 Hey everybody good evening. We'll begin and I see a couple people who are signing at the check-in table so be patient with us less than a minute we should be getting started shortly. Thank you. Okay we'll go ahead and begin. Can everybody hear me okay? Okay if not I can we do have a mic this is a relatively small room I tend to speak loudly so if at any time you can't hear me just let me know and I'll make sure that we get the volume adjusted appropriately. Before I begin I want to introduce myself my name is Homer Garcia I am the acting assistant director for the Parks and Recreation Department and we do have translation services available for tonight's public meeting on the Brackenridge Park Master Plan and with that being said we have someone who wants to share a few words with us. Good evening to all of you, some people who speak Spanish and who want to hear all this presentation in Spanish. I'm going to do the interpreter, I have a team here so that they can hear everything in Spanish. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you. Thank you. So tonight is five of six public meetings that we're having on the Brackenridge Park Master Plan and to provide a little bit of background you know I want to acknowledge a former councilwoman Betty Osable she had reached out to Councilman Trevino and shared with him that one of the things that we needed to do more of with regard to Brackenridge Park was be more engaging of the public. We did have two public meetings but we were challenged the Parks Department to look to see how we can take this public meeting to the communities across town so making sure that we're capturing engagement across the entire city of San Antonio and everybody that uses the park and so through the leadership of Councilman Trevino he's reached out to his colleagues and together they've been supportive of helping us deliver these meetings and so I want to acknowledge that leadership and thank him for that and in doing so you know message was sent loud and clear to the Parks and Recreation Department we needed to do more and so we want to be responsive to that and and so in tonight's meeting we'll walk through a handout does everyone have a handout looks like this it should have been on the sign-in table when you were coming in what this captures is the basically the strategies and all the elements within each strategy for the Brackenridge Park Master Plan and so outside in the breezeway we do have much larger versions of this available for review so that you can ask direct questions of our project team and then we can make sure that we're providing you with the answers to the questions that you have that that's one of the things that we want to make certain we do is provide clear information and make sure that there's no misinformation out there about what is happening with Brackenridge Park and through the master plan process before I get into my summary of this sheet I want to acknowledge a Brackenridge Park Conservancy and Executive Director Lynn Bobbitt I believe she has a few words that she'd like to share with the group Lynn good evening Lynn Bobbitt as he said I see a few people that have come to the other meetings so forgive me but I'd like to tell those of you that I'm seeing tonight a little bit about the Brackenridge Conservancy it was formed in 2009 and it was done so to create an organization to be the advocate for the park to be a steward of the park to work in partnership with the city the Conservancy has a memorandum of understanding under which we operate and it is administered by the Parks and Creation Department so back in 2009 before you see the explosive development that is occurring along Broadway the City Council Parks Department and the Conservation Society came together to encourage the formation of an organization such as this we do not own the property the property is still owned and managed by the city and the Parks and Creation Department however we work with the Parks and Creation Department and have been involved in the discussions for the development of an update of the only master plan that was created and adopted by City Council and that was done in 1979 so it is outdated I would like to say that I appreciate the council's action to move forward with an update there has been a lot of conversation about parking and traffic which Homer will go into and I have listened carefully to those comments that have been made but I would like to say that there are things that should be done and can be done in the park it was created in 1899 there is some deferred maintenance such as repairs of the river walls water quality the Asakia from 1779 could be redone the old Spanish colonial dam and cover that and there I would like to call your attention to some of those things as Homer is talking and I wanted to say that I am available to give a tour of the park it is different when you're standing on site looking at 120 acres that are still free and open to the public the entire park is about 345 acres but only a third of that is open in non fee base that means the rest of it is golf course witty zoo and first tee so the Conservancy is interested in protecting that open space and where possible to expand the open space so I am going to pass around start over here and if you would put your name and email I'd be happy to call you and do small groups of tours and give you more information as we make our way through the park I'm here tonight to answer questions as well and so the format of the meeting let me I guess identify our project team the lead is Jim Gray with Realtel Studios Jim you'd raise your hand John Mays on this side of the room and TCI has been helping with this project as well Jamal if you please raise your hand and is Eric in here Eric's right next to him in red so the format of the meeting I'll