PROPOSED MULTI-USE TRAIL Subcommittee Presentation to Trails Committee August 14, 2018
History of Actions & Resolutions • October 4, 2016: Girdwood Nordic Ski Club (GNSC) introduces trail proposal to Girdwood Trails Committee (GTC) • June 6, 2017: After months of discussion at monthly GTC meetings, GTC moves to approve, in concept, Forest Loop Trail with the following conditions (passes 16 in favor, 6 opposed, 3 abstentions): 1) New Arlberg parking lot and Our Lady of the Snows are dual access options to the trail. 2) Trail is maximum 10' wide, hardened surface, with targeted maximum width of 14' clearing. 3) Design minimized visual impact on existing trails. 4) Design minimized environmental impacts. 5) Girdwood Trails Committee has ongoing input on trail design and construction, with specific review and approval once the center line is set.
History of Actions & Resolutions (cont’d) • June 12, 2017: Girdwood Land Use Committee moves to recommend a Girdwood Board of Supervisors (GBOS) Resolution of Support for the conceptual plan for the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club to design, build and maintain a Forest Loop Trail with the same conditions (passes 36 in favor, 5 opposed, 3 abstentions). • June 23, 2017: GBOS votes unanimously to approve Resolution 2017-08. • March 27, 2018: GBOS Special Meeting. GBOS moves to clarify resolution 2017-08 to state that the GTC will vote on the proposed GNSC trail centerline at the April 2018 Girdwood Trails Committee meeting. The GTC and GNSC are to produce a preliminary trail plan that is recommended by GTC no later than the September 2018 GBOS meeting.
History of Actions & Resolutions (cont’d) • April 3, 2018: Girdwood Trails Committee moves to approve the proposed approximate alignment as presented by the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club. Approval of the motion is contingent upon an agreement with GNSC to create an appointed subcommittee of GTC and GNSC members. The subcommittee is charged with making a preliminary plan for the alignment, design and construction of the trail. The group will present this plan to the GTC as new business no later than the August GTC meeting. • April, 2018: Subcommittee members are appointed to represent GNSC and GTC and include Eryn Boone (chair), Deb Essex, Peter Zug, Jim Braham, Julie Jonas, Ron Tenny, & Paul Crews.
Summary of Subcommittee Meetings • Subcommittee met 8 times over 4 1/2 months for approximately 2 hours per meeting. • All meetings were publicly noticed and held in the Girdwood Community Room and were open to the public. Public comments (3 minutes maximum per person) were accepted at each meeting (verbal or written). • The subcommittee’s recommendations were arrived at after a long period of time in which many concerns were aired. The proposed trail is on public land, and the public has requested to be involved due to the history of GNSC’s construction of the 5K loop. We learned and worked together throughout this process to develop this new trail as a welcomed and usable community asset.
Summary of Subcommittee Meetings • Agenda topics included: • Subcommittee Goal & Objectives (see subcommittee documentation) • 5K Loop History • Public comments, subcommittee responses (see subcommittee documentation) • Open Meetings Act • Trail alignment (see trail map dated 8/10/18) • Trail width and class • Trail access route(s) • Trail specifications & building techniques (see Trail Specifications document) • Trail Management Objectives form (see completed TMO) • Subcommittee’s recommendation and agreement for how GTC and GNSC shall move forward in a collaborative manner (see Subcommittee Report to Trails Committee)
Subcommittee Goal & Objectives GOAL: • Develop a document that will guide the final routing, planning and construction of the Forest Loop Multiuse Trail by August, 2018 Trails Committee meeting. OBJECTIVES: • Select a final trail route plan that protects existing trail alignments while utilizing terrain wisely in order to provide trail users with an enjoyable experience within a natural setting on a trail that has been constructed with minimal impact to the forest. • Develop basic trail cross section plans to assure trail construction will remain within agreed upon clearing limits. Develop a plan to select off trail gravel sources if needed. • Develop trail specifications and construction requirements that trail construction contractors and volunteers must follow. • Develop draft TMO.
