Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 2/28/2000DO NOT REMOVE - PRAB F~le Matenal ~,,... City of Boulder ~ Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Minutes February 28, 2000 City Council Chambers 1777 Broadway 6:00 p.m. The followtng are the mtnutes of the February 28, 2000 City of Boulder Parks and Recreahon Adv:sory Board meebng A permanent set of these mtnutes and a tape recordrng (mainta:ned for a penod of 6 years) are retmned:n Central Records (telephone: 441-3043). Board Present: 7un Peterson, Chair, Jen Overbeck, Vice-Chair, 7uha Lavely, Dave Wirung, Chazles Manlove, and Will Meyer arrived at 6 24 p m Board Absent: Gwen Dooley Staff Present: Chns Dropmski, Georgia Jackson, 7eanne Scholl, Doug Hawthome, Steve Taylor, Steve Armstead, Matt Claussen, Dave Sutherland, Ian Appleyard, ,~"" NLke Kiley, Mike Gurrola I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA On a motion by Overbeck, seconded by Wmmg, the Parks and Recreahon Advisory Boazd voted unanimously (6-0 with one member absent) to change the agenda to approve minutes after Action Item A, Public Hearing Regazding Findings of Conservation Impact's Management Audrt of Mountam Parks Division of the Department of Parks and Recreahon and Open Space/Real Estate Department II. APPROVAL OF D~IVUTES The mmutes were approved after Action Item A 7anuary 24, 2000 The rrunutes were approved as submitted February 11, 2000 The minutes were approved with the following changes on Page 7, middle pazagraph, "Overbeck shared that she has been mvolved " should be changed to read "Lavely ~ ~ ~ shazed that she has been mvolved " and further down in same paragraph, remove "hauuig a new name on the department and " III. CITTZEN PARTICIPATION Cit~zen Participation was opened Leshe Bohm, 2755 15"' Street, Boulder 80304, bnefed the Boazd on the February 23 meeting between the Boulder Nordic Club, Parks staff and representatives from three snow making companies Bohm believes that many questions regazding feasibility of making snow were answered and now can move forward with development of a plan, final design and raising funds (at appropnate time appl}nng for a GOCO grant) Citizen Participation was closed IV. ITEMS FOR ACTION A. Public Hearing Regarding Findings of Conservation Impact's Management Audit of Mountain Parks Division of the Department of Parks and Recreation and Open Space/Real Estate Department By way of review, Peterson stated that on February 11, the Parks and Recreation ~"' Advisory Board held a special meetmg to hear a summary by the consultants of ~- their findings and the PRAB conveyed its comments to the City Manager at that tune A few days pnor to that, the OSBT had held a meeting and entertained public comment on tlvs issue There will be public comment on this ~ssue tonight as there was no public comment at the February 11 meeting The public hearing was opened Ruth Wnght, 1440 High Street, Boulder, CO 80304, offered a proposal for an amendment to the City Charter to mclude five items They are a name change to Open Space and Mountain Parks, a request that the mission statements of Mountain Parks and Open Space be merged, the appropriate lands for Open Space that are now m Mountain Parks be specifically designated m the Charter, clarificahon that open space acquisition is definitely in the Open Space department, and a statement to be removed from the Charter that says the "Director also may be the City's Director of Real Estate" Barbaza Hawke, 4985 Twin Lakes Road, Boulder 80301, expressed concerns for the assumptions for cost savings particularly in the azea of staff sernces She doesn't beheve that sirrular functions in two departments means that you can consolidate or delete positions ~ `""' PRAB MeeUng 2/28/00 - Page 2 ~.