Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC)

SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 27TH 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, Jeff Cheek, Steve Samuell, Jenn Hunt Dempsey, Tom Denny (remote) 2. City Staff: Michael Dutre 2. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public members present 3. UPDATES: a. Approval of Minutes The minutes from the April meeting were approved. b. Oak Ridge Signage – Saratoga Plan Update Mike reported that Susan Barden drafted a letter to the developer that was sent to the City Attorney’s office for review. The letter informs the current developer that the trails were designated as public in the original plans for the development. c. Open Space Plan – MJ Engineering Anita read through the Open Space Plan and identified items that needed attention to finalize the document. Items that were supposed to be edited by MJ for January 2024 draft were not completed. She and Mike had a meeting scheduled to go over the items and decide next steps. The plan will be posted to the city website once it is complete. d. Joint Maintenance Plan – Milton The sale of the Woods Hollow property between the village of Ballston Spa and the Town of Milton was recently completed. This preserve is adjacent to the city owned Corcoran parcel. Mike will have to discuss any further plans for joint maintenance with City Council. He was proposing a budget in the Commissioners et al. meeting the next week. e. Priority Parcels Mike’s vision for identifying potential properties for acquisition is part of his budget proposal. Suggested making a list of all priority parcels based on the open space plan so the information is available if opportunities are identified. There is opportunity to make this a living document in Basecamp. It was noted to be aware of clarity in objective so not cause confusion with property owners that their lot is being targeted by the city.. f. Potential Acquisition Parcel List  SARATOGA SPRINGS OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 27TH 2024 - 5:00 P.M. See (e) above. Mike will ask the city’s GIS group about what data might be already available. Focus on non-buildable lots that are not protected already (e.g., wetlands). g. Small-ball Improvement Projects Mike and Anita discussed developing a “small ball” improvement project list, with focus on opportunities for maintenance, monitoring, and trailside services. Saratoga County Trails Committee might be interested, and potential collaboration with Capital Region Transportation Council (CRTC). One idea was trail descriptions for city greenways. Anita mentioned that trail counters could be useful for the city to have to monitor trail usage. h. Stakeholder List Mike and Anita discussed brainstorming a list of stakeholders for future committee members, equity participation, including groups in the city who are not regular participants in discussions about open space. i. Member vacancy Seamus Briody informed Anita that he was leaving his position at Saratoga PLAN. He did not formally resign from the OSAC, but it was assumed he was no longer a member. j. Reschedule July meeting Based on committee member availability, the July meeting was rescheduled to Tuesday, July 23 at 5:00pm. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT: None MEETING ADJOURNED: The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 PM. Note: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 23 July 2024 based on availability of committee members. It is expected that the August meeting will be regular last-Thursday-of-the-month schedule.