B4: Board Member DePalma Presentation — original pdf

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Photo: River Place Trail Dated: Saturday, February 16, 2019 Strategic Partnership Agreements A tool to protect access to public lands and ensuring fairness A Presentation by Rich DePalma October 27, 2020 1 The Issue The City of Austin has Strategic Partnership Agreements with Limited Districts in the City of Austin but not all were created equal. The agreements were negotiated between the City of Austin and the Limited District Board of Directors and access to public spaces was not always protected. 2 Example – River Place Limited District 2019 to 2020 Trail Fees 3 $10 fee per person — ages 13 years old and up — and per pet to access the nature trail for those individuals living outside of the District’s borders. District residents, who pay District taxes, can access the site at no charge if they present a Resident Card. Non-District residents living in River Place have the option to purchase a $400 annual trail pass. The trail is free to all users from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Mon.-Fri., excluding holidays. 4 Photo: River Place Trail Dated: Saturday, February 16, 2019 5 Photo: River Place Trail Photo: River Place Trail Dated: Saturday, February 16, 2019 Dated: February 26, 2019 6 Photo: River Place Trail Dated: Saturday, February 16, 2019 7 The Outcome 8 9 August 13, 2020 A Portion of the Communication by the District to the TPWD September 11, 2020 Article 10 Still advertising $10 fee for trail as of 10/23/2020 11 Our Charge 12 Limited Districts Can Charge Fees https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/docs/wa/htm/wa.49.htm 13 Considering Fees https://www.tml.org/DocumentCenter/View/68/Texas-Municipal-League-Revenue-Manual-for-Texas-Cities-PDF 14 Portion of the August 6, 2019 Response from the River Place Limited District’s Counsel Comparison of Fees Example – Trail Fees Emma Long $5 a car m-th; $10 a car F-Sun; vehicle up to 8; $1per walk/bike Grand Canyon National Park Individual Permit $20/person. Admits one individual when entering by foot, bicycle, park shuttle bus, Grand Canyon Railway and private rafting trip. Individuals 15 years old and younger are admitted free of charge. 15 How do we fix this issue at the City of Austin? We codify basic requirements in a City of Austin Strategic Partnership Agreement. We already have the language that should be included because we require it from other Limited Districts. 16 https://amld.org/history-of-anderson-mill-limited-district 17 Tanglewood Forest Limited District Original SPA 1997; renewed 2007 and 2017 Same authorities and responsibilities but 18 Tanglewood Forest Limited District Original SPA 1997; renewed 2007 and 2017 Access and Fees are Addressed 19 Anderson Mill Limited District Original SPA 1998; renewed 2004 and 2017 Access and Fees are Addressed 20 2009 Agreement Amended Agreement River Place Limited District 21 2009 Agreement River Place Limited District No language on access or fees in this SPA. 22 Recommended Language [Access to Amenities] the cost [Park and Recreation Amenity access and programming] fees charged to nonresidents cannot exceed twice that charged to residents [or to maintain and operate the amenity]. Where there is no charge for residents but a fee is charged to nonresidents, nonresident fees cannot exceed fees charged for residents at comparable state or local public facilities. Reservation, membership or annual permit systems available to residents must also be available to nonresidents and the period of availability must be the same for both residents and nonresidents. 23 Thank you 24