The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About05/22/2024 - PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD - AGENDA - Regular MeetingPage 1 Nick Armstrong, Chair Twin Silo Park Meghan Willis, Co-Chair 5552 Ziegler Rd. Josh Durand, Secretary Ken Christensen Marcia Richards Paul Baker Mike Novell Lorena Falcon John Mola Fort Collins, Colorado *In the event of inclement weather, the meeting will be held at the East Park Maintenance Facility (2982 Environmental Dr. Fort Collins, CO) Meeting May 22nd, 2024 5:30pm • CALL TO ORDER • ROLL CALL o Board Members Present ▪ Nick Armstrong – Chair ▪ Meghan Willis – Co-Chair ▪ Josh Durand – Secretary ▪ Ken Christensen ▪ Marcia Richards (absent) ▪ Paul Baker ▪ Mike Novell ▪ Lorena Falcon ▪ John Mola o Staff Members Present ▪ LeAnn Williams – Director of Recreation ▪ Mike Calhoon – Director of Parks ▪ Jill Wuertz – Sr Manager, Park Planning & Development ▪ Rachel Eich – Business Support III ▪ Kendra Boot – Sr Manager, Forestry • INTRODUCTION o Twin Silo Staff Parks and Recreation Advisory Board AGENDA Page 2 • AGENDA REVIEW • CITIZEN PARTICIPATION (10 minutes) • APPROVAL OF MINUTES • UNFINISHED BUSINESS o Urban Forest Strategic Plan Update – Kendra Boot • NEW BUSINESS • BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • RECREATOR ARTICLE SCHEDULE • OTHER BUSINESS (30 minutes) 1. RECREATION/BFO UPDATE – LeAnn Williams 2. PARK PLANNING/BFO AND DEVELOPMENT UPDATE – Jill Wuertz 3. PARKS/BFO UPDATE – Mike Calhoon 4. 6 MONTH PLANNING CALENDAR REVIEW . https://www.fcgov.com/cityclerk/files/six-month-planning-calendar.pdf?1677855905 • ADJOURNMENT Park and Recreation Board Meeting April 24th, 2024 413 S Bryan 0 4 /24/2024 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER Ken Christensen called the meeting to order at 5:36pm 2. ROLL CALL • List of Board Members Present Ken Christensen Nick Armstrong Marcia Richards Meghan Willis Josh Durand Lorena Falcon John Mola • List of Board Members Absent Mike Novell Paul Baker • List of Staff Members Present LeAnn Williams – Director, Recreation Mike Calhoon – Director, Parks Jill Wuertz – Sr Manager, Park Planning & Development Rachel Eich – Business Support III Dave Kemp – Sr Trails Planner, Park Planning & Development Jen Torrey – Sr Landscape Architect, Park Planning & Development Amanda Castelli – Landscape Architect, Park Planning & Development 3. AGENDA REVIEW • Introduction of new board members o John Mola: Assistant professor at CSU teaching Forest Ecology and collaborating with Denver Parks and Rec o Lorena Falcon: Landscape Architect at private firm in Fort Collins • “Board Elections” moved to end of the meeting 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION • No citizen participation 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Parks and Recreation Board TYPE OF MEETING – Hybrid Meeting 0 4/24/2024 – MINUTES Page 2 • Meghan Willis moved to approve the March 2024 minutes as written at 5:51pm, Nick Armstrong seconded, all in favor 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • 2050 Tax Update – LeAnn Williams / Mike Calhoon (5 min.) o Half of the $11 million to be allocated at this point o Team is submitting 3 different offers based on feedback from City Council ▪ Building capacity and data to expand Parks Infrastructure Replacement (staffing) – Manager, Park Planner, Sr Analyst for Finance, & Communications Specialist ▪ Accelerated Parks & Recreation Infrastructure Replacement • Focused on projects that can be completed this year ▪ Top 40 project list delivery o First reading of 2024 mini BFO offers is May 7th – on consent o Will be working on creating a dashboard in the future to document infrastructure replacement projects o Tax totals can be found at fcgov.com/salestax/salesreport 7. NEW BUSINESS • Strategic Trails Plan Update – Dave Kemp (10 min.) o Currently in phase 1 of project ▪ Phase I: Vision & Needs (March – May) ▪ Phase II: Proposed Connections & Policies (June – October) ▪ Phase III: Draft Plan & Recommendations (October – March ’25) o Plan Leadership ▪ Community Working Group: At-large representation ▪ City Boards: PRAB, AMAB, DAB, LCSB ▪ City Council o Our City Project Webpage ▪ Links to questionnaire, interactive map, & “History of Trails” Story Map o Northern Colorado Trails Summit (Sept. 26th, 4:30 – 8) ▪ “Exhibit” hall and networking event with regional presentations and keynote speaker o Next steps: Synthesizing public input and sharing proposed new connections and trail experiences. o Josh Durand asked if linear bike park facilities are being considered to help address some of the community desire for a bike park. ▪ Plan will look to identify potential areas where linear and adjacent bike park facilities could be implemented • Schoolside Park Near Bacon Elementary School – Jen Torrey & Amanda Castelli Parks and Recreation