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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/03/2025 - Meeting Minutes PARKS,NATURAL LANDS,URBAN FORESTRYAND TRAILS ADVISORY BOARD of SALT LAKE CITY Formal Meeting Thursday,April 3,2025 5:00 p.m.-7:15 p.m. Join Via Zoom:https://us02web.zoom.us/�/82576387053?pwd=eaq.jMOfflbkDL30TUv9ac3v4YYMGCl.1 Or Join at the Public Lands Administrative Building.1965 W.500 S.Salt Lake City,UT 84104 Upstairs Parks Training Room Join by phone Phone: +1-669-444-9171 US Webinar ID:825 7638 7053 Access code:183948 APPROVED MINUTES 1. Convening the Meeting 5:00 PM A. Call to order - Aaron Wiley - Melanie Pehrson - Talula Pontuti - Brianna Binnebose - James Alfandre - Eric McGill - Meredith Benally - Dave John - Ginger Cannon - Kerri Nakamura - Steve Bloch B. Chair Comments 5 mins Ms. Cannon ran the meeting as Ms. Nakamura was absent. Ms. Cannon thanked all the staff leadership over the last few months while the department sought a new director. She thanked Mr. Scrivner for his work on the team looking for a new Director. 2. Approval of Minutes 5:05 PM - Approve March 6, 2025, meeting minutes 5 mins Mr. Bloch motioned to approve the March meeting minutes. Ms. Pehrson seconded the motion. The Board unanimously voted to approve the March meeting minutes. 3. Public Comment 5:10 PM - Verbal comments are limited to no more than 3 minutes; 15 minutes total. Written comments are welcome. Ms. Cannon read a brief disclosure from their Bylaws regarding public comment. Ms.Anne Cannon said she was here to meet the new District 6 representative,James Alfandre. Mr.Alfandre apologized for being unable to attend in person but said he was happy to connect. 4. Director's Report 5:25 PM - Summary of current high-priority department items. -Tyler Murdock/Kim Shelley 5 mins Ms. Shelley reintroduced herself to the new Public Lands Director and her background. She shared that she and Mr. Murdock will provide updates for the Director's Report. Ms. Shelley said that staff had their budget presentation to the Mayor on March 21"for both Public Lands and Golf, which was well received. She shared with the board that the mayor gave directions for all departments to have a flat budget, and after presentations,the mayor asked for it to be even PARKS,NATURAL LANDS,URBAN FORESTRYAND TRAILS ADVISORY BOARD of SALT LAKE CITY flatter. Mr. Wiley asked what a Flat Budget was. Ms.Shelley said that means they can't ask for more than they did last year. Mr. McGill asked what was meant by making the budget even flatter. Ms. Shelley said they'll look deeper into their contracts to see their options. Staff is not currently anticipating cuts to any of their services, but they will keep the Board posted as they prepare for their presentation to the City Council in May. Ms. Shelley apologized for the limited notice regarding the Jordan River Trail closures. It was a decision that was made quickly and evolved rapidly. She said staff would inform the board of these closures before they hit the news media.This situation was dire, and action needed to be taken quickly. Mr. Murdock shared his screen to display the Jordan River Trail closure map and detour. Mr. Murdock said this decision was primarily driven by the public safety concerns in the Rose Park area, and the Police Department has been pushing for this,which happened on Monday.The dog park at Cottonwood Park is staying open.The closure begins just after the dog park, roughly 350 North to 700 North at Riverside Park. Mr. Murdock said it coincides with several improvements that were planned for the already. Public Land contractors started working on a Backman Open Space Community project.This is likely to be completed by the end of summer. One benefit of this project is the contractor will be relocating the Jordan River Trail to improve sightlines.The staff will also clean up, remove vegetation, and do other work during the closure. Primarily, the Police Department will continue to lock down this area and focus its efforts on Riverside Park. Mr.Wiley asked why they didn't go to the library. Mr. Murdock said these were the two locations where the Police Department had had the most issues. Mr.Wiley asked if they were planning on extending that out. Mr. Murdock said not currently.The Board and staff continued to discuss the Jordan River Trail closure. Ms. Cannon asked what the expected trail closure timeline is. Mr. Murdock said on the public safety closure,they're anticipating three months, and the staff is communicating three to six months based on the construction timeline of projects. Mr. McGill said it's worth examining how the city got here so they can identify other areas and fix these issues before it gets to this point.The Board and staff continued to discuss the Jordan River Trail closure. Ms. Shelley said that Rocky Mountain Power(RMP) has begun their regrading project in the Foothills. Mr. Murdock shared his screen to share photos of the work. Mr. Murdock said staff is working with RMP, and ultimately, RMP is responsible for all the regrading, restoration, and trail reconstruction.They have brought on consultants to assist with this. Mr. Murdock said work still needs to be done. RMP has completed all the regrading and is now working on trail reconstruction. Mr. Murdock said he knows the Board has requested someone from RMP or Public Utilities to provide an update, and he thinks they're at a point where that could happen. Ms. Cannon asked if it's appropriate for the Board to push any