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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 1/28/2002DO NOT REMOVE - PRAB File Matenal ~ City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Minutes January 28, 2002 City Council Chambers 1777 Broadway 6 p.m. The follow~ng are the minutes of the January 28, 2002 C~ry of Boulder Parks and Recreation Advasory Board meetang (PRAB). A permanent set of these m~nutes and a tape record~ng (maantained for a period of 6 years) are reta~ned ~n Central Records (telephone 303-441-3043) Board Present: Gwen Dooley, Chau, Ed von Bleichert, Vice Chair, Dave Wmmg, Charles Manlove, Pam Hoge, and Susan Osborne Board Absent: Thomas Sanford Staff Present: Jan Geden, Doug Hawthorne, Sarah DeSouza, Georg~a Jackson, Cate Bradley, Kate Bemhazdt, Julya Bndgewater, Ann Wichmann, L~sa Bondi, and Ten Olander I'~'^ ~ ~' I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved as submitted II. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Citizen Panc~ipahon was opeued. William McDamel, PO Box 4216, Boulder, CO 80306, spoke about the mcreased daily fees for use of recreation centers [reduced rate fees]. McDaniel said that raismg the cost from $1 25 to $2 50 was a hazdship for him as he receives only disabilrty mcome Michael Michener, 4373 30`~' Street, Boulder 80302, spoke about the azea east of 47`h Street, south of Fourmile Creek and west of the access to [he Diagonal H~ghway [McKenzie Junchon site~ He suggested usmg the land to build high quality baseball fields compazable to the supenor quality of soccer fields at Pleasant View Citizen Pamcipation was closed. III. CONSENT AGENDA ,er+ Mmutes of November 26, 2001 ~,... The ccunutes were approved as submitted Manlove amved at 6.17 p m IV. MATTERS FROM THE DEPARTMENT A Needs assessment update Presenter Charhe Deans, Consultant with Planners Ink Jan Geden, CPRP, Director of Pazks and Recreation Cate Bradley, Parks and Recreahon Planner Deans gave the Board an update on the pro~ect schedule and activit~es that had occurred to date He mformed the Boazd that the ma~onty of the commumty outreach process had been recently comple[ed which mcluded mterviews, focus groups and a community workshop Deans sa~d he was pleased with the results and level of participation and added that the Board would be given a summary of comments at the next PRAB meeUng ~ ~ Deans said that Benchmark Analysis would be deternuned from surveys taken of the Cities of Eugene, Oregon; Tempe, Anzona, Berkely, California and the Colorado crties of Westnunster, Littleton and Fort Colhns. Deans asked PRAB members for any specific mformatioo they would ]ike to have mcluded m the ~ survey quest~ons Osborne sa~d she wouid be very ~nierested in asking other ,,,,,, ~ communmes how they fund their sports facikt:es Deans asked Board members to prov~de feedback by the follow~ng Monday Deans said he will come back to the Board w~th presentauons dunng the regular meetmgs m February, Mazch, Apnl and May Hoge asked how this process fits m with the Master Plan Process Bradley responded that this was the core tnformat~on needed in order to move forward with a Rev~sed Master Plan Geden added that movang forward was dependent on the nature of the tnformatton recetved and how that tnformatton compares to the Master Plan. B Praine dog update Presenter Ann Wichmann, Envuonmental Resources Manager Wichmann mformed the Boazd that the bamer fencmg at Tom Watson Pazk was already completed on two sides of the ball field and that staff was workmg w~th Open Space and Mountazn Pazks (OSMP) staff to relocate praine dogs pnor to the Mazch 1 deadhne. W~chmann said the bamer fencmg along Goose Creek m Valmont City Pazk should be fimshed by the end of the week and mformed the Boazd that staff was morutonng pra~ne dog activity on the south side of Pleasant View Fields ''~"'~ PRAB Meenng Ol/28/2002 - Page 2 ~ Hoge asked whether staff had looked mto rust proof matenal for the underground fencmg at Tom Watson Pazk W~chmann responded that the contractor had confirmed that the very best matenal was beang used for the underground fenc~ng Hoge expressed concem that praine dogs were to be moved dunng the month of Februazy Wichmann saad thar it was recommended that pratr~e