At their March 2 regular meeting, the Winter Park Town Council’s first order of business was approval of an Automatic Voice Announcement System for transit buses. Town Staff had piloted Hanover’s Automatic Voice Announcement (AVA) system on one of the vehicles for the last year. Passenger information systems provide ‘This Stop’ and ‘Next Stop’ notifications to ensure passengers know where they are at all times. They found this better served riders and assisted those with ADA needs. Council approved adding this technology to six of the Town’s newest buses and additional vehicles in the future in a unanimous vote.  

Contractor for Transit Facility Determined

The Town is in the process of constructing a new Transit Facility off CR 5 north of Fraser. In the March 2 Council Meeting, the Construction Manager/General Contractor services contract was awarded to Saunders Construction. This is the same company that constructed the recently completed Public Works building.

Amendment to the Rendezvous Colorado, LLC Agreement

The Town entered into an agreement with Rendezvous Colorado, LLC to grant them marketing and naming rights for the Rendezvous Event Center (REC) in Hideaway Park in 2018. A first amendment to the agreement stated all principal and interest payments were to be received from Rendezvous by December 31, 2027. Because the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the activation of the REC in 2020, and therefore reduced benefits to Rendezvous, a second amendment was proposed to delay the principal payment until December 31, 2028. Rendezvous holds the naming rights to the Rendezvous Event Center through 2033. Council approved this amendment.

OLRT Grant Application

Grand County established the Open Lands, Rivers and Trails (OLRT) Fund to support projects that preserve natural areas, scenic open lands, wildlife habitat, wetlands and river access. The Town of Winter Park is submitting a grant application to pursue the acquisition of land which will preserve public access to a portion of the Fraser River within Winter Park. The acquisition of property will also serve other public benefits, such as preserving wetlands, wildlife habitat and creating opportunities for the extension of the Fraser River Trail. Council approved this resolution, which authorizes staff to submit the application and commits the Town’s funding for a grant match.  

Short-Term Rental Policy

The Short-Term Rental Advisory panel has been working on a policy recommendation on registering short-term rentals in the community. After a workshop and open house to gain feedback on the draft policy, the Advisory Committee formally approved the policy recommendation at their final meeting in February.

This policy was approved on the first reading and was approved after the second reading and public hearing held on March 16. In the coming weeks, the Town will be sending communication to the short-term rental property owners explaining the new requirements for these properties.

With the adoption of the Short-Term Rental Policy (Ordinance 522), a registration fee is required to be adopted separately by a resolution. The annual registration fee for short-term rentals is $150. This fee goes towards covering costs associated with the program, such as administrative staff, professional services to administer registration and fee collection, addressing complaints, and the possible addition of a code compliance officer. 

Vasquez Road Reimbursement 

Winter Park Town Code allows the Town to allocate the recovery of costs of construction to public improvements to adjacent property owners, based on the benefit the improvements provide to the owners. With this ordinance, the Town’s portion of public improvement costs on Vasquez Road will be allocated to the two benefited properties in proportion to the benefits they received.  

This was approved on the first reading and was approved after the second reading and public hearing held on March 16. 

Business Assistance Program

Town Staff, by request from Council, prepared an emergency ordinance to fund a Business Assistance Program to help businesses impacted directly by public health orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This ordinance appropriates $50,000 to the initiative and authorized the Town Manager to develop the desired program.

The program will provide assistance to businesses identified in public health orders, reimburse businesses for expenses incurred while implementing Grandstar program best practices and limits assistance to $5,000 per business. The emergency ordinance was approved by Council unanimously.

Winter Park Town Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Workshops are conducted at 3 pm followed by the regular meeting at 5:30 pm. The meetings are open to the public. To learn more, visit wpgov.com.