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HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.council.worksession.20180501 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION May 01, 2018 4:00 PM, City Council Chambers MEETING AGENDA I. Work Session - Council meeting with Board & Commission (Open Space and Trails) II. Check in with Council on meetings with Boards & Commissions P1 Memorandum TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Charlie Eckart, Open Space and Trails Board Chair DATE OF MEMO: April 24, 2018 Re: Open Space and Trails Board Work Session CC: Sara Ott, Assistant City Manager Jim True, City Attorney Summary Since inception in 2000, the Open Space and Trails Board (originally named the Open Space Acquisition Board) has been instrumental in providing City Council with direction in the acquisition of open space properties and the design, planning, and construction of trail facilities that serve the entire community. The current Board includes Howie Mallory, Charlie Eckart, Gyles Thornely, Jim Stark, and Erik Skarvan, along with Philip Jeffreys, Board member alternate. Working together with Parks and Open Space staff, the Board feels that they are accomplishing the vision of the community in acquiring open space and developing the community trail network. At the scheduled May 1, 2018, City Council work-session, the Board will discuss past accomplishments, as well as current goals of the Open Space and Trails program. Background The City of Aspen has a long history of open space acquisition and trail development for both the citizens and visitors of Aspen that spans back to 1970, when a 1.0% Parks and Open Space Tax was established. With these funds, the City of Aspen acquired crucial parcels of land and developed critical trail linkages that have molded the community fabric of lands and trails that Aspen is today. In November 2001, the citizens of Aspen passed an additional 0.5 % Open Space Tax specifically dedicated to the acquisition and maintenance of open space and further development of trails and P2 I. recreation facilities in the community. This ballot measure authorized $38 million in bonding capability to accomplish these goals. To provide guidance, the City Council adopted Resolution #108 in 2001, which created a five-member Open Space Acquisition Board which would provide recommendations to the City Council on utilization of open space tax funds for five years. In August 2007, the City Council expanded the Board’s scope and adopted Resolution #31. This resolution created a permanent Open Space and Trails Board which would provide long-term guidance on these issues. These ordinances provide specific direction and policies, through adopted by-laws, on how the Board is to conduct business. In the last 18 years, the Open Space and Trails Board has been very busy setting priorities for funding recommendations and strategic planning with specific criteria in mind. The Board has enjoyed a direct communication link with City Council, and they feel that they are an effective and proactive Board that is working hard to further their mission statement of “To acquire, preserve, manage and maintain Open Space and Trails within the community for the benefit of current and future generations." Discussion: Open Space Acquisition The Open Space and Trails Board was founded to efficiently and effectively preserve critical open space in the community, and has preserved 1662 acres through outright property purchases, conservation easement acquisitions, donations, and development negotiations for open space in the past 18 years. The Board has formed solid relationships with many collaborators, all seeking to preserve critical open space lands within our community including other government agencies and local land preservation non-profits. The City Open Space and Trails Board would like to work more closely with the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails program and other potential partners in both land acquisition as well as new trail development. Much of what has been accomplished in the past 18 years has been through this partnership. Each of these acquisitions of property takes hundreds of hours of time, and the Open Space and Trails Board has been well equipped in utilizing their expertise, leadership, and willingness to provide valuable time to these endeavors. Many properties, have been acquired utilizing the 0.5 % Open Space and Trails Sales Tax (Appendix A). A few of the most notable properties includes, Smuggler Mountain Open Space, Sky Mountain Park and Cozy Point. The Open Space and Trails Board is actively working towards future open space acquisitions and opportunities and is focused on acquisition of properties within the urban growth boundary of the community, as well as areas directly adjacent to the city boundaries. P3 I. Trail Development and Management Trails development within the community has been a high priority for the Open Space and Trails Board over the past eleven years. The Board has been actively involved in the prioritization, planning, negotiations, public meetings, easement acquisition, budgeting, design, maintenance and construction