City Council Minutes 2020 11 24 SP

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City Council Meeting Minutes November 24, 2020 Page 2 of 7 Director Pierce stated there has been ongoing dialogue about the outdoor seating areas on Main Street, most significantly with the Downtown Business Association (DBA) but also with individual restaurant owners. While there was complete support for the full closure in May, by early October, there was no longer complete support to continue the full closure through the winter. Recent public health requirements disallowing indoor dining may have shifted this somewhat. Staff last surveyed the restaurants to ascertain participant numbers for the on -street outdoor seating areas on November 3, however there has not been time to fully engage downtown business owners or residents about a full winter closure in the time since this special meeting was requested just last week. If directed to keep the Main Street closure it will take approximately one week to implement a wintertime closure (signage may be delayed). If the closure stays in place, all patio parklets will be removed and replaced with concrete barriers that are better able to survive the winter weather. Staff will clean-up leaves and anchor existing fixtures. Non - anchored fixtures and signage will be removed If the Council's direction is to re -open the street to vehicular traffic but continue on -street seating, staff will first remove existing fixtures and create new seating areas using recently purchased concrete barriers. Seating areas will be created for restaurants that express a desire to participate. Barriers have been purchased based on the responses staff got to the November 3 survey however if more businesses request this type of seating staff will work to order more supplies and create more spaces. Director Pierce noted some outstanding issues including the regulations prohibiting temporary structures in the public right-of-way, snow removal, and public safety concerns. She reviewed costs for winter dining which are expected to be in the $25,000 to $30,000 range but noting that does not include any costs for snow removal. The Council has a resolution to consider and staff would need a specific end date for the resolution so as to know how to end the closure and move into whatever the spring program will look like. She stated that if Boulder County moves to Level Purple: Extreme Risk, outdoor dining is anticipated to be prohibited. Should that happen, staff would remove all outdoor seating areas. Staff is seeking direction from Council on the winter options for the Main Street Outdoor Dining program. Public Comments Mark Oberholzer, Tilt and Business Retention & Development Committee, encouraged Council to keep the street open to give the restaurants all the help they can under the current restrictions. He noted there are likely to be many sunny days warm enough to eat outside.