Gallatin County, MT - Board of Park Commission November 17, 2010

Board of Park Commission November 17, 2010

Description	Gallatin County Board of Park Commission November 17, 2010
Date	11/17/2010	Location	Board of Park Commission

Time	Speaker	Note
5:06:30 PM	Chair Carol Collins	I. Roll Call. Carol called the meeting to order. There was not a quorum present at the time the meeting was called to order so Chairwoman Collins announced they would jump to the public hearing item to take public comment first. Board members present were Carol Collins, Rick Fink and Suzie Hockel. Staff present was Mike Harris and Recording Secretary Crystal Turner.
5:06:38 PM		Agenda Adjustment: IV. Public Hearing and Decision on First Reading of an Ordinance Restricting Certain Areas of the Gallatin County Regional Park as Dog-on-Leash-Only Areas.
5:06:43 PM		II. There was no public comment on items not on the Board's agenda. Carol reminded the public that without a quorum we would just skip to the presentation regarding dogs-on-leash area in the Regional Park. Carol also reminded the public that this meeting is being recorded and streamed over the internet.
5:07:58 PM	Mike Harris, Open Lands Coordinator	Presentation regarding wetland areas, history of amphitheater/snow sledding area, sedimentation into the ponds, and fish habitat at the Regional Park.
5:17:43 PM		(Kelli Stanley and Jack Clarkson arrived - Board of Park Commission has a quorum.)
5:17:45 PM	Public comment	Lynn Bacon, William Yellowtail, Candace Mastel, Crystal Stanionis, Jen Millner, Christine Stanton, James Ray, Lynn Bacon, Bob Farrington and Mary Vant Hull.
5:59:07 PM	Board discussion	Carol Collins commented regarding not rushing into this decision. She suggested the Board not make a decision tonight; that this be continued to a later date (not necessarily next month due to the holidays). Suggested 1-2 board members work with the public to form a subcommittee, educate the public, and come up with a solution to save the wetlands. Rick Fink asked what the immediacy of action is on this item. Lynn Bacon commented regarding vegetation going dormant and the approach of winter that we could "buy time." Discussion regarding the wetlands mitigation project. Comments regarding notice "issues." Jack Clarkson commented regarding Roberts Rules of Order - suggested to table the item to a later date. Comments regarding procedures for tabling and forming a committee.
6:17:00 PM	Rick Fink	I move that we table this decision to the January meeting of the Gallatin County Board of Parks Commissioners in order to give us time to form an Adhoc Committee with members of the public as well as two board members to gather further information regarding this decision.
6:17:32 PM	Jack Clarkson	Second
6:17:37 PM		Board discussion - Jack Clarkson commented regarding funding a fence if matters are as bad as presented.
6:19:20 PM		Motion passed unanimously.
6:19:28 PM	Chair Carol Collins	Comments regarding having the subcommittee. Bob Farrington, James Ray and Lynn Bacon all volunteered (or were volunteered by the Board members). Notice will be on the County website (the BOPC page) at the Regional Park and possibly a display ad in the paper. An evening meeting would probably be best as most people work during the day.
6:21:58 PM	Chair Carol Collins	Explained to Jack Clarkson and Kelli Stanley the reason for the agenda adjustment. Returned to agenda as written.
6:22:40 PM	Chair Carol Collins	III. Approval of Minutes from September 15, 2010 - Any corrections or changes to the minutes of the 9/15/10 meeting?
6:23:11 PM	Jack Clarkson	I'll move that we approve the minutes as they were sent to the Board.
6:23:20 PM	Suzie Hockel	Second
6:23:24 PM		Motion passed unanimously.
6:23:31 PM	Chair Carol Collins	Commented she had to leave by 7PM.
6:24:39 PM	Chair Carol Collins	V. Discussion Items: Review and Work Session of Gallatin County Board of Park Commission Tree Guide and Donation Policy (Mike Harris mentioned this was Rick Fink's item and since he took a quick break, requested to skip to the next item so he could update.)
6:24:50 PM	Chair Carol Collins	Discussion of Pricing Guidelines for Park Guidelines for Park Fundraising
6:24:52 PM	Mike Harris, Open Lands Coordinator	Commented that he received so much information at the conference he wouldn't be able to give a full presentation. Comments regarding naming policy not actually being named forever but suggested 10-years and/or lifetime designations. Stated we are very lucky to have FOR Parks and friend-organizations that fundraise for us.