dogs be relocated between June 1 and October 1 but added that praarie dog relocat~on is a[lowed up until March 1, weather permittzng Hoge asked about the next steps followmg the meehng with City Council Geden responded that next steps had not been addressed and added that she would report back to the Board after discusszng the matter w~th Chr~st~ne Andersen, Depury Caty Manager for Enveronmental Servzces von Ble~chert asked for details on fimshmg the bamer on Goose Creek trail W~chmann sa~d that the fenc~ng had been stopped at mtd pomt wh~le prazr~e dogs were beang relocated, but was now betng completed from the mtd po~nt ro the bzke path, to cannect wrth the banier that goes to the northeast C Update on Valmont City Pazk (VCP) wildlife comdor [Tbis item was considered at the same hme as item V-A] '~ Presenter Ann W~chmann, Environmentai Resources Manager Wichmann mformed the Board that the backbone wildlife plantmg was st~ll on track for this spnng She sa~d she was workmg with Forestry personnel to plant lazge trees and with Gnlls [VCP M-PAT] for a volunteer pro~ect to help wrth other plantmg Dooley asked when the plantmg would occur Wichmann responded that ~t would probably be ~n Apnl Dooley mquired whether Steve Jones was mvolved m the process W~chmann repl~ed that the plant~ngs were per Jones' recommendakons Manlove asked about fundmg W~chmann replied that $80K was avatlable from lottery funds for habttat restorat~on pro~ecrs at both Valmont Ciry Park and the Boulder Reservo~r Hoge asked about spnnklmg wood debns as a praine dog bamer W~chmann replied that ~t had not been done yet as staff was monitor~ng the satuataon to see where the prairae dogs are movang D Update on Valmont City Park (VCP) partnership process ,••. Presenter Teresa Gnlls, Manager, VCP M-PAT (Management and Plannmg .~, Assistance Team) PRAB Meetmg 01/28/2002 - Page 3 "*~s Gnlls provided the Board with an overview of the cunent status of potential .. partners mterested m a partnership for Valmont City Park and next steps for the corrung months. von Bleichert asked what mterest EcoCycle has with the ski tra~l Gnlls responded she wasn't sure, as they had not submatted a wr~tten proposal. She added thar some EcoCycle employees were av~d skaers and that dunng the p~lot skt tra~l pro~ect, benches made of recycled marenals had been dohated Dooley mquired about the Denver Semor Men's Basebail League and whether they wanted use of the baseball fields Gr~lls responded that ~t was unclear at this time, as that group had not submitted a wratten proposal She added that some groups were interested ~n programmang partnershaps and were working w~th groups that have submitted proposals, to help obtam funding Gnlls sa~d she anhctpated that a Denver group would get lower pnonry, adding rhat the group was wtlling to come forward w~th some funds or resources Osborne expressed contmued concern over the number of ball fields shown on the master plan She urged the Boazd to exercise caution and not make any commitments before knowmg the results of the needs assessment. Osborne said the ball fields [ake up so much land on the south side that if there are other needs that have to be met, some of the six ball fields may have to be ehmmated ~ ...- Hoge asked if the partnership process was broader than Valmont C~ty Park Gnlls responded that at presenr, the focus was on Valmont, but thar ~deas for other areas of operat~on were shared w~th Management Team as they came up. Hoge suggested that the need for ball fields could be looked at from a citywide standpomt and not~ust at Valmont Dooley concurred with Hoge Gnlls renunded the Boazd that the fields at Valmont were to be lighted fields that could not be accommodated m other neighborhood locations E Parks Plannmg and ConstrucUOn pro~ect update and follow-up to questions rused at 11/26/Ol PRAB meehng Presenter Kate Bernhazdt, Actmg Supenntendent of Pazks Plamm~g and Construction Bemhardt gave Boazd members copies of an article from landscape architecture magazme. The article featured Foothills Commumty Pazk m Boulder (and a pazk located m Greenwood Village, CO) to demonstrate how art can be mcorporated mto pazk design Bemhardt referred to [he mformauon mcluded m the packet and asked Board members