Vail looks to expand ‘E-Delivery’ system

Vail officials, and many Vail Village businesses, are ready to make the new “E-Delivery” system permanent. The question is how to pay for it.

Vail Police Commander Ryan Kenney and Vail Finance Director Kathleen Halloran on Tuesday gave the Vail Town Council an update on the program.

The current system, using local logistics company 106 West, began last fall, and stages truck deliveries from a central loading dock. A pair of small electric vehicles then take goods to individual businesses.

Kenney told council members that the program has expanded since it began, and has so far taken 18 delivery trucks out of Vail Village. That’s about 40% of the overall volume of goods going into the village. Deliveries in Lionshead already come out of a central loading area.

Building on those numbers will require expanding the system, as well as determining how to pay for the service.

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Halloran told council members that expanding the system would require about $125,000 in start-up costs. The program itself is expected to cost about $1.2 million per year. Halloran said the town would probably fund the costs of the system expansion.

Halloran said dock fees charged to delivery companies could raise about half that amount. Trucking companies seem willing to pay those fees, in large part because of the time savings that come from dropping loads in a central location.

One of the options Halloran provided council members was doubling the town’s business license fees.

Council member Jen Mason said that doesn’t seem fair to the businesses outside Vail Village that don’t use the system.

“That’s why we’ve discussed just a loading and delivery fee,” Halloran said.

Getting trucks out of Vail Village has been welcomed by guests, business owners and others.

Council member Travis Coggin called the initial program “a great start,” adding “I’ve noticed it as I’ve been walking through the village. It’s nice in the mornings.”