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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 02/25/2015Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – February 25, 2015 Page 1 of 6 BE A GOOD STEWARD: Protect & Respect your Parks, Trails & Recreation Facilities Call Meeting to Order: Bruce Henderson call the meeting to order 5:33pm. Agenda Review & Items of Note: None Citizen Participation: None Approval of Minutes: Discussion: None Ragan Adams made the motion to approve the Parks & Recreation Board minutes of January 28, 2015, seconded by Scott Sinn – Minutes approved 8:0. Meeting Summary • The Board elected officers for 2015, all votes were unanimous. o Chair, Jessica MacMillan o Vice-Chair, Bruce Henderson o Secretary, Dawn Theis • The Board was given a presentation on Nature in the City focusing on the Strategic Plan. The goals of the Plan are to provide easy access to nature by ensuring every resident is within a 10-minute walk to nature, high quality natural spaces by providing diverse social and ecological opportunities, and land stewardship by shifting landscape aesthetic to more diverse forms that support healthy environments for people and wildlife. Five policy areas that will be reviewed, amended or developed are: Connectivity, Land Use & Development, City Practices & Policy Coordination, Long-Tem Monitoring, and Funding & Incentives. The Board recommended approval of the Nature in the City Strategic Plan as specified at the meeting as the Board feels the Strategic Plan also supports Parks & Recreation goals. Vote was 9:0 in favor. • The Board was given a presentation on West Central Area Plan. Focusing on the Open Space Networks the West Central Area Plan will collaborate with Nature in the City to pilot both Plans at a neighborhood scale. The key parks and open space action items include clarifying open space requirements for new development, constructing additional trail connections and ditch crossing, improve way-finding, enhance Stormwater detention areas, reconfigure Lilac Park to better serve adjacent neighborhood and pilot a tree canopy program. The Board recommended approval of the West Central Area Plan specifically the Vision & Policy portion of the Open Space Network as presented. Vote as 9:0 in favor. • Park Planning is seeking a Grant to help fund the Longview Trail Project and asked the Board for a letter of support. The Trail will be a 4 mile stretch of trail from Cathy Fromme south to connect to the trail system in Loveland. The Board approved support for the project and Bruce Henderson wrote a letter of support from the Board. PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES Regular Meeting Wednesday, February 25, 2015 5:30 p.m. Board Chair: Bruce Henderson, Chair 2014 bmhender6@gmail.com Council Liaison: Gino Campana – gcampana@fcgov.com Staff Liaisons: J.R. Schnelzer, 970-221-6301 – jrschnelzer@fcgov.com Kurt Friesen, 970-221-6618 – kfriesen@fcgov.com Bob Adams, 970-221-6354 – badams@fcgov.com Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – February 25, 2015 Page 2 of 6 Full Minutes AGENDA ITEMS: Election of Officers: Bruce Henderson, Chair, felt it was time to step down and let another Board Member chair the P&R Board. P&R Board Chair 2015: Jessica MacMillan Jessica MacMillan was nominated for the P&R Board Chair by Dawn Theis, seconded by Mary Carlson, VOTE: 9:0 in favor P&R Board Vice-Chair 2015: Bruce Henderson Bruce Henderson was nominated for the P&R Board Vice-Chair by Jessica MacMillan, seconded by Ragan Adams, VOTE: 9:0 in favor P&R Board Secretary: Dawn Theis Dawn Theis was nominated for the P&R Board Secretary by Regan Adams, seconded by Jessica MacMillan, VOTE: 9:0 in favor Nature in the City – Lindsay Ex & Justin Scharton: As a recap to the last time we spoke to the Board, Nature in the City is a project that complements existing programs by identifying linkages between public and private lands with the understanding that nature means different things to people. With that there are three phases to this project; Inventory & Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Implementation. Focusing on the Strategic Plan, the goals are to provide; easy access to nature by ensuring every resident is within a 10- minute walk to nature, high quality natural spaces by providing diverse social and ecological opportunities, and land stewardship by shifting landscape aesthetic to more diverse forms that support healthy environments for people and wildlife. Five policy areas that will be reviewed, amended or developed are: Connectivity, Land Use & Development, City Practices & Policy Coordination, Long-Tem Monitoring, and Funding & Incentives. The full plan was finalized for public review on February 9 with feedback open through February 22. We’ve also been presenting to Boards & Commission and had an open house