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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes.OSB.20240516.Regular MINUTES City of Aspen, Open Space and Trails Board Meeting Held on May 16, 2024 5:00pm at Pearl Pass Room, Aspen City Hall City OST Board Members Present: Howie Mallory (virtually), Adam McCurdy, Ann Mullins, Dan Perl City Staff Members Present: John Spiess, Matt Kuhn, Michael Tunte, Austin Weiss, Brian Long, Micah Davis, Mary Oliver Adoption of the Agenda: Dan mentioned that New Business Item A, a grant application, has been struck from the agenda. Adam made a motion to approve the agenda; Ann seconded, and the vote was unanimous. Public Comments, for topics not on the agenda: Tony Kronberg thanked the OSTB Board for its work and reviewed progress in the history of the ARC and the work involved with making the Maroon Creek Trail. She also mentioned anticipating improvements planned for the horse barn at Cozy Point Ranch. Toni also announced that she is running for Pitkin County Commissioner, mentioning the potential plan for a speed limit increase at the Smith Hill Intersection and considerations for improving safety in this area for wildlife, trails, and road crossings. Approval of the Minutes: Ann made a motion to approve the minutes; Adam seconded, and the vote was unanimous. Staff Comments: Dan expressed concern about the lack of a Board packet in advance of today’s meeting. Ann echoed this. Austin: responded to Dan’s comment about the Board packet, explaining that staff are transitioning to meet this new request. Dan asked for an update on this process at the next meeting. John: provided updates on three current projects. The septic system project serving the Farm Collaborative’s (FC) facilities at Cozy Point Ranch has restarted after a winter pause. Last year, the FC received a $735,000 contribution from the City supported by the OSTB for this project. Work began last fall and has now resumed. John showed photos of the pre-process infrastructure. A large excavation has been dug for the crawlspace beneath the future learning center building. John reported on continued work toward a good water supply. Test wells will be dug with the goal of replacing Well #2 (which produces sulphur-smelling/tasting water) if good water can be located. Other planned improvements across the site are tied to providing good water. Adam asked if the water right can be transferred from Well #2 to the new well; John replied that this can be done within certain boundaries. John also described beaver activity on Brush Creek that is helping to naturally restore the deeply incised creek bed. Ranch staff are working to steer beaver dam work where it benefits the creek and ranch. John provided an update on progress with the Maroon Creek Trail, describing various challenges such as building a stable trail platform in areas with very deep topsoil. He explained the deeper excavating necessary to deal with the unexpected soil depth. Traffic and stormwater management are additional construction factors. Due to surrounding private property and topography, infrastructure is being installed to properly handle stormwater. Retaining walls designed to minimize impacts are being installed. Mike: Provided an update on grading and drainage at Cozy Point Ranch. Phase one (parking lot) is essentially complete; revegetation and irrigation will be finished this summer. Phase two (paddocks area) includes the OWTS (on-site wastewater treatment) system that has been installed and is now functioning to serve the Quad and the horse barn. The paddocks are now ready for the contractor to create positive drainage for this area. Temporary fencing is in place to manage horses during this work and the large dirt mound on site will disappear as this work takes place. Mike also provided an update on Iselin Pickleball Courts: the courts have been demolished and excavation is underway to prepare the subsurface. A sophisticated post tension concrete slab system is part of the design. Pickleball courts will be available in Snowmass and at the Ice Garden during the summer. Ann asked John if the topsoil depth was known before work began on the Maroon Creek Trail. John explained that this was not known and that the contract described removing one foot of topsoil, not the 6-8 feet that has been discovered. The soil must be excavated in order to build up the subsurface; this has been backfilled with materials from the Main Street excavations last year. Additional millings from Main Street stored at the snow dump have also been used. Stripped topsoil is being stored at the snow dump; it will be sifted and used as seeding material after the trail is constructed. There will be additional costs associated with this work. For the stormwater situation, final design was planned to happen at the time of permit drawings and after the 100% GMP (guaranteed maximum price). The complexity of managing stormwater for the project was greater than anticipated; contingency funds will cover these costs. Ann asked if drainage problems exist at the Iselin courts; Mike explained green systems such as bioswales and raingardens will handle stormwater on site. Adam asked about Herron Park bathrooms. Mike said this project will begin on Monday. The pre-fab bathrooms will arrive in July; two semis and a crane will work on installation day, followed by utility hookups, etc. Dan asked about road closures and ARC bridge closures related to the Maroon Creek Trail. John explained that there will be no full closures of the Maroon Creek Road. Single-lane closures will occur at Moore Drive and at the bridge; another single-lane closure will happen in July at the bridge by the Chapel when the trail is built beneath this bridge segment. John explained the intersection improvement work that is currently underway. The ARC bridge will be closed for about two months. New Business: Mike and Mary presented a preview of the Parks Strategic Plan. Mike provided an overview