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TC Minutes 07-23-1985• MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AVON TOWN COUNCIL MEETING HELD JULY 23, 1985 - 7:30 P.M. The regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Avon, Colorado, was held in the Municipal Building, 400 Benchmark Road, Avon, Colorado, in the Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order, by Mayor Allan Nottingham, at 7:39 p.m. A roll call was taken with Clint Watkins, Sheila Davis, A.J. Wells, Al Connell, and Don Buick present. Steve Miller was absent. Also present were Town Attorney John Dunn, Town Manager Bill James, Director of Engineering/Community Development Norm Wood, as well as members of the press and public. The Mayor called for Citizen Input. The Honorable Dan Williams, House Representative for District 56, approached the Council. Mr. Williams stated that the purpose of his visit was to inform the Council of some of the legislation rap-up. He stated that the State Legislature did pass a resolution in support of the 1989 World Ski Championships, and he presented Council a copy of that resolution. He discussed House Bills regarding water, reviewing some that passed and some that did not pass. After discussion, Mr. Williams stated that he could best represent the area if Council and area residents would let him know how they felt about certain issues. The Mayor thanked Mr. Williams for his comments. Next under Citizen Input was Jimmie Heuga, of the Jimmie Heuga Center. Mr. Heuga discussed the goals of his Center. He stated that the purpose of the Jimmie Heuga Center was to generate interdisciplinary health programs for the physically challenged; specifically, those having physical challenges as a result of disease, birth defects, and trauma. He discussed the various stages of his Center's development, such as outreach programs, health retreats, and comparative studies. As a means to draw attention to the effort, as well as to prove the medical applications and procedures, they intend to develop a World Medical Conference which would address specifically the latest updates in reanimating the physically challenged. He stated that they were requesting space in the proposed Event Center that would allow them to administer on-going programs. He was also requesting space for a library and computer area, and the option to cordon off an auditorium area with the use of temporary, accordion-like partitioning in order to conduct the various physiological and psycho-social measures. After further informative discussion, the Mayor thanked Mr. Heuga for coming. Also under Citizen Input was Jerry Sibley in regard to the Roller Brothers Circus. Mr. Sibley stated that the Eagle Valley Rotary Club was sponsoring the Circus. It would take place on August 3, 1985, with shows at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. He stated that they had permission from the owners of Lot 65 to set the tent up there and use that area. Mr. Sibley stated there would be a maximum of 2,500 people at each showing. After discussion, Don Buick moved approval and endorsement of the Circus, to be held August 3, 1985, with the condition that the Town Manager receive the land owner's permission in writing, that the Town Manager review the insurance policy, and that the Town would be protected from any liability. The motion was seconded by Al Connell, with the additional condition that the Town would receive some publicity. Mr. Sibley stated that there would be coverage by TV-2, and they also planned to run information on where the Circus would be located. After discussion, the Mayor called for a vote. The motion was unanimously carried. Another item under Citizen Input was Terry Halverson, with the Western Vail Valley Chamber of Commerce. He discussed what they felt was an inequity in the local taxation structure. He stated that the Chamber marketing budget for next year was to be increased by $250,000. Last year, the initial budget figure was $125,000. He stated that the Chamber's goal would be to put together an Information Center for the next year. He stated they would need the cooperation of the Town for such a project. Mr. Halverson stated they would like to move on to other resources for Chamber funding in the future. He stated that one option would be to collect a 3 to 5 dollar a week marketing fee imposed on timeshare units (see attached memorandum dated July 19, 1985). He stated that, at this time, the Chamber does not have a mechanism to collect marketing fees or taxes from 40 individual owners of a timeshare unit. Lengthy discussion followed. Mr. Halverson stated that the Chamber's goal was to find a funding source for marketing that would be permanent. Councilman Wells stated that, if they would increase the fees imposed on timeshare projects, which are currently billed as recreational/transportation maintenance fees, the Town would collect the fee and allocate so much of the fee to the Chamber. The Chamber would then justify it on the basis of the disparity -2- • • between the contributions from the lodging community verses the contribution from the timeshare community. He stated he was very much in favor of the Chamber's proposal. Ron Phillips, Vail's Town Manager, approached the Council. He stated that the Vail Resort Association was supported by contributions from the Town of Vail, and the Town of Vail was under contract to provide Special Events and to have people working the information booths in Vail. He stated the contributions totaled $120,000 a year for those services, and were outlined by contract. He stated there was no specific tax collected. After discussion, Council agreed to look at this issue at budget time. Next under Citizen Input was Dan Sunday, President of the Western Vail Valley Chamber of Commerce. He was requesting Council's support for funding the building of an Information Center. He stated that estimates for the facility would range from $80,000 to $120,000. The