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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 06/28/2000Call Meeting to Order: President Lance Freeman called the regular meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. Agenda Review: No changes to the printed agenda. Items of Note: Board Members Paul Hudnut and Jessica MacMillan called to say they would not be able to attend tonight's meeting. Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Del Price, seconded by Paul Van Valkenburg, the minutes of the April 26, 2000 meeting were unanimously approved (6-0). Citizen Participation: No citizen participation. Taft Hill Road Project Craig Foreman introduced John Lang, Keith Meyers, and Dean Klinger as City staff for the Taft Hill Project. John Lang is the Project Manager. He explained there are four capital projects on this road. The largest project is widening of Taft Hill Road to a 4-lane arterial, a detention pond, 10-inch water main loop and the Spring Creek Trail connection. The road is a Building Community Choices projects co -managed with Dean Klinger. The Spring Creek Trail project is managed by Jason Stutzman of Park Planning and the stormwater portion is managed by Keith Meyers. Dean Klinger said that the road between Drake and Horsetooth Road will be widened to 108 feet with a raised streetscape median. Keith Meyer of Stormwater presented an overview of the stormwater detention pond and water line. Part of their work will be realigning Spring Creek. They will save as many trees as possible along the project. Dean Hoag asked if we were to have another flood would it flood out this neighborhood again? Keith said the flood we had was a 500-year flood and we are building our detention ponds to withstand a 100-year flood. He explained that the pond will be a dry pond unless there is a heavy rainfall. Parks and Recreation Board Minu' June 28, 2000 Page 2 Paul Van Valkenburg asked if there's any impact from the three neighbors around the detention pond? Keith said that most of the surrounding neighbors are pleased with our design. We shifted the trail 80 feet from their property line. Lance Freeman asked what the criteria was to locate the trail? Keith said that the criteria was the maximum detention which was 15 feet from the property owners. Then the residents asked that it be moved back and we shifted it back to 80 feet. Del asked if they are preserving the topsoil and put it back? Keith said yes that is part of their criteria. Craig Foreman spoke about the proposed trail. He said there is good cooperation among the departments to coordinate the projects. Lance asked if there is a trail connection from the development? Craig said it is a gravel path and it will remain the same. Paul Van Valkenburg asked how much re -channeling of the creek would take place? Craig illustrated on the map where the creek will be redesigned. Lance Freeman said he would prefer to visit the site and provide a recommendation next month. Craig said that we need to acquire a trail easement with the property owners and then construction will start in the first quarter of 2001. Our trail funding is provided by the Conservation Trust Fund. Craig further added that City Council is reviewing this project in a study session on July 26 and in a formal session in August. Lance asked when this went to the Natural Resources Board, did they have any issues regarding this project? Mark Sears said the project was very well received. The trail alignment on the west side was well received, the realignment of the creek was well received. The only concern was to get the trail outside the 100-foot buffer if possible. Marty said the width of the road provides for more of the landscape look. This is one of the issues the neighbors are concerned with because it doesn't allow for a center turn lane. Citizen Pat O'Donnell owns and resides on the property at the southeast corner of Taft Hill and Drake Road. He has lived on this property for over 30 years. He explained that the property was purchased 30 years ago and at that time was six and one-half acres and now is five acres since the Taft Hill and Drake Road project took over one acre of his land. They (the City) took 38 feet from his property. Now the City has decided they want more land for turn lanes. He said the road is raised in this plan, which means they need more slope easement from his land. He says that when this project is completed he will end up with about 3 acres of land. He doesn't have problems with the trail, it's the entire project. He said what he had 30 years ago is not what he has now. He said you need to take into consideration it is great for the city, but not for me. He asked the Board to put themselves in his position as a property owner. Lance asked in relationship to the trial does Mr. O'Donnell have specific concerns? Mr. O'Donnell said there are things that need to be discussed. He said the trail is nice, but let's be reasonable and perhaps the City needs to purchase my land if they want all this property to do easements. He said the project limits access to his property and that devalues his property. