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24.09.16 DDA Meeting MinutesDDA MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 HYBRID MEETING, IN PERSON AND VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS AVON DDA MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 PAGE 1 | 3 ROLL CALL Present in Person: Chair Tony Emrick, Vice-Chair Brandt Marott and Board Members Bill Glaner and Rob Tartre. Present Virtually: Board Members Gregg Cooper and Marcus Lindholm. Absent: Board Members Scott Tarbet, Wayne Hanson, Chris Neuswanger and Matthew Fitzgerald and Councilor Rich Carroll. Staff: Town Manager Eric Heil, Chief Financial Officer Paul Redmond, Chief Administrative Officer Ineke de Jong and General Government Fellow Arnell Wade. Town Clerk Miguel Jauregui (virtually). The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. DDA Board Chair Tony Emrick presided over the meeting. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Board Member Bill Glaner presented a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Board Member Rob Tartre seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with a 6-0 vote of those present. 3. DISCLOSURE OF ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST RELATED TO AGENDA ITEMS Board Chair Emrick asked if there were any conflicts of interest, and none were disclosed. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comments were made in person nor virtually. 5. BUSINESS ITEMS 5.1 Resolution 24-01: Supporting Town of Avon Ballot Issue 2C - Use Tax on Construction Materials to Fund Community Housing (CFO Paul Redmond) Chief Financial Officer Paul Redmond presented Resolution 24-01. Under the Colorado Fair Campaign Practices Act, the DDA Board is allowed to support a ballot issue via resolution. Board member Brandt Marott expressed concerns with an additional 4% tax on construction projects. Staff explained that it replaces a 4% sales tax so it’s not an additional tax and should not cost the developer any more than it does now. The main difference is that Avon would be able to collect it completely & efficiently. There was discussion to better understand how use tax applies to new projects versus small home improvement projects, which are exempted. Board member Bill Glaner moved to approve resolution 24-01: Supporting Town of Avon Ballot Issue 2C - Use Tax on Construction Materials to Fund Community Housing. Board member Brandt Marott seconded that motion. There was further discussion. Board Member Gregg Cooper presented his take on an “elevator speech” that this proposal is “collecting a tax that is not being collected and using the use tax mechanism to do so”. He feels the marketing is presenting this as an additional tax, not a replacement of a sales tax. It is being viewed as a tax increase as it’s not properly understood. Town Manager Eric Heil explained there is an issues committee that is supporting this ballot issue. The Town of Avon is not allowed to promote it under the Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA). After this discussion, the motion passed 5 to 0. Board Member Gregg Cooper abstained from the vote. 5.2 Work Session: Review of Community Arts Center Concept at 351 West Benchmark Road (Town Manager Eric Heil) Town Manager Eric Heil delivered a presentation to review of Community Arts Center Concept at 351 West Benchmark Road. He expressed that staff has been touring peer communities with art & culture centers to DDA MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 HYBRID MEETING, IN PERSON AND VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS AVON DDA MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 PAGE 2 | 3 see how they operate and what works and what doesn’t work. Eric explained there is no shortage of ideas. At this point, we are running the concept by PZC and all citizen committees and the Avon DDA Board to get input on the concept. We will have to do this in small steps and probably use a phased approach as it could get very expensive to do everything all at once. The big ticket items are the roof, the fire suppression, upgrading the water lines, adding in a small commercial kitchen, adding an ADA bathroom and the landscaping on the exterior of the building. The Town has partnered with the Vail Valley Art Guild and is providing rent subsidy for 3 years. That partnership would help with grants and fundraising and hopefully create momentum to expand and eventually using part of this building when the 3-year lease is up. A summary of the feedback from the board members includes: • The Art Guild seems to be busy on the pedestrian mall and there is a lot of activity. • Adding coffee or sandwich offerings will make it even more attractive. • This fits in and is a complimentary piece to the civic core of town including the rec center and Town Hall municipal building. • These are all the right things! • Is the initial investment dependent on a business model of cashflow in the future? Is there a way to make this an entity that is cash flow positive? • Should the Town look for third party providers to come operate this? • Very generally, this is an appropriate concept for the area and attracts the summer interest for people to stop by and check it out. • Having a financial plan will be important. • The first step could be a feasibility study, more so than architectural design as nobody even knows what it will take to make the building functional. • Board member Gregg Cooper asked for the business plan to be the first step, before doing a feasibility study or paying an architect. Board Member Marcus Lindholm left the meeting at 4:07 p.m. Staff explained that next steps are bringing an architect onboard and for staff to model the Performa of cashflow payback. There was a general direction of interest to explore it further. Staff suggested a motion to support exploring the concept of a Community Art Facility at this location further and work with Board Chair Tony Emrick to work on concepts and compare to how they fit the Avon DDA plan. How would this fit as an activity/amenity in the Avon DDA Boundary. Board Chair Tony Emrick moved that motion as presented. Board member Bill Glaner seconded that motion and it passed 5 to 0. 6. MINUTES Board Member Gregg Cooper presented a motion to approve the Minutes from Avon DDA Board Meeting held August 5, 2024. Board Member Rob Tarte seconded the motion. They were approved with a 5-0 vote. 7. ADJOURNMENT DDA Board Chair Emrick adjourned the meeting at 4:23 p.m. DDA MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 HYBRID MEETING, IN PERSON AND VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS AVON DDA MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 PAGE 3 | 3 Respectfully submitted by: Ineke de Jong Chief Administrative Officer 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.