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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMMPC.2018.0522.Minutes/TArNy` z 3 \� opt ghat is XT , TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN PRESERVATION COMMISSION MAY 229 2018 AGENDA ITEM #1: CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE A public meeting of the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission was convened and called to order by Vice -Chair Tom Barberic at 4:59 p.m., Tuesday, May 22, 2018 in the Council Chambers at Town Hall, located at 16705 East Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Hills, Arizona. AGENDA ITEM #2: ROLL CALL Present at roll call were Vice -Chair Tom Barberic, Commissioners Tom Aiello, Bill Craig, Stan Ruden, Klaus Schadle and Ken Thornton. Absent at roll call was Chair Bill Myers. Staff members present were Community Services Advisory Director Rachael Goodwin and Executive Assistant Jennifer Lyons. AGENDA ITEM #3: CALL TO THE PUBLIC No one from the public wished to speak. AGENDA ITEM #4: _ CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MARCH 28, 2018 AND APRIL 18, 2018 MEETING MINUTES Commissioner Schadle made a motion to accept the minutes of the March 28, 2018 and April 18, 2018 meetings, Commissioner Ruden seconded and the motion passed by unanimous vote. AGENDA ITEM #5: UPDATE ON THE 2018 MMPC OBJECTIVES There were no reported updates. AGENDA ITEM #6: UPDATE ON THE LOWER SONORAN TRAIL SIGNS Town GIS Technician/CAD Operator Ken Valverde is making progress and needs some questions finalized by Director Goodwin and Parks Supervisor Snipes. The signs are indicated in this year's budget cycle so there is somewhat of a deadline to get them done. We expect to receive the signs over the summer, but whether we want to install them over the summer or wait until fall is a different question and it also depends on access. AGENDA ITEM #7: UPDATE ON THE UPDATED MAP STATUS Director Goodwin advised that the maps are being updated in conjunction with the signs. AGENDA ITEM #8: UPDATE ON TRAIL COUNTERS Commissioner Ruden reported that two of the counters are working and two are not. He also handed out a report of the trail counts and it is attached to the minutes. The estimates listed on the report are guesses and should be able to be updated in the future when we have a full year of data. It is impressive that in March the reading was almost at 10,000 and a year ago it was at 8,150 on the Lake Overlook Trail, but in February we had less than a year ago. McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Page 1 of 5 G:Commission MMPCWgenda & MinutesWinut&2018/052118M AGENDA ITEM #9: UPDATE ON THE NEXT TRAILHEAD VISIT BY COUNCIL AND OTHERS There has not been a date identified by Council and others for a Trailhead visit. We are at a point in construction where there is a lot going on, but perhaps we could put together something in early to mid June before Council goes on break. The Commission confirmed they would still be interested in a making a visit if it could not be coordinated with Council. AGENDA ITEM #10: UPDATE ON THE SONORAN CONSERVANCY • They are currently working on getting armbands for the Trailhead stewards and possibly ones that we can use for the hiking stewards. • The hiking schedule for next year is also being worked on. • The video that Paul Garvey put together will be shared to with Council. • 31 volunteers helped with trail building this year for a total of approximately 515 hours of voluntary service. • Commissioner Craig hosted a potluck for everyone at his house. • Board member Bill Schmidt is working on an education program that we would like to set up once we get the Trailhead up there. He is meeting tomorrow with a teacher from the high school to see if we can make some coordination program between the Conservancy and the high school or the middle school. • The Diamonte Del Lago area by the "Lake Overlook Trail", their representative from the board got in touch with Commissioner Craig and he informed her that we were more towards having an opening to the "Lake Overlook Trail" over at the end of El Pueblo. They were against that because they would have to do a lot of work, so right now the ball is back in their court. AGENDA ITEM #11: DISCUSSION ON OR CODES AND SIGNS The existing codes do not operate but we do have our website which is the landing place for where we want them to go. We cannot reprogram the existing codes so we would need to develop a new code. The question came up as to if a QR code is the right thing to use or if there is better technology. If we want to continue with the QR technology then we will want to replace the sticker that is on there. Director Goodwin will get with Ken Valverde about adding this to his "to do" list. AGENDA ITEM #12: DISCUSSION ON THE MMPC 2018-2019 BUDGET Since the property tax did not pass, there will be a re-examination of the budget. The first of the discussions begins tomorrow at the staff level. Council will have to adopt the budget in June before the fiscal year that starts July 1. Council has the proposed budget and it is a priority to have the Trailhead completed and to fund the temporary restrooms in that location until we get the permanent ones. AGENDA ITEM #13: UPDATE ON THE ADERO CANYON TRAILHEAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT Director Goodwin addressed the article in the "Times" last week. Bob Burns from the "Times" did a site visit with our Public Works Director and as they were talking the topic came up as to what would happen when this roadway goes under construction. We are still working through as to if there would be access to the Trailhead because there is still a lot of questions and not a whole lot of answers. It would depend on timing and what is going on. In the agreement there are some provisions made that when the roadway is under construction that Toll Brothers will provide a pedestrian or bicycle trail for access. The question