Finally!

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Last Wednesday at the City's Open Space Advisory Board meeting, it was announced that the Hunt arroyo at Bear Ridge had finally been purchased using stormwater money. The purchase has been pending for seven years ever since Rick Bonart and Charlie Wakeem met with Justin Chapman of Hunt at the site. The Arroyo is very popular with hikers and mountain bikers and leads directly into the State Park. 

According to Bonart, John Balliew, CEO of El Paso Water, says that there are no immediate plans for stormwater improvement at the site. Keeping the land pristine is always good news.

This past September $185K was made available for a trailhead at the Bear Ridge Arroyo. The hope and expectation is that millions will not have been spent on procuring the arroyo and then doing nothing to build an attractive trailhead. Such is the case with the Palisades where a mere $124 was spent on a sign that is now badly deteriorated. A better example of what can and should be done is the Lost Dog Trailhead built with private-public funding for much less than what the City would have spent to create a beautiful entrance to a prominent trail.

The Chair of the Open Space Advisory Board, Sherry Bonart, says: "Let's hope that the city will step up and use 2012 QOL money to build trailheads at both Bear Ridge and Franklin Hills [another Hunt property up for sale].  It's a travesty to purchase these parcels for millions of dollars and not follow through with the necessary improvements to make them fully available for the public to use."


Not to mention, fully attractive to ecotourists.

Second Charrette on Palisades This Evening

City Development to host 2nd Charrette on Palisades Canyon Park

EL PASO, Texas – Today the City of El Paso’s Planning Division under the direction of City Development, in conjunction with the Parks & Recreation Department, will hold its second public meeting and design charrette to obtain public feedback about various elements of the future Palisades trailhead and access improvements project.

WHAT:  2nd Charrette on Palisades Canyon Park

WHEN:  6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today, February 18th 2014

WHERE: Mesita Elementary School (3307 N. Stanton, El Paso, TX 79902) MAP

WHY:    As a 2012 Quality of Life Bond funded project, public input received during charrettes serves as a critical first step in understanding the community’s vision for this uniquely located central gateway to the Franklin Mountains State Park. In recognition of this project’s importance to our City, we invite members of the community to come together at this charrette to further develop their ideas and preferences for the trailhead.

Click HERE to view the findings from the first charrette held on November 18th 2013.

Planning Summarizes Palisades Charrette

In an email this morning, City Planner Elizabeth Gibson announced the results of the November charrette on the Palisades. She summarizes that " a clear preference for a minimalist approach to trailhead design and access improvements was communicated. Limited intrusion into the natural environment and the use of materials native to the site that serve to enhance its function, scenic views and other natural features were repeated themes." However, "parking including its location, layout, size and composition remains a central issue and warrants further input from the community prior to a final design decision being made."

A second charette is now scheduled for Monday, February 17th, to look at additional plans and alternatives. I wonder whether a natural scheme for flood control can be a part of this plan or if we are locked into the stale, old engineering approach of building a huge artificial dam. A less obtrusive parking lot would also be nice. Street parking has worked well for quite a long time now and it may make more sense to simply pave along Robinson rather than asphalt more natural areas.

Here is Gibson's message:

Community Members –

On November 18th, 2013, the City of El Paso’s Planning Division, in conjunction with its Parks & Recreation Department, held a public meeting and design charrette to obtain public feedback about various elements of the future Palisades trailhead and access improvements project. As a 2012 Quality of Life Bond funded project, public input received during our November meeting serves as a critical first step in understanding the community’s vision for this uniquely located central gateway to the Franklin Mountains State Park. In recognition of this project’s importance to our City, over 50 members of the community came together at the November 18th meeting to discuss their ideas and preferences for the trailhead.

