TC Minutes 08-24-2021AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES ,avon
TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2021
SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Video Start Time: 00:00:01 Part One
The meeting was hosted in a Hybrid format, in person at Avon Town Hall and using Zoom. us. Mayor Smith
Hymes called the regular Council meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. A roll call was taken, and Council
members present in person were Amy Phillips, Scott Prince, Lindsay Hardy, Tamra Underwood, RJ
Andrade, and Chico Thuon. Also present were Town Engineer Justin Hildreth, Mobility Director Eva
Wilson, Chief of Police Greg Daly, Town Attorney Paul Wisor, Town Manager Eric Heil, General
Government Manager Ineke de Jong, and Town Clerk Brenda Torres.
2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Video Start Time: 00:00:23 Part One
There were no changes made to the agenda.
Councilor Underwood moved to approve the agenda as presented. Councilor Hardy seconded the motion
and the motion passed unanimously.
3. DISCLOSURE OF ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST RELATED TO AGENDA ITEMS
Video Start Time: 00:00:50 Part One
Councilor Underwood disclosed she operates an Airbnb, a Short -Term Rental (STR) but expressed she is
similarly situated to everyone else in Town.
Councilor Prince moved that Councilor Underwood is not in a conflict of interest regarding item 5.3.
Mayor Pro Tem Phillips seconded the motion and the motion passed with a vote of 6 to 0. Councilor
Underwood recused.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT
Video Start Time: 00:02:09 Part One
Mayor Smith Hymes explained to the public that comments in person will be taken first, then those via
Zoom.
Comments made in -person: Paul Jenick, Avon resident and a Recall Committee member, handed -out the
Complaint and a letter he received from the Town Attorney Paul Wisor's Law firm, Garfield & Hecht, P.C.
He said that the $100K sue is happening. He said he is afraid of what Council is capable of doing and
closed his comment saying one more time "what have I done wrong?"
Todd Roehr, Avon resident and a Recall Committee member, mentioned that Tom Ruemmler has never
been a committee member. He talked about fees and said that, if the recall election would have taken
place as it originally should had, it would have cost less and be over one year ago.
Dave Martinez, Avon resident, talked about a booting issue he experienced and then about another issue
he is having with a contractor regarding a job on his roof. He said he went to the Police Department, but
they could not help him as this is a Civil matter, not criminal. He explained he has gone to different
agencies here in the Valley and outside and no one has been able to help him to file a complaint.
AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2021 Avon
SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO
Walt Halstead, an Edwards resident and Town of Avon employee, commented on the dead birds at the
Pavilion. He suggested to have a graphic designer to project something on the glass for the birds to see
and not crash into it.
No virtual comments were made.
Councilor Thuon asked Town Attorney Paul Wisor to guide Mr. Martinez in the right direction. Councilor
Underwood asked the Town Attorney to clarify the recall lawsuit matter was not a money damages
matter but rather a declaratory judgement matter.
5. BUSINESS ITEMS
5.1. WORK SESSION: 5-YEAR CIP TOWN ENGINEER JUSTIN HILDRETH)
Video Start Time: 00:19:10 Part One
Town Engineer Justin Hildreth presented, and several points were discussed, including: 1) East
Nottingham Park Improvements - Councilor Prince requested we do not refer to it as the "restrooms
project" as it is so much more than just that. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips suggested to plan out a
concessions area. 2) North Park Restrooms - Council requested that parking on West Beaver Creek
Boulevard has to be part of this discussion. 3) Bus Shelters - Council asked to add a bus shelter at
Piedmont and to look into the bus shelter at Walmart and building a shopping cart cage for safety.
Town Manager Eric Heil suggested to discuss this in a separate work session. Staff clarified that the
Walmart bus stop is maintained by ECO and the County. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips said Council should
not be approving any project where the developer is not including transit. 4) 351 West Benchmark
Road - the majority of Council felt that the demo should not proceed until there is a plan on what
goes in its place and said perhaps, probably master leasing it and provide housing for 14 individuals.
Mayor Smith Hymes said this housing project would not be long-term, hopefully just about 3 years.
5) Street Improvements - Councilor Underwood requested that the bridge at West Beaver Creek
Boulevard needs to be improved for children walking to Avon Elementary School. She said over the
winter it gets very icy and it is extremely unsafe. 6) Avon Road Roundabouts - Council asked staff to
look at the geometry of the road and see if it can be changed to slow down traffic. 7) New Projects -
Council asked to assess pedestrian safety from the park path to Liftview over the railroad tracks.
