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TC Minutes 09-08-2020 AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 SETUP AS A VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM DUE TO COVID-19 AND TOWN HALL CLOSURE 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was hosted in a virtual format, using Zoom.us. Mayor Smith Hymes called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. A roll call was taken, and Council members present by video/audio were Amy Phillips, Tamra Underwood, Chico Thuon, and Scott Prince. Councilor Jennie Fancher and Councilor Jake Wolf were absent. Also present were Town Manager Eric Heil, Stand-in Attorney Haley Carmer, Police Chief Greg Daly, Town Engineer Justin Hildreth, Finance Director Scott Wright, Executive Assistant to the Town Manager Ineke de Jong, and Town Clerk Brenda Torres. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Video Start Time: 00:00:49 Part One Councilor Underwood pulled off item 7.3 I-70 Coalition Update written report. Mayor Smith Hymes moved it to agenda item 5.7. Mayor Smith Hymes mentioned Public Works Gary Padilla and Michael Trujillo will not be present tonight for the Proclamation for Michael Trujillo; However, she wants to keep this agenda item as presented. Councilor Underwood moved to approve the agenda as amended. Mayor Pro Tem Phillips seconded the motion and the motion passed with a vote of 5 to 0. Councilor Wolf and Councilor Fancher were absent. 3. DISCLOSURE OF ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST RELATED TO AGENDA ITEMS Video Start Time: 00:00:35 Part One No conflicts of interest were disclosed. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT Video Start Time: 00:03:40 Part One Mayor Smith Hymes explained to the public how to participate via video/audio, via telephone, or via email for public comments. Michael Cacioppo commented on the recall petitions for Mayor Smith Hymes, Mayor Pro Tem Phillips, and Councilor Underwood. He mentioned signatures are accepted at the Mein Haus Bed & Breakfast in Avon. He encouraged interested people in signing to please call 970-949-4287 to make an appointment. Members of the recall committee have 6 to 9 reasons to get the recall election moving forward. 479 signatures are needed to put this item in the ballot. Susan Gruber, anAvon resident for 23 years, commented on the recall campaign. She said the recall election is a bullying tactic and a waste of taxpayers’ funds and Council and staff time and energy during the pandemic. Ms. Gruber mentioned if petitioners are not satisfied with Council’s policy decisions, they are reminded that elections are coming soon, or they can run for Council themselves. She objects to this wasteful petition. Marty Golembiewski introduced himself and announced he is one of the Candidates running for Avon Town Council in the upcoming elections. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 SETUP AS A VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM DUE TO COVID-19 AND TOWN HALL CLOSURE Mayor Smith Hymes read a public comment letter from Councilor Fancher, absent tonight, regarding recall elections. Councilor Fancher mentioned on her letter how the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) was approved unanimously, however, the recall is only for the female Councilors and not for male Councilors who voted the same way. She expressed this is sending a dangerous message to our community who will want to serve on Council and how their decisions might be weighted not in the best interest of the Town but by whether someone will recall them. Video Start Time: 00:15:21 Part One Tom Ruemmler raised his hand after item 5.1, Mayor Smith Hymes allowed him to make a public comment. He said that this is not a sexist recall and said that the four females voted in favor to move the Hahnewald Barn knowing that the majority of the citizens were against the barn issue. He also mentioned the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) is very harmful for our local economy. 5. BUSINESS ITEMS 5.1. Proclamation honoring Michael Trujillo (Public Works Director Gary Padilla) Video Start Time: 00:12:27 Part One Mayor Smith Hymes read the proclamation to honor Michael Trujillo for his nearly 33 years of service for the Town of Avon. 5.2. Public Hearing: Second Reading of Ordinance 20-13: Amending the Avon Home Charter to Permit Individual Council Members to Reduce or Decline Compensation (Town Attorney Paul Wisor) Video Start Time: 00:18:55 Part One Haley Carmer, stand-in Attorney for Town Attorney Paul Wisor, explained nothing has changed since first reading. There were no Council questions. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made. Councilor Underwood moved to approve on Second Reading Ordinance 20-13 referring a proposed amendment to the Avon Home Rule Charter regarding compensation of members of Town Council to an election of the registered electors of the Town of Avon on November 3, 2020. Councilor Prince seconded the motion and the motion passed with a vote of 5 to 0. Councilor Fancher and Councilor Wolf were absent. 5.3. Public Hearing: Second Reading of Ordinance 20-12: Code Updates to the Town’s Liquor Code (Town Attorney Paul Wisor) Video Start Time: 00:21:08 Part One Haley Carmer, stand-in Attorney for Town Attorney Paul Wisor, explained the technicalities behind this code amendment and said this Ordinance makes minor technical changes to the Avon Municipal Code to reflect recodification of the beer, liquor and special event provisions in state statute. No Council comments were made. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 SETUP AS A VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM DUE TO COVID-19 AND TOWN HALL CLOSURE Councilor Prince moved to approve on Second Reading Ordinance 20-12 reflecting changes to references to recodified state provisions addressing Colorado’s beer, liquor, and special event rules. Councilor Underwood seconded the motion the motion passed with a vote of 5 to 0. Councilor Fancher and Councilor Wolf were absent. 