Using someone else’s ski pass at Vail could soon result in a big fine
A bear getting into a trash could also result in a harsh penalty
Chris Dillmann
Vail is making changes to its penalty code to not only change the way it deals with code violations but also to create harsher penalties for ski pass deception and violations of the town’s wildlife-related trash regulations.
At the Tuesday, Oct. 17 Vail Town Council meeting, Vail Police Chief Ryan Kenney asked for council’s support to add a penalty assessment into the town’s current penalty code. Vail Town Council unanimously passed the changes on first reading.
This section would allow for the town to charge fines for code violations, which includes violations of things like failure to control an animal, parking to obstruct traffic, town dismount zones, solicitation and more. Currently, anyone found violating the town code is given a summons to appear in the town court.
“We are one of, if not the only, municipality in the state of Colorado that doesn’t have a penalty option,” Kenney said.
Kenney said that the benefit of adding the penalty section is two-fold.
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“The biggest thing is efficiency. If we have to (issue a) summons to someone every time we have a violation, there’s a lot of manpower that goes into that,” Kenney said. “It’s just about the same as an arrest — minus bringing them in in print and pictures.”
Additionally, not all violations are equal in severity. So, by adding a section for penalties, police officers will have the discretion to “look at each situation and use their discretion to determine whether or not a penalty is appropriate or whether a summons directly into court would be more appropriate,” Kenney added.
The second benefit is to town visitors, who currently have to return to Vail — and possibly hire representation — to appear in court if a summons is issued. Fines, on the other hand, could be paid anywhere.
Even with these changes, individuals will have the option to appear in court. Kenney noted that all printed citations will have a QR code that, when followed, gives the option to pay the fine or elect to come into court, as well as “old-fashioned” instructions of the same options.
The new section will implement a fine schedule for penalties where violators receive a $100 fine for the first violation, $500 for the second, $1,000 for the third, and $2,500 for the fourth and any subsequent violations.
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“The reason we did $100 is I think that covers a broad spectrum of violations. It’s not too heavy-handed for some of our lower offenses, and it’s not an over-burden for some of the more serious crimes,” Kenney said.
He also added that most second-time offenses will probably be written as a court summons, “but it’s good to have the option to move up a fine schedule if we have that.”
Bears and deception
There are two exceptions to this schedule that will have harsher fines.
The first is “Deceptive Use of a Ski Facility,” where violators will receive a $500 charge. Not only is this increased charge more representative of the cost of a ski pass, but also Vail has seen these violations “skyrocket” over the past decade, Kenney noted.
“We’ve gone from 17 (violations) in 2013 to our last ski season, we had 147 — that’s over a 700% increase and it takes a lot of manpower to do those,” he added. “It would be very efficient for us to be able to send an officer over and issue a citation rather than a summons into court and all the paperwork that goes along with that.”
On Tuesday, the Town Council also voted to add harsher fines for bear-related trash violations — namely the use of non-approved bear-resistant/proof garbage and recycling containers.
The town of Vail’s judge, Buck Allen, initially advocated for the council to leave these violations out of the changes, and continue to require a court summons for them.
“That is a concern only in that, we’re killing a lot of bears each year that go into the trash,” Allen said. “And, I think it’s important, people don’t think it’s a big deal.”
Allen added that currently, when individuals receive a summons for this issue, he takes the opportunity to educate each person that bears are killed for entering the trash, including how the bears are killed. For offenders, he said it’s “something none of them have ever thought about.”
Allen added that “after hearing me talk, they’re much more conscious of the problem.”
Overall, the Town Council was supportive of having harsher penalties for this action.
“Nobody should be getting warnings anymore; they should be getting serious fines, again and again. It’s just unacceptable,” said Vail Mayor Kim Langmaid. “We need to do a better job of taking it really seriously and letting all of our police force know that this is an issue; we don’t want any more bears killed because we’ve got people who are irresponsible with their trash and bird feeders.”
However, the council ultimately decided to implement a higher fine for these bear-related violations. Mayor Pro Tem Travis Coggin suggested a $1,000 first-time offender fine.
“Then, if they want to come in and speak with the judge, he can discuss that with them and suspend it if he feels that it’s appropriate. But you’re talking about the life of an animal, I feel like we should have a fine commensurate with that,” Coggin said.
Allen agreed this level of fine would “certainly send a good message to the public in general.”
So, on the first reading, council unanimously agreed to have a separate first-time fine of $1,000 for these bear-related trash violations.
The Vail Town Council will see the ordinance for its second reading at its next meeting — scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3 — before the changes are officially made.
