7/19/22: Vail Town Council Agenda Breakdown

A VailSticky guide to Vail Town Council Meetings: for folks that don’t have time for that.

What’s on the Evening Agenda for 7/19/22

Below is a quick rundown of what’s on the evening agenda. This is not a complete list, just some snippets of what we think are sticky issues. You can find links to the full official agendas at the bottom of this page, including info on how to participate, and where to watch.

1. 6pm Citizen Participation (a.k.a. Open Mic Night):

   • You get 3 minutes to speak your truth to a captive audience of your leaders – in person or over Zoom. The most powerful and underutilized channel of engagement in Vail. What will you say?

   • The Citizen Participation attachment of the Evening Agenda has a letter from the ‘Vail Cultural Alliance’. There is a discussion around the Civic Center (a.k.a Dobson Ice Area & East Lionshead parking garage) on the afternoon agenda. It’s unclear if this letter is intended for the evening meeting, the afternoon meeting, or is just a letter to the council. Here’s the letter. Short snapshot: Requesting a ‘Vail Cultural Complex’ add on to the Civic Center area to accommodate 300-750 participants for productions as diverse as The Vail Symposium, Bravo! Vail, Vail Jazz, Vail Performing Arts and The Vail Valley Dance Academy; and conference rooms for 20-50 participants for nonprofit board and volunteer committee meetings.

   • Somethings we think are worth saying:

     • On May 17th this Town Council unanimously voted to rezone West Middle Creek for housing. Rezoning that parcel has been tabled in PEC. Why? Vail is in a housing crisis and all 7 Town Council members agreed that the West Middle Creek parcel should have housing on it. Drop the hammer and rezone it already.

     • The Community Survey indicated that 91% of respondents thought it was ‘very important’ (11%) or ‘extremely important’ (80%) to “encourage collaboration between the Town of Vail and Vail Resorts” on workforce housing. Where is that happening? Is the future of all housing partnerships contingent on only the East Vail outcome? Where is the public benefit in a scorched earth workforce housing policy?

     • The Shift bike program is awesome.

     • Town Council positions need a pay increase.

       Aspen considered the issues at hand: A 2-4 year council term is not a career. $20,000 a year is not going to convince people to quit their jobs and become full time politicians. It might be enough for a parent with young kids to afford childcare while they serve their community. It might be enough for a business owner to have someone cover the floor while they do their duty. It might be enough for someone that rents to commit to a 2 to 4 year term; when their future residency relies on a 12 month lease in an increasingly unaffordable and unreliable housing market. Aspen did a comparative study across ski towns (page 313-319); they now compensate their council members $2,700 a month. Vail’s Town Council members get around $600-$800 month.
       
       If what we want is a full spectrum community, with a diversity of citizens that reflect our culture and our values - then we should make it somewhat possible for the leadership of our community to represent that diversity.
       
       It's easy to say you should serve only for the honor and the commitment to your cause. Realistically speaking, that limits your representation to two groups of people: those with the time, wealth, and social incentives to do the work for free; or those that don't put in enough time and don't do the homework.

2. Making the E-Vail Courier delivery program permanent. So there’s less trucks and such in the Village. 106West Logistics has done a great job during the pilot. Let’s keep it going.

3. Budget Stuff. A peek into the millions of dollars Vail makes and spends.

Read the full evening agenda for the 7/19/22 Vail Town Council meeting here.

What’s on the Afternoon Agenda for 7/19/22

Below is a quick rundown of what’s on the afternoon agenda of the Vail Town Council - which starts at 1pm. This is not a complete list, just some snippets of what we think are sticky issues. You can find links to the full official agendas at the bottom of this section, including info on how to participate, and where to watch.

Visioneering of the Dobson Ice Arena + east end of the Lionshead Parking Structure from the 7/19/22 Vail Recreation District (VRD) presentation to the Vail Town Council.

1. Vail Recreation District is talking to the Vail Town Council about revamping the Dobson Ice Arena. The presentation starts at 1pm. The agenda notes “Public Comment will be taken during this agenda item.” See the section below on how to comment and participate.

2. Winter Guest Satisfaction Survey Report. Check out the presentation deck. Always keep in mind that Vail’s surveys do not usually contain a representative sample of all people; but they do contain good information regarding the people that actually took the survey. Interesting insights:

   • Fewer visitors reported owning an Epic Pass.

   • Fewer visitors from Colorado - specifically Front Rangers

   • Parking sucks but Vail Transit is great

   • Fewer visitors are ‘very likely’ to come back next year (7% decrease). More visitors are ‘not likely’ to come back (9% increase)

3. The 4th of July drone “show”…are we going to that again?

Read the full afternoon agenda for the 7/19/22 Vail Town Council Meeting here.

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 speak your truth 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. Public comment pertaining to extra spicy issues on the agenda may be held later on in the evening prior to a vote by the Council Members - these issues are usually in the “public hearing” section of the agenda.

1. Register in advance to participate by Zoom: Here are quick links to register for 7/19/22 evening session or the 7/19/22 afternoon session.

2. Show up to the Vail Town Council Chambers before the 6:00pm start to comment in person.

3. Email your thoughts to 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:

1. Catch the livestream on Town of Vail’s Facebook Page

2. Follow the Twitter feed @VailTownCouncil

3. 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.