Parks Commission

June 17, 2013 Parks Commission Meeting Commissioners Present: Kip Roberts, Lyn Munno, Cara Robechek,, Emily Boedecker, Aaron Brondyke Staff Present: Geoff Beyer, Alec Ellsworth and Shannon Mcintyre (newly hired Park Caretakers) 1. May Minutes Lyn moved to approve the May minutes as edited by the Commissioners by email. Motion approved unanimously. 2. Introduction to new Hubbard Park Caretakers Alec Ellsworth and Shannon Mcintyre have been hired as the new Hubbard Park Caretakers. They recently moved to Montpelier from Great Barrington, MA. Shannon works as a timber framer. Alec will be attending graduate school in the fall. They will serve as the new after-hours caretakers for Hubbard Park, now that Geoff Beyer and his family have moved out of the Park House. Alec and Shannon hope to move into the Park House on August 1. The house is currently under construction. However, Alec will start work immediately. He will be the primary employee, and Shannon will take secondary responsibility for the position. Geoff recommends that both Alec and Shannon fill-out paperwork, in order to ensure that both of them are covered by the City’s insurance, etc. Any roommates for the Park House will need to be approved by the City, and sign a separate lease. One option that Alec and Shannon have discussed is asking others who had interviewed for the position; another option is to ask the AmeriCorps volunteers whether they’d like to be their roommates. Geoff has some concern about the number of cars parking at the house. Geoff requests that no more than 3 cars park at the house. 3. Dog Waste Committee update Lyn Munno reported that the Dog Waste Committee hopes to get a more fleshed-out proposal to the Parks Commission for consideration by the next meeting, including funding options, such as asking for some Park and City money, and/or doing some fundraising from the dog owner community. Lyn mentioned that the dog waste working group feels that dog waste is a problem throughout the city, not just in Hubbard Park. So, four members of the Committee went to the City Council to discuss whether the working group should look at dealing with dog waste throughout the city. The Council asked the Committee Members to come up with a proposal that involves the whole city. The committee’s next meeting will be June 19th at the Police Station. Part of the proposal might include putting dog waste bag dispensers and bins in various problem areas throughout the city. 4. Dog Policy Committee Update Cara Robechek stated that the Dog Policy Group has met several times, and includes residents with a diversity of perspectives and interests. Some ideas that the Committee would like to examine in more detail include: • Requiring owners to carry one leash per dog; • Developing a procedure for addressing problem dogs in the park; • Improving signage, including communicating the code of conduct, etc.; • Developing a proposal for a fenced-in dog play area somewhere else in the city as an additional option to Hubbard Park for dog ownersDetermining whether certain areas of the park should be specifically designated as on-leash areas or off-leash areas; • The concept of a permit system has been proposed: for example, a dog owner would be required to pay for a permit to have their dog off-leash, and the proceeds could be used for education. Kip Roberts has recused himself from the Committee, and Cara has joined the Committee. Cara and Geoff hope to finish the work with this Committee by the end of this summer. There are 9 members on the committee, including Cara and Geoff. They will meet twice a month through the summer and then decide if more meetings are necessary. 5. Mountain bike trail decision making process Cara explained that tonight, the Commission would like to come up with a process for making decisions on a community proposal to expand mountain bike trails in Hubbard Park. Geoff has tried to contact abutting landowners about permission to run the trail through adjoining private properties, but has not received permissions yet. Some members of the public expressed concern that constructing a mountain bike trail within Hubbard Park might encourage bikers to use the existing pedestrian-only trails as well. Mayor Hollar met with Geoff and Cara recently about the Montpelier Area Mountain Bike Association (MAMBA)’s proposal to expand mountain bike use in Hubbard Park, and how it might fit with the City Council’s goal of creating a more Bike-Friendly City. Cara believes that the City Council would like to see some movement on this issue over the next year or two. Geoff reminded the Commission that there has also been long-standing interest in creating a bike path along the North Branch of the Winooski between Franklin and Cummings Streets. A member of the public reported that he had seen two bikers in Hubbard Park on trials that are not open to biking. Cara asked the Commissioners for their opinions on whether we should allow a trial period this summer. She said she is very concerned about moving forward with putting bikes on the existing trails this summer. Emily is concerned about doing a trial period. Lyn agreed, and stated that we should provide maps and a public comment process before we allow anything, adding that we should do it thoughtfully, and do it right. She suggested that we might target next summer for making any potential changes. Aaron Brondyke agreed. Kip stated that he believes that a trial period is not the best idea. Kip believes that 95% of the mountain biking community is responsible, and he thinks that a trial period could demonstrate that, but he suggested that putting a trial period out there could jeopardize the process of creating a long-term bike route. Lyn asked whether MAMBA had pondered creating mountain bike trail networks elsewhere within the City. Kip confirmed that they have, on some level. Kip is a MAMBA representative from Onion River Sports. Lyn wondered whether MAMBA had pondered purchasing new City lands for MTB use. Everyone agreed that doing that would be a good outcome, should the opportunity arise. Lyn observed that we are trying to fit many uses into Hubbard Park. Aaron agreed. Geoff explained that the Parks Department has a very good success rate for acquiring parkland at minimal public expense. Thanks to grant funding, the City has only contributed about $12,000 toward adding over 300 acres to the Parks system in recent decades. Cara summarized: MAMBA has requested a trial period on existing trails. The Parks Commission is considering a mixture of existing and new trails, including, potentially, some trails on adjacent private lands of willing landowners, if permission can be secured. Geoff and Cara both suggested delaying further Parks Commission discussion on this issue until August or September, unless adjoining landowners decide that they are interested in moving forward with new trails in the interim. When we revisit this issue, we should have more refined maps to review, and continue the discussion in September. Geoff agreed to communicate to MAMBA and Mayor Hollar that we have put the conversation on hold until September. The Commission has decided not to allow a trial period at this time, and we will not be making a quick decision about that proposal. 