complaints from constituents to the RMP page or particular RMP staff. Mr. Murdock said yes and that Public Utilities ultimately has the only enforcement component for this work.The Board and staff continued to discuss the RMP project in the Foothills. Ms. Shelley said the pickleball courts at Glendale are under construction and should be finished by the summer of 2025. Ms. Pehrson asked if that's the same timeline for the playground. Mr. Murdock said no, the pickleball courts will be done before Phase I. Mr. Murdock said they said late summer/early fall for Phase I opening, but everything is on track. Ms. Shelley introduced two new staff members: Kyle Andrew, the new Trails& Natural Lands Operations Manager, and Jana Cunningham,the new Communications Manager. - Introduce new Communications Manager- Kim Shelley 5 mins Ms. Larsen said they would introduce Ms. Cunningham tonight, but she couldn't. PARKS,NATURAL LANDS,URBAN FORESTRYAND TRAILS ADVISORY BOARD of SALT LAKE CITY 5. Staff Presentations, Updates& Discussions 5:35 PM A. Donation Policy Discussion & Updates-Tyler Murdock&Ashlyn Larsen 30 mins Ms. Larsen shared her screen to display the draft donation policy. Ms. Larsen recapped where the staff is at with the donation policy. She said this version is a little different from the previous version they shared a few months ago.The biggest changes are to the Plaques and Memorials section and Tree Donations.After some feedback from the administration, the department decided to incorporate plaques onto benches. Mr. Murdock said they are also broadening their tree donation options.The staff is working on finding places to build two memorial tree groves, which would be dedicated to tree irrigation.Additionally, the staff would like to include a memorial website associated with those donations.The staff knows donors may not want to donate trees in those locations and choose a more specific area.The staff is working on assessing all parks for 2025 and identifying tree locations throughout the City that the staff knows have irrigation. Mr. Murdock said a key issue they face is that in many of their older parks, irrigation is not established to plant trees.The staff would like to add these maps and locations to the donation policy to broaden the locations where people can request and plant trees. Ms. Cannon said that according to the rough draft donation policy for large donations, the Board has a role in approving plaques and memorials. She is concerned that this is not listed under their Power& Duties per City Code for plaques and donations of over$50K. She said the Board might not have a consensus regarding these donation requests as a Board. Mr. Murdock said he thinks there'd have to be some ordinance changes to be implemented associated with this as there are tight restrictions on plaque donations and defining significance, per City Code, and who determines that. Mr. Murdock thinks that the Board's participation in donations needs to be updated in the City Code and its bylaws. Mr. Murdock said what he would like to discuss this evening is the role the Board would like to play in donations.The Board and staff continued to discuss the draft donation policy. Mr. Murdock said unless the Board wants to see plaques and memorial requests from staff for donations, the City Code wouldn't need to change, and it is done on the Department level to determine significance. Ms. Pehrson asked if donation updates could be included in the monthly packet.The Board and staff continued to discuss the draft donation policy. Mr. McGill asked if the Board's approval would be binding, like a Planning Commission. Ms. Cannon said the City Council could still vote against it, even if they provided a letter.A letter of support from the Board could give staff extra support when donating to the City Council. Mr. Bloch agreed with Ms. Cannon that the Board does not have approval authority over donations and liked the idea of a monthly list of donations. Ms. Cannon thinks it should be this way for small and large donations. Ms. Cannon thinks it's appropriate for the Board to review large donations, but staff might not necessarily get their approval in a letter format. Mr. Murdock said no to small donations, but the staff would like to explore the Board's role in larger donations. Mr. Murdock highlighted recent large donation requests that have come to staff over the last few months, such as the International Peace Gardens, Foothills Natural Area, and Curtis Park. He sees these numbers growing as staff looks to establish more private partnerships for public spaces for maintenance and care. Mr. Murdock said one of the challenges with these donation requests is for spaces that do not have existing master plans,which can make it challenging and subjective for staff to accept donations that perhaps don't align with the existing character and nature of public spaces. Staff needs to determine how to process these donations in places that don't have existing master plans. Mr. Murdock continued to summarize the draft policy for large donations. PARKS,NATURAL LANDS,URBAN FORESTRYAND TRAILS ADVISORY BOARD of SALT LAKE CITY Ms. Binnebose asked who would be responsible for the evaluation and feasibility of a donation request if it is not aligned with the Reimagine Nature Plan. Mr. Murdock said that's another reason the staff wants to implement a new policy: to determine responsibility.The staff recommends that the donor is primarily responsible. Staff can provide the framework for what would