~, 7anet Bellis, 3806 Telluride Place, Boulder 80303, expressed support for the ~, management audit and agreed with the recommendations that there be a new department under new leaderstup The audit was recommended by both boards and City Council and she feels it would be irresponsible not to take the findmgs senously 7on T Howard, 2990 Heidelberg, Boulder 80303, asked the PRAB to consider the followmg questions Haue two natural resource departments of this type have ever been restructured in this way~ If so, what were the short term implications to acquisitions and the long term unphcarions to the management of the resource~ Are the resources (both Mountain Parks and Open Space) bemg protected witlvn the budget framework thaYs being proposed~ Where is the money coming from and ~s the fundmg arrangement adequate to protect the resources and provide management over the long term7 Will Meyer arrived at 6 24 p m Tim Hogan, 2540 6th Street, Boulder 80304, thinks that in loolung at the issue of consolidation, the primary issue should remain the long term health of both Mountazn Parks and Open Space He agrees that if there is a new department, retaining the names of Open Space and Mountain Parks shows respect for both agencies that have protected these lands for so long He disagrees with moving ~^ acqu~sitions out of Open Space and also removmg the current leadership of these `~-~ departments Bruce Bland, 1340 Letugh Street, Boulder 80303, stated that the audit has some good ideas and he believes that orgamzing the department by function and flattening the management reporting structure will be beneficial He does see three problems with the audit removmg too many employees, changmg leaders}up and removing the real estate acquisition funchon from Open Space He would recommend puthng most ofMountain Parks land and personnel together with Open Space lands and personnel into a renamed department called Mountazn Pazks and Open Space, to recognize that Mountazn Pazks came first Crystal Gray, 1709 Spruce Street, Boulder 8030 She asked the PRAB to consider sustamabihty as faz as funding and bond ratings Gray also asked the Board to consider sustainability with regazd to staffing She thanked the Board for televismg the February 11 meeting and for their high level of discussion and care m lookmg at this issue Scott Severs, 2905 E Aurora #118, Boulder 80303, President ofBoulder County Nature Associahon, stated that mergers done in haste for quick sauings can be risky and difficult to achieve He is opposed to changing the Charter, movmg acquisitions out of Open Space and reducing levels of staff ~„^ ~ `"' PRAB Meetmg 2/28/00 - Page 3 Jim Knopf, 320 Hollyberry Lane, Boulder 80303, believes that contrary to the ~ notion expressed m the Open Space meetmg on February 9 that "ff it aui't broke, don't fix iY', there ~s a lot of room for improvement He would like to get the merger belund us and look for a new leader with a proven record in resource protechon, a good record workuig with his/her staff, and a good record working with the public Ae stated that runaway fear or paranoia over the merger is unfounded There would be no conservation easements sold off and there would remain a good staffwith a board to oversee rt As the Real Estate department has stated that it already serves the rest of the City well, he asked why wouldn't it serve just as well if it were sepazated~ He stated that it was separate for about half of the lustory of the program Knopf believes that the Plan Boulder posrtion would simply dissolve Mountain Pazks He also feels that any sauings that result should be dedicated to the new program Mike Figgs, 2635 Mapleton Avenue #77, Boulder 80304, believes that it is time to get this over with as there has been too much upheaval for both staff and the pubLc He believes that Option lA m the audit report is fatally flawed for a number of reasons The most obvious is separating out acquisitions He believes that most of Mountazn Parks staff and property ought to be transfened into the Open Space department with a new name of Open Space and Mountazn Pazks (or vice-versa) He also feels that the Real Estate department could be restructured to divide personnel between the Crty Manager's office and the Open Space /^ Department He feels that four or five Mountain Pazks FTE's could remaui in the '~-- Parks Department to address those properties that wouldn't fit under the Open Space Charter, or would be better served by a parks function, for example, the south side of Boulder Reservoir Guy Burgess, 1290 Albion Rd, Boulder 80303, stated that the two programs (Open Space Department and Mounta~n Pazks Division) are central to the identity of Boulder and expressed concem over whether the merger would sigmficantly change the identity m any way He stated that there is no agreement over how this merger should be done and encouraged the PRAB to not support any merger that does not protect Mountain Pazks Cmdy Carhsle, 411 Spruce Street, Boulder 80302, asked