Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10222013 OF PORT TOE � ys ti City of Port TownsendwA Meeting Minutes Parks, Recreation and Trees Advisory Board Tuesday, October 22, 2013, 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm City Hall Meeting Room 41 L Meeting called to order at 4:31 pm by Chair, Rosemary Sikes. Members in Attendance: Ron Sikes, Rosemary Sikes, Lys Burden, Debbie Jahnke and Jason Cecil Staff: None Visitors: None IL Approval of Agenda —Agenda was approved by voice vote. III. Approval of Minutes —Minutes for September 24`h were distributed, adoption tabled until next meeting. IV. Staff Report—Rosemary called Steve Wright, who asked for help with leaf raking at Haller Fountain/ Staircase and at Mountain View. Debbie volunteered help on outreach with a call for volunteers on the website and in the papers. V. PRT Work Plan 2013 A. Tree City USA—Cecil and Debbie are working on grant opportunities. B. Volunteers in Our Parks —Volunteers have stepped forward to help at the Bell Tower. A couple from Seattle, who spend quite a bit of time in PT have volunteered to help along with a couple of their friends. 1. Kah Tai Work Party Report: Eight volunteers helped weed and pick up garbage on October 6 t from 9 am to Noon. They focused on the central area, south side of the main trail and north of the loop trail. Organizers brought enough weed pullers and cookies for everyone; weather was good, and much work was accomplished. Next work day is scheduled for November 3rd, 9 am to Noon. The Friends of Kah Tai are looking for a collaborative grant for more plants and wire to protect them from deer. 2. Volunteer Leaf Raking to Start - Cecil said he and his crew could take care of leaves at Haller Fountain/Stairs, as he has a high-velocity leaf blower, and it would not take them much time. Lys asked if these leaves could be delivered for use at the High School Garden and described the location. C. Report on Bulbfest 2013 —Twelve people (volunteers and staff) showed up to plant 3,000 bulbs on October 20th. They finished the job in a couple of hours thanks to tools provided by Matt Berberbich and others and many helping hands. It was voiced that we should look into making this event an annual activity and focus planting at different parks every year. Everyone appreciated all the cookies and treats that board members provided. D. Update on Park Functional Plan Revision —Debbie has been working on the third draft and wanted to review Level of Service (LOS) ideas from the last meeting. The typical measure of number of people to parks ratio, does not provide the right performance standards for our small city. We lack parks that are close to all neighborhoods. Debbie brought to our attention that the 1996 Comprehensive Plan states that we should work toward a comprehensive and interconnected system of parks, open space and trails to provide access and equity for all neighborhoods. Unfortunately, City budgets are not able to fund staffing and maintenance of such a system, thus the plan will emphasize parks. Debbie also noted at the 2010 public meeting to gather ideas and consensus on functional plan elements (at Blue Heron), the highest number of votes were for a trails system that provides for walking in natural settings. These trails do not have to be paved, but they should be accessible to all. Therefore, a system of trails to connect all of our parks should be a priority. Such a system will take time, energy and funding. The RCO (Resource Conservation Office) has three categories of grants in two-year funding cycles, one funding trails. The Recreational Trails Program requires a 20% match (can be volunteer contributions and hours), and the next one will be due on July 1, 2014. The trails should preserve the integrity of natural areas through which they pass and follow NEPA guidelines. Lys suggested that the "Sea to Sea"trail that the NMTAB has been working on may meet all the mentioned requirements (connecting parks, natural setting, etc.), although it does use back road connectors. The second category of grants is administered by WWRP (Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program) and has a 50% match (materials and volunteer time permissible) with a deadline of May 1st(thus requiring completion of the draft functional plan by March 3rd and adoption by March 14th). These grants fund: habitat acquisition and preservation, trails, benches and signs. The third category of grants comes from the national Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which allots funding to states every year. For these and all grants the RCO requires that community visions and comp and functional plans include language that specifies the improvements sought and that they must enhance accessibility and equity. Debbie noted that the City already has 31 miles of existing trails, but they need better definition as connecting trails to parks and destinations, i.e. better signage and mapping. E. Metropolitan Park District—On October 7th the steering committee voted to table the proposal for a metropolitan parks district but would like the community to pursue a continuing process (including a citizens group) to determine mechanisms for interim funding and park management. VI. Future Meeting Agenda Items - Comments are needed by Nov. 26th for the park plan. We need member recruitment to fill vacant seats and a policy on leaves of absence. The next regularly scheduled PRTAB meeting will be on Tuesday, November 26, 4:30 to 6:30pm. VII. Visitor and PRT Board Comment— 1. Jason Cecil will monitor the DNR Tree City Program grant opportunities and work with Debbie on any grants available. 2. Debbie noted that Tree City grants could be used for funding Americorps workers and removing scotch broom at Kah Tai. 3. Human powered activity, i.e. walking,jogging, running and bicycling are now classed as active recreation (not passive). VII. Adjournment—Meeting adjourned at 6:30pm. Action Steps Needed: 1. Cecil to remove leaves from Haller Fountain/Stairs 2. Review of previous drafts of functional plans 3. Debbie working on first draft of combined plans 4. Lys still has it on her list to check on software for logging in volunteer hours. 5. Annual Report on Volunteering in Our Parks needs to be compiled and the Adopt-a-Park program needs to be promoted.