2-21-2023 Vail Town Council Agenda Breakdown
A VailSticky guide to Vail Town Council Meetings: for folks that don’t have time for that.
Participation in government is a luxury - by making participation more accessible and understandable, we can make it less exclusive. Here you’ll find:
Summary of the Evening Agenda & Afternoon Agenda
How to Participate
Where to Watch
Strategic Plan Update for 2/21/2023
The Strategic Plan update is a new addition to the agenda which includes a digestible overview of all the big deliverables to keep an eye on. For a bird’s eye view of what TOV is up to - this is all you need.
Agenda Summary
Afternoon Agenda: 2/21/2023 Vail Town Council
Design Review Board (DRB) Update: (2/1/23 Minutes & 2/13/23 Minutes)
Planning & Environmental Commission (PEC) Update: (2/13/23 Minutes)
Art in Public Places Update (AIPP): (1/9/23 Minutes)
Want to be on the AIPP Board? There are 2 spots opening up! Applications are due March 1st; then you’ll need to be present in-person for a short interview in front of the Vail Town Council on March 7th! Read the press release here for more information on how to apply. Excellent way to get involved!
Vail Local Housing Authority Update (VLHA): (1/24/23 Minutes)
.Gov Domain Migration: (Memo)
Town of Vail’s domain is currently vailgov.com - it should be vail.gov. “dot gov” is attainable by US government institutions only and affords authority which allows web users the easily identify content as reputable.
Matters from Mayor, Council and Committee Reports:
This is like open mic night for council/mayor. You never know what you’re gonna hear. It’s usually a short conversation and interesting to watch.
Executive Session: Closed door business.
Evening Agenda: 2/21/2023 Vail Town Council
Citizen Participation: a.k.a open mic night - PREACH
CDOT $: (Resolution 6, 2023 & Intergovernmental Subaward Agreement IGA)
$458,548 agreement to fund public transportation operations.
Buying Property: (Resolution 7, 2023)
TOV’s buying property for housing. It doesn’t say where or what or from who.
West Middle Creek Road Building: (Resolution 8, 2023)
Permit to build a road into the West Middle Creek parcel.
Asphalt Sealing: (Slurry Contract Award)
$194,842 - Preventative maintenance road gooping contract awarded to A-1 Chipseal for the following roads: Westhaven Dr, Westhaven Cir, Greenhill Ct, Bald Mountain Rd, Manns Ranch Rd, Booth Falls Rd, Booth Falls Ct, Katsos Ranch Rd, Aspen Ln, Aspen Ct and Booth Creek Dr.
West Middle Creek Geotechnical Work: (Contract Award)
$226,500 - contract awarded to CMT Technical Services to determine what kind of dirt we’re working with at West Middle Creek & where the ground water is.
Shift Bike Expansion: (Memo, Proposal)
$224,000 - Vail is getting 18 additional bikes (for a total of 81) and 4 new bike stations located at Timber Ridge, Middle Creek/Residences at Main Vail, Glacier Court (West end of Lionsridge Loop), and the top of Buffer Creek.
Dobson Conceptual Design: (Memo)
Populous is the architectural outfit recommended to create a plan for Dobson Ice Arena. Dobson is structurally failing and smells like a used urinal cake. Vail has $36 million in TIFF funding that must be spent by 2027. Getting this ball rolling is Town Council Priority #2 for 2023.
Dobson is the priority and the primary focus of this design contract, however, the redevelopment/renovation of Dobson will have some bearing on the rest of the Civic Area Plan - which included a reimagining of surrounding areas like the library, town offices, and Lionshead parking structure additions.
The Civic Area Plan came together in 2018 and was adopted in 2019. Our world has changed pretty significantly since then, and Vail’s plans will evolve as well. Dobson design is one of many steps forward. The needs assessments, market studies, competitive analysis, and operating cost estimates necessary for Dobson and the surrounding areas have not been conducted to reflect our 2023 reality and beyond. They will be.
There has been some confusion about “The Hub” that should be clarified. A group that has identified itself as the Vail Cultural Alliance hired an architect and pitched the Town Council on a Lionshead parking structure addition which they referred to as “The Cultural-Municipal Hub”. The Vail Daily reported on it and the plan was roasted in the comments section on social media (link below). The presentation was a proposal from an interest group - and that’s OK! It is not “the plan”. It was not greenlit by the Town Council. There are other perspectives, needs, and values that the Town of Vail must evaluate - which is why we have a public process. A diversity of ideas strengthens that process and improves the results - so if you have thoughts to contribute SHARE THEM!
Road Stripping: (Memo)
$57,281.40 - RoadSafe Traffic Systems
Council Matters Report: (READ IT!)
This is exciting stuff. It’s a little debrief from the Town Manager to the council on what’s up. It tells us what actions are on-deck, and what is on the radar for TOV but not (yet) on the agenda! Also includes a collection of Vail related news links in case ya missed it.
Public Comment Time Limits: The Evergreen appeal on 1/3/23 sparked two little controversies the Town of Vail is working to reconcile with in order to curtail abuse of Appeals and Public Comment…
1: Appeals: Appeals provide an avenue for people/entities with legal (not social) standing to have a decision reviewed by a higher authority. Appeals typically take place when a party with standing believes a decision by a board or commission was made in error, and they have been or will be ‘injured’ as a result of that error. The appellant asks the Town Council to review the decision of the lower board - the Town Council can then overturn the decision, approve it, or approve it with modifications by setting additional conditions. Errors that result in injury are possible in any system of governance, thus appeals are an important tool to pursue a just result.
