Town Park Committee

(Draft) Meeting Minutes, 1/30/06, 12:00 p.m.

Members present: Shelly Ripplinger, Scott Brodie, Mark Nelson, Tom Jerome, Peg Smith (secretary). Chanda Spalding and Sergio Femenias were present. Walt Gove and Tim Clarke (committee members) were absent.

Approval of 11/03/05 minutes was postponed until a quorum of previous attendees is present.

Scott’s agenda was as follows:
1. Chairman’s report
2. Boulders
3. Request for new secretary
4. Interpretive panels
5. Other projects

Chairman’s Report
• Funding update: We have been awarded the $50-60K we were short (by Eccles grant and 5 Counties)Scott and Tim had been working with Jones and DeMille to scale back portions of Phase 1, including deleting the ramada, maintenance shed, 3 of the footbridges and some landscaping/irrigation to cut $15k of cost. The award of the additional funds does enable us to put the rock facing back on the restroom sides and to use stamped, colored concrete for the walkway.

The original UDOT grant was for $234,000, plus $58,000 matching from Boulder Town, or $292,000. We were awarded an additional $197,000, with an additional $50,000 match from us, or $247,000 additional, for a grant total Phase 1 projected cost of $539,000. Part of the reason for the additional award was UDOT’s 28% hike in construction costs since last year.

Of the initial $58K match, $35K is the Wilson land donation. The boulders, equipment, and labor donations will equal a significant portion of the remainder. Of the $50,000 match for the second award, 100% is covered by the Eccles/FCA grants. (Note to park group: we need to follow up with status paperwork on the Eccles grant.)
• Best case, in terms of approval cycles, etc. is that construction bids will go out in April on the UDOT website, the bid will be awarded by UDOT 6 weeks later, and ground may be broken in June. Phase 1 should be completed late this summer.
• Design for remainder of park and town grounds: The Scenic Byways committee had previously awarded us $39K to design a masterplan for the entire park and town grounds. Tim and Scott are still reworking the work scope of the design bid document, and plan to officially release it for bid in March.

Now is the time for members of the public to get involved with ideas to be included in this design, including playground equipment and other park amenities. Chanda distributed playground ideas she had gotten off the web and elsewhere. A couple interesting sites she found are www.hawaiiplaygrounds.com/ and www.freeplaynetwork.org.uk/ Both of these capitalize on imaginative equipment, including ideas that can reflect our history, enhance make believe, and include things we could build ourselves: a “play corral”, covered wagon cage and slide, musical instrument sculptures…. many great ideas.

• Pathway Grant: Scott ran out of time to submit the application for the UDOT Federal Enhancement grant because he needed a commitment letter from Dave Mock toward the matching funds. He could submit the same basic application to Scenic Byways committee by March 15. The pathway, running from the Burr Trail to the Museum along Hwy 12 and through the park, is the same as was applied for and lost last year. Mark vehemently objected to several things: the 10-ft wide width, the hard paving, and its identification as a “bike” path, and not a multipurpose path. In addition to that, the amount of the required matching funds themselves---approximately $50K---would almost fund doing it ourselves, if we so desire, and without the burden of federal requirements. After much discussion the committee decided to continue discussing desired specifications, and delay submitting the grant.

Boulders
The planned water feature through the park, the walkway, and other areas will require lots of various size boulders. Tom Jerome took on the task of procuring boulders and the means of moving them. Furthermore, he went the extra step to explore in-kind tax donation details for the donors. (Donors can deduct use of equipment and cost of materials, but not personal time.) Boulder can use both the time and materials calculated into the matching funds for the park.

Finally, Tom visited the school and spoke with the 6th graders about using friends and family to help obtain more boulders. For every 12-16” rock a student brings in, Tom will personally contribute 50 cents, up to 100 rocks total, with the money going toward the 6th graders trip.

Mark objected to storing the boulders in the park. He was concerned about the boulders not all being used, and instead sitting in an unsightly pile for months. Tom said his suppliers are standing by and need to be able to move rocks on a moment’s notice, and needs the committee to tell him where they should go. The matter was not clearly resolved.
Shelly passed along a fire concern about the tall grass growing in the south end of the park-to-be. The committee will pass that information to the town council.

New Secretary
Peg has asked Scott to be released from secretarial duties as soon as a replacement can be found. No one on the current committee leapt at the opportunity. However, word will be out, and with luck, someone who wants to feel directly involved and who will perform an invaluable service to the community will be found.

Interpretative Signs
Peg had volunteered to draft copy, and Tim had volunteered to obtain sign specifications (which will indicate how much copy is needed per panel). Alicia Angus will donate design expertise. Nothing more has happened yet.

Other Projects
Ongoing maintenance: After the initial 6 months of plantings, Boulder Town is on its own for maintaining the park. Scott thought families or other small groups can donate time or “adopt” a section of the park to caretake. Peg suggested the Native Plant society may offer some assistance. Mark and Shelly would like the maintenance specifics to be better defined.

Scott adjourned the meeting at 2:10 p.m.