Mayor's Minute

August Mayor's Minute

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Dear neighbors, I hope you have been enjoying the wonderful summer weather. It’s hard to imagine spending time somewhere other than Mountain Village. Speaking of Mountain Village, we began last month's Town Council meeting recognizing our police officers who serve our citizens daily. While we generally feel quite safe in our little town, the recent horrific events around the country remind us of the risk police officers face every day. Taking the opportunity to simply step back and say “thank you” is important to do. From there, Town Council shifted into the usual mix of routine land use matters, staff and council reports, and special topics. July Meeting Highlights 1 > Town Council asked staff to work with the Town of Telluride to engineer a sidewalk on the south side of San Juan Avenue near the gondola station. This structural change may modify the gondola building to ensure better access and line queuing. If Mountain Village pursues this, the Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association (TMVOA) and Telluride Ski & Golf Company (TSG) will be involved. 2 > Town Council participated in a lengthy discussion regarding single-family lot subdivisions. Town Council accepted the Design Review Board’s (DRB) recommendation to ban single-family lot subdivisions. Given that this recommendation was materially different from staff’s recommendation, Town Council extended the current moratorium banning subdivisions in order to consider a new ordinance banning subdivisions at the next two Town Council meetings. 3 > The Mountain Village Finance Department staff and third-party auditor announced a clean audit report for the 2015 fiscal year. Well done finance team! 4 > Town Council considered the merits of responding to an unsolicited offer to buy Village Court Apartments (VCA). With mixed views on the merits of selling this critical public asset, but with an eye towards fiduciary duty, Councilmembers McKinley and Jett were asked to invite the potential buyer to attend the August Town Council meeting to discuss ways in which VCA would be enhanced and preserved under a sale scenario. 5 > Town Council received public comment on the draft Intergovernmental Agreement supporting a potential Regional Transit Authority (RTA). Council subsequently approved a resolution that would put the RTA formation and taxation on the November ballot. 6 > The Telluride Foundation presented a report on the merits of public-private partnerships to progress workforce housing opportunities. Town Council indicated its interest in sharing resources in order to identify and drive regional workforce housing solutions. The Town of Telluride and San Miguel County are considering the same idea, and if all agree, a roadmap will be developed. Moreover, in a joint worksession with the DRB, all parties agreed to improve the elevation and approval processes for new developments. 7 > Finally, Town Council discussed their monthly meeting schedule. While fairly benign, Council will continue to experiment with times and formats that make the meetings most accessible to the entire community. August Meeting Highlights 1 > The Telluride Tourism Board will share its most recent data on yet another record tourism season. 2 > Mountain Village’s town clerk will advise on issues and process related to the upcoming November election. 3 > Town Council will continue its discussion on lot line subdivisions and consider an ordinance banning them. 4 > County Commissioner Goodtimes will ask for support of Indigenous Peoples Day scheduled for October 8. 5 > In an effort to create a new town park, Town Council will review a purchase agreement for the acquisition of a portion of Lot 640A in the Meadows neighborhood. 6 > Together with TMVOA and TSG, Council will discuss the idea of free day-time parking in the Gondola Parking Garage, which merchants, residents and visitors all seem to support. 7 > In a joint worksession, DRB and Town Council will focus on design regulations as outlined in the Community Development Code to ensure Mountain Village stays current with evolving design trends in mountain communities. 8 > The party interested in acquiring Village Court Apartments will attend a worksession with Town Council; no action will be taken. 9 > In addition to learning about how the Telluride Conference Center is performing, Paul Reich will lead a discussion about mental health services in the region, and Town Council will discuss regional forest service shared services. As usual, please share your thoughts in advance, or better yet, join us in person or online if you can. Warm Regards, Dan Jansen Mountain Village Mayor

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