Pearl Theater and street view of the theater from the August 22 BV Trustees meeting packet.
Pearl Theater Designated Local Landmark in Public Hearing
John and Barbara Groy applied for historic designation for the Pearl Theater (316 East Main) with the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) on August 3. The HPC unanimously voted to recommend the designation, and the Buena Vista Board of Trustees agreed with a unanimous vote at their August 22 regular meeting.
According to the passed resolution, the Pearl Theater qualifies for historic designation for the following reasons:
- It exemplifies specific elements of an architectural style. Specifically, Victorian architecture with distinct styles from the 1950s.
- The façade and cornice demonstrate high artistic value or superior craftsmanship.
- The style is particularly associated with this area.
- It reflects the work of cinema entrepreneurs and those who enjoyed cinema, representing different eras of history.
- It represents Buena Vista’s history of entertainment and community.
- People identify the building with downtown Buena Vista
- It is iconic and located in the heart of downtown.
The Groys attended the meeting and said their hope was to turn it into a community theater again, able to feature the high school choir, comedy acts, or maybe even Saturday morning cartoons. But first, they have to ensure the building is structurally sound.
Receiving historic designation opens up possible funding opportunities for the theater, and the HPC plans to help the Groys collect the funds to bring the Pearl back to life.
Local filmmaker Paprika Leverton spoke in support of the designation during the public comment portion of the hearing. She offered her support beyond the night’s meeting as well. “I’m a magician and a juggler, so maybe I can make something appear for you,” said Leverton.
The Buena Vista (BV) Trustees were excited with the prospect of the theater reopening. Trustee Gina Lucrezi said she looked forward to more vibrancy coming to Main Street.
“I think it will be one of the best things to happen on Main Street in years,” said Trustee Cindie Swisher.
BV Commits to Proposition 123 Goals to Access Affordable Housing Funding
The trustees and town staff spent a good amount of time on Tuesday discussing Proposition 123 before agreeing to direct staff to commit to the requirements in the proposition.
Joseph Teipel provided a high-level summary of the proposition and what the requirements mean for the Town of Buena Vista.
Essentially, Proposition 123 created a funding pool from .01 percent of state sales tax revenue, which will be used to support affordable housing programs and grants. To be eligible to access this state money, specific jurisdictions must commit to certain terms. If they do not, then no entity within the area can apply for the grants.
To qualify, jurisdictions must commit to increasing affordable housing stock by 9 percent over three years. Affordable housing in this sense means rentals at 60 percent (Area Median Income) AMI or below and for-sale units at 100 percent AMI or below. There would also need to be a ninety-day fast-track approval process for applications, excluding subdivisions.
According to Teipel, amendments to Prop 123 passed as part of Bill 1304, create an opportunity for rural resort communities to participate in a petition process and potentially change their AMI thresholds.
The deadline to opt in is November 1. If the Town cannot meet the requirements, the only negative consequence is they would be ineligible to receive funds for one year before they could commit again. Any funds received before the three-year mark would be unaffected.
Staff and trustees agreed that it made sense to commit to the requirements given the low stakes. The Board unanimously agreed to direct staff to submit their commitment and open up access to the Prop 123 funds.
Board Directs Staff to Allocate Excess Budget from New Police Station to Other Projects
The Board and Town Staff had previously discussed what to do with leftover funds from the new police station project. With savings of about 3.5 percent, staff presented a potential breakdown to the board, who unanimously voted to approve the allocations and update the town budget accordingly.
The breakdown includes:
- $10,854 for lingering police station costs.
- $30,000 for the catalyst injection in Well #3 pump replacement and Well #4 design.
- $70,000 for the Buena Vista Schools bus route and public parking lot project.
- $50,000 for the schematic design for Town Hall East and future-proofing the Town campus.
- $50,000 for the Billy Cordova Memorial Park project.
The total savings amounted to $210,854.
Trustees Accept $1,617,000 Bid from JHL Constructors INC for Infiltration Gallery Expansion
The Board unanimously approved a notice of award to JHL Constructors Inc. for the infiltration gallery expansion project to connect the infiltration galleries installed last fall into the water treatment facility.
Only one bid was received for the work, which exceeded the Opinion of Probably Cost (OPC) submitted in December, 2021 with the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) Grant Match application.
The CWCB grant covered $1,107, 750, $509,250 less than the bid.
After some discussion and assurances from the Treasurer, the Board voted to approve the notice of award to JHL for the work.
Interim Town Administrator Agreement Extended One Month for New Town Administrator’s Onboarding
The Board unanimously agreed to extend the employment contract covering Puckett’s additional duties as Interim Town Administrator for an additional month.
Originally, the employment agreement ended as soon as the new Town Administrator started. To leverage Puckett’s experience and ensure Brian Berger is onboarded properly, the board passed a resolution to extend Puckett’s responsibilities, so he doesn’t stop as soon as Berger starts in his new position.
Staff Reports and Consent Agenda
At the beginning of the meeting, Town Treasurer and Interim Town Administrator Phillip Puckett asked to delay the staff reports until after the business items. The Trustees agreed, and the reports were delayed until nearly the end of the meeting when the Town Treasurer, Public Works Director, Recreation Supervisor, Airport Manager, and Planning Director delivered updates for their departments.
The consent agenda was approved unanimously and included minutes from the previous trustee meeting, the Trails Advisory Board, the Airport Advisory Board, and the Recreation Advisory Board. The Town Clerk report and a resolution appointing Christopher Mertes as an alternate member of the Airport Advisory Board were also included in the consent agenda.
Puckett also introduced new Interim Fire Chief Kent Maxwell from Chaffee County Fire. Maxwell will be delivering the board reports for Chaffee Fire for the foreseeable future.
The Board adjourned after 10:00 p.m. with no executive session. The next Board of Trustees meeting is set for Tuesday, September 12.
The full August 22 meeting will be posted online to the Town of Buena Vista’s YouTube channel here.
The full Board packet is also available online here.
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