Open House – Salamander Conservation Measures
[ October 18, 2011; 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] The first draft of the new conservation measures to be included in the new City of Austin Habitat Conservation Plan for the Barton Springs Salamander and the Austin Blind Salamander have just been posted on the City’s webpage:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watershed/salamander_guidelines.htm
You can review the draft measures on our website, which describe how the City will manage salamander habitat and mitigate for harm to the salamander. Please send us your feedback or questions to salamander@austintexas.gov. It’s critical that we have the first draft of the Habitat Conservation Plan completed and ready to submit to the US Fish and Wildlife Service by January 2012 to have the permit renewed in time and keep Barton Springs open for swimming.
Please visit our website to learn more about the process for renewing the City’s federal endangered species permit.
Also please mark your calendars and join us at Barton Springs in the Splash Exhibit from 5-8 pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, for a free open house. Interact with City staff and learn about the conservation activities the City is planning for the next 20 years.
If you have any questions or comments, please email us at salamander@austintexas.gov
Sincerely,
Chris Herrington, PE
City of Austin
Watershed Protection Department
__._,_.___
Robin Cravey Resigns from FBSP
This was on the bulletin board at the pool this morning.
Austin Heritage Tree Foundation – Twice Snubbed by City of Austin
It’s politics as usual, with PARD giving preferential treatment to TreeFolks, The Austin Parks Foundation and FBSP, which are taking the glory and excluding the rest of us who really care about the pool. The Austin Heritage Tree Foundation has adopted and is caring for all the trees at the pool and they are being unfairly ignored by the City of Austin. See these two notes from the founder of AHTF.
Sara,
Please, help me out with this issue. My foundation, the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation, partnered with PARD in 2010, adopting all of the trees at Zilker and BSP since then, to apply compost, mulch and water them. My adopt-a-park agreement was renewed this year. I feel like in spite of us being the main stakeholders for these trees, and us having worked very hard to mulch and water these trees, we are being pushed aside by PARD and other partners, with no courtesy, and this needs to be corrected.
Please, hear me out. A proposed Forestry BSP maintenance plan (by Emily King) was released today, proposing applying compost and mulch to many of these trees. There is a proposal to hold 3 large volunteer events to do this starting with Arbor Day in October. This is exactly what the AHTF task is (except that AHTF still needs to mulch many other trees around BSP that aren’t included in the Forestry plan). In addition, I’m the volunteer who nominated the Heritage Tree of the Year that won the award this year, and around which the activities of Arbor Day center.
I’m very glad that the trees will get the additional help, and that PARD has finally put a plan to help these trees, but I’m wondering, since I’m supposed to be a partner with PARD on this specific issue, how come I was not part of the development of the plan, or even asked to review the plan before it was released to the rest of the public, or even told that the program was going to be expanded to include more volunteers and asked to help recruiting volunteers. I know that PARD, TreeFolks and other groups and volunteers can’t plant for now due to water restrictions, and so they have turned their attention to maintaining older trees, an activity that some of them normally don’t do. I welcome their assistance with these trees, but I wish that AHTF would have been at least told of these plans as a courtesy because of all of the hard work, planning and donated professional work that we have done and given to these trees for 3 years.
I know that PARD can’t have preferential treatment, but I’m a partner on this specific task, and all I ‘m asking is that I would have been told about it, or even allowed to participate. I was told that there was a set of activities and festivities planned for Arbor Day only, combined with the Heritage Tree of the Year award, that the tree I nominated had won, and that some trees were going to be mulched. I wasn’t told that this included a plan for 3 large volunteer events to execute the BSP maintenance plan.
I would like to continue to adopt these trees, continue to provide care for them, and continue to be PARD’s partner on this. And I recognize that PARD has many partners, and that PARD has to be inclusive of all. I encourage inclusiveness. In fact, I asked you for it 2 years ago. I welcome the assistance and I will provide volunteers as well as recruit some more because I care for these trees. However, I think that the main tree stakeholder that is the adopter of all of these trees, the AHTF, should have been given more participation and more warning about these plans.
I would like to encourage a little more courtesy from PARD as a partner when developing plans like these, to inform the main stakeholder of the developments, to ask the main stakeholder for help first, to at least let the main tree stakeholder know. I feel like we are being pushed aside by other partners that haven’t contributed as much for these trees as we have. New partners are welcomed, but existing partners shouldn’t be ignored.
The AHTF has a deep knowledge of these trees since we worked constantly with them for the last 3 years. This knowledge can be helpful. For instance, the winner of the Heritage Tree Of the Year award, a large pecan tree on the south hill shows in the Forestry plan as one of the trees that will be mulched in Arbor day, but we already correctly mulched this tree with the help of 200 children and young adults, which is part of why this tree won Community Heritage Tree Of the Year. I explained this to Walter but I guess the Forestry plan didn’t get corrected.