that the PRAB not act rashly regarding this merger and to consider all of implications financial, management considerations, and policy issues She asked the Boazd not to do anything that might jeopardize either program, rather to do what is best for both Mountun Parks and Open Space She read an article from today's New York Times enhtled, Yorces From a Forgotten Landscape, and asked the Board to keep it in mind when making decisions regarding a merger Patnck Murphy, 1554 North Street, Boulder 80304, sazd that the name for the new department should not be Natural Lands, but rather to use names of both w~. { ``"' PRAB Meetmg 2/28/00 - Page 4 ,,.,, departments for the new name With regard to efficiencies, he doesn't think that ~,,,,,,, there is currently enough staffto get things done He encouraged the Board to play down the efficiencies of a new department and instead play up the benefits Dan Sukle, 2637 5'" Street, Boulder 80304, a member of FIDO's Board, has worked with both the Mountain Parks Division and the Open Space Department over the yeazs Wlule they are both staffed wrth devoted, hazd-working people, he has concem over the possibility of the Open Space takeover of Mountazn Parks He beheves there may be a management problem with the Open Space Department If FIDO's could have a choice, they would like to see Open Space absorbed by Mountain Parks, and if not that, they could live with the status quo The public hearing was closed Overbeck read a letter from Dennis Berry into the record In the letter, Berry expressed support for the recommendations in the management audit and regazdless of whether or not the merger results m dollar savmgs, he beheves it will be more effectroe to have a smgle duection for all staff involved in a given type of work (conservation, visitor management, education, volunteer activities, etc ) He supports separating the acqu~sitions function from the Natural Lands department and placing rt under the City Manager, primarily because Real Estate serves the entire city, not just the Open Space Department With regard to a change m the ~ size of the board from five to seven members for the new Natural Lands function, '"~ Berry feels that given the fears of many people regarding a charter change, he would recommend that some way be found to accomphsh the combination of functions administratively without a charter change, and hve with a five-member board until people see that the new department can work effectively There was no achon taken on this item as rt was mtended only for the Board to hear from the pubhc on ttus issue and forward this informarion to the City Manager for his review and consideration The PRAB took a 5 rrvnute break B. Public Hearing and consideration oF the Establishment of Three Fenced Dog Eaercise Areas in a Portion of Tantra, East Boulder Community and Valmont City Parks Presenters: Doug Hawthorne Hawthome gave a bnef explanation of the final pillaz of the Dog Management Plan which ident~fies the development of fenced dog exercise areas He would hke to postpone any decision on Tantra Pazk tonight and mstead schedule a public meeting in the near future, to allow for public comments from homeowners in that area. Hawthorne then gaue an overview ofthe proposed dog park srtes m East ~ ""' PRAB Meetmg 2/28/00 - Page 5 Boulder Community Pazk and Valmont City Park ~, z ~ 7an McHugh, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, stated that there aze an estimated 25,000 dogs m the city ofBoulder and about 5,100 dogs were hcensed last yeaz The Public Hearing was opened Patrick Murphy, 1554 North Street, Boulde 80304, stated that he is in favor of additional dog parks in the city of Boulder and feels strongly about the need for dog off-leash areas in the city He expressed concern over the problems resulting from irresponsible dog owners non-comphance with licensmg laws, leash laws, dog excrement removal and voice and sight control He sees the solution as enforcement, fines and funding m pazallel wrth education Tom Morris, 4834 W Moorhead Circle, Boulder 80303, is opposed to a dog puk in Tantra Pazk as there is no pazking and it would be less that 150 feet from residences He believes it would have a negative effect on property values Diane Main, 4760 W Moorhead Circle, Boulder 80303, stated her opposirion to a dog pazk in Tantra as it is so close to a residential area The