitored. Any reported server errors were quickly corrected. All of these activities helped to insure a successful site launch and allowed VisitEstesPark.com to promptly out rank EstesParkCVB.com. Destination Travel Network Partnership The new VisitEstesPark.com website also allows increased and enhanced advertising opportunities for stakeholders to showcase their business. The addition of page sponsorships, banner ads, text links, listings with additional features, and mobile advertising, all give Visit Estes Park stakeholders better opportunities for brand awareness and visitor conversion on the site. These dynamic new options are being offered, created, managed, and serviced by Destination Travel Network (DTN), a division of simpleview. DTN works alongside Visit Estes Park to provide exceptional service for stakeholders throughout the process of electing, implementing, and analyzing their online advertising programs, including creative services (custom ad design), and custom analytics reports so that stakeholders can garner the most accurate and complete picture of the benefits of advertising on VisitEstesPark.com. These value-added benefits provide an elevated and enhanced experience for stakeholders, so that they can better and more effectively understand the return on their marketing investments with Visit Estes Park. Partnering with DTN also gives stakeholders additional flexibility with customized programs and billing options, and allows Visit Estes Park staff to spend time and attention on cultivating relationships with stakeholders, as well as strategic stakeholder communication planning. Website Performance In the 14 weeks since launch (June 6, 2013 through September 5, 2013) – VisitEstesPark.com has experienced a growth in traffic volume and significant improvement in user engagement, as reflected in Google Analytics reporting. Since launch, VisitEstesPark.com has been visited by 276,755 people, i.e., 21,859 more people have visited the site as compared to the same time frame in 2012. The new design features an SEO-friendly navigation structure that improves the user experience. Not only are more people visiting the site, they are also more engaged with the site’s content. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 13 Improvements to site engagement include: · 8% increase in pageviews – More individual pages overall are being viewed · 5% increase in pages per visit – Visitors are viewing more pages during their visit · 76% increase in duration – Visitors are on the site over 2 minutes longer · 14% increase in new visitors – More first time visitors to the site · 23% improvement in bounce rate – More visitors are viewing two or more pages · 1121 average per day lodging BookDirect click-throughs to lodging website/booking engine Mobile and Tablet traffic to m.VisitEstesPark.com has also increased in the 14 weeks since launch. A user experience optimized for mobile devices has improved the bounce rate by 18%. This means more people are staying engaged with the optimized version of the site. Other improvements to mobile analytics include: · 8% increase in visits – More people visiting 2 or more pages of the mobile site · 23% increase in pageviews – More individual pages overall are being viewed · 14% increase in pages per visit – Each visitor to the mobile site views more pages during his or her visit · 87% increase in duration – Visitors are on the site over 2 minutes longer than when viewing the main site on a mobile device. Launched New CRM System Visit Estes Park implemented Simpleview CRM (Customer Relationship Management) System, which is integrated with the new website. The CRM is a single, integrated web-based system that replaced our old legacy databases and accompanying technologies. A massive data conversion effort, years of data collected from old legacy databases was analyzed, cleansed, tested, and successfully converted to Simpleview CRM. Transforming our business, significant process improvements are realized in Stakeholder Partnerships, Public Relations, and Group Sales & Services. The Simpleview CRM, created specifically for destination marketing organizations, allows Visit Estes Park to centralize data and as a result, work more cohesively across all spectrums of the DMO. Stakeholder Relations & Communications The Simpleview CRM includes a specific section for stakeholder use, called the extranet. The extranet allows stakeholders to log in to a password protected area to view their account and contact information; edit and update listings, photos, specials, social media channels; view analytics information about website listings; respond to media requests or group lead information; submit communication (emails) to Visit Estes Park staff members; read Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 14 informative bulletins posted by Visit Estes Park; submit data such as occupancy information to Visit Estes Park; and more. In short, stakeholders are able to have one place accessible though the VisitEstesPark.com website, where stakeholders can see both the opportunities and the results of their partnership with Visit Estes Park. In addition, the Simpleview CRM has allowed stakeholder relations and communications to be more effectively integrated across Visit Estes Park’s operations. Because all stakeholder information is now housed in one system, including account information, contacts, website listings, communication logs, lead responses, etc., documenting business changes, listing updates, site visits, and more is a now a streamlined and efficient process. The Simpleview CRM also allows all staff members to effectively review other facets of stakeholder engagement, including responsiveness to group leads, participation in media groups, and more. The Simpleview CRM provides consistent opportunities to enhance the partnerships between Visit Estes Park and our stakeholders. By housing DMO data in one area, and being able to analyze and review that data through customized reporting, Visit Estes Park is able to get a better ‘big picture’ idea of how stakeholders engage with and benefit from the DMO. Public Relations The CRM system allows for easier and more in-depth tracking of media relations. This includes tracking of media hits, press visits and press relationship management. Articles can be entered into the CRM and tagged to stakeholder accounts. Similarly, when media representatives visit Estes Park we are able to compile the experiences they had in the CRM and link those experiences to the associated stakeholder account. All of these entries, articles, and visits are also linked to the journalist and publication accounts so that we can easily track how productive a particular visit, journalist, or publication has been for Estes Park’s media exposure. Communications are also tracked in the CRM, making it easy to report on and keep up with media connections and relationships. Stakeholder benefits, such as media tour participation and/or article mentions, are also tracked in the CRM and will be displayed in the extranet, so both the stakeholder and Visit Estes Park can see, at a glance, the impact of our media efforts. By having a single system whereby we track communications with media and with stakeholders, the Visit Estes Park team is able to keep up to date on connections and communications made with each stakeholder. This vastly improves the efficiency of our stakeholder relations and enables us to be more informed on how each relationship is developing. Group Sales & Services Features now available within the Visit Estes Park CRM have greatly improved reporting for the group sales business. Several reports, including leads sent to stakeholders and leads pending, Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 15 are now available in real-time in the CRM. This allows Visit Estes Park to more effectively monitor lead status information for each individual stakeholder. The communications feature makes it possible to track when the lead was sent, which stakeholder received the lead, and continue to communicate with those stakeholders as additional requests are made by the group guest. This tracking through the CRM communication feature creates a clearer picture of the steps taken by Visit Estes Park to assist the stakeholder in booking the group. This enhanced level of communication also extends to the extranet, in which stakeholders are now able to track their leads from Visit Estes Park. By responding to leads via the Visit Estes Park extranet, a stakeholder provides information to the Visit Estes Park Group Sales and Services Manager which can then be used to better assist the guest. The collaboration between Visit Estes Park and the business stakeholder increases the potential for group business conversion. In addition, response data entered by stakeholders builds a more accurate record for each lead and allows Visit Estes Park to supply stakeholders with more definitive results. Allowing increased opportunities for Visit Estes Park and our stakeholders’ group sales managers to share information, and housing this information in one place, results in a better picture of how Visit Estes Park provides value to our stakeholders. It also gives Visit Estes Park a more realistic picture of how our group market business is being captured, leading to more effective and efficient destination-wide group sales and services efforts. Advertising In 2013, Visit Estes Park changed advertising creative and media planning partners. For 2 ½ years, Visit Estes Park worked with advertising agency Hill Aevium, located in Edwards, Colorado. Hill Aevium was instrumental taking our marketing and advertising to the next level. With our brand strategy assessment, promise, and blueprint phases completed in 2012, Visit Estes Park decided to solicit information and proposals from some of the best agencies in Colorado, including Hill Aevium, to bring our newly defined brand platform to life. We also wanted a fresh perspective on media planning and buying. An RFP (Request for Proposal) process began with assembling a stakeholder advertising agency selection committee to guide Visit Estes Park throughout the process. The team outlined our needs for new advertising creative, brand alignment, and media placements. In addition, the team identified qualified advertising agencies, studied each proposal, interviewed final candidates, and chose advertising partner. Through this process, the team unanimously chose Backbone Media, located in Carbondale, Colorado to manage our media planning and buying. We also chose Cultivator Advertising & Design, located in Denver, Colorado, to develop and produce new advertising creative. Backbone and Cultivator submitted a joint proposal and working with both firms has proven to be very effective and efficient. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 16 Specializing in mountain lifestyle brands, Backbone blends trend analysis, and research to maximize our advertising investments. Backbone, working daily with Visit Estes Park, executes our media plan, reviews new opportunities, brainstorms ideas, and negotiates advertising contracts. Working with Backbone Media, we have modified our media strategy to place more emphasis on digital advertising. After reviewing several campaign concepts, Visit Estes Park chose Cultivator’s Where Wild Meets Life creative platform. The ‘Where Wild Meets Life’ theme line, developed by MMGY Global as part of the Brand Blue Print brand strategy phase, was the first choice of the Visit Estes Park Brand Team. Wildlife was defined as one of the most unique and distinctive experiences of the Estes Park brand. The Where Wild Meets Life campaign introduces the Estes Park Welcoming Committee, a crew of Estes Park’s most hospitable residents, our wildlife spokes animals, who offer tips on how to make the most of your Estes Park vacation. This campaign plays up the breadth of our year-round activities, while creating a fun, authentic, emotional connection with our guests. Advertising Campaign Objectives · Build awareness for Estes Park as the ideal Rocky Mountain destination · Encourage overnight stays in Estes Park · Establish an emotional connection with guests · Drive awareness, attendance and lodging surrounding key events · Position Estes Park as a unique getaway · Convey diversity of outdoor adventure · Increase perception of Estes Park as a year-round destination Advertising Strategy · Raise awareness, increase competitive share of voice and build relevancy · Maintain national and regional media mix · Right message and the right time – creative should match the media environment · Highly targeted advertising placements, optimizing for reach and frequency · Reach new customers by advertising in new places (target location based on regional target audience analysis) · High-impact creative sizes (full pages, dynamic digital) Media Objectives · Speak to the appropriate target audience based on overall marketing goals and budget Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 17 · Target the leisure market, including