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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Community Development Committee 2007-12-06RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, December 6, 2007 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in Town Hall in said Town of Estes Park on the 6th day of December 2007. Committee: Attending: Also Attending: Chairman Pinkham, Trustees Eisenlauer and Levine All Town Administrator Repoia, Deputy Town Administrator Haiburnt, Directors Pickering, Kiisdonk, and Joseph, Managers Marsh and Mitcheli, Attorney White, and Deputy Clerk Deats Absent:None Chairman Pinkham calied the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. PUBLIC COMMENT. Dr. James Durward/Longs Peak Scottish/Irish Festival, thanked the Committee for the Town’s support of the Festival stating that the Festival began in 1976 as an event to showcase Estes Park and bring economic activity to the Town during the fall shoulder season. He said that the September Festival has accomplished this goal and has grown into an event with an $800,000 budget. The Committee thanked Dr. Durward and expressed interest in the Festival continuing for many years in the future. ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT. SOPA PRESENTATION AND MOU - REQUEST APPROVAL. The Town Board approved a theater concept for Staniey Park in June 2006 and discussed asking the voters to fund the construction of the $3,500,000 faciiity via a new property tax. Community members who participated in the development of the concept asked the Board to allow them to raise construction funds rather than to request a tax increase for the building. The Board agreed and committed to fund the theater’s operating costs if the construction capital was raised. The Supporters of the Performing Arts, Inc., (SOPA), a private non-profit corporation, was formed specificaiiy to raise construction funds and, to-date, their efforts have generated over $1,000,000. Their objective is to compiete their fundraising by November 2008. The Town has made verbal commitments to SOPA regarding the location, construction, and operating subsidy for the theater. SOPA has asked that the Town outline its expectations of SOPA and its commitment to the project in a Memorandum Understanding (MOU) that would state the roles and responsibilities of both parties, general, the major points would be as follows: SOPA o Raise 100% of funds for construction Town of Estes Park o Provide a building site at the Stanley Park Fairgrounds (southeast corner) o Provide all site preparation and required parking faciiities contingent upon the sale of Lot 4, Stanley Historic District o Commit the Town Theater fund to be used for construction of the theater o Support the theater operating budget with any required subsidy as indicated by the 2006 AMS operating pro forma of In RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Community Development - December 6, 2007 - Page 2 The Town would be responsible for site preparation which is estimated to be 20% of the cost to construct the building, or $700,000. The operating deficit according to AMS will be approximately $201,000 (2006 dollars). The operating subsidy would likely be in perpetuity and, as in any multi-year agreement, funding for future years would be contingent upon annual Town Board appropriation. Staff requests the Committee consider, and recommend for approval, the points outlined above to be included in an MOD which will be drafted by Attorney White and submitted to the Town Board as an action item at a future Town Board meeting. Chris Woods, SOPA Board President, reported on fundraising activities and presented a virtual walkthrough tour of the proposed Performing Arts facility. He addressed the following points: SOPA and community to work with the Town to move forward with the project: SOPA website receives 220 hits per week and contains the capability of accepting contributions to the project; distribution of 7000 new brochures and an upcoming mass mailing: conversations with large corporations and foundations regarding grants, pledges, and contributions; summarized the current contributions of approximately $1,195 million; fundraising activities and related expenses; monies received from both local and out-of-town contributors: and tentative completion of fundraising by November 2008, with building completed in 2009. He voiced a concern over the inclusion of the contingency related to the sale of Lot 4 Stanley Historic District, and requested that the Town consider other ways to follow through with the project if the sale does not occur. He stated that SOPA has received support from all of the arts organizations in town and that the Performing Arts facility will be an asset to the community as well as make Estes Park a more culturally rich, and diverse location to visit. He acknowledged Administrator Repola, stating that he will be missed on the SOPA team, and thanked the Town for supporting the project. Ron Wilcocks/SOPA Board member, also addressed the Committee requesting that the Town “think outside the box” and consider different scenarios that would provide funds necessary to proceed with the project. The Committee offered their thanks for the presentation and recommended that Attorney White draft a Memorandum of Understanding between SOPA and the Town of Estes Park as outlined, to be submitted to the Town Board as an action item at a January Town Board meeting. MUSEUM/SENIOR