of this project that has just begun. At this meeting, he and Mary will explain staff’s concept of this project, the role of OSTB, and timeline of when OSTB’s involvement will happen. Staff will get information to the Board ahead of time when their feedback is needed. While Parks has other master plans for specific systems such as the Bike-Pedway System, there has never been a departmental comprehensive strategic plan. A survey of other community’s parks department strategic plans was conducted as part of preparation for the start of this project. Mary introduced the overall strategic planning process. This plan will be a guiding document for the Parks and Open Space Department; the goal of the plan will be to create a shared vision for the next 5-20 years. This is a high-level plan with overarching goals and detailed strategies that will help us achieve those goals. Key elements include a system inventory, systems analysis, mission statement (about the organization), vision statement (about the plan, summarizes goals for the future), framework, detailed strategies/policies/actions and implementation pathways, progress metrics, and stakeholder engagement. Mary shared examples of these elements from other cities. This is a tool to help people see what the department could be in the future. Adam asked if this plan replaces an existing plan. Mary said that this is an entirely new plan. Adam asked what the impetus is for creating this plan now. Mike explained that this effort is driven by significant changes the department has undergone over the last several years. The vision for the department has changed radically since Jeff Woods’ top-down leadership. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge and talent among the current staff team. Parks now has a more modern, bottom-up approach. Austin added that with the reauthorization of the Half Cent Tax, this is the time to lay out the roadmap for the next 15-20 years, allowing us to plan the long-range budget in a more responsible way. Ann asked how existing management plans will be incorporated. Austin explained that management plans address specific properties and systems (such as Nordic trails), but this plan will be all-encompassing. Ann asked if professional consultants will be hired. Mike explained that with Mary Oliver’s experience, this can be largely handled in-house. There may be certain aspects for which outside help will be hired. Ann also asked about how updates will be made so it can be a living/working document. She also asked about how funding will be included, such as prioritizing projects based on funding. Ann asked about the mission and vision statements and who will be developing them. Mary commented that visioning workshops with staff will inform the vision statement. Mike added that many groups will also contribute to this effort. Austin said that community, Board, and Council input will be incorporated. Adam asked about scope related to what staff will accomplish versus what could be accomplished by Council, etc. Mary explained that the plan will contain high-level visions, including those that involve partnerships with other City entities and entities outside the City. Mary presented the May 2024-May 2025 timeline, including the various project phases. Staff visioning and inventory and analysis are now underway. Resulting information will be drafted to create initial goals and actions. At that point, staff will bring the framework to the Board for feedback. Next, the plan document will be created and reviewed, and presented to Council for adoption through a resolution. Mike added that this Board will have a touchpoint in October; by this time next year, comments will be consolidated and we hope to have Board support to take this to Council. Ann asked if Council has seen this yet. Mike said that an informational memo will be submitted to Council in June. Mary further explained the staff visioning effort, including meeting with every full-time member of the department. Community outreach will take place between July and September. An online community survey will launch in July accompanied by information on the plan through Community Voice. Sumer outreach events will take place at the Saturday market and community picnic, and through surveys out on the trails. A series of focus groups with stakeholders (including Nordic skiing, athletics, trails groups, environmental groups) will take place in September. In October, we will hold cross-departmental workshops, providing opportunities for other departments to give feedback on the plan and its initial goals. After the survey closes in September, key results will be posted on Community Voice. In March, highlights of the plan summary will be posted on Community Voice for public comment. Ann suggested including seniors and children as focus group stakeholders to broaden the populations reached in this effort. Ann mentioned the public art program and including it within the strategic plan process. Austin commented that the public art task force will be a great resource. Mike mentioned that the strategic plan cannot dive into the depth that the task force handles, but it would reference the role of this task force within the community. Ann mentioned that the strategic plan could outline which types of places are appropriate and not appropriate for accepting public art, and that this could inform the task force. Mary reviewed the Board’s role in the strategic plan process. In October after initial outreach and studies, we will present outreach findings and the draft plan framework for Board feedback. In February, we will present plan highlights and provide a draft for review, and in March, Board feedback will be sought. In April, a motion of support for the draft plan would be sought from the Board. The Board’s role beyond this, is to represent the community and help promote outreach. Mary described the branding effort for the plan process, including a catchy title and