families, empty-nesters and adventurists · Identify best media placements and executions for communicating Estes Park messaging to the target audience · Develop thorough media plan that delivers best mix of reach and frequency · Optimize media plan towards advertising objectives Media Tactics · Take a data-driven approach · Be very targeted · Feature beautiful and inspiring, full-page print ads in relevant books and digital sites · Target people who have shown interest in Estes Park · Ensure media is working at the most relevant times · Migrate dollars to more online to improve efficiency, tracking, and precise targeting · Put learning plan in place for continued optimization and improvement · Test digital with findings from pixel placement, along with view-through and click- through conversion reporting – continually optimize · Drive traffic to the new website · Be thoughtful in creative direction and use the appropriate call-to-action in each and every application to drive results · Continue to test back-of-book placements Creative Assets Visit Estes Park continues to expand our collection of creative assets for use in paid, earned, and owned media. In 2013 we have done this with assistance from our creative agency, Cultivator, to develop a series of ‘hero’ shots created by Allen Kennedy for use in the new Where Wild Meets Life campaign. To expand the photo library for use in the Visitor Guide, as well as online, we have planned a photo shoot at local stakeholder establishments. We are currently developing legal paperwork that would allow us to work with local photographers and stakeholder to utilize their assets for Estes Park marketing purposes. Public Relations Thus far, 2013 has been a very productive year in earning publicity and media interest for the Estes Park destinations and our stakeholders, surpassing our 2012 YTD performance exponentially. We continue to work with Turner Public Relations, with offices in Denver and New York, to expand our media relationships, increase awareness of Estes Park, and garner attention from the media. The media landscape continues to shift as the need for new and interesting content grows, print mediums struggle to redefine themselves and writers are Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 18 increasingly independent. Estes Park has developed successful strategies to continue expanding our relevance to writers and editors as these changes are taking place, resulting in a steady growth in consumer reach. With limited funding, relative to our competition, Visit Estes Park depends heavily on earned media, or press exposure, to supplement our national, regional and local advertising campaign. For this reason it is imperative that we continue to garner national and regional attention to increase awareness of the Estes Park destination brand, as well as to stay top of mind in the local and statewide markets. As of this writing, we have reached almost 225 Million people (up 156% over2012) through our media outreach with articles running in a variety of mediums from local to international, newsprint to digital. Press coverage is often measured by ad equivalency, the price we would pay for advertising of the same size in each publication. Occasionally, businesses will put a multiplier on that value to represent the added value of the information coming from the publication, rather than through a paid ad, however Visit Estes Park does not use multipliers. In the first 7 months of 2013 our ad equivalency (AE) is at $4.6M (a 347% increase over 2012), essentially increasing our overall brand exposure by that amount of advertising. Notable Stories Include: · “Welcome to the Hotel Paranormal” in USA Today, result of a 2012 media visit 15M viewers; $141K AE; 4 pick-up articles · “9 hotels that Have Starred in Movies” on CNN.com - 16.5M viewers; $1.6M AE; 20 pick-up stories · “World’s Most Famous & Infamous Hotel Rooms” on MSN.com - 58.7M viewers; $543K AE · “Wiking, YogAqua, Inn-to-Inn Hiking and 5 More Ways to Get in Shape” on ABCNews.com - 11.4M viewers; $105K AE; JustLuxe.com - 1.97M viewers; $18K AE; & HuffingtonPost.com - 9.1M viewers; $491K AE. All results from the New York desk- side tour in January 2013 · “Best National Parks for Families” in Family Circle - 4.1M readers; $38K AE · “Celebrate National Get Outdoors Day in Estes Park” on Examiner.com, a result of a 2012 media visit - 8M viewers; $80K AE · “Family Weekend Getaway in RMNP” on Fodors.com - 405K viewers; $4K AE · “Girlfriend Getaway to Estes Park” photo gallery on Examiner.com, a result of a 2012 media visit - 8M viewers; $16K AE · “The 50 Best New honeymoon Spots for 2013!” on TheKnot.com - 1.98M viewers; $18K AE · “Rooftop Rodeo in Estes Park” on Examiner.com - 8M viewers; $16K AE Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 19 Travel Writer FAM (Familiarization Tour) Program Highlights · Did a desk-side FAM trip to New York in January to meet with prominent outdoors, athletic, family and travel writers and editors. · Hosted a group FAM in February focused on winter and spring activities in Estes Park · Hosting a group FAM in September in conjunction with Fort Collins CVB and Grand County Tourism/Grand Lake · YTD have hosted 12 domestic and 8 international FAM tours and media visits – another 4 are in the planning stages. · Arranging for a regional desk-side FAM tour in Denver in the fall. Social Media Social Media includes multiple digital channels where individuals interact in a virtual, but social way. These channels also provide opportunities for brand and organizations, such as Visit Estes Park, to directly interact with guests and potential guests. These conversations can take place in real time and offer the opportunity for consumers to become brand advocates by sharing their positive experiences with their friends and family. Visit Estes Park works to leverage these conversations to provide information, encourage engagement/sharing, answer questions and tell the Estes Park story to tens of thousands of ‘followers’ and, in turn, their friends and followers as well. Growing the reach of the Visit Estes Park messaging and enhancing the guest experience through the online conversations. The past twelve months have brought a strategy of alignment to the various media channels owned by Visit Estes Park. We have been working to align our owned media, including digital and social, with our paid advertising and earned public relations. In July this effort gained new ground with the hiring of Kellen Schaffer as the new Digital Communications Manager to oversee the website, social channels, e-newsletter program and blog content. This additional bandwidth was utilized immediately with the ongoing Getaway Giveaway campaign being conducted through Facebook with the goal of increasing awareness of Estes Park as a mountain getaway by giving away seven getaway packages, each centered on a prominent Estes Park event or season. Social media will continue to be an integral part of telling the Estes Park story to our key target markets, moving consumers down the customer funnel to the purchase point and staying top-of-mind for past guests, converting them to returning guests. Notable Key Indicators: Visit Estes Park has achieved considerable growth in social media followers so far in 2013, expanding our reach and increasing the opportunities for direct messaging, influence and referrals through follower interaction. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 20 · Facebook: Grew by 46.9% in n umber of ‘Likes’ (followers) from 28,739 followers to 42,223 (13,484 new followers), making us the number two destination marketing organization in Colorado in number of followers, lead only by Denver. · Twitter: Offering an opportunity to share real-time information, news and tidbits, Twitter has been a growing channel for direct communication to our followers. The use of hash tags (#EstesElkWatch) and the inclusion of other prominent handles (such as @Colorado) allows topic-based conversations and indirect exposure to our messaging. Tracking of keyword mentions (such as “Estes Park” or “Rocky Mountains”) also gives us a chance to engage guests in conversation, make recommendations and dispel misinformation. Our following grew by 37.8% in number of followers, from 1740 to 2397 (657 new followers) so far in 2013. · YouTube: Have had 58.8% (3,026 vies) growth in video views since the end of 2012 (3,026 views) · Pinterest: A virtual bulletin board for sharing images and linking to additional information, Pinterest allows branded messaging to potentially drive traffic to our website and blog. We have achieved an 87.1% growth in number of pin-board followers (507 new followers). · Google+: Used mainly as a tool to enhance our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by helping us rank better organically through keyword-related content, Google+ hasn’t been a focus of growth in 2013. We still have managed to acquire 51 new followers, a 47.2% growth. · Flickr: Flickr has phased out stat reporting at the account level. We will no longer be able to track photo views without adding the views each month for all 200+ photos. We will continue to engage this audience, but given the move of the public to Instagram, that has become a more prominent focus for sharing new content. · Instagram: The fastest-growing social media channel in 2013, Instagram has given Visit Estes Park the opportunity to engage a new, younger audience through photo sharing and interaction with those posting photos taken in and around Estes Park. The Visit Estes Park following has grown by 162 followers, or 117%. · Getaway Giveaway Campaign – A social media driven promotional campaign focused on building awareness of Estes Park events and interaction with social media channels. Totals of campaign so far (after 3 giveaways): Over, 2,810 people have entered the contest with a reach of 443,552 people who have been exposed to the Estes Park Brand and event weekend experience message. Email Marketing Much like social media and web-based platforms, email marketing continues to be an important opportunity to communicate with past and potential guests about the Estes Park Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 21 brand, telling a compelling story of the destination. Thanks to investments in new services and updated design, our periodic e-newsletters are transitioning to regular, targeted emails with engaging, relevant content that is dynamic and interactive – driving visitation to our blog and our website. By utilizing the new CRM, Visit Estes Park will be able to improve tracking and to segment e-newsletter audiences to deliver more specific, interest-driven content. Our visitor e-Newsletter Gained a total of 6,154 subscribers; 23.5% increase so far in 2013; Up 20% over 2012 YTD. Moving to a new design and the website interface with Distribion software in August (from Mailchimp to Distribion), allows integration with the new CRM and a branded template that will mimic the look and feel of the new website. Destination Brand Strategy We continued to implement DMAI endorsed Destination BrandScience community-wide brand strategy program. The focus of the program in 2013 was the community rollout (phase 4 of 4) and brand strategy implementation in creative messaging. Note this community rollout phase, unlike the first three phases of Brand Strategy, is an ongoing process and will continue throughout 2013 and into 2014 and beyond, in order to continue to ensure community engagement, engage new and seasonal staff, the resident participation, and more. · Continued phase 4, Delivering the Estes Park Brand Promise, through interactive sessions with Duane Knapp and Visit Estes Park stakeholders, Estes Park key community influencers, Rocky Mountain National Park staff, Association for Responsible Development, Citizens Information Academy, and others. Garnered participation from nearly 100 community members over 4 sessions. · Revised the Estes Park Brand Promise Guide, the takeaway piece to be used during Delivering the Estes Park Brand Promise sessions, to better reflect a key promise concept, “Everyone’s A Guest,” and to better reflect creative look and feel of new brand blueprint. Upon request, provided this guide outline to local business owners for use in staff trainings, handbooks, etc. · Continued community engagement reach through conducting general Brand Strategy sessions to review brand strategy research, promise concepts, Estes Park Brand Promise, and more. Groups included the Estes Park Medical Center leadership team, Rocky Mountain National Park staff, Visit Estes Park consultants/contributors, Leading Edge class (as partnership of Larimer County Small Business Development Center), Association for Responsible Development, Larimer County city managers/town administrators, Estes Valley Library, and more. · Conducted extensive brand strategy information session with new Visit Estes Park creative and media agencies, Cultivator and Backbone Media. Created brand Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 22 characteristics to further inspire creative direction for new advertising campaign, Where Wild Meets Life. · Visit Estes Park was honored to be selected as case study in Global Destination BrandScience book, by Duane Knapp, published November 2012 · Visit Estes Park President & CEO, Peggy Campbell, was honored to be a panel of brand strategy experts at the DMAI convention in Orlando Stakeholder Partnerships · Focused on open communications and advocacy by continuing successful programs and launching new stakeholder communication channels. · Completed first Stakeholder Survey in January 2013; developed in depth questionnaire for Visit Estes Park stakeholder base to gain feedback, thoughts and perceptions about Visit Estes Park’s operations, relevance, performance, Board initiatives, etc. Processed and analyzed responses for use in development of stakeholder communication strategy. · Continued organizing and hosting Association Forum, a quarterly gathering of local associations, tourism professionals, and other community leaders. Kept engagement high from all main associations, including EALA, EPWA, EVPC, ARD, the Restaurant Group, Economic Development Task Force, Estes Park Non Profit Resource Center, and more. · Continued hosting public monthly Visit Estes Park Orientations, where stakeholders learn about Visit Estes Park goals, strategies, tactics, budget, operations, etc. and can experience open Q&A time with Visit Estes Park staff. · Annual Visit Estes Park Stakeholder Meeting held on May 2 at Aspen Lodge. Key industry partners were keynote speakers from Cultivator, Backbone, and Colorado Tourism Office. Attended by over 100 industry partners. · Added a bi-monthly email to inform stakeholders of the media exposure that Estes Park receives: The Estes Park Media Report. This new email report outlines earned (not paid) media in print, digital and broadcast media and includes both organic media hits and those initiated by our PR team through pitches, press releases, fam tours and media relations. · Visit Estes Park’s, Stakeholder Relations Manager, Kirby Nelson continues to sit on the Estes Valley Partners for Commerce Board of Directors, representing Visit Estes Park as a key supporter for local business community · Visit Estes is an active member in the Estes Area Lodging Association, Estes Valley Partners for Commerce, and the Estes Valley Economic Development Task Force Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 23 · Visit Estes Park President & CEO Peggy Campbell, along with Visit Estes Park Board Member Jon Nicholas, is a member of the Estes Valley Economic Development Task Force, the ad-hoc Economic Development Advisory Committee, and the Economic Development Corp. In July 2013, the Board of Directors agreed to invest in Economic Development in the amount of $10k in 2013, and $20k in 2014. Collateral Development Estes Park Official Visitor Guide Visit Estes Park directed content development and photo selection to ensure quality and brand alignment; advertising sales, ad proofing, and collections for the 2013 Estes Park Official Visitor Guide, which was ready for distribution on-time and as planned Christmas week 2012. Advertising income totaled $160,255.00 and expenses (including mailing, fulfillment, printing, and production) totaled $158,301, resulting in a $1,954 profit. In addition, mail distribution of the 2013 edition of the Visitor Guide is tracking is exceeding that of 2012 by about 9 percent. As we analyzed our advertising market costs and eliminated spending in publications that were not yielding expected results, it became clear that through the advertising initiative, ancillary savings would be realized during the production and distribution of the 2014 Official Visitor Guide, produced in 2013. Savings associated with the traditional sales collateral piece are being passed on to advertisers through lowered advertising rates. Using the team of Moore+Beckman, new creative and editorial is being developed in 2013 for the 2014 Official Visitor Guide. Design elements from the successful Where Wild Meets Life advertising campaign are being incorporated into the publication that is on track for distribution by December 12, 2013. Visitor Center Material For their work with guests stopping at the information desk in the Town of Estes Park’s Visitor Center, Ambassadors and Visitor Center staff rely on an annual multi-page ‘Lodging Grid’ publication that details the features of 141 lodging properties, bed and breakfasts and campgrounds. The grid-format guide is created by Visit Estes Park. Cost to print the brochure is borne by The Town of Estes Park. Continued publishing Estes Park Happenings, a weekly publication designed to enhance the guest experience. Happenings, a one page publication, highlights Estes Park’s events and entertainment for that specific timeframe, a very popular piece, which is consistently picked up and published by the two local newspapers and shared on social media. The piece is emailed to all stakeholders and is used by our local businesses, Visitor Center, and residents. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 24 Inspiration Brochure The task of attracting the last-minute decision-maker to choose Estes Park for their Colorado mountain vacation has been assigned to an 8” x 9” brochure. That individual chooses to visit Colorado, but hasn’t determined exactly where they’ll go. Reaching that individual has been an advertising program goal for several years, but to refresh the program, the brochure used has been newly designed to align with brand strategy and reflects the message delivered by Visit Estes Park’s advertising and social media programs. The distribution of 100,000 copies of the brochure is similar to that of prior years: top strategic points along Interstate 25 between Cheyenne and Trinidad, I-80 east to Burlington and I-76 east to Julesburg. Regional & National Advocacy and Professional Development Financially support and actively engage in leading industry associations and organizations. · Three staff members attended the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) Conference, breakout sessions, and seminars in Orlando, Florida · President & CEO chosen to participate on a brand strategy expert panel to discuss case studies from three destinations at the DMAI conference in Orlando, attracting over 200 audience members. · Visit Estes Park earns DMAI DMO accreditation, only the third DMO in Colorado to achieve this honor · Tourism Industry Association of Colorado (TIAC) – Kirby Nelson and Visit Estes Park Board members attended the annual legislative reception in Denver · The Assembly – Year Round Mountain Tourism Symposium, sponsored by DestiMetrics, LLC, President & CEO Peggy Campbell chosen to participate in panel to discuss summer tourism. Over 300 audience members. · PMP – Systematic Development of Informed Consent training – a three day class attended by President & CEO, Peggy Campbell, at the invitation of the Town of Estes Park Town Administrator · Participated in community key initiatives including Economic Development Task Force, Town of Estes Park Master Planning, MPEC Center analysis, Performing Arts Center, Creative Arts District, America in Bloom, Visitor Center Parking Garage Structure, Community Wellness Center, others · Board of Directors invited Colorado legislators Kevin Lundberg and Perry Buck to a meeting to discuss issues concerning tourism in Estes Park · Colorado Association of Destination Marketing Organizations (CADMO) · Visit Denver, the Convention & Visitors Bureau Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 25 2013 YTD Key Performance Indicators Visit Estes Park tracks several key indicators to measure the results of our efforts and make the necessary adjustments. As of this writing, below are YTD key performance indicators: · Website visits totaled 824,023 by the end of July an increase of 6.74% · e-Newsletter subscriber growth through July was 6,154, an increase of 19.66% · Facebook Followers growth through July was 13,494, a decrease of 45.55%. A high growth rate in 2012 was an anomaly, and due to Visit Estes Park’s acquisition of a rogue Facebook site which accounted for about 18,000 new followers in one day. · Visitor Guides mailed to households through July were 80,557, a decrease of 11.78%, the second year the printed guide was not requested as often as in the past. · Visitor Guide digital page views through July were 279,060, a 9.57% decrease when compared to the same time period in 2012. · PR value: Significant media hits contributed to a large increase in media value and impressions for 2013, including Examiner.com (8M impressions & $80K), Huffington Post (9M, $491K), MSN.com (59M, $543K), Family Circle (4M, $38K), The Knot (131.5K, $300K), among others. Total publicity value through July reached 4,612,447, a 344.55% increase. · Media impressions: In tandem with the increase in publicity value is media impressions which through July totaled 224,974,311, a 121.28% increase over 2012. · Qualified group leads were 194, an 8% decrease from the level seen through August 2012. · Group business: room nights booked through August showed a 1.98% decrease. 2014 Operations Plan The Estes Park Local Marketing District continues to be organized by Intergovernmental Agreements (IGA’s) between the LMD and the Town of Estes Park and Larimer County. In addition, the previously discussed IGA between the Local Marketing District and Larimer County for the PILT payment will continue in 2014. The primary funding source for the district continues to be the 2% lodging tax which is collected by district lodging properties from their guests for stays of fewer than 30 days. This tax is remitted to the Colorado Department of Revenue on a quarterly basis and then distributed to the Estes Park LMD. LMD 2% lodging tax collections were $1,250,623 in 2010, $1,343,774 in 2011, and $1,513,414 in 2012. Estimates for 2013 are too early to accurately forecast as only Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 26 payments through July have been received. Third quarter lodging tax, which represents our high summer season, will be received from the State on or around November 15, 2013, at which time 2013 revenue forecasts and 2014 projections will be more reliable. Revenue is also received as a result of offering advertising to our stakeholders to promote their business through Visit Estes Park. Continuing to work with independent financial auditors and the Town of Estes Park to ensure a smooth process and a successful audit will again be important in 2014. Visit Estes Park’s audit is integral to the Town of Estes Park’s CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report). Visit Estes Park will focus more on working with the State of Colorado Department of Revenue in pursuing the collection of outstanding lodging taxes. Visit Estes Park will also place additional energy on both in Town vacation rentals and ‘County’ vacation rentals (those rental properties located outside of Estes Park Town limits, but inside the County / Local Marketing District). Visit Estes Park and the Town of Estes Park are currently is discussions to potentially partner on this effort. Staff will continue to work closely with Visitor Services and Events, both of which are funded and managed by the Town of Estes Park, and are a part of the Town’s Community Services Division. 2014 Marketing Plan The 2014-2015 Marketing Plan will include details on planned tactics for 2014 and beyond. But highlights will include new social media programs, local campaign support, promotional campaigns to drive new guest traffic, Rocky Mountain National Park centennial promotion, and a series of seminars for business stakeholders to help them not only capitalize on our marketing efforts, but refine their own as well. In addition, we will continue to leverage the new creative campaign, first introduced in summer 2013, that positions Estes Park as a welcoming, friendly destination that serves as the ideal basecamp for a variety of rocky mountain adventures. The campaign will evolve to include other seasonal stories and additional ways to experience Estes Park, targeting outdoor adventurists, couples, empty nesters, families, and the meetings and weddings markets. For 2013 and beyond, Visit Estes Park has formed a best-of-breed team of marketing experts to extend our internal resources in the areas of Advertising and Marketing, Public Relations and Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 27 Media Strategy and Buying. Cultivator Advertising and Design, Backbone Media, and Turner PR, have come together to create an extended marketing team to support Visit Estes Park’s ongoing efforts. Advertising Advertising Objectives Secure our summer business: We will continue to provide core focus on sustaining our summer season tourism business through a collection of proven marketing tactics that not only drive awareness and consideration for visits to Estes Park, but also encourage both new and seasoned travelers to make Estes Park their destination of choice for next season’s travels. In addition, we want to reinforce trip duration by helping guests understand the full scope of activities and amenities that Estes Park offers. Generate awareness for diversity of activities: While visits to RMNP continue to lead the charge of destination activities, we want to build greater awareness for the diversity of activities that lead to extended stays and ever-greater memory making for our guests. Grow our year-round base: While we appreciate the importance of our summer base business, we also realize the opportunity we have to grow our shoulder-seasons and winter business with more regional drive-market guests. This largely untapped market has the single biggest opportunity for year-over-year growth, not only with our lodging base, but with stakeholders across the spectrum of guest services. Advertising Strategy Be a bigger brand: Our competitive set includes an ever-expanding set of world-class mountain destinations that have the potential to erode our core base. With the evolution of our advertising campaign, we have taken a look-of-the-leader attitude in our communications, with larger format ad units, and a campaign platform that creates a more unique position that we can own. Inspire our loyalists: Our “tribe” includes not only those guests who consider Estes Park their regular destination, but also our local workforce and even residents that have the opportunity to live the brand in the community and deliver on our promise to the guest. We need to assure that everyone that already knows and loves Estes Park has the information on our brand character so they are empowered to present the brand to our guests in their own, unique way. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 28 Extend our seasons: To many, the “off” season is really the “on” season, when the character of the village takes on a decidedly more relaxed attitude, trail traffic diminishes to a whisper and the mountains unveil an entirely new style of breathtaking beauty. While the activities may shift, the variety and diversity of adventure does not. And, with our generally gentle climate, guests can experience everything from golf and fly fishing to snowshoeing and Nordic skiing, all within a short excursion from the ultimate Colorado basecamp. Media Objectives Objectives for 2014 remain consistent with those of 2013. We want to increase overnight visitation and awareness for Estes Park as the ideal Rocky Mountain destination and position ourselves as a unique getaway. We would like people to be inspired by Estes Park and spend more time here so we will encourage overnight stays. Establishing an emotional connection guests, we will be clear about all that Estes Park has to offer, growing the perception of Estes Park as a year-round destination with great diversity in outdoor adventure. We strive to retain loyal customers and attract newcomers, ultimately increasing intentional visitation and its economic benefits to the community. Estes Park’s visitors range from families to empty-nesters to adventurists – our media will speak to the appropriate target audience, always taking into consideration overall marketing goals and budget. Backbone will identify the best media placements and executions for communicating the Estes Park message to the target audience, working hard to deliver the best mix of reach and frequency. The 2014 plan will be built with consideration of learnings from 2013 about engagement and conversion. While Backbone strongly supports a data-driven approach, they also understand the importance of the human element in the media planning process. Alignment with Visit Estes Park and their stakeholders' goals, thoughts and objectives is paramount to the success of this campaign. Media Strategy As discussed, in 2013, Visit Estes Park selected Backbone Media to manage our media planning and buying, along with Cultivator to develop and produce new advertising creative. The agencies collectively brought a fresh perspective on media to Visit Estes Park. They built a solid media platform for the brand and destination alike, and will build on that foundation and continue the momentum into and throughout 2014. Specializing in destination and mountain lifestyle brands, Backbone works hard to maximize our advertising investment. They collaborate with us regularly to execute our media plan, review and present new opportunities, brainstorm ideas and negotiate advertising contracts. They successfully implemented Cultivator’s Where Wild Meets Life creative platform across all Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 29 mediums. The campaign plays up the breadth of our year-round activities, while engaging with our guests in a fun, authentic way. Through the implementation of a progressive and forward-thinking strategy, 2014 advertising strategy will continue to raise awareness, increase competitive share of voice and build relevancy resulting in greater overnight visitation. Backbone will develop our media plan to maintain a healthy mix of national and regional advertising. They will create a well-balanced, integrated mix comprised of print, digital, radio and social media. Delivering the best mix of reach and frequency, they will speak to both existing and new guests. The message will be scaled to effectively engage our target markets in an authentic and credible way. Our media will reach consumers at all stages of the funnel – from awareness to consideration to conversion. Media Tactics The 2014 plan will bring a shift from 2013 and previous media plans, placing even greater emphasis on digital advertising. Not only does this enable our messaging to be highly targeted and tailored to the relevant audience(s) to deliver the right message at the right time; it also improves efficiency and tracking ability. We’ll continue to feature beautiful and inspiring creative in select books that speak to adventurists and focus on outdoor, active lifestyles. We will increase our spend in newspaper and radio to effectively reach select regions (Front range and surrounding areas, as well as Texas and any other key markets that drive traffic), and we may even introduce out-of-home advertising to the 2014 plan with placements at DIA. All placements will focus on high-impact creative sizes, including full pages in print and dynamic ad units in digital. Backbone will ensure our media is working at the most relevant times, and that the creative matches the media environment across all platforms. We will engage existing customers and focus on the lowest-hanging fruit (for example, those who have already shown interest in Estes Park and people who live in Colorado or neighboring states) to capitalize on opportunity for conversion. The call-to-action will primarily be Visit Estes Park’s new website, which launched in June 2013 providing easier navigation and a more full-service experience for all users. A learning plan will be implemented for continued optimization and continual improvement toward campaign objectives. Visit Estes Park Media Spend: 2010 A diverse media mix has proven to be the most effective at reaching specified target markets. Looking year over year, there's a clear shift in the allocation of media dollars across mediums. depend on digital and mobile platforms for researching and making travel decisions, and we're seeing greater conversion on those platforms every day. That said, we placed greater emphasis on digital advert opportunity to glean insight about the best who visit Estes Park. audience, we are able to continually optimize ad units and placements to work toward our media objectives. invested in publications that reach adventures and outdoo large-format ads to feature our new inspiring creative. We reduced our spend in traditional broadcast, putting most of the focus on radio event marketing and removing television altogether since it's expensive and pro this, we are able to maintain a solid mix of national and regional advertising to reach our audiences, while delivering the right message at the right time. 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Media Spend: 2010- A diverse media mix has proven to be the most effective at reaching specified target markets. Looking year over year, there's a clear shift in the allocation of media dollars across mediums. The trend in destination market depend on digital and mobile platforms for researching and making travel decisions, and we're seeing greater conversion on those platforms every day. That said, we placed greater emphasis on digital advertising, allowing for a more efficient and effective media buy. Digital provides the opportunity to glean insight about the best who visit Estes Park. audience, we are able to continually optimize ad units and placements to work toward our media objectives. We determined some necessary adjustments on the print side of things, and invested in publications that reach adventures and outdoo format ads to feature our new inspiring creative. We reduced our spend in traditional broadcast, putting most of the focus on radio event marketing and removing television altogether since it's expensive and pro this, we are able to maintain a solid mix of national and regional advertising to reach our audiences, while delivering the right message at the right time. 2010 2014 Operating Plan -2014 A diverse media mix has proven to be the most effective at reaching specified target markets. Looking year over year, there's a clear shift in the allocation of media dollars across The trend in destination market depend on digital and mobile platforms for researching and making travel decisions, and we're seeing greater conversion on those platforms every day. That said, we placed greater emphasis ising, allowing for a more efficient and effective media buy. Digital provides the opportunity to glean insight about the best Not only does digital give us the ability to be highly tar audience, we are able to continually optimize ad units and placements to work toward our We determined some necessary adjustments on the print side of things, and invested in publications that reach adventures and outdoo format ads to feature our new inspiring creative. We reduced our spend in traditional broadcast, putting most of the focus on radio event marketing and removing television altogether since it's expensive and pro this, we are able to maintain a solid mix of national and regional advertising to reach our audiences, while delivering the right message at the right time. 2011 A diverse media mix has proven to be the most effective at reaching specified target markets. Looking year over year, there's a clear shift in the allocation of media dollars across The trend in destination marketing has shifted to digital as more and more people depend on digital and mobile platforms for researching and making travel decisions, and we're seeing greater conversion on those platforms every day. That said, we placed greater emphasis ising, allowing for a more efficient and effective media buy. Digital provides the opportunity to glean insight about the best-performing feeder markets and the type of people Not only does digital give us the ability to be highly tar audience, we are able to continually optimize ad units and placements to work toward our We determined some necessary adjustments on the print side of things, and invested in publications that reach adventures and outdoo format ads to feature our new inspiring creative. We reduced our spend in traditional broadcast, putting most of the focus on radio event marketing and removing television altogether since it's expensive and provides no guarantee that we will reach our target. this, we are able to maintain a solid mix of national and regional advertising to reach our audiences, while delivering the right message at the right time. 2012 A diverse media mix has proven to be the most effective at reaching specified target markets. Looking year over year, there's a clear shift in the allocation of media dollars across ing has shifted to digital as more and more people depend on digital and mobile platforms for researching and making travel decisions, and we're seeing greater conversion on those platforms every day. That said, we placed greater emphasis ising, allowing for a more efficient and effective media buy. Digital provides the performing feeder markets and the type of people Not only does digital give us the ability to be highly tar audience, we are able to continually optimize ad units and placements to work toward our We determined some necessary adjustments on the print side of things, and invested in publications that reach adventures and outdoo format ads to feature our new inspiring creative. We reduced our spend in traditional broadcast, putting most of the focus on radio event marketing and removing television vides no guarantee that we will reach our target. this, we are able to maintain a solid mix of national and regional advertising to reach our audiences, while delivering the right message at the right time. 2013 A diverse media mix has proven to be the most effective at reaching specified target markets. Looking year over year, there's a clear shift in the allocation of media dollars across ing has shifted to digital as more and more people depend on digital and mobile platforms for researching and making travel decisions, and we're seeing greater conversion on those platforms every day. That said, we placed greater emphasis ising, allowing for a more efficient and effective media buy. Digital provides the performing feeder markets and the type of people Not only does digital give us the ability to be highly tar audience, we are able to continually optimize ad units and placements to work toward our We determined some necessary adjustments on the print side of things, and invested in publications that reach adventures and outdoor enthusiasts. Insertions will feature format ads to feature our new inspiring creative. We reduced our spend in traditional broadcast, putting most of the focus on radio event marketing and removing television vides no guarantee that we will reach our target. this, we are able to maintain a solid mix of national and regional advertising to reach our audiences, while delivering the right message at the right time. 2014 A diverse media mix has proven to be the most effective at reaching specified target markets. Looking year over year, there's a clear shift in the allocation of media dollars across ing has shifted to digital as more and more people depend on digital and mobile platforms for researching and making travel decisions, and we're seeing greater conversion on those platforms every day. That said, we placed greater emphasis ising, allowing for a more efficient and effective media buy. Digital provides the performing feeder markets and the type of people Not only does digital give us the ability to be highly targeted against our audience, we are able to continually optimize ad units and placements to work toward our We determined some necessary adjustments on the print side of things, and r enthusiasts. Insertions will feature format ads to feature our new inspiring creative. We reduced our spend in traditional broadcast, putting most of the focus on radio event marketing and removing television vides no guarantee that we will reach our target. this, we are able to maintain a solid mix of national and regional advertising to reach our 2014 Page A diverse media mix has proven to be the most effective at reaching specified target markets. Looking year over year, there's a clear shift in the allocation of media dollars across ing has shifted to digital as more and more people depend on digital and mobile platforms for researching and making travel decisions, and we're seeing greater conversion on those platforms every day. That said, we placed greater emphasis ising, allowing for a more efficient and effective media buy. Digital provides the performing feeder markets and the type of people geted against our audience, we are able to continually optimize ad units and placements to work toward our We determined some necessary adjustments on the print side of things, and r enthusiasts. Insertions will feature format ads to feature our new inspiring creative. We reduced our spend in traditional broadcast, putting most of the focus on radio event marketing and removing television vides no guarantee that we will reach our target. In all of this, we are able to maintain a solid mix of national and regional advertising to reach our Magazine Newspaper/OOH Radio/TV Online/PPC/SEO Page 30 A diverse media mix has proven to be the most effective at reaching specified target markets. ing has shifted to digital as more and more people depend on digital and mobile platforms for researching and making travel decisions, and we're seeing greater conversion on those platforms every day. That said, we placed greater emphasis ising, allowing for a more efficient and effective media buy. Digital provides the performing feeder markets and the type of people geted against our audience, we are able to continually optimize ad units and placements to work toward our We determined some necessary adjustments on the print side of things, and r enthusiasts. Insertions will feature format ads to feature our new inspiring creative. We reduced our spend in traditional In all of Newspaper/OOH Online/PPC/SEO Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 31 Public Relations We will continue to integrate public relations (earned media) strategies and tactics with those of paid and owned media. Public relations efforts in the coming year will have an increased emphasis on reaching the national audience, targeting national media with pitches geared at both increasing awareness and positioning Estes Park as the ideal mountain base camp for families, active couples and empty nesters. This will be done by highlighting the outdoor adventures and experiences unique to Estes Park. Through Stakeholder communications - utilizing educational sessions, the new extranet and CRM functionality, and traditional means - the PR team will increase the collaboration with stakeholders on developing media-friendly packages, specials and stories. Destination Brand Strategy In 2014, Visit Estes Park will fully roll out the destination brand strategy project to the community, heading full force into the fourth and final phase, called Brand Culturalization, or ’Delivering the Estes Park Brand Promise’. This rollout will include community-wide interactive sessions detailing the work of the project and focusing specially on the promise concept, “Everyone’s A Guest.” These sessions will target not only business owners and managers, but also front line workers, seasonal employees, international employee and residents. In addition, Visit Estes Park will develop an Estes Park Destination Brand Guide which will be made available to the entire community. The Estes Park Destination Brand Guide will outline the Estes Park brand promise, its importance to the community, Estes Park logo use, and long-term strategy and sustainability. VisitEstesPark.com Website Visit Estes Park will continue to evaluate and enhance the VisitEstesPark.com website and mobile site, developing strategic and thoughtfully -planned enhancements within the main website and customer relation management module. This will be an ongoing and fluid process built from internal review, emerging consumer trends, best practices, analytic reporting and feedback. Social Media Visit Estes Park recognizes the importance of using social media to cultivate advocates who share their Estes Park experiences before, during and after their stay. Coupled with the knowledge of evidence showing that consumers planning a vacation view recommendations from friends and family over any other source, proves social media is a powerful tourism tool. During the 2014 year, Visit Estes Park will continue to expand Visit Estes Park’s social media reach by increasing key social media key indicators including number of followers, reach Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 32 and engagement. We will accomplish this by developing strategic content which is tailored and targeted for awareness of Estes Park as a destination, keeping Estes Park top-of-mind, and also promoting news and events with the goal of converting fans into consumers. We will be focused on improving both internally-generated and fan generated video content on Instagram, Vine and YouTube to meet the consumer trend of increased video consumption. With the update to the Visit Estes Park Blog, now living within the new website, we will continue to increase the number of site visits and develop the blog to become a well-used and established source of current information. Social media will continue to be an integral part of telling the Estes Park story to our key target markets, moving consumers down the customer funnel to the purchase point and staying top-of-mind for past guests, and converting them to repeat guests Email Marketing Develop a consistent and brand-motivated e-mail newsletter through our new and enhanced system, Distribion, highlighting events and news in Estes Park. E-mail newsletters will focus on driving traffic to the VisitEstesPark.com website and encouraging overnight stays by increasing conversions to the lodging section of the website. Monitoring and evaluating performance of content, layout and open rates while adjusting as necessary to receive maximum views and interactions within the email message. By utilizing the new CRM, Visit Estes Park will be able to improve tracking and segment e-newsletter audiences to deliver more specific, interest-driven content. In addition, we will encourage new signup for e-newsletter service by directing prospects to the website sign-up widget and strategic placement of widget on the website Collateral Development Providing visitor materials that reflect the Estes Park brand will continue to be of significant importance in 2014. Working in collaboration with the Estes Park Visitor Center, collateral to be distributed will include newly designed maps and an updated edition of a lodging grid. The Visitor Center will continue serving as one of the primary distribution points for the Official Estes Park Visitor Guide. Design elements and contents for the 2015 Visitor Guide will be reviewed during the first quarter of 2014. Visit Estes Park’s 2013 Annual Report is scheduled for distribution in March/April 2014. Stakeholder Relations & Communications In 2013, the need for and power of collaboration and partnership between Visit Estes Park and Visit Estes Park stakeholders became more evident than ever before. It is clear that Visit Estes Park’s relationships with local business owners and constituents are an integral cornerstone to the success of the destination. Visit Estes Park’s goal is to continue to build strong and Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 33 productive stakeholder partnerships that help to enhance the destination experience and growth. Stakeholder Relations & Communications will continue to focus on community outreach to solicit ongoing feedback and to inform stakeholders and industry partners about the role of Visit Estes Park as the marketing expert in the Estes Park community, as well as the DMO’s mission, vision, marketing strategies, accomplishments, and marketing/educational opportunities available through the DMO. The Stakeholder Relations & Communications role is essential to creating a community-wide effort to improve and elevate Estes Park’s tourism industry, and the Estes Park Destination Brand. While all staff roles are involved with stakeholder communication, the Stakeholder Relations & Communications role must focus on Visit Estes Park and tourism advocacy within the Estes Park business community and beyond. Objectives include: · Enhance communication structure between Visit Estes Park and stakeholders, beyond traditional methods and utilizing new DMO tools, including the CRM and stakeholder extranet · Create marketing educational program for Visit Estes Park stakeholders. Potential topics include social media, Google Analytics, marketing coop advertising, and Delivering the Estes Park Promise. Engage Visit Estes Park partners such as Cultivator, Backbone, simpleview, and Turner PR · Encourage stakeholder feedback and engagement with Visit Estes Park objectives. Provide on-going recommendations for stakeholders to partner with the DMO · Maintain strong and effective community partnerships with tourism and business associations. · Provide exceptional customer service to stakeholders. The following Stakeholder Relations & Communications objectives entail three main areas: Stakeholder Partnerships, Destination Brand Strategy, and CRM Enhancements. All three areas are tightly knit and together, provide a great opportunity for Visit Estes Park to augment its role in the Estes Park community. Stakeholder Partnerships A significant focus of 2014 will be the launch of marketing educational sessions for Visit Estes Park business stakeholders. As marketing experts, Visit Estes Park is in a unique position to develop and lead these sessions. These seminars will be designed to help businesses capitalize on Visit Estes Park marketing efforts, and enhance and improve their own marketing efforts. Sessions will include topics such as social media, delivering the Estes Park Promise, coop advertising, and how to read and interpret website analytics reports. The Stakeholder Relations Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 34 & Communications Manager will involve other Visit Estes Park staff and partners in preparing these sessions. Visit Estes Park will also continue to assume the role of destination partner with the Town of Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park tourism and business associations, and other community groups. By continuing to lead the Association Forum, and working closely with the lodging association and other business associations, Visit Estes Park will look to increase the level of cooperation and collaboration for a destination-wide approach to driving travel and tourism in Estes Park. Destination