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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPACKET Parks Advisory Board 2020-1-16Patrick Martchink, Town Board Trustee Liaison Brian Berg, Estes Park Public Works Staff Liaison Parks Advisory Board Agenda January 16, 2020 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM Room 202 Estes Park Town Hall 170 MacGregor Ave Current Members: Vacant (Expired) Dewain Lockwood (12/31/21) Vicki Papineau (12/31/21) Vacant (Expired) Ron Wilcocks (12/31/21) Merle Moore (12/31/20) Vacant (12/31/20) Public Comment Approval of December Meeting Minutes Mrs. Walsh’s Garden Committee Update Historic Women of Estes Subcommittee Update Noxious Weed Ordinance Discussion Parks Updates Other Business Adjourn Current Projects: • Tree Ordinance • Noxious Weeds Ordinance • Arboretum • Town Hall Art Exhibit • AIPP Funding Chair Merle Moore Chair Merle Moore Ron Wilcocks Chair Merle Moore Parks Supervisor Brian Berg Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, December 19th, 2019 Minutes of a regular meeting of the Parks Advisory Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Museum Conference Room of the Estes Park Museum on the 19th day of December, 2019. Present Merle Moore Vicki Papineau Ron Wilcocks Rex Poggenpohl Geoffrey Elliot Also Present: Elias Wilson, Public Works Administrative Assistant Patrick Martchink, Town Board Liaison Brian Berg, Parks Supervisor Kevin McEachern, Public Works Operations Manager Absent: Dewain Lockwood Chair Merle Moore called the meeting to order at 8:37 a.m. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comment. Member Poggenpohl asked if the PAB is still lacking a member. Supervisor Berg shared that no applications for the vacant seat have been received. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made and seconded (Papineau/Wilcocks) to approve the November meeting minutes and all were in favor. MRS WALSH’S GARDEN COMMITTEE UPDATE Chair Moore shared that the MWGC, with help from Supervisor Berg, is putting together a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Garden Master Plan, including a construction plan for the waterfall and pond area. Moore stated that the committee intends to get the RFP published after the first of the year in order to get feedback from contractors in a timely manner. The plan is to start construction in Spring of 2020. Member Poggenpohl asked if there is an estimated cost for the Master Plan. Supervisor Berg said there is currently no estimated cost. Chair Moore commented that there is an excess of $60,000 available and that most Master Plans he has seen are in the $30,000 range. He shared that in the first year little was spent from this fund and in the second year, minor upgrades were made to the garden which leaves a significant amount of funding available. Chair Moore shared that the committee is considering having a presence at the 2020 Mountain Heritage Festival. Member Poggenpohl asked if all native plants existing in MWG are on the list of plants recommended by the Town. Chair Moore replied that not all of the plants in the garden are suitable. Supervisor Berg said that some of the species are harder to maintain than Parks Advisory Board – December 19, 2019 – Page 2 others. Poggenpohl questioned if all of the Town-recommended species are suitable. Berg confirmed this to be true. Chair Moore stated that the Mission of Mrs. Walsh’s Garden is to provide knowledge and education of native plants to help individuals determine suitability for their situations. HISTORIC WOMEN OF ESTES SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATE Member Wilcocks shared there are 32 key stakeholders on-board who represent various groups throughout the town. Wilcocks shared that the group is excited and that the subcommittee is making good progress. Voting is under way to determine the type of art, the location, and the nominees. Voting will close on January 1st, 2020. Wilcocks will bring the results to the next PAB meeting. Member Poggenpohl asked if there was a target budget. Wilcocks replied that a budget for the project would be created after the type of art is determined. Supervisor Berg said that the Town has no budgeted funds for this project. Member Papineau asked about the voting process being used and if it was open-ended. Wilcocks stated that the subcommittee has narrowed the field to the most popular ideas. He explained that each person will have multiple votes which will help identify the artwork most desired by the group. Berg suggested that, as the location gets narrowed down, Wilcocks bring these results to PAB. Poggenpohl commented that the subcommittee will be unable to apply for grants in 2020. Trustee Liaison Martchink shared that he believes Wilcocks has done a good job at identifying different funding streams. Wilcocks shared that if a Fundraising Chair is put in place, they will likely