Centerville City Trails Committee meeting held July 26, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Business Conference Room, 250 North Main, Centerville, Utah.

MEMBERS PRESENT:       Ken McGuire, Chair
                                              Jared Poulson
                                              Wendy Higgins
                                              Stephanie Wheatley

MEMBERS ABSENT:         Timothy Hawkes

STAFF PRESENT:              Steve Thacker, City Manager
                                              Bruce Cox, Parks and Recreation Director
                                              Kathy Streadbeck, Recording Secretary

VISITORS:
 Denise Cox

MINUTES REVIEW AND APPROVAL

The minutes of the Trails Committee meeting held June 26, 2007 were reviewed. Jared Poulson made a motion to approve the minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Wendy Higgins and passed by unanimous vote (4-0).

BIKE LANES

Ken McGuire reported that the City Council approved the striping of bike lanes along 400 West and on Chase Lane to 400 East. He said the Council did not approve any widening and/or striping on the Frontage Road. He said the Council would like to research any plans that Farmington City may have on the Frontage Road prior to any approvals.

Mr. McGuire said he would like to return to the City Council with more information and pursue this issue further.  He said he will take pictures, compile additional information, contact Farmington City to discuss their plans and present this to the Council at a later date. He said he has seen families with young kids and strollers trying to navigate the narrow shoulder while avoiding very close traffic.

Steve Thacker, City Manager, suggested asking the Council if the Frontage Road can at least be striped where it is already wide enough. Mr. McGuire said this was not really discussed, but he will take this suggestion to the Council as well. The Committee agreed that this should be taken to the City Council once again with more information and suggestions. The Committee agreed that Chase Lane should be striped all the way to the Rockwood Trailhead (east end of Chase Lane). They also agreed that Jennings Lane should be striped.

Mr. Thacker asked Committee member Jared Poulson to accompany him and Ken Williams, Street Supervisor, on a field trip to give some direction on how these roads should be striped. Mr. Poulson agreed. This will be done in the near future so that those roads already approved for striping by the City Council can be striped soon.

TRAILS MAP

The Committee reviewed a draft map of the existing trails as prepared by City staff and Committee member Wendy Higgins. The Committee discussed several minor changes to be made to the map, including: bike lanes, street names, additional labels, and color changes.  Ms. Higgins said she will make the suggested changes and bring a new copy of the map for further review at the next meeting. Ms. Higgins said she feels this will be a good starting point and hopes this map will be updated regularly.

The Committee agreed this map should be included as an insert in the September City newsletter. It should also be added to the City website. Steve Thacker, City Manager, said he will get a digital copy (of final version) to Blaine Lutz, Finance Director, who will post it on the website. He also said that the insert can be two-sided and suggested some information regarding the trails and the Trail Committee be added to the back of the map for the insert. Wendy Higgins, Stephanie Wheatley, and Denise Cox (see Committee Vacancies below) will work together on this task.

The Committee also agreed that the trail descriptions and the goals and objectives of the Trails Committee could also be listed on the City website.  Mr. Thacker suggested one Committee member act as the website liaison and/or publicity manager.  This person could handle these types of tasks. (Note: no one volunteered for this position.)

FREEDOM HILLS GRAND OPENING

Steve Thacker, City Manager, reported that he will be suggesting to the City Council that they hold the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Freedom Hills Park on the same day as the Rotary Freedom Memorial dedication (monument in the Freedom Hills Park). This will be on Tuesday, September 11, 2007. He said the Rotary Club has applied for a flyover from Hill Air Force Base for this event. This event will be open to the public. He asked the Trails Committee if they would also like to include some activities to promote trails.

The Committee discussed several ideas for this park grand opening. They agreed they would like to have the trail map available for distribution. They also agreed to have some type of stamp or sticker to give to those who complete the trails within the park (switchback trail and park loop). The Committee also discussed having water bottles with a label dedicated to trails. Ken McGuire said he would research the cost of these ideas. They also discussed holding some type of naming contest for the switchback trail. 

Mr. Thacker suggested the Committee run an article in the Clipper promoting this event. He also suggested having the Boy Scouts distribute flyers to the immediate neighborhood. He said there are limitations on parking and suggested encouraging the immediate area to walk or ride bikes. Mr. Thacker also suggested bringing several different maps of the City’s trails to be displayed in the pavilion. The Committee agreed.

TRAILS MASTER PLAN
 
 Ken McGuire, Chair, asked the Trails Committee if they had any comments or suggested changes/updates for the goals and objectives for the trails portion of the General Plan. The Committee agreed the goals and objectives were appropriate and agreed they should be forwarded to the City Council for further review and approval.  Mr. McGuire said he will take this to the City Council.

Steve Thacker, City Manager, said the Mayor would like the City Council to hold a work session with the Trails Committee to get acquainted and discuss pertinent issues. Mr. Thacker suggested August 21, 2007. The Committee agreed.

TRAILS SURVERY

Steve Thacker, City Manager, reported that two City Council members have taken the task of compiling questions for a city-wide survey (Councilman Gutke and Councilman Allen). The Trails Committee should submit any questions for this survey by the end of September. The survey will be part of the November newsletter.

Ken McGuire asked Committee members to bring 3-5 questions to their next meeting. They can then decide which of those questions they would like to forward to the City Council for inclusion in the survey. Committee members did discuss some ideas for questions such as, priorities, needs, and access.

EXISTING TRAILS

Stephanie Wheatley said she has an initial description/assessment of each of the existing trails, but has not compiled this information in one easy to read document.  She said she hopes to have this done by the end of the year. She said a standard evaluation form also needs to be created to be used in evaluating each trail yearly.

COMMITTEE VACANCIES
 
 Denise Cox, who attended this evening (and took on assignments), is interested in serving on the committee and is waiting for an interview with the Mayor. She said her father is also interested. Steve Thacker, City Manager, reminded Committee members to direct any interested parties to fill out a Statement of Interest. This can be done at the City, on the website, or sent in as a letter. 
 
NEXT MEETING

The next regularly scheduled Trails Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

 _  
 Ken McGuire, Chair                                                          Date Approved

  
 Kathleen Streadbeck, Recording Secretary