5.4. Work Session: Broadband Survey and Analysis (Town Manager Eric Heil) Video Start Time: 00:23:15 Part One Town Manager Eric Heil presented a summary of the analysis of the broadband survey project for awareness of Council and the public. He then went through the phases, tasks, timeframes, and expectations of the HR Green Scope Services. IT Manager Robert McKenner joined the meeting at 5:37 p.m. and answered questions from Council. Councilor Underwood asked to add Vail Health and Doctors on Call under medical offices and major commercial properties owners like the Hoffman Group andTraer Creek under major retailers for the Anchor Institutions interviews. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and Michael Cacioppo commented that he is opposed to the taxpayers paying for this survey work. He said it is a waste of money and he does not support it. He mentioned there is competition already and he called this another reason for a recall election. Scott Posvar, who works for ABSI Telecom and an Avon Resident for 20 years, commented that a lot of money is being collected for internet already and he has an option to offer fast reliable internet more economically. GPON is a product that would be one fiberoptic cable that would connect to over 1000 people's homes so we could do the whole community relatively inexpensively with 10 cables or so. He said that these projects are highly profitable and there are lots of people who want to invest in the infrastructure, and it would not cost the Town any money. Councilor Wolf joined the meeting at 5:53 p.m. 5.5. Work Session: Wildridge Survey Results (Planning Director Matt Pielsticker) Video Start Time: 00:53:39 Part One Town Manager Eric Heil introduced the topic and explained the survey was a success in terms of response rate and doing it in-house with a local consultant (Intercept Insights) to keep down the costs to the Town. Planning Director Matt Pielsticker explained there were lots of responses and some topics would require their own agenda topic in a separate Council meeting. He explained the survey process and timeline and took Council through the results (graphs) included in the Council packet. Short-Term Rentals. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and Tom Ruemmler commented. He wondered about a ruling on STR and amending a prohibition. Thumbs up from Council on staff recommendation: No action. Continue to monitor online postings and enforce short term rental prohibition. Accessory Dwelling Units. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made. Thumbs up from Council on staff recommendation: No action. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 SETUP AS A VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM DUE TO COVID-19 AND TOWN HALL CLOSURE Designation Open Space to Community Housing. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made. Thumbs up from Council on staff recommendation: Amend the Town Owned Properties Plan and the Housing Plan to remove Wildwood Housing. Continue exploring feasibility and constructability on other Town owned properties including Swift Gulch and East Avon Annexation properties. Wildridge Fire House. Councilor Thuon came up with the idea of potentially having post office mailboxes on the first floor. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made. Thumbs up from Council on staff recommendation: Council discussion and further direction. Initial cost estimates for converting the 1,600 square feet to new housing units are exceptionally high. Staff plans to study usage of other similarly situated community spaces to gauge usage and operational information. Then additional outreach to the community can proceed with a report back to Council. Road 779. There was extensive Council discussion. Council agreed immediate signage at the bottom of the road and more outreach to both the community and the forest service are needed. At this time Council agreed to not investor move the gate but to study more about access and discuss it in another meeting. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and Tom Ruemmler commented about road behavior. He said Council shouldnot be making new laws but should enforce the current ones. Mayor Smith Hymes suggested scheduling a community meeting on 779 alone. Scott Posvar asked if the Forest Service's goal was to have more people enjoy the area. Mayor Smith Hymes said we can ask the Forest Service and address that during a meeting to discuss 779 with them present. June Creek Egress Exit. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made. Council agreed with the staff recommendation: Mobilize stakeholders and kickoff discussion with Eagle County and Singletree communities. Concept of Ride-hailing Service. Council agreed ridership numbers are too low and discussed if the loop could potentially also include Nottingham Road and Wildwood. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and Scott Posvar commented that children would be ideal bus riders and enjoy ridership but there would not be many of them. Mayor Pro Tem Phillips suggested a transit study to look at density and whether bus services make sense. Staff will forward past study results to Council and talk to Mobility Director Eva Wilson. Tom Ruemmler commented that as a transit user it is about convenience and how many times an hour it picks up. Unless it is frequent, people won't use it. Wildfire Mitigation. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and Tom Ruemmler commented. He asked who is responsible for mitigation and said it could have been done inexpensively in other ways. Council asked staff to look into this and agreed with the staff recommendation: Continue to budget for wildfire mitigation and develop a policy that incentives the removal of fuel sources on private properties that abut public land. Staff is proposing additional funding in the Capital Improvements Plan. Traffic Safety. There was lengthy Council discussion on this topic. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments.Michael Cacioppo commented that cameras will create legal issues if there is not police presence and it can be problematic to get a conviction. Peter Warren commented to say thank you to AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 SETUP AS A VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM DUE TO COVID-19 AND TOWN HALL CLOSURE Council and staff for doing this survey. He said safety is a major concern in Wildridge. Traffic violations are a concern and it seems appropriate to do something to try to get people to oblige. Police presence may not be very cost prohibitive. Tom Ruemmler commented. He wonders if the Town did a study of speed up and down Metcalf Road "canyon". He said that area could be safe for 35 or 45mph as no kids live near to that street. Scott Posvar suggested one police officer being visible will go a long way. Councilor Wolf left the meeting at 7:48 p.m. He rejoined at 7:59 p.m. Info Sharing. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and Tom Ruemmler commented to be careful where to place the sign. Council is divided on signage. Mayor Pro Tem Phillips wanted to reiterate this was a success and the intention to do surveys for different communities. 5.6. Work Session: 2021 Capital Improvements Plan (Town Manager Eric Heil, Assistant Town Manager Scott Wright, Town Engineer Justin Hildreth) Video Start Time: 00:01:29 Part Two Town Manager Eric Heil explained this is the first of two work sessions on 2021 CIP and provided a brief summary. Councilor Thuon thanked Town Manager Eric Heil, Finance Director Scott Wright, and Town Engineer Justin Hildreth for putting this together. Council had questions about bus stops for the Piedmont Apartments and why the apartment builder/developer is not responsible to fund this. Town Manager Eric Heil will contact the apartment owners to work on funding for bus shelters. Council would like to prioritize restrooms in the park. The CIP discussion will resume next Council meeting on September 22nd. 5.7. Added Item: I-70 Coalition Update (Mobility Director Eva Wilson) Video Start Time: 00:45:20 Part Two CDOT will contribute 70 million dollars to improvements on Vail Pass. This will benefit the wildlife, the economy, the climate and protect the watershed. It was identified as a priority by the Federal Government. Mobility Director Eva Wilson explained the project is in the design phase and construction is planned to start in 2022. Michael Cacioppo raised his hand to make a public comment. He said that President Trump did not get credit for this project, but he was behind it and does deserve the credit. 6. MINUTES 6.1. Approval of Minutes for August 11, 2020 Council Meeting (Town Clerk Brenda Torres) Video Start Time: 00:52:20 Part Two Councilor Underwood moved to approve the minutes from August 11, 2020 regular Council meeting. Councilor Prince seconded the motion and the motion passed with a vote of 5 to 1. Councilor Wolf voted no. Councilor Fancher was absent. 6.2. Approval of Minutes for August 25, 2020 Council Meeting (Town Clerk Brenda Torres) Video Start Time: 00:53:21 Part Two Councilor Underwood moved to approve the minutes from August 25, 2020 regular Council meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Phillips seconded the motion and the passed with a vote of 5 to 1. Councilor Wolf voted no. Councilor Fancher was absent. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 SETUP AS A VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM DUE TO COVID-19 AND TOWN HALL CLOSURE 7. WRITTEN REPORTS 7.1. September 1st Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Abstract (Planner David McWilliams) 7.2. Update on West Avon Preserve Trails (Planning Director Matt Pielsticker) 7.3. I-70 Coalition Update (Mobility Director Eva Wilson) 7.4. ¡Mi Casa Avon! Program Update (Executive Assistant Ineke de Jong) 6. MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMENTS & MEETING UPDATES Video Start Time: 00:54:38 Part Two Councilor Thuon mentioned that his wife witnessed an accident with a woman falling from the boat dock at Nottingham Lake getting caught and hanging upside down on a boat cleat. He suggested to look into a swimming friendly dock with a ladder in a future budget. He also suggested a little pocket beach by the rocks. Councilor Wolf expressed he spoke with Joey of Stand-Up Paddle and he suggested that giving Joey a 5- minute slot to update Council during a future Council meeting would be a good idea. At that time Council can also hear his idea for a snack bar. Town Manager Eric Heil suggested to invite/include Joey during the October 6th Council meeting during the discussion on beach improvements. Councilor Wolf said he agrees with Councilor Thuon's comments about making the dock area safer and would like to include the consideration of people with disabilities and mobility impairments to get into the lake with their mobil e apparatus and potentially putting a little beach area. 7. ADJOURN There being no further business before Council, Mayor Sm ith Hymes moved to adjourn the regular meeting. The time was 9:01 p.m. These minutes are only a summary of the proceedings of the meeting. They are not intended to be comprehensive or to include each statement, person speaking or to portray with complete accuracy. The most accurate records of the meeting are the audio of the meeting, which is housed in the Town Clerk' s office, and the video of the meeting, which is available at www.highfivemedia.org. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Brenda Torres, Town Clerk APPROVED: Sarah Smith Hymes ___________________________________ Amy Phillips Jake Wolf Chico Thuon Jennie Fancher Scott Prince Tamra Underwood