CENTER SERVICES DEPARTMENT. MUSEUM ADVISORY BOARD DISSOLUTION - REQUEST APPROVAL. In 1991, the Estes Park Area Historical Museum became a department of the Town of Estes Park. With the ordinance creating the department, the Town concurrently created a Museum Advisory Board, appointed by the Mayor to advise on departmental administration. The private non-profit, which had formerly governed the Museum, became a Friends financial support group. Administrator Repola and staff consider the time to be right to dissolve the Museum Advisory Board, therefore eliminating the redundancy which occurs between boards, and replace the Mayoral-appointed Museum Advisory Board with an Advisory Committee of the private support organization, the Estes Park Museum Friends & Foundation (EPMF&F). EPMF&F has developed a “Statement of Organization and Purpose: EPMF&F Museum Advisory Committee” over the past year with input from Mayor Baudek, Trustee Liaison Levine, Administrator Repola, Advisory Board President Oja, Friends Board President Casey,’ Friends Board VP John Roehl, Museum Director Kilsdonk, and the current Advisory Board. EPMF&F proposes that the new board would include the three Friends Board officers and three others determined by the Friends Board. A Town Trustee would continue to serve as liaison and the Museum Director would be an ex offiao member The proposed structure will be less complex and more effective providing the non-profit group which raises funds to support the Museum input as to how the funds RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Community Development - December 6, 2007 - Page 3 should be used in fulfilling the Museum’s mission. No dedicated training funds are currently budgeted for the EPMF&F Museum Advisory Committee, but may be requested in the future. Administrator Repola stated that the procedure required to disband the advisory board is similar to the process that was followed in 1996 when disbanding the Senior Center Advisory Board and the Stanley Hall Advisory Board. He stated that issues related to the Museum will continue to be heard by the Community Development Committee and presented to the Town Board when necessary. Marti Casey/EPMF&F President stated that the Friends board has been made aware of this proposal and will approve the change at their January retreat and that educational costs, if and when they occur, will not be an issue for individual board members. The Committee recommends the adoption of an ordinance to disband the Museum Advisory Board be submitted as an action item to the Town Board at the December 11, 2007 meeting. Museum Advisory Board members will be recognized for their efforts by the Mayor at a future Town Board meeting. MUSEUM POLICY MANUAL UPDATE - REQUEST APPROVAL. In conjunction with the dissolution of the Mayoral-appointed Advisory Board in favor of an Estes Park Museum Friends & Foundation Museum Advisory Committee, the Museum’s policy manual requires updating. The proposed manual revisions are housekeeping changes reflecting the new organizational structure, and the Museum’s 2004 name change from “Estes Park Area Historical Museum” to “Estes Park Museum.” Future changes to Museum policies will be reviewed by the new Museum Advisory Committee prior to coming before the Community Development Committee for approval. The Committee recommends approval of the changes to the Museum Policy Manual as outlined by staff. REPORTS. Reports provided for informational purposes and made a part of the proceedings. • Museum Monthly Report • Senior Center General Report Chair Pinkham inquired about the usage of the Senior Center van. Mgr. Mitchell stated that the van can only be driven by Town employees and used by Town departments and is primarily used by the Senior Center, and stated that usage of the van has been lower than originally anticipated. CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU. LOCAL MARKETING DISTRICT FAQs AND PETITION - REQUEST APPROVAL, As a step towards the formation of a Local Marketing District, a petition process is required to obtain the signatures of commercial real property owners representing 50% of the assessed property value within the district boundaries. To aid in the petition process, a compilation of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) was produced and will be included with information that will be distributed to commercial property owners by petition representatives Lynette Lott, Ken Larson, and Bill Pinkham, as well as Dep. Administrator Halburnt and Dir. Pickering. The petition process is the first step in bringing this issue to a November vote and staff requests approval of the FAQs which will be distributed to property owners. The Committee recommends approval of the FAQs as submitted. CONFERENCE CENTER/FOREVER RESORTS SERVICE & FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONTRACTS - REQUEST APPROVAL. The original contract for the Estes Park Conference Center between the Town of Estes RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Community Development - December 6, 2007 - Page 4 Park and Forever Resorts provides for a 5-year service agreement covering the operations of the Conference Center. The current agreement expires December 31, 2007, requiring the execution of a new 5-year agreement. A review of the operations of the facility has been completed and both the Town and Forever Resorts consent to continuing the agreement with no changes to the service or food