The Town of Vail, in cooperation with Vail Mountain and the Vail Chamber & Business Association (VCBA), is pleased to introduce a new, all-inclusive, guest service training initiative. Enrollment for the PrimaVail program begins Oct. 16 and will be offered at no cost to employees, managers and owners of Vail businesses to coincide with the 2019-2020 ski and snowboard season. Registration is available online at vailchamber.org or in person during the program’s kickoff activities taking place throughout November.

Public comment opportunities will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 1 and on Tuesday, Oct. 15 as the Vail Town Council reviews the proposed 2020 municipal budget. The $85.4 million expenditure plan is available by clicking here. First reading of the budget ordinance is listed as action item 5.2 on the Oct. 1 meeting agenda which begins at 6 p.m. in the Vail Town Council Chambers.

The Town of Vail is hosting a seasonal job fair from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 at Donovan Pavilion. Representatives from the town’s parking, transit, police, fire and other departments will be present with information on available job openings. These include bus drivers, parking attendants, year-round emergency services dispatchers, code enforcement officers, accounting technician and early childhood educator with the Eagle Valley Child Care Association.

The Vail Town Council has selected Scott Robson, the current executive director of the Civic Center Conservancy in Denver, known for his collaboration and innovation, to become Vail’s next town manager. Robson’s appointment will be formalized by the Town Council at an upcoming evening meeting with approval of an employment contract. His first day on the job will be Nov. 1.

Mayor Dave Chapin has announced the search for the next Vail town manager has been narrowed to four finalists. The candidates will travel to Vail for a series of interviews which are taking place Sept. 16-17. The itinerary will include a community meet and greet reception with the candidates which is scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16 at Donovan Pavilion. Members of the public are encouraged to stop by to learn more about the finalists with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.

Inspired by a vintage photo showing a festive picnic during Vail’s early days, a reboot event is being organized to rekindle that same spirit. Today, nearly 50 years since the earlier gathering, community members are invited to make plans to enjoy a new tradition in the middle of town. The Vail Social community potluck dinner will be taking place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 24 at Solaris Plaza in Vail Village. The event is free and will be held rain or shine. Details, including how to sign up to attend, are available at VailSocial.com.

The Town of Vail will host its remaining neighborhood picnic of the summer on Tuesday, Aug. 13 at Donovan Pavilion in West Vail. The picnic will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with free food and drink provided by the town.

The Town of Vail and U.S. Forest Service are seeking community volunteers to help field an intercept survey that will be used to probe access, crowding and other topics related to the hiking experience on five heavily-used trails in East Vail. These popular trails - Booth Lake, Gore Creek, Deluge Lake, Pitkin Creek and Bighorn Creek - are used to access the Eagles Nest Wilderness.

Jeremy Gross has joined the Town of Vail staff as the special event coordinator. Gross, formerly with the Town of Eagle and Vail Resorts, will be responsible for supporting all of the event functions that occur in the Town of Vail, ranging from the Library Bake Sale to the Burton US Open and including everything in between.

Mark your calendars for the Town of Vail’s annual Celebrating Community neighborhood picnic series Tuesday, July 23 at Bighorn Park in East Vail and Tuesday, Aug. 13 at Donovan Pavilion in West Vail. Each picnic will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with free food and drink provided by the town on a first-come, first-served basis. The picnics provide community members with an opportunity to offer comments and suggestions about various topics and to meet members of the Vail Town Council and town staff.

Vail has initiated its national search for a new town manager with applications due July 23. Outreach to potential candidates has already begun and formal advertisements for the position are being placed this week.

Join riders across Colorado in celebrating June as “Bike Month” by trading your keys for a helmet and biking to work on Wednesday, June 26. The Climate Action Collaborative, Sole Power, Colorado Department of Transportation, Beaver Creek, ECO Trails and the towns of Vail, Avon, Minturn, Eagle and Gypsum, plus local bike shops and other businesses are supporting this statewide event by rewarding residents who choose to bike or walk to their workplace.

Building on the strong momentum of the Eagle River Valley’s multiple efforts across private and public sectors to create a healthy community by delivering incremental housing projects, the YIMBY Jamboree will take place Thursday, Jan. 17 at Donovan Pavilion.

Partnerships and collaboration in the areas of housing, environmental sustainability, parking, economy and public safety were key contributors in helping to elevate the town’s priority initiatives during 2018. For example, in partnership with the Vail Local Housing Authority, the town continued to make an impact on its housing goals with the acquisition of 106 new deed restrictions totaling $6.5 million of public and private investments through the Vail InDEED program. This included the purchase of 23 deed-restrictions at the newly-constructed 6 West Apartments in Edwards, which represents the town’s first of its kind regional housing collaboration. Also noteworthy during the year was announcement of Vail’s official certification as the first sustainable mountain resort destination in the U.S. and the first community certified in the world under the Mountain Ideal Standard. The certifications are the result of a multi-year partnership between the Town of Vail, Walking Mountains Science Center, Sustainable Travel International, Vail Resorts, U.S. Forest Service and others, while marking the culmination of 56 years of leadership by the Vail community in progressive environmental conservation policies and programs. To address the need for additional public parking, a three-way partnership between the town, Eagle County Schools and Vail Resorts contributed to the opening of a new, four-level parking structure at Red Sandstone Elementary School in which the spaces will be utilized for both school and public use. A first-ever retreat between the Vail Town Council and executives from Vail Resorts identified areas where the two entities will be working together to enhance the guest experience and elevate Vail’s competitiveness. Events such as the Burton U.S. Snowboarding Championships, Colorado Classic, Bravo! Vail Music Festival as well as a Global Friendship exchange trip to Japan, served to showcase Vail to international audiences. Also of note was the involvement of Vail Fire in facilitating creation of the Mountain Area Mutual Aid Plan which assisted in the coordination of wildfire suppression efforts during the Lake Christine, Bocco, Buffalo, Two Elk and Golf Course fires throughout the region, and will serve to provide critical resources in the event of a wildfire in or near Vail. Other milestones included completion of the update to the Open Lands Plan, ongoing improvement in Gore Creek’s water quality, sponsorship of a wildlife forum which brought renewed focus on the health of the area’s wildlife, plus a kickoff to the Civic Area planning process that will help identify a future plan for the town’s public facilities in the heart of Vail.

Public comment opportunities will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 4 as the Vail Town Council prepares to adopt the 2019 municipal budget. The $73.3 million expenditure plan is available on the town’s website at www.vailgov.com. Second reading of Ordinance No. 21 is listed as item 8.3 on Tuesday’s meeting agenda which begins at 6 p.m. in the Vail Town Council Chambers.