vibrant graphics, that will help to engage the community. Board members were asked to scan the provided QR code to enter their feedback on catchy title choices. This exercise was a start toward choosing a title and testing the technology. Dan commented that the plan seems more like a maintenance plan than a re-imagining plan. Austin added that this plan will build upon a strong foundation. Ann said that the design could show various aspects/activities coming together. Austin commented that this plan celebrates what Parks has done and the outdoors. Brian mentioned it is finding the community’s desired line as with streetscape or trail design and a user’s line of travel. Ann suggested that graphics could add more dimension to the title. Austin suggested “celebrating Aspen’s outdoor roots.” Ann commented on environmental sustainability as part of the plan. Mary said they will connect with the sustainability department, ACES, and others. Adam commented that “reimagining” communicates that this is a forward-looking document; this is an important concept for the title to communicate. Austin suggested having a subtitle. Old Business: Joint Meeting / Council Work Session: 4pm on June 17th This meeting will cover the Theatre Aspen project and the Thomas-Marolt Skills Trail, and will include two site visits. Ann, Dan, and Adam indicated that they will be able to attend. This meeting will constitute the June OSTB meeting. Dan asked if this meeting is the time for this Board to present its position on these projects. Austin replied that it is the time to do so. Matt, the mayor, and the city manager will facilitate the meeting. Ann suggested that following a tour of the site, this Board could present its recommendations. Austin said that the process at Theater Aspen’s site would be walking Council through the steps we’ve been through in refining the current proposed plan. Dan expressed that presenting on Marolt will be straightforward, but that the Theater project seems less clear. Austin commented that it is ok if the Board does not have consensus at this point on the Theater project. John will send minutes from previous Board discussions of the Theater project for review. Austin emphasized that any remaining concerns should be voiced at this meeting. Ann asked for the Theater’s next step. Austin said that the next step would be a Council recommendation to allow them to start the permitting process. Dan asked at what point the most consequential decision would occur. Ann said that it could be a recommendation by this Board, if we feel the project is not appropriate for that site, and we should express that at this meeting if that is our opinion. Dan said that it could be worthwhile to come to consensus for this joint meeting. Ann said the basic question is whether there should be a permanent building on City park property. Ann remembered being in favor of that at the last discussion, but she still has concerns. Adam commented that more information will come up at the site visit, and that the Board can make a motion at the following OSTB meeting. Ann commented that it is fine to express that the Board has not been able to reach consensus yet. Dan said that we should hash through everything and discuss all concerns at the joint meeting, and then put a recommendation for this topic on the July OSTB agenda. John commented that this is a forum where questions and concerns can be expressed and discussed. Adam asked if there has been any movement on how a lease agreement could look for this space. Austin said that Jim True and Matt have done some work on this. Leash Ordinance: John presented results of a Board discussion on potential amendments to the leash ordinance. Board direction included making all City of Aspen parks and open spaces off-leash areas with exceptions for play areas, locations where active athletics take place, wetland areas. John explained that staff met with the City Attorney who expressed the importance of identifying a few areas where off-leash dogs are strictly prohibited, such as the Yellow Brick park, John Denver Sanctuary, and after 9am in Herron Park. Dan asked for clarification of the basis for on-leash policy at Herron Park. John explained that this is a very popular park with lots of activity in a confined place; there is greater potential for unintentional interactions between off-leash dogs and other park visitors. The trial that was conducted tested managing for off-leash dogs between 9am and 6pm. Austin commented that this space has been an leash-required area. Brian commented that the shallow water is attractive to both children and dogs, and that the general philosophy has been that off-leash dogs do not belong in playgrounds. Austin expressed his opinion that Herron Park should be a leash-required space. Mike added that it is a very busy place, more so than other formal playground spaces at times. John said that language could be amended to reflect dogs must be on leash between 9am and dusk. John suggested that the Board could make a motion to move this forward to Council or take more time to consider the language. Ann made a motion that the leash-required hours should be clarified at Herron Park; Adam seconded and the vote was unanimous. Board Comments: Ann: commented that someone should check with Julie on the catchy phrase language for the strategic plan’s title. Adam: shared community concern about the bollards that have not yet been installed on the bike path along Castle Creek. Micah mentioned that the County is waiting to stripe the road; this will likely happen in the beginning of June. John mentioned that the County handles install and removal; Parks handles bollard maintenance between those times. Brian mentioned that the bollards are installed on the paint stripes, so painting must be done first. Dan: none. Next Meeting Date(s): Joint Meeting with City Council 4:00 June 17th, 2024. Adjourned: Ann made a motion to adjourn; Adam seconded, and the vote was unanimous.