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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 09/04/1996E MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 281 CONFERENCE ROOM - 281 N. COLLEGE AVE. SEPTEMBER 4,1996 For Reference: Phil Murphy, NRAB Chair - 491-6303 Gina Janett, Council Liaison - 493-4677 Tom Shoemaker, Staff Liaison - 221-6263 Board Members Present Linda Kirkpatrick, Craig McGee, Katy Mason, Phil Murphy, Bill Miller, Jan Behunek, Phil Friedman, Ed Secor and Kelly Ohlson Board Members Absent None Staff Present Natural Resources Dent: Tom Shoemaker, Sally Maggart, Susie Gordon, Shirley Bruns and Karen Manci The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. Guests None Review and Approval of Minutes With the following changes, the minutes of the August 4, 1996 meeting were approved as written: Bill Miller added "per people" to the second bullet and "maximizes usage" to the eighth bullet on Page 2, Highlights of the Plan. Miller asked for clarification on the decision regarding the 1/4 cent sales tax on Page 5. A formal motion will be considered under Other Business. Miller noted that the four gravel ponds listed in the Proposed Natural Area Acquisitions on Page 5 are "south of the river" along Timberline. Jan Behunek said that his comment on Page 3 should reflect his concern that natural area acquisitions not be short changed at the expense of trails. Kelly Ohlson said that "out-of-town" users should be deleted in his comment on Page 3. With the following changes, the minutes of the August 20, 1996 adjourned meeting were approved as written: Natural Resources Advisory Board September 5, 1996 Page 2 Ed Secor said that the last paragraph on Page 2 should read Alternative "2" instead of "Y and the commitment "may have to be with Alternative 2 along with 3 to satisfy both state engineers and the EPA." Miller noted that the land cost on Page 2 would be approximately $5,625/acre. Agenda Review Consider a motion in favor of the 1/4 cent sales tax under Other Business. Ed Secor said that he could not make a 6:00 p.m. meeting time. It was decided to start the meetings at 6:15 p.m., if an earlier meeting time is needed. Announcements Tom Shoemaker said that the GoColorado Board tour went well on August 27. The Legacy Grant presentation to the full board is scheduled for September 23 in Denver. Results should be known by October 24. Shoemaker reported on the August 27 Council Study Session regarding the natural areas plan implementation. Council is supportive of the program. Additional outreach was requested on the Pineridge area portion of the Foothills Management Plan. Kelly Ohlson reported that the Water Board and the Stormwater Board will merge. Shoemaker noted that the Stormwater Utility Department has merged with Water Utility. Election of Officers Kelly Ohlson made the motion that the officers remain the same, with Phil Murphy as Chair and Phil Friedman as Vice Chair. Craig McGee seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (9-0). Bill Miller will continue as the representative to the Larimer County Environmental Board and Kelly Ohlson will remain the alternate. Set Special Meeting and Growth Management Committee Meeting A special meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 26 to review the Poudre River Master Drainageway Plan and the Poudre River Land Use Plan. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. The Growth Management Committee will meet on Tuesday, September 10 in the Natural Resources Department conference room at noon. The topic will be City Plan Principles & Policies. Decision on Parks and Recreation Policy Plan Page -by -page comments: 1-1: Second to last paragraph - Specify that the dollars will be spent on implementing the Natural Areas Plan and trails. Natural Resources Advisory Board September 5, 1996 Page 3 2-1: Need policy direction on what is trying to be accomplished with streetscapes. I A. - 60/40 is not a balanced park. Is 40 percent low enough? Staff will work with the Chair and Vice Chair on language that accurately reflects that this does not represent a shift from status quo toward a more balanced park system. Need more benches, passive areas, trees, water elements and physical separation from active areas. Rolland Moore Park is not a good example of a balanced park. 2-2: Lk - change "will' to "may, where appropriate". Minimize or eliminate disturbance to wildlife areas. Acquire more right of way and emphasize protecting wildlife habitat and be sensitive about the placement, size and material of trails. Due to time constraints, the discussion will be resumed after the following agenda items. Solid Waste Update, Susie Gordon and Shirley Bruns, Natural Resources Department Susie Gordon, Environmental Planner, referred to three items in the Board packet regarding recycling and districting. She noted that the residential recycling participation rate is at 79 percent. Shirley Bruns, Recycling Coordinator, explained that the trash hauler reports do not distinguish between multi -family and commercial. She noted that the percentage on corrugated cardboard recycled is from business collection. DISCUSSION ON RECYCLING • Self hauling is cheaper. Need a level playing field for haulers. • Tipping fee should be the same by volume whether self -hauled or commercial. • Difficult to gauge what material comes from within the city limits. • The numbers in the report give a good feel for what is happening. • There are less grass clippings going to the landfill. • Haulers will be prosecuted if not in compliance with the ordinance. • One hauler never adjusted charges more or less for volume of trash. • Eliminate the bin deposit. • The customer has the ability to change services. • Target multi -family and commercial customers. • Create a "master recycler" program to work with apartment complexes. • The report was very helpful. DISCUSSION ON DISTRICTING Gordon cited the trash districting reports from the two consultants, R.W. Beck and Scott Harder, Environmental Financial Group. Shoemaker said that the work Streets Department has done will be analyzed and included in the staffs summary report to the Board and Council. He added that it should take two years to implement districting. Take this to Council in January. Destruction of streets is the real issue. Other issues: cost, safety, air quality, aesthetics and