go through and review this with you after I'm done with the summary and overview then there will be an opportunity for citizens that have signed up to speak and citizens will be provided three minutes and groups provided nine minutes and so it's conclusion of that we have the large displays of what everyone has a copy here of tonight to allow you to roam through each of the strategy areas look at the elements ask questions of the project team and then indicate through by placing a dot so each strategy element has a scale at the bottom that allows you to indicate maybe some elements you think are really great and strongly support ranging to you know kind of lukewarm and not really maybe resonates with you very very much to it resonates with me I really don't like this and city I need you to go back and we look at this so that's what the purpose of the visuals outside will serve and again our project team will be there to answer any questions as well as myself so we'll go ahead and begin the presentation and what what I want to highlight is the master plan thus far it it's a vision plan and does not equal or equate to implementation at nowhere are we close to finalizing this plan and adopting a plan that the department can make a recommendation to council we're still very much in the gathering public input phase so I want to make certain that that's front and center and also there's not any funding identified to this plan and so once this process is done and identified and there's a final plan that can be forwarded for recommendation then the other parts going to be where do we get the money from and the truth is that that's not decided yet and we just don't know what you see here are merely concepts they are not design elements it is not about the color of a park sign or the theme or logo associated with a park sign or anything like that we these are purely just strategies and if you will much smaller visions on how to deliver a larger project unfortunately what's been part of the challenge is we're not working with a blank slate if this was a fresh park acquisition then you know kind of skies the limits but that's not where we're at the fact is Breckenridge Park is an old park a large park it's in the heart of the city and there's a lot of people that identify with that park and and have a lot of ties to the park and so in going through this process it's critical that the project team in the city are considerate of all those elements at the end of the day the park use will not change there's no discussion about charging fees and in this plan and it does not address programming so at the end of the day those are elements kind of implementation elements operational elements that would maybe at that's the time that that discussion's had but at this point at no time has there been thoughts of you know how are we going to program something that's not been the focus or goal of this master plan process the goal is however to protect preserve and restore the rich cultural and historical landscape of the park and that needs to be the overarching theme as we move through this process for our design team and that's kind of been the baseline if you will and looking at the end of the day through these strategies are we doing those things and that's critical to delivering a project that can be recommended and supported by the public so I'll begin with this document that everyone has here and if you don't please raise your hand one of our project team members will get you a copy so you'll see as we go through these five strategy areas some of them kind of bleed together and somewhat have a domino effect and and so when you'll hear some recurring themes so if you would please you'll be patient but again it's with the mind of protecting the cultural and historical landscape of Bracken Ridge Park so number one strategy number one increased visibility and pedestrian access to and within the park so within this strategy there are three primary elements that we're asking for feedback and input on number one create a common park entrance so there's multiple ways people access Bracken Ridge Park and if you're local you may know how to get to the park if you're a tourist maybe not so and it's very easily you're coming up north on Broadway and people pass the park and so they don't know that so one of the things that the project team had identified was creating a common theme or almost brand if you will for the park so that you know when you've arrived at Bracken Ridge Park similar to like this park we're here in this evening Harberger Park number two or strategy excuse me number two element number two excuse me in the strategy area increased park connections to the neighborhoods and the Broadway corridor during the evaluation of the project team when they were looking at just connectivity to the surrounding areas of Bracken Ridge Park they noted that there are poor overall connections and that there's opportunity to improve that and strengthen those inroads if you will to the immediate community and then along that Broadway corridor number three element number three add multi-use pathways to increase pedestrian flow so what this element highlights in the visual is the red line and that's the recommended path for where there's opportunity to do that and at the end of the day what we've created is for the you know looking at enhancing the user environment making sure that there's safe pedestrian flow north and south east and west within the park and so that that's the thought behind this element strategy number two recapture green space and louve impervious cover and parking so there's four elements here that we're seeking public input on first element is reducing interior parking and excess impervious cover to increase green space so as you know visitors the park are aware