Council asked to remedy the groundhog squirrels. They have been asking and it is only getting worse.
Council asked if staff is pursuing reimbursement from the Union Pacific for the mitigation costs of
noxious weeds and groundhog squirrels. Councilor Underwood requested to not have the recreation
path deferred beyond 5 years and to add the East side of the 1-70 underpass for future consideration.
Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made.
5.2. PUBLIC HEARING: RESOLUTION 21-19, AMENDING THE 2021 TOWN OF AVON BUDGET (ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER
AND FINANCE DIRECTOR SCOTT WRIGHT)
Video Start Time: 02:01:21 Part One
Finance Director Scott Wright presented and answered Council questions. Mayor Pro Tern
Phillips asked to amend the Real Estate Transfer Tax revenues at the time of doing the budget
amendments as a standard practice. Councilor Underwood asked about the mudslide recovery
relief and Town Manager Eric Heil explained that would depend on the Public Works
Department Director, Gary Padilla, and the Town Engineer Justin Hildreth, to study the repairs,
AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2021
Avon
SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO
and possible costs and it would probably be in the final budget amendment.
Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made.
Councilor Prince moved to approve Resolution No. 21-19 Amending the 2021 Town of Avon
Budget. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
5.3. RESOLUTION 21-20: SHORT-TERM RENTAL TAX BALLOT QUESTION (TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL WISOR AND TOWN
MANAGER ERIc HEIL)
Video Start Time: 02:12:07 Part One
Town Manager Eric Heil and Town Attorney Paul Wisor presented this topic and reminded Council
that tonight is the last opportunity to refer any topic to the November ballot if desired. Mayor Pro
Tern Phillips and Councilor Underwood agreed to reconsider Short -Term Rental and Use Tax in 2022.
Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made.
Councilor Prince expressed he supports putting this to the voters and having the community vote on
this as one possible solution to our housing crisis. He said that Avon's taxes are high, but Beaver
Creek and Vail have high resort fees that add up as well. He said that the timing to put this out to the
voters is right now as the crisis is high. Councilor Andrade and CouncilorThuon agreed with Councilor
Prince's comments. Councilor Hardy said Council should have a work session as soon as possible to
start identifying where the money would go if this shall pass.
Councilor Prince moved to approve Resolution 21-20 Referring a Short -Term Vacation Rental Tax
question to the voters of the Town of Avon, but Mayor Smith Hymes called for other Council
comments before the motion got seconded.
Councilor Underwood said she is not opposed, but thinks the language is not well thought out yet.
She prefers to wait, have a sophisticated approach, do it well and do it once. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips
said she is not opposed of having a STR tax, but she thinks there is not enough information and said
she would rather take the time to do more research along with the Use tax and do more community
outreach. Mayor Smith Hymes expressed her concern to put it out there without an explicit housing
project explained, has probably less chance of success.
Councilor Underwood urged her fellow Councilors to not approve this tonight and to put this in front
of the voters until everyone understands and agrees with it.
Councilor Prince amended his motion to approve Resolution 21-20 Referring a Short -Term Vacation
Rental Tax question to the voters of the Town of Avon with 3 amendments: 1) change the title to
Shor-Term Rental Tax for Community Housing 2) raise the estimated to $1.5M 3) correcting typo to
"develop". Councilor Thuon seconded the motion and the motion passed with a vote of 5 to 2.
Councilors Underwood and Mayor Smith Hymes voted no.
AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2021 Avon
SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO
5.4. WORK SESSION: REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY FORMATION COMMITTEE (TOWN MANAGER ERIC
HEIL)
Video Start Time: 00:00:04 Part Two
Town Manager Eric Heil presented the Memorandum of Understanding with a recommendation to
proceed. He said most entities will be included and they have been working on this for over a year.
He expressed there were challenges with buses, with drivers and with getting everything in place for
this winter and said that every entity showed reluctance to pull this off for this winter. Councilor
Underwood requested to General Government Manager Ineke de Jong to present at the next
meeting a matrix of the assignations that is presented in the beginning of the year to see all Mayor
Smith Hymes does for the Town.
Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made.
Councilor Andrade moved to approve the Memorandum of Understanding to Establish Regional
Transit Authority Formation Committee. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips seconded the motion and the
motion passed unanimously.
5.5. NOTICE OF AWARD - MIKAELA WAY & TOWN HALL ASPHALT OVERLAY (TOWN ENGINEER JUSTIN HILDRETH)
Video Start Time: 00:33:42 Part Two
Town Engineer Justin Hildreth explained the Town received two bids and this time he is not
recommending the low bidder as they have no experience with a project of this scope, and
there is a tight timeline as the project needs to be completed before the election starts in
October. Councilor Thuon suggested to make Mikaela Way Street one-way to create additional
parking spaces. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips suggested for the low bidder to be given an opportunity
on a small/low-risk project to assess their quality and experience.
Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made.
Councilor Underwood moved to authorize issuance of Notice of Award for the Mikaela Way and
Town Hall Asphalt Overlay Project contract to 360 Paving LLC, in the amount of $297,021 as
approved in the Town of Avon 2021 Capital Projects Fund. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips seconded the
motion and the motion passed unanimously.
5.6. NOTICE OF AWARD - PHASE 2 OF HARRY A. NOTTINGHAM PARK LIGHTING PROJECT (TOWN ENGINEER JUSTIN
HILDRETH)
Video Start Time: 00:46:47 Part Two
Town Engineer Justin Hildreth presented the notice of award and answered Council questions.
Mayor Smith Hymes asked him about the difference of the liquidated damages as this one is $S00
and the Mikaela Way project is $800. He explained it is because of the consequences if any delay
occurs.
Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made.
AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2021
SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO
Mayor Pro Tern Phillips moved to authorize the issuance of Notice of Award for the Harry A.
Nottingham Park Phase 2 Lighting Project contract to Tri Phase Electric, in the amount of $242,221
as approved in the Town of Avon 2021 Capital Projects Fund. Councilor Hardy seconded the motion
and the motion passed unanimously.
6. MINUTES
6.1. APPROVAL OF AUGUST 10, 2021 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES (TOWN CLERK BRENDA TORRES)
Video Start Time: 00:53:42 Part Two
Councilor Underwood requested some changes and provided a copy of these changes to the Town
Clerk and Town Council. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips requested three changes which she provided to the
Town Clerk as well.
Councilor Underwood moved to approve the minutes from the August 10th regular meeting as
amended. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips seconded the motion and the motion passed with a vote of 6 to 0.
Councilor Hardy was absent from the August 10th meeting and recused from the vote.
7. WRITTEN REPORTS
7.1. Monthly Financials (Senior Accountant Joel McCracken)
7.2. Eagle County Regional Transportation Authority August 11, 2021 Meeting Minutes (Mayor Pro Tern
Amy Phillips)
7.3. Benefit Comparison (Manager of HR & Risk Management, Karyne Spadi)
7.4.August 171h Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Abstract (Planner David McWilliams)
8. MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMENTS & MEETING UPDATES
Video Start Time: 00:59:50 Part Two
Councilor Hardy asked Town Manager Eric Heil for an update on the former Colorado World Resorts site
and staff confirmed the applicant will be going to PZC on September 7th. She then asked about parking in
the drop off zone / curb spot at the Rite of Passage Bronze statue. She wanted to echo Councilor
Underwood's comments about how hard Mayor Smith Hymes works for the Town and how lucky Avon
is to have her. She apologized for missing the last Council meeting.
Mayor Pro Tern Phillips commented that the lighting at the Piedmont Apartments is not right, and the
lighting affects the neighborhood. She asked if the Town can do a solar farm up at Swift Gulch. She said
she attended the ECO-transit meeting last week and they received substantial funding to complete the
Eagle Valley Rec trail. She wanted to clarify that the $22M awarded are COP guarantees and it is not a
grant. She reminded Council about the Salvation Army Thank You reception on August 251h
Mayor Smith Hymes mentioned the COVID-19 Delta variant and asked Council if they wish to review the
policies. Town Manager Eric Heil explained the Avon Municipal Court is mask -required already, and that
at the Town level, staff is looking into policies. He said staff is closely monitoring COVID-19 and working
on draft policies for employees and possibly for Recreation Center patrons. She requested the chairs in
Council Chambers to be set up 6' apart.
AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2021
SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO
9. ADJOURN
There being no further business before Council, Mayor Smith Hymes moved to adjourn the regular
meeting. The time was 9:16 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.highfivemedio.org.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
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Brenda Torres, Town Clerk
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APPROVED:
Sarah Smith Hymes
Amy Phillips
Chico Thuon
Scott Prince
Tamra Underwood
Lindsay Hardy
RJ Andrade