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes • June 28, 2000 Page 3 Citizen Jerry Mead said referring to the road and medians, there only needs to be a concrete median, so why do they have to do a center median on Taft Hill with trees? He is suggesting a center turn lane and take out the parkway median so that everyone has access to their property. The neighbors are recommending an 86 foot wide road. He said curb to curb is 86 feet. Paul Van Valkenburg asked if the 86 foot wide road allows for a bike lane? Jerry replied yes, and that the bike lanes are 6-feet wide. He compared this plan to the Prospect Road Plan. He said they are presenting this proposal to City Council. John Lang explained that staff began the project in November last year and met with all residents along the road. We completed the conceptual design, had an open house and received a lot of good comments and made changes according to the input received from the neighbors. Lance said as a Board we need to talk about what we need to do. Marty asked that with regard to the trail is the Board comfortable with what we are looking at? He added that as far as the streetscapes the Board could address this also. Lance asked if we need to make a recommendation on this tonight? Del asked if we could meet one week earlier than scheduled in July so that we can give a better recommendation prior to the staff meeting with Council in a study session? Jerry Mean said on July 15 at 9:30 there will be a walk through along with the other boards and city council if you are interested. Ross said that the trail and streetscape are in the purview of the Board, and we need to address both. He will not be at the next month's meeting on the 26th. Lance asked if we could move the Board meeting to July 19? Del moved that we change our July meeting to July 19, seconded by Dean Hoag, and the Board voted unanimously (6-0) to move their meeting of July 26 to July 19. Secretary's note: The July 19 meeting will be held at the Recreation Conference Room at 214 North Howes at 5:30 p.m. Mike Gavin asked if we have input on the medians? Staff replied yes, as we maintain them. Del asked if we could get a map that illustrates the O'Donnell property? John Lang said that he could give the Board a more detailed map. Dean Hoag would like some background on easements. Staff will also provide an easement map. Marty said that typically the way we acquire trail right of way is through willing sellers. Marry further said that our staff met with the property owners. There is a willingness to work with us and now Mr. O'Donnell has an issue with his whole property because of the road improvements. We are trying to work through these issues. There is some concern about how close the trail is to the 100-year floodplain. We will continue negotiations with the O'Donnells. Lance asked for detail on how we can make this work and be accessible for the cattle. Paul Van Valkenburg asked how we are going to allow for a trail easement when we also need to allow for pasture land for this owner? Mr. O'Donnell would like a phone call if you want to visit his property. Mr. O'Donnell had comments to Marty's comments. He said that there are no other places along the creek that you can purchase and this needs to be considered when his property is valued. He said there needs to be more of a give and take than what has been said. Parks and Recreation Board Minu June 28, 2000 Page 4 Lance said that if the Board has specific comments, send them to Lance and he will compile them and he will give them to Marty. July 15 walkthrough would be a good time to review the property. Natural Areas Acquisitions Mark Sears, Manager of the Natural Areas, gave some background information on Natural Areas Program. The overall program was adopted in 1992 with one -quarter cent sales tax. The program started out with 1,200 acres of land. We have 4,200 acres of natural areas and 3,500 acres of open lands at $32,000,000 of valued land. Natural Area program has evolved. We have education, enforcement, and maintenance in these areas. Funding is from Building Community Choices one -quarter cent sales tax and a portion of Help Preserve Open Lands sales tax. Acquisition for this year is $8.5 million. Lance asked if all that money will be used to acquire land this year? Mark said that more than that is in negotiations right now. Mark explained that we need to acquire approximately 5,200 acres and purchase development rights on more land to protect wildlife. We need to target land along the river and the Fort Collins/Loveland corridor, south of Fossil Creek and Cooper Slew area. Lance said that when he looks at the properties they are purchasing around the City, he asked if they would be interested in purchasing lands within the city, for example the O'Donnell property? Mark showed places on the map that are within the city that should be preserved. They would purchase primarily in the buffer area. Tom Shoemaker pointed to the Red Fox area where there are natural areas in the