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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 05/25/2005Minutes of Regular Meeting May 25, 2005 215 North Mason Community Room 5:30 p.m Call Meeting to Order: Jessica MacMillan called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. Agenda Review: None. Items of Note: None. Citizen Participation: Rick Price is the owner of a bicycle and walking tour company. He felt that the bureaucracy was not very responsive when he had questions about bicycle issues, policies, or problems in Fort Collins, so he is visiting all of the relevant Boards to discuss bicycle issues. He provided a statement to the Board which asked two questions: 1. How do they gather input from the bicycling and walking public for parks and recreation issues? 2. Whom should he call when he has a question about those issues? Jessica responded that the City Liaison for SmartTrips, which is the department most aligned with those issues, is Sylvia Cranmer. Marty stated that walking and cycling issues are dealt with on a facility basis. We have a public outreach process we utilize when we are going to build a new facility that involves open houses and mailings to the neighbors in order to get their comments on all issues, including walking and cycling issues. He continued that we must also develop traffic plans and pedestrian plans as a part of the development review process and we analyze those issues to make sure we are meeting those needs. He added that Craig Foreman is in charge of the trail system, so we also go to him, and we used to have a Bicycle Coordinator position but that position has been frozen. Mr. Price had the following suggestion: 1. Unfreeze and fill the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator position in the upcoming budget. 2. Create a citizen Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board to help gather input from the community, help with outreach and education in the community, and assist City boards and departments in setting policy and creating programs. 3. Recommended that the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, and the Advisory board be charged to help improve communication about bicycling and walking policies and programs in Fort Collins by building on existing programs for alternative transportation, Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 25, 2005 Page 2 building a communications network, and to link existing boards and City agencies together in this network to create valuable synergy among all constituent groups. Mr. Price added that for the third year in a row, Fort Collins has been labeled a silver level in the top 17 bicycle communities, because of the lack of bike lanes for four miles on south College Avenue. He hopes to see the above suggestions go through. Cathy asked if his issues were traffic related. Mr. Price stated that they are about getting education, outreach, and communication in Fort Collins. He feels the City is doing a fine job on small issues, but not very good on enforcement and dismount rules. Later in the meeting, the Board discussed Mr. Price's comments. Marty stated that he did not disagree with Rick's interests, or in its value. But, he stated, we do have serious budget problems and filling the bicycle coordinator position is not the best use of limited resources at this time. He feels we have other positions that are more vital to daily operations that we need to reinstate first. There was general conversation about how communication is currently handled, what happened to the original position, and how the City could utilize the website for this type of communication. Craig offered to check with the Transportation Department and SmartTrips to see if we can add this information to their website. He will get back to the Board with information. Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Cathy Kipp, seconded by Ann Hunt, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the April 27, 2005 meeting. Fossil Creek Trail — College Avenue Underpass Jason Stutzman, a Civil Engineer with Park Planning presented an update of the trail section of Fossil Creek Trail that will be built under South College Avenue. Fossil Creek Trail is a major trail system on the south side of Fort Collins that is approximately 50% built out. The College Avenue underpass is a key bottleneck. He stated that the unique thing about the underpass is that the users will be able to get safely across College Avenue and that it will eventually meet up with the Mason Street Corridor project to the west. Riders can then ride along Mason Street north to the Spring Creek trail. Jason reviewed the project goals, the design concept and the schedule. Goals: - to utilize the existing box culvert - to work with neighbors. There are two neighbors to the north and one to the east. Required easements will go through their property as well as Red Tail Grove Natural Area. - work with local agencies on design parameters - coordinate with CDOT on licensing and a crossing agreement - work with Storm Water - identify safety concerns. The underpass is 160 feet long so there are lighting issues. - sustainability issues and minimizing maintenance - concrete trail and retaining walls - provide for future extension & connectivity. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 25, 2005 Page 3 Design Concept: A wall will be built along the underpass to retain the water flow. The water will be approximately two feet high against the wall along the entire length of the tunnel, with two 500 gallon sump pumps. The tunnel will also have a lighting system so users will have clear vision. The lighting system will be run from the transformer on the east side. Jason also reviewed the artistic concept that would serve as a warning signal to bicyclists to alert them of rising water. The design had elements built in that would change color according to the water height along the wall. Craig added that this type of signal built in to the design was cutting edge. He added that the CDOT liked it and they think they can take it to other places to install as well. The tunnel will also have a traditional sign indicating that citizens should watch for rising water, and staff will be going out to close the underpass as water rises, similar to how they handle Spring Creek. Ann inquired about call boxes and Craig said that the parking lot on the Mason Street corridor will have a trail head and callbox. Mark suggested using an active warning system that uses the power of the water to hit a lever to raise a flag to bicyclists. Craig