City Council Study Session Summary 2018 04 24

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City Council Study Session Summary April 24, 2018 Page 2 of 3 throughout the community via their "With Love" project; and learning about local government through interviewing members from other boards and commissions. In their continued efforts, the YAB included plans and goals for the next two years which involves their "With Love" project; creating more awareness of the YAB; volunteering within the community; learning more about local government; being the voice for the youth to City Council; and interacting with a diverse group of youth in the community to assist in building leadership skills. The YAB asked City Council and staff for advice on future projects they could promote or be involved in. Several ideas were given to include soliciting more males to be members on the board to better represent the youth population; for the YAB to assist with or create youth activities at the recreation center; YAB assistance in better communicating with the youths in our community regarding programs and jobs, via social media or other avenues; or encouraging the use of alternative transportation at the schools. Discussion — Open Space Advisory Board Goals and Priorities Laura Scott -Denton presented for the Open Space Advisory Board (OSAB) with an overview of 2017 accomplishments and 2018 goals and priorities. Due to an increase of use of land in Louisville, the OSAB is reviewing areas of improvement to include improving and marking park trails; managing vegetation and wildlife; and restoration projects. There is a large demand for a dog and recreation master plan to work on holistic management of dog issues within the city. The health of the Open Space and Parks tax fund was also part of this presentation and whether the tax sunset could be discussed for elimination. In regards to improvements to community trails, City Council addressed the needs for a working foundation (i.e. initial fees, additional staffing needs, long-term maintenance fees and time frames for improvements). City Council discussed the sales tax extension — some felt it was premature to begin exploring this and others wanted to start the conversation; some expressed concerns over eliminating the tax sunset while others felt it may be a good idea because the need to maintain trails and make resource improvements will go on indefinitely. Suggestions were made to survey citizens on this issue and allow the community to reassess the tax sunset for feasibility purposes once a working foundation of expenses is identified. City Council would like to ascertain the necessities for a dog park, which includes identifying zoning laws, potential property locations, design/maintenance expenses, and possible staffing requirements. They discussed the possibility of a plan and generally felt the options for locations of dog parks were somewhat limited based on the specific property ownership, size, location, condition, etc... so staff may be able to assess options without a large-scale master plan. A concern was expressed on the overpopulation of prairie dogs. Open Space ensured there are studies conducted on a regular basis and the population has actually declined.