At the meeting on Tuesday, November 17, Finance and HR Director Lizbeth Lemley presented the 2021 Budget draft to the Town Council for their consideration. 

Lemley’s conservative estimates showed better than expected results. “We believe the general fund we’re forecasting will be just over $7 million,” said Lemley. “Our original budget from last year had us coming in at about $5.8 million.” She noted that when the COVID pandemic hit, they had made a lot of cuts to capital spending, and the decrease in sales tax revenues wasn’t as much as was anticipated. “So we’re actually finishing this year ahead of where we have projected,” she said.

Following the presentation, a Public Hearing was opened, but no comment was received, so the hearing was closed. Lemley advised the Council she would have a Resolution for approval at the next meeting. Resolution 1825 was approved unanimously on December 1.

Resolution 1826, authorizing a mill levy assessment of 3.457 on all taxable property was also approved unanimously at the December 1 meeting. Lemley estimated the amount would bring in $486,121 in revenue in 2021.

Alcohol Code amended

Town Clerk Dani Jardee presented Ordinance 545 for Council’s review and approval. Jardee explained, “This past legislative session, several bills relating to the regulation of alcoholic

beverages were enacted.” The Town’s legal counsel had distributed a memo to Council giving

an overview of each bill and Council stated they would like to move forward with amending the Town’s Code to reflect some of the changes.

Ordinance 545 will amend Title 1 and Title 3 of the Winter Park Town Code to align with Senate Bill 20-110 and Senate Bill 20-213.

Senate Bill 20-110 pertains to Fines for Violation. Before this bill, State and Local Authorities could only impose a fine or violation if the licensee requested a fine instead of revocation or suspension. With the passing of Ordinance 545, the Local Authority can impose a fine without suspension or revocation for liquor violations and increase fines in lieu of suspension.

Senate Bill 20-213 applies to Alcohol Take Out and Delivery. When the State of Colorado is NOT under a declaration of emergency, this bill allows for the creation of a permit system to allow takeout and delivery of alcohol. Ordinance 545 will allow the Town Clerk to approve applications for takeout and delivery permits when the State of Colorado is not under a declaration of emergency.

Town Council unanimously approved Ordinance 545 following the second reading on December 1.

Transit CARES Act funding

Transit Manager Ivy Compton presented Resolution 1819 to authorize Mayor Nick Kurumbos to sign a Grant Agreement for funds allocated to Winter Park Transit by the Federal Transit Administration’s  Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Compton explained, “The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) received $39.7 million dollars from the FTA CARES Act specifically to provide aid to its rural public transit providers. In the second phase of this grant program, the Town of Winter Park was allocated $263,126 to help offset costs and losses related to COVID-19. These dollars come with a 100% federal match, meaning no local match dollars are required to accept the grant.” 

Recommending approval, Compton said, “This grant will offset the loss in sales tax revenue and with no local match requirement for this grant, this will have a great impact on the Transit Department budget and allow The Lift to continue serving the community, uninterrupted.”

Compton noted that the funds would only be covering operating expenses. Fraser and Granby will continue to get monthly invoices showing the cost of the service (which would then be zero’d out with grant dollars), but management fees would still be assessed to cover ongoing administration costs associated with operating the system.

Council approved Resolution 1819 unanimously.

Winter Trail Grooming Operations

Public Works Director Gerry Vernon presented Resolution 1820 to Council at the November 17th meeting. “It’s time for the annual renewal of our winter grooming contract,” said Vernon. “This year is going to be very important – we’re expecting high demand and heavy use. We need to promote our trails and get a lot more outdoor opportunities.”

Vernon told Council he had added an additional $5,000 to the 2021 budget, recommending a contract award to Mountain States Snowcats not to exceed $28,000 for the upcoming season.  

This year’s grooming will include the Hideaway Park Sledding Hill, Fraser River Trail, Leland Creek Trail, a loop trail from the Leland Creek Trail, Alpine Trail, Confluence Park loop and a snow bridge for the winter trail extension of the Fraser River Trail.

Council approved the Resolution unanimously.

The Basement changes hands

Town Clerk Dani Jardee presented the application for a transfer of Tavern Liquor License from current operator, Aaron Hiesler of The Local Base LLC, to Lisa Miller and Kayla Mihalcin d/b/a Girl Bar LLC. The business, located downstairs from Strip & Tail, plans to offer a casual dining and drink experience to guests and will operate seven days a week, opening at noon. The business proposes a Food Trailer, located adjacent to their entry, would provide lunch and dinner options. Miller and Mihalcin used Roots Tavern as their working title on the application, but Jardee noted the final name of the tavern may change.

Jardee told Council all documents were in order and they approved the transfer unanimously.

Special Use Permit for Food Trailer

Town Planner Hugh Bell presented Resolution 1827, a Special Use Permit to operate a food trailer on the Strip & Tail property. As noted in the transfer of Tavern Liquor License above, a food trailer would provide dining options for patrons of the new establishment. 

Androw and Lisa Miller of AJM FraserFoods applied for a Special Use Permit to operate the food trailer, moving it from its current location in Fraser to the western edge of the Strip & Tail parking lot.

With consideration given to neighboring restaurateurs, the Millers plan to offer non-competitive menu options. The food trailer would open at noon daily with varied closing times. When closed, the tavern would offer food from their mini-kitchen.      

Council approved the Special Use Permit unanimously.

Winter Park Town Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 5:30 pm in Town Hall. The meetings are open to the public. To learn more, visit wpgov.com.