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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOCC Packet 10262011 MinutesMINUTES BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 12, 2011 NOTE: For all staff memorandums and associated documents, including additional exhibits submitted to the record, refer to the BOCC PACKET FOR OCTOBER 12, 2011. CALL TO ORDER: Chairwoman Rachel Richards called the Board of County Commissioners Regular Meeting to order at 12:00 PM. COUNTY COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: George Newman, Rachel Richards, Rob Ittner, Jack Hatfield and Michael Owsley COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: None ADDITIONS/DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: PUBLIC COMMENT: George Allen, representing the Ella Mae Phillips Mobile Home Court commented that they are getting a uniform response from the planning department that the mobile home park is not in compliance with something and that is usually not articulated other than to say you can't have a permit because you are not in compliance. He said they would like to get the matter on a footing where they can work cooperatively and he would like the commission to look into it because there are upgrades that they would like to make e.g. upgrading a travel trailer. Jon Peacock, County Manager stated that he cannot comment particularly on this case, but he will look into it Mr. Allen's concerns and get back to him. Commissioner Owsley asked Mr. Peacock to set a meeting between himself, community development and George Allen to discuss the issues associated with this matter. Cliff Runge and Andrew Doremus, representing the fixed base operator at the airport appeared before the board with respect to the airport master plan process and their interest in a proposal for the development of a Smaller Carbon Neutral Section FBO at BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 1 REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 the east side of the airport. A copy of their letter associated with this matter is attached to the BOCC Packet for this meeting. Janice Vos Caudill, Clerk and Recorder and Dwight Shellman, Election Manager appeared before the board to give an overview for the benefit of the public and the board on the status of the 2011 election process. They explained that they sent out 8,000 ballots last week and this last weekend they made the decision to mail out ballots to voters who are classified as in -active failed to vote in the state election system. Additionally, Mr. Shellman said that Pitkin County has not been mandated to send out bilingual ballots, but they have implemented a bilingual staff person and have sample ballots that are in Spanish. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: Commissioner Hatfield commented that yesterday, the board had a very productive kickoff meeting relative to the county budget and a very in depth look at the county infrastructure and the roads and the proposal to proceed with some necessary maintenance and rehabilitation where necessary. He thanked the county manager and staff for their great work in preparing the draft budget. Secondly, he said there was some discussion regarding personnel, which included a discussion associated with bonuses and merit raises for county staff, and he is all for that. Additionally, Commissioner Hatfield referred to a letter from Roger Marolt, which was published in the Snowmass Sun last week. He said speaking as a commissioner, he would request that everyone respect the rules so we can move forward in a way that accomplishes our goals and allows the public to enjoy these properties. He encouraged everyone to respect the rules and regulations and protect the environmental aspect of our open space and not go out into the environment with the intention of making new trails. Commissioner Newman congratulated Chris Klud who was recently inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, and the Hall of Fame also recognized the Aspen Valley Ski Club with the Top of the Hill Award. He also congratulated Commissioner Richards for her appointment as a member of the Public Lands Steering Committee for the National Association of Counties. Chairwoman Richards reminded the public that there is a draft Bureau of Land Management Resource Plan open house this evening at the Carbondale Town Hall from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. Secondly, she encouraged (as an individual) everyone to vote yes on 1-A question. Chairwoman Richards asked for a moment of silence for all the individuals who are putting their lives on the line everyday for our right to vote, and for those individuals who have already lost those lives and the families who are dealing with the consequences of that. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 2 REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 28, SPECIAL MEETINS OF AUGUST 23, SEPTEMBER 26, OCTOBER 4 AND WORK SESSIONS OF AUGUST 23, SEPTEMBER 6, SEPTEMBER 13 AND SEPTEMBER 27 — MOTION TO APPROVE AS AMENDED — STAFF PERSON: JEANETTE JONES, CLERK TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Commissioner Hatfield moved approval of the above referenced minutes with an amendment to one item in the Regular Meeting of September 28th as noted by Commissioner Newman. Commissioner Owsley seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. SECOND READING — RESOLUTION APPROVING A GRANT AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE HISTORIC FUND FOR FUNDING OF THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR REHABILITIATION OF THE EMMA STORE-POWEDER HOUSE — MOTION TO APPROVE — STAFF PERSON: DALE WILL, OPEN SPACE AND TRAILS DIRECTOR Dale Will, Open Space and Trails Director gave a presentation on this item as summarized in his memorandum to the Board. A copy of this memorandum is contained in the BOCC packet for this meeting. Chairwoman Richards opened the hearing to public comment. There being no comment, she closed the public hearing and brought the matter back to the board for action. Commissioner Hatfield moved approval of the Resolution. Commissioner Owsley seconded the motion. Commissioner Ittner suggested that a recital be added to the resolution and future resolutions accepting grant offers, which explains where the funding comes from to the entity granting the funds e.g. this grant comes from State Historic Fund which is associated with state tax gambling dollars. He thinks that where people's tax dollars go is very confusing to a lot of people and he thinks it would be beneficial to the public to have this funding source explained in the resolution(s). Commissioner Owsley said he has no objection to Commissioner Ittner's suggestion going forward but he would like to see the specific language for the resolution before the board at this time so he will withdraw his motion. Commissioner Hatfield accepted the amendment to his motion. Commissioner Ittner seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. BOCC OPEN DISCUSSSION: Aspen Pitkin County Airport Terminal BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 3 REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 Commissioner Owsley commented that he feels it would be important to have all the people involved with this process the opportunity to attend discussions on this matter. Jim Elwood, Airport Director offered some opening comments relating to this matter. He