Overland Park

June 2013 - minutes

Overland Park Neighborhood Association (OPNA) – June 27 2013

Meeting called to order at 6:40 pm by President Catherine Sandy

Present:

Approximately 30 neighbors and friends turned out for this special meeting at Grant Frontier park.

Agenda

• Minutes from May meeting – waived due to special meeting
• Treasurer Report - waived
• Police Report
• Parks and Rec – Michael Bouchard

Business

• Police Report

Nothing to report at this time.  Only a reminder of becoming part of District 3 as of July 14^th.  Lt. Montoyo will be attending the future meetings.

• Parks and Rec – Scott Gilmore and Michael Bouchard

Scott Gilmore, General Manager for Denver Parks and Rec was joined by Michael Bouchard, the Parks and Planning Project Manager to reveal the latest plans for the River reconstruction project and to answer questions from the neighborhood.  Scott explained how the main emphasis of the project is on improving the quality of the river and the access to the river areas.  The project is now at 60% of  the design phase and currently the biggest project in the city of denver.  Part of the River South Master Plan, the current schedule is for the project to be completed by June 19^th, 2015.  The goal is to reverse the current channelization of the river banks and reestablish the native Riparian Zone, providing a healthier environment and easier access to the river.  The project spans from Florida on the north side down to the pedestrian bridge in Grant Frontier on the south side. 

Starting from the North end at Florida it is proposed to remove the current spillway and replace it with a much lower (5ft) structure.  The river will be reconstructed between Florida and Evans with smaller drop structures using ungraded boulders and gravel sand bars.  Four concrete jettys are planned within the entire park, with the goal being to find the balance between nature and accessibility.

In Grant Frontier the current bike path/trail will be moved to the back (east) of the park.  Grading will be done from the trail down to the river.  In order to perform the grading, some trees will have to be removed.  All of the trees have been identified within Grant Frontier into 3 categories, river trees, upland trees and invasive/exotic trees.  Whereas the largest existing cottonwood tree will remain as the centerpiece, several other trees will need to be removed.  They are working on preserving up to 55% of the current trees and the plan is to plant 425 new trees, including cottonwoods, willows and box elders.

Along with the grading down to the river, a side channel will be created at the river level to allow for a wetland area.

During the site walk, Michael pointed out the areas where most of the trees would need to be removed included the North and South side of the Evans bridge to make room for the expansion of the bike/pedestrian path. 

Here are a few pictures from the meeting and site walk.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.