I know that the public can provide feedback on the proposed plan, but I think that asking the main tree stakeholder would help getting a much better plan in a much more efficient manner, or at least coordinating with the main tree stakeholder would yield a much better result. I know these trees by heart. And I know that these trees belong to everybody, and that also includes me.
Why is my foundation, that has worked very hard for these trees, being ignored and pushed aside in all of this?
Thanks,
Zoila Vega
Austin Heritage Tree Foundation
Sara,
Please, help me out with this issue. My foundation, the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation, partnered with PARD in 2010, adopting all of the trees at Zilker and BSP since then, to apply compost, mulch and water them. My adopt-a-park agreement was renewed this year. I feel like in spite of us being the main stakeholders for these trees, and us having worked very hard to mulch and water these trees, we are being pushed aside by PARD and other partners, with no courtesy, and this needs to be corrected.Please, hear me out. A proposed Forestry BSP maintenance plan (by Emily King) was released today, proposing applying compost and mulch to many of these trees. There is a proposal to hold 3 large volunteer events to do this starting with Arbor Day in October. This is exactly what the AHTF task is (except that AHTF still needs to mulch many other trees around BSP that aren’t included in the Forestry plan). In addition, I’m the volunteer who nominated the Heritage Tree of the Year that won the award this year, and around which the activities of Arbor Day center.
I’m very glad that the trees will get the additional help, and that PARD has finally put a plan to help these trees, but I’m wondering, since I’m supposed to be a partner with PARD on this specific issue, how come I was not part of the development of the plan, or even asked to review the plan before it was released to the rest of the public, or even told that the program was going to be expanded to include more volunteers and asked to help recruiting volunteers. I know that PARD, TreeFolks and other groups and volunteers can’t plant for now due to water restrictions, and so they have turned their attention to maintaining older trees, an activity that some of them normally don’t do. I welcome their assistance with these trees, but I wish that AHTF would have been at least told of these plans as a courtesy because of all of the hard work, planning and donated professional work that we have done and given to these trees for 3 years.
I know that PARD can’t have preferential treatment, but I’m a partner on this specific task, and all I ‘m asking is that I would have been told about it, or even allowed to participate. I was told that there was a set of activities and festivities planned for Arbor Day only, combined with the Heritage Tree of the Year award, that the tree I nominated had won, and that some trees were going to be mulched. I wasn’t told that this included a plan for 3 large volunteer events to execute the BSP maintenance plan.
I would like to continue to adopt these trees, continue to provide care for them, and continue to be PARD’s partner on this. And I recognize that PARD has many partners, and that PARD has to be inclusive of all. I encourage inclusiveness. In fact, I asked you for it 2 years ago. I welcome the assistance and I will provide volunteers as well as recruit some more because I care for these trees. However, I think that the main tree stakeholder that is the adopter of all of these trees, the AHTF, should have been given more participation and more warning about these plans.
I would like to encourage a little more courtesy from PARD as a partner when developing plans like these, to inform the main stakeholder of the developments, to ask the main stakeholder for help first, to at least let the main tree stakeholder know. I feel like we are being pushed aside by other partners that haven’t contributed as much for these trees as we have. New partners are welcomed, but existing partners shouldn’t be ignored.
The AHTF has a deep knowledge of these trees since we worked constantly with them for the last 3 years. This knowledge can be helpful. For instance, the winner of the Heritage Tree Of the Year award, a large pecan tree on the south hill shows in the Forestry plan as one of the trees that will be mulched in Arbor day, but we already correctly mulched this tree with the help of 200 children and young adults, which is part of why this tree won Community Heritage Tree Of the Year. I explained this to Walter but I guess the Forestry plan didn’t get corrected.
I know that the public can provide feedback on the proposed plan, but I think that asking the main tree stakeholder would help getting a much better plan in a much more efficient manner, or at least coordinating with the main tree stakeholder would yield a much better result. I know these trees by heart. And I know that these trees belong to everybody, and that also includes me.
Why is my foundation, that has worked very hard for these trees, being ignored and pushed aside in all of this?
Thanks,
Zoila Vega
Austin Heritage Tree Foundation
On October 7, Zoila got this response from the director of PARD:
Dear Zoila,
You and The Austin Heritage Tree Foundation (AHTF) are to be commended for your tirelessly work to restore, protect, and promote Austin’s urban forest and in particular, the trees in Zilker Park and around Barton Springs Pool. The Department apologizes, it was not our intent to exclude any group or individual from volunteering or partnering for the Arbor Day Celebration.
The Arbor Day Celebration was originally scheduled to be at Emma Long Park and was going to feature planting over 300+ trees. However, as the drought set in and water conservation measures heightened, PARD decided to cancel all tree plantings for the Emma Long Arbor Day Celebration. To keep The Arbor Day Celebration alive, PARD Foresters came up with the idea to combine the Arbor Day Celebration with the Austin Tree of The Year awards. PARD is collaborating with the Office of Sustainability to combine events on October 29th for Arbor Day. The event has be moved to Zilker Park, site of the tree that is going to receive the award.