facility would be approximately 1,000 square feet, and would serve the dual purpose of Chamber offices and Information Center. It would be located at the Avon exit off west-bound I-70. Some benefits to the Chamber would be a clearing house for informational brochures and flyers about the area, and the opportunity for more direct contact with the tourists. Some benefits to the Town would be increased traffic through Town, increased sales tax revenue, and a potential increase in retail growth. Mr. Sunday was requesting that Council consider the reinstatement of the utilities tax, for the initial purpose of providing funds for the construction of the Information Center. He outlined the impact on households and businesses, stating the average household would experience an approximate $48 per year increase over existing utility bills; businesses would experience varied increases in utility costs that would, on the average, be higher than the average household increase. This was based on the tax being levied on gas, electric, and telephone only. Councilwoman Davis stated that, when Council raised the sales tax to 4%, one of the trade-offs was that Council removed the utilities tax. She stated she could not condone the reinstatement of the utilities tax until she considered it further. Ms. Davis complemented Chamber Director Judy Lofland on how she has operated the Chamber on a shoestring budget, and on the success of the Vintage Car Race event. The Town Manager stated there were alternatives for the funding, and stated he was in favor of the utilities tax. It was agreed that this issue would be discussed at the next regular meeting. The Mayor also complemented Judith Lofland on the success of the Vintage Car Races. -3- The last item under Citizen Input was Ron Phillips, Town Manager of Vail, and Gene Larson, General Manager of Heritage Cablevision. Mr. Larson approached the Council, stating he hoped he could put to rest a lot of the Town's concerns about a very publicized and confusing issue, one that has been around the valley for some time, that of Public Access Television. He stated that, over the past year, Heritage Cablevision has been working with the Town of Vail to resolve problems and provide some direction for the operation of their studio facilities in Vail. He stated that it has been a very under-utilized and expensive operation. He stated that, through working with the Town of Vail, they have come up with a set of guidelines to hopefully make it work. Mr. Larson stated that Heritage had negotiated the issue with Vail, and that Heritage's intent was not to negotiate a solution for the Town of Avon, but hopefully to create a more utilized facility for all subscribers within their service area. Mr. Larson reviewed some highlights of the guidelines with the Council; (1) any resident or organization in the Heritage service area may request to purchase studio time for the production of public access programming, (2) there would be a $30 charge, per hour, to utilize studio equipment and facilities. He stated the studio has been open to commercial use, to help offset some of the operating expense and to help promote and and purchase future capital investments. He stated that there was a breakdown of time percentages, based on Heritage Cablevision subscriber percentages in each service area. The percentage of time available would be 81% for Vail, 15% for Avon, and 4% for Minturn. Those numbers would be reviewed each January and updated accordingly. Mr. Larson stated the space for the facility was being leased from the Town of Vail. He stated that, at the time the Franchise was transferred from Vail Communications to Heritage, it was negotiated that Heritage would provide the equipment and furnish a facility. He stated that this was an addendum to the original Franchise Agreement, and stated that, under Federal law, Heritage was commited to provide a channel to any franchise area they service. Ron Phillips, Vail Town Manager, approached the Council. He reviewed what had taken place in the past few months regarding Public Access Television. The reason that Eagle County was not included in the use of the facility was that they do not have a Franchise Agreement. Councilwoman Davis felt that it was not fair to disregard residents of Eagle-Vail because the residents are the paying public. Lengthy discussion followed. Mr. James stated that Vail was opening the doors to their own channel to other users. He stated that Avon has other options. -4- • If Avon wants public access, it could negotiate with Heritage for it. He stated that Avon was not included in the meetings that Vail had, to help develop those programs. Mr. James stated that, when you are not heard on 2, 3, or 4 occasions, it is hard to respond to the apparent final product, which was now before the Council. Jerry Davis, one of the former owners of Rocky Mountain Cablevision, approached the Council. He stated that, by FCC rules, Avon has just as much right to an access channel as does Vail. He stated that the real issue was over the production facility, not the right to use the channel. He stated that Public Access Television would work with the cooperation of the people. He felt Avon should not get involved if Avon was not involved in setting up the game rules. Ron Phillips reviewed letters that were sent to Avon requesting input in the establishment of the guidelines. He stated this was all on a trial basis, to see how it would work, and adjustments would be made where necessary. He stated they were setting up a non-profit organization that would have regional representation from the communities involved. He stated that, once established, the organization would have total control over their own affairs. They could expand their Board and appoint anyone they wanted to serve on it. The Mayor thanked Mr. Larson and Mr. Phillips for their comments, stating he felt the discussion would open up other avenues in regard to this issue. Councilman