of many high-profile and high-impact trail system additions and improvements. These new trails provide a high-quality outdoor experience to the citizens and visitors of Aspen. The Board has a protocol with City staff for providing direction to the City Council in trail improvement activities which includes prioritization of trail opportunities on an annual basis and long term strategic planning for trail system improvements. There are many trail system improvements that the Open Space and Trails Board has been directly involved with since 2000 (Appendix A). Some of these most notable trails include, Cemetery Lane and the East of Aspen Trail. The City of Aspen Trail System consists of 36 total miles of trails, 27.27 miles of which have been added in the last 18 years. The next group of trail system priorities that the Open Space and Trails Board has identified includes the completion of several missing links throughout the town and providing connectivity to the surrounding valleys. Trail easement negotiations, challenging terrain, and financial outlay are all challenges the Board faces in the next phase of trail system development. However, the Board’s experience and expertise provide a methodology for success. Seamless trail connections within the community are one of the Board’s stated goals, and the following list of trail projects has been identified as the next round of priorities to recommend for completion to the City Council. 1) Castle Creek Music School Trail 2) Maroon Creek Trail 3) South Side 82 Trail 4) ABC to Intercept Lot Trail 5) Hunter Creek Access Trail The Open Space and Trails Board looks forward today to discussing these projects and other identified trail improvement opportunities. Parks The Open Space and Trails Board frequently provides feedback and guidance for staff regarding parks and natural resources within the city. An example of this is Anderson Park. The Board will continue to P4 I. have discussions about their role in providing guidance to staff about parks and natural resources related projects and how that might be formalized in the future. Financial/ Budget Impacts The Open Space and Trails Board has worked closely with the City Council to ensure funds dedicated to open space and trails are maximized. The Board has significant experience in financial disciplines and has been fiscally savvy in the approach to funding open space acquisitions and trail development projects. Funding partnerships, conservation easement negotiations, donations, and development extractions have all been used successfully in the financial portfolio of the Board to move acquisitions and projects forward. The current financial status of the Parks and Open Space Fund is healthy, and allows for responsible maintenance of its facilities, smaller projects and additional small acquisitions. It’s important to note that the 0.5 % Open Space and Trails Sales Tax will sunset in 2025, which will have a financial impact on larger projects in the future. Several of the projects that the Board is discussing for the future will require creative funding solutions. Currently, the team continues to recommend leveraging funds in partnership with other local agencies and organizations to further the mission of open space acquisition and trail development in the community. The Open Space and Trails Board will continue to work closely with staff and City Council to appropriately provide guidance and recommendations for the budgetary needs of open space preservation and trail connectivity of the community. P5 I. APPENDIX A Open Space Acquisitions Property Title Acres Year Francis Whitaker (Bass Park) 1 2000 Mills Parcel 32 2000 James H Smith 78 2001 Moore Playing Fields 8 2001 Axtell and Protection Claims 21 2001 Ute 1010 1 2002 Burlingame Ranch 200 2004 Holy Cross 1 2003 Hunter Valley Way 10 2005 Cozy Point 168 2005 Smuggler Mountain 180 2005 Aspen Mass 35 2006 Ute Mesa 4 2007 Additional Smuggler Claims 65 2007 Little Cloud 2 2009 Millionaire Mill site 3 2009 Sky Mountain Park 845 2010 Lindsay Parcel 7 2012 Dolinsek 0.67 2017 Total 1,662 Acres P6 I. Trails Trail Mileage Upper Rio Grande Trail Improvements 1.60 Cemetery lane Phases I &II 1.10 Bergman Interpretive Trail 0.26 West Hopkins Trail Phase 1 0.20 Highlands Trail 0.50 ARC Trails 0.30 Harmony Trail 0.48 Post Office Trails Phase I & II 0.23 Ajax Trail 1.48 Midland Trail Extension 0.03 Williams Ranch Trail 0.15 Water Place Trail 0.50 Burlingame Village Trail 0.74 Extension of the Midland Trail/Little Ajax 0.06 Puppy Smith Trail connection to Rio Grande 0.08 Little Cloud Trail 0.63 Round-About Bridges 0.03 Fabi Benedict Bridge Replacement 0.02 Bob Helm Bridge Replacement 0.01 Old Stage Trail 0.75 Clark's Cutoff Trail 0.09 No Problem Joe Trail 0.15 East of Aspen Trail 0.80 Castle /Hallam Trail Connector 0.25 Oklahoma Flats Trail Improvements 0.14 P7 I. Smuggler Recreation Trails 2.00 Hummingbird Trail 1.72 Upper Hummingbird Trail 0.55 Upper Plunge Re-route 0.87 Hunter Creek Trail Extension 0.30 Viewline Trail 1.66 Skyline Trail 1.95 Cozyline trail 3.80 Airline Trail 2.20 Butterline Trail 1.00 Burlingame Connector 0.44 Deer Hill Connector 0.20 Total 27.27 miles P8 I.