Parks, Open Space & Trails Committee Report, January 19, 2010

Sugar House Community Council POST Committee Meeting Minutes January 19, 2010 Present: Jan Brittain, Grace Sperry, Michael G. Kavanagh, Sally Barraclough, Lynne Olson, Rawlins Young, Emil Kmet, Ruth Price Excused: Amy Barry, Benny Keele, Pat Denslow-Kilroy, Helen Peters Guests: Lindsey Nesbitt, Open Space Chair Wasatch Community Council             Lex Hemphill, Treasurer and Past President, Sugar House Park Authority Parley’s Historic Nature Park Master Plan: Emil Kmet, Grace Sperry There was a two hour meeting held to work through a portion of the draft of the Master Plan. It has been a slow process so another meeting is scheduled for the week of January 25th. After the draft is completed it will be presented to the Salt Lake City Council and Rick Graham, Director of SLC Public Services. If approved it will be presented for public comment. The master plan will include management strategies for the park, trail rules, recommended use of space, and a maintenance plan. The Parley’s Historic Nature Park Master Plan may later be used to help develop master plans for the other natural areas located within District 7 of Salt Lake City. Introduction of Lindsey Nesbitt, Chair of the Wasatch Community Council Open Space: Lynne Olson Lindsey is the chairperson for the newly created Open Space position on the Wasatch Community Council. She has a PhD in Ecology, and will be acting as a liaison between members of the community and the city in regards to the management of the Wasatch Hollow / Emigration Creek area. The LDS Church donated a tract of land along this corridor to the city. The city has hired a consultant to do management planning . The Salt Lake City web site has a schedule of public meetings to discuss the future management / maintenance of Wasatch Hollow. The SHCC POST committee offered their support for Wasatch Hollow and Lindsey’s work. The county is working on a plan for the management of all waterways that contribute to the Jordan River. Wasatch Hollow was created for flood control and falls within the scope of the county Jordan River contributory plan. Rawlins Young and Dan Bergenthal, city trails manager are planning a spring walk through Wasatch Hollow. Wasatch Hollow Open Space Area is currently not open to the public. Sugar House Park Authority Update: Lex Hemphill The park authority held elections for new officers in January. The new President is Mark Danenhauer, Vice President is Mark Kittrell, and Lex Hemphill is the new Treasurer. Meetings are being moved to the 2nd Thursday of the month in the Garden City building on the Southeast area of the park. No meeting is held in July and November. Status of the SH Park fireworks: In 2009 after it was decided that the park authority budget could no longer support the increasing expenses connected with the fireworks, a letter of financial commitment was sent to both Ralph Becker mayor of Salt Lake City, and Peter Carroon mayor of Salt Lake County asking each for 1/3 of the total cost ($27,000-$30,000 plus $20,000 new fee for police support) of the production. The city verbally agreed to put it in their budget if the county would match funds. The county declined to contribute 1/3 so the park authority decided to issue a permit to allow an outside party to conduct fund raising for the 4th of July fireworks. Lex established criteria for the fireworks production while President of the Park Authority. There were two parties who initially expressed interest but only one attended the presentation meeting. Scott Workman, a local contractor, was awarded the conditional permit to start fund raising activities. He will be investigating options, one of which is the City Special Event Fund which provides money for police services. The fund will pay 70% of the cost of police services up to a maximum of $2,500. Unfortunately that is less than 15% of the cost for fireworks police protection. For more discussion of this and other topics regarding Sugar House Park you can go to their web site sugarhousepark.org. The Park Authority is also working on new names and signage for the terraces. Old Business Report on the Imperial Park Project: Sally Barraclough The Christmas gift donation cards raised approximately $550, less than hoped due to a late start in sales, because of a wait for the State Solicitation Permit. The fund raising team is looking for new opportunities for community fund raising projects for the spring. Fairmont Park: Grace Sperry Grace has determined who she needs to contact within the Utah Historical Society for information regarding Fairmont Park. Unfortunately their limited hours have somewhat deterred her ability to do the research. She will report again in February. North Brickyard Park Project: Lynne Olson Lynne reported that Benny Keele will be conducting a door-to-door survey of the neighborhood to determine interest is opening up discussion of this tabled project. New Business: Vagrancy in Elizabeth Sherman Park: Emil Kmet Emil has taken photos of vagrants setting up camp under the freeway overpass near Elizabeth Sherman Park and the Sugar House Liquor Store. He forwarded them to the SL Police department along with a complaint. This overpass located over Highland Drive is one of the gateways into the Sugar House Business district and has been an area of concern since the completion of the I-80 freeway construction. POST meeting adjourned at 6:05 Next meeting is scheduled for Friday February 19th at 5:00 in the Sprague Library. Please note the day change. All subsequent meetings will be held on the third Monday of each month. Meeting minutes submitted by Sally Barraclough, POST Secretary