city. It is more limited because most of the areas along the Spring Creek are developed. Mark showed areas on the map that would be protected through development buffer zones, and areas that would be preserved with conservation easements. He explained that we need to provide $2.2 million in public improvements and over $1 million in restoration. He explained that the Natural Areas opened one and one-half miles of trail at Coyote Ridge. By the end of the year, they will have completed another one and one-half mile (final portion) of trail development, cabin opening, and restrooms opening. Another area that has been opened to the public is Arapaho Bend. July 22 will open the Cottonwood Hollow Natural Area. Mark explained that Natural Areas funding will contribute over $100,000 a year to trails. Del said that is a minimal amount of money to appropriate to trails. He thinks a much larger portion should be contributed. Mark said that the land is the biggest price and serves as contribution to areas that will have trails through them. For example, Cathy Fromme prairie land served as a basis for the trail. Del feels that the intent should be more than just land. Mark said the natural areas also contributes soft trails. At Coyote Ridge, we are constructing three miles of soft trail. Lance added that we could construct the UP trail if we had the money. Mark said that if Natural Areas is not acquiring land, then Parks and Recreation wouldn't have a place to construct a trail. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes June 28, 2000 Page 5 We are trying to purchase the land ahead of time. Tom Shoemaker added that Conservation Trust money has been dedicated to trail construction and not much for land acquisition. Secondly, there are different kinds of user experience that we can offer to the residents in the natural areas. Tom again referred to Cathy Fromme prairie and how that project worked so well. Tom added that we have been able to secure some very valuable land that will enhance trail development and trail corridor. Marty added that Craig Foreman, Tom Shoemaker, Mark Sears, and he have worked well together. His sense is that it is a dialogue that will continue regarding trail construction and to construct other than concrete trails and the soft trails are appropriate in some areas. In maintaining the natural areas, Natural Resources presently has five full-time employees and five seasonals and have used the volunteers for construction. The two rangers serve by education, enforcement, and interpretation; and a third ranger will be added by July. Staff is working on interpretive features at Prospect Ponds, Riverbend Ponds, Cottonwood Hollow, and Coyote Ridge. Del asked about the natural areas that we have acquired in the southwest? What is the plan for restoring these areas? Mark said that they plan to leave those in agriculture for as long as we can. It would then be restored to short grass prairie. The cost of restoration is not feasible at this time. Lance asked what is the difference in Open Lands, Natural Areas, and Open Spaces? Mark responded that natural areas recondition to natural restoration, open lands are agricultural land. Tom added that the term used to be just open space, then the natural areas term was a portion of the open space. Within the city we are saying open lands can be open space or parks. Tom would like to refer to the agricultural lands as open lands. Horticulture Center Update and Master Plan City Forester Tim Buchanan said that we are at an exciting point in this project. He said that what staff would like from the Board tonight is approval of the conceptual design of the Horticulture Center being presented. Jim Clark did an overview on the project and timeline with conceptual drawings of the project done by EDAW. A key part of the site is the Sherwood Lateral. What we are proposing is to relocate the Sherwood Lateral and it will create more developable land. And secondly it is a physical barrier to do more formal gardens. We can enhance this to be as attractive as possible. Jim explained that there will be an abundance of vegetation around it. Access to the Horticulture Center will be on Rolland Moore Drive, which will eventually connect to Shields Street (across from Rolland Moore Park). There will be 50 plus parking spaces with possible additional street parking on Rolland Moore Drive. It will be an advantage to have parking on the street. Overflow parking could be across the street at the Federal Building. That is subject to their security and willingness to allow us to have overflow parking on their off hours and on the weekends. In addition to the horticulture center, there will be a neighborhood park. This park Parks and Recreation Board Minu June 28, 2000 Page 6 will primarily be accessible by the bike trail. It will have a playground, picnic area, and a passive grassed areas. The bike trail would delineate the Spring Creek area and the horticulture gardens. The native plantings will be in the buffer corridor. Lance asked if the project is going to pay for the restoration