right now is timeline and we don't have an answer right now. McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Page 2 of 5 G: Commission MMMAgenda & MinutesWinut&2018/052218M Director Goodwin responded to the Commissioner's questions: • The contractor has submitted their first set of plans and they have been reviewed and they have gone back to the contractor. As many of you know and have been in this business before that there may be many sets that go back and forth, but hopefully no more than two to three sets at the most. It is our understanding that Toll Brothers is motivated to get this done because the main road (Eagle Ridge) is the supplier to the other home sites and they have to get that done to reach into the new locations. What is most concerning for this group is how it will affect our dedication if the roadway is torn up during our expected timeline. We would have to come up with a "Plan B". After speaking with The Town Manager and letting him know where we are at in the planning stages he would like to join us for the next planning meeting to chime in on some of the details. He would like us to hopefully have the dedication while our current Town Council is still seated because a number of our current members are not returning or running again. A new Council will be initiated in December. • As for controlling to when access can be provided. After the next set of plans comes in and we get a better feel of when everyone is ready to move forward, Director Goodwin and the Public Works Director would like to meet with the engineers for Toll Brothers to discuss what it is we actually need and how we can do something that is viable. The Town cannot require access. • Utilities: Once the road is started the utilities would be in sooner than we thought, but that is contingent on them getting it all in and inspected. • Hiking schedule for next year: Carol is anxious to get the schedule in this (fall) edition of "The Loop" and that is what is driving some of the deadlines. The deadline for that is in late July and we mostly likely won't have any answers by that point in terms of dates, times and accessibility. Our suggestion is potentially putting in the hikes with a starting point to be determined (TBD), trails are hopefully to originate from the Adero Canyon Trailhead but please check our website the week of the hike to confirm. This is a tentative plan and is subject to change, please be aware. • Trailhead completion: The actual construction level is still projected to be finished in late summer or early fall. • Construction status: The restroom building is in progress right now and the walls are up. We had quite a bit of discussion about the drinking fountain and the roofing material out there. The beams are in place for the ramada and we discussed the roofing that as well. Curbing and gutter is being poured in the next week or two on pretty much the entire site. Conduit was laid for the electrical access. We had some things held up, but those have been rectified. There was an issue with the concrete on the restroom floor and that had to be removed and re -poured. We have had some issues with details where they are not reading the plans at the detail level. For instance the conduit went in and it was three quarter inch and it needed to be an inch. The drinking fountain was designed to be recessed into the wall and the wall depth is not there enough to completely recess it so it has to be modified to be semi -recessed. It is not necessarily a big deal but it slows up things because we need to figure out how to fix it. The gate has been at the discussion level in trying to figure if we have the proper gate up there because we know we don't have power to know the gate is secure and if it is accessible by fire (Fire Department) if they had to get through it for some reason. The steel is on order for the gate. They are behind on delivery of a lot of the steel elements. The gabion baskets are all in and they are getting ready to pour the wall and the seats for the top caps of them. They are getting ready to build the gabion frontage for the front of the restroom building. • Irrigation and planting: There are three options that we are pricing out. One of them is to set up an irrigation drip system that operates off of a tank that remains on site and we make arrangements McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Page 3 of 5 G: Commission MMPOAgenda & MinutesWinut&20181051118M to have the tank filled. It would use the existing system that is there. Secondly we have what our Public Works Director calls a "water buffalo" which is a tow behind water tank that we can utilize through staff and/or hook that up and use as our watering system but it would take more trips up there. Lastly we are looking at a dry drip or dry well system. It is essentially a submerged gel -like container that gets submerged around the plantings and absorbs into the ground naturally over the course of three weeks to a month. Then they get pulled and replaced. It stays there and moderates itself. The flood district uses them and some of the newer builds in Scottsdale uses them. The contractor is liable for them for the first 90 days from when we (the Town) accept the project. Exit from the Trailhead to the trails: There has been some discussion on where that will start but there hasn't been much progress. AGENDA ITEM #14: CONSIDERATION OF ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Craig made a motion to adjourn at 5:38 p.m., Commissioner Schadle seconded and the motion passed by unanimous vote. Reviewed by: McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission 0 Tom Barberic, Vice -Chair Rachael Goodwiiylkrector of Community Services Prepared by: Jennife Lyons, cutive sistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Meeting held on May 22, 2018. I further certify that the meeting as duly called and that a quorum was present. 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