HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Study Session 2015-08-11
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, August 11, 2015
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 202/203 in said Town of Estes Park on the 11th day of
August, 2015.
Board: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Koenig, Trustees Ericson,
Holcomb, Nelson, Norris and Phipps
Attending: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Koenig, Trustees Ericson,
Holcomb, Nelson, Norris and Phipps
Also Attending: Town Administrator Lancaster, Director Chilcott, Finance
Officer McFarland, Attorney White, Deputy Town Clerk
Deats
Absent: Assistant Town Administrator Machalek
Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
BASICS OF ZONING.
Director Chilcott presented an overview of zoning to provide the Trustees with
information that can be utilized when faced with decisions related to increased
development activity within the Town. Staff expects that the increased activity will lead
to more development applications and rezoning requests. Additionally, with the
development of a ten-year vision for the downtown area, zoning code amendments may
be proposed and considered in order to aid in implementation of the plan.
Director Chilcott stated that zoning is a regulatory tool used to implement a community’s
vision. She reported that the Estes Valley Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1996
and provides a vision for the Estes Valley; the Estes Valley Development Code (EVDC)
was adopted in 2000 establishing zoning regulations to implement the vision. In 2000, a
valley-wide rezoning occurred with every property in the valley being affected. She said
the EVDC utilizes several types of zoning, but the primary type is Euclidean zoning
which divides the community into different land use zones with each zone having a
purpose. Overlays and Planned Unit Developments are also used. She noted that the
Comprehensive Plan was written to encourage work force housing, however, it was not
successful in doing so, and also noted that the current zoning codes work well for
vacant parcels of land, but are not conducive to the redevelopment of properties. She
stated that, at this point in time, redevelopment is where many of the Town’s
development opportunities exist and said currently nothing is being done to streamline
and simplify the code and/ or remove obstacles to redevelopment.
Director Chilcott identified properties near the schools as an area where development
could occur, and added that increasing height regulations could make development
more cost effective. Following discussion the Board requested that staff identify areas
in the Comprehensive Plan and the Development Code that, if amended, would have
the greatest opportunity of impacting and encouraging housing, economic development,
and redevelopment. Director Chilcott said that staff would prepare a list of priorities and
recommendations for the Board to review and compare with information being gathered
by the Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
UPDATE ON FINANCIAL POLICIES.
Finance Officer McFarland updated the Trustees on the progress being made related to
updating finance policies. He noted that the project is ongoing and was delayed due to
the flood and the amount of staff time being devoted to the flood and flood recovery. He
reported that financial policies fall into two categories: operational, which are delegated
to staff under policy governance; and long-term policies, such as fund balance and
Town Board Study Session – August 11, 2015 – Page 2
capital asset management, that require Board involvement. Staff is working on revising
and updating the credit card, travel, petty cash, and purchasing policies with revisions
expected to be completed by September 2015. The long-term policies will require
Board discussion and action and will be brought before the Board as they are
completed in late 2015 and throughout 2016. Finance Officer McFarland stated that he
is using the Government Finance Officers Association’s “Financial Policies”, which is the
industry-standard for financial policy development, as a resource and guide for this
project.
Trustee Ericson said it would be helpful to review policies related to revenue and capital
asset management prior to the budgeting process.
TRUSTEE & ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS & QUESTIONS.
Town Administrator Lancaster reported that seven individuals were selected to review
the proposals received from the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the consultant for the
Downtown Plan. These seven individuals and two staff members will review and rate
the proposals and make a recommendation to the Board at the August 25, 2015, Town
Board meeting.
Town Administrator Lancaster asked for an update on the parking structure. Director
Muhonen reported that the South Visitor’s Center parking structure application will go
before the Planning Commission on August 18, 2015. He stated that negotiations with
the Estes Valley Recreation and Parks District (EVRPD) have concluded and resulted in
the loss of eight parking spaces. Groundbreaking for the first phase of construction
which will consist of 110 parking spaces will be in January 2016.
FUTURE STUDY SESSION AGENDA ITEMS.
The alignment of the Fall River Trail, a Draft of Vacation Home
Recommendations, and the Audit Committee Structure will be discussed at the
August 25, 2015, Town Board Study Session.
A discussion of planning, building, and permit fees will be scheduled for the
September 8, 2015, Town Board Study Session.
A discussion of the Fish Hatchery property remains unscheduled.
A follow-up on the Broadband project will be added to the unscheduled topics.
Trustee Ericson requested that an update on major projects through 2018 be
scheduled in September or included in the 2016 budgeting process.
There being no further business, Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Cynthia Deats, Deputy Town Clerk