Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC)

SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 29TH 2024 - 5:00 P.M. 2ND FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL, 474 BROADWAY Meeting Minutes are not a word-for-word Transcript. 1. WELCOME AND ATTENDANCE: 1. Committee Members: Chair Anita Morzillo, Seamus Briody, Jeff Cheek, Tom Denny, Ed Lindner, Jennifer Hunt Dempsey, Steve Samuell 2. City Staff: Michael Dutre 2. PUBLIC COMMENT: There was no public comment provided at the start of the meeting. 3. UPDATES: a. Approval of Minutes The minutes from the January 25th meeting were approved with minor editorial changes. b. Oakridge Signage – Saratoga Plan Update Mike Dutre discussed the status of public access to a trail at the Oakridge Development on Meadowbroook Road. The original plans called for an easement for public access and a trail that would connect to the greenbelt trail. The current trail at the development has signage indicating restricted access. The original plan was not signed and therefore the city needs to work with the HOA to resolve the issue. Mike Dutre will continue to work with the City Planning Department on this issue. c. Woods Hollow & Corcoran Preserves - Milton Michael Dutre discussed the potential for a joint management plan for the City owned Corcoran parcel and the Village of Ballston Spa that owns the adjacent Woods Hollow Preserve. The next step is to get agreement from the Mayor’s office to pursue a partnership with the village of Ballston Spa. The Woods Hollow Preserve is currently owned by the Village of Ballston Spa, but the Town of Milton has been pursuing the purchase of the parcel over the last couple of years. d. Open Space Plan – MJ Engineering Mike Dutre provided an update on the status of the Open Space Plan. There are several small editorial changes to the Open Space Plan that remain. Mike Dutre noted that the City may have money available to have MJ Engineering make the changes  SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 29TH 2024 - 5:00 P.M. and finalize the report. Mike will share the redline version of the report with MJ Engineering and get a quote to make the final changes. There was a discussion between Anita Morzillo and Tom Denny to identify which version of the file was the correct file to work from. e. Priority Parcels Chair Morzillo discussed actions that the city could take to provide access to Open Space parcels. One option discussed is to provide access to the Lake Lonely outlet from the Ramsdell property. It was discussed that the property is very wet and access would be difficult. Tom Denny noted that the committee had made a site visit to adjacent properties in the past couple of year and found that the land was very wet. Mike Dutre discussed a DPW project funded by a county grant to pave the parking access at the Blodgett Property. The upgrade would also include signage. Mike is going to pursue the status of this project with DPW and investigate if it is possible to also acquire the signs. f. Saratoga County – Farmland Protection and Open Space Grant Program Mike Dutre discussed the possibility of pursuing a $400,000 Farmland Protection and Open Space Preservation Grant from Saratoga County. There is the potential to partner with local organizations to conserve open space such as a project to provide a connection between parcels on the west side of the city extending from Pitney Meadows to the Rowlands Hollow Preserve. The grant application is due on March 29. It should be considered for the future. 4. OSAC PERSONNEL: a. Vice Chair – Elect Chair Morzillo prefers to wait as two committee members are absent. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT: There was no public comment. MEETING ADJOURNED: The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 PM. Note: The meetings will now occur on the last Thursday of each month at 5:00pm. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday March 28, 2024.