there's a spattering of parking spaces throughout the park but there's opportunity to look at how we can modify those park spaces and eliminate the impervious cover and in the end recapture some green space and this is with the thought of kind of alleviating some of those stress points within the park that today users experience element two established parking garages outside of the park perimeter this identifies the potential and this map highlights areas possibly where garages could be erected this is not on parkland and it there's been no discussion about where that would happen specifically these are just options and then again back to the operations implementation if it happens who's going to run it what are the fees none of that has been the focal point of discussion and in developing the strategy again it was about how do we look at preserving the current state of the park improving it enhancing user experience so that their safer flow north and south and east and west within the park related to that is element number three convert st. Mary's parking lot to a grand lawn this refers to the existing parking lot where the Bracken Ridge equal train depot station is and so by eliminating that having parking on the perimeter of the park then that allows you effectively to enlarge the park by recapturing green space similar to reducing that impervious cover at key stress points within the park this is one location where in doing so then you return and restore that area to a place that really kind of becomes a heart of the park allows people to congregate and interact and and build community this does not address programming and and how else this grand lawn should this element be supported what it would look like and how it would be used the fourth element provide a people mover to connect to points of interest in and around the park so you'll notice this in set is similar to the second one about where potentially there could be some garages constructed on the perimeter and one of the things that we know is people still want to access the park they want to be able to go where they want to go whether it's Lambert beach or the witty or the zoo so what this allows is how we get people from location location to points of interest that are critical and important to them strategy number three restore natural park features and improve water quality so you know we go back to protect preserve restore the the historical and cultural landscape of the park and in this a part is tied to that and so we all know that the park has a lot of natural features that can use some attention and so the first element talks about restoring and stabilize San Antonio river banks when Lynn introduced the Conservancy to everybody she talked about how some of that's occurring now but there's a lot more that needs to be done I mean the river flows entirely through the park and so while we do engage in those maintenance activities today's we know that there's more that can be done along the east side of the park is the Catala Pershing which you know this kind of provides this design element this inset you look at how what it is now versus maybe what it could be and so by restoring it to a natural design with pedestrian walks it still allows to serve the functional purpose and of conveying water but does so in a way that is much more integrated with the park appears seamless and then again allows a community the recreational opportunity to get north and south along this portion of the park element number three remove invasive plant species this is not an item that is unique to Brackenridge Park we have it in all of our parks we have it here at Harvard Park and so you know we look at how we can eliminate those invasive species and again going back to restoring nature and you know effectively loving Mother Earth and and making sure that we're good stewards of the park that we're charged with maintaining element number four this is incorporating low-impact development features so one of the things we want to make sure is any new development in the park that we do so in a way that incorporates low impact design elements and whether it's new improvements or looking at opportunities where maybe we have some projects we can retrofit and introduce this to the park we want to make sure that this is a guiding element and how we move forward with any improvements that that we do strategy number four restore preserve and articulate park cultural and historical features so this ties directly to the goal of what we're trying to achieve there are several elements that can help achieve that first being establishing the park as a national historic landmark and become the first national heritage area in Texas and so effectively what this does is it raises the profile of the park and allows the city to possibly seek grant funding and leveraging resources to deliver more to the community all in the context of still preserving and respecting the cultural and historical landscape of the park element number two restore and interpret Spanish colloquial dams Asakias and waterworks so this inset highlights the north end of the park where there's a lot and an abundance of these resources and so when we tell the story about how the park was once used to how it is today that captures the the I guess how cultures have changed over time in interacting with the park and that it's always part of building that community element number three four see restore historic buildings and structures so there's a lot of already existing structures in the park that also can use some improvements and the project team felt that in making sure that we preserve what the park has today that we look at we do that instead of just going and building something new and then forgetting about the old create an outdoor classroom every park