2. DRAFT Finance Committee Minutes 22-11-09FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2022
IN-PERSON MEETING
Finance Committee Meeting, November 9, 2022 1 | 5
1. ROLL CALL
The meeting began at 5:02 p.m.
PRESENT- Finance Committee: President Steve Coyer, John Widerman, Dee Wisor, Lynn Brooks,
Clark Rogers, Terry Nolan, Markian Feduschak
. Town Council: Scott Prince
Town Staff: Town Manager Eric Heil, Deputy Town Manager Patty McKenny, Finance
Director Scott Wright, acting as Secretary for the Meeting, General Government Manager
Ineke de Jong, and Finance Manager Joel McCracken. ABSENT-: Mayor Sarah Smith-Hymes and Craig Ferraro
Eric Heil introduced himself and explained the purpose of the finance committee to those present. He
focused on the committee being an avenue for the public to interact with town officials on government
spending questions, including the use of RETT. He laid out that this is an introductory conversation to
the 2023 budget but there will no decisions be taken in the meeting. He concluded that this committee
will have to define the regularity with which it convenes. Scott Prince added the Committee’s purpose is
to make recommendations to Council on financial matters and spending recommendations.
2. APPROVAL OF JULY 20, 2022 MINUTES
Committee Member Steve Coyer moved to approve the minutes from the July 20, 2022 meeting and
Committee Member Dee Wisor seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by those present.
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
4. NEW MEMBER INTRODUCTIONS
Committee Member Terry Nolan introduced himself, saying he moved to Eagle Vail in 1981, and has
been in the area on-and-off since then, and moved to Avon a couple of years ago as a retiree.
Committee Member Clark Rogers said he worked for the Federal Reserve, private banking, and
investment banking in real estate. He added he’s been skiing in the area for decades.
Committee Member John Widerman said he’s been in the Valley 15 years now, was a Town Councilor
and Mayor, has now been working in Avon, and has a background in finance and business.
Committee Member Lynn Brooks said she lives in Wildridge, worked 26 years with Vail Resorts, and she
specializes in auditing all types of projects and organizations.
5. STAFF UPDATES ON FINANCIAL RESULTS THROUGH OCTOBER 2022
Finance Director Scott Wright introduced Joel McCracken who presented updates for the October
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2022
IN-PERSON MEETING
Finance Committee Meeting, November 9, 2022 2 | 5
financial reports that all refer to September’s financial movements, including the revenue collections
for sales, accommodations, tobacco and cigarette, and short-term rental tax for September 2022 and the
recreation fees and real estate transfer tax revenues for September 2022. He stated sales taxes were
up for September. He said there was an increase in manufacture and wholesale tax revenue, because
of the sale of construction materials due to the Frontgate project. He added the Town has seen a 15%
increase in sales tax over the original budget. Accommodation taxes are up in hotels and down in time-
shares and rentals, and down overall compared to the original budget. Wright interjected to explain what
the time-shares consist of in Avon. He added hotels are limited, and the rest of lodging is short-term
rentals. McCracken added short-term rentals taxes is new and there’s no comparison for previous years.
He said year-to-date they are overbudget and expect to receive $1,000,000 in income from them. Prince
speculated that some are getting short term rental licenses to sit on them, to keep them available, even
if they’re not short-term renting. Tobacco tax revenues are up and a little over budget, and cigarettes are
just under budget. Overall, RETT is above the 2022 Budget. Heil said new construction projects, such
as Riverfront, Frontgate and the 24 townhomes being built will cause the Town to see an increase in
RETT for the next couple of years. Prince stated that in terms of the budget, he expects real-estate
transactions to be down in 2024, because there are new construction projects that will be maturing by
then but nothing to replace them yet. Wright said RETT is unpredictable and hard to project. McCracken
brought up Rec Center revenues which were discussed by the group. It was highlighted that admissions
at Rec are going up. Heil ended McCracken’s presentation by saying this has been a general overview
presentation that is high-level and has been refined to best explain the overall financial condition of the
Town to the public but does not go into great detail. He added that the budget is conservative and leaves
a cushion for contingencies.