be required and the deliverables they want to see at the end of that conclusion. Ms. Cannon asked if there's future flexibility in implementing a public parks foundation into this policy. Mr. Murdock said yes, as this is an internal policy. Mr. McGill asked if this was an internal document or for the donor; in his eyes, it's not very friendly. He also wondered if donors get the same tax benefits for their donations. He suggested making a donor-friendly donation policy and adding a section highlighting why people want to donate to parks. Mr. Murdock said it's meant to be internal and very process-focused. Mr. Murdock agrees that there needs to be an outside- facing process, especially for the large donations. Mr. Bloch shared he's aware of the pause staff have placed on some of the International Peace Garden donations, and other donations are moving forward. Mr. Murdock said they're trying to find an avenue to process some donations while the policy is still being created. Ms. Binnebose asked why the staff had paused some large donation requests but not others. Mr. Murdock said for the ASANA donation for Curtis Park at Foothill Village, the contractors are on the ground and ready to build improvements in the park, and if the Department doesn't move forward, it won't happen. Ultimately, the Mayor needs to approve the donation agreement. Ms. Cannon said she wants to return the discussion to Mr. Murdock's initial question on how the Board wants to be involved in this donation process. Mr. McGill said he thinks the Board needs to strengthen its oversight and advisory role, so he would motion that the Board do, as requested, the letter of support or approval and have that within its purview for large donations and something educational for smaller. Ms. Binnebose asked if approval would be unanimous or a majority vote as there may be some issues with consensus for certain donations. Ms. Pehrson said if it was unanimous,the Board could do a letter of support. Ms. Cannon said she's hearing a preference for a vote on a large donation, not just discussion and review. Ms. Cannon said they can write a letter of support without taking a Board vote. Ms. Binnebose asked if they would want it to say approval or recommendation. Mr. Bloch said, in theory,the process could be the donor presents to the Board, the Board votes on whether to write a letter of support and if it's unanimous,the Board writes a letter of support. Ms. Cannon said,for clarity,that it's not within the Board's authority to approve the donation. Mr. Wiley asked if it was the lack of a master plan for the Peace Gardens that was holding up the donations. Mr. Murdock said the proposals for the Peace Gardens donation example are significant. They haven't had an expansion of the Peace Gardens for 30-40 years, and close to 90% of their parks don't have individual master plans, so that would apply to any other park. Mr. Wiley asked if there was a plan for putting master plans together. Mr. Murdock said the Reimagine Nature Master Plan addresses regional, large, and some community parks.Then, smaller planning efforts loop in neighborhoods or pocket parks with one guiding document.The staff requests funding to create master plans, but those aren't always funded.All the regional parks have their master plan.The Board and staff continued to discuss the draft donation policy. Ms. Cannon asked for more information regarding donated trees, but the only section did not address vandalism or funds for continued maintenance.Will the donor replace it or Public Lands? Mr. Murdock said that's something they can take back to Urban Forestry. Every year, Urban Forestry is looking for places to replace existing trees. Mr. Murdock thinks this is something that can be replaced internally. Mr. Bloch asked about master plans and the level of detail for each master plan. Mr. Murdock said they can get detailed on that for regional or PARKS,NATURAL LANDS,URBAN FORESTRYAND TRAILS ADVISORY BOARD of SALT LAKE CITY neighborhood parks. He noted that the Foothills Master Plan will probably never have the level of detail compared to a park like the Peace Gardens. Mr. Murdock said the staff would want to bring requests that are not specific enough in the broad master plan to the Board. B. Staff Updates. -Ashlyn Larsen 5 mins Ms. Larsen reminded the board that today was the day to submit OPMA training certificates to her. She said she would send out another reminder in her meeting recap. Ms. Larsen said she would email people individually who still owe their OPMA training to her. Ms. Binnebose asked if there was a way to automate a completion email after completing the training. Ms. Larsen said it's a state website, but it's feedback they could pass up. Ms. Pehrson suggested that the board complete their OPMA training during the annual retreat, and those who do not attend the retreat can complete the training online. 