Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC)

SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 22, 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, Ed Lindner, Jeff Cheek, Anita Morzillo, Jennifer Hunt Dempsey 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 the January 25, 2023 meeting were circulated to committee members prior to the meeting. There being no amendments or revisions, they were approved as circulated. 4. OPEN SPACE PLAN STATUS: MJ Engineering Fixes and City Council Presentation Tom Denny updated the committee members on the status of the current draft of the Open Space Plan. Tom stated that he has a meeting with the Mayor’s office scheduled for Friday March 3 to discuss the steps to complete the Open Space Plan. There are still some minor changes that are required to finalize the document. Tom will work with the city to provide funding to MJ Engineering to complete these final changes. The target date for presenting the Open Space Plan to the city council is at the April 18th City Council meeting. The final version of the plan is needed to support the presentation to the city council. The public with then have an extended period (60 days?) to comment on the plan. The plan will then be finalized after the public comments are evaluated and presented to the City Council for approval. 5. ADDITIONAL OSAC RESEARCH : Success & Reception of CPFs in Other Communities Tom led a discussion on a plan to have the committee members gather data from communities that have implemented a Community Preservation Fund (CPF) or similar funding mechanisms. Committee members agreed to reach out to communities that have created a CPF to understand their experience with establishing the CPF, their level of satisfaction with the program, and any issues that they encountered. The communities include NY state that already established a CPF and communities across Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut that have similar funding mechanisms. This information may be valuable as the committee discusses the CPF recommendation with City Council, city staff, and other stakeholders. Tom Denny sent out the detailed assignments after the meeting. 6. OTHER BUSINESS : None discussed 7. PUBLIC COMMENT: There was no public comment. 8. MEETING ADJOURNED: The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 PM. The next meeting will occur on March 22, 2023.