Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC)

SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 25, 2023 5:00 P.M. 2ND FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL, 474 BROADWAY 1. WELCOME AND ATTENDANCE: a. City Staff: MIKE DUTRE, PLANNING OFFICE STAFF FOR THE OSAC b. Committee Members: Tom Denny, David Miller, Ed Lindner, Jeff Cheek and Steve Samuell c. Public: There were no members of the public present 2. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comment 3. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS: a. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Minutes from prior meetings were not discussed. 4. Election of Officers: The committee elected Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary in accordance with its bylaws. CHAIR: Tom Denny was appointed chair by the Mayor at the Jan 3 City Council Meeting. The committee voted unanimously to agree with this appointment. VICE-CHAIR: The committee voted unanimously to appoint Anita Morzillo as Vice-Chair. SECRETARY: The committee voted unanimously to appoint Steve Samuell as Secretary. 5. PLANNING OFFICE STAFF FOR THE OSAC: Mike Dutre introduced himself as the Saratoga Spring’s city planning office representative to the OSAC. Tina Carton left this position last year and she has not been replaced yet. Mike Dutre is filling this role until a replacement is named. The committee members made introductions and provided brief backgrounds including OSAC experience. 6. OPEN SPACE PLAN STATUS Tom Denny updated the committee members on the status of the current draft of the Open Space Plan. MJ Engineering provided an updated draft at the end of 2022. MJ Engineering has spent all the funding that was allocated on the Open Space Plan contract. The city will need to provide funding for any additional work. Tom and Mike will determine if any additional funding can be obtained. Tom Denny made a few additional corrections/edits to the draft report and there are a few final changes to be made prior to the report being ready to release for public input. It was agreed that public input will be initiated by first presenting the draft report to the City Council followed by engagement with the Open Space Plan Steering Committee and key stakeholders. Tom Denny and Mike Dutre will work with City Planning staff to finalize the plans to engage the city council and the public. 7. EXECUTIVE SESSION: The committee convened an executive session. 8. OTHER BUSINESS: None discussed 9. PUBLIC COMMENT: There was no public comment. 10. MEETING ADJOURNED: The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 PM. The next meeting will occur on February 22, 2023.