The Austin Tree of The Year awards ceremony program will feature various speakers culminating in the dedication of the Tree of the Year winner, the ‘Mother Pecan’ nominated by you. Traditionally, the individual who nominated the winning tree is allowed to speak at the ceremony; Zoila our intent has always been to include you as part of the ceremony.
In conclusion, the combining of events, with sponsors already in place, may have given the impression that the AHTF was being excluded. Plans have not been finalized and every effort will be made to include you in all discussions of tree care at Zilker Park, as well as Barton Springs Pool.
Sara L. Hensley, CPRP, Director
Austin Parks and Recreation Dept.
200 S. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78704
Phone: 512-974-6717 Fax: 512-974-6703
sara.hensley@ci.austin.tx.us
Her response:
Dear Sara,
I thank you for your kind words. I’m understanding from your email that APF and TreeFolks were already the set sponsors of the Arbor Day event set up to occur at Emma Log Park (planting trees), and due to the drought, it was decided to change this event to mulch the BSP trees instead, and combine the event with the Tree of the Year award. So, most of the activities that were already planned for Arbor Day were transferred as is to the new location. I understand this. However, once the Arbor Day event got moved and changed, the AHTF should have been included in the planning of the BSP HT mulching, the Tree of the Year award ceremony activities, and the festivities following that, because we adopted those trees and we wrote the winning application, but more importantly, because these trees are important to our BSP community and we want to be involved with their care.
The AHTF would welcome the opportunity to participate in all of these activities, help recruit volunteers, mulch, and have a presence as a PARD partner organization, along with APF and TreeFolks. The AHTF welcomes the assistance from any organizations, groups, and individuals to mulch these heritage trees that we adopted and have been helping for years, as these trees are loved by the entire community. Please, include AHTF in all future announcements of this event, and update the web sites where this event is featured to include our participation.
The AHTF respectfully requests that we are allowed by PARD to be involved in the planning of the Arbor Day mulching event, the Heritage Tree of the Year ceremony, and the remaining activities. In particular, on behalf of the BSP community of which I’m part of, I would like that a few minutes be allowed during the Tree of the Year ceremony for the poem written for this tree by Susan Bright to be recited by the president of the Austin Poets society, and for the 1000-year-old-tree song to be sung by folksinger Bill Oliver. I think that these two activities, though not traditional, will reflect the community character represented by this special tree that even has a name, Mother Pecan. The audience will enjoy this and it will make the ceremony more meaningful for the entire BSP community.
Regarding other activities, please, could very large numbers of people remain away from the critical root zone of this tree to reduce compression of the soil and tree roots? People can enjoy this tree, as they always have. I’m only concerned about very large numbers of people standing on the root zone. I’m also concerned about children climbing this tree with ropes. I hope that the planned tree climbing activity will be done on a younger tree. We must protect and care for this special tree.
I appreciate that the AHTF will be included in all tree care discussions concerning BSP and Zilker. We will continue to provide PARD with any assistance needed. As always, we’ll do anything that we can to help these trees and the urban forest.
On behalf of the BSP community for which this tree is so special, I thank you sincerely for correcting this situation. Let us all come together to celebrate the honor that this magnificent community tree will be receiving, and let us all come together to continue maintaining and preserving the BSP heritage trees and the urban forest.
Thanks so much!
Zoila
Zoila Vega, Ph.D.
Austin Heritage Tree Foundation
Joint Committee to Consider Cancelling Proposed Move of Back Gate
[ October 17, 2011; 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. ] The members of the Joint Subcommittee will meet at the south entrance of Barton Springs Pool to consider cancelling the proposed move of that back gate from its present location a distance appx 450 feet to the east toward the down stream dam. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend the meeting at the South gate, Monday October 17, 2011, 5 pm.
The agenda and full-sized backup material for the October 17th Joint Committee Meeting is available at the following link:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonspringsmp.htm
Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Gary Gregson (974-9475 / Gary.Gregson@austintexas.gov).
This is the agenda:
PARKS & RECREATION BOARD & ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD JOINT COMMITTEE OCTOBER 17, 2011 – 5:30 PM BARTON SPRINGS POOL BEGINNING AT SOUTH GATE/ENDING AT SPLASH! EXHIBIT 2101 BARTON SPRINGS ROAD (located in Zilker Park) AUSTIN, TEXAS 78704
CURRENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Linda H. Guerrero, Chair Jerome Perales, Co-Chair Jennifer Walker Carol Lee
A. CALL TO ORDER B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mary Gay Maxwell Mary Ann Neely Thomas Wilcox (Resource)
AGENDA
1. Approve the minutes of the Joint Committee regular meeting of September 19, 2011.
C. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION
The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda.
