MONTGOMERY COUNTY OPEN SPACE BOARD

April 28, 2021 4:00 P.M. Montgomery County Planning Commission Norristown, PA Virtual Meeting via Zoom

APPROVED MINUTES

Board Members Present Staff Present Bruce D. Reed, Chair Bill Hartman, & Open Space Manager, MCPC Kim Sheppard, Vice Chair Donna Fabry, Senior Trails & Open Space Planner, MCPC Michael Stokes Brian Olszak, Senior Trails & Open Space Planner, MCPC Mark Vasoli Ellen Miramontes, Trails & Open Space Planner II, MCPC Gail Farmer Scott France, Executive Director, MCPC Yvonne Montgomery, Solicitor, MCPC Anne Leavitt-Gruberger, County Planning Manager, MCPC Ann Marie Meehan, Exec Admin Assistant, MCPC Board Members Absent None

Other Attendees Dulcie Flaharty John Ferro (Conservation Director, Wissahickon Trails) Philip A. Smith Marla Hexter Vicki Noone Bill Sabey John Raisch

A. Welcome & Meeting Protocol

Bruce D. Reed called the meeting to order at 4:03 p.m.

An amendment to existing statutes allows for public meetings to be conducted virtually to satisfy the requirements of the Sunshine Act. Bruce Reed, Board Chair, explained the meeting will be hosted via Zoom. Prior to the meeting, the agenda was published on the county website and included a phone number, meeting access code and password, along with instructions to allow the public to participate via phone or Zoom.

Bruce called the roll; three board members were in attendance, and two arrived after roll was called. It was determined that a quorum was present. Bill Hartman called the roll for staff.

Bruce asked if there were any members of the public present, and if so, to please identify themselves for the record. The names of members of the public who attended are noted above.

Montgomery County Open Space Board Minutes – April 28, 2021

B. Approval of the March 24, 2021 Minutes (Action)

Bruce called for a motion to approve the Open Space Board’s March 24, 2021 minutes.

Motion: Mark Vasoli moved to approve the minutes; Gail Farmer seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

C. Open Space Updates (Information)

1. Dawesfield Property (Whitpain Twp) John Ferro, Conservation Director for Wissahickon Trails, described the 4-parcel, 21.78 acre Dawesfield property located in Whitpain Township and recognized in the Montco 2040 Comprehensive Plan as a rural resource area. He said that Wissahickon Trails’ staff was in discussions with the owner regarding the purchase of some or all of this high priority property, located near existing open space in the Prophecy Creek Watershed/Lewis Lane Corridor/Ambler Township Green Ribbon . This purchase would provide for the expansion of Camp Woods to enhance habitat preservation and connectivity. An historic house where George Washington stayed is located on the property.

Gail Farmer, Open Space Board Member and Executive Director of Wissahickon Trails, added that the property has long been on the market, and only recently, the owner responded that he would consider selling 2 of the parcels to Wissahickon Trails. It would be a fee simple acquisition as the owner was not interested in selling it as a conservation easement. On behalf of her organization, Gail invited the Board and staff to share their thoughts on this prospective acquisition.

2. Montco 2040 Comp Plan Anne Leavitt-Gruberger provided an update on the county’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Anne explained that the plan was adopted in 2015 and provides for an update every 5 years; the next major update is in 2025. She said the 5-year updates are not rewrites but a “tweak” of goals and policies to reflect “where we are now” with land use/trail/transportation as some of the key indicators considered. Changes will be presented to the County Commissioners in summer, 2021 for adoption.

3. DCNR C2P2 Applications a. Clemens Parcel (Upper Salford Township) Bill Hartman provided an update on the application for funding towards the acquisition of the 22.34-acre Clemens Property located in Upper Salford Township. The parcel is located adjacent to Spring Mountain and close to the ; it has been identified as a priority for potential preservation. Total project cost is $323,000 ($313,000 appraised value plus estimated transaction costs); amount requested in the DCNR application is

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Montgomery County Open Space Board Minutes – April 28, 2021

$161,500; 50% match provided by the county from its Open Space Fund would be $161,500. Application was submitted by Upper Salford Township.

b. SRT 422 Connector (Lower Pottsgrove Township) Donna indicated the DCNR C2P2 grant application for development funds was submitted last month. Construction is estimated to cost $939,865. The amount requested from DCNR is $397,865. The county has $542,000 in Regional Trail Program grant funding previously secured from DVRPC for construction.

c. Camp Laughing Waters (Upper Frederick & New Hanover Townships) Bill described the 455 acre property on the Swamp Creek Greenway in New Hanover and Upper Frederick Townships, owned by the Girl Scouts of Eastern PA. One of the largest unprotected properties in the county, it is adjacent to other protected lands and would be a conservation easement acquisition. Total project cost is $3,917,000; amount requested from DCNR is $500,000 with a county match of $2,700,000. This is the 2nd application submitted by Natural Lands on behalf of the Girl Scouts. The Girl Scouts, Natural Lands and the county are working with Upper Frederick and New Hanover Townships regarding their contributions towards the acquisition. The Girl Scouts would also make a land donation up to $414,000 to assist with the easement acquisition.

