Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC)

Saratoga Springs Open Space Committee MINUTES May 26, 2021 5:00 p.m. Zoom Meeting 1. WELCOME AND ATTENDANCE — Tom Denny, Jennifer Hunt Dempsey, Tim Holmes, and Steve Samuell present. Maureen Roberts, Dave Miller, and John McMahon absent. City personnel Tina Carton, Tony Izzo (Asst. City Attorney), present. 2. PUBLIC COMMENT: Dr. Richard Farrell discussed the need for maintenance and upkeep of the Spring Run Trail. He addressed this in a letter to the Mayor dated 5/13/21. There are about 19-20 people who live near the trail and use it on a regular basis who would like to form a “Friends of Spring Run Trail” group. As citizen volunteers, they would be actively involved in the upkeep and improvement of the trail. We discussed that this would probably require some coordination with the city’s DPW and the city arborist. The Open Space Steering Committee has made maintenance and upkeep of the city’s open space assets a priority, and envisions recommending the use of citizen volunteers in these efforts. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS a. APPROVAL OF MINUTES i. APRIL 28, 2021 – MEETING MINUTES were approved. 4. USING VOLUNTEERS FOR CITY PROJECTS / FRIENDS OF TRAILS Mr. Michael Horn of Saratoga PLAN was also present as an invited expert and gave a detailed description of Saratoga PLAN’s use of volunteers to help with maintenance of many of PLAN’s properties and trails. He also mentioned work parties that they have organized, which are events planned to improve sites with many helpers present. As Saratoga PLAN has only 5 ½ paid employees, they rely on volunteers to help with upkeep of properties. PLAN provides some equipment for volunteers to use, and many people will also bring some of their own tools. The feeling of ownership the volunteers experience is very rewarding. Saratoga PLAN does have the volunteers sign a waiver form before working to address liability concerns. They have weekly Zoom meetings and a shared Google document so people can communicate about what work needs to be done. He stated that if “Friends of…… Groups” formed a 501c3 organization, they are then able to raise money and apply for grants. He suggested we talk to other Friends groups to see how much administrative work is involved. Those interested in forming a friends group would need to decide whether or not to create a “formal” Friends group, based on whether they need volunteers only for labor, or if they are interested in acquiring funds. The Committee discussed liability concerns the city may have with volunteers working on city properties. Ms. Tina Carton has recently spoken with Maria Trabka of Saratoga PLAN and Parks and Trails NY. In September 2021, there will be a new round of applications open to apply for funds for various Friends groups.  Saratoga Springs Open Space Committee MINUTES May 26, 2021 5:00 p.m. Zoom Meeting Mr. Tim Holmes next gave an excellent history of the origins of Saratoga PLAN, and praised their clear missions and sense of purpose. He feels many of their successes can be attributed to clear objectives and parameters. Mr. Tom Denny discussed the Tree Toga program run by Sustainable Saratoga. The City requires that their volunteers sign waivers. He also mentioned that the City sometimes raises concerns that volunteers could take work away from unionized employees. Given the limited resources of the City for trail maintenance, tree pruning, and other tasks, this seems like a solvable issue. He suggested researching the ways in which other municipalities have addressed concerns about safety and union workers. Ms. Tina Carton has collected waiver forms that different organizations use for their volunteers. Some groups, such as the Canalway Corp. have registration forms with rules that need to be signed before any work is done. The Committee discussed that the City’s Risk and Safety Director, Ms. Marilyn Rivers, would need to review any waivers/forms before volunteer work could be done on city property. Asst. City Attorney Izzo pointed out that the city does have a blanket insurance policy that covers volunteer activities. We discussed outreach efforts this summer, where we could check with other similar communities to see how their volunteer programs are run, and Ms. Tina Carton said that she and her summer interns could take this on as a project. 5. Stakeholders/Partnerships: From the recent Open Space Plan survey, the results indicate a willingness of the public to volunteer to maintain the City’s open spaces. Partnerships could include: Dr. Richard Farrell and the Spring Run group, Saratoga PLAN, Friends of Saratoga Spa State Park, Friends of Kayderosseros, and Friends of Recreation. 6. Open Space Plan Update: The Committee reviewed the vision statement written by the consultants and the Steering Committee. The Committee approved by consensus some minor changes were to be made to the first paragraph, and were otherwise in favor of the document. The consultants are creating graphs and charts to display the data obtained from the recent Open Space survey. These results will go on the project website (https://www.saratogaspringsopenspaces.com/) and be available for public viewing. Also on the project website is a collection of excellent images, submitted by people who had taken the survey, highlighting open spaces in or near our city that the public can view. 7. PUBLIC COMMENT — No public comment. Meeting adjourned at 6:06 PM., next meeting Wednesday June 23, 2021