D. BRIEFS (Briefs are informational items only, no public comment will be taken) 1. None
E. BUSINESS(DiscussionandPossibleAction)
1. Grounds Improvements (South Gate Options) …… Brian Larson, Larson, Burns and Smith
Here are images of the proposed plans for an Eastern entry, Southern Entry and the parking lot:
Click on an image to see a larger version.
2. Tree Treatment Plan …………………………………………………………………… Emily King, PARDF.
Download the PDF to see full-sized plans
Tree Treatment Plan Proposed for Barton Springs Pool Oct 2011
FUTURE ITEMS FROM JOINT COMMITTEE MEMBERS
G. ADJOURNMENT
The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 4 days before the meeting date. Please call Tom Nelson at the Parks and Recreation Department, at 974-9337, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711.
For more information on the Joint Committee, please contact Tom Nelson at tom.nelson@ci.austin.tx.us or by phone at 974-9337.
Agenda Items:
1) Consideration/discussion of the following options for improving access to the south side of Barton Springs:
_______
Proposed Tree Treatment Project
Proposed Tree Treatment Project for Barton Springs PoolObjective
Improve tree health by improving soil health. Improve soil health by decreasing soil compaction, increasing organic matter, buffering soil from traffic, and all the many other benefits provided by composting and mulch. Balance site uses with both recreational needs and tree needs.
Scope of Work
Apply half an inch of organic compost followed by 4 inches of mulch to designated areas within the critical root zones of approximately 30 trees in the Barton Springs area of Zilker Park. See map for treatment area.
Implementation
Scope of work to be implemented over the course of 3 work days with the assistance of volunteers and staff.
Work Day 1: Saturday October 29th
City of Austin Arbor Day event to be held in vicinity, work day to accompany celebration.
Approximately 35 cubic yards of compost Approximately 290 cubic yards of mulch
Work Day 2: TBD (dates to be posted to Austin Parks and Recreation events calendar) Approximately 25 cubic yards of compost
Approximately 190 cubic yards of mulch
Work Day 3: TBD (dates to be posted to Austin Parks and Recreation events calendar) Approximately 55 cubic yards of compost
Approximately 420 cubic yards of mulch
The Parks and Recreation Department will purchase compost and mulch, and schedule deliveries of materials to the site.
Staff will additionally install materials on sloped areas prior to work days 2 & 3 to prevent compost and mulch runoff.
Volunteer recruitment and volunteer team leaders are needed. 2 Proposed Tree Treatment Project for Barton Springs Pool
Volunteer Information
For more details about the workdays and to register to participate volunteers may visit: https://www.volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/ap?AP=749764290
For more information about volunteering please email pardpartnerships@austintexas.gov or call the Volunteer Program Office at 974-6770
Public Comment / Input
Email comments, suggestions, or questions regarding this plan to bspmasterplan@austintexas.gov
This plan is to be posted at Barton Springs Pool for review.
Staff to be present at the pool for discussion of plan on: o October 12th Pool Maintenance meeting from 10:00am – 11:00am o October 13th Pool Cleaning Day from 10:00am – 12:00pm o October 20th Pool Cleaning Day from 10:00am – 12:00pm
This plan will be presented to the: o Parks and Recreation Board / Environmental Board Joint Committee at the October
17th meeting located at Barton Springs Pool beginning at 5:30pm o Urban Forestry Board at the October 26th meeting located at City Hall beginning at
6:30pm
Comments received by Friday October 21st will be reviewed and considered for incorporation.
3
Proposed Tree Treatment Project for Barton Springs Pool
Water Conservation and Tree Watering Guidance
AHTF UFB watering instructions 2011 10.03.11
Don Gardner’s watering guidelines 2011
By Zoila Vega Marchena
The Austin Heritage Tree Foundation adopted all of the heritage trees at the Polo Fields and BSP in 2010, and partnering with PARD Forestry has been watering the heritage trees outside the fence by the BSP bathhouse and the Zilker Hillside Theater, the Polo Fields and Rock Gardens and some other parks. We are very experienced with watering established trees.
We are at Stage 2 water conservation, with discussion of stage 3 being imminent in a month or two. There has been no significant rain since the third week of June. Established trees need to have 1 inch of water every 2-3 weeks, so trees that haven’t been watered need water very badly. It’s very evident that many trees are stressed to the maximum and may die if they don’t get some water soon. Please, help the established trees by watering in an efficient manner that complies with water conservation guidelines stage 2. Water conservation is not meant to discourage you from watering established trees, but rather encourages you to water them in an efficient manner.
