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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMMPC.2010.0126.Minutes AIN ' TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE ,`, - MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN PRESERVATION COMMISSION �y,/ i ono 'hat is A,‘" January 26,2010 A public meeting of the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission was convened and called to order by MMPC Chair Bill Myers at 5:30 PM,Tuesday,January 26,2010 in the Council Chambers at Town Hall,located at 16705 East Avenue of the Fountains,Fountain Hills,Arizona. Call to Order — Roll Call: Present at roll call were the following members of the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission: Chair Bill Myers, Vice-Chair Steve Fleming, Commissioners Elena Torre, Curt Cornum, Bob Sanders, Tom Barberic and Lina Bellenir. Staff members present were Director,Mark Mayer, and Executive Assistant,Susan Gill. Chair Myers advised the Commission that Vice-Chair Fleming had recently been appointed the new Chair of the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills, and is also on the Board of Directors for the McDowell Park Association. AGENDA ITEM#1: CALL TO THE PUBLIC No one answered the Call to the Public. AGENDA ITEM#2: CONSIDERATION OF ELECTION OF A CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR Commissioner Tone made a motion to reappoint Commissioner Myers as Chair, Commissioner Barberic fikconded; the motion was made and carried 7:0 to reappoint Commissioner Myers as Chair. Commissioner Barberic made a motion to reappoint Commissioner Fleming as Vice-Chair, Commissioner Tone seconded; the motion was made and carried 7:0 to reappoint Commissioner Fleming as Vice-Chair. AGENDA ITEM #3: CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 24,2009 REGULAR MEETING Commissioner Tone made a motion to approve the minutes, Commissioner Barberic seconded, the motion was made and carried 7:0 to approve the November 24, 2009 minutes as submitted. AGENDA ITEM #4: PRESENTATION BY AUDRA KOESTER THOMAS ON THE TOWN'S STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE Ms. Koester Thomas,the Chair of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission,provided a handout and gave a brief overview of the 2009-2010 Strategic Plan Update which included information on the process,purpose, and results of Phases I and II. Ms. Koester Thomas explained that the Strategic Plan is a plan for the entire community and when completed will consist of the following four phases; • Phase I- Strategic Plan Audit(June-July 2009) • Phase II-Education and Affirmation (August-July 2009): Visioning Report • Phase III-Construction (January-March 2010): Draft Plan Update • Phase IV - Plan Adoption (April 2010) Its. Koester Thomas allowed for brief questions and answers following her presentation. McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes for January 26,2010 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM #5: PRESENTATION BY FIRE CHIEF ON EMERGENCY ACCESS PROCEDURES IN THE PRESERVE • - Assistant Fire Chief, Randy Roberts, gave a brief PowerPoint presentation covering mountain rescue in our trail system and discussed the Fire Department's level of preparedness for hiker assistance in the Preserve. Assista> Fire Chief Roberts advised that as more people discover our wonderful trail system, and as new trailheads ar developed, they anticipate that trail usage and medical emergencies on the trails will go up. Long range needs will include increased training, more equipment, and increased personnel. A brief discussion followed the presentation and several Commissioners had questions which Assistant Fire Chief Roberts answered. Commissioner Sanders briefly discussed the volunteer efforts to complete the ongoing installation of signage in the Preserve, and indicated that by the end of January approximately 60% of the intended directional and location identifying signage planned for the Preserve would be installed. Vice-Chair Fleming mentioned that he had recently gone through the Preserve with Captain Golden of the Fountain Hills Fire Department's Station 2 to determine potential GPS locations along the trails. Once the Preserve signage is completed the various GPS locations of various points along the trails would be marked on a large map, which would provide the Fire Department with very specific information on the location of any needed calls for assistance. Vice-Chair Fleming added that he has also been working with the Fire Department staff to locate a number of potential helicopter landing zones in the Preserve which would be identified on the map as well. AGENDA ITEM#6: UPDATE FROM THE RESEARCH WORK GROUPS 1) McDowell Mountains State Trust Land Chair Myers and Vice-Chair Fleming 2) Temporary Access to the Preserve Commissioner Sanders 3) Public Awareness of the Preserve Vice-Chair Fleming, Commissioners Comum and Barberic • McDowell Mountains State Trust Land Vice-Chair Fleming advised the Commission that he and Chair Myers along with Commissioner Comum had recently met with Scott Hamilton, chief Trail Planner, for the City of Scottsdale. Vice-Chair Fleming informed the Commission that Mr. Hamilton had mentioned that two trail extensions from the Quartz Trail, one up to Thompson Peak and the other back to the Lost Dog Trail had recently been approved. Both trail extensions transverse State Trust Land. However, the State has a trail specialist, and Scottsdale does not anticipate any problems building the trails. Temporary Access to the Preserve: Commissioner Sanders did not have an update Public Awareness of the Preserve: Commissioner Comum did not have an update. Chair Myers observed that there are more citizens becoming aware of the benefits of the Preserve and thanked Commissioners Comum, Barberic, and Vice-Chair Fleming for their involvement with this endeavor. Commissioner Barberic requested that an agenda item to discuss a potential future Youth Commissioner for the MMPC be placed on the February 23, 2010 Joint Town Council/MMPC meeting. AGENDA ITEM#7: CONSIDERATION OF PURCHASING A TOOL BOX AND TOOLS FOR USE BY THE SONORAN CONSERVANCY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS TRAIL MAINTENANCE CREWS Vice-Chair Fleming asked the Commission to consider the purchase of a tool box and tools to be left up in the preserve. The box would be buried and out of sight but available for trail maintenance