on February 19. The Plan will be revised and presented to Council for Adoption on March 17 and if adopted we’ll begin implementation with a demonstration project of a “living wall” being executed by spring of 2015. Discussion Board – How much land acquisition would be necessary to create a 10-minute walk? Staff – Very little, maybe 4-6 parcels; we would focus more effort on enhancing and restoring existing sites. Board – Are most of the HOAs on board with this? Staff – We’ve spoken with quite a few neighborhoods, some with HOAs and some without, who would like to engage with this effort. We are collaborating with Neighborhood Services on this effort. Board – How will all of this be maintained? Staff – We see maintenance as being a partnership in most cases. If an HOA had an area, they would maintain, but perhaps the City would provide some assistance with plant selection, training on establishment and maintenance, etc. Board – How do you think the neighborhoods will feel with the encouragement of more wildlife in their area? Staff – We are working on design guidelines with a wildlife biologist to encourage desired animals, but help discourage undesirable wildlife like Raccoons. Education and outreach will be very important as well as on-going monitoring. Board – Will you be monitoring the undesirable animals also? Staff – That’s a good idea. We’ll take that back to the broader team. Board – Are there incentives for provide ownership participation? Staff – There are numerous types of incentives that could be created – whether financially-based, e.g., grants, or recognition-based, e.g., the Sustainable Neighborhoods program in Lakewood. We have some existing programs that can be leveraged such as certified natural areas, neighborhood grants, or climate wise; and we’ve looked at other community best practices with programs like “Neighborwoods” in Austin and “Nature in the Neighborhood” in Portland. Board – What are you defining as Nature to accommodate a 10-minute walk? Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – February 25, 2015 Page 3 of 6 Staff – Places that support plants, animals, and natural processes and that contribute to a variety of experiences for human enjoyment and well-being. One of the bigger areas of change will be the proposed Land Use Code amendments. The three areas of focus are: Flexible open space requirements; Flexible tree sizing and composition when objective is a more naturalized landscape; and Encourage ditches to remain open/day-lighted Board – Are you working with Park Planning? Staff – Yes Board – In monitoring butterflies, what do they tell us? Staff – We monitored birds and butterflies and birds give us information about landscape quality and butterflies give us information about individual site quality. For example, urban agriculture sites, likely due to all of the flowering plants, had the highest observations for number of butterfly species. Board – Are you looking for a recommendation this evening? Staff – That would be welcomed. Motion made by Bruce Henderson: Board recommends approval of the proceeding Nature in the City Strategic Plan as specified at the meeting. Second: Scott Sinn Discussion: Board – Since this is a new and such a broad project, it’s hard to visualize what this is really going to look like once it’s implemented, but if it continues to coordinates with Parks and Recreation goals and objectives it will, conceptually, be a good project. Board – How was the site identified for the living wall? Staff – It’s been a long process, and this will be the third site that we have examined. We wanted this initial site to be in an urban setting with high visibility to show how you can incorporate nature into an urban environment. Board – I think we need to include that the Board also supports this because it supports the Parks & Recreation goals. Board – Will design plans be a part of this? Staff – Yes, and the design plans will be developed this fall. Amendment to Motion: Board recommends approval of the proceeding Nature in the City Strategic Plan as specified at the meeting, as the Board feels the Strategic Plan also supports Parks & Recreation goals. Second: Scott Sinn VOTE: 9:0 in favor West Central Area Plan – Rebecca Everette and Amy Lewin: To update the Board on the West Central Area Plan, we started the process in February 2014 evaluating the existing and future conditions and updating the vision. We then moved to outlining the plan and developing design options and next were developing the policies and action items. So, now we’re at plan preparation and hopeful adoption by Council on March 17. The vision sets the stage for recommendations and action items related to land use & neighborhood character, transportation & mobility, open space networks and the Prospect Corridor. Focusing on the Open Space Networks we are