I am writing to you today to share the results of that charrette and to provide you with an overview of our next steps. Please use the link included in this email to access the full report, which provides a detailed look at results from each of the charrette’s activities. To briefly summarize, a clear preference for a minimalist approach to trailhead design and access improvements was communicated. Limited intrusion into the natural environment and the use of materials native to the site that serve to enhance its function, scenic views and other natural features were repeated themes. Finally, parking including its location, layout, size and composition remains a central issue and warrants further input from the community prior to a final design decision being made.

With these ideas in mind, City planners, parks officials and engineers have gone back to the drawing board and are working together to develop several alternative designs for review and input by the community. To this end, we plan to hold a second public meeting and design charrette on Monday, February 17th where the community will be invited to comment on and contribute to the design process.  Details regarding meeting time and location are forthcoming. In the meantime, please review the charrette findings report accessed via the link below and forward it to any other individuals or groups you think may be interested.

Palisades - Charrette Findings 01-13-2014

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, concerns or ideas about how we can improve the public input process.

Thank you for your help and I look forward to seeing you soon.

 

Elizabeth Gibson

 

Lead Planner, Long Range

City Development | City of El Paso

222 S. Campbell St.

El Paso, TX 79901

915.541.4730

Is There a Future for the Palisades Trailhead?

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This past Saturday, Lost Dog Trailhead (Redd Road Trail Head), was dedicated by the Borderland Mountain Bike Association. On hand were Martin Bartlett, representing the EPWU/PSB and Marci Tuck of the City's Parks and Recreation Department. Members of the West Texas Urban Forestry Council (Los Tree Amigos) presented a check from a grant that went to landscaping the trail head with Honey Mesquites.

BMBA officer and emcee for the dedication, Brent Sanders, shared the cost figures for the trailhead. The final cost of the project was $30,000. "The BMBA ponied up about $10,000 cash for permits, PSB fees to rent the land, fines (the City hit us with a whopping $600) and materials," according to Sanders. "The rest of the money came from donations of both materials and people's time." A big contributor was Jobe Materials that provided gravel and rock.

Now let's move to the Palisades - an uncompleted Open Space project because of an earlier failure to purchase enough land and the usual bureaucratic red tape - much of which is wrapped around the City's Engineering Department.

After the Palisades was purchased with Open Space money, plans for trail improvements including amenities were drawn by Huitt-Zollars and McGann and Associates. Here's one scenario:

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Here's another:

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There's a third scenario. It seems all 3 are now in the bowels of the City's Engineering Department - what is it - two, three years after the purchase and bids went out for designs. 

Unfortunately, the scenarios weren't ever vetted first by neighbors, hikers or mountain bikers. The failure to include neighbors in the planning led City Council Representative, Ann Lilly, not to specifically target bond funds for the Palisades entrance. The project still can be done with other bond money. The hope is that there will be more input first. Some neighbors fear that the improvements will only lead to more pedestrian and biking traffic behind their homes resulting in more noise and other nuisances. This picture shows the proximity of some homes to the main trail:

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It was an easy walk from the backyard of the home in the picture to the trail. 

I'm sure that much of the concern can be addressed by educating hikers and mountain bikers about respecting the privacy due residences in the area. Signage showing where the Palisades open space ends and private property begins could also help although boulders mark the boundary in this location:

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A simple sign can be created saying something such as "Please help keep the noise level down until the top (or bottom) of the hill and respect the privacy of neighboring homes. Thanks for your understanding and help." 

Simple improvements to the parking (which is now done on gravel at the bottom of the hill anyway) along with some signage and amenities can make this entrance to premier El Paso open space and, eventually, into the State Park very attractive. It's not just a matter of promoting natural open space and recreation but a way to show our civic pride. People will be good neighbors if asked.

Time to pick Zollars 1, 2 or 3 or follow BMBA's lead. It will be interesting at the November 7th OSAB meeting to see how Engineering has tweaked the plans - stalled them is more like it.

Oops!

Open Space advocates and hikers recently posed at the Palisades sign.

A chagrined Ed Archuleta confessed to the Stormwater Advisory Committee this past Wednesday that he had neglected to purchase some necessary land for the stormwater infrastructure at the Palisades. It seems that the PSB/EPWU needs a bit more land for access to the stormwater project. Some recall that Nanette Smejkal, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, had questioned whether the extra land shouldn't be purchased when the Committee first looked at the plan to buy the Palisades. Ed A. had pooh-poohed her suggestion. It would seem that our brilliant land sales czar who has sold land over the past 10 years for the astonishing average amount of $9003/acre, has a bit of a problem when it comes to purchasing land. Give us your expertise on the Northwest Master Plan again, Ed.

Prediction: we will spend a bit more for this purchase of land than we did for the other land in the Palisades now that the PSB is desperate. Open space money will probably be wasted. Perhaps we should take a good hard look at Archuleta's $275,000/year salary.

I'm laughing and laughing. Perhaps I should be crying.

Don't Keep Out & Don't Go to Jail

Hike and Tamales group prepares to enter the Palisades

Rosario Rivera is an avid hiker and one of El Paso's leading environmental and open space activists. She recently told the PSB that they should buy the land at Palisades Canyon if for no other reason than to prevent El Paso from further embarrassment. Too many visitors and tourists come to El Paso to hike or bike the Franklin Mountains. One of the best entries to the mountains is at the Palisades just off Robinson. For years an ominous sign has un-welcomed visitors: "Keep Out or Go to Jail!" Of course, for years, El Pasoans and their guests have used the trail. However, now that PSB is closing the sale on the land, this new open space will become a beacon to hikers and mountain bikers around the world. After all, the Palisades is El Paso's "central park" as PSB CEO Ed Archuleta has christened it.

Rosario has also begun a series of "culinary" hikes. Her last was "Hike and Tamales" on January 17th. The group enjoyed a hike as well as tamales, pastries and tea.

Keep Out Or Go To Jail!

Pictures courtesy of Rosario Rivera

PSB Votes to Purchase Palisades Canyon

Dr. Rick Bonart being sworn as new member of the Public Service Board

PSB CEO, Mr. Ed Archuleta, called Palisades Canyon "our central park in El Paso . . . our gateway to the Franklin Mountains . . . a jewel." In his review of the proposal to purchase the 202 acres for $2,465,000 ($12,203/acre), he stressed that time is of the essence and that the property should have been purchased decades ago. After an initial price of over $5million dollars five years ago, Archuleta agrees that the price is fair and he voiced confidence in the appraisal. He said that the purchase is one of the priorities of the City's Open Space Master Plan.

Avid hiker, Risher Gilbert, also expressed that time is of the essence. A commercial real estate attorney, she emphasized the need to work with the current 11 individuals who own the canyon rather than wait for their interests and estates to be scattered eventually among heirs - many who are out of town. She, along with Jack Maxon and others, have worked hard for the preservation of the Palisades for many years now.

Nearly 40 members of the environmental/conservation community were in attendance

The meeting was attended by over 40 members of the environmental and conservation community. Several of them spoke in favor of the purchase including Open Space Advisory Board Chairman, Charlie Wakeem, and Frontera Land Alliance President, Mike Gaglio.

Mr. Wakeem raised a concern that it would be better to amortize the loan over several years so that there is more money available should other needs arise before the PSB has another 10% of stormwater fees to use for purchasing open space that has stormwater needs. After this purchase there will be just $635,000 until 2011. Mr. Wakeem was concerned that there may be a need to act on other privately-held, ecologically sensitive properties in the meantime. However, he voiced his complete support for the purchase if done outright. CEO Archuleta prefers to pay no interest.

Sierra Club President Bill Addington had an additional concern. He believed that the sale price was too high especially since only 40% of the property could ever be developed. (Palisades Canyon is created by 3 arroyos and constitutes a major watershed.)

Mr. Archuleta told the board what needs to be done after approval of the proposal: a complete boundary ground survey, a complete Phase I Environmental survey, an environmental assessment. The sellers have agreed to pay for the surveys and the closing costs. Closing, he said, was expected in 60 days.

New board member, Dr. Rick Bonart, a long-time open space and environmental activist and recent past Chairman of the Open Space Advisory Board, moved that the PSB make the purchase. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Today's meeting was also attended by Elizabeth Ferguson who hiked this area with school children as early as 1929.

PSB to Vote on Purchase of Palisades

If you can make the Public Service Board meeting tomorrow at 9 a.m. at 1154 Hawkins, do so. It is important to support the purchase of the Palisades property. It is also important the the PSB/EPWU sees a large contingency of the public behind conservation and preservation.

Here's what is up:

The El Paso Times has already announced the pending sale of the Palisades by the Public Service Board. The Times has also endorsed the purchase in an editorial in this morning's edition. [I can't help this aside: the Times can mention the Palisades purchase but has never said anything about the Jobe quarry at Avispa Canyon. El Paso, Inc. even had the story about Mr. Jobe's granting easement to the PSB regarding Arroyo 41A. If I owned a canary, the Times would have some value. Enough of my aside.]

The proposed purchase of the sale is item 5 on the agenda. The supporting document is also valuable to read. Especially look at the maps.

Click to enlarge

In an email Attorney, Risher Gilbert, stresses the importance of coming to the meeting:

Fellow Hikers and Lovers of our Mountain: We have WONDERFUL news . . . Ed Archuleta has notified me that based on the appraisal of the property the EPWU has negotiated a price with the sellers for $2.465 million and the Palisades JV has accepted the price. This will be voted on by the newly expanded Public Service Board next Wednesday, January 13^th. The meeting starts at 9am and is at 1154 Hawkins which is a building across Hawkins from the Cielo Vista Mall. It is very important that as many of us attend as possible to show our support for the Board approving this purchase. If you have contacts with others-like the Frontera Group-and the Sierra Club Group-please encourage them to also attend. In my opinion, if the Board approves this purchase it will be a HUGE victory for our Mountain and for our State Park! Thanks so much for your part in working together as a great team to make this happen. I want to especially thank:

Jack Maxon who went with me to many, many meetings over the last 5 years with just about everyone we could collectively think of that might help us with this project, and who participated in the El Paso Inc. article that got this issue onto the communities radar screen;

Rosario who encouraged me to take Ed Archuleta on a hike through this 200 acres and was ever persistent in preserving this 200 acres;

Richard Teschner who set the example for all of us about making personal sacrifices of our time, treasure and talent to preserve our beautiful Franklins and their arroyos; and to

John Moses for being so supportive and hiking with us and other Austin Texas Parks folks as a way to tell our story of the importance of preserving this 200 acres, and for all his great efforts related to trails in the Franklin State Park.

Richard Teshner also encouraged others to attend for an additional reason: to let the Board see the support and strength of the environmental/conservation community. Such a showing may have an impact on another issue: the failure by the EPWU to pay for the damage it caused to Resler Canyon when it dumped tons of dirt in an effort to do some flood control. At first the EPWU said that they would mitigate at their expense. Then, they reneged. The matter has been in discussion ever since. The EPWU should be able to imagine the kind of turnout there will be if they fail to take care of the damage they caused at Resler.

El Paso Water Utilities' refusal to take responsibility reminds me of this great music video:

Open Space Advisory Board Chairman, Charlie Wakeem, does have this concern:

"I also understand that there may just be $3.1M in the budget for Open Space until 2011. If so, $2.45M from $3.1, leaves only $6.5K for open space acquisition for at least a year. Not Good!! Tomorrow I will ask the PSB that if the seller agrees to it, that the $2.45M be made in payments over the next few years so that other critical open space can be protected. The argument for paying in one lump sum is saving interest. However, the advantages of payments would be in time value and preservation of more open space."