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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMMPC.2020.1130.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN PRESERVATION COMMISSION NOVEMBER 30, 2020 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Garvey called the meeting of Monday, November 30, 2020, to order at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall, located at 16705 East Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Hills, Arizona. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Chairman Paul Garvey; Vice Chairman Scott Grzybowski; Commissioner Thomas Aiello; Commissioner Tom Barberic; Commissioiner Bill Craig; Commissioner Janice Holden; Commissioner DJ Willard Staff Community Services Director Rachael Goodwin; Senior Services Supervisor Present: Jennifer Lyons 3. CALL TO THE PUBLIC There was no comments from the citizens present. 4. CONSIDERATION of Approving the November 2, 2020 Meeting Minutes Chairman Garvey stated minutes not completed and deferred item to next meeting agenda. 5. DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION of 2021 Meeting Dates Chairman Garvey stated that the 2021 meeting dates are listed and that dates can be revised as needed. (See Attachment 1) MOVED BY Commissioner Tom Barberic, SECONDED BY Commissioner DJ Willard Vote: 7 - 0 - Unanimously 6. DISCUSSION of Potential New Trailhead and Trail from Sunridge Drive Ms. Goodwin explained that staff is looking at a new access point into the McDowell Mountain Preserve. She emphasized that the access point will not be referred to as a trailhead due to the fact, that the entrance would be for community access and would be located at corner of Sunridge Drive and Desert Canyon Drive. She pointed out that the blue lines represent a potential future park and the white and orange lines represent the possible options for a new access(es) and new trail.(s) She added that the process will include the Trailblazers, staff, and Council approval. (See Attachment 2) Commissioner Craig pointed out that the orange line has trail easement access from the subdivision whereas the white line does not. He added that each line (trail) can be connected to the red line which represents the Ridgeline Trail. He noted that the black line is another trail option to be hiked through the canyon versus on the ridgeline in addition all the trails presented do connect so could make loop trails too. In response to a question posed by Commissioner Aiello, Commissioner Craig responded that the mileage up is estimated at .5 miles in terms of the loop. In response to questions from Commissioner Barberic, Ms. Goodwin reported that parking may allow up to 20 spaces and that the Homeowner's Association (HOA) has not been contacted at this time. Commissioner Barberic stated that he is concerned on adding more trails due to the fact that the Town has eight (8) miles of trail of the 835 acres within the Preserve. He pointed out that the City of Scottsdale has 30,500 acres and 225 miles of trails which is .007 miles per acre and our Town has 50% more. He noted that he is okay with this potential addition of two (2) more miles within the Preserve. Commissioner Willard commented that he is for the new trails and that the comparison with the City of Scottsdale is not fair due to difference in density and terrain. Ms. Goodwin added that the reason for more trails is that the residents through the Public Survey feedback from the Community Services Parks, Trails, and Recreation Master Plan are requesting more trails and connectivity. She pointed out that the Master Plan is not complete, however, this is one of the largest requests from the survey results. In response to a question from Commissioner Barberic, Ms. Goodwin reported that the potential park would be completed potentially in the next 2-3 years which would be in tandem of the trail build too. She pointed out that the trail(s) will be labeled as a difficult to hike. Chairman Garvey explained that conversations with SCFH have been discussed on density and that there are trails that can be done with the Town's section of the Preserve and that the trail(s) in discussion are a unique view into the preserve. Discussion ensued relative to COVID, Trailblazer workers, trail work, new trail building, and maintenance. Ms. Goodwin stated that for the new park that fees would come out of the Development Fund which is dedicated to the Community Services and can only be used for specific items, such as a new park. She added that the funds have a time limit from when acquired to around 10 years to be spent and some funding is set to expire. She pointed out that the funds cannot be spent on rehabbing existing parks, etc. 7. DISCUSSION of Lower Ridgeline Trail Construction Plans Chairman Garvey emphasized the need to determine a plan on the priorities of the Trailblazers and SCFH prior to breaking ground on the Lower Ridgeline Trail. In response to question posed by Commissioner Craig, Chairman Garvey confirmed that even if Council approves the realignment of the Lower Ridgeline Trail that the Trailblazers should put a hold on starting the trail and first determine the other external influences that may impact the volunteers that would work on the trail. Discussion ensued relative to SCFH directions versus Town's direction on priorities, HOA regulations and Town regulations on use of washes as part of trails. Ms. Goodwin suggested that a future meeting or create a workgroup to discuss priorities. Chairman Garvey stated that with tonight's discussion the start of Lower Ridgeline Trail should start if approved at the December 15, 2020 Council meeting due to the fact that the new trail off of Sunridge Drive potentially would not start unti Fall of 2021. 8. DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION of Additional Trail Counter Needs Chairman Garvey stated that a suggestion was made to place a trail counter on Ridgeline Trail entrance, however, the trail counters are set up by sections and explained each section. He suggested that placing a trail counter at the entrance of the parking lot would be beneficial to count the cars entering. Commissioner Craig pointed out that the City of Scottsdale has started placing counters at trailhead entrances. He added that the trail counter's replacement parts are no longer supplied by the company and mentioned that the lenses fog up over time. Chairman Garvey suggested trying to replace the lenses with plexiglass. MOVED BY Vice Chairman Scott Grzybowski, SECONDED BY Commissioner Tom Barberic to approve an additional trail counter to be placed at the entrance of the Adero Canyon Trailhead (ACT) parking lot. Vote: 7 - 0 - Unanimously 9. UPDATE on Non -Native Plants Assessment Plan Commissioner Holden commented that there are eight (8) volunteers for the non-native plant's assessment plan, which include volunteers from MMPC, SCFH, and the Public. She noted that the volunteers will meet on December 9, 2020 with a representative of Desert Defenders at ACT to learn how to use the ArcGIS Collector App that assists on identifying the non-native plants. Discussion ensued on the amount of non-native plants within the Preserve, the effects of not having rain, and if there is enough to be seen due to lack of rain. 10. DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION of a Conservation Guide for the Preserve Chairman Garvey explained that the purpose of the Conservation Guide is to provide an overall direction on where the MMPC and/or SCFH would like the Preserve to go. He stated that this would include defining the vision of the Preserve and in addition capturing all the decisions the MMPC and/or SCFH make on items such as trail design, density, signage, and emergency markers which will be placed into the operations guide section. (See Attachment 3) Discussion ensued relative to what should be specifically included in the Conservation Guide, guidelines on trails within the guide, and objective material to be in the guide. Chairman Garvey suggested having meeting(s) just to speak upon the history of the trails, preservation, etc. in order to gather the information needed from Commissioner's that have the knowledge of the history to include in the guide. Commissioner Craig stated that his concern is time and how far back does the Commission want to go in order to find all the changes and suggested focusing on now and in the future. Chairman Garvey commented that the Commission can look at the Ridgeline trail design aspects such as the low impact, low signage, and high preservation as an approach; and could be the baseline moving forward and what was done 10 years ago could be irrelevant. Chairman Garvey emphasized that the Conservation Guide should be useful and kept to minimal pages. MOVED BY Commissioner Tom Barberic, SECONDED BY Commissioner Janice Holden to approve the creation of the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve Guide (name to be determined) with focus on the two (2) parts: Part 1 - Intent and Guiding Principles and Part 2 - Use, Management, and Implementation. Vote: 7 - 0 - Unanimously 11. UPDATE on Adero Canyon Trailhead Ms. Goodwin commented that the ACT had been busy over the holiday weekend. She confirmed that there is no electricity or sewer up at the trailhead, however, there is water but need the other two items implemented prior to the water being turned on. She pointed out that an expedited process is in place with Salt River Project (SRP) and the Sanitary District with potential progress over the next four (4) weeks. In response to question posed by Commissioner Barberic, Ms. Goodwin responded that as part of the Phase 2 for ACT was to add an upper parking lot closer to the weather station. She noted that amount of funding needed is unknown. Discussion ensued relating to the upper parking lot, cost, stripping, and need for an overflow lot. Chairman Garvey suggested that if overflow parking is needed that additional parking could be addressed down by the cul-de-sac where the bike lane starts and use that area for overflow parking. Further discussion ensued relative to the reasons on the delay of the sewer and electric. Chairman Garvey stated that due to Covid that hosts at the trailhead will not be starting up, however, the SCFH will be introducing a Virtual Host where the hikers can log onto the website provided at the kiosk which will provide tutorials on items like tips on the trails. He added that if maps are out he encourages them to take a picture of the trail map in the kiosk. In response to a question from Chairman Garvey, Ms. Goodwin responded that he can design what they would like in the kiosk to promote the Virtual Host and email herself and Ms. Salentine so the Town can place the Town logo on so it is noted as an official document in the kiosk and staff will place in the kiosk. 12. UPDATE on Community Services Parks, Trails, and Recreation Master Plan Ms. Goodwin stated that the survey results are back with over 800 participants. She explained to the Commission on the amount of raw data received and has asked the consultant to synthesize the information and combine with the focus groups and the inventory assessment to provide findings and recommendations. She noted that she is meeting with the consultant on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 to discuss further. She added that she is anticipating that in the beginning of the new year there should be a findings meeting via zoom where commission members will be invited to participate in and will be notified via email. She commented that from that meeting the final recommendations will be put together that will layout what the Community Services Department should be doing over the next 10 years. In response to a question posed by Commissioner Craig, Ms. Goodwin reported that of the original 7-8 FIT trails, 4 trails have been completed/identified. She explained that the FIT trails are walking paths using existing sidewalks such as the walk around the Fountain is identified as a FIT trail as well as the one set behind Golden Eagle Park. Ms. Goodwin pointed out that Development Services is working on the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) throughout the town which is to assist with connectivity with the bike lanes, bike routes, and sidewalks which FIT trails are being included in this study. She added that there will be a 5, 10, and 15 year priority on the connectivity areas. She suggested that the Commission look at the information provided on the Town's website: https://www.fh.az.gov/720/Active-Transportation-Plan. 13. REVIEW of Trail Counter Activity Chairman Garvey stated that the information is in the packet for their review and added that next month's report will have a new look with updated charts/graphs showing the entire activity for the Town. (See Attachment 4) 14. ADJOURNMENT The McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission adjourned at 6:25 p.m. MOVED BY Commissioner Tom Barberic, SECONDED BY Vice Chairman Scott Grzybowski to adjourn. Vote: 7 - 0 - Unanimously MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN ADVISORY aul Gat4ey, Chairman ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: tPaul, E ecutive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Advisory Commission in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 30th day of November, 2020. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this _> v day of , 2020. � Oa.1 141��0� , Ja ie Pau , Executive Assistant