collaborating with Nature in the City to pilot both Plans at a neighborhood scale. The key parks and open space action items include clarifying open space requirements for new development, constructing additional trail connections and ditch crossing, improve way-finding, enhance Stormwater detention areas, reconfigure Lilac Park to better serve adjacent neighborhood and pilot a tree canopy program. Discussion Board – Where is the tree canopy program being implemented? Staff – The focus is on the Avery Park neighborhood. We wanted a diverse neighborhood where there was a need for revitalization. Board – Where are the trees coming from? Staff – We have started partnering with various organizations, including local nurseries, to help select trees, help with planting and provide education for the home owner on tree maintenance. Board – How would it be determined where a tree would be planted? Staff – The homeowner would have to apply to be considered and the City would determine if the area was appropriate. Board – Do you think a renter would put much care into the maintenance of a new tree? Staff – That’s why it’s a pilot, we need to identify if there is a difference between owner occupied or rental property with regards to maintenance. Board – If you find a diverse neighborhood doesn’t work well, will you try another neighborhood with mostly owner-occupied homes? Staff – Maybe. Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – February 25, 2015 Page 4 of 6 Board – Once the pilot is underway, what determines the success? Staff – That is not fully established criteria yet. Board – I thought ditch companies didn’t like having bridges built over them? Staff – Most ditch companies have criteria for bridges that involve no liability on their part, no impediment of water and a fee to be paid to them to allow the crossing. Board – What happen if there’s a flood? Staff – Typically bridges of this nature are built to allow it to breakaway and swing to the side to keep any debris from building up. Board – What’s the difference between the West Central Area Plan and Nature in the City? Staff – The West Central Area Plan is a policy plan specific to an area of the community, whereas Nature in the City provides direction citywide. If both plans are adopted there will be design policy that will act as a guiding principle as there is overlap. Board – It may be helpful to have one slide in your presentation that shows this relationship for clarification. Board – Are you looking for a recommendation or endorsement this evening? Staff – That would be welcomed. Motion made by Scott Sinn: Board recommends approval of the West Central Area Plan as presented. Second: Bruce Henderson Discussion: Board – I think the Board can give general approval of the whole Plan, but since we visited specifically about the Open Space Network, I think that should be part of the motion. Board – How will this be funded? Staff – Various projects in the West Central Area Plan would be funded differently, which would include: City budget through a BFO process, capital improvement funds, grants, private/public partnerships, etc. Amendment to Motion: Board recommends approval of the West Central Area Plan, specifically the Vision & Policy portion of the Open Space Network as presented. Second: Bruce Henderson VOTE: 9:0 in favor STAFF UPDATES Parks Updates • Gardens – Michelle has been working with some partnerships to secure funding for the build out and operations of the Garden. • Maple Hill Park – This is a four acre parcel ready for development, so we’ll be having a neighborhood meeting to discuss the process and construction schedule and get their input on design/amenity choices. The park should be completed by 2016. Recreation Updates • Retirements: Pat Moore who worked at the Senior Center; and Mike McDonnell, Recreation Manager at EPIC both retired. We hired Marc Rademacher as the new Recreation Manager to replace Mike; and Marc will be in charge of Northside Aztlan Center, Foothill Activity Center and Sports. Steve Budner will be in charge of EPIC and Adaptive Recreation. • Construction of the FAC has started and we’re still expecting to be moved in by November 2015. Discussion • Board – The reduced fee statistics you provided are great. Where will the funding for this program come from once KFCG money is no longer available? • Staff – The hope is that the voters will keep the KFCG funded, but if not it will be an area of concern. • Board – How does someone get a reduced fee and what is the fee? • Staff – They have to apply and qualify yearly, and if they qualify they are allowed a pass for $6.00 for a 6 month pass for youth and $25.00 for a 6 month pass for adults. • Board – I noticed in the Recreator it shows if a sport is for boys or girls, but flag football does not have this designation; is it co-ed? If so, it might