setting is an opportunity for a classroom setting and we know that Brackenridge Park is being used today as a form for education this would identify an area of the park and formalize that opportunity so people kind of know and come when you're here whether it's an outdoor classroom or an amphitheater or what have you that this is a place for learning and education occurs the other is renovating sunken garden theater it is the home to fiesta events and concerts throughout the year and you know but other than that doesn't you know get a whole lot of use so how do we look at and how can we better integrate the Sun Garden Theater with the park strategy number five reduce vehicular traffic to improve pedestrian mobility and so this is one of those examples where there's kind of a domino effect and you know one thing that's critical to know as we go through these last set of elements is you know this is not so that access is restricted to the park rather other elements within the master plan identify alternatives for how we can still get people to those points of interest and as far as critical roads for conveyance of pedestrian or excuse me public vehicular traffic on special events then those roads would be open the roads aren't being torn out the roads aren't going away it's just how do we utilize those roads on an everyday basis versus a special event basis and still allowing public to utilize that for access to other points within the park so the first element is improve the intersection at stadium drive and Hildebrand Avenue to establish a main entrance for the park and zoo so we go back to the very beginning we talked about there are multiple ways for how people get to the park and how do you know you've arrived at the park this is an opportunity to formalize that entrance and rather than have people come from off a Broadway and using all the park roads to get to the other side this would allow people to to excuse me to formally come into the park off of Hildebrand Avenue and then people know we've arrived at the park and it's an opportunity to also utilize that as the main entrance to the zoo we know the zoo has a lot of visitors and so do they all need to be coming up across Mulberry or up St. Mary's as opposed to having again a formal entrance pulls that traffic out allows people to again safer passage for those that aren't pedestrians or running groups or walking groups whatever the case may be second element close the Hildebrand Avenue entrance and Breckenridge way at to lead a drive to restrict vehicular access in the northern area of the park so this is that area where we know we have a lot of rich cultural here resources that we want to make sure we protect preserve and restore and so in by closing and limiting the sentence this allows us to accomplish that it redirects again traffic from entering the park at this location further up Hildebrand and at the end of the day knowing those roads will be there we talked about public vehicular access on special events when we look at implementation for any of these elements should we get to that point then those are one of the things that we look at we want to make sure that there's still public access on days and times of the year that really require it and people can get exactly to the many they want to be at without having to walk along along walk a long way excuse me C and D these talk about mid-block turnarounds one is on red oak and the other is on tulita and st. Mary's so again when we go back and look to how people typically maybe come of the zoo they're gonna drive up st. Mary's they're gonna come down on tulita and so what these mid-block turnarounds allow is for pickup drop off that type of thing but again it kind of keeps traffic out of what is right now a point of congestion one of the stress points in the park and then 5e closed Avenue a to public vehicular traffic and so this allows that portion of Avenue a to become a pedestrian walk and somewhat of a natural area and so this these five elements is what would support how we promote pedestrian safety in the park as well as enhance the user environment but not just these really collectively all of the strategies that we've reviewed and presented here this evening so that concludes my presentation I want to reiterate to everybody nothing has been decided that's why we're having these meetings and we want to make sure that for these strategies if there's something that maybe one of the elements you like we want to hear it if there's an element that you don't like we want to hear it and there's something that we have not thought about then let us know provide provide us with that information today once I'm done we'll get into the citizens that sign up to speak shortly but I'll be here to answer any questions we have our project team here as well to answer questions as everybody signed in we also have comment cards and I encourage everybody to write one out I assure you everything that is said this evening during public comment period we've got somebody recording that and all the comment cards that are filled out and put in the box we're capturing all of that data as well we have iPads if somebody just wants to complete a survey based on this information you're able to complete that on iPad so we want to make sure that we're reaching out to everybody in a way that works for them and for those that do take the iPad survey it is identical to this there is nothing different on that survey that is presented here it lists the strategy the design element and then it has a drop down box that has the same exact scale that you'll see outside so if you know there's not a need to review that and you know kind of the public comment or the excuse me the comment you want to provide us then by all means use the survey click on the right button and you're good