6. Sabin’s Pasture Former Parks Commission Chair Leigh Seddon attended the Commission Meeting to discuss Sabin’s Pasture. Cara explained that the Planning Commission has proposed changing the zoning for the part of the City including the Aja/Zorzi property (a/k/a Sabin’s Pasture). The Planning Commission has held several public meetings on the topic recently. Geoff explained that the Planning Commission has asked to see our trail system proposal. They would like to include the trail network in the zoning. They would like to see the Parks Greenprint map that we created last year, and hear our endorsement of it. Geoff explained that the Planning Commission has proposed increasing the density on the parcel to the point where it might be difficult to offer a density bonus to a new developer. Leigh reminded the group that in 2002, a Burlington developer proposed constructing 200-300 houses on Sabin’s Pasture, and a “Friends of” group was established. Since then, the tract has become widely recognized as one of the City’s most valuable open spaces, and that it also has some development value as well. The Parks Commission voted that the Upper Pasture should be preserved (in 2004). Back then, the Parks Commission also established an evaluation matrix for scoring properties for potential acquisition. Sabin’s Pasture ranked above any other property for potential acquisition at that time. In 2007, a working group was called by The Trust for Public Land (TPL). Members included Todd Bailey, Jennifer Hollar, Bill Kaplan, Jim Libby, Rory Malone, Nancy Sherman, John Waldo, Dave Keller, Mary Hooper, Roy Schiff, and Leigh Seddon. Out of that group, came the report convened by TPL that conveyed a sense that 200-300 houses could be built on the lower pasture, and the Upper Pasture should be conserved (81 acres). All of these 2007 documents are available for viewing on the City’s website in PDF form. The working group recommended creation of an 80-85-acre City Park. Then, TPL got an Act 250 permit for this proposal. Then, the Great Recession happened, the market crashed, and the proposal died. Leigh believes that the City would like to see the property conserved, without the City having to purchase it right away. Leigh recommended that the Parks Commission get involved. Leigh showed the Parks Commission a map that showed that park equity is not equal city-wide. The eastern side of the city is further from the city’s parks. Leigh reiterated that the TPL initiative ended in an Act 250 application approval, proof of consensus about the proposal. Act 250 looks at strategic partners. Aaron volunteered to attend the next Planning Commission Meeting with a letter from the Parks Commission. Aaron will circulate a draft letter for the Commissioners to review. The new Chair of the Planning Commission is Kim Cheney. Leigh believes that the Parks Commission should advocate heavily for a public park, rather than a clustered development with private open space. We should state as a Commission that we support the work that was done by the Sabin’s Pasture Working Group. 7. Blanchard Park Geoff reported that Jim Styles is a new volunteer in the Parks. Jim would like to do some work in the parks regarding bank stabilization. He believes that if we stabilize the top part of the hill at Blanchard Park, it will help to stabilize the bottom part of the hill. Styles has some engineering experience. Geoff would like to run Jim’s ideas past Tom McArdle, who is a civil engineer. 8. Policy/Protocol issues with new personnel situation Truck Policy Geoff recommended that the Commission develop a new policy to propose to Bill Fraser. The Fire Chief and the Police Chief drive home City vehicles in order to be ready to respond to emergencies. Now that Geoff lives off-site, he requires this authorization as well. Twice in the past month, Geoff has needed to respond to trees down in the parks. Geoff also needs the truck to remove trash from the parks. He cannot fit the trash in his small personal vehicle. The Commission agreed that the request seemed reasonable--that Geoff should be permitted to take the truck home nightly. Cara agreed to redraft Geoff’s draft policy language to allow the Parks Director permission for this use, within 4-5 miles of the park. Protocol for making changes to Park Caretaker House The living room and kitchen of the Park House are currently gutted. The downstairs bathroom will soon be gutted as well. It needs a new one-piece tub. The wiring is ungrounded, and Geoff has brought on an electrician to update the wiring. Geoff suggested that now might be a good time to open up the downstairs a little bit by taking out one or more of the walls near the kitchen, and potentially installing a half wall and an island. Geoff has figured out ways to cover the cost of everything but the island and the sheetrock. Upstairs, Geoff is adding cellulose insulation to the upper edges of the walls. The bathroom upstairs needs some caulking and some mold remediation. Geoff is guessing that it might cost about $5,000-$7,000 to make all of the house improvements. Cara and Lyn asked about implications for the budget. Geoff has already sourced many materials from the REStore, and he has secured much free labor. Cara proposed that the Commission allow these improvements to be made, using a combination of the Parks Budget and the Parks Reserve Fund, up to, but not to exceed $7,000; and to prioritize essential improvements over cosmetic improvements, to the extent possible, given the free labor that we have at our disposal. The other Commissioners agreed. 9. Budget Geoff reported briefly that the budget is looking good. The biggest risk is that Geoff is having trouble finding time to purchase some of the items that were budgeted for. 10. Park updates Group Permission Form The Commission approved a permission form to allow The Trust for Public Land to use one of the shelters to entertain 80 Fresh Air Fund kids within Hubbard Park. Cliff Street Property Owners Geoff reported that he has worked with Cliff Street resident Ben Huffman recently regarding the pedestrian trail that crosses land owned jointly by a number of Cliff Street property owners. Ben will have the landowners sign a trail permission form, and the survey pin that had previously been removed is being installed. The City Attorney has reviewed and approved the trail permission form.