Wells felt the issue was primarily economical, between those who want to produce shows and those who do not. He stated he did not want to see Council take any action other than give support to a valley-wide effort. He stated that Avon would someday want to have its own facility and, at that point, Avon would figure out how to accomplish that. After discussion, A.J. Wells moved to recommend that Jerry Davis be appointed to the non-profit organization, as a Director on that Board. The motion was seconded by Clint Watkins, and was unanimously carried. Kevin Rice, Vice President of Operations/Heritage Communications Group, addressed the Council. He stated they would like to see the facility used; thousands of dollars were being spent on capital expenses, and $70,000 per year on operating expenses, with only 5% of the people using the facility. He stated he did not think the studio would be fully utilized, and felt a second facility would not be needed. Mr. Rice stated that the best way to make this work was to make it an open effort, available to anyone who wants to use it. -5- l • First reading of Ordinance No. 85-15, Series of 1985, AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 17.22 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE TOWN OF AVON TO LIMIT FIREPLACES IN CONNECTION WITH FRACTIONALIZATION. Norm Wood stated that the Planning and Zoning Commission had some comments in regard to their review of the ordinance. 1. Some consideration should be given to the recently adopted Colorado Statutes regarding wood-burning stoves and fireplaces; 2. Consideration should be given to the impact of proposed regulation on air quality in the valley; 3. Wood-burning stoves should be included in the restrictions; 4. They suggested allowing two wood-burning appliances per Development Right, whether fractionalized or not. Greg Kraft, a local developer, approached the Council. He was concerned about Council limitation on fireplaces in the fractionalization of non-timeshare projects, specifically in Wildridge and Wildwood. He felt that one of the biggest selling points would be fireplaces in these units. Lengthy discussion followed. The Mayor felt the ordinance should be tabled for further study. The Town Manager stated that Council wanted a draft ordinance out on this issue so that they could receive public input. He stated that, if Council so desired, he would review some of the comments that were forthcoming and would return to Council with some alternatives. Don Buick moved to table Ordinance No. 85-15, Series of 1985, on first reading. The motion was seconded by Al Connell, and was unanimously carried. Norm Wood stated that, when the Town awarded the contract for Phase III of the Mall construction, a project budget of $83,000 was established. He stated that the contractor has requested approval of some cost increases. The increases were due to a delay of the project, through no fault of the contractor. Mr. Wood recommended a project budget increase of $5,765, to cover increased project costs, bringing the total budget to $88,765. Sheila Davis moved approval of Change Order #1 for Phase III Mall construction. The motion was seconded by Al Connell, and was unanimously carried. Norm Wood stated he was requesting Council approval of Change Order #1 for the Street Repair & Improvements project, which also included repair of the Mall bus turnaround. He stated that, when excavation at the bus turnaround began, they found that over-excavation was necessary to correct the problem and that more -6- 0 • material was needed. Change Order #1 proposed a price increase of $4,772.50, bringing the total contract price to $88,852.50. Mr. Wood stated the increase would be covered out of the Mall Construction Fund. A.J. Wells moved approval of Change Order #1 for the bus turnaround contract held by Nottingham Sand and Gravel. The motion was seconded by Clint Watkins, and was unanimously carried. The Town Attorney reported on the Fair Labor Standards Act. he stated that the Department of Labor had issued guidelines approximately 30 days ago, and the Town was informed that the enforcement date for the overtime requirement would be October 15, 1985. Enforcement would be retroactive to April 15, 1985. He recommended to the Town Manager that the Town take steps to assure compliance with the guidelines. The Town Manager reported on the Winter Bus Schedule for the 1985-86 Ski Season. He stated that Beaver Creek Transit has requested that Avon run buses evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. This would be a local service. The regular schedule of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. was still planned for Beaver Creek. The cost for increasing bus service for 1985 operations would be $6,160, total cost for the increase for the 1986 budget would be $25,000. He stated that another item was the possibility of Avon running more buses during the peak periods. After discussion, the Town Manager suggested that Council might want to try the new schedule during November and December, plan on inserting the funds into the 1986 budget, and run the service through April of 1986. He suggested an evaluation of the service at that time to see if it should be continued. The Mayor suggested that Council leave it to the discretion of the Town Manager. Council agreed. Mr. James reported on an amendment to the Agreement between the Town of Avon and Beaver Creek Resort Company to provide operations and maintenance on the buses. He stated that the CIRSA insurance program excluded liability coverage for the Town's buses. Mr. James stated that Vail Associates, Inc., has agreed to provide the Town this coverage under its insurance program. One of Beaver Creek Resort Company's requirements was that only Beaver Creek Resort Company employees can drive the buses, but this was the present situation, anyway. The other change was in the amount of coverage. -7- • After discussion, Don Buick moved approval of the