4. Return on Environment Study Ellen Miramontes provided an update on the Return on Environment study. The ROE Advisory Committee will convene their 2nd meeting on May 5, 2021, where staff and Econsult will present some initial findings and four case studies will be discussed. Data is being collected from the 16 municipalities with the most municipally-owned open space and includes information such as park usage, education programs, and capital and operational budgets for open space.

5. 51 Park Ave Demolition Donna reported the demolition of the county-owned 51 Park Avenue parcel in Schwenksville has been completed. She presented some “before and after” photos demonstrating the marked improvement in the area’s aesthetics and the restoration of the area to floodplain.

6. Kehs (Cassel) Property Bill described the parcel relative to the Swamp Creek Greenway/Sunrise Trail. The property includes a dam that the owner would like removed prior to advancing discussions about a county trail easement or acquisition. Staff is working on obtaining a boundary survey to determine whether the dam is located on the property. Once the dam’s location is confirmed, the county will re-engage with American Rivers on possible funding and advice on the dam’s removal.

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Montgomery County Open Space Board Minutes – April 28, 2021

D. Trails Updates (Information)

1. Chester Valley Trail Extension Bill reported the planned construction along Saulin Boulevard is expected to begin at the end of April. Discussions with PECO are ongoing; it is likely than an NPDES permit modification will be required once trail realignment within the PECO corridor is resolved. Target completion is 3Q/4Q 2022.

2. (Byberry to County Line Road) Donna said the trail is now “unofficially” open to the public and construction is complete. An overview of the trail will be presented at the upcoming May 6th Board of Commissioners meeting, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held this summer.

3. Pennypack Terwood Crossing Bill reported that an engineer has been working on designing improvements to the traffic crossing at Terwood Road, and safety will be strongly enhanced by the upgrades. The project was advertised for construction on April 16th.

4. East Feasibility Study Brian Olszak said the first public meeting was held on April 22 via webinar and had 70 attendees. Staff conducted outreach by holding a “blitz” of Earth Day events to actively put the word out about trail routing and destinations. Feedback is being sought and will be shared at a stakeholder meeting in June. A recording of the public meeting, WikiMap and a feedback survey are now posted to the county website.

5. Cross County Trail/Wissahickon Trails at Erdenheim Farm Donna reported that staff is coordinating with PA DCNR and Erdenheim Farm to obtain the trail right-of-way/license agreement along Stenton Avenue within the current Commonwealth land. The county is also engaging with the Whitemarsh Foundation on an amendment to the Sheep Tract conservation easement and working towards executing the contract documents for the floodwall to be constructed at the 6007 West Valley Green Road (Spence) property.

6. DVRPC RTP Grant Award (CCT) Bill announced that the County’s application for a $120k RTP grant for advanced feasibility studies on two segments of the Cross County Trail was successfully awarded. Bill added that with the commencement of these two studies, every portion of this trail will either be under study, in design or under construction.

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Montgomery County Open Space Board Minutes – April 28, 2021

7. Trail Diversity Study Planning Smarter Event (April 29, 2021) Bill said that the staff’s Planning Smarter event will be held tomorrow, Thursday, April 29, 2021 from 4-5:30 p.m. EST. This fully virtual event will include a panel discussion, video highlights, and a description of physical trail improvements proposed for Norristown. He said that a critical piece of the study was the immense effort by staff regarding public outreach and engagement. So far, 140 attendees have registered, and the webinar will be posted on the county website for those who are unable to attend at that time.

8. CPF & Surface Transportation Earmark Funding Applications Bill explained that U.S. Representative Madeleine Dean has requested applications from the county for possible federal appropriations and surface transportation funding for local projects. Applications for the Cross County Trail and Trail Junction Center design and construction are under consideration.

9. Wissahickon Trail Connection Between Morris Arboretum and Forbidden Drive Ellen relayed that a field walk with City of representatives, the project consultants, and county staff was conducted last week to explore an alternative connection through City parklands to Forbidden Drive. This route would require the installation of a bridge across .

10. Cross County Trail Bridge Crossing of Germantown Pike Ellen mentioned that PennDOT is addressing geotechnical challenges, i.e., sinkholes, near the trail bridge project site. Chemical Road is currently closed between Germantown Pike and the Metroplex as a result. Gilmore and Associates has prepared two sketch options for the trail bridge crossing that will be shared with stakeholders at an upcoming field meeting.

11. Green Lane Borough - Perkiomen Trail Ellen shared photos of recent improvements to the end of the Perkiomen Trail in Green Lane. Bill commended Ellen on her work and added that while the scope of the project appeared deceivingly simple, it required quite a bit of work.

E. Open Space & Trails Strategic Plan (Information)

1. Trail Mapping Bill stated that there would be more to report at next month’s OS Board Meeting.

F. Public Comment There was no public comment.

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Montgomery County Open Space Board Minutes – April 28, 2021

G. Adjourn Motion: As there was no public comment or other business, Bruce D. Reed declared the meeting adjourned.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:41 p.m.

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Next Open Space Board Meeting: Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 4 p.m.

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