and beverage portions of the contract. Language regarding the Town’s position on hiring undocumented workers has been added to the agreement by Attorney White. The Committee recommends approvai of the Service Agreement and Food and Beverage Agreement v/ith Forever Resorts as presented. CONFERENCE CENTER REPLACEMENT CHAIR BID - REQUEST APPROVAL. The final phase of this year’s remodel of the Conference Center is to address the reupholstering and repair, or replacement, of the stacking banquet chairs. Costs were assembled for reupholstering and repair and found to be higher than replacement costs. Bids were solicited with the following results: a. Replace the existing Selby fabric b. Purchase new chairs similar to existing chairs through American Hotel Registry (free shipping) c. Purchase matching chairs through American Registry (free shipping) $136.99/chair $ 42.13/chair $ 45.79/chair Staff recommends purchasing 278 chairs that are an exact match to 400 stackable banquet chairs that were purchased by the Holiday Inn. Staff researched purchasing the chairs from several vendors, but found the cost to be higher due in part to shipping charges that would be added to the cost. The Committee recommends approval to accept the bid from American Hotei Registry for the purchase of 278 chairs for a total cost of $12,729.62 budgeted from account #222-5800-458-33-31. Mgr. Nikolai indicated that some of the better banquet chairs will be kept for back-up and she will advise the Committee as to the disposal of the old, unusable chairs. REPORTS. Reports provided for informational purposes and made a part of the proceedings. • Marketing • Media & Public Relations • Group Sales Report COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. DISCUSSION - TRANSFER OF TRACT B. THE RESERVE SECOND FILING The Town assigned the deed of conservation easement for Tract B, The Reserve, Second Filing open space to the Estes Valley Land Trust (EVLT) in 2002. By creating the conservation easement, the Town became responsible for enforcement and limited maintenance of the terms and conditions of the easement. Given the location of the property and the strict limitations of the parcel. The Reserve at Estes Park Homeowners Association (HOA) offered to take responsibility for the property and related duties. Staff presented this recommendation to the Community Development Comrriittee at its regular October 2007 meeting and received approval. Prior to submission of the recommendation to the Town Board for final action, members of the Ranch Meadows Condominium Association contacted staff with objections to the transfer of the easement. The 2002 agreement between the Town and the Estes Valley Land Town to assign its rights and responsibilities as Grantor to a third party. The EVLT is supportive of the transfer which would require an amendment of the conservation easement. In the event that the HOA would cease to exist, the Town of Estes Park RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Community Development - December 6, 2007 - Page 5 would resume responsibility for the conservation easement. Chair Pinkham asked Attorney White whether he should recuse himself from the discussion based on his position on the Committee and his membership in the Estes Valley Land Trust. Attorney White stated that there is no ethics violation related to his position as Committee chair. Eric Waples/1519 Raven Circle, stated that this 36 acre parcel is an important resource that should remain in the Town’s possession, not turned over to a private entity. He spoke on the following topics: signage on the property: public access to the right-of-way: a private entity may not have the public interest at heart when making decisions regarding the property: issues that may arise in the future related to the development of the North End: and tax considerations to the previous property owner related to the property being classified as a conservation easement. Anne Cabanilla/1090 Elk Trail Court/The Reserve HOA Vice President, addressed the Committee on the following points: 1. The transfer allows for a timely response to violations with the maintenance and enforcement of the conservation regulations becoming the responsibility of those with a vested interest 2. The Reserve property values remain high due to open space provided by conservation easement 3. Public awareness of regulations will help reduce violations 4. HOA is in best position to monitor the property 5. HOA has already been active in removing weeds and trash and placing signs 6. Cumulative effect of violations is damaging to property. She and Sandra Moschini/1520 Deer Path Court, stated that currently violators are politely informed of the easement restrictions which, in most cases, leads to a quiet resolution of the situation. Discussion followed with the Committee vacating their previous decision to have Attorney White prepare documents for the transfer of the conservation easement. REPORTS. Reports provided for informational purposes and made a part of the proceedings. • Community Development Financial • Monthly Building Permit Summary MISCELLANEOUS. Chair Pinkham thanked Administrator Repola for the valuable input he has provided throughout the years stating that the Committee appreciated his support. There being no further business. Chairman Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 10:15 a.m. Cyrfthia Deats, Deputy Town Clerk APPROVED DEC n 2007 TOWN OF ESTES PARK BOARD OF TRUSTEES