Public Comments Summary • Received public comments from 7 individuals. • Major concerns: • Do not want to repeat mistakes made during 5K construction • Minimizing environmental impacts • Avoiding impact to Stumpy’s Trail viewshed • Minimizing trail and clearing width • Minimizing use of kettle, swale, and ravine features • Reducing trail density • Values of trail users and forest users should be assessed • Area is one of the last pieces of Girdwood’s easily reachable wilderness, save it for how it is now • Gravel sources-take gravel from under the trail only • Need for neutral overseer of the project during construction with stop-work provisions
Open Meetings Act Summary • Members of public stated concern that Subcommittee was not compliant with (and later accused of deliberately ignoring) the Open Meetings Act (OMA). Specific concerns were meetings outside of public subcommittee meetings (forest walks and GNSC meeting with local contractors to gather information), emails between subcommittee members, and meeting minutes/documents not being made available. • Subcommittee had no ill-intentions, and had no reason to be exclusive, but was unaware up to this point of all of the rules of the OMA and that rules are more strict for an advisory-only body than a decision-making body. • Once made aware, subcommittee reviewed the relevant parts of the OMA and complied.
Trail Width Summary • Paul conducted informal trail survey June 2, 2018 at the Crow Creek Trailhead and at the 5K Loop Kiosk. Three of the 60 people he interviewed favored a 20 foot clearing; 57 of the 60 favored a 14 foot clearing. • GNSC wanted the ability to utilize the resort’s/CPG’s donation of piston bully grooming • Found out that CPG’s piston bully is 16’ 3” wide. Subcommittee discussed a wider trail clearing with narrower hardened surface to accommodate this. Concluded to stay with the approved 14 foot max targeted clearing/10 foot wide max hardened surface.
Trail Class Summary • GNSC originally proposed new trail to be a Class 5 trail. Public comments received shifted design to a Class 4 trail. • Subcommittee reviewed Trail Class & Design Parameter Matrices (designed use Cross-Country Ski/Nordic/Skate Ski) from the current Girdwood Trails Management Plan and agreed Class 4 is appropriate.
Trail Alignment Summary • See trail map dated 8/10/18. This map was drawn in conjunction with Bill Spencer. • Subcommittee acknowledges that final alignment will be determined in the field with oversite by Project Manager and a third party overseer designated by HLB and/or a GTC representative. • Trail alignment has not changed significantly from what was approved by GTC June 6, 2017, and April 3, 2018. • Recommended alignment is approximately 4 km in length. • Several segments were eliminated, per requests from public comments. • Trail was moved away from some of the known wetter areas and away from Stumpy’s viewshed as much as possible. • Trail was moved or made less dense to reduce visibility of others traveling on different parts of the same trail, per requests from public comments.
Trail Access Route(s) Summary • Discussed the meaning of June 6, 2017 Trails Resolution: “New Arlberg parking lot and Our Lady of the Snows are dual access options to the trail.” • Some subcommittee members think this could allow access from both locations, some think it could mean one or the other. • Some members favor the Arlberg access heavily and think it will be easier to build than the church route and reduce conflict with Stumpy’s trail, others have concern about building the short section of trail across the wetland (no designated wetlands on church route). • Paul spoke to an Army Corps engineer about sinkage of a trail built on wetland. Soil Samples will be necessary. A National Wetland Permit / Category 42 should be relatively easy to obtain.
Trail Access Route(s) Summary (cont’d) • Subcommittee discussed utilizing already established Stumpy’s trail for the connector trail to the loop, instead of building a new one (minimizing forest impacts). Subcommittee understands Stumpy’s is sacred to many and GNSC does not want to impact it. Decided to stay with separate access. • Subcommittee members independently consulted with local contractors and consensus was that Arlberg route looks feasible from the surface. • Paul dug 15 test holes that showed access route from church would be “gooey.” • Subcommittee agrees that if feasible to build, Arlberg could be main access point. If this is the case, the access trail behind the church might be made smaller. Access point behind church is still desired for trail connectivity.
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