of the natural area? Jim replied that he has spoken with Tom Shoemaker and Mark Sears of Natural Resources and we will determine if that will be appropriate. At the neighborhood park there will be access from the trail. Craig Foreman will help with negotiations with the neighborhood for additional access. Paul Van Valkenburg asked when the park will be constructed? Craig replied, along with the horticulture project. The Center will have fencing for security and special events and to allow us to charge for admission if we decide. There is also a problem with beaver in the area that we want to keep out of the community gardens. The main gardens: Jim explained the various gardens and their purposes. Many ideas came from our supporters and CSU students' input. Lance asked if we are growing any plantings for the parks. Tim said the local greenhouses can grow these plantings more economically but, if there is an area we could fill with specialty plants, we would do that. Del said that along the parking lot, we have community gardens. He wondered what the experience is with these gardens? And do people keep them clean and weed free? Jim said we have a number of community gardens around the city for the past five years and we have a combination of people who take excellent care and some that don't. We will have check points and a deposit that won't be refunded if they do not clean up their garden space. Tim said that people would have to read through expectations and go from there. Lance asked about access from the Horticulture Center parking lot to the park and notes there is no access to the park. What is the minimum width for the trail/sidewalk requirements? Craig said 5 feet which is the width needed for a wheelchair. Tim pointed out the outdoor meeting area that will be rented for use by the public. Mike Gavin asked if there will be access for catering to enter and exit. Jim said yes and then showed the conceptual plan for the building. It will have a local look with native stone used. There will be lots of windows that will lend the feel of an outdoor space. Restrooms will be separate from the building. There will be an observatory above the restrooms. Capacity on the meeting room could accommodate approximately 100 people. The building will be 8,400 square feet. Public Process — We had several meetings with the community and our supporters. We have had two open houses on June 13 and June 15. We have a web site with information on the project. We will have two meetings with the neighborhoods; meet with CSU Horticulture staff; meet with the commercial neighborhood; and Natural Resources Advisory Board meeting in July. Natural Resources staff wanted to minimize activity on the buffer area and protect the wildlife. We have addressed those concerns. Del said that trails can be within the buffer zone. Tom Shoemaker agreed and said that it can be in the buffer zone we just prefer it is to the edge of the buffer zone. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes • June 28, 2000 Page 7 Staff will meet with City Manager John Fischbach in the next few weeks. We will have some discussion on fees. The master plan will be done by mid July and will start the building design. Our timeftame is to start bidding in mid -October, start construction in November, and open in July 2001. Priority order on the gardens would be around the building first and evolve it from there. Second is south of Sherwood Lateral. Basics of restoration will be next. Jim explained that much of the gardens will be donations. We could build five to six acres of gardens. We have 12 acres within the fence. We are not sure at this point how much we can develop in the first year. Ross asked if we are within budget? Tim said yes. We are looking at a more expensive building so we would cut back on some of the gardens but still within the budget. We want the community to have a quality building. Del said that Tim Buchanan and Jim Clark have done an excellent job in this plan and they have done a great job with public input. On a motion by Del Price, seconded by Dean Hoag, the Board voted unanimously (6-0) to accept the conceptual drawings of the Horticulture Center and to support staff s continuation with this project. Fossil Creek Community Park Update Craig updated the Board on the process. The open houses hosted approximately 100 citizens input. He read some of the comments. Del asked if we are paying for widening Lemay Avenue? Craig said that we pay for the oversizing as it borders the park. We have met with the Fire Department and received input on their emergency requirements. Lemay Avenue meets city design standards. This information is helpful in our design of the park. The east end of the park can have more parking and we will move the recreation center. Overflow parking is designed where the dog park was and the dog park has moved to the center of the park. The RFP (request for proposal) will be developed in July with final design. We will design a web page with all the comments and how we addressed them. Ross Cunniff is concerned with the