Annual Town of Vail Community Meeting set for March 31

The success of the Alpine World Ski Championships and other major milestones will be celebrated during the Annual Town of Vail Community Meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31 at the Donovan Pavilion. The free event is sponsored by the Vail Town Council and town staff.

Full-time and part-time residents, business owners, property owners, employees and others interested in the state of the community are encouraged to attend. Doors will open at 5 p.m. with informational displays on a variety of topics of community interest.

The evening’s program will begin at 5:30 p.m. with an introduction and welcome by Town Manager Stan Zemler followed by a State of the Town address by Mayor Andy Daly which will include an update on the town’s strong financial performance and the role of special events as an economic development tool.

Special guests will include Mike Imhof, senior vice president of operations and sales for the Vail Valley Foundation, who will share an overview of the impact of the Alpine World Ski Championships, including the remarkable efforts of more than 2,000 volunteers, plus world class venues and a seamless transportation system.

Also, Elizabeth Howe, senior director of mountain operations for Vail Resorts, will address the gathering with a recap of the closing weeks of the 2014-15 ski season and a preview of the upcoming summer and the Epic Discovery program.

A question and answer session will follow the presentations with time for additional one-on-one discussions. The gathering will also include a special tribute to Assistant Town Manager Pam Brandmeyer who is leaving the town after nearly 35 years of service.

Representatives from the town’s partner agencies including Vail Valley Medical Center, Vail Recreation District, Eagle River Water & Sanitation District, U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Department of Transportation will join town staff in hosting open house displays to share project updates and answer questions. Topics include: Vail I-70 Underpass, Chamonix housing property, renovation of Booth Creek Park, expansion of the Vail Trail, environmental initiatives, Vail Golf and Nordic Clubhouse remodel and the newly approved Vail Valley Medical Center Site Specific Redevelopment Master Plan. Information on Friends of the Vail Public Library and Friends of Art in Public Places also will be available.

The town’s most notable accomplishments during the past year will be distributed in a written report at the meeting. Highlights include record sales tax collections for the third year in a row, plus the groundbreaking of Lion’s Ridge Apartment Homes, formerly Timber Ridge, which will deliver 112 new residences for Vail’s workforce by the end of the year. Other significant projects include completion of the 18th hole realignment at the Vail Golf Club, a rebuild of the entry to the Lionshead parking structure, remodel of the Vail Village Welcome Center, widening and overlays of the Frontage Roads, completion of the Ford Park field expansion and Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater improvements, a groundbreaking for the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens Education Center in Ford Park and passage of a community-wide recycling mandate as well as an ordinance that will ban plastic bags in grocery stores and add a ten cent fee on paper bags beginning Aug. 1.

This is the 15th consecutive year for the Annual Community Meeting. Parking is free and light refreshments will be served. The meeting will be recorded by Public Access TV 5 and will be replayed on Comcast Channel 5 during April. For more information, contact the town’s community information office at 970-479-2115.