Report from the March 13^th Avon Town Council Meeting

Town Owned Properties Plan continued, Hahnewald Barn discussed, Lighting Ordinance amended

• David Glidden took his oath as an Avon Police Officer and was sworn in by Town Clerk Debbie Hoppe.

• Council continued the first reading of Ordinance 18-03, Adopting the Town of Avon-owned Properties Plan, to the March 27, 2018 Council meeting. Council instructed staff to modify some of the development strategies of multiple town-owned properties to reflect new pieces of information, change desired uses, or clarify the proposal.

• Council reviewed the Hahnewald Barn Relocation Cost Reduction Plan. Council directed staff to release a Request for Proposals to enlist 1) professional architectural and engineering services; and 2) a general contractor to complete schematic design and pricing; and, commence a community engagement process to identify and prioritize uses for the Hahnewald Barn.

• Council approved Resolution 18-07, waiving the anticipated sales tax on construction materials and building permit fees associated with the construction of Walking Mountains Science Center’s new Center for Sustainability. The Resolution stipulates that the waiver for the sales tax on construction materials shall not exceed $45,000 and the Waiver for the building permit fees shall not exceed $38,000 not including the actual direct cost of staff review time.

• Council approved the second reading of Ordinance 18-02, amending the lighting ordnance to extend permitted duration of seasonal holiday lighting in the Town core and placing a curfew on residential properties. For the Town Core, holiday lighting is permitted from November 15^th to the closing date of Beaver Creek Ski Resort’s winter ski season. For all other areas, holiday lighting is permitted from November 15^th to March 1^st. No holiday lights shall be illuminated between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m.  

• Council approved first reading of Ordinance 18-04, adopting unmanned aircraft system regulations (aka “Drone Regulations”). The regulations, if adopted on second reading, will restrict the following activities:
  • reckless operations,
  • use of drones with firearms or weapons,
  • use of drones for surveillance,
  • use of drones that interfere with police or emergency services,
  • launching, landing or operating drones from Town owned property without permission of Town,
  • launching, landing or operating drones from any real property without permission of the property owner,
  • use of drone to harass wildlife.

• Council directed staff to submit a Request for Proposals for an independent contractor to assist the Creative Founding Committee, for an amount not to exceed $10,000. The part-time, independent contractor will assist the Creative Founding Committee in its initial organizational work. Funding was appropriated from the 2018 General Fund Contingency line item.