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TC Minutes 09-14-2021AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Avon TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 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 Theme eting was hosted in a Hybrid format, in person at Avon Town Hall and using Zoom. us. Mayor Smith Hymes called the Council regular 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, and RJ Andrade. Councilor Chico Thuon was absent. Also present were Public Works Director Gary Padilla, Interim Recreation Director Michael Labagh, Communications and Marketing Manager Elizabeth Wood, 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: 00:00:25 There were no changes made to the agenda. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips moved to approve the agenda as presented. Councilor Underwood seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously by those present. Councilor Thuon was absent. 3. DISCLOSURE OF ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST RELATED TO AGENDA ITEMS Video Start Time: 00:00:45 There were no conflicts of interest disclosed. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT Video Start Time: 00:00:55 Mayor Smith Hymes explained to the public that comments in person will be taken first, then those via Zoom. Comments made in -person: Julian Quebedeaux commented. He said his address changes as he and his wife live in a converted bus around the Valley. He asked the Town to embrace the van -life lifestyle. He suggested a three -step plan: 1) curate appropriate spots; only a piece of concrete is needed 2) convert; think outlets and other needs 3) clerical; what information is needed to be collected from van-lifer's, how to label each spot and what costs are associated with the spot. He asked Council to stir over this idea and consider putting this on a future agenda. Paul Jenick, a recall committee member, commented. He asked Council for a third time why his questions about the recall have not been answered and said right now it is a one-way communication. He mentioned the cost to the Recall Committee is now over $75K, asked Council what the Town's cost is regarding this issue and said the answers should be public knowledge and that the Citizens of Avon deserve this information now and not post -election. He closed his comment saying: "we started a recall, you started a lawsuit that we had to defend." Todd Roehr, a recall committee member and Avon business owner, commented. He said the bills for the recall expenses have reached $90K. His comment was about the Short -Term Rental Tax that was on the agenda but he had no time to stay. He said that the way the ballot question was published in the Vail Daily is probably not the way it is intended to be read with some commas misplaced. He gave credit to Councilor Underwood and Mayor Smith Hymes for voting against this ballot question. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Avon TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO Dave Martinez, an Avon resident, commented. He said that making a complaint against a contractor is not possible, and he has been sent from one person/department/entity to another and said it is a big loophole. He said the Town should be able to find a legal recourse for this problem. Alec, owner of the Tiny Cafe coffee shop, commented. He asked Council for permission to sell his organic coffee in Avon and mentioned his business is completely sustainable, running on two solar panels. He stated how he has also been working with Walking Mountains to make it even more green and sustainable with the cups and lids. He said he has brought this before Council before and one year later nothing has happened. No virtual comments were made. Town Attorney Paul Wisor clarified that he wrote a memo on the recall expenses, and it is under review by the Mayor Pro Tern and will be added to a future agenda, at her direction. S. BUSINESS ITEMS 5.1. WORK SESSION: COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS (COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING MANAGER ELIZABETH WOOD) Video Start Time: 00:19:18 Communications & Marking Manager Liz Wood presented the 2021 Community Survey results. She said the survey was brought through the Engage Avon platform, prize incentives were offered, and that there were 903 responses submitted, 72% of those being Avon residents or property owners. Councilor Thuon joined virtually at 5:26 p.m. She expressed that the biggest takeaways include the existence of strong support for Avon efforts to implement the Eagle County Climate Action Plan, support for electric vehicles and e-bikes, a desire for the Town to prioritize investments in community housing, overall satisfaction of our Police and Public Works departments, satisfaction with Nottingham Park during the summer, support for full - service restrooms, as well as a continuation of the current open container rules at Nottingham Park. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and Dave Martinez commented. He said that the community survey did not address the loss of elk and other wildlife populations and wildlife harassment by dogs. No virtual comments were made. Councilor Underwood complimented Communications & Marketing Manager Liz Wood for the great survey. She said the QR Code in the post cards worked really nicely and asked her if there were new registrations to the Engage Avon's page through the survey, which she responded that yes, even though the first three weeks an email was required to answer the survey and there were not many responses then until this was removed, 45 new registrations were received, and clarified that getting registered was not a requirement to complete the survey. Councilor Underwood said most of the Departments did something to be very proud of. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Avon SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO Mayor Pro Tern Phillips thanked everyone who participated. She expressed her concern is that there is a 50% Hispanic population in Town but only 0.7% responded in Spanish and recommended taking a different approach to reach this population in the future. She would like to see accessibility to get more input from the Hispanic community at the next survey and she suggested an event where staff bring tablets to help people to fill out and submit the survey. She asked about how often the survey will be available. Town Manager Eric Heil said the Town is contemplating a community -wide survey every 3 years and doing neighborhood surveys in between, as well as a Recreation Center survey at the end of this year. Councilor Hardy commented on the overwhelming support for housing. She said Council should read all the affordable housing comments, as this is a wonderful opportunity to talk about it and what the Town does to accommodate long-term locals. She echoed Mayor Pro Tern Phillips' comment regarding how to help increase the participation of the Hispanic community. Councilor Prince said the results were enlightening and would like to see the results published on the website. He asked Communications & Marketing Manager Liz Wood if she felt the survey was too long. She confirmed a 20-30 min survey is a good length if the survey is done every 3 years. He suggested the survey follow a different path for residents and non-residents, adding the question "why do you come to Avon?" for non-residents. Councilor Andrade said excellent job to Communications & Marketing Manager Liz Wood. He thinks printed copies distributed to local businesses would help with participation. Mayor Smith Hymes would like to see some results split only by residents or property owners. She would like to see the results 1-5 instead of leaving out the neutral answer (3). She would like to see if the survey reflects the Town's population. For instance, 35% were Wildridge residents, does that reflect the actual percentage in our Avon community. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips said these results should be taken as reference material to be used by Town staff when working on projects. She asked staff to make a habit of including survey results in written reports to get more familiar with survey results during the next three years and said it gives more validity to the people who participated. Communications & Marketing Manager Liz Wood asked Council to draw the survey prize. Mayor Smith Hymes withdrew the name out of the newly designed Avon reusable bag. The winner of a new e-bike for participating in the survey was Molly Braxton. 5.2. WORK SESSION: REVIEW OF SUMMER OPERATIONS OF HARRY A. NOTTINGHAM PARK AND LOCATION OF SUP CO. (INTERIM RECREATION DIRECTOR MICHAEL LABAGH) Video Start Time: 01:05:15 Interim Recreation Director Michael Labagh presented the review of summer 2021 operations and explained the 15 areas up for discussion tonight. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 A"V o n SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and Ruth Stanley commented in person that she likes all the ideas, but she is concerned that parking on West Beaver Creek Boulevard is back on the table for discussion. She asked if the SUP rental business can stay active past Labor Day weekend. She said the erosion next to the dock is dangerous, and she likes the idea of making point number 13 a more refined entrance to the park. Michael Moore commented on the danger of parking on West Beaver Creek Boulevard. He expressed it is a bad event waiting to happen and said trespassing and pedestrian safety are really an issue. He said expanding the beach will mean less control. He said relocating the fitness court seems like a waste of money as no one seems to use it and the Town should study use of tennis courts vs pickleball courts and not just take the survey results as a reference. Mayor Smith Hymes asked Council if any topics were missing. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips said that she would like to add activation along the railroad tracks with art installation and circuit training installations like pullup bars and more swinging benches, which she personally loves. Councilor Underwood had no additions. Councilor Andrade added code enforcement in the park for leash laws and e-bikes speeding. Councilor Prince had no additions. Councilor Hardy suggested designating a dog friendly area. Councilor Thuon could not connect with audio due to technical issues in Council Chambers. Mayor Smith Hymes asked if the addition of a park superintendent would be needed. Point 1 - Potential beach expansion to west: Councilor Hardy said expanding the beach does not mean the footprint of the operation should also be expanded. She inquired why SUP CO closed early, and SUP CO staff explained that it depends on weather and the demand. They said they are open to work with Council to improve the look of the containers. Councilor Prince expressed he does not support beach expansion before having restrooms in place. He wants to ensure the dock is not restricted to SUP CO only but be open to the public as well. He suggested buying a new dock and putting it on the new beach, as he does not agree with decreasing the current dock capacity. He said people need to spread out. Councilor Underwood asked if the fishing pier is being used enough to justify its presence and to see whether to expand to the east side instead of the west side. She expressed that she is also not supportive of expanding the beach without restrooms in place and figuring out the West Beaver Creek Boulevard parking issue but favors cleaning up the shoreline and making that area more efficient. Councilor Andrade mentioned that only 5% of community survey respondents said that the beach is too crowded, so he does not see the need to expand. He said only 16 weekends, mainly Saturdays, are the days that might be at full capacity, so he thinks spending all that money for 16 days is not worth it. Mayor Pro Tem Phillips would like to wait another 2 years to consider beach expansion. Mayor Smith Hymes does not support beach expansion and agreed that the dock on the south side is popular and should stay. She wants to minimize commercialization of the park. Councilor Thuon said he agrees with the many Council comments made and considers beach expansion in the future. Council consensus was to table beach expansion until a future date. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Avon SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO Point 2 - Widening of recreation path: Councilor Hardy expressed she is supportive of expanding the path and moving it more north if possible. Councilor Andrade does support widening and asked to add speed limit signs. Councilor Underwood is not supportive of widening it unless speed limit signs and enforcement for speeding are in place. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips is supportive of widening and making it meandering to reduce speeds and getting it further away from the lake, but she does not support widening the existing one. Mayor Smith Hymes does not support widening it and said she hates paving the park more and said it would encourage higher speeds. Councilor Prince expressed that keeping the path straight is safer for visibility and making it meandering makes it more dangerous. Councilor Thuon said the path should be delineated in 2 lines and a topcoat would be great. Councilor Prince does not support widening and said to keep the cost minimal. Council consensus was not widening the path. Point 3 - North Nottingham Park restrooms: Councilor Underwood preferred to push restrooms as far down to the beach as possible. Councilor Hardy disagreed and she preferred to push as far to the parking lot to the north as possible and requested consideration to add a shower in these bathrooms for people that bike to work. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips is supportive and can see benefits of either location and would support adding an exterior rinse off shower to get the sand off of the SUPS. Councilor Andrade preferred the northern location and said it could be dual use for bikers and beach users. Councilor Prince prefers the northern location and preserving as much passive space as possible. Mayor Smith Hymes prefers the northern location. Council consensus was to go with the northern location. The discussion ran long so items 4 through 15 will be discussed at a future meeting. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips suggested Council email their comments ahead of time. Town Manager Eric Heil agreed and stated that those comments will be compiled in a public memo. 5.3. RESOLUTION NO. 21-21 NAMING OF STREET IN VILLAGE (AT AVON), PLANNING AREA 1 (PLANNING DIRECTOR MATT PIELSTICKER) Video Start Time: 02:33:28 Matt Pielsticker presented Resolution 21-21 and displayed a map with the road. Mayor Pro Tern Phillips asked if there is a roundabout already at that intersection and asked why not name it Swift Gulch. Town Attorney Paul Wisor said the Fire Department expressed that there would be confusion on which road is which. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made. Councilor Prince moved to approve Resolution 21-21 Approving Wagon Trail Road as a new street name. Councilor Hardy seconded the motion and the motion passed with a vote of 7 to 0. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES avon TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO 5.4. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE No. 21-11 ADOPTING SHORT-TERM RENTAL TAX REGULATIONS (FINANCE MANAGER Amy GREER) Video Start Time: 02:41:50 Finance Manager Amy Greer presented first reading of Ordinance 21-11. Town Attorney Paul Wisor explained that Council is considering this Ordinance now, even though the voters have not voted on the Short -Term Rental Tax, because there is not enough time after the November election to have a first and second reading and make this go into effect on January 1, 2022. He clarified that this Ordinance is administrative in nature and dependent on the voters' decision in November and Councilors who do not support putting this to the voters can still vote on this administrative matter. He confirmed that if the voters do not approve, this Ordinance does not take effect. Mayor Smith Hymes called for public comments and no public comments were made. Councilor Underwood moved to approve Ordinance 21-11, an Ordinance amending Chapter 3 of the Avon Municipal Code by the addition of a new Chapter 3.29 implementing voter approval by the Town of Avon electorate of the Community Housing Short -Term Rental Tax on the assumption that it is approved. Councilor Hardy seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. 6. MINUTES 6.1. APPROVAL OF AUGUST 24, 2021 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES (TOWN CLERK BRENDA TORRES) Video Start Time: 02:45:54 Mayor Smith Hymes suggested to Town Clerk Brenda Torres that moving forward in the minutes, even if there is Council consensus, the Councilor who brings up an item/topic should be mentioned by name and identified. Mayor Pro Tem Phillips moved to approve the minutes from the August 241h regular meeting as presented. Councilor Underwood seconded the motion and the motion passed with a vote of 7 to 0. 7. WRITTEN REPORTS 7.1. September 71h Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Abstract (Planner David McWilliams) 7.2. Open Water Swim Meet Event Review (Interim Recreation Director Michael Labagh) 7.3. Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority Aug 26, 2021 Meeting Summary (Mayor Smith Hymes) 8. MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMENTS & MEETING UPDATES Video Start Time: 02:47:40 Mayor Pro Tem Phillips wanted to acknowledge Councilor Prince's discussions with regards to the status of the memo regarding legal expenses for the recall election and said this will be coming out to Council fairly soon, and that it will be a public document. She said legal expenses will also be discussed at the budget retreat. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES avon TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO Councilor Hardy would like to bring up housing and expressed that it is unsustainable, and she personally might not be able to live here, even as a young professional with a college degree. She said people moving down Valley is bad for greenhouse gas emissions and climate action goals. She asked if Council could create a state of emergency and look into disincentivizing Short -Term Rentals. She said she does not have solutions she can offer but wants Council to look into it. Councilor Underwood echoed Councilor Hardy's comments and asked Town Manager Eric Heil to put Short -Term Rentals on the agenda to consider requiring an owner -operator on -site or other requirements. He said an update to the community housing plan should be coming up to Council soon. Mayor Smith Hymes reported that she attended the CAST meeting and housing was discussed. She mentioned how the Town of Breckenridge is capping Short -Term Rental licenses to 2500 and will be taking some licenses away, and how Grand Lake is incentivizing homeowners with $5K/year to convert from Short -Term Rentals to Long -Term Rentals. Councilor Prince said that a result from the pandemic is more people in town, on trails, roundabouts, in the supermarket, at the lake, etc. He would like Council to discuss capacity in town during the weekends, summers, holidays, and winter season. He said Council should discuss redistributing events and marketing dollars to shoulder seasons to spread out capacity and he wants to see this discussion on a future agenda. 9. EXECUTIVE SESSION 9.1.EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECEIVING LEGAL ADVICE AND DETERMINING POSITIONS RELATIVE TO MATTERS THAT MAY BE SUBJECT TO NEGOTIATIONS, DEVELOPING STRATEGY FOR NEGOTIATIONS, AND INSTRUCTING NEGOTIATORS WITH RESPECT TO POTENTIAL COMMUNITY HOUSING PROJECT PURSUANT TO § 24-6-402(4)(B) AND (E). (TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL WISOR) Video Start Time: 02:59:50 Mayor Smith Hymes asked for a motion to move into Executive Session for the purpose of Receiving Legal Advice and Determining Positions Relative to Matters that may be Subject to Negotiations, Developing Strategy for Negotiations, and Instructing Negotiators with Respect to Potential Community Housing Project Pursuant to § 24-6-402(4)(b) and (e). Mayor Pro Tern Phillips moved to approve that motion. Councilor Underwood seconded the motion and the motion passed with a vote of 7 to 0. The time was 8:14 p.m. The Executive Session started at 8:21 p.m. The Executive Session ended at 9:02 p.m. 10. ADJOURN There being no further business before Council, Mayor Smith Hymes moved to adjourn the regular meeting. The time was 9:02 p.m. AVON REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Avon TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 SETUP AS A HYBRID MEETING; IN -PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL OR VIRTUALLY THROUGH ZOOM COLORADO 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.hiahfivemedia.ora. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Brenda Torres, Town Clerk APPROVED: Sarah Smith Hymes Amy Phillips Chico Thuon Scott Prince Tamra Underwood Lindsay Hardy RJ Andrade