Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2015 10 14

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Open Space Advisory Board Minutes September 9th 2015 Page 4 of 7 distributed by Ranger Tom to people at Davidson Mesa both inside and outside of the Off -Leash Area. It was also distributed as a digital survey, advertised on the City website and in an article in the Daily Camera. It was the also sent to the Open Space volunteer email list. Ranger Tom Davinroy presented the survey results. He pointed out that the bias in sampling means that this was not a statistical survey and should only be used for information - gathering purposes: care should be taken in interpreting the numbers. Most of the online responses came after the email and after the Daily Camera article. There were 621 responses total: 510 online, 111 written. Tom stated that this is the best response rate to any City of Louisville survey ever given. Tom presented slides for each of the survey's seven questions. Minutes note: the wording of the survey questions may have been slightly different from this transcription. Q1: How often do you visit Davidson Mesa? 11% "daily," 13% "infrequently" Q2: What is your primary activity when visiting Davidson Mesa? 48% "walking /running dog," 19% "running," -10% "other " — about half of people responding "other" said they were biking. Tom's impression from his observations at Davidson Mesa support the survey result that about half of all users have a dog with them. Q3: If you are bringing dogs, how often do you use the Off -Leash Area? 44% of dog walkers say they are using it 100% of the time, 33% dog walkers don't use it at all. The comments revealed the non -users aren't using it for reasons including: their dog's health, bad experiences with dog interactions, and the Off -Leash Area's condition. Q4: What is your opinion of the condition of the Dog Off -Leash Area? -50% responded "excellent" or "good." Tom commented that this may have had to do with the wet spring. The Off -Leash Area didn't get as dusty or denuded as in years past. Q5: Rate the importance of having the following amenities: 1= highest importance, 5= lowest — 47% thought drinking water was highly important — the next most popular was a shade structure — next benches — very few people thought herbicide for weed management or replacing the soil surface with crusher fines was important Tom found the comments that accompanied this question were interesting. The people who do not want herbicides feel passionately about the subject. Q6: For which of the following management goals would you support temporarily closing the Dog Off -Leash Area? — 60% would support closure for muddy conditions — 44% would support closure for vegetation recovery — 30% would support closure for weed management 5