to go but at the end we'll stick around we'll make sure that any questions that are answered we will be here to provide the clarification that's needed so that everybody's comfortable with what we're doing moving forward and in closing I want to highlight that we have one final public input meeting and that is next week on July 13th at the Ramirez Community Center so if you have neighbors that wanted to attend it couldn't be here this evening then we're asking please get the word out let them know and then our charge at the end is to work with the project team to tabulate all this information all of this feedback all of the comments over the course of six meetings and come back and revisit this and look at what needs to change and then from there a final master plan would be developed for parks to recommend to a council subcommittee and then see where it goes from there so that concludes my summary of the five strategies for the Brasson Park Breckenridge Park master plan and I've got a list here of individuals signed up to speak and the first one is Jacob Middleton so when when we look at the reason why we're doing this as our excuse me Lynn Bob it had pointed out the there's the existing master plan for the park is antiquated and outdated the reason for this is actually funding was appropriated in the FY 15 budget to come up with a master plan so we're just implementing the policy decision to fund that and see at the end of the day do we have a plan that ultimately we can come back with and recommend it so that's the reason for doing the master plan is making sure that we're delivering that that project that we were tasked with doing and but doing so in a manner that is engaged in the public and so that's why we're doing these these additional meetings as I pointed out former councilman Betty Osable you know made it clear that we need to do more and through the leadership of councilman Trevino and his colleagues we're stepping up to that we want to be responsive and make sure that at the end of the day we're providing a plan that can be supported by the community second signed up to speak is Isabel Garcia yes ma'am okay yes would you mind standing a man please we are and so I probably should have started out with this we are recording the meeting as well so we want to make sure that the there'll be a video that will be uploaded to YouTube that highlights and shows tonight's public meeting so if you will please all right my name is Isabel Garcia and I'm the chair of the Advocacy Committee for Green Spaces Alliance and this is the letter that we'd like to read into the public record the mission of Green Spaces Alliance is to sustain the natural environment and enhance urban spaces through land conservation community education and engagement by protecting undeveloped land and water resources cultivating urban green spaces and community and educating the next generation about the environment we depend on we can help ensure a better quality of life now and in the years to come San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States with regional population group projected to almost double in the next 50 years urban growth without careful planning and preservation will disrupt the quality of life for all unless we plan for future development. Brackenridge Park is a case in point established in 1899 and located below the headwaters of the San Antonio River Brackenridge Park is an historic natural resource in an urban setting that serves the citizens of the city of San Antonio in many ways as a green refuge for recreation and fiscal activities as an outdoor venue for community gathering and special occasion celebrations and as a place where citizens and visitors alike go to learn about and or remember the value and meaning of the river that runs through it today however the approaching demands of private development in a surrounding area threatened to erode the boundaries of the park and the amount of its acreage. Green Spaces Alliance believes that the proposed Brackenridge Park master plan provides a positive and workable framework for managing several of the issues that must be addressed now in the coming years. These issues include improving the water quality of the river, managing and improving the habitat of the flora and the fauna, restoring and or repurposing historic building elements, restoring the San Antonio River Channel and the Patawba Cursing Channel to a more natural state and had a better direct and limit vehicular pedestrian and alternative ways of transport through park. However, the Brackenridge Park master plan must be sensitive to and strike a balance between the restoration and improvement of natural resources in the park and the historic and current view of Brackenridge Park as an urban park available for the public use of all of the citizens of San Antonio. Proposed new areas such as the Great Lawn must not limit traditional uses such as family barbecues, picnics, recreational activities and special occasion celebrations. If public perception is that the proposed master plan is targeting a different demographic than it does today the support of current and future users will be limited and be diminished. Other concerns include the major and still problematic issue of how to address and implement solutions to particular traffic issues in and around the park. This issue is the least resolved in the plan. Additionally, the ongoing presence of the feral cat population in the park requires the implementation of the general measures outlined in the plan and the inclusion of more proactive measures in order to ensure the health and well-being of the park's wildlife, the birds, rodents, rabbits, rural snakes, etc. In conclusion, Green Spaces Alliance congratulates the city of San Antonio and their many partners for putting together such a comprehensive and well-deserved plan for the preservation and the future development of San Antonio's beloved urban green gem. We applaud the focus of natural elements and water quality enhancements and encourage the further development of strategies to build a broad public support base that emphasizes stewardship of the park while focusing on education and community involvement in regard to environmental issues. Thank you. Would you like me to take that so we enter that into the record? Yes, actually I wrote some stuff on the back. That's fine. I can get it. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Next is my fee more. If you feel comfortable, ma'am, or if you want you could come. Okay, thank you. I think the process should be started over and it should involve better the real users of the park. I go every day to the park. I live across the street from it. I walk two miles there every day. Yesterday, I walked the entirety of the total perching canal just gorgeous. Texas law says that whoever of the owners use and invest the most in their land, own it the most. And the working class people that I see every day when I walk in the park, own it the most. They have been denied due process in this master plan. $250,000 of our taxpayer money has been spent for the architects and the planners and the discussers of what to do with our park. They had their first meeting in July of 2015, but they didn't have a second meeting until April of 2016. And that was supposed to be the last meeting, but there was a big uproar about it. So they planned six more meetings. You figure all together there were eight meetings. There was only one in West San Antonio and only is going to be one in the far south of San Antonio. Who are most of the users of the park? They are who I see every day. I have handed out yesterday my 150th flyer to the users that I see every day in the park. And I have yet to hand a flyer to somebody that I know I heard all about it. This is just terrible. None of them know this is coming or this is being planned. There's supposed to be a wrap up meeting and I hope we're all going to be advised of it and guaranteed that we get to attend the wrap up meeting after that last meeting next week. I think the to deny access to the most frequent users not allowing cars in Bracken Ridge Park abuses their rights. I think using their money to run people including me out of my park when I want to drive through my park is not the right thing to do. I think they should start over and involve more the real users of the park. As she mentioned a minute ago, there's been damage to the public lands that we all own. Mostly by private profiteers main Plaza lost all those gorgeous heritage trees. You can don't have access to the water features there. Hemisphere Park is now being ruined and scraped for what I think are illegal hotels will go private hotels will go on your public land. The Institute of Texan cultures is said to be getting torn down and the federal building torn down. They tried to build apartments out by mission San Jose. They have taken away the golf course at Bracken Ridge. It is now used by a privateer and he his lease expires next year. I think we should take the golf course back and you can make your grand lawn over there. Give it back to the taxpayers. That's that's a positive idea. Anyway, there's just too much privateering going on. I think you should start over and you should involve the users and I'm going to finish this last sentence. If you want to fix the streets, you can remove the asphalt and you can install pavers or gravel or grass. We could mow the streets in Bracken Ridge Park. That would be marvelous for the greenness of the park. But you cannot say people cannot drive their cars through their park. That is unrealistic to expect working class people to park in a paid Dawson garage and ride a tram to go have a picnic. That's just unrealistic and it's not fair to the owners. And as I had said once or twice before, forgive me, I must say, do not run me out of my park when I want to drive through my park or you're going to open a can of whoop ass. Next is Nettie Hinton. No problem. He doesn't always three minutes at me. No, not at all. And I'm here to help you. Do you need anything? Thank you. Okay. The city of San Antonio and Express News columnists like to call people like me a local. And they're always talking about doing these things so that the locals will enjoy San Antonio, whether it's the Riverwalk or downtown or Market Square or the parks. And every time they start doing that, it makes it more difficult for locals to enjoy the things that we are the owners of. Now I'm 77 years old. I've got a torn meniscus. I walk very slowly. I'm a widow never had any children. I was too busy having a career. So I'm at home. I don't want to sit at home. So I'm a community activist. And so I spend as much time as I can away from my home in dignity Hill, doing civic things, reading for the blind on our radio. And in the morning, driving my red truck, Broadway to Mulberry, hang a ride on red oak and park in the shade along the trail to read my morning newspaper or my magazine, whatever it is that I have. You want to deny me that. And I think it is wrong. I see the locals like myself, especially those with families out there on the green space with their picnics and their tents and their blankets. And if it's a birthday, those blow up thingies, where the kids can jump up and down on them, I don't know what you call them. But those those are the kinds of things those are the kinds of people that I see in in Brackham Beach Park. And if they've got a favorite place, they'll go the night before sometimes two nights before and change themselves to a tree so that nobody else will infringe on on what they have as territorial rights. You can't take