6:26:59 PM	Chair Carol Collins	Continuation - Tree Guide Discussion & Work Session
6:28:16 PM		Board discussion/comments/suggestions: "Numerous" publicly-owned trees rather than stating a specific number. Discussion regarding it being interesting to know the number though, hence the reason you need a guide. There were comments regarding what park we had that has a fountain (Crystal claimed it was clip art) - board suggested there be a picture of a county park and caption where it's located instead. Bob Farrington mentioned adding comments about the Regional Park and speaking about their trees. Add at the beginning some place "that there is an opportunity to donate trees." Discussion regarding pruning because of regulations within other cities. Suggestion to number the pages. Board thought the plaques should be flush mounted with the ground or taking the plaque and putting it on a wall or specified place. Comments regarding trees being approved by the local authority/governing entity. Discussion regarding sign policy "Plaques should be in accordance with the rules of the park..." because the Regional Park could have one set of rules yet another park has some other rules. It was suggested to add some language about properly installing/planting trees, who installs, etc... Bob Farrington suggested to have all those last suggestions read something more like, "selection of tree, method of water and maintenance are all subject to County inspection" or "approved person will do the planting/installing." Discussion about two times the width and depth for the hole when planting a tree. It was suggested to add, "It is recommended to get advice from your local nursery." It was also suggested to add something about if the tree dies that the County won't replace it. Move the "How to Plant" section under Tree Basics. No suggested changes regarding the "Tree Species Guide" table. The City of Bozeman doesn't allow fruit- or nut-bearing trees because they become ammunition as well as clog the water drains. Board asked Crystal to update the Guide and bring it back to them at the next meeting for another review. Bob Farrington offered to send Crystal a tree-planting detail sheet to include in the guide.
6:48:38 PM	Chair Carol Collins	Discussion of 2011 Park Projects
6:48:44 PM	Mike Harris, Open Lands Coordinator & Bob Farrington Gallatin County FOR Parks President	Commented that there are a whole lot of projects but not enough money. (Carol suggested that when we get the fundraising done we can move onto the projects.) There will be a FOR Parks retreat on Saturday. They went through highlights at Regional Park: finish Kiwanis pavilion, get first ball field constructed, fundraiser fun run (called the Boze-Monster Challenge) and a "Kids Day and Membership Drive" in June. The County Commissioners gave the Park's budget $10,000 out of the General Fund which is enough to be used to fund one seasonal person to perform maintenance at parks and to work with volunteer groups to coordinate these projects. Next summer we will try to expand our role with Montana Conservation Corps.
6:53:12 PM	Chair Carol Collins	Comments regarding previously discussing two board members to serve on the wetlands subcommittee - Rick Fink volunteered.
6:53:34 PM	Mike Harris, Open Lands Coordinator	Comments regarding logistics, how often this committee would meet, and potential redesign of the water features. Carol commented regarding needing three to four meetings before bringing a recommendation back to the Board.
6:56:09 PM		Crystal will email those who signed the sheet passed around the room (Mary Vant Hull sent copy to Crystal) to set a committee date.
6:56:27 PM	Chair Carol Collins	Review of BOPC Claims, Expenditure Report and/or Credit Card Statement - No action required.
6:57:24 PM	Chair Carol Collins	VI. Other: General Park/Subdivision Updates
6:57:28 PM	Mike Harris, Open Lands Coordinator	Gardner Park: parking lot has been finished.
6:57:38 PM	Chair Carol Collins	There were no Subcommittee or Chair Reports.
6:57:43 PM	Mike Harris, Open Lands Coordinator	One more update: the pavilion pads have been poured.
6:58:42 PM	Chair Carol Collins	VII. Set Agenda, Meeting Time and Location - The next meeting is set for December 15th, if needed. Carol stated will be gone week prior to do agenda if needed.
6:59:09 PM	Chair Carol Collins	VIII. Meeting adjourned.