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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Parks Advisory Board 2018-11-15 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, November 15, 2018 Minutes of a regular meeting of the Parks Advisory Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Conference Room of the Estes Park Museum on the 15th day of November, 2018. Present Merle Moore Vicki Papineau Wade Johnston Geoffrey Elliot Also Present: Brian Berg, Parks Supervisor Megan Van Hoozer, Public Works Administrative Assistant Patrick Martchink, Town Board Liaison 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 in attendance. Co-Chair Johnston provided the update for the Estes Arts District (EAD). The EAD has been meeting recently to plan for the coming year. Johnston reported there is a very talented, accomplished sculptor in town that is willing to work to create something beautiful for the Downtown Estes Loop Project. The EAD has funding to do some great stuff this year and will be budgeting for contributions to the Town’s AIPP fund for future projects. The EAD is currently planning for a project near Safeway located in the transition area from the parking lot down to the Subway area. The EAD will push native Colorado, low maintenance plantings. Chair Moore stated that the Mrs. Walsh’s Garden Advisory Committee (MWGAC) has discussed hybrid natives that are superior to, and more elaborate than natives that could potentially be added into the Parks system, with the exception of Mrs. Walsh’s Garden (MWG). GENERAL BUSINESS A motion was made and seconded (Papineau/Johnston) to approve the October meeting minutes with minor edits and all were in favor. MRS WALSH’S GARDEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE (MWGAC) UPDATE The MWGAC is looking to create Google group for MWGAC members to have open dialogue regarding educational programming and how to interact with the Parks Division, the PAB, and the Town Board. The MWGAC will then be able to review their mission statement collaboratively via Google Group. Parks Advisory Board – November 15, 2018 – Page 2 AIPP FUNDING Chair Moore sent documentation to the PAB reflecting what other communities do to fund their AIPP programs and he’s looking for feedback from the PAB on this information. Moore is questioning whether 1% of the funds from capital project costs should be the primary funding source. Moore also asked PAB members if the funds for each project should only be used for art specific to that project or if it should be used for any art on Town property. Co-Chair Johnston stated that in many communities 1% of transient taxes (hotels, etc.) are used for public art. This type of change would need to be on a future voting ballot and sent to a vote. It was further stated that this would get on the ballot easier if the initiative is citizen-led and with a signed petition with 350+ signatures. The PAB then discussed tying this new 1% initiative to government entities only or also requiring this of private entity projects. Moore will touch base with the State lead for public art in Colorado for further discussion. This will help outline best practices. Trustee Liaison Martchink will discuss with the other Trustees, their interest in establishing an AIPP fund and will bring a response to the next regularly scheduled PAB meeting. PAB BY-LAW UPDATES The PAB discussed that, especially with all the difficulty recruiting new PAB memb ers, requiring applicants reside in the Estes Valley is not a broad enough area. This reference in the by-laws should be changed to ‘Estes Valley School District’ boundaries. It was also suggested the wording be changed to remove the current requirement of two years of residency. A motion was made and seconded (Elliot/Johnston) to change Section 1A by ending the section after, “. . .Tree City USA Standards.” A motion was made and seconded (Johnston/Elliot) to change the language in Section 3A from ‘Estes Valley’ to ‘Estes Valley School District’, to remove the requirement for two year residency, and to state there will be no more than 7 members on the board, and all were in favor. A motion was made and seconded (Elliot/Johnston) to change the language in Section 3F by removing the stated number of members required for a quorum to state, “. . . a majority of the sitting board. . .” and all were in favor. Once the new by-laws are formally adopted by the Town Board, Chair Moore would like the Town’s Human Resources Division to reach out to those applicants that were turned down due to the requirements being modified to express the intent to allow their membership application. AIPP MINOR EDITS UPDATE The PAB reviewed the AIPP Guidelines document reflecting minor content and formatting changes. A motion was made and seconded (Papineau/Elliott) to accept the changes and all were in favor. Parks Advisory Board – November 15, 2018 – Page 3 PARKS DIVISION UPDATE  Keri Kelly had a happy and healthy baby girl.  Supervisor Berg attended the regional open space meeting and shared 2018 expenditures. All counties in the region provided updates as well. o The area knows as the Thumb and Needle on Prospect Mountain is going up for sale. Should the property be sold to the government the sale price is $790K after a 5% decrease. o The Town Board has opted to fund trails Member Papineau brought up issues with noxious weed bagging. There’s an existing unfunded mandate for noxious weed control that allows owners to mow noxious weed fields. Mowing (without bagging) spreads seed for transference to other properties. There is a need for ordinance modification and adoption to intervene, requiring commercial mowers and individuals to bag the weeds even if mowing. The current process perpetuates the problem. Papineau will meet with Larimer County on December 13. Operations Manager Kevin McEachern will look into a grading permit. Supervisor Berg will bring the existing noxious weed ordinance to the December PAB meeting for review and to provide a recommendation to the Town Board. Larimer County is conducting heavy-handed enforcement to get the point across although the Town has not conducted this type of enforcement. OTHER BUSINESS The Town recently received a request for support and funding for a sculpture to be erected for a pet elk named Annie. Based on the information provided, the existing regulations and the shown opposition by Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW ), the PAB doesn’t feel this sends the appropriate message to the public. A motion was made and seconded (Elliot/Johnston) to support CPW previous opinion on the matter of Annie the Elk and not provide support of erecting a sculpture and all were in favor. The verbiage used for this basis is from an email sent by the Area 2 Wildlife Manager of CPW dated May 23, 2016, “While CPW does not object to the statue, we feel it would be wrong for Lee to use the statute to memorialize or bring attention to the elk he has in possession by placing signage about Anna, Destiny or any of the other four elk he has. In Colorado it is illegal for a person to have wildlife in private possession.” A motion was made and seconded (Johnston/Papineau) to adjourn the meeting and all were in favor. Recording Secretary Megan Van Hoozer, Public Works