said the Aspen Pitkin County Airport is probably the finest in the United States and it really is a model for things that have been done extremely well. He emphasized that the focus of the airport should be about the focus of safety, efficiency, and environmental sensitivity. He said the key steps of the master plan that involved the public and getting feedback, started around the first of the year. The Board of County Commissioners named almost 50 people to an advisory committee to help shape, guide and provide input to help represent what the community was looking for from its airport. And the document the board has in front of them at this time includes the comments from all those public forums narrowed proposals down to four and he thinks they all have unique characteristics. A discussion ensued with respect to clarifications of the proposals. Commissioner Hatfield commented that he likes the comment in Alternative 1 that moves the terminal a little closer to the highway, but he would like to see the parking area reduced. With respect to Alternative 2 he likes the potential to have a covered transit link. He thinks Alternative 3 needs to be kept in the process only because of the funding. He said he is not in favor of a remodel of the existing terminal, but rather, construction of a new facility. Commissioner Newman commented that in terms of egress in and out of the airport there are probably as many people that are heading into Aspen as there are hearing out to Snowmass during the wintertime so he thinks that we need to take that into consideration and not have everyone have to exit to the east and then have to go through two series of travel lanes as they head down valley. Additionally he emphasized that we need to look into the future and determine how we can be much more efficient with baggage delivery not only inbound but also outbound because if we can solve that problem it would make public transit a much more viable option, which isn't now because luggage is a deterrent. He said that remodeling the existing terminal really is not economically viable and not very aspirational as well. With respect to terms of location again, if we are going to be visionary, the idea that somewhere in the near future to the distant future, we may have the opportunity to have an easy egress from the airport into downtown Aspen e.g. a dedicated bus lane that could be converted into a rail system, but that option is probably not going to occur for getting to Snowmass. He said although there may be an opportunity down the road to have some way to at least get to the intercept lot at Brush Creek and then shuttle people up and down. With respect to getting people from the terminal out to the highway he thinks a movable or covered walkway might help. He said he is not focusing on any particular alternative, but rather thinks it might be a hybrid of this with the elimination of Option 3 trying to renovate or remodel the existing terminal. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 4 REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 Commissioner Ittner said he thinks it crucial that there is a circular motion of traffic flow with exits on both ends of the airport that someone could head either up valley or down valley. With respect to the parking, he said that he has a concern just like Jack had expressed; he shares the same concern. He said he concurs with George in terms of the visionary aspect of leaving a lot of options open for public transportation to and from Aspen and he thinks that is going to definitely be a change to our tourist experience being able to transfer their bags directly. He said he has no major desire to keep Alternative 3 on the table. He said he is leaning towards the concepts that got the most votes, which is Alternative 1 and 4. Commissioner Owsley said he is fine with Alternative 1. He said we do need to make provisions for how people are going to transfer out of the airport to their final destination in Aspen, Snowmass, Basalt or Woody Creek, and he thinks that's through reservation of baggage handling where it can be delivered to their quarters and easy transfer to transportation whether it be a shuttle to a hotel or taxis to a private residence. He said we have to plan for a worst case scenario so when there is very bad weather and much delay, you can still go somewhere and sit down and be comfortable, which would not be on the floor or on top of the baggage and not a refugee experience. He said the hospitality of an airport is very important. Chairwoman Richards commented that there are probably some areas that could be remodeled to accommodate areas such as the screening area, etc. and then get a new concourse built that would be the holding area and then as funds are available we would be able to build "a new terminal" that would connect to that concourse. She said it is difficult for her to make design decisions for something that won't be affordable later. Why do we spend all this money investigating about having absolutely everything and all the bells and whistles and then finding us incrementally slicing those back off as we get to a project that we have the local match for that we feel will not be cut back when it gets to the federal level. And those same costs concern her past construction; the operational costs, the energy efficiency costs, personnel, etc. She said that one of the details she doesn't want missed is that of delivery and service trucks access. With respect to access, she thinks it needs to be very intuitive and she agrees with George's comment that proper access needs to be provided for both directions (up valley and down valley). She said she thinks there could be advantages associated with the second floor boarding, but she doesn't want to go down that direction if it would be so obtrusive in site for the community. With respect to the parking, she said she needs a cost analysis to understand that she doesn't have e.g. what does it cost to run an underground parking garage, and what is that operational cost versus having a shuttle to some more remote parking lots across the area. With respect to baggage, she would like to see more discussion on how to get baggage to visitor's destinations efficiently. She summarized that we need to keep track of and evaluate the concepts on what people like the most about the airport now and keeping in mind how green the facility can be built. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 5 REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 A discussion ensued between staff and commission members with respect to clarifications associated with certain concepts of the alternatives and an overview of their comments and concerns. Commission members continued with several work session items which were continued from the October 11th meeting. A copy of the minutes from the works session forum are attached hereto and made a part of this record. Commissioner Newman moved to convene into an executive session for the purpose of discussing oil and gas regulations pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(e) at 3:40 p.m. Commissioner Ittner seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Jeanette Jones Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners Rachel Richards, Chairwoman Board of County Commissioners BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 6 REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 12, 2011