The most efficient way to water established trees during drought, even at Stage 2, is to water only the outer half of the dripline, as evenly as possible, only when needed (about 2-3 weeks), and to check with hand trowel that the soil is wet to 4 inches, so that the watering counts and lasts for 2-3 weeks. Please, see the watering diagram attached, above (AHTF watering diagram). It’s important to water the most important roots, and those are half the way between the trunk and the dripline, and it’s important to provide that water as evenly as possible so that the roots grow in the entire area. If you use a soaker hose method, connect several soaker hoses together to form a spiral on the outer half of the dripline. If you place a hose on the ground, move it to 2-4 more spots at the dripline, or slightly inside the dripline. If you have several trees, use an oscillating sprinkler to water the common driplines of these trees. Any amount of water is better than no water. If you use a drip irrigation method (the best), install the tiny sprinkler like emitters around the tree on the outer half of the dripline above ground, or install regular drip emitters below ground, but placed closer, in the outer half of the dripline. I’m not an expert on drip irrigation, there may be better ways to get the outer half of the dripline wet evenly.
The watering time depends on watering method used, soil, size of tree, etc. It’s better to check that the soil is moist to 4 inches, with a hand trowel, to determine the watering time for your case. When using an oscillating sprinkler at average home water flow rate, the water from the sprinkler will be about 4-5 ft high, and it will take about 1.5-2 hrs. to get the 4 inches of soil wet. If there is heavy mulch, it may take another half hour or even an hour. Check the soil moisture. Often, it takes more time to get the mulch wet (about 1.5 hrs) and with only an additional half an hour or so you can get the soil wet, so don’t stop watering before the water has reached the proper soil depth. It’s important to spread mulch only 3 inches thick maximum because it makes more difficult for water to get to the soil. Soaker hoses deliver water more slowly and require longer application times, maybe 4-6 hrs. Check soil moisture to determine your situation. Some people recommend that the soil be moist to 5-6 inches deep. This is too deep and requires a lot more water. Conserve water and only check for 4 inches deep. If needed, 3 inches will do. 1-2 inches of moist soil is not enough and will last only a few days. But, remember that any water that you can give a tree is better than none. If you can only provide 1-2 inches, that’s better than none.
Please, go to www.austinheritagetrefoundation.com for watering guidelines during drought approved by the UFB in July (attached). Please, read the Don Gardner’s watering guidelines, same link, for instructions on how to check that you have applied enough water to make that watering count and last. Young trees require watering at the root ball twice a week when it’s very hot, and once weekly after that for 3 years. This is about 10-20 gallons per tree. Trees that have brown dead leaves attached to the branches are most likely dead. Trees that have lost their leaves need water because trees drop their leaves to conserve their energy. But be aware that cedar elms’ leaves are turning brown and dropping. Be aware that some trees may be changing according to the season, but in general, they all need water. It’s more prudent to continue watering (in a water efficient manner) and wait until next year for the trees to come back, unless it‘s obvious that they are dead. Since the UFB issued these guidelines in July through my foundation (non-profit), I have been trying to correct other watering guidelines. The Texas Forest Service watering guidelines recommend erroneously to water the entire dripline, and even shows a picture of a puddle of water by the tree trunk. Always water away from tree trunks when dealing with established trees. Trunks may not rot with this excessive heat, but would rot if it wasn’t this extremely hot. More importantly, the roots in the outer half of the dripline will benefit from the water the most. Water is wasted when allowed to puddle, worse if it is by the trunk where there are fewer feeder roots. Don’t let the water puddle or runoff. If puddles are formed when watering, move to another area, and come back to the same area once the puddle has been absorbed. The TFS guidelines also recommend checking soil moisture to 6-8 inches deep with a screwdriver. This is too deep and unnecessary, because it will require a lot of water to wet the soil to this depth. Checking with a screwdriver may allow damaging some roots, and doesn’t let you see the soil. With a hand trowel you can see the soil and determine how far the water has penetrated, and kind of estimate how much longer you need to water. I will be contacting the TFS soon to point out these inaccuracies. It’s important that watering guidelines be accurate. But besides these inaccuracies, the TFS video and instruction sheets with many pictures are good visual guides to water (and save) our trees during this drought.
Citizens Speak to Grounds Improvement Plans
[ October 17, 2011; 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. ] At the Monday, Sept 19th meeting in City Hall of the Joint Committee (PARD, Forestry and Environmental Board), the citizen communication portion was attended by about 20 people, more than 10 of whom spoke or gave their time to others. All spoke to the “grounds improvement” presentations.
Some of the key points made were:
- Continue with projects that everyone agrees on but put a hold on others, especially the south lawn area: moving the south gate; the 6ft wide sidewalk across the south lawn; the ADA path as is currently designed.
- The back gate area parking lot plan is not functional or practical.
- Even though there have been many public process meetings the general feel of the speakers was that there was not enough outreach and available information to the public in the process so far. Including Eliza Springs and snack bar in the scope of the front gate project. No one could answer how, who or where the “scope” originated.