proposed pazk would cover about Z/3 of the azea behind W Moorhead wluch would change the entire ~., nature of the pazk She also is concerned about the effect on property values Ed Mills, 1119 Maxwell Avenue, Boulder 80304, President of FIDOS, spoke about some of the benefits of regional fenced dog parks such as converuence for the elderly and added that some dog behauior problems can be changed through socialization with other dogs and dog owners Sanders Crater, 4712 W Moorhead Circle, Boulder 80303, does not believe that Tantra is a suitable location for a fenced dog park as it is a sma11 neighborhood pazk Gene Wheaton, 3865 Talisman, Boulder 80301, resides close to Howard Heuston Pazk and thanked the Board for approvmg that dog park He expressed wholehearted support for additional dog parks and he beheves that fenced dog pazks will be less mtrusive than the voice and sight control dog park at Howard Heuston Park His experience with Howazd Heuston park is very posrtroe as many dogs and owners use the park In fact, he feels that the dog excrement problem is a lot less today than it was before it was a dog park 7an McHugh, 2323 55~' Street, Boulder, and Executive Director of the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, expressed support for fenced dog pazks and informed the PRAB that the Humane Society helped raise $5,000 to help pay for fencing the ~"`~ dog pazks She stated that other cmes haue been contacted for mformation about °' PRAB Meetmg 2/28/00 - Page 6 their dog parks and feedback has been very positive Those cities have ~ expenenced very few problems with fenced dog parks Eric Browning, 4722 W Moorhead Circle, Boulder 80303, thanked Doug Hawthorne for getting back with tum Browning mvited all Board members to come to his house, stand on his deck and allow him to walk them down to the park, to see the impact rt would have He mformed the Boazd that he had spoken with a ReMax realtor who told him that a dog park at Tantra would lower the value of kus home by $15K -$20K Curt Will, 1090 Tantra Pazk Circle, Boulder 80303, stated that he knew nothing about the proposed dog pazk until he received a few calls the rught before and read about it m today's Denver Post He feels the ne~ghborhood was not very well mformed and he would like to see Tantra removed permanently from the agenda Dauid Mangham, 4818 W Moorhead Circle, Boulder 80303, stated that while he supports the idea of dog parks, he doesn't feel that one belongs m Tantra He asked why the other proposed dog parks are temporary wlule the one proposed in Tantra would be permanent Jane Burun, 4814 W Moorhead Circle, Boulder 80303, stated that her house would be one of the closest to and downwind of the proposed dog park at Tantra ,..., She is opposed to a dog pazk at Tantra as the pazk already has multiple uses `~ walkmg dogs, picmclung, cross country sluing, taz chi, and even weddmgs JeffMoline, 2260 Chffrose Lane, Louisville 80027, stated that he is opposed to public places bemg carved into one-dimensional, single use azeas He urged the Boazd to avoid that tendency Glenny Legendre, 4828 W Moorhead, Boulder 80303, sazd she is opposed to a fenced dog pazk at Tantra Pazk as Tantra Park is already not well mazntained She stated that the cluldren's play area has a toy that has been damaged for two months and a lazge imgation hole that was dug last summer is very poorly fenced, posing a hazazd Dave McCollum, 3620 Hayden Place, Boulder 80301, hves neaz Howard Heuston Park and has found it a very posrtroe expenence It is tus opinion that the pazk is much cleaner than it was before is became a dog park He estimates that 60 - 80 dogs per day use the pazk, with peak times m eazly mormng, lunch tune and evemngs, wrth mcreased use m the summer He offered a web site address that has information about the expenences of dog pazks in other azeas of the country vwvw do~park com Scott Elhott, 3765 Birchwood #55, Boulder 8030~ believes that havmg a fenced *^ dog park located m an intelligent azea is a good idea He doesn't think that taking `""' PRAB Meetmg 2/28/00 - Page 7 ~ over a park that has been estabhshed as a human location (gassy azea for picnics or running around barefoot) and then trying to fence it off, is a good idea ~ Todd Mam, 4760 W Moorhead Circle, Boulder 80303, stated that Tantra Pazk is already an unauthonzed off-leash area for dogs He recommends