Common errors include claims that appropriate process was not followed, the code was not applied/interpreted correctly, or the code itself is flawed in a way that fails to protect the community interest as intended. Injury according to Vail includes being adversely affected (obstructed view, decreased property value) or aggrieved (hard to define - which is the problem).
The state of being “aggrieved” allows almost anyone to initiate an appeal - and they do. A handful of folks opposed to a class of projects (such as affordable housing) can file multiple appeals across the lifetime of multiple projects and significantly change the landscape of a community. This issue was discussed in the PEC meeting on 1/23 where PEC Commissioner Phillips laid it out in terms Vail can understand; “Aggrieved just kind of opens up this whole pandora’s box of anyone that gets sad about a sheep, or a house being painted a certain color, or the architecture just being not yodel enough.”.
Appeals are expensive and time consuming for developers (public and private) and the public institutions that facilitate appeals. Therefore appeals can be weaponized to undermine projects that are in compliance with the rules, and desired by the overwhelming majority. Developers can put in years of work to get an approval, a select few aggrieved parties can do real damage. 30% of the total cost of entitlements can be spent simply defending against appeals. Delays and uncertainty can shallow the talent pool of potential partners, or cause projects to be scrapped all together long before the approval begins in earnest.
How this ties back to the Evergreen appeal…The frivolousness of a substantial portion of appeal resurfaced attention for the potential for abuse of the appeals process.
2: Public Comment: Public comment is the most impactful channel of communication for between government and stakeholders. Grabbing the microphone at a meeting is the ONLY way you can guarantee that your thoughts and feelings will be heard by your elected leaders. You can write an email, but you have no way of knowing anyone actually read it. Getting on the microphone can also inspire bystanders to take action for your cause - allies you might not know exist and would have no other means of discovering.
The Town of Vail gives pretty much anyone 3 minutes to speak their truth in public comment. The 3 minute rule is a courtesy that works for people to be heard, and also be concise. Exceeding the 3 minutes is not cool, and is usually not allowed or intentional - you can go over just enough to finish your sentence. If you are actively crying you might get additional sympathy leniency.
During an appeal the only commentary that is legally relevant is that of the parties making the appeal and defending against it. There are rules that apply to who gets to speak during an appeal (and in certain circumstances for how long). Historically TOV has also given the public the option to comment on an appeal as well - limited to 3 minutes per speaker. Public comment doesn’t (shouldn’t?) have any bearing on the appeal decision, because technically the public had their opportunity to comment during the regular approval process.
Public comment was taken during the Evergreen appeal - limited to 3 minutes. A citizen in opposition of the Evergreen proceeded to speak for 5 minutes without interruption, and then solicited the audience to donate the additional time needed to complete his comments which were planned to require 9 minutes. In total Citizen A held the podium for 13 minutes in total.
As a result of this controversy there has been a recent crackdown on the 3 minute rule - which is sad because it kills the vibe in the chamber during public comment.
All of this could have been avoided…if the 3 minute rule that is usually enforced, was enforced in this instance.
Free Parking: Saturday 2/4 the payment platform for the parking garages went down. $50k lost revenue for TOV - likely exciting for everyone else.
Bollards: (Memo & Presentation)
What are the cost/benefits of stopping unauthorized vehicles vs. impeding authorized vehicles? It’s complicated.
Solar Panel Permission for Joint Property Owners: (Ordinance 2, 2023)
Making it a little harder for the owner of the other half of your duplex to prevent you from installing solar panels…or a wind-mill.
Building and Fire Codes Appeal Board: (Ordinance 3, 2023 & Memo)
A new avenue for appeals.
Local Business License Exemption: (Ordinance 4, 2023)
Code update that says the town can’t charge a business license fee for retailers that don’t have a physical presence in town.
How to Participate & Comment at Vail Town Council Meetings:
The first 10 minutes of every Evening Vail Town Council starting at 6pm is Citizen Participation (a.k.a Open mic night). You get 3 minutes to preach to a captive audience of your leaders – in person or over Zoom. This is the most powerful and underutilized channel of government engagement in Vail. USE IT!
Public comment pertaining to extra spicy issues that appear agenda may be held later on in the evening prior to a vote by the Council Members. If you have comments regarding an item on the agenda and you are not sure if public comment will be called at that time - just ask them during citizen participation at the beginning of the meeting.
Register in advance to participate by Zoom. Quick links to registration pages:
Show up to the Vail Town Council Chambers before the 6:00pm start to comment in person.
Email your input for the public record to publicinput.vailtowncouncil@vailgov.com and CC: TownCouncil@vailgov.com before 12:00pm on Tuesday. Your emails will be part of the public record, but will not be read aloud at the meeting.
Where to Watch Vail Town Council Meetings:
Catch the livestream on Town of Vail’s Facebook Page
Follow the Twitter feed @VailTownCouncil
Show up to the Vail Town Council Chambers
Watch the recording on HighFive (it takes a day or two for the recordings to be posted. Facebook is better.)
NOTE: Comments on social aren’t really read or responded to in real time. If you have something to say see the above section on How to Comment.
Reference Links
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