Brand Strategy In 2014, Visit Estes Park will fully roll out the destination brand strategy project to the community, heading full force into the fourth phase and final phase, called Brand Culturalization, or ’Delivering the Estes Park Brand Promise’. This rollout will include community-wide interactive sessions detailing the work of the project and focusing specially on the promise concept, “Everyone’s A Guest.” These sessions will target not only business owners and managers, but also front line workers, seasonal employees, international employee and residents. In addition, Visit Estes Park will develop an Estes Park Destination Brand Guide which will be made available to the entire community. The Estes Park Destination Brand Guide will outline the Estes Park brand promise, its importance to the community, Estes Park logo use, and long strategy and sustainability. CRM Enhancements An excellent resource for Visit Estes Park is the newly established (in 2013) customer relationship management system, or CRM. The CRM has allowed Visit Estes Park, for the first time ever, to consolidate all operations of the DMO into one productive database. The Visit Estes Park CRM has allowed the DMO to already work more effectively, and the full utilization of this system will be pursued in 2014. Stakeholder Relations & Communications will also work with stakeholders to encourage and sustain the use of the extranet. This forum allows stakeholders to view the benefits of their partnership and engagement with the DMO, while also allowing the DMO to expand their reach to the stakeholder base. Group Sales & Services In the last two years, group sales and services has operated as an inside sales operation and an extension of stakeholder sales teams. The goal is to increase room nights booked by providing exceptional customer service, quickly qualifying leads, sharing leads and information with stakeholders, and following through with both stakeholders and guests. Primary sources of leads include Estes Park Visitor Center (phone and walk-ins), Visit Estes Park website, bridal Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 35 publications, and trade show attendance. In 2013, Visit Estes Park had a booth at three Bridal Festival trade shows in Loveland to increase brand awareness and acquire weddings market leads. Tradeshows in 2014 will be evaluated as more information becomes available. Year to date, the group market mix is 45% for weddings; 36% for reunions, and 19% for meetings. Booked groups through August showed a 2% increase. Qualified leads are down -8% from this time last year, and room nights booked are down -1.98%. Fewer guests have called in for group assistance, and The Knot leads were down by 62%. In August 2013, Visit Estes Park began meeting individually with group stakeholders to obtain feedback regarding group business in order to plan for 2014 and beyond. Information gathered from stakeholders will play an important part in Key Performance Indicators Tracking and reporting will continue to monitor the return on investment for each initiative allowing adjustments where necessary. Additional activities will be monitored particularly as it relates to social media and website. Visit Estes Park - 2014 Operating Plan Page 36 Estes Park Local Marketing District 2014 Budget - Annual Operating Plan Actual 2012 Budget 2013 Projected 2013 Budget 2014 Revenues Visitor Guide $168,715 $128,400 $128,400 $130,000 2% Tax* $1,513,414 $1,513,414 $1,373,414 $1,414,616 Stakeholder Services $202,125 $170,000 $170,000 $170,000 Town of Estes Park Marketing Investment $85,000 $0 $0 $0 Larimer County PILT $9,524 $9,500 Other $4,248 $0 $1,867 Investment $60 $0 $60 $60 Total Revenues $1,973,562 $1,811,814 $1,683,265 $1,724,176 Expenses Personnel Services $506,084 $519,176 $517,676 $546,880 $506,084 $519,176 $517,676 $546,880 Marketing & Operations $1,408,476 $1,585,824 $1,469,982 $1,236,073 Total Current Expenses $1,914,560 $2,105,000 $1,987,658 $1,782,953 Total Expenses $1,914,560 $2,105,000 $1,989,158 $1,782,953 Excess (deficiency) of revenues over expenditures $59,002 ($293,186) ($305,893) ($58,777) Other financing sources (transfers in) $0 $0 $0 $0 OTHER financing uses (transfers out) $0 $0 $0 $0 Increase (decrease) in fund balance $59,002 ($293,186) ($305,893) ($58,777) Beginning Fund balance $986,534 $850,444 $1,045,536 $658,777 Ending Fund balance $1,045,536 $557,258 $739,643 $600,000 RESTRICTIONS TABOR Reserve: 3% of expenditures $57,437 $63,150 $59,675 $53,489 *2014 budgeted tax receipts are 3% higher than the projected 2013 tax receipts. This budget was prepared in early September 2013 specifically for the 2014 Operating Plan which is due to the Town of Estes Park and Larimer County by September 30, 2013. This budget was approved by the LMD Board on September 17, 2013. However, in light of the catastrophic flood in Estes Park that began on September 11, 2013, and the subsequent closures of US Hwy 34, US Hwy 36 and CO Rt 7, the final Estes Park Local Marketing District 2014 budget will change, perhaps significantly. Light & Power DepartmentMemo To: Honorable Mayor Pinkham Board of Trustees Town Administrator Lancaster From: Reuben Bergsten, Utilities Director Joe Lockhart, Light & Power Superintendent Date: October 22, 2013 RE: Tree Trimming Contract for 2014-2018 Objective: To enter into annual contracts (using the Town’s standard service contract), up to five years, with an experienced contractor for trimming and/or removal of trees and foliage from high-voltage power lines. Trimming would be prioritized by areas that we have the most trouble calls and/or outages. Present Situation: The current contract with Wright Tree Service expires at the end of 2013. Proposal: Light & Power has asked for up to five years (2014 through and including 2018), with each additional year being contingent upon performance of the previous year’s contract obligations and allocation of annual budget funds. Our RFP specified utilization of two crews: one 2-man year-round crew and an additional 2-man summer crew from May through September. Quotes were received from three vendors as follows: 1. Asplundh Tree Expert Co. 2014: $252,904 2015: $259,209 2016: $265,694 2017: $272,372 2018: $279,174 Total: $1,329,353 for 5 years Page Two of Three 2. Adam’s Tree Service 2014: $270,940 2015: $273,649 2016: $276,386 2017: $279,150 2018: $281,941 Total: $1,382,066 for 5 years. 3. Wright Tree Service 2014: $362,750 2015: $369,989 2016: $378,066 2017: $387,591 2018: $397,421 Total: $1,895,817 for 5 years. The low bid was received from Asplundh Tree Expert Company and approval of such bid would be acceptable; however, we have had the opportunity during this flood event to work directly with Adam’s Tree Service for the past four weeks. Adam’s work performance and cooperation has been very high quality and consistently reliable. Our current contractor, Wright Tree Service, has not been available since the flood. Adam’s Tree Service is a local contractor. We would prefer to award the tree trimming contract to Adam’s Tree Service. Advantages: • The Light & Power Department increases its reliability of service and decreases outages and fire danger by tree trimming around overhead high-voltage power lines on a regular basis. • Adam’s Tree Service is a local contractor. Disadvantages: The Adam’s Tree Service bid is 4% higher than the lowest bid over the five-year period. Action Recommended: Town Board approval of the contract award is required to allow work to begin on January 1, 2014. Budget: Account Number: 502-6301-540.25-32 Account Name: Light & Power Distribution/Overhead Maintenance/Tree Trimming Page Three of Three Level of Public Interest Safety and reliability of service has always been of high interest of the public. Sample Motion: I move for the approval/denial of the award of the 2014 – 2018 Tree Trimming Contract to Adam’s Tree Service for a five-year term with each of the last four years being contingent upon work performance of contract obligations of the previous year and budget appropriations. PUBLIC WORKS Memo To: Honorable Mayor Pinkham Board of Trustees Town Administrator Lancaster From: Scott Zurn, PE, Public Works Director Date: October 22, 2013 RE: Engineering Contract for Elm Road Environmental Improvement/Mitigation Master Plan Objective: To obtain authorization to enter into an agreement for design services of the Elm Road Environmental Improvements Master Plan and Landfill Leachate Mitigations. Present Situation: The Town has determined there are minor leachate releases from the Elm Road landfill that has reached the surface below the landfill and is draining into a minor drainage way. The State of Colorado Department of Public Health Department is aware of the situation and has directed the Town to mitigate the releases. The Town issued an RFP for design services to master plan a solution in conformance with the requirements of the State of Colorado and several Federal requirements such as the Clean Water Act. The Town did not receive any responses to this solicitation. Subsequently, Town staff entered into a negotiation with Stewart Environmental Consultants. Stewart Environmental is familiar with this landfill and has done some consulting on this landfill in the past. Staff has reached an agreement on scope and fee regarding this master plan and mitigation and therefore is bringing forward a recommendation to move forward in compliance with the State’s directive. Staff has negotiated a fee of $134,685 dollars for the master plan and lab work. Proposal: Staff recommends the negotiated fee is appropriate for the proposed scope of services and Stewart Environmental Consultants, LLC is qualified to accomplish the needs outlined in the RFP. Staff therefore recommends the Town enter into a contract with Stewart Environmental Consultants, LLC for $134,685.00, with an additional contingency of 10% for the execution of these services. Staff therefore recommends a total budget for these services not to exceed $148,154.00. Advantages: Creation of the master plan design provides a solution to the leachate issue in compliance with the State Department of Health and Environments directive to correct the situation. This master plan design will be reviewed and approved by the State and this final document will direct actual phased improvements in future years. These corrective measures will position the Town to be in conformance with multiple State and Federal environmental regulations. Disadvantages: Disadvantages include costs to the Town for mitigating this situation; however this is a directive from the State Department of Health and Environment to comply with public health regulations. Action Recommended: Staff recommends the Town Board approve the contract with Stewart Environmental Consultants, LLC for $134,685. Staff also recommends approval of establishing a contingency of 10% in addition to the contract amount for a total budget of $148,154. Budget: Town of Estes Park = $148,154 Level of Public Interest This project has a high level of interest in the community. The project has a very high need and is recognized at both the State and Federal levels as a high priority. The local community is very concerned. Sample Motion: I move for approval/denial of establishing a design budget of $148,154. In addition, I move for approval/denial of entering into an agreement with Stewart Environmental Consultants, LLC for the negotiated services and fee of $134,685. Consultant Contract 1 of 8 Town of Estes Park Public Works Department AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES THIS AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into this 22nd day of October, 2013, by and between the Town of Estes Park, County of Larimer, State of Colorado (the “Town”) and Stewart Environmental Consultants, LLC an independent contractor (“Consultant”). WHEREAS, the Town requires professional engineering services related to the; Elm Road Environmental Improvements Master Plan Proposal – Landfill Leachate Mitigation; and WHEREAS, Consultant has held itself out to the Town as having the requisite expertise and experience to perform the required engineering services; NOW, THEREFORE, for the consideration hereinafter set forth, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows: I. SCOPE OF SERVICES A. Consultant shall furnish all labor and materials required for the complete and prompt execution and performance of its duties, obligations, and responsibilities (the “Work”) which are described or reasonably implied in the Consultant’s proposal dated August 22, 2013, which is provided as Exhibit A (and the original PW “Request for Proposal, dated May 31st, 2013”), both attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference. B. No material change to the Scope of Services, including any additional compensation, shall be effective or paid unless authorized by written amendment executed by the Town. If Consultant proceeds without such written authorization, then Consultant shall be deemed to have waived any claim for additional compensation, including