that the PRAB do nottung The PubLc Heanng was closed Boazd Comments and Ouestions The Boazd expressed concem over the public notification issue in alignment with stat~'s concem The Boazd also is concerned that the proposed 4 acre site at Valmont when made permanent will only be 1 5 acres This could create a sense of loss, or something bemg taken away, even though it always was intended to only be 1 5 acres when made permanent It was suggested that signage be used to inform the public that the dog park will ulhmately be a much smaller site Dropinslu clarified for the Board and citizens what is meant by the terms temporary vs permanent with regard to fenced dog pazks Staft's intention of ~ using the word `temporary' was to designate the areas in two pazk srtes that were scheduled for future development and it was highly likely that the dog pazks would not continue in the locahon they were in Staff wanted to make it cleaz that dog parks were only temporarily located at those sites The Boazd also asked Staffto consider signage for potential health problems with respect to human and animal use in parks where there are both water and geese On a motion by Overbeck, seconded by Wining, the Parks and Recreahon Advisory Boazd voted unanunously (6-0 wrth 1 member absent) to approve general plans to develop a portion of East Boulder Commumty Park and Valmont City Park as temporary areas for fenced dog parks, incorporatrng further analysis that would address the Board's concerns expressed earlier The Board encouraged Tantra neighbors to inform staff of mauitenance problems and encouraged residents to consider participating m the Adopt-a-Park program C. Public Hearing and Consideration of a Motion to Approve Plaque Dedications for Greenleaf and Scott Carpenter Parks Presenter: Mike Gurrola Gurrola gave a brief explanatton of the proposed plaques and their locations m the t^` pazks PRAB MeeGng 2/28/00 - Page 8 ~ The Public Heanng was opened '~ There was no pubLc comment The Pubhc Heanng was closed Dropmski summarized the Board's comments as follows • Substantial changes wanant staff returning m Mazch for the Board's approval of plaques to be installed in Greenleaf Pazk and Scott Carpenter Park • Boazd would hke more of a focus on why the name Greenleaf was chosen and also more about the history of the azea • More complete lustory on the srte with emphasis on the Bradfield family's role in that lustory • Get Dooley's perspective on the Bradfield name - focus on histoncal~ • A more prominent location for the Crreenleaf plaque • Possibly add that Scott Carpenter grew up at 7'" and Aurora • Boazd felt that mcludmg the statement "three credits shy of a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronauhcal Engineenng " was inappropnate for the Scott Carpenter plaque On a motion by Overbeck, seconded by Wirung, the Pazks and Recrearion ~ Advisory Board voted unarumously (6-0 with 1 member absent) to table this issue ~,,,, until the Mazch meeting V. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/INFORMATION A. City Liaison Update on Partnerships Diana Royce Smith of Royce Arbour, Inc showed the Board the latest artist rendenng of the skatepazk She mformed the Board that bids are due by March 14 Construction should begin the first of Apnl and be completed by the end of June Smith shared newspaper articles, gave the Boazd samples of sponsorslup packets and contribution packets, and then walked the Board through the revenue summary Boazd Comments and Ouestions • Meyer asked about participation from other public entities, specifically CU and the county Smrth responded that the first srgnrftcant donahon came from BURA, $35K tn September, and added that there has been no contact wrth the county There has been contact wtth CU but the relattonsh:p between CUa»d the crty ~s be~ng managed at the GtyManager's level. She added that a GOCO grant wtll be resubmrtted March 3'd. • Overbeck said it is mspinng to work with Diana and Teresa and it is ~'^ encouraging to see the money coming along Lavely concurred ~""~ PRAB Meetmg 2/28/00 - Page 9 ''w B. Board Liaison Assignments for Upcoming Year ~ Dropinski asked the Boazd to look at the Board Lia~son assignments for the coming year and to provide feedback Overbeck asked those who will remain on the Board to maintain the Board Liaison for the Foottulls Commumty Pazk untd the pazk is fully developed