Board TYPE OF MEETING – Hybrid Meeting 0 4/24/2024 – MINUTES Page 3 o Discussed typical park amenities for the different parks in Fort Collins (Community Parks, Neighborhood Parks, and Schoolside Parks) o Site constraints ▪ Adjacency to Timberline Road, no on-street parking, Mail Creek ditch, existing house deconstruction, and lack of sanitary sewer connection o Hosted two public open house meetings to gather input and present initial potential concepts o Project schedule ▪ Concept design – Spring 2024 ▪ Design plan and construction documents finalized – Summer 2024 ▪ Construction begins – Spring 2025 ▪ Anticipated park open – Fall 2025 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • Marcia Richards attended the STP Public Open House • Meghan Willis gave kudos to the Parks and Recreation staff o EPIC hosted Fossil Ridge High School after prom o Ladies golf o Event at the Senior Center • Nick Armstrong presented on a feasibility study Visit Fort Collins is conducting examine a potential conference center in north Fort Collins (Tuesday, April 30th) 9. OTHER BUSINESS • Recreator Article o Josh Durand and Nick Armstrong met with Bridget (The Farm @ Lee Martinez) to work on the next article for the Recreator. o Rachel to add “Pickleball Feasibility Study” to the list of article topics • Recreation Update – LeAnn Williams o Mulberry Pool replacement feasibility study in progress ▪ Rebuilding at the current site likely not an option based on existing challenges ▪ Looking for other locations in the same geographic area o SE Community Center kickoff with owners rep (Wember) ▪ Working on project charter before RFP is released for design team o DaySmart ▪ Contract cancelled with Day Smart recreation software ▪ Department going through a LEAN process to identify pain points with current software system o Kids in the Park on Sunday o Upcoming Ops Services projects that will contribute to 2050 money) Parks and Recreation Board TYPE OF MEETING – Hybrid Meeting 0 4/24/2024 – MINUTES Page 4 ▪ EPIC ice chiller system replacement ($4.4 million) ▪ EPIC flooring and dasher boards ▪ EPIC shell of 50 meter pool ($2.2 million) ▪ EPIC lesson pool ($300k) ▪ EPIC and Senior Center HVAC system o SE Community Center put forward for congressionally directed spending for the childcare wing ($5 million) • Park Planning & Development Update – Jill Wuertz o Mail Creek Trail construction underway o Paused on the Poudre River Trail Arapaho Bend to Timnath section due to nesting bald eagles ▪ Still working through PUC negotiations o Purchase of land for the future park near the Mosaic Neighborhood set to be finalized on April 29th o Pickleball Feasibility Study webpage to be launched o Westfield tennis courts being replaced • Parks Update – Mike Calhoon o Event season has started o Anticipated to be fully staffed by Memorial Day o Rolland Moore ball field renovations, working with Triple Crown o Work underway on the Pleasant Valley Lake Canal o Arbor Day event to take place at Johnson Elementary School o Shoutout to the marketing team for all the work they are doing for the Parks and Recreation Departments o Informational QR codes will launch with the downtown flowers • 6-month Planning Calendar o 2050 tax appropriation (5/7 Council Meeting) o SE Community Center grant funding (5/7 Council Meeting) o Council Priorities workplan discussion (5/14 Work Session) o CCIP discussion (6/11 Work Session) o 2025-2026 Recommended Budget Preview (6/26 Work Session) o 2025 – 2026 Budget Public Hearings set (9/3 Council Meeting) • Board Elections o Marcia Richards nominated Nick Armstrong for Board Chair at 8:23pm ▪ Josh Durand seconded the nomination o Nick Armstrong nominated Meghan Willis for Board Co-Chair at 8:24pm ▪ Marcia Richards seconded the nomination o Nick Armstrong nominated Josh Durand for Board Secretary at 8:25pm ▪ John Mola seconded the nomination o Ken Christensen made a motion at 8:26pm to accept the ballot as presented, John Mola seconded, all in favor Parks and Recreation Board TYPE OF MEETING – Hybrid Meeting 0 4/24/2024 – MINUTES Page 5 10. ADJOURNMENT Ken Christensen adjourned the meeting at 8:32pm Headline Copy Goes Here City Forester Forestry Division Kendra Boot URBAN FOREST Strategic Plan 05-22-2024 Headline Copy Goes Here 2 Feedback Sought from the Board •Do Board members support the general direction of the Urban Forest Strategic Plan effort? •What feedback do Board members have regarding the draft Urban Forest Strategic Plan? Headline Copy Goes HereStrategic Planning & Adaptive Management 3 WHY PLAN? The Urban Forest Strategic Plan (UFSP) will serve as a guiding document to: •Summarize the state of the urban forest •Create a 20-year vision for trees in Fort Collins •Set goals •Recommend next steps What do we have? What do we want? How do we get there? How are we doing? Headline