a claim based on the theory of unjust enrichment, quantum merit or implied contract. Except as expressly provided herein, no agent, employee, or representative of the Town is authorized to modify any term of this Agreement, either directly or implied by a course of action. II. REPORTS, DATA, AND WORK PRODUCT A. The Town shall provide Consultant with reports and such other data as may be available to the Town and reasonably required by Consultant to perform the Scope of Services. All documents provided by the Town to Consultant shall be returned to the Town. Consultant is authorized by the Town to retain copies of such data and materials at Consultant's expense. B. Other than sharing information with designated third parties as previously directed by the Town, no project information shall be disclosed by Consultant to third parties without prior written consent of the Town or pursuant to a lawful court order directing such disclosure. Consultant Contract 2 of 8 C. The Town acknowledges that the documents created by Consultant for the Project, including but not limited to drawings, designs, specifications, reports, and incidental work or materials (the “Work Product”), are instruments of professional service. Nevertheless, copies of the Work Product shall be provided to the Town and other contractors and subcontractors shall be authorized to use and reproduce applicable portions of the Work Product that are appropriate to use in the execution of their work related to the Project. The Work Product shall become the property of the Town upon completion of the Work. Consultant, however, shall retain its rights in its standard drawing details, designs, specifications, databases, computer software and any other proprietary property and all rights to any intellectual property developed, utilized, or modified in the performance of the Work. D. Consultant shall provide to the Town electronic versions of the Work Product in the format directed by the Town’s RFP. III. COMPENSATION AND FINAL SETTLEMENT A. In consideration for the completion of the Work by Consultant, the Town shall pay Consultant an amount equal to the firm-fixed price extended in Exhibit A, which is One Hundred Thirty Four Thousand, Six Hundred Eighty Five and 60/100 Dollars ($134,685.60). The amount specified herein shall include the fees and expenses anticipated to be incurred by Consultant in performing all services hereunder, as described in Exhibit A. The amount specified herein shall exclude the fees and expenses anticipated to be incurred by others in performing the work described in Exhibit A, as well as the Schedule of Activities in Section 1.5 of the RFP. B. If, on the basis of the Town’s observation of the Work and the Town's review of the final invoice and accompanying documentation as required by this Agreement, the Town is satisfied that the Work has been completed and Consultant’s other obligations under this Agreement have been fulfilled, the Town will, within forty-five (45) days after receipt of the final invoice pay the amount due. Otherwise, the Town will return the invoice to Consultant, indicating in writing the reasons for refusing to schedule final settlement, in which case Consultant shall make the necessary corrections and resubmit the invoice. IV. COMMENCEMENT AND COMPLETION OF WORK Within seven days of receipt of a Notice to Proceed, Consultant shall commence work as set forth in the Scope of Services or that portion of such work as is specified in said Notice. Except as may be changed in writing by the Town, the Scope of Services shall be complete and Consultant shall furnish the Town the specified deliverables as provided in Exhibit A. V. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY A. Consultant hereby warrants that it is qualified to perform the Work, holds all professional licenses required by law to perform the Work, and has all requisite corporate authority to enter into this Agreement. B. The Work shall be performed by Consultant in accordance with generally accepted professional practices and the level of competency presently maintained by other practicing professional firms performing the same or similar type of work in the Denver metro area. The Work shall be done in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations. Consultant Contract 3 of 8 C. Consultant shall be responsible for the professional quality, technical accuracy, timely completion, and the coordination of all designs, drawings, specifications, reports, and other services furnished by Consultant under this Agreement. Consultant shall, without additional compensation, correct or resolve any errors or deficiencies in its designs, drawings, specifications, reports, and other services, which fall below the standard of professional practice, and reimburse the Town for construction costs caused by errors and omissions which fall below the standard of professional practice. D. Approval by the Town of drawings, designs, specifications, reports, and incidental work or materials furnished hereunder shall not in any way relieve Consultant of responsibility for technical adequacy of the work. Neither the Town's review, approval, or acceptance of, nor payment for, any of the Work shall be construed to operate as a waiver of any rights under this Agreement or of any cause of action arising out of the performance of this Agreement. E. Consultant hereby agrees that Consultant, including but not limited to, any employee, principal, shareholder, or affiliate of Consultant shall not have a financial relationship with or an ownership interest in any person and/or entity which entity and/or person shall be the recipient of any contract or work for the project designed by Consultant pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Consultant understands and agrees that the purpose of this provision is to prevent any information created as a result of Consultant’s services herein being used by any person and/or entity in the preparation of any bid or performance of any work for the project. Consultant also understands and agrees that part of the services to be provided pursuant to the terms of this Agreement are construction management services which require independent judgment of Consultant in the representation of the Town with regard to construction of the project. Consultant understands and agrees that the Town is relying upon the independent judgment of Consultant with regard to the services provided herein. F. Because the Town has hired Consultant for its professional expertise, Consultant agrees not to employ subcontractors to perform more than twenty percent (20 %) of the work required under the Scope of Services. Upon execution of this Agreement, Consultant shall furnish to the Town a list of proposed subcontractors, and Consultant shall not employ a subcontractor to whose employment the Town reasonably objects. All contracts between Consultant and subcontractors shall conform to this Agreement including, but not limited to, Section XI, L. VI. INSURANCE A. Consultant agrees to procure and maintain, at its own cost, a policy or policies of insurance sufficient to insure against all liability, claims, demands, and other obligations assumed by Consultant pursuant to this Agreement. Such insurance shall be in addition to any other insurance requirements imposed by law. B. Consultant shall procure and maintain, and shall cause any subcontractor of Consultant to procure and maintain, the minimum insurance coverages listed below. Such coverages shall be procured and maintained with forms and insurers acceptable to the Town. In the case of any claims-made policy, the necessary retroactive dates and extended reporting periods shall be procured to maintain such continuous coverage. 1. Worker's compensation insurance to cover obligations imposed by applicable law for any employee engaged in the performance of work under this Consultant Contract 4 of 8 Agreement, and Employer's Liability insurance with minimum limits of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) each accident, five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) disease – policy limit, and five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) disease – each employee. Evidence of qualified self-insured status may be substituted for the worker's compensation requirements of this paragraph. 2. Commercial general liability insurance with minimum combined single limits of one million dollars ($1,000,000) each occurrence and two million dollars ($2,000,000) general aggregate. The policy shall be applicable to all premises and operations. The policy shall include coverage for bodily injury, broad form property damage (including completed operations), personal injury (including coverage for contractual and employee acts), blanket contractual, independent contractors, products, and completed operations. The policy shall contain a severability of interest provision, and shall be endorsed to include the Town and the Town's officers, and employees as additionally insured. No additional insured endorsement shall contain any exclusion for bodily injury or property damage arising from completed operations. 3. Professional liability insurance with minimum limits of one million dollars ($1,000,000) each claim and one million dollars ($1,000,000) general aggregate. C. Any insurance carried by the Town, its officers, its employees, shall be excess and not contributory insurance to that provided by Consultant. Consultant shall be solely responsible for any deductible losses under any policy. D. Consultant shall provide to the Town a certificate of insurance, completed by Consultant's insurance agent, as evidence that policies providing the required coverages, conditions, and minimum limits are in full force and effect. The certificate shall identify this Agreement and shall provide that the coverages afforded under the policies shall not be cancelled, terminated, or materially changed until at least thirty (30) days prior written notice has been given to the Town. The Town reserves the right to request and receive a certified copy of any policy and any endorsement thereto. E. Failure on the part of Consultant to procure or maintain the insurance required herein shall constitute a material breach of this Agreement upon which the Town may immediately terminate this Agreement, or at its discretion, the Town may procure or renew any such policy or any extended reporting period thereto and may pay any and all premiums in connection therewith, and all monies so paid by the Town shall be repaid by Consultant to the Town upon demand, or the Town may offset the cost of the premiums against any monies due to Consultant from the Town. VII. INDEMNIFICATION Consultant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Town and its officers, insurers, volunteers, representatives, agents, employees and assigns from and against all claims, liability, damages, losses, expenses and demands, including attorney's fees, on account of injury, loss, or damage, including, without limitation, claims arising from bodily injury, personal injury, sickness, disease, death, property loss or damage, which arise out of the negligent act, omission, error, professional error, mistake, negligence, or other negligent fault of Consultant, any subcontractor of Consultant, or any officer, employee, representative, or agent of Consultant or of any subcontractor of Consultant, or which arise out of any workmen's compensation claim of any employee of Consultant or of any employee of any subcontractor of Consultant. In any and all Consultant Contract 5 of 8 claims against Town or any of its officers, insurers, volunteers, representatives, agents, employees or assigns, by any employee of Consultant, any subcontractor of Consultant, anyone directly or indirectly employed by any of them or anyone for whose act any of them may be liable, the indemnification obligation under this Section VII shall not be limited in any way by any limitation on the amount or type of damages, compensation or benefits payable by or for Consultant or any subcontractor under worker’s compensation actions, disability benefit acts or other employee benefit acts. In the event it becomes necessary for the Town to bring any action to enforce any provision of this Agreement or to recover any damages the Town may incur as a result of the breach of this Agreement, including, but not limited to, defective work, and the Town prevails in such litigation, Consultant shall pay the Town its reasonable attorneys’ fees as determined by the court. VIII. TERMINATION This Agreement shall terminate at such time as the Work is completed and the requirements of this Agreement are satisfied, or upon the Town's providing Consultant with seven (7) days advance written notice, whichever occurs first. If the Agreement is terminated by the Town's issuance of written notice of intent to terminate, the Town shall pay Consultant the reasonable value of all work previously authorized and completed prior to the date of termination. If, however, Consultant has substantially or materially breached this Agreement, the Town shall have any remedy or right of set-off available at law and equity. If the Agreement is terminated for any reason other than cause prior to completion of the Work, any use of documents by the Town thereafter shall be at the Town's sole risk, unless otherwise consented to by Consultant. Nothing herein shall constitute a multiple fiscal year obligation pursuant to Colorado Constitution, Article X, Section 20. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Town’s obligations under this Agreement are subject to annual appropriation by the Town Board of the Town. Any failure of the Town Board annually to appropriate adequate monies to finance the Town’s obligations under this Agreement shall terminate this Agreement at such time as such then-existing appropriations are to be depleted. Notice shall be given promptly to Consultant of any failure to appropriate such adequate monies. IX. CONFLICT OF INTEREST The Consultant shall disclose any personal or private interest related to property or business within the Town. Upon disclosure of any such interest, the Town shall determine if the interest constitutes a conflict of interest, including Section V-E. If the Town determines that a conflict of interest exists, the Town may treat such conflict of interest as a default and terminate this Agreement. X. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR Consultant is an independent contractor. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, all personnel assigned by Consultant to perform work under the terms of this Agreement shall be, and remain at all times, employees or agents of Consultant for all purposes. Consultant shall make no representation that it is a Town employee for any purposes. XI. MISCELLANEOUS Consultant Contract 6 of 8 A. Governing Law and Venue. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Colorado, and any legal action concerning the provisions hereof shall be brought in Larimer County, Colorado. B. No Waiver. Delays in enforcement or the waiver of any one or more defaults or breaches of this Agreement by the Town shall not constitute a waiver of any of the other terms or obligation of this Agreement. C. Integration. This Agreement and any attached exhibits constitute the entire Agreement between Consultant and the Town, superseding all prior oral or written communications. D. Third Parties. There are no intended third-party beneficiaries to this Agreement. E. Notice. Any notice under this Agreement shall be in writing, and shall be deemed sufficient when directly presented or sent pre-paid, first class United States Mail, addressed as follows: The Town: Town of Estes Park, Public Works Department Scott Zurn, P.E., Director of Public Works PO Box 1200 Estes Park, CO 80517 Ph. 970-577-3582 Consultant: Stewart Environmental Consultants, LLC David R. Stewart, PhD, PE 3801 Automationway, Suite 200 Fort Collins, CO 80525 Ph. 970-226-5500 F. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unlawful or unenforceable for any reason, the remaining provisions hereof shall remain in full force and effect. G. Modification. This Agreement may only be modified upon written agreement of the parties. H. Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights or obligations of the parties hereto, shall be assigned by either party without the written consent of the other. I. Governmental Immunity. The Town, its officers, and its employees, are relying on, and do not waive or intend to waive by any provision of this Agreement, the monetary limitations (presently one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) per person and six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) per occurrence) or any other rights, immunities, and protections provided by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, C.R.S. § 24-10-101, et seq., as amended, or otherwise available to the Town and its officers or employees. J. Rights and Remedies. The rights and remedies of the Town under this Agreement are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law. The expiration of this Agreement shall in no way limit the Town's legal or equitable remedies, or the period in which such remedies may be asserted, for work negligently or defectively performed. Consultant Contract 7 of 8 K. Binding Effect. The Town and Consultant each bind itself, its successors and assigns to the other party to this Agreement with respect to all rights and obligations under this Agreement. Neither the Town nor Consultant shall assign or transfer its interest in this Agreement without the written consent of the other. L. Work By Illegal Aliens Prohibited. a. Consultant hereby certifies that, as of the date of this Agreement, it does not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien and that Consultant has participated or attempted to participate in the basic pilot employment verification program as defined in C.R.S. § 8-17.5-101(1) (“Program”) in order to verify that it does not employ illegal aliens. b. Consultant shall not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien to perform works under this Agreement or enter into a contract with a subcontractor that fails to certify to Consultant that the subcontractor shall not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien to perform work under this Agreement. c. Consultant hereby certifies that it has verified or attempted to verify through participation in the Program that Consultant does not employ any illegal aliens and, if Consultant is not accepted into the Program prior to entering into this Agreement, that Consultant shall apply to participate in the Program every three (3) months until Consultant is accepted or this Agreement has been completed, whichever is earlier. d. Consultant is prohibited from using Program procedures to undertake pre- employment screening of job applicants while this Agreement is being performed. e. If Consultant obtains actual knowledge that a subcontractor performing work under this Agreement knowingly employs or contracts with an illegal alien, Consultant shall be required to: (i) notify the subcontractor and District within three (3) days that Consultant has actual knowledge that the subcontractor is employing or contracting with an illegal alien; and (ii) terminate the subcontract with the subcontractor if within three (3) days of receiving the notice required pursuant to this subparagraph the subcontractor does not stop employing or contracting with the illegal alien; except that Consultant shall not terminate the contract with the subcontractor if during such three (3) days the subcontractor provides information to establish that the subcontractor has not knowingly employed or contracted with an illegal alien. f. Consultant shall comply with any reasonable request by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (“Department”) made in the course of an investigation that the Department is undertaking pursuant to the authority established in C.R.S. Article 17.5. g. If Consultant violates this paragraph, District may terminate this Agreement for breach of contract. If this Agreement is so terminated, Consultant shall be liable for actual and consequential damages to the District. Consultant Contract 8 of 8 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the date first set forth above. OWNER: CONSULTANT: TOWN OF ESTES PARK, COLORADO _____________________________ By: ______________________________ By: __________________________ Mayor Title: Principal Address: _____________________ _____________________________ ATTEST: ATTEST: By: ______________________________ By: __________________________ Town Clerk (SEAL) (SEAL) Other Partners: _________________________________ _____________________________ PUBLIC WORKS Report To: Honorable Mayor Pinkham Board of Trustees Town Administrator Lancaster From: Scott Zurn, PE, Public Works Director Date: October 22, 2013 RE: Multi-Purpose Event Center & Stall Barn Construction Update Objective: To update the Town Board and public on the progress of the MPEC and Stall Barn project at the Stanley Fairgrounds. Present Situation: The following items are ongoing for the Stall Barn. Perimeter metal siding is complete, as are the roof panels. Exterior door frames and exterior stone work has begun. Interior painting of interior structural members will begin any time. MPEC structural steel framing is about 50% complete and the underground exterior civil site work has begun. A topping out celebration of the MPEC will be coming soon! The project is under negotiation for a revised schedule. In addition, the project is still estimated to be within budget if highways are open as projected by the State. Budget: Community Reinvestment Fund $5,682,050 Level of Public Interest This is a project that has a very high level of interest. Page 1 To: Honorable Mayor Pinkham Board of Trustees Town Administrator Lancaster From: Kate Rusch, Public Information Officer Date: October 17, 2013 RE: Public Information Office Quarterly Report Public Information Officer Responsibilities Manage public outreach and information across departments Receive and respond to public input and inquiries Serve as spokesperson and liaison to the news media Assist in facilitating internal communications Serve as webmaster for www.estes.org Lead the web and public information (newsletter) teams Serve as command staff during emergencies Supervise the Administration Department’s Executive Assistant Flood Response and Recovery Partner communications and support Joint information center operations Community meetings News releases and updates Social media, website, information line, postings Media interviews and management (estimated 250 contacts since September 12) Rumor mitigation Public Information and Involvement Planning National park closure due to government shutdown Administration and public information policies Multi-purpose event center and stall barn construction Visitor Center parking structure design Bear Education Task Force facilitation Budget Administration Memo Page 2 Town Newsletter Due to the flood and the dynamics of the projects to be covered in the newsletter, production of the fall Bugle was stopped. The December issue will focus on the budget. Social Media The Town began actively using social media August 13, 2013. Public feedback has been positive, particularly during emergency response to the flooding. Social media allowed instant communications with the media and general public when other means failed during the flood. Constant Contact is the email distribution and management program to which the public can subscribe to receive news releases from the Public Information Office. To maximize reach, other distribution lists have been used to distribute flood information, including those of the Senior Center and Museum. Channel 8/13/13 9/11/13 10/10/13 Facebook 1,412 likes 1,500 likes 8,808 likes Twitter 170 followers 224 followers 2,009 followers Constant Contact subscriber list 424 contacts 436 contacts 1,254 contacts Website Overall visitation for www.estes.org o Third quarter 2013 (attachment 1): The website received 132,289 visits during the third quarter by 85,702 unique visitors. This is a 72% increase in visitation over the second quarter. Overall visitation for recorded and live-streamed meetings via www.estes.org/videos o Third quarter 2013 (attachment 2): Together, the pages for recorded and live- streamed meetings received 7,532 visits by 4,165 unique visitors. This is a 1,856% increase in visitation over the second quarter. o On September 13, the day of the first community flood meeting, there were 623 online viewers. By the September 15 meeting, there were nearly 1,300 online viewers. Total Visits 132,289 % of Total: 100.00% (132,289) Visits Unique Visitors 85,702 % of Total: 100.00% (85,702) Pages/ Visit 2.43 Site Avg: 2.43 (0.00%) Visits and Avg. Visit Duration by top cities City Visits Avg. Visit Duration Denver 20,045 00:02:13 Estes Park 19,063 00:03:16 Fort Collins 4,418 00:02:35 Longmont 2,563 00:02:32 Colorado Springs 2,392 00:02:09 Boulder 2,284 00:02:07 Visits by Traffic Type Visits August 2013 September 2... 6,0006,0006,000 12,00012,00012,000 organic direct referral email 17.3% 23.8%58.8% © 2013 Google Jul 1, 2013 Sep 30, 2013Third Quarter 2013 for www.estes.org All Visits 100.00% Go to this report Town of Estes Park http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/… Town of Estes Park Jul 1, 2013 Sep 30, 2013Audience Overview Language Visits % Visits 1.enus 7,478 99.28% 2.en 32 0.42% 3.dede 4 0.05% 4.eses 4 0.05% 5.en_us 3 0.04% 6.c 2 0.03% 7.jajp 2 0.03% 8.cs 1 0.01% 9.engb 1 0.01% 10.frfr 1 0.01% view full report Overview 4,165 people visited this site Visits August 2013 September 2013 700700700 1,4001,4001,400 Visits 7,532 Unique Visitors 4,165 Pageviews 15,368 Pages / Visit 2.04 Avg. Visit Duration 00:02:47 Bounce Rate 44.57% % New Visits 54.43% New Visitor Returning Visitor 45.6% 54.4% © 2013 Google All Visits 100.00% Go to this report http://estesgovtv.pegcentral.com http://estesgovtv.pegcent… estesgovtv.pegcentral.com