thought that was a good idea. Projected Schedule: June: Review with CDOT and local agencies July: Finalize design August: Project will be bid Spring 2006: Construction will begin Craig stated that one of our partners is Colorado State Parks and they have given us a $100,000 grant for the project in order to address moving commuters back and forth in a safe manner. The overall cost is approximately $300,000. Council Review of P&R Board Marty noted that the Agenda Item #6 should reflect the date of June 28, instead of June 14. He then reminded the board that the reason for the Board review process was to make sure each board is still effective and necessary. The Board must gather the information for the review at this meeting and then decide who is going to meet with Council. Marty will attend, but will take a back seat as the Council wants to hear from Board members. Jessica then read through the Board member's individual responses from the reviews that they had submitted to her over the past several weeks. The Board discussed the submitted responses. They also thought it might be a good idea to review the questions on a yearly basis to make sure they are meeting the purpose of the P&R Board. Jessica will now compile the information and e- mail it to Marty so he can send it on to Council. All members agreed to this process. Jessica will attend the Review. Greg will try to attend. Many other Board members will be out of town on that date. Budget and Building on Basics Update Marty told the Board that the Council had indicated that they were moving forward on the V4 cent tax that goes toward quality of life projects. They need to vote on the projects by mid -August for it to be on the ballot for possible voter approval. He added that they went to Council again last Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 25, 2005 Page 4 night and Council was discussing changing the tax to a 1/8 cent tax, and that they weren't sure if they should go forward with it. They were considering making a smaller package that may only included transportation. Marty does not feel that he has a solid sense of where the process is going. He felt this change of view from them was a little disconcerting because he had just presented a plan to them to provide culture downtown as an economic driver and cultural destination, and Council seemed very interested in it. Ann asked how long Council could put it off. Marty responded that Council has to decide by mid -August. He thought they might be able to postpone it for a few years or do a small piece now and wait on the rest of it. He said the difficulty is that it is not a tax increase if it is extended this November, but would be an increase if it is delayed. Marty also told the Board that he has been working on a partnership between the Museum and the Discovery Center. The Discovery Center will bring over a three and a half million dollars to the project. They are looking at it as a cultural project, and it will have some impact on Parks and Recreation. A potential site they are looking at is the east end of Lee Martinez Park if it will fit there. The Board felt that they needed to get Council more involved in these issues. They discussed taking the initiative of calling the Council members, especially Kelly, and letting them know how important these projects are. Marty updated the Board on the status of Budgeting for Outcomes process. They just finished learning about the buying portion and they are now moving on to the selling portion. They will also be going to Council on June 9, for a special four hour study session. It will be shown on Channel 27. The Results teams, who review the Seller's offers, will be presenting each of the seven target goals that Council created, so Council can see how each one has been worked through. Next month the Selling process will be worked through, then it will go to City Manager, and then to Council. Council will be deciding if they want to change any recommendations. Proiect updates Rabbit Brush Park. Park Planning is working on refining the current design. They will be keeping the bottom section open for turf play, and it will have a shelter, playground, swings, slide, rocks to climb on, half of a basketball court, benches, trees and shrubs. They sent a mailing to the neighbors to get feedback on how they are doing according to the neighbor's needs. Craig will let the Board know what feedback he gets. Oak Street Plaza. The final plan will be ready next month. They will be keeping all but three or four of the trees in order to let the trees that remain have more room for their crowns. Marty added that we asked the DDA for the $480,000 (1/2 of cost) but the DDA Board was not sure they could put that much money. Craig said he would look at Park Planning's estimation of the anticipated park impact fees in the downtown area and see if they can devote some additional money to the Oak Street project. Underpass at Prospect and Timberline. The underpass is in Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 25, 2005 Page 5 Stewart Case Park. The open house is schedule for June 9, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The concepts for the final stage of the park will be shown. Spring Canyon Park. They are moving along on the design. Westfield Park. There are two acres on the north end of the park that was never developed. They are currently putting the irrigation up to bid and putting in some plantings to touch it up. New Northside Recreation Center Project. They will be interviewing the final three design consultants in June. The design -build contractor will be selected at that point. Other Business The Board discussed that most members will be out of town on June 22, the date of the next P&R Board meeting. They all decided to skip the June meeting, and meet again on July 27. They will have a longer meeting at that time to make up for missing the June meeting. Trail Subcommitte. Ann stated she would like to be on the Subcommitte. Cathy was interested, but did not know how often she could attend. Jessica suggested Ann be on the subcommittee with Jon and that she and Cathy could be substitutes. All agreed. Board Member and Staff Comments None Correspondence None Adjournment: The Board unanimously agreed to adjourn at 8:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Keckl Moovt_'- Kelly Moore Administrative Support Supervisor Board Attendance Board Members: Ann Hunt, Cathy Kipp, Mark Lueker, Jessica MacMillan, Gregg Miller, Walt Peeples Staff: Craig Foreman, Marty Heffernan, Kelly Moore, Jason Stutzman Guests: Rick Price