- The Joint Committee was reminded of the successes we had over the past few years, when the public process lead to collaboration on the trees and bypass tunnel issues by stakeholders . The committee recognized that public input yielded good results before and so, they requested an onsite meeting on October 17, 5 pm to review not moving the gate to the east, the distance of the ADA path, and the dirt parking lot. (Date/time to be confirmed)
- 27 trees were saved from the plan to remove them that was proposed in the Barton Springs Pool Master plan and supported by the Friends of Barton Springs Pool
- Repairs for the bypass tunnel were estimated at $4 million before redesign, $2.4M after redesign–that’s $1.6 Million less, saved to the tax payers, because of public input. The $2.6 million that the bypass tunnel will cost now does NOT include the engineering costs paid to the first contractor, whose design will not be used. The redesign involved the Watershed Director hiring a second contractor to re-do the plan done by the first contractor, all initiated by public input and an independent review by Wateshed engineers. The result is a much improved plan that will not damage the pool. Many citizens continued to address the boards and the BSP Joint Committee to the point of bringing the issue to the attention of Watershed Director, who formed a special group with her engineers, based on the citizens input, to review the bypass tunnel project. This independent review caused the hiring of a second contractor who designed a plan that will cost $2.4M. Those citizens did that in spite of the continuous opposition from FBSP, which all the while, kept on trying to push the $4M plan forward. These numbers are construction costs estimates. The total cost of the bypass tunnel will probably be higher once you include that the original design was not used, but the first contractor was paid for his design. But, no matter what, the total cost comparison remains the same: The total cost will be $2.4M + X, vs. $4M + X before.
- South lawn area is a passive recreation area and it is important to keep it that way – all great parks have great lawn.
The Joint Committee recognized that public input yielded good results before and so, they requested an onsite meeting to review moving the gate to the east, the length of the ADA path and the dirt parking lot.
The committee talked about having an on-site meeting on the same day as the regular mtg – Oct 17th at 5pm – - but that is not yet confirmed. It will most likely be at the back gate on Oct. 17th at 5pm.
The Introduction of Arts in Public Places Artist portion was postponed.
POOL TO CLOSE 2 1/2 MONTHS in 2012
A presentation was given on Bypass Culvert Repair and Inlet Grate Projects by Johnnie Price. Construction will begin in 2012 and will be in 3 phases. Inlet Grate Construction will begin Feb 2012 and the Bypass Repair will begin Oct. 2012 assuming Fish allows them to do that because of the drought (since the original start up date was put back because if the drought). Pool will be closed during phases 2 and 3 for 2 ½ months of the 5 month project.
There was a short update on Urban Forestry Program’s Tree Treatment Plan.
Mary Gay Maxwell suggested everyone read the short term projects document that will address some of the speakers concerns view it here: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/downloads/shorttrm.pdf. It was also made available at the meeting.
Open House – New Habitat Conservation Plan
[ October 18, 2011; 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] The City of Austin is in the process of renewing our 10(a)(1)(B) permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to allow for “incidental take” of the endangered Barton Springs Salamander. The current permit expires in 2013. The City must complete a new Habitat Conservation Plan by the end of 2011 to stay on schedule with the permit renewal and ensure continuous operation of Barton Springs.
The City is hosting an open house event at Barton Springs in the Splash Exhibit on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, from 5 to 8 pm. This free, come-and-go public event is an opportunity for anyone to learn more about the new Habitat Conservation Plan and provide feedback directly to City staff. Please share this informational flyer, which will be posted at multiple locations at Barton Springs, with anyone else who might be interested in attending: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watershed/downloads/bss_meeting_flyer.pdf
You may email any questions about the permit renewal process to salamander@austintexas.gov. You may also visit our website for more information on the renewal process, http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watershed/salamander_guidelines.htm. A draft of the conservation measures to be included in the new Habitat Conservation Plan will be available from this website in early October.
Sincerely,
Chris Herrington, PE
City of Austin
Watershed Protection Department
Joint Committee Meets at City Hall on High-impact Plans
Barton Springs Pool Ground Improvements
Parks & Recreation Board/Environmental Board Joint Committee to Meet Monday at City Hall, 301 West Second St, Austin TX
The Joint Committee will meet Monday, September 19 at 6:15 at City Hall, Room 1029.
There will be no presentation or scheduled discussion regarding the 60% grounds improvement project.. The plan was presented twice last month, and public input was received during both meetings. The Joint Committee approved the 60% plans. A concerned citizen could address the Joint Committee with a 3 minute citizen communication, but there will not be presentations on the subject.
Please, read the presentations. The 60% plans can be found at:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/downloads/ggi0901l.pdf — in low resolution
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/downloads/ggi0901h.pdf — in high resolution
Many of the presentations, short term projects status, etc. are posted at the following link:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonspringsmp.htm
The agenda for the meeting is http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/downloads/jcagenda20110919.pdf
PARD’s policy is that feedback can be provided any time, but the later in the design cycle it is given, the fewer the chances that it will be incorporated.
