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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Study Session 2010-01-12 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, January 12, 2010 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the TOWN BOARD STUDY SESSION of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at Town Hall in Rooms 201/202/203 in said Town of Estes Park on the 12th day of January, 2010. Board: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Levine, Trustees Blackhurst, Eisenlauer, Ericson, Homeier, and Miller Attending: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Levine, Trustees Blackhurst, Eisenlauer, Ericson, Homeier, and Miller Also Attending: Town Administrator Halburnt, Deputy Town Administrator Richardson, Town Attorney White, Dir. Joseph, Dir. Kilsdonk, Mgr. Winslow, and Deputy Town Clerk Deats Absent: None Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. Town Administrator Halburnt introduced two issues for discussion related to the Comprehensive Plan. First, to verify the Town Board’s desire to review the Comprehensive Plan and, second, to appoint two trustees to a subcommittee to include two members of the Estes Valley Planning Commission (EVPC), Administrator Halburnt, and Community Development Dir. Joseph, to carry out the review. After discussion the Trustees agreed that the Plan should be reviewed chapter by chapter to determine if the content is current and pertinent or if updates are necessary, rather than to initiate a full-blown re-write of the Plan. Mayor Pinkham appointed Trustees Homeier and Ericson to the sub-committee. Dir. Joseph suggested a Town- appointed Estes Valley Planning Commissioner and a County-appointed Estes Valley Planning Commissioner represent the EVPC on the subcommittee. Once formed, the subcommittee will develop a meeting schedule and after taking an initial look at the Plan, come back to the Town Board and EVPC with an assessment of what areas of the Plan need to be revisited or revised. GRANDSTAND NAME AND NAMING RIGHTS. In 1968, the Town of Estes Park officially named the arena at the fairgrounds the “Granny May Arena” after Charles Everett May who was an integral part of the Estes Park community and a Rooftop Rodeo pioneer. Discussion was initiated as to whether the new grandstands, which are currently under construction, should carry the same name is summarized: the Rooftop Rodeo Committee is in favor of keeping the name the same; the arena name could remain the same with a different name for the grandstands; important to maintain the historical connection; may be worthwhile to pursue naming rights for the grandstands through a broker but may be expensive process; naming rights could provide monies to help offset grandstand construction costs; grandstand could be named for donors, contributors, sponsors, or in honor of a fairground employee; and a contest could be utilized to generate community interest and involvement in the naming process. Mgr. Winslow will research any possible local interest in naming rights as well as how other entities approach naming their facilities. In addition, more information will be gathered related to the options and costs of utilizing a naming rights broker. CODE OF CONDUCT AND MUNICIPAL CODE CLARIFICATIONS. Chapter Two of the Municipal Code addresses the roles of the Mayor and Trustees. Mayor Pinkham stated that the Code loosely defines these roles and proposed a Town Board Study Session – January 12, 2010 – Page 2 committee be created to review this portion of the Municipal Code and make recommendations related to more clearly defining the responsibilities of these positions. The Mayor appointed Mayor Pro Tem Levine, Trustee Blackhurst, Town Administrator Halburnt, and Attorney White to the committee. He said Colorado Municipal League Executive Director Sam Mamet has provided examples of Mayor and Trustee job descriptions from other Colorado communities for the committee to refer to as they review Chapter Two of the Municipal Code, and invited all the Trustees to review the Code and provide input to the committee as well. The Mayor said he is hopeful that the result of the committee’s work will be a clear, understandable document to provide for better government and assist current and new members of the Board of Trustees. The Mayor expects that the review and subsequent changes will be finalized no later than the end of March 2010. The Trustees also discussed creating a policy manual to outline topics such as adding an item to the meeting agenda and procedures to be followed during board meetings. In addition, Mayor Pinkham voiced his desire to develop a Code of Conduct for the Board. He proposed the Code of Conduct describe the basic philosophy of the Board and also be part of a comprehensive training and education document utilized by current and newly elected Board members. Trustees Eisenlauer and Miller will work on this project. The Board also discussed the benefits of holding an informational meeting for potential candidates for the Town Board and a training session for newly elected and incumbent members of the Board. MISCELLANEOUS. 1. Parking at the Estes Park Community Thrift Store – As a member of the Board of Adjustments (BOA), Mayor Pro Tem Levine recused himself from the discussion and left the meeting at 6:03 p.m. Following the receipt of complaints about the availability of parking at the Estes Park Community Thrift Store on Highway 34, the Trustees requested background about the property. Dir. Joseph stated the current owners submitted a development plan for the property in 1993 at which time staff made the owners aware of issues related to the functionality of the parking. The owners chose not to change the parking configuration and to proceed with development as submitted. After a period of time, the owner’s requested a variance to allow parking within the 25 ft. highway setback. The BOA considered the parking issues being experienced by the owner a self-imposed hardship and, therefore, inadequate grounds for a variance and denied the request. At the time, the property owner did not appeal the BOA’s decision, which would be required to be heard in district court, and procedures do not provide for a re-hearing of the original variance request. Parking at the location was not in compliance when the current tenant took possession of the property. The Town received a complaint about the parking situation at the Thrift Shop which was handled through Code Enforcement with resolution in October 2009. As a result of the property owner’s actions to become compliant with the Code, many members of the Estes Park Community Thrift Store’s volunteer work-force, as well as patrons of the store, are having difficulty finding parking places and/or walking up the hill to access the store. Mayor Pinkham and Trustee Eisenlauer will schedule a meeting with the Thrift Store manager to further discuss this matter. There being no further business, Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Cynthia Deats, Deputy Town Clerk