Parks Commission

Montpelier Parks Commission Meeting Minutes February 21, 2012 Police Station Community Room, 7:30 PM Commissioners Present: Emily Boedecker, Aaron Brondyke, Lyn Munno, Cara Robechek, Leigh Seddon Staff Present: Geoff Beyer Public present: Nicko Rubin, Jeffrey Allen 1. Minutes – January minutes approved with corrections. Aaron will recirculate final minutes. 2. Tower Orchard – Next step is to hold public meeting when orchard plans are finalized. Need to involve the state before this meeting and have them agree to proposed plan since property belongs to the State. Review and discussion of revised plan with Nicko Rubin: plan revised by landscaping group, has more diversity, more range of plant heights, more natural feeling, and less fruit trees. Question of added maintenance. Geoff: no added maintenance as long as it doesn’t need to be too tidy. Mowing should not be a problem. Mulching with wood chips will be needed for first few years. Need to check with Apple Corp about ability to fund project this year. Need for volunteer effort for first years as plantings get started. Commissioners requested that plan be redrawn without “phase 2” tree removal in southwest corner. Aaron requested that more shad trees and viburnums be incorporated. 3. Dogs in Hubbard Park – Discussions with Jeffrey Allen Geoff: dog problem getting worse due to vastly increased dog use. Dogs probably outnumber people now. Need to official survey to document dog use, dog incidents, and public perceptions. Need more permanent signs. Need to do education to get community of dog owners to take responsibility. Hold a public hearing. Issue of poop: Lyn – should have bag dispensers, all poop removed from park. 4. Energy Audit – An audit of the Ranger House was completed by VT Energy Consulting on February 4th. The report details a range of recommendations for energy improvements. Leigh will discuss details with Geoff. 5. Montpelier Greenprint – The Parks Commission’s Greenprint plan and map given to Gwen Hallsmith and presented to Planning Commission. Concept of a Town Trail Plan was discussed with Planning Commissioners. Aaron will follow up with John Anderson about this. 6. Geoff’s report: a. Fire at tree in Hubbard Park, probably set by kids, put out by Fire Dept. b. Applying for grant for National Life trail, $8-9K, and one for storm damage repair about $10K