Town Council Highlights: Work Session Briefs

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Town of Vail - Town Council - Town Council Highlights - Archive - October 2, 2001 Page 5 of 10 0 Evening Session Briefs Council members present: Donovan, Foley, Kurz, Moffet, Navas, Ogilby, Slifer -- Citizen Participation Former Town Councilman Tom Steinberg appeared before the Council t present an update on information he'd learned about several telephone surveys that were being conducted recently. Steinberg said one of the surveys appeared to be testing responses to negative statements about the proposed Charter Amendment and may have been funded by Vail Resorts. Steinberg helped initiate the Charter Amendment ballot issue. I approved on Nov. 6, the amendment would expand citizen challenges of Town Council actions. Steinberg went on to explain the merits of the proposed amendment, one of which, he said, would protect the town fro perceived conflicts of undo influence by the Town Council and Vail Resorts. Steinberg also provided an update on a second telephone solicitation which was used to recruit participants to a focus group sponsored by the Town of Vail Community Information Office. The participants were asked to share ideas about improving communications within the town. Steinberg called the exercise "well done" and "professional." He then presented Mayor Kurz with the $75 he was given for participating, and asked that it be returned to the town. Next, Dan Telleen, owner of Karats jewelry, distributed copies of a 1981 cartoon drawn by former Mayor John Dobson which calls attention to conflicts between Vail's urban and natural environments. He then read a letter he'd written to his landlord protesting the Town Council's interest i creating a mixed use development on the south side of the Vail Village parking structure. Telleen criticized the proposal, saying it would cut the business pie into smaller pieces, cut the labor pool into smaller pieces a cut the parking pie into smaller pieces. Noting such an endeavor is not t town's business, Telleen suggested the town focus on getting guests to Vail instead. As a follow up to his question of two weeks ago, Jim Lamont of the Vail Village Homeowners Association repeated his request of Council to research and identify the sponsor of a recent telephone survey which focused on the proposed Charter Amendment. He also asked Council to disclose if any town employees are involved in the effort. In addition, Lamont held up a copy of the Fair Campaign Practices Act obtained fro the Eagle County Clerk's Office and suggested it was Council's responsibility to make sure Vail's electoral process is followed. http: / /www.ci.vail.co.us/ town_ council /highlights /archive /2001/011002.htm 01/30/2002