Complete Streets Advisory Board

SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JUNE 27, 2018 5:00 P.M. – 6:30 PM MUSIC HALL, CITY HALL Present Tim Holmes, Suzanne Kwasnieski, Tom Denny, Dave Miller, Erica Gifford, Beth Wurtmann (late but called in and was present) Absent Maureen Roberts City Staff Tina Carton, Parks, Open Lands, Historic Preservation/ Sustainability Coordinator Others Present None Recording of the Proceeding The minutes are not a verbatim record of the proceedings Call to Order Tom Denny called the meeting to order at 5:10 PM Public Comment No public present Public Comment No public present Special Presentation Greg Redling of Saratoga PLAN came to speak to us about the Bog Meadow project to replace a bridge. He presented the project and a bid for pre-manufactured bridge that could be installed by local staff. The idea was to see if the OSAC could allocate money to their project. Unfortunately, the way the law is written for allocation of funds would not allow for the OSAC to provide funds for the project. We talked about possibly providing a letter of support. This was not totally defined at this meeting and should be revisited. Approval of Minutes OSAC voted to approve the minutes from the May 17, 2018. Motion to approve - Suzanne Kwasniewski Second - Tim Holmes Unanimously approval of the minutes from the remaining OSAC members. Topics 1|Page  SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JUNE 27, 2018 5:00 P.M. – 6:30 PM MUSIC HALL, CITY HALL GIS Mapping Tom Denny shared with the OSAC some GIS resourcing maps that could aid the committee on future decisions of potential lands to purchase. Open Space Funding through bonding The committee discussed options for bonding, including timing for a possible referendum authorizing new bonding levels. Tom announced that Michele Madigan, the Commissioner of Finance, had agreed to come speak at our July meeting about the bonding process and options. The committee asked Tom to make a formal written request to the Mayor for legal opinions about our current bonding capacity under the 2002 act and about whether it would be legal to have a bond referendum on the same ballot as a charter-reform referendum. Waterworks Park Dave Miller brought in a sketch which showed how a small pocket park could be accomplished with minimal effort. Tom will request that the Mayor put an OSAC presentation on a future council meeting agenda. The presentation would be used to inform the council and the public of several issues before the OSAC and would include our recommendation for the Waterworks Park project. Discussions will continue with the Commissioner of Public Works and other council members about the benefits of this project. It is important to emphasize that the Waterworks Park would be of value to users of the planned Saratoga Greenbelt Trail. Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) Tina Carton discussed the NRI with the group again and the decision to go with La Bella with the bid of $29,420.00. This did not require a vote from the OSAC. The city received a DEC matching grant for this project. Tina reported that Commissioner Madigan had recently confirmed that the city’s matching funding was in place, which allows Tina to move forward with the contract for the consultant. Tina will work with La Bella and some possible work to be done from graduate students at SUNY Albany to help the project along. Tina also set up a drop box for the committee to access. The OSAC will have a lead for this inventory and will be an integral part of making sure the report is completed and reviewed to meet the contractual agreements. Revising the 2002 Open Space Plan The committee touched base on this topic that the NRI will be a stepping stone to getting our OS plan rewritten. The committee also talked about getting funding into the 2019 city budget for a consultant to work on revising the Open Space Plan. The committee should discuss this more in the future. Matrix of OSAC priorities Tom Denny has been tracking our progress with these topics and takes the time in each meeting to review what has gone on since our last meeting behind the scenes. Next meeting to be July 25th Meeting concluded at 7:00 PM 2|Page SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JUNE 27, 2018 5:00 P.M. – 6:30 PM MUSIC HALL, CITY HALL 3|Page