noise. Natural Resources Advisory Board September 5, 1996 Page 4 • Difficult to get neighborhoods to voluntarily consolidate. • Unclear about a general fund vote vs enterprise fund districting. • If Council recommends proceeding, go to implementation, do not do another study. • Increase the trash truck license fee. • $100,000 is too much for program development costs. DECISION Staff will formulate a recommendation and report back in October. Foothills Natural Areas Management Plan Karen Manci, Environmental Planner, pointed out the main changes as requested by the Board and through public comments. The Plan does not go to Council for approval; it gets approved by the Parks and Recreation Board, the Natural Resources Advisory Board and the Open Lands Guidance Team. Manci said that a citizen, David Hughes, posted a sign at Pineridge that stated his objection to the closing of the ridge trail and requested citizens to call Councilmember Chris Kneeland. Councilmember Kneeland received approximately forty calls and has requested a public meeting specifically on Pineridge. Manci explained that the Bells Twin Pod is a Colorado species of concern and she would like to see the ridge closed down to protect the plant. DISCUSSION • The management plan is already a compromise. • There are three ridge crossings that would stay open. • The Board's job is to look after the, City's natural resources. • Closing the trail could have repercussions on the passing of the 1/4 cent sales tax. • If the ridge is allowed to remain open, emphasize to the public that it is because of the existing use. • Need to enforce the dog leash law with the ranger program. • Rewrite the item on Page Two to restrict horse use during certain conditions. Manci explained that not much has changed with the prairie dog policy. She explained that the Open Lands Natural Areas Team feels it is important to maintain control of prairie dogs that impact adjacent neighborhoods. Barriers and plantings have been tried and fumigation is the only effective method. Relocation has become an issue but an acceptance site has not yet been identified. DISCUSSION • Prairie dogs are a renewable resource that needs to be managed. • The public needs to be educated. • Revegetation cannot be done with an active prairie dog population. • Support saving prairie dog colonies because of the implications of wintering raptors. Natural Resources Advisory Board September 5, 1996 Page 5 Each case needs to be treated individually. Typo on page 34. It should read prairie dog "colonies". DECISION Craig McGee moved that the Board adopt the Foothills Management Plan as written. Katy Mason seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (9-0). Staff will research and report back on the following: • Table 5, Page 60 - the price to construct a dirt trail. • Page 28, Ordinance Section - would the DOW have to get permission from the City. • A memo will be sent to Council reflecting the Board's decision. PARKS AND RECREATION POLICY PLAN (CONTINUED) Page -by -page comments: 2-3: 2.f - wording "improving access" implies building a concrete trail. 2-4: 5.a - for profit events should be a money raiser for the City and not break even. 5.a and 5.b are contradictory - clean up the language; it is confusing. 2-7: Include skateboarding in Community Parks. Contradictory numbers for Rolland Moore. 2-8: Trails and drainageway concern. 2-10: Drainageway concern. 2-11: Don't put community parks next to natural areas. Change "what" to "if'. 2-13: If neighborhood scales are done, the natural areas portion of the funding goes to natural areas. 2-14 Use "passive" in recreational use. Provide limited passive recreational opportunity. 2-15 Check on minimum of 50 ft of right of way for trails. Not endorsing paved trails into natural areas. Add staining to the concrete. 2-16: Factual error: the City has not done good on open space; the citizen initiatives did it. 2-17: Confusion about all the "Fossil Creek" names. Call the Community Park something else. 2-18: Clarify what a "regional cultural facility" is. 2-19: 6b - pursue natural area acquisitions; use all the tools in the Natural Areas Policy Plan. The key word is "all" for access to natural areas. Add "where appropriate". 2-20: Include importance of natural areas. Third bullet: strike "becomingly". Fourth bullet: look at trails, identify and find funds to relocate. Use stronger wording. Table: Washington Park does rjQt have a detention pond and channel. 3-10: Be specific on space programming. 3-19: Floodplains: acquire as much right-of-way as possible among the areas. 4-1: City Plan is based on 2.2 percent population increase. Make sure the documents are consistent. 4-11: Include more current information than 1994. 4-33: Identify needs - need to say something to address dogs, skaters, etc. Do not identify centers as "youth" or "senior". Have "youth" and "senior" programming in all centers. 4-35: Rolland Moore concern. Natural Resources Advisory Board September 5, 1996 Page 6 4-41: Flesh out trails and natural areas. Widening Spring Creek to 10 feet is too broad because of the potential for collisions. 4-42: Broaden open land goals providing natural areas sales tax funds are not being used. Be careful about a park coming in after a natural area is acquired. Table: $70-75 million in CIP funding needs prioritization. 5-6: Numbers from the Council Study Session could be plugged in to the "unknown" under natural areas. DISCUSSION • O&M not mentioned much. • Could not sign off unless language on trails and right-of-ways is included. • Not recommending adoption. • Need to see final draft with changes outlined. • Strong concern about balance. • Request a summary sheet on changes from Parks. Do not need to redo the whole document. DECISION Shoemaker will present a draft a summary of critical issues to the Parks Department. He will ask if they will incorporate the changes Other Business Craig McGee left at 11:30 p.m. Motion on 1/4 Cent Tax ISSUE The Board wants a minimum of a 1/4 cent sales tax included in the CIP package, and more if it appears the need is justified. DECISION Bill Miller moved to recommend to Council a minimum of a 114 cent sales tax in the CIP program, recognizing that the needs are greater than anticipated revenues thus generated. The motion passed unanimously (8-0). Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:50 p.m.