Parks Commission

Montpelier Parks Commission Meeting Minutes August 18, 2015 AS AMENDED AND APPROVED ON September 8, 2015 Present: Bryan, Carolyn, Bill, Geoff, Alec (with awesome homemade chocolate chip cookies) Approval of Meeting Agenda — Unanimous June Meeting Minutes — Bryan moves to approve the June minutes; Bill seconds. Unanimous Events Update: Music in the Park (Aug. 16 concert) — Alec reports attendance approximately 300 people, which was higher then anticipated. No major issues. Lots of people walked in. No parking problems. No trash left behind. Geoff had many people thank him and wonder how much he worked on this, which prompted Geoff to report that Alec gets all the credit for making this happen. The Commission also congratulated Alec for his fine work. Next year: Alec suggests four concerts; he’s fine with people bringing picnics and maybe kids selling cookies and cider, rather than full-scale food concession. Alec will evaluate and finalize suggestions after the next concert. Parks Maintenance Update — Trail behind Statehouse needed general work, mostly on drainage. That got done. Some kids moved wall stone up the hill to use as seating in party spot; so we’re using bigger, heavier capstone now. North Branch River Park trails repairs were extensive after summer storms washed away culverts and trail sections. Lots of work is done; other work continues. “We’re making good progress,” says Geoff, “but there’s still a lot to do over there.” Replaced posts at the New Shelter with stones. New gates at Hubbard Park Drive and Winter Street are getting great reviews; and Geoff said they went in under budget. Montpelier Elementary School requests stumps and logs for playground, which we’ll deliver. DPW came up with giant truck and vacuumed out culverts in Hubbard Park. Dredging the pond at the Winter Street entrance and replacing the pit toilet with a composting toilet (handicapped accessible) at the Old Shelter are still on the agenda. Follow-up on Trail Walk (“Pirate Trail” near Stump Dump) held July 21 — Bill felt it was a productive and interesting walk. As part of the GreenPrint discussion, there’s some interest in a multi-use corridor trail from Montpelier toward Hunger Mountain. So before the Commission makes a decision on the “Pirate Trail,” we may need to consider whether it might come into play for such a corridor trail; another option would be two trails — one of which is multi-use and one is a walking-only path. We’ll consult with other parks users before making a decision on this trail. Geoff suggests: marking the trail with a sign that says it’s an unauthorized trail, that it needs improvement, and that we’re considering closing it in the spring of 2016; if its users want to contribute to the discussion about the future of this trail, they can contact Geoff. Bryan will meet with Dan Voisin to talk more about this (and access on Route 12 side of the park near North Park Drive). North Branch River Trails — During repair work there, Parks staff did see a number of dogs off leash, despite this area be an on-lease zone. North Branch River Park was established in part because of the growing public use of Hubbard Park and to protect the wildlife-rich zone along the North Branch of the Winooski River. Because we require dogs to be on leash in this area, North Branch is an option for people concerned about off-leash dogs. Geoff reports that about half of the dog-walkers he sees at North Branch bring a leash but don’t use it. Geoff reports that about three-quarters of time people respond by attaching a leash when asked. Subcommittee Report on the City’s Zoning Update — Carolyn reports that the Planning Commission had some pushback from city residents on zoning densities, so they’re reconsidering some of the densities. Carolyn is in a good position to contribute to the discussion as it relates to current or future parkland and plans for Sabin’s Pasture. Sabin's Pasture was moved from High Density to Medium density and a requirement to use a new Planned Unit Development on Sabin’s was added. The Planning Commission also adopted a requirement that a percentage of open spaces — that had been identified as important on the Conservation Commission's (CC) map — would have to be preserved. Units on such parcels could be "transferred" to the rest of the parcel. Much of the upper pasture in Sabin's is already on the CC's map as conservation land. Subcommittee Report on Park Visioning and GreenPrint — Bryan reports that the subcommittee met on August 17 to discuss several viable options for new trail development or park area growth. Geoff has been thinking a lot about this, and has some good ideas on how and where to proceed. A more detailed discussion on this will need to occur at the September Parks Commission meeting, when all members are present. In the meantime, Geoff and Carolyn may meet with at least one interested landowner who may be willing to consider a public access path. Parks Incident Reports — Geoff says not one incident report this summer, other than four different dogs — four incidents — chasing him in the park truck in the past month. In each case, Geoff gets out and explains why it’s important for Parks to be a safe place with dogs under control. Two folks were receptive; two others not so much. Executive Session on Land Acquisition — A unanimous vote to go into executive session. The Commission emerged from the executive session without taking any votes. Next Meeting: September 8 (instead of 15) September Agenda Items: • parks budgeting • department consolidation • web site update • signs - we might need a subcommittee to meet on this as well • city park map — with blowup of Hubbard Park trails on one side • One Taylor – Carolyn will follow-up with Bill Fraser