crew use. Vice-Chair Fleming explained that hauling tools in and out is quite tiring, and expends energy on non productive efforts. McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes for January 26,2010 Page 2 Chair Myers made a motion to approve the recommendation to purchase a tool box and tools, Commissioner R►arberic seconded; the motion was made and carried 7:0 to approve the purchase of a tool box and tools and to add additional funds to the preliminary budget request letter for Council's review. CGENDA ITEM #8: CONSIDERATION OF A PRESERVE BUDGET LETTER TO THE TOWN COUNCIL Chair Myers briefly reviewed the letter he drafted and asked for a motion to approve the letter for distribution to the Mayor and Council. After a brief discussion the Commission decided to amend the letter to include additional funds of$1,000 for trail maintenance tools. Commissioner Barberic made a motion to approve the budget letter as amended,Vice-Chair Fleming seconded;the motion was made and carried 7:0 to approve the Preserve budget letter for distribution to the Mayor and Council. AGENDA ITEM #9: CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTING A BENCH FROM THE SONORAN CONSERVANCY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS TO BE PLACED AT THE TOP OF THE SONORAN TRAIL Vice-Chair Fleming briefly discussed Roy Kinsey's offer,representing the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills, to donate to the Town a maintenance free bench to be installed by the Conservancy at the top of the Sonoran Trail. Director Mayer mentioned that he had some concerns with regard to durability and vandalism issues of the bench because it has wood slats. Director Mayer suggested that perhaps the bench could be modified by using a plastic recycled material. The Commission concurred with this suggestion and a motion was made, seconded, and carried 7:0 to accept the bench as modified,from Roy Kinsey on behalf of the Sonoran Conservancy. AGENDA ITEM#10: DISCUSSION OF FOUNTAIN HILLS GREAT FAIR,FEBRUARY 26-28,2010 Vice-Chair Fleming briefly discussed the upcoming Great Fair and advised the Commissioners that he would e- mail them a sign-up sheet to work the MMPC table in two(2)hour shifts instead of four(4)hour shifts as was done previous fairs. Commissioner Torre suggested that perhaps a fundraiser for the Fire Department to purchase emergency equipment could be held at the next Fountain Festival of Arts and Crafts in November 2010. AGENDA ITEM #11: UPDATE ON PROCESS TO CONNECT TO CITY OF SCOTTSDALE'S TRAIL SYSTEM Director Mayer mentioned that he had recently been in contact with Scott Hamilton, Scottsdale's staff liaison for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission, to discuss the process to connect to Scottsdale's trail system. Mr. Hamilton indicated that he was familiar with what connections the MMPC was interested in and recommended that the MMPC submit a couple of their requests to him and he would submit them through Scottsdale's formalized process for potential approval by their Commission and City Council. Mr. Hamilton indicated that Scottsdale has a broader scope of use for their trails, such as allowing horses on the trails, than Fountain Hills does and that the Town of Fountain Hills will need to consider this. Chair Myers advised the Commission that he has scheduled a joint meeting between the MMPC and the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission to discuss joint trail connections and other items at Scottsdale's March 4, 2010 Work Study meeting. Additional details of the meeting will be sent to the Commission at a later date. Chair Myers noted that he and several of the other Commissioners had met several times over the past year and a half with Scott Hamilton,his boss Bill Murphy, and other City of Scottsdale employees to discuss trail connectivity issues. •GENDA ITEM#12: UPDATE ON PRESERVE DEVELOPMENT Chair Myers advised the Commission that he had recently met with the Town's Community Affairs/Media Relations Administrator,Katie Decker to discuss a potential flier for the Preserve. McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes for January 26,2010 Page 3 After a brief discussion Commissioners Tone and Cornum said they would be interested in meeting with.Ms._ Decker to help develop a Preserve flier. Several of the Commissioners briefly discussed the idea of possibly having a few Boy Scouts do a head count o the number of people entering the Preserve on a given day. Commissioner Bellenir indicated she would be interested in participating if the Commission decided to do this. Commissioner Sanders mentioned that approximately 40% of the remaining directional and location identifying signage installations for the Preserve would be completed over the next several weeks. AGENDA ITEM #13: DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR FEBRUARY 23, 2010 JOINT COMMISSION AND TOWN COUNCIL MEETING Director Mayer advised the Commission that the joint meeting is an opportunity for the Commission to engage in an open discussion with the Town Council on areas of importance to the MMPC. Director Mayer added that typically the meeting should be between forty-five minutes to an hour in length. After a brief discussion the Commission requested the following items be placed on the agenda for the February 23, 2010 Joint Commission/Town Council meeting: 1. Discussion of Budget Request Letter 2. Review Accomplishments in the Preserve 3. Update on Status of Preserve Signage 4. Discussion of Trail Connectivity with Scottsdale 5. Discussion of Memo of Understanding(MOU)with Maricopa County's McDowell Regional Park 6. Update on Preserve Flier 7. Discussion of the possible addition of a Youth Commissioner to the MMPC AGENDA ITEM#14: CONSIDERATION OF ADJOURNMENT A motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Tone; Commissioner Cornum seconded; the motion was made and carried 7:0 to adjourn the meeting at 7:00 PM. Next meeting: February 23,2010—Joint Meeting with Town Council at 5:30 p.m. McDow Mountain Preservation Commission By: ill Myers, h it Reviewed by: Mark C.Mayer,Director of Par d Recreation Prepared by: .0.L/IZZ Susan Gill,Executive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Regular Meeting held on January 26, 2010. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. By: -Susan Gill,Executive Assistant McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes for January 26,2010 Page 4