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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-23-14 Trails, Open Space and Parks Minutes MINUTES OF THE TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND PARKS COMMITTEE MEETING, OCTOBER 23, 2014 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Sandy Dodge, Vice-Chair Doug Chandler Tom Starner Don Beeman Cyndy Andrus, Commission Liaison COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: COMMITTEE MEMBERS EXCUSED ABSENCE: Bob Hawks, Chair CITY STAFF PRESENT: Mitch Overton, Parks & Recreation Director Carolyn Poissant, Manager Trails, Open Space and Parks Design & Development Doreen Olean, Recording Secretary A. The meeting was called to order at 10:07 a.m. by Vice-chair Dodge. B. Committee member Starner moved to approve the September 18, 2014 minutes as submitted. Committee member Beeman seconded. Motion passed unanimously. C. Changes to the Agenda—none. D. Public Comment—none. E. Disclosures: :51 —Committee member Starner disclosed that he had received a call from Gallatin Valley Land Trust for an update regarding the status of land surrounding the Painted Hills trail connector. Mr. Starner attended a Sports Park breakfast informational meeting. 3:54— Committee member Chandler disclosed that Allied Engineering will be submitting their name as a subcontractor of the main designer for the RFQ of the Bozeman Pond Park expansion. Page 1 of 4 MINUTES OF THE TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND PARKS COMMITTEE MEETING, OCTOBER 23, 2014 F. Discussion i. TOPs Projects Updates—4:35 TOP Manager, Poissant handed out a memorandum of progress on each of the Trails, Open Space and Parks projects. Good progress is being made. Bozeman Ponds— RFQ(Request for Qualifications) is out for the Bozeman Ponds. The spur into the site will not need to be paved, but can be gravel. Run Dog Run will develop a Dog Park in the north end of the park. City will provide utilities to the Dog Park. Native grasses in the south portion will not be irrigated. Dog park grass will be mowed and drill seeded. There may be a need to bring in some drip irrigation for trees. GVLT will install the gravel fines trails, provide benches and also a cost share for the playground. Design of playground is still being worked on. Nothing will be done to the stream at this time. Vegetation closer to the stream will be thinned for better visibility. Paved asphalt path will be installed along Fowler. A site plan should be prepared by early January. Construction would not begin until Spring. 11:56- Bozeman Creek- Sent a request for a date extension for the DNRC $100,000 grant. Completion date will be spring of 2016. Need to meet with the consultant for a slight re-design. Meeting with property owners and legal regarding easements. Grants that have been approved have been allocated to the City. 17:23—Sports Park— Foundation has been incorporated and is officially a 501 (c)3 organization. Moving forward and finalizing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). An attachment will be sent to the former Commission Resolution to update Commission. Annexation and right of way dedication (subdivision exemption) will be done through planning. Topographical survey will be done by the sports group. Public meetings on October 21" and 23`d. Online City Hall survey will be held. Anticipating high use of the sports fields. Playground will be a 1 %to 2 year project. Sports group match is for development of fields. Page 2 of 4 MINUTES OF THE TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND PARKS COMMITTEE MEETING, OCTOBER 23, 2014 37:37—Story Mill Park-The Master Plan workshop had about 200 people in attendance. There were about 300 surveys filled out. Trust for Public Lands' consultants is compiling the information received. The public is interested in protecting the natural aspects of the park especially the southern part. In the northern part they like active things such as community gatherings, farmer's market, organic farm demonstrations, children's gardening, as well as a playground. There is historic legacy on site, teaching aspects with the wetlands restoration and wildlife information. This can be a flagship park with many different elements. A design/development drawing will be prepared next and then an updated cost estimate. TPL's fund raising is going very well. City needs to hold the contract for engineering. Project management overall will be by the City. Finalizing the MOU and sales agreement by the end of the year. Historical buildings which are on the historical registry will be evaluated following the historical preservation process. Will be looking at a potential renovation to buildings if feasible. There are many photos that could be used in an interpretive walk. Looking at developing policies for name recognition of donors, which would be adopted by the Commission. 52:34—Trail to the M—Federal Access Program and their consultant are running the project. Had the initial (scoping meeting) on October 8th. No one is against the project. Main concern was about safety of crossing the highway. Will probably need to have some right of way. Ten foot wide trail. Concern about walkers & bikers safety because of different speeds on the trail. If the NEPA process arrives at a finding of not creating any significant cultural or environmental damage and not seen as controversial, they can make a finding that it is a categorical exclusion and that would save 6 months of time for completion of the project. Vice-chair Dodge thanked TOP Manager Poissant for the prepared updated handout of the TOP projects. Page 3 of 4 MINUTES OF THE TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND PARKS COMMITTEE MEETING, OCTOBER 23, 2014 ii. 1:01:53 -The next meeting is scheduled for December 4, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. in the Professional Building upstairs meeting room. iii. FYI — 1:03:15—Ms. Poissant was asked to give a report on the alternative transportation trip to Boulder, CO. They met with a consultant from Alta Planning. Boulder has a dedicated tax for transportation and open space. Thirty percent of people do not drive to work. An eco-pass allows free transportation on any bus in the area. The bus system ties into the Denver Metro system. There are 100 plus miles of bike trails. Boulder is working on details at intersections and crossings and separation of bike lanes from vehicle traffic. Downtown parking is very limited. There is a possibility that Bozeman may try some exploratory transportation projects. Director Overton stated the Bozeman Parks Division manages and maintains with the assistance of Gallatin Valley Land Trust sixty-eight miles of trails. Question of how do we encourage alternative modes of transportation? iv. Committee member Chandler motioned to adjourn the meeting at 11:20 a.m. Sandy Dodge,Vice-Chairperson (ATTEST: _ Doreen Olean, Recording Secretary PREPARED BY: Doreen Olean , Recording Secretary 4� 1 Page 4 of 5