be good to show flag football as co-ed in the Recreator. • Staff – Yes it is a co-ed sport. Park Planning Updates • Southeast Community Park – Met with neighborhood and about 80+ attended meeting and we had mostly positive feedback about the new design direction. They felt they were heard and appreciated the effort we made to accommodate their concerns. We did get comment cards for some hard data. • English Ranch Community Gardens – Met with about 15 people on-site with representative from all sides, pro, con and City. It was agreed by everyone to relocate the gardens and so we are exploring a possible site in the Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – February 25, 2015 Page 5 of 6 Northwest part of the park that is actually Stormwater detention area. It’s not ideal, because it will flood, but we’re studying it to see if it will work. Once we have a new design and location we will do another outreach to make sure all parties agree prior to any construction. Board – How was site selected in the beginning? Staff – Social Sustainability researched areas/parks that accommodated their criteria for a community garden. Once English Ranch was selected as one of the parks, 1100 postcards were mailed to the neighborhood to attend a meeting with regards to putting a community garden in the park, but only a handful of neighbors showed up. I think there was a good faith process to make the neighborhood informed, but as a “lesson learned” more effort may be needed in the future. Longview Trail Project – We are asking Board for a letter of support for a Grant for Longview Trail construction. It will be a 4 mile stretch of trail from Cathy Fromme south to connect to the trail system in Loveland. It will cost approximately $4M with $1M from GOCO, $1M from Xcel, $1M CDOT Grant, $500,000 from Larimer County and $500,000 from Loveland. Construction would start directly if Grant is approved. Bruce Henderson wrote letter of support and read it to the Board. Motion was made to approve letter of support as written by Bruce Seconded by Kelly Smith Vote 8:0 in favor (Scott Sinn abstained from vote) Letter will be sent to Park Planning on February 26. Bicycle Advisory Board Liaison Update The BAC was given a lengthier version of the West Central Area Plan because of the transportation portion of the Plan; and details can be found on-line. Ragan felt the City and this team have really handled the significant changes necessary for their plan as it relates to the impact the new stadium will have in the area. Board Work Plan Items Discussed and assigned members to various work plan items. • Budget – No Update • Communications – Reminder of “Super Issue” Boards & Commission meeting on March 9 6pm-7:30pm at the Museum of Discover (408 Mason Court): Subject Affordable Housing Strategic Plan • Sustainable Practices – In the Utility Bill this month, there is some information on Climate Wise. • Parks – No Update • Trails – As I understand it, there will be a trail that will loop around the solar farm at the pickle plant when it’s developed. • Recreation – No Update • Other Projects/Programs – No Update Schedule of Articles/Calendar • March – Jessica – Article on City Park • April – Ragan – Article on the Farm • May – Scott – Article on the Southeast Community Park Bullet Points • Presentation on Nature in the City with Board recommendation of the approval of the Nature in the City Strategic Plan as specified at the meeting as the Board feels the Strategic Plan also supports Parks & Recreation goals. • Presentation on West Center Area Plan with Board approval of the West Central Area Plan specifically the Vision & Policy portion of the Open Space Network as presented. • Election of Parks & Recreation Board Officers for 2015: Jessica McMillan, Chair; Bruce Henderson, Vice Chair; and Dawn Theis, Secretary Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – February 25, 2015 Page 6 of 6 Final Note: Jessica MacMillan, as newly appointed Chair, visited with the Board members about the Boards role as an advisory board. She asked that the Board members not delve into everything going on in the City, but that they find ways to be more engaged with Parks & Recreation related topics. She wanted Board Members to bring fresh ideas to the next Board meeting on being an engaged board, outreach opportunities and connecting with Council. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned 7:55pm Respectfully submitted, Carol Rankin Carol Rankin Administrative Supervisor Parks Board Approved Minutes 3/25/15 - 7:0. Board Attendance Board Members: Ragan Adams, Mary Carlson, Brian Carroll, Bruce Henderson, Kenneth Layton, Jessica MacMillan, Scott Sinn, Kelly Smith, Dawn Theis Staff: Bob Adams, Kurt Friesen, JR Schnelzer, Carol Rankin, Mike Calhoon, Lindsay Ex, Justin Scharton, Rebecca Everette, Amy Lewin Guest: None