Copy Goes Here WHAT DO WE HAVE? 4 Headline Copy Goes HereTree Canopy Cover 5 CANOPY PERCENT BY BLOCK GROUP ●Citywide: 13.7% ●City + GMA: 12.6% Headline Copy Goes HerePublic Tree Inventory 6 PUBLIC TREES BY SIZE/AGE Young (0-8") Established (9-17") Maturing (18-24") Mature (>24") 0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100% Percent of Public Trees 60% 59,144 PUBLIC TREES Headline Copy Goes HereCOMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Public Sentiment about Trees 7 ●Trees are an integral part of Fort Collins ●People love trees on public property ●The City’s Forestry Division is viewed favorably ●Residents want resources for planting & tree care on private property ●Concerns about development & trees 3 PUBLIC MEETINGS ●October 2023 & March 2024 ●North & South Fort Collins ●160 participants ●8 different community events 1 COMMUNITY SURVEY ●September–December 2023 ●971 respondents ●657 write-in comments Headline Copy Goes HereWhat do we have? 8 SUMMARY ●Forestry Division provides a high level of service. ●The public tree inventory trends young. ●Forestry Division will need to plan for sustainable growth to keep pace with the urban forest. ●Mixed public opinion about regulation of trees on private property. Headline Copy Goes Here WHAT DO WE WANT? 9 Headline Copy Goes Here 10 What do we want? Vision Fort Collins will be home to a healthy and equitably distributed urban forest woven throughout the built environment creating safer and cooler neighborhoods with increased climate resilience. Trees in Fort Collins are recognized as a vital part of city infrastructure that provide health, social, environmental and economic benefits for all present and future people who live, work, and visit Fort Collins. Future Challenges •Equitable distribution of canopy •Insect and Disease •A changing climate •Sixty percent (60%) “young” public urban forest •Development/Redevelopment Headline Copy Goes Here HOW DO WE GET THERE? 11 Headline Copy Goes HereRecommended Strategies 12 1.Strategically invest in growing tree canopy where it will promote resilience and quality of life in Fort Collins. 2.Create a tree planting plan. 3.Complete the shift to proactive management of Fort Collins’ public trees. 4.Strengthen City policies to protect trees. Headline Copy Goes HereRecommended Strategies 13 5.Collect data to track changes to tree canopy over time and to inform Forestry activities. 6.Sustainably grow the Forestry Division to keep pace with growth of the urban forest. 7.Deepen engagement with the community about tree stewardship. 8.Expand the network of Forestry Division partners. Headline Copy Goes Here 14 UFSP Project Timeline 202 1 202 2 202 22023 SUMMER Project Launch 2024 FALL Focus Group & Community Engagement Operations Review WINTER Develop and Present Draft Recommendations Community Engagement SPRING City Council Engagement Budgeting Board and Commission Engagement SUMMER Develop and Finalize Plan Headline Copy Goes Here 15 Feedback Sought from the Board •Do Board members support the general direction of the Urban Forest Strategic Plan effort? •What feedback do Board members have regarding the draft Urban Forest Strategic Plan? ➢ Feedback needed by May 31, 2024 Headline Copy Goes Here Thank you! 16 Headline Copy Goes Here Following slides are in the Board’s “Fort Collins UFSP Draft 1” document Additional slides Headline Copy Goes HereTree Canopy Change 2011-2021 18 TREE CANOPY CHANGE 2011 –2021 ●City Limits: +753 acres (+17.3%) ●City + GMA: +936 acres (+17.2%) Headline Copy Goes HereTree Canopy at Bus Stops 19 TREE CANOPY AT BUS STOPS ●423 bus stops ●Canopy cover (no shelters): 21.2% ●Canopy change: -2.3% Headline Copy Goes HereTree Canopy in Bike Lanes 20 TREE CANOPY IN BIKE LANES ●267 miles ●Canopy cover: 9.5% ●Canopy change: +0.1% Headline Copy Goes HerePriority Planting Area 21 15,418 POTENTIAL NEW CANOPY ACRES ●Classified from Very Low to Very High priority ➢Social, Health and Environmental ●2,251 acres of High or Very High priority ●Can help City plant trees for outcomes Headline Copy Goes HerePublic Tree Inventory 22 59,144 PUBLIC TREES ●Two-thirds are street trees Street Trees 38,362 Park Trees 9,749 City Facility Golf Course Stormwater Detention Areas Cemetery Median Other Headline Copy Goes HerePublic Tree Diversity 23 11%11% 8% 5%4% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% green ash honeylocust bur oak common hackberry littleleaf linden Pe r c e n t o f P u b l i c T r e e P o p u l a t i o n Fort Collins 10% Rule TOP 5 PUBLIC TREE SPECIES Headline Copy Goes Here 24 Forestry Division Activities PUBLIC TREE ACTIVITIES BY YEAR 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Nu m b e r o f P u b l i c T r e e s Pruned Removed Planted EAB Treated 22.5% of public trees pruned Planting exceeded removals EAB treatments began EAB treatments began