for their comments or questions ~ PRAB Meenng Ol/28/2002 - Page 4 ~„ Hoge asked how the cntena for commumty gazdens could be made more flexibie Bernhardt responded that on a case-by-case bas~s, dunng public W process, ne:ghborhoods couZd be made aware that community gardens are an opnon for any particular park Hawthorne added that Growing Gardens is proactrve ~n reaching the communzry and Manlove suggested Hoge speak w:th Ramona Clark, Darector of Grow~ng Gardens von Bleichert said he would srill hke to see bike racks at the parkmg lot m Valmont City Park Bernhardt responded that the parktng lot was temporary and if b~ke racks were tnstalled they would have to be removed at a later date Bernhazdt spoke about the three options for the potential purchase of the Mountam Ocean site She mtroduced the owner of Mountam Ocean, Mr Tom Ben~amm, to the Board Mr. Ben~anun bnefly addressed the Board, expressmg thanks and appreciation for staff's efforts to work with him to find a resoluhon Bemhazdt sazd that staff had been given the direchon to purchase the Mountam Ocean property and informed the Board that staff was prepanng to move forward with apprazsals Bernhazdt said staff wanted to make sure the Board was comfortable with staff movmg forward with the process V. MATTERS FROM BOARD MEMBERS '`^' A Wildlife comdor discussion von Bleichert suggested lookmg at issues as a whole and not mdependently He suggested a charrette-style study session, sim~lar to the study session held at NCAR, to get all issues on the table Manlove agreed that rt was a good idea but did not thmk u needed to be done nght away Manlove said he could see domg that after the needs assessment and as the Board proceeds w~th the Master Plan Osbome suggested waiting until results of the needs assessment are known Hoge said tt would be helpful to have a visual, map or flow chart of all the connective discussions, with a framework connechng the mformat~on Geden responded that staff could put together a v~sual map of all the issues and quesnons under cons~derauon and added that a plann~ng charrette mzght be the nexr logzcal step Bemhazdt said she had heard two tlungs. 1 The Boazd would like to see ~ssues charted m a graphic way, showmg impacts 2 The Board would ]ike to make plans for a chanette ~ ~... PRAB Meenng Ol/28/2002 - Page 5 Gnlls spoke about workmg with staff on both the above ,w~. B Memorandum from Susan Osbome regardmg plaque at Lovers' Hill pazk ~ Osborne stated tha[ after the tour of Lovers' Hill Pazk she thought it wouid be mce to have a small plaque, wuh a quote from Fredenck Law Olmstead, set m the flagstone. Osbome confirmed with Cate Bradley, Pazks and Recreation Planner, that there were funds left from development of [he pazk that could cover the nommal cost of the plaque Osborne would work with Bradley on the placement of the plaque if other Board members were m agreement with the idea Board members agreed tha[ Osbome should proceed with the idea Wmmg spoke about how Elks Pazk does not get much use and asked why it was not hsted m the brochure. Hawthorne responded that the pubkc is not encouraged to use the park because of the poor conduion of the shelter and the fact that a capital pro~ect would be required to br~ng the shelter up to standards Hawthorne added that a long-term use for the park has not yet been tdentafied Osborne suggested usmg the park for soccer prachce Hawthorne repked that the Elks property does not have zrragated and ma~nta~ned turf and that a cap~tal pro~ect would be requ~red to do that Wmmg strongly suggested maintammg the pohcy of Crtizen Participation at the ~ very begmmng of the meetmg. He did not want to set a precedent that people W, can say they have to leave and then speak on Action Items dunng Citizen Participauon Boazd members and staff agreed to move Action Items to begm at 645pm The March 25, 2002, PRAB meeung was rescheduled to Mazch 18, 2002. Manlove asked what the February 5 meetmg was about Staff repl:ed that ~t was for the BoulderArts Commission and the PRAB to se[ect arhsts to move forward wath proposals for sculptures for the lobby of the renovated NBRC Wmmg asked for such meetmgs to be mcluded m Future Boazd Items VI. ITEMS FOR ACTION A Pubhc heanng and consideration of a recommendahon to Crty Council on amendmg the Boulder Revised Code to perm~t the use of electnc-assisted, pedal- powered bicycles on off-street bicycle facilities Presenter: Marni Ratzel, Bicycle & Pedestnan Transportation Planner Ratzel provided the Boazd with mformauon on the background and use of electnc-assist bicycles and efforts to amend the Boulder Revised Code to pemut use of electnc-assist bicycles on off-street bicycle faciliues '""~` PRAB Meenng Ol/28/2002 - Page 6 ~ The pubhc heanng was opened .