amendment, and authorized the Town Manager to determine the amount of coverage based on the requirements. The motion was seconded by Al Connell, and was unanimously carried. The Town Manager stated he would schedule the Avon Event Center for the next Work Session, and would take the Jimmie Heuga Center's request to participate in the Event Center under consideration. He stated he would like Council to think about financing for the facility. He would be addressing this issue at the next Avon Metropolitan District meeting, discussing whether the AMD would reduce its tap fees by $500 if the Town would be willing to take that money and use it for Capital Improvements. No action was taken. The Town Manager reported on Strategic Planning. He stated that Chuck Schwahn gave Council some information on Strategic Planning at the earlier Work Session. Mr. James recommended that Council delay this issue until the budget process begins. Mr. James then reported on the purchase of fence for Special Events. He stated that, at the last minute, the fencing that had been promised for the Vintage Car Race was withdrawn. With no other alternatives, he purchased fencing at $0.67 per foot. The total price being approximately $4,500. He stated the fencing would be needed for other Special Events the Town would be holding throughout the year. No action was taken. The Sign Code was next on the agenda. Mr. James stated he would present a more simplified version of the Sign Code to Council at the next meeting. The Fall Fling was discussed. Mr. James stated that, if Council had any comments or suggestions for the Fall Fling, there was still time to put them on the brochure. Councilman Watkins suggested that Town employees working Special Events for the Town be identified with Town hats and T-shirts. -8- The Financial Matters were next presented to the Council. Don Buick moved to receive items #1 through #8. The motion was seconded by Al Connell, and was unanimously carried. Don Buick moved approval of the General Fund Accounts Payable for July 23, 1985. The motion was seconded by Sheila Davis, and was unanimously carried. Clint Watkins moved approval of the Transit Fund, Public Works Fund, and Mall Construction Fund Accounts Payable for July 23, 1985. The motion was seconded by A.J. Wells, and was unanimously carried. Sheila Davis moved approval of the Reconciliation Sheet of Accounts Payable for July 23, 1985. The motion was seconded by Clint Watkins, and was unanimously carried. The minutes of the July 9, 1985, Council meeting were next presented to the Council. Don Buick moved approval of the minutes of the July 9th meeting. The motion was seconded by Al Connell, and was unanimously carried. Councilman Watkins stated he had been approached by some of the wind surfers. They would like to see more time available for wind surfing on the lake. Councilman Connell stated he has been confronted by residents in regard to officers appearing to be sitting outside of bars and restaurants. The Town Manager stated that the officers have been instructed to keep moving within the area and, if they see a person who needs assistance, the officers have been instructed to assist them and make sure they get home safely. There being no further business to come before the Council, Don Buick moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Al Connell. The meeting was adjourned, by Mayor Nottingham, at 11:37 p.m. -9- Respectfully Submitte cia J. Dgfyle, Town -10- 0 MEMO TO: Honorable Mayor and Town Council FROM: Western Vail Valley Chamber of Commerce and Mike Bennett SUBJECT: Inequity of local taxation structure It has come to our attention that a serious disparity exists between the local tax revenue potential from short-term condominium rental projects and timeshare projects. This disparity would not concern us if there were a similar correlation in the demand for services provided by the Town of Avon and the Chamber of Commerce. An example of the demand for services is evidenced by the attached summary, provided by Beaver Creek Transit. To illustrate the potential tax revenues of a timeshare project that would correspond with a short-term rental project, we must make the following assumptions: 1. There are 40 timeshare weeks/unit sold. 2. The owners will occupy the unit 7 nights/week. 3. The value of each night is $100.00 Given these assumptions, we may now calculate the sales tax and accommodations tax revenues that would be generated if this were a short-term project. 40 weeks/unit X 7 days/week = 280 days/unit 280 days/unit X 5100.00/day = 28,000.00/unit 528,000.00/unit X .05% = 1,400.00/unit 51,400.00/unit divided by 52 weeks = 27.00/unit/week At present, the .timeshare projects pay a 57.63/unit/week recreational maintenance fee. Potential sales tax $ 27.00 Existing fees $ 7.63 Apparent disparity $ 19.37/unit/week The Town of Avon and the Chamber of Commerce provide many benefits to the owners of timeshare weeks. These benefits include special events, roads, parks, transportation, and information services. At this time, the Chamber has a mechanism to collect fees or taxes from 40 individual owners of a timeshare unit, for marketing. The management companies associated with the timeshare resorts have no Honorable May*and Town.Council July 19, 1985 Page 2 motivation to impose a fee and make a larger contribution, to the Chamber, for marketing. The Chamber feels very strongly that, if we are to adequately promote Avon, we need additional marketing dollars. The timeshare segment of our community has been identified as one which is receiving benefits many times greater than the contributions it is making. For this reason, we are requesting that you consider, in your upcoming 5 year plan, a 3 to 5 dollar/week marketing fee imposed on timeshare units. Representatives of the Western Vail Valley Chamber of Commerce will be present at your July 23, 1985, Council meeting to discuss this option, if a space on that agenda may be reserved.