60% design stage was Monday August 15th 2011
60% had to be repeated because we didn’t attend, Sept 1, 2011
Feedback accepted for the next 2 weeks after last presentation. This is not official policy from PARD but more or less a good logical assumption. This means that feedback can be provided until Friday Sept 16th, 2011. Since next joint committee is Monday, Sept 19, feedback may be accepted next week.
90% October 17th, 2011 = After this time it will be very difficult to make changes unless they can be easily accommodated within existing plans. At this point, plan is almost finalized. Permits are missing. Not USFW permits that take a long time, but various city permits.
The 90% plan will most likely not change much from the 60% plan UNLESS
citizens ask for changes soon. This BSP Grounds Improvement plan was
discussed from the conceptual phase, to the 30% to the current 60% stage
with public input, so we are pretty much getting the last chances to make
changes. PARD receives public input all through the cycle, but it gets
harder to incorporate as the plans progress.
There is no terracing of the south lawn. There is terracing at the North lawn.
ADA entrance to the water on the south side will be possible via a lift that
has already been purchased by Aquatics.
Tree mulching and fencing is part of the tree maintenance plan that Forestry
is developing, as part of the Master Plan Short Term improvement projects. (See below.)
Brian Larson is designing the 60% grounds improvement plan including
proposed renovations and the planting plan. Forestry is developing the tree
maintenance plan. They are supposed to be working together to integrate all
plans.
Public input can be submitted via email to PARD, Gary Gregson, Masterplan Project Manager – and/ or to the members of the joint committee.
BSP Joint Committee members:
- Linda Guerrero, chair, (Parks board)
- Carol Lee (Parks board)
- Jerry Perales (parks board)
- Mary Ann Neely, (e board)
- Dr. Mary Gay Maxwell (e board)
You may also wish to cc the Director of PARD. Sara Hensley as well as the public mailing list .
Hurry. The closer to the 90% stage (October 17), the fewer chances of incorporating feedback. There will be no more discussion unless there are many who email PARD cc Joint Committee about a certain issue, like not moving the entrance to the east, or not building the path on top of the hill, but that is an ADA issue and there are few chances of changing it.
Moving the entrance to the east side creates a paved parking lot close to the creek and reduces parking space, while it lengthens the way to the pool that some disabled or mobility impaired people who may not be able to walk, all while the dirt parking lot remains unpaved creating dust and health problems. It may be possible to change this issue with sufficient public support. The alternative is to pave the dirt parking lot and keep the existing entrance on the south side.
Placing the path on the south hill closer to the trees or on the other side of the trees, as was proposed by a citizen at the last meeting, will damage the trees. The path needs to be at the edge of the dripline of the trees as was shown in Brian’s plans, and where it was placed Brian is optimum for the trees. Another idea proposed by the same party at the last meeting was to enlarge the paved parking lot, close to the restrooms, but this is not okay because there are trees by both sides of the parking lot, and they would get damaged if the parking was enlarged.
PARD Forestry’s plan to maintain the trees within the fence at BSP
You should attend this meeting because of this other important presentation. There will be a presentation on PARD Forestry’s plan to maintain the trees within the fence at BSP. This includes potentially mulching some large shade areas, but only for 1 year, to enrich the soil for the trees, and possibly soil aerating some trees which involves fencing their critical root zone and watering for 1 year. Both of these proposals will reduce the space available to lay down by the hills, and there are simpler ways to provide the nutrients to the majority of the trees, like applying a thin layer of organic compost (not Dillo dirt), that will work itself into the soil in 3-6 months, eliminating the need to fence or water the trees for a year. The soil aeration process is very hard on trees even though it’s the most benign, and should be used only when absolutely necessary. And mulching trees is beneficial but if the plan is to mulch only for 1 year, then the benefit is not as good. Mulch will not improve the soil by much if only applied for 1 year. A good tree maintenance program should include applying organic compost and mulching yearly.
There are 14 trees that need soil aeration due to excessive soil compaction and for which PARD had already permitted the soil aerations that will occur this fall. In addition to that, the 1-2 cottonwoods by the diving board may need soil aeration. Many certified arborists doubt that soil aerations are need for any other tree inside the BSP fence.
A Planting Plan
In addition, a planting plan for both hills inside the fence and South Woods, designed by Forestry may be presented. However, since we have the unique opportunity of having an experienced landscape architect such as Brian Larson, the planting plan should be designed by him. Brian will indeed design the landscape plan and Forestry, as well as the public, will review. That would yield a much better plan. The South Woods in particular needs a planting plan because most (?) invasives were removed, and there are small areas that are bare. But the planting plans need to be reviewed by the public before planting, and the public needs to be given sufficient time to review these plans, as was agreed by PARD and Joint Committee last year. And we shouldn’t plant unless there is a way to water the plantings during next year’s heat and drought.
