Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 10/09/2014

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• Matching non -state and non - Council funds to develop /rehabilitate recreation facilities or restore natural resource areas is encouraged. • Projects that provide essential facility improvements and natural resource enhancements to allow for the initial public use of a regional park once there is adequate demand and acquisition base to support the development. Early efforts of the Regional Parks System program focused on acquiring desirable tracts of land and incorporating existing park facilities that are valuable to the region. Since the lands in question were being used, or were intended to be used, for some form of recreation, it was recognized that eventually the new lands would require development and the facilities in the older parks would have to be redeveloped through replacement or reconstruction. Regional park implementing agencies are responsible for the development and rehabilitation needs for their units in the Regional Parks System. Individual regional park master plans are expected to balance the need to provide facilities with the impacts of those facilities on the natural resources in the park. Each regional park implementing agency ranks its proposed development and rehabilitation projects for possible inclusion in the capital improvement program of the Council. All of the proposed development and rehabilitation projects may be desirable, but some - due to their location, their existing use or intended use - tend to be more valuable from a regional standpoint than others. Adding recreational facilities to Regional Parks System units must not adversely affect the natural resource base that justifies the park or trail's regional designation. Regional park implementing agencies need to balance the carrying capacity of the recreational facilities against the carrying capacity of the park or trail corridor. For regional trails, regional park implementing agencies are encouraged to connect existing trails to other Regional Parks System units, most notably regional parks and park reserves. Regional park implementing agencies are encouraged to negotiate with local communities and landowners to provide fencing or vegetative screening to meet safety and local community concerns. Fencing and screening may be grant - eligible development costs. The Council and the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission will consider such costs when reviewing trail development master plans and trail development funding requests. Excessive screening or fencing beyond a reasonable minimum should be cost - shared with the adjacent landowner since the additional cost provides no benefit to the trail - using public. Finance - Strategy 3: Ensure Parks and Trails Legacy Funds are spent in a manner that conforms to the statewide Parks and Trails Legacy Plan. The Council is the fiscal agent responsible for administering appropriations from the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund to the regional park implementing agencies. It is imperative that the Council ensures the Parks and Trails Legacy dollars are spent in the intended manner. To that end, the Council will ensure regional park implementing agencies target the funds to projects that capture the strategic direction outlined in the Parks and Trails Legacy Plan. The Parks and Trails Legacy Plan, described in greater detail in Chapter 5, specify four strategic directions: