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HomeMy WebLinkAboutpitco.ost.min.reg.07052001 . . . '. Minutes OPEN SPACE AND TRAILS BOARD MEETING OF JULY 5, 2001 Plaza 1 Board Members Present: Tom Cardamone, Bill Fales, Rick Neiley, John Starr Others Present: Hilary Fletcher-Smith, Temple Glassier, Barb Hogan, Austin Wise, John Ely, Kevin Patrick, Reid Haughey John Starr called the meeting to order at approximately 9: lOam. Approval of the Minutes The minutes ofthe June 21, 2001 OSTB Meeting were approved with amendments. Staff Comments Rio Grande Trail John began by updating the Board on the RTA meeting where Pitkin County requested funding from RTA to help with the upgrading of the trestle at Wingo Junction to accommodate the trail. Although the vote was 3-2 in favor of providing funding, the issued failed. John explained that the RTA's policies require that every motion pass by a vote of 5, regardless of the number of board members present at the meeting. He noted that there were two board members absent for the trail vote last week that would vote in favor of providing funding for the project. John added that Jackie Whitsitt, who voted against funding, would be supportive once RTA established a policy on providing funding to trail projects. A subcommittee on trails funding will meet July 12th to formulate a policy on awarding funds to trails projects. John and Temple will attend the meeting. If a policy is drafted, then the request for funding of the Rio Grande Trail will be brought up to the R T A board again, and likely pass. Temple confirmed that the request is for $142,000. Temple informed the Board that the RTA meeting at which she was to present the trail alignment was canceled, and that she needs to ask for a change in aligrnnent. The 1041 review process will not allow for the current proposed location ofthe trail, where it moves south ofthe ROW between Ames trailer at Wingo and the Basalt/Old Snowmasstrail, because it contains riparian vegetation. The ROW in that section is part of the preferred alternative for transit, and RTA has a policy against putting the trail in the ROW where the preferred aligrnnent is whenever possible. Temple would like to request that the trail be moved onto the ROW in that section because of the 1041 concerns regarding the vegetation. Hilary updated the Board on the FHW A's issue with the trail construction. She informed the Board that NEPA cannot be enforced because the trail was included in rail banking. The project still needs to go through a review process with the State Historic Preservation Office and submit a plan for how historic artifacts will be protected during construction. The meeting to approve the plan is scheduled for July 23'd, and it is expected that construction can begin August I st. Temple informed the Board that Rick Stevens of Aspen Earthmoving said that the project could still be completed if the start date is pushed back to August I't. I . . . Temple mentioned that she did not know if Dale had discussed with Reno Cerise that the trail will remain on the ROW through his property. She would like to wait for Dale's return to have him inform Reno or get a go-ahead from the Board to inform Reno herself. She also informed the Board that Billy Grange was having some issues with the trail, primarily with dogs and children getting in his ditch. Temple stated that OST trail regulations are posted on the trail. The subject was discussed. The Board requested that Temple outline in a memo what is currently posted and offer suggestions for what further measures they could take to remedy the situation. Temple commented that there were three morning closures ofthe Rio Grande Trail between Slaughterhouse and W/J last week, to avoid safety issues for trail users during resurfacing work. These closures worked well because of the heavy public information effort by Public Works, including calling the bike shops and informing them ofthe trail closures. There will be three more morning closures in the next week. Temple said that they will also need to close the trail completely for a minimum of a week and a half later during the summer. The Board agreed that it did not want to close the trail to public use forlO days during the summer. In response to Rick's question, Temple informed the Board that there would be a small cost associated with delaying the closure until the fall so that there would be no loss of public use during the busy summer months. The Board decided that the closure should be postponed until the fall and asked Temple to explain to the bike shops the basis for this delay next time she corresponded with them. Hilary informed the Board that Dale would be back in the office on July 18t\ noting that the next OSTB meeting is scheduled for July 19th. The Board agreed to reschedule the next meeting for the following Thursday, July 26th. Board Comments East of Aspen: John asked for an update on the East of Aspen Trail. Temple informed the Board that proposals for meeting the requirements of the USFS are in to them for review and that OST will have to pay for the review of the plan by the USFS ifit is to get done. She will get numbers together and bring them to the Board. Because funding was put off until next year, the project was put on the back burner, but everything is on schedule for construction next year. New City Trails Director: Tom introduced Austin Wise, the new Trails Director for the City of Aspen. GOCO Meeting: Bill informed the Board that he would be attending a meeting that GOCO is holding to discuss its goals and strategic plan and gather input from conservation organizations. Bill offered to relay comment s that anyone had on GOCO's funding process. Executive Session The Board moved into Executive Session at 9:40 am, and adjourned Executive Session at II :30 am. Regular Session Board Comments (Continued) New Executive Session Law: John raised the issue of the new executive session law that is explained in a handout from Hilary. The subject was discussed. It was noted that the Board may want to revisit the format for its regular session, since the new law requires that minutes for executive session be 2 . . . produced in the same form. The Board felt that the detail currently included in the minutes was beneficial. They also discussed issues of discoverability and staff time. John Ely commented that this was a good law and that the attorney's office would maintain all minutes. He informed the Board that the BOCC keeps tapes of the meetings in accordance with State Archive standards. The attorney's office is reviewing the new law and will relate what they determine needs to be done regarding record keeping for meetings. City of Aspen/Smuggler Mountain: Tom expressed concern over information he had heard that the City might be moving toward a friendly condemnation on Smuggler Mountain, and wondered if it might be appropriate to ask the City to come and give an update on their activities. The Board discussed and agreed that it has already informed the City that the Program does not want to participate in any condemnation action and that it does not need to be updated on any such actions that the City may be pursuing. Request for Updates: Rick requested updates on efforts to resolve issues surrounding Airport Ranch and the Mills property. Staff informed the Board that efforts to resolve both issues were moving forward. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at approximately II :35 am. Approved Approved as to Form Director 3