dog park location and its proximity to the trail. His concern is the interaction of children on the trail and the dog park. His second concern is the appearance of the dog park. Del Price said he has a big problem with the dog park in the middle of the park. He said it is a great passive area and he has problems with taking that area and putting it into a dog park. He would put it back where it was originally. He is concerned about the amount of dogs barking in this area. Dean Hoag asked if there is any room by the maintenance building for the dog park? Ross has problems with dogs off leash in the community park. Mike Gavin said that there are many people with dogs off leash going to the dog park. Kids are in that neighborhood when people come with dogs off leash. Paul Van Valkenburg asked for an explanation of the parks activity areas. Craig explained the layout to the Board. Del questioned about the separation of the trail and the island. He said we need to look at the safety factor of the trail and the little kids playing on the island. Parks and Recreation Board Minu June 28, 2000 Page 8 After further discussion, the Board's recommendation is to move the dog park from the center of the park to one of the edges of the park boundary. Staff will revisit this with the architect. Trails Subcommittee Lance Freeman said that the trails subcommittee will consist of Lance and Paul Hudnut. They would be an advisory subcommittee working with the Natural Resources subcommittee. This group will meet on July 5. Objectives of this subcommittee are as follows: • Interest to balance the public use of the trails with sensitivity to natural resources. • Cohesive trail plan for the city. • To establish a collaboration between the two Boards and a commonality to help us build a partnership focusing on communications between the two groups. There should be coordination between the two Boards while sharing the same goal. • Building trails that will relate to the overall trail system in the community. • Enrich the value of both of our programs. Election of Officers at the September Meeting Lance would like before the September meeting to work out a process and determine how we elect new officers. He thinks the president, in order to be effective, needs to be in the position for a period of time. Paul Van Valkenburg asked for clarification. Do the bylaws state that we need these officers? For example, is it necessary to have a "secretary"? He thinks Lance's proactive position has been excellent. He thinks board members need to be active on issues and that is where we should focus. We need to continue to have subcommittees and focus on issues related to us. Lance thinks we should attend Council meetings. He thinks that the vice president's role should be to encourage the Board members to be more active. The vice president should be more involved. Del said we each have our particular field of interest and we should filter through that avenue. Mike Gavin agrees that self nominations are fine and if someone has the energy and time then they should be the person for the office. Lance said that in August we could discuss interest in the offices or do we just want to vote in September as before? Del Price suggested secret nomination. Marty suggested that next month if someone is interested in an office, let Marty or Jackie know and we will scribe it in the minutes. Another suggestion was to write your vote on a piece of paper and staff will tally it. Mike Gavin said that if someone wants to nominate somebody, give the names to Jackie. Organization is the key to effectiveness said Lance. Marty complimented the Board on their involvement in their advocating for Parks and Recreation projects. This energy in the next few years will be very important. Parks and Recreation Board putes • June 28, 2000 Page 9 Other Business • Paul Van Valkenburg asked who is responsible for the Park Maintenance cooperation with the Poudre School District as he is writing an article for the newspaper and would like to compliment the two entities for the cooperative work. Marty replied that Virgil Taylor has that responsibility. • Attendance Policy — Lance encouraged everyone to read the changes in their packet from the Clerk's office. If you are not going to be able to attend a meeting, call Jackie and she will note it for the minutes. • New Board Member Mike Gavin was welcomed to the Board. He said that he has lived in the Fort Collins since 1980. He works for Poudre Fire Authority and has been involved in parks and recreation since he moved here. He has two daughters who are active in our programs. He feels it is an honor to serve on this board. Adjournment: On a motion by Dean Hoag, the Board adjourned at 9:30 p.m. e r lly �u ed, ckie Rael, Executive Administrative Assistant Meeting Attendance Board Members: Ross Cunniff, Lance Freeman, Mike Gavin, Dean Hoag, Del Price, and Paul Van Valkenburg Staff: Craig Foreman, Marty Heffernan, Dean Klinger, John Lang, Keith Meyer, Mike Powers, Jackie Rael, Mark Sears, and Tom Shoemaker Guests: Jerry Mead and Pat O'Donnell