6. Board Discussion 6:35 PM A. Committee Reporting 10 mins Foothills Committee Mr. Bloch said that at the retreat, the Board voted to approve a letter to the Department stating they should establish a working group for the Foothills. He has been working with staff, and a letter has been drafted. He invited Board members to look at this letter in the Drive. It does not need a second vote; the plan is to have Ms. Nakamura sign it at the next meeting. Mr. Murdock said they've had two meetings with larger stakeholder groups in the Foothills. One of the priorities this year is to develop a formal management agreement for all the Foothill natural areas that make up all the different landowners and jurisdictions (Forest Service, State Parks, Public Lands, Public Utilities, and the University of Utah).All the groups are excited about the agreement and are working on language right now. Mr. Bloch and Mr. Murdock continued to provide updates regarding the Foothills Committee and working group. Jordan River Committee Ms. Pehrson is working on connecting with staff to talk about some of the events happening on the Jordan River. Mr. Murdock said Ms. Maponga is not the point person for engagement events for the Jordan River. Mr. Murdock said there are some upcoming stewardship events. Ms. Pehrson said it was regarding the five locations with projects. Mr. Murdock said he would follow up with Ms. Maponga. Communications Committee Ms. Binnebose said they took the month off after all their work for the budget prioritization letter.They are excited to meet Ms. Cunningham to see how they can support communications. Bylaws Committee Ms. Cannon said there were no updates from the Bylaws Committee. Ms. Cannon shared with new Board members that per the Bylaws, each member must serve on one Committee. Mr. McGill asked about the possibility of creating a Golf update. SCAAM P Ms. Cannon said there were no updates, but she will have more information after the survey closes next month. Urban Trails Committee Ms. Binnebose said they did not meet in March. Ms. Cannon said in February 2024, she wanted to see more involvement with Golf since it's under Public Lands. She worked with the Golf Director, Mr. Matt Kammeyer,to identify an PARKS,NATURAL LANDS,URBAN FORESTRYAND TRAILS ADVISORY BOARD of SALT LAKE CITY appropriate scope. She also worked with researchers to define a scope, but what was created wasn't possible. By code, there is supposed to be a Golf Advisory Committee, but the Mayor hasn't established that, as there's been a lot of history around the previous Golf Advisory Committee.There is a role PNUT could play in creating a committee to support Mr. Kammeyer and his team. She's unsure what the scope looks like, but Ms. Bailey provided some information in the packet. Mr. McGill shared that he sees and understands all the environmental benefits that golf courses provide. He's seen other cities find ways to repurpose golf courses. He would love to see ways for the golf courses to be used to increase diverse use and connectivity with potential trails.That way, citizens who don't golf can use those spaces. Mr. McGill also suggested an Urban Forestry Committee or some combo with Golf.The Board and staff continued to discuss a possible Golf Committee. B. Board comments and question period & Request for future agenda items 10 mins Ms. Larsen said the Board has requested a Special Events Permitting update. Mr. Murdock said Citywide Communications could come and present the new Civic Engagement/Public Engagement Software.This software would be public facing so you can see the status of any project happening in the City in one location. Ms. Pehrson asked if that is ready for May. Mr. Murdock said they have a contractor lined up with possibly a preliminary go-live in June. Ms. Cannon asked Mr. Murdock if Mr. Millar provides him updates to share with the Board. Mr. Murdock said there are specific requests; Mr. Millar can provide updates via presentation or written updates. Mr. Murdock said the Fairmont Park engagement and the Allen Park RFP are some big updates.The Board and staff discussed how the Department uses contractors.The Board suggested a high-level flowchart of a project from start to finish. Mr. Bloch suggested making the written updates more robust and having each Director provide a monthly written update. Mr. Murdock said they have a Division Director meeting a week after PNUT and share PNUT requests there. Ms. Cannon said it would be great if it could be a new practice for each Division to provide its own monthly paragraph update.The Board and staff continued to discuss written updates. Mr. Bloch asked how some Federal legislative decisions are going to impact the Department. Mr. Murdock and Ms. Shelley said no Federal legislative bills impact them, but there are some State legislative bills, such as transportation and street design. Mr. Murdock said someone from Transportation could possibly come and present on these impacts.The Board and staff continued to discuss legislative bills. Ms. Cannon asked if there needs to be any updates from the new City attorney. Ms. Larsen said they'd brought the attorney to the retreat as some Board members requested it to better understand the Board's powers and duties. Mr. Murdock said one thing the attorney brought up in that meeting was open space acquisition and disposal. He thinks this would be a good topic to bring as an agenda item.The Board discussed having a field trip and hosting their meetings at another location. Ms. Binnebose asked if the Department has an internal process for what's going on with the legislature and how they use that information to make decisions. Mr. McGill asked about Fleetblock. Ms. Cannon invited Mr.Alfandre and Mr. McGill to review prior agendas and meetings for some of these other topics. C. Board Engagement Opportunities/Requests 5 mins D. Next meeting: May 1, 2025 Ms. Binnebose motioned to adjourn the meeting, and Ms. Pontuti seconded.The Board unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting. PARKS,NATURAL LANDS,URBAN FORESTRY AND TRAILS ADVISORY BOARD of SALT LAKE CITY 7. Adjourn