Ideally, she feels that the position should be filled with someone from North Boulder Peterson stated that he has been the Urban Open Lands Liaison and has not been asked to attend a single meeting in the past three or four years He doesn't see much pomt m contmumg the posihon Lavely has had only three meehngs for the Boulder Valley School District Committee and feels that no more than one person is needed for that posrtion Wuung stated that the Chautauqua Issues Liaison position was created as a result of events scheduled for the centennial celebration Smce that was completed m 1998 and there were no meetings m 1999, he doesn't think the posuion is necessary Meyer said the focus of Neighborhood Pazk Renovation Liaison position ought to ~ be changed mstead of disTrussing the concept It was recommended that "Renovation" be dropped from the name Meyer stated that the Cultural/Historic Facihhes Liaison should be maintained Dropmski concurred and added that it's helpful to talk with the board liazson on the annual process of how to use the $SOK m funding that was set aside m the 1995 ballot issue Meyer stated that the role of liaison should be more proactive which would mean that staffwill need to keep board members informed and involved Manlove feels that there needs to be better commumcation wrth the neighborhoods around the neighborhood pazks and tlvs rrught be an azea where the Neighborhood Park Liazson could haue a more actroe role C. Department Workplan Update Dropinski gave an overview of the tasks outhned on the workplan asked the Board for feedback and/or address questions they might have She added that the CIP work item was missed but will be added to the workplan ~ ~"° PRAB Meetuig 2/28/00 - Page 10 Meyer stated that iYs important to speed up the retreat to discuss the workplan `~ and suggested swearing m new members at a retreat in early April Returrung ~"~" Board members suggested Saturday, April 8 Meyer also suggested providmg a workplan for Boazd Applicants Droprnslci responded ihat this mtght be posstble but would have to look:nto the process Wining enjoyed the retreat at East and suggested having the retreat at one of the department facilities Peterson stated that there would be no officers to run the meeting unless elechons were held beforehand Manlove said rt would be helpful to hst priorities m conjunction with CIP Lavely added that it might be helpful to have a rough outline of the ne~ct few boazd meetings Meyer stated that it would be helpful to have previous year pnorities and show which ones have been implemented, what ones still need to be done and why their priority has changed or should be changed VI. ITEMS FROM THE DIItECTOR Dropinski informed the Board that the Pubhc Pnvate Partnership process will start later ~ this yeaz, after the Skatepark pilot pro~ect has concluded VII. TTEMS FROM BOARD MEMBERS Lavely noted that 3 board members will be absent in March and Dooley will be late to the meehng It was suggested to either delay the start of the meetuig or move the March meetmg back to the 27'~ As Peterson would not be able to make a meeting on Mazch 27, Overbeck said she would be available to open a meeting on that date and hold elections Dropmskr wrll check wrth Dooley and get back wtth the Board tf the meenng date wtll change Lauely stated that when she was dnvmg to the meetmg she saw skateboazders in the median on Canyon, which shows a defirute need for the skatepark Lavely menhoned that she was wallnng at Sawhill Ponds recently when a dog fell mto the pond and the owner went m after the dog She said the response time was great and it was two Boulder County fire trucks and a Mountain Pazks truck that responded Manlove remarked on the breakdown m pubhc nohce and asked to find out how that happened m order to auoid it happening in the future He also felt that all e-mails and letters should be passed on to the Board rather than staff compiling the information for the boazd P" `""' PRAB MeeUng 2/28/00 - Page 11 ~ Overbeck reminded the Boazd that she will be speaking Mazch 13 at the Forum on Mountain Pazks and Open Space She asked the Boazd to call or contact her by e-mail `'"~ with their thoughts and encouraged Boazd members to attend VII, FUTURE BOARD TTEMS AND TOUR IX. NEXT BOARD MEETING March 27, 2000 XI. ADJOURN Meeting ad~ourned at 10 20 p m ~"" ~i.. f ~°"" PRAB MeeUng 2/28/00 - Page 12