Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services
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Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services PR&CS Administration 1401 Recreation Way Colorado Springs, CO 80905 Agenda Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Please silence your phone during the meeting. Thursday, August 9, 2018 7:30 am Palmer Room Call to Order Citizen Discussion Time for any individual to bring before the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board any matter of interest they wish to discuss that is not elsewhere on the agenda. Comments are restricted to three (3) minutes; you will hear an alarm when your time is up. Please contact PR&CS staff no later than the last Wednesday of the month prior if you wish to place a longer presentation on the agenda. Approval of Minutes- July 12, 2017 Minutes are posted no later than 5:00pm on the Tuesday before the meeting at: https://coloradosprings.gov/city-council/page/parks-and-recreation-advisory-board Ceremonial Items (time certain 7:30 a.m.) Guardians of Palmer Park Scott Abbott Action Items Blodgett Peak Open Space Acquisition David Deitemeyer Great Outdoors Colorado Grant Resolution – Panorama Park Tilah Larson Presentations Ethics Training Lisa O’Boyle Garden of the Gods Transportation Study Update Kim King/Annie Engen Board Business Adjournment COLORADO SPRINGS PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD ___________________________________________________________________________ Date: August 9, 2018 Item Number: Action Item # 1 Item Name: Proposed acquisition of up to 64 acres for the Blodgett Open Space SUMMARY: The TOPS program is coordinating with Trust for Public Land to acquire three parcels located directly south of the existing Blodgett Open Space property for the TOPS program. These properties are identified by the 2014 Park System Master Plan as candidate open space properties. They offer beautiful mountain terrain with panoramic views of the City and would expand the Blodgett Open Space property by just over one third of its current size. An acquisition through the TOPS program would further protect the City’s mountain backdrop. BACKGROUND: The 2014 Park System Master Plan (“Park Master Plan”) identifies preservation of the mountain backdrop on the west side of Colorado Springs as a priority consideration for the TOPS program and open space acquisitions. The three parcels are depicted on the attached map as Parcels A, B & C. They are located just west of the existing Oak Valley Ranch subdivision and directly south of the Blodgett Open Space which is currently 167 acres. The access to the parcels is on the west side of Woodmen Road and south of Blodgett Ranch Trail. As with the neighboring Blodgett Open Space, this property shares a boundary with the Pike National Forest. The Park Master Plan includes several additional goals that are supported by this proposal. First it provides an enhanced open space opportunity on the City’s western boundary and within the Park Master Plan’s candidate open space area. Second, acquisition of this property will fill in a gap in the open space network on the City’s west side. It will also provide an important addition to the Blodgett Open Space property which is site constrained. Finally, it highlights another successful project with Trust for Public Land thus meeting the master plan goal of formulating strong and broad partnerships. In May of 2018, the seller signed an option agreement with Trust for Public Land with the intent that the City would engage in its standard real estate process and Trust for Public Land would secure the property to allow for a TOPS program purchase of the property for Colorado Springs. Trust for Public Land has agreed to divide the real estate transaction costs evenly for this transaction. Pursuant to TOPS, TPL and City real estate acquisition procedures, an appraisal was completed for the property. It was performed by Muegge and Associates on June 15, 2017 and updated on July, 24, 2018. The updated value of the three parcels was determined to be $768,500 at a per acre value of $12,000 per acre. The property features terrain similar in character to the Blodgett Open Space terrain with oak brush, drainage ways and grassland species on a rolling uphill orientation. There is one dirt access road to the property that winds uphill to the top portion. Parcel B features a small barn structure of about 834 square feet with stalls and a garage door to a main bay. Parcel C features a flat buildable site for an estate home and accompanying out buildings. There are several easements on the three parcels. Each parcel has water and utility easements. Each parcel also has a conservation easement that is held by El Paso County. Additionally, Parcel C has an exclusive easement permitting a telecommunications site which is camouflaged by a nice looking barn structure which houses telecommunications equipment. It is fenced and access is provided to this site via the only road access into the three parcels. As part of this transaction, the seller wished to retain the lease value of the cell tower facilities housed within the barn structure. During negotiations, the seller decided to sell the revenue stream from that facility to a telecommunications company and to agree to an easement for that use where the telecommunications facility/barn is located along with an access easement to that site. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The City will enter into a contract to acquire the three parcels from Trust for Public Land, contingent on the City’s standard real estate due diligence review and City Council approval, for the updated appraised fair market value of $768,500. Acquisition of the property requires an appropriation in the amount of the established fair market value plus $10,000 from TOPS Open Space category revenue to purchase the property, and to pay for the City’s portion of the costs associated with the ALTA survey, property appraisals, Phase I environmental survey, closing costs and recording fees. BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: The TOPS Working Committee considered this item at its July 11, 2018 meeting and recommended approval by unanimous vote. ALTERNATIVE: Do not recommend approval of this acquisition of the three parcels or suggest that staff pursue an alternative. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of acquisition of up to 64 acres of property identified by tax schedule numbers 73000 00 481, 73000 00 483 and 73000 00 484 and approval to expend up to the established fair market value of the property of $768,500 as updated along with the City’s portion of the real estate transaction costs in the amount of $10,000 from the TOPS Open Space category revenue. Attachment: Map depicting Parcels A, B & C Blodgett Dr B l u W f f a v y ie w t Angelstone P v r G S Ne ll t edle i Fr ¾_ ¾i cone Ln H an r c PEREGRINE e is D S e r a D w OPEN SPACE b a c k T r C l ind erc one Ln A ssis A i Ht p s p Ow l l e Can s yon BLODGETT to Rd n e PEAK OPEN Tr R l us ts SPACE to n e C W W t oo dm e n R H d e a rt la N n e d e W d l a e y g ra s s L n Pike t Ranc National Blodget h Trl Forest Parcel B Parcel A jk Cell Tower Parcel C d lv B l ia n n te n e d C R n n ly u J Dr le da llan Ho © 2018 City of Colorado Springs on behalf of the Colorado Springs Utilities. All rights reserved. This work, and/or the data contained hereon, may not be reproduced, modified, SCALE: Blodgett Peak Open Space and Adjacent Properties Open Space distributed, republished, used to prepare derivative products, publicly displayed or Planned City Trails commercially exploited in any manner without the prior express written consent of the 0 500 City of Colorado Springs and Colorado Springs Utilities. This work was prepared Adjacent Parcels utilizing the best data available at the time of plot file creation date and is intended State Plane Coordinates NAD83 - US Survey Feet Existing City Trails for internal use only. Neither the City of Colorado Springs, the Colorado Springs Date: 7/3/2018 Utilities, nor any of their employees makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes Feet Colorado Central Zone Vertical Datum - NGVD29 any legal liability or responsibility for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any ± Pike National Forest Trails data contained hereon. The City of Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs Utilities and their employees explicitly disclaim any responsibility for the data contained hereon. Acquisition of up to 64 acres for the expansion of the Blodgett Open Space Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Advisory Board August 9, 2018 Project Summary Partnership with Trust for Public Land Three Parcels 3 Project Summary Ownership: T Slattery LLC/ Trust for Public Land has secured an option to purchase the property Size: approximately 64 acres Transaction: Fee Simple Acquisition Terms: • Purchase price of $768,500 based on appraisal at fair market value • Requesting appropriation authority at fair market value plus $10,000 for a total of $778,500. – Appraisal, Survey, Title Insurance, Phase I Environmental Report, Closing Costs and Recording Fees Special Considerations: • Acquisition in partnership with Trust for Public Land • Identified as Candidate Open Space Area in Park System Master Plan • Natural Resource Target Areas: Mountain Backdrop • Adjacent to Blodgett Open Space • Each parcel has a conservation easement held by El Paso County • Parcel B includes an 864 square foot barn-type structure near the frontage on West Woodmen Road • Parcel C is encumbered by an exclusive telecommunications easement and barn structure to house the equipment.