approach the Town for funding, but stated that several other funding sources are available to them. Chair Moore stated that in a worst-case scenario, the PAB would announce the artwork by next year. Wilcocks said that a schedule will be needed to seek approval from the PAB and Town Board. Berg shared that he was impressed with the work that has been done so far by the subcommittee. AIPP FUNDING ORDINANCE Member Poggenpohl shared that the State of Colorado has finalized its grant process. He shared a list of organizations that are ineligible to apply in 2020. Poggenpohl also provided a list of awardees from Boulder and Larimer Counties. Poggenpohl explained that the final draft includes two proposals. The first is an amendment to the existing ordinance which discusses a percentage of construction cost be dedicated. He also proposed the idea of an Arts Advisory Council (AAC). There is no reference to this in the ordinance because it sounds like the PAB is granted the flexibility to make the determination. Wilcocks shared that the proposed AAC has met three times and has reached out to many in the art community. He commented that 35 individual artists are involved and that he has made it clear that it is not an official committee. Wilcocks stated that the artists involved understand that they are stakeholders and resources for the AAC, if created. Member Poggenpohl stated these kinds of programs often face an uphill battle. Poggenpohl shared the current group of Trustees may or may not be in support of a program such as this and that without a Master Plan and Town involvement, it will likely not be successful. Parks Advisory Board – December 19, 2019 – Page 3 Supervisor Berg said that he sees the situation from three different perspectives. He expressed his concern about establishing an AAC to advise the PAB. Berg believes that the establishment of an AAC to the Town Board may be the appropriate route to take. Poggenpohl replied that the PAB needs to be advised by experts and that an AAC would serve this purpose. Chair Moore said that he is hearing excitement about a very wide variety of arts and perhaps if this proposed committee exists under AIPP it should be have a well-defined role. Member Wilcocks said that the development of an Arts Master Plan for the Town is something for which all stakeholders have expressed excitement. Supervisor Berg said that it sounds like an AAC is being conceptualized and that the PAB will want to seek Town Board approval because there will be a need for staff resources. Berg said that he doesn’t want PAB to grow another advisory committee without the support and approval of the Town Board. Poggenpohl said that the PAB currently controls the money and doesn’t need an AAC to do so but there is a need for expertise and advice. Wilcocks said that he will not go forward without the support of the Town Board . Berg encouraged the PAB to discuss the funding and wording separately when speaking with the Town Board and he suggested the PAB bring this to a study session to gauge the interest of the Town Board. Poggenpohl said that if the PAB doesn’t do the AAC there is a chance the members of the arts community will organize and do it themselves. Wilcocks said that if an AAC is formed but not commissioned by the Town Board it will not have the gravitas. Poggenpohl asked what the best approach would be to present this information. He commented that the PAB feels like they need technical knowledge and expertise in this area. Berg said he believes an AAC would be the proper path to take. He asked if the PAB was expecting the proposed committee to be allocating money. Chair Moore commented that a proposed AAC would deal with the AIPP only. Moore said that the success of the Historic Women’s Subcommittee could convince the Town Board that this program could be a valuable program for Estes Park. Wilcocks said that the ad hoc committee isn’t going anywhere unless it is approved. Trustee Liaison Martchink said that the problems the PAB is trying to solve may be addressed by restructuring the PAB bylaws and requiring an arts expert be included on the PAB. Poggenpohl said if we have the expertise on the PAB, we likely wouldn’t need an AAC. Poggenpohl stated that it is easier to get people to act on an advisory committee when needed than it is to get people to meet with an advisory board each month. Member Papineau asked how the PAB would define expertise and how they would fill the capacity. Papineau shared her concern about finding someone with this expertise who would meet the needs of the PAB and represent the views of Estes Park residents. Wilcocks then shared names of several different people and organizations engaged in the process so far. Wilcocks said he believes the PAB should be the one guiding the proposed AAC at first. Poggenpohl said that Trustee Liaison Martchink’s suggestion to adapt the bylaws is an easier way to