~ Len Barron, 601 Canyon Blvd, Boulder 80302, spoke about the health benefits of walkmg and said that fast movmg bicycles make wallung along the path unsafe and uncomfortable for pedestnans He asked the Board to say no to electnc- assist bicycles on paths. Ralph Sorenson, 603 Spruce Street, Bouider 80302, ceded h~s hme to Chazlotte Sorenson Charlotte Sorenson, 603 Spruce Street, Boulder 80302, represennng a group of concerned citizens known as People Power on the Paths, spoke aga~nst the Transportauon Advisory Boazd's recommendation to City Council that would amend the Boulder Revised Code to allow electnc-assist bicycles on Boulder's sidewalks and bicycle paths. Sorenson said that many of Boulder's b~ke paths are narrower than the 10-foot wide federal recommendation for a mult~ use path She expressed concems about noise, safety on already crowded bike paths and lack of enforceabihty She urged the PRAB to oppose the use of electnc-assist bicycles on Boulder's paths. Laune Watkms, 2000 Poplaz, Boulder 80304, sazd she uses her electnc-assist bicycle to commute to and from work She said the issue to be addressed was '`~' the speed with which all bicycles travel on the paths, regazdless of whether they ° are pedal-powered or electric-assisted Kann Aarons, 715 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder 80302, spoke about how much she en~oys Boulder's bike paths She said she did not want to see the bike paths become commuter routes and expressed concern over how Boulder might be changed ~f that were to happen. Dave Bnghton, 4925 Franklm Dnve. Boulder 80301, said he ndes a motonzed tncycle because of h~s disabilities and urged the Board to allow electnc-assist ticycles on Boulder's paths Charles Gray, 670 Logan , Boulder 80302, said he uses a bicycle to commute to and from work and spoke agamst the use of electnc-assist bicycles on Boulder's paths He urged the PRAB to keep paths for pedestnan and foot-powered b~cycle use Bame Kerr, 4ll Spruce Street, Boulder 80302, spoke about the liabilrty of a public entity with regazd to conflicts on multi-use paths. He suggested the Boazd consider the pubhc safety factor and not allow electnc-assist bicycles on paths. ~ PRAB Meet~ng Ol/28/2002 - Page 7 Cmdy Carlisle, 4ll Spruce Street, Boulder 80302, sazd bike lanes are the ^~-, appropnate place for electnc-assist bicycles, and not on the paths Cazlisle urged the PRAB to not allow motonzed bikes on the paths Dick Stebbms, 502 Highland Avenue, Boulder 8030_, said he did not beheve the paths were mtended to become a motorway He stated that Boulder's efforts to improve the system should be focused on developing effective means of speed control and pedestnan behavior, rather than mtroducmg a new category of vehiculaz traffic Alison Richards, 470 Uruvers~ty Avenue, Boulder 80302, a member of the Transportauon Advisory Board [TAB), said TAB felt that the electnc-assist bicycle would give bicyclists more options Richards spoke about how the paths aze much more accommodatmg than bike lanes dunng penods of bad weather when b~ke lanes aze full of snow or debns. Richazds spoke m favor of the tnal penod for electnc-ass~st bicycles and asked the PRAB not to prohibit electnc- assist b~cycles based on speculahon Alan Streater, 2830 Dover Dnve, Boulder 80305, expressed concern that it would be difficult to rescmd the ordmance if usmg elecmc-assist bicycles becomes a problem and also spoke about the difficulties of enforcement Janet Streater, 2830 Dover Dnve, Boulder 80305, strongly urged the PRAB not ~ to allow use of motonzed bicycles on paths She suggested a compromise that .,,,, would allow mdividual permitted use of electnc-assist bicycles only for medical necessity Gerhard Koerf, 700 Kalnua, Boulder 