An important issue to discuss is the need to install irrigation for the grass and trees in both hills. The system can be the same, but different controls are needed so that the Heritage trees can get a deep watering during the drought months only. The new trees that will be planted will need irrigation for 3 years, and that irrigation should be installed very carefully around the established trees, avoiding encroaching into their dripline (CRZ) to not damage their roots.
Please attend this meeting to see if you are OK with the amount of space that will be lost for tree treatments that may not be necessary, effective or practical. Please, help the trees by asking for gentler treatments (like applying compost) when soil aerations aren’t necessary. The heritage trees at the pool are already stressed by the drought, they don’t need additional stress from harsh treatments. Please, notice the new location of the meeting, it’s at city hall, room 1029.
Please attend future SP Joint Committee meetings held the third Monday of each month to stay informed of these and future construction that is intended as part of the BS Pool Master Plan.
Sidewalk on South Lawn & Construction Everywhere
Plans are underway to spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on controversial “grounds improvements” that will make major changes to the appearance of the areas surrounding the pool as part of the Masterplan.
The Joint Committee (charged with reviewing and approving everything related to the BSP Masterplan) had failed to announce to the public an invitation to attend the August 15 meeting when they approved 6o% of the plans. So the public was invited to attend a repeat of the presentation by the landscape architect Tom Larsen on Sept 1 (at time that conflicted with other meetings of the Austin City Counci–about the budget–and Austin Energy).
What he presented was a newer version of the info which is currently on the City’s website. See the older presentation: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/downloads/ggi60a.pdf.
The newer version was provided on Sept 2. General Grounds Improvements-September 1, 2011 (Warning: this is a link to a 27.4 MB PowerPoint presentation)
Representing the Parks and Recreation Dept were Manager of the Aquatics division at PARD Tom Nelson and PARD Assistant Director Kimberly McNeeley.
Whereas the plans got enthusiastic support from a small group of representatives of the Friends of Barton Springs Pool (who had been privy to the Aug 15 meeting), the meeting last night was rife with disagreement. Karen Kreps, Robert Corbin, Peter Steinhardt, Bill Bunch, Roy Whaley and others expressed concern over and objections to the plans.
The plans involve:
On the northside: Digging up 12 inches of compacted soil in the tree court and replacing it with a raised pavement, adding a scenic overlook next to the steps which could be accessed from outside the pool, adding large planters that will provide seating on stones but keep pedestrians from walking under the trees in the tree court and possibly changing the location of the main entrance. Eliminating ~12 parking spaces to move the bike racks (without increasing bike parking capacity) away from the planters. Replacing the existing fence with a modern metal/cable fence.
On the southside: Relocating the gate to the southeast corner (leaving the current gate area for an as-yet-to-be-approved second bath house), moving the fence out 40 feet to include the row of pecan trees) adding a six-foot wide sidewalk from the new gate, across the lawn, down the steps and into the woods with many switchbacks, adding a lot of new lighting on the trees, overhead and underfoot, and eliminating 12 parking spaces. Much was said about the benefits of these plans for the handicapped community, but the new trails on the south side provide nothing more than a longer more difficult passage to the pool. The existing chicken wire fence will be replaced by a wrought iron fence (that doesn’t match the new fence on the north side overlook), and a decorative gate (the contract for which has somehow already been awareded to Hawkeye Glen through Art in Public Places). And Tom Nelson has already ordered a $2000 unit to be installed near the diving board so wheelchair-bound swimmers can be lifted into and out of the pool in addition to using the ramp on the south side.
The estimates for the project are as follows (these figures were not presented at the meeting but in private email from Sara L. Hensley, CPRP, Director):
Electrical and Plumbing – $428,500
Tree Court – $322,712
North Lawn – $399,765
South Lawn – $793,709
South Parking Lot – $247,420
Fence – $169,750
We will be looking at these projects from a value engineering point of view. Please remember that these are just estimates and true costs will be determined once finalized.
Promises that were made during the meeting:
1) That announcements of all upcoming meeting about the pool would be clearly posted at the pool on the bulletin board
2) That staff parking would be moved from the nearest parking spots to a more remote area, freeing the preferred spaces for pool clientele.
The proposed plans have received 60% approval. 90% approval is planned for the next meeting of the Joint Committee. Comments from the public are welcome for the next two weeks. Though it was never made clear at the Sept 1 meeting how or where those comments may be submitted. See
http://bartonspringspublicprocess.com/city-contacts-for-bsp/
This is the contact info for the consultants who devised the plan:
Larson Burns & SmithLandscape Architects / Planners. 1108 West AvenueAustin, Texas 78701; PH: (512)476-1559 FAX:(512)476-8128z
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