make this happen. Moore said that he believes there should be a narrow focus to guide the proposed committee on the role they would play in the process. Papineau said that time will tell if the proposed committee will evolve into an advisory board. Member Elliot said that the PAB will need to provide a defined scope to guide the Parks Advisory Board – December 19, 2019 – Page 4 group. Wilcocks is confident that the group would still be excited even if the only thing the Town approved was an Arts Master Plan. Berg clarified that the PAB is asking to be advised on technical issues only. Chair Moore confirmed. Berg asked if the proposed committee would use money to create a Master Plan. Poggenpohl said that this would not be the case and the PAB would be responsible for this process. Berg shared reservations to diving into art. He wants to make sure that this is where the Town Board wants the PAB focused. Papineau asked if PAB should move forward with the two proposals. Berg suggested only taking the $5,000 and the percentage to discuss with the Town Board to start. Poggenpohl said that he thinks that the PAB should remind the Town Board that they asked PAB to look at funding. He stated that there is a need to have the Town commit funding and there needs to be a Master Plan. Chair Moore shared that the Parks Division currently receives funding for sculpture maintenance. Berg confirmed and shared that Power & Communications Division pays for the Decorating Utility Boxes (DUB) program. Moore said that the $5,000 for maintenance is in the wrong order and that an Art Master Plan should be the initial goal. Wilcocks shared that Art Master Plans he has seen have a broad scope. Poggenpohl said he would bring a few examples of Art Master Plans to the next PAB meeting. Member Elliot asked if there was a way to see how they are governed. Berg replied that this should be identified in the plans. Papineau asked for plans comparable to the Town of Estes Park. Moore stated he would like to continue working on the language. Poggenpohl and Wilcocks agreed the PAB should reach out to the Town Board. Wilcocks will continue to shepherd the ad hoc committee. Berg suggested if it isn’t successful with the current Town Board of Trustees, it could be brought back when new Trustees are elected. Berg stated that he will be more comfortable with the support of the Town Administrator. PARKS UPDATES Berg shared that the Town Board approved the funding which would be used in conjunction with the possible GOCO grant funding for the purchase of the Thumb Open Space (“Thumb”). The Town will find out in March 2020 if they were awarded the GOCO grant funding for both the Thumb and the picnic shelter. Thumb maintenance will be performed by the Parks Division and Berg stated that as a Thumb Open Space Master Plan moves forward, community member engagement will be needed to identify and address the needs, hopes and concerns Berg stated that the Estes Park Museum asked the Parks Division to come up with a kid-friendly area outside the museum. Musical instruments, as seen along the Riverwalk, will be added to this space. Berg also mentioned that he found some crosswalk designs he would like to experiment with, but will explore other options. OTHER BUSINESS Noxious Weed Ordinance Letter: Supervisor Berg shared that he spoke with Lt. Rick Life. Life stated he is planning to meet with Larimer County and that things are moving slowly. He asked the PAB members to reflect on the study session held on April 23 rd, 2019. Berg met with Lt. Life, Attorney Kramer, and Town Administrator Ma chalek. Parks Advisory Board – December 19, 2019 – Page 5 Attorney Kramer suggested the approach to the ordinance language be reevaluated. Berg explained that the approach is currently viewed as “heavy-handed”. Berg again asked the PAB to view the Study Session and pay close attention to what the Town Board asked the PAB to consider. Berg stated he would identify the exact section in the minutes where the Town Board asked for specifics from the PAB. Wilcocks asked if a memo from the PAB would help address the situation. Moore said that providing the Town Board with writing would be ideal and that the PAB will spend time reviewing the April 23rd, 2019 meeting. Papineau shared that the designers of the ELSA booklets are experts on the subject and that the Police Department must learn how to identify noxious weeds. Berg reminded the PAB that the Chairperson is responsible for approving agenda items before the packet is sent out. Chair Moore thanked the PAB members for their time and service to the Town of Estes Park. Member Elliot mentioned that the Mountain Heritage Festival planning process is beginning. With no other business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded (Elliot/ Wilcocks) to adjourn the meeting at 10:19 a.m. and all were in favor. Recording Secretary Elias Wilson, Public Works