80304, said he did not beheve that a large percentage of people would benefit from usmg electnc-assist bicycles Koerf said he beheves a lazge percentage of people would be disadvantaged as a result of allowmg electnc-assist bicycles on Boulder's paths Scott Allman, 1720 Bluff Street, Boulder 80304 said he uses h~s elecmc-assist b~cycle to commute to work and said that bike paths are much safer to use than bike lanes He asked the PRAB to allow him the safety of ndmg bike paths and to support the recommendation to allow electnc-assist b~cycles on paths Landon H~lliard, PO Box 1374, Boulder 80306, spoke in suppoR of the ordmance to allow electnc-assist bicycles on the mulu-use paths He believes electnc-assist bicycles can be used as an altemative to dnvmg cazs and can be a great commuung tool Steve Pnem, 140 S 315` Street, Boulder, 8030_, spoke m support of usmg e-bikes on bike paths and the Boulder b~cycle system. He spoke of a fnend who uses an electnc-assist bicycle to extend his range of transportation and how that fnend ndes and operates his e-bike responsibly ~ PRAB bteenng Ol/28/2002 - Page 8 '^ reviousl had ceded his Ralph Sorenson, 605 Spruce Street, Boulder 80302, [p y ~ hme to Charlotte Sorenson, asked to speak for one mmute, and the Board granted his request] Sorenson spoke about numerous paths and bndges that already did not meet the federally recommended width and spoke agamst addmg another use to already crowded paths The publ~c heanng was closed Board Comments and Ouestions • Osborne mquired about use of electnc wheelchairs and motonzed tncycles on paths. Ratzel responded that electr~c wheelchairs are permitted, but she thought motor~zed tncycles m~ght not be allowed • Osborne asked whether there was mappmg that mdicated widths of all the paths m the system Ratzel responded that there was no ~nventory of the widths of paths for the entire system . von Bleichert asked if the federal gmdelmes aze 10 foot mmimum with 12 foot recommended, when is an 8-foot path acceptable ~ Ratzel responded that ~t would be acceptable in a low volume res~dentaal communiry knk. She added that terrain, such as an upward or downward slope, ~s also taken tnto account when determining w~dth of a path ~ Jim Turner, President and founder of Opti Bike, addressed the PRAB and answered questions about electnc-assist bicycles ~ PRAB members said it was important to know whether electric-assist bikes are allowed on bike paths when the electnc motor is not engaged A[kson R~chards, Transportaaon Advisory Board (TAB) member, responded tha[ accord~ng to Walt Fncke, Ciry Attorney, electr~c-assast bzcycles, used ~n pedal mode, were permatzed on the paths. PRAB members mdicated. • support for allowmg persons with d~sabiliues to use electno-assist vehicles on paths • that exisung problems with pedestnans and bicycl~sts ought to be addressed before addmg another use on the paths • that use of electnc-assist bicycles was premature - needmg more mvestigation/study • future possibilrty of very limited use of electnc-assist bicycles - only for very specific areas, which would require study to determme areas razely used by pedestnans and where it would be logical to get bicyclists off the street On a motion by Dooley, seconded by von Bleichert, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board voted unammously (6-0 with Sanford absent) to deny a ~ recommendation to City Council to amend the Boulder Revised Code to permrt the use of electnc-ass~sted pedal powered b~cycles on all off-street bicycle ,..- PRAB Meetmg Ol/28/2002 - Page 9 facilities, but to clearly state that citizens with disabilrties have access to all of e+n, our City facilities The Boazd took a short break At 9 33 p m Geden called the question. Boazd members felt there was time to complete the agenda items and at this time went back to cons~der Item IV-E VII. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/INFORMATION VIII. FUTURE BOARD ITEMS AND TODRS IX. NEXT BOARD MEETING: Monday, February 25, 2002 X. ADJOURN The meehng ad~ourned at 10:45 p m APPROVED BY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY ARD ~ \l~iL ~ Ed von Bleichert Board Chair Attest r~ ~ ,~~Oc~~ Georgia cks ~n ~` Recordmg Secre~ary ~__~ PRAB Meenng Ol/28/200k Page ]0