6. DRAFT 2023 BUDGET
Finance Director Scott Wright stated that the 2023 budget summary is available online on the
Town’s website and that there will have been a couple of public hearings to discuss and review it
before it is approved by Council on December 13, 2022.
Based on revenue projections and changes requested by council, the 2023 budget received an
increase from the current year by approximately 3%.
General fund from 2022 to 2023 is showing a deficit because of a one-time purchase of fleet
vehicles.
Wright added that they anticipated a slowdown in tax revenue due to the pandemic, which proved
to not occur and instead caused revenue to be flat. He added that after the pandemic, tax
revenues increased dramatically by 20%+, and that added homes in the area have increased
spending and tax revenue in Town, causing surplus years. This was further evident by
conservative expenditures planned by the Town. Wright closed this analysis by stating that the
Town is poised for a $3,000,000 surplus this year.
With Wright’s 2023 retirement, there will be a one-time expense for the new finance director to
get onboarded and trained by Wright, which will cause a concurrent director expense. Wright also
detailed unfilled and new positions in Town that will cause more spending.
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2022
IN-PERSON MEETING
Finance Committee Meeting, November 9, 2022 3 | 5
Heil explained budget analysis focuses on changes year-to-year, and that is the best way to allow
Council to analyze changes. He further added that there is a balance between income and
expenses, and the current tax rate is under market, but the goal of the Town is to stay competitive
and not operate at a profit. Heil went on to discuss special event spending, stating the Town is
cutting back some special events, and added winter fireworks display. Heil then spoke to capital
improvement funds and how their sequences are funded, adding that it is hard to estimate future
construction costs, and approximately 50% of the fund is used to maintain existing infrastructure.
Speaking of debt service, Heil said there is little debt for the Town, and there has been a focus to
minimize it. He added all debt is at 2-3% interest and it is modest debt outstanding, so it makes
little sense to advance it’s repayment.
7. COMMUNITY HOUSING
Heil stated Avon adopted the Community Housing fund in 2018, to promote the construction of
community housing. To fund it, he explained funds come from 10% of the RETT and from short
term rental tax revenue. He said the Town is a lot more active in this area, and created the Mi Casa
deed restriction program, and Town is up to 35 deed restriction purchases over the last 2 years.
He reflected on the great feedback from those benefiting from this program.
8. LA ZONA PROJECT
Heil stated there are 3 items that are a part of the La Zona Project: Rec Center maintenance and
expansion, old firehouse repurposing, and completion of the Main Street Pedestrian Mall project.
He added that all 3 must be analyzed together, as a whole. He explained the planning department
is working on concept ideas, which will then go to the CASE Committee and the and Health and
Recreation Committee before being presented to the public.
He explained high-level ideas and began by analyzing the Rec Facility’s expansion, which could
cost $15-20 Million dollars for a large-scale expansion or $3-4 Million for a small-scale expansion.
He then added that the firehouse could become a park, a skate-park, pickleball courts, or a special
event center. He added that for now, all concepts and proposals are very preliminary. Council is
exploring a downtown development authority for the purpose of having direction for the upcoming
growth.
9. WHITE PAPER: TRAER CREEK ANALYSIS
Heil explained that the Town executed the annexation development agreement in 1998. He said
when it first began, the Town provided a robust range of commitments, tax credits and rebates. He
said the sales tax from Walmart and Home Depot have helped pay the bonds for the annexation.
He added Town staff wants to illustrate the symbiotic relationship with Traer Creek. A new 240-bed
hotel will be built there to boost sales and accommodation taxes. He detailed that if a new Piedmont
style group of buildings is built, there will be a trigger for a park to be built by the Town. As housing
in the area increases, multiple Town improvements and commitments will be triggered.
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2022
IN-PERSON MEETING
Finance Committee Meeting, November 9, 2022 4 | 5
10. NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE
The committee did not set a next meeting date.
11. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 6:42 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted by
Patty McKenny
Deputy Town Manager