that away from us. Now, about 10 years ago, I participated in a series of charrettes about what was the going to be the redevelopment of Hemisphere Park. We did tremendous amounts of work as locals and others on that. They typed it all up, put it in a black binder, I guess, and stuck it in on a bookshelf somewhere in City Hall. A few years ago, they decided to rethink the development of Hemisphere Park. Now, what did we want? We wanted that park to become San Antonio Central Park. And to use the little historic buildings that was there as as places where people can go, they might want to have some wine, they may want to get cigars, they want to play and do kinds of things. And possibly restore a water element. They did that in front of Lila Cockrell. Well, maybe you can do that into the interior of Hemisphere Park. And we can create a performance space much larger than Arnazon so that we can think big and creatively for that sort of thing. What did they do? Kick the locals to the curb, got somebody else to put hotels and apartments and all kinds of things that are not the sorts of things that we locals want nor need. Please do not take Mulberry, Red Oak, my parking place under the shady tree so I can continue to have a wonderful nature driven place to read the bad news in my newspaper. The idea of closing the accesses to cars is a terrible idea. And it's to me, it's clearly an idea by people who don't use the park. We can call locals, except I live too far from here, but I drive down here. I'm not going to drive and ride in a little bus over the park. All you're going to do is you're going to drive people away from the park and then we'll go to a different park. That shouldn't be our focus. I saw an item in the paper about a prospect of $150 million. What a laugh. If we could just have some money to pave the roads that are in the park now, or to put nice gravel roads in or some kind of smooth paths, it would be wonderful because right now, if you're running through the park or jogging or riding a bike, you almost take your ankles at total risk. There's ruts, there's crevasses. It's hard to run in these roads because no money is spent. Upgrading the park to me, first of all, would be let's get some nice smooth surfaces for people to bike on and walk on. A lot of our people, when I go rung with my 50 to 100 people, a lot of them aren't runners, they're walkers. And a lot of them are pushing baby buggies. And they're bouncing around on those terrible roads back there. But the hill to brand neck entrance is where a lot of us come into the park, and it should not be closed. They talk about the danger. Come on, I've been 31 years now. I haven't had any danger. I wait till the traffic is empty. And then I drive up. It's only a problem if you've got a contract with the city, and you're trying to dream up new projects. We don't need it. There's an article in the paper 10 days ago by kind of gene elder made all the sense in the world. We have a nice hospitable park. Don't mess with leave it alone, go somewhere else. Now, other parts of the park, the South Park, maybe over by the great, or they have the Grand Plaza or whatever. Most of us aren't over there. I don't know how that deals with the zoo and their parking. But at least for the part that's off of between mulberry and Broadway and hill to brand. That's where people are enjoying the park. They're picking up there, which I've done many times. And I go there at the end of our runs. Most of us over our cars, which fortunately are there to take off our sweaty clothes. We put on drier clothes from our trunk. We get our little mini pack of beer. We all go and we socialize afterwards for an hour to there in the park on picnic tables. It's legal on our side of the river. Not on the other side. It's a social occasion as well. And then when it's dark, we go home. We don't want to be riding trams. It's a bad idea. It needs to be just scratched and shouldn't even be talked about anymore. It's a no go. I work with the city. So I don't want the cameras on marks. Yes, sir. So back to the drawing board. Really? I mean, I don't know what the genesis of this plan is, but it appears to be motivated by some developers who want to spend money and make money. So the plan, the details of the plan are fraught with myriad defects. So I request humbly that the parks department shelf this entire plan and do some things that the park needs. There are there are several things that park needs, but they're not in this plan. Thank you all for being here. You're taking out your time from your families and your lives because you care. And that's why I'm here. I care about this park and I care about our city. And I appreciate your energy and your time and your consideration for what's what's trying to be accomplished here. I think this plan is quite misguided in on several levels. I think we could do a lot better. And thank you. Thank you. I just got here. I got caught with multiple accidents and a lot of construction. So sorry, I'm late. But I also cut through Bracken Ridge Park coming over here. And I watched families sitting at picnic tables with their children. I watched runners. I watched bicycles. I saw people driving up getting out of their vehicle walking over very close by to a picnic table in all parts of the park and enjoying the park. I also came out here several days ago to make sure I knew where I was going because this is not a park that I normally use. You know what? I went right past the entrance. There's no grand entrance. Turn around came back and came on in. Walked around, found this, and then I thought, okay, I'm going to go check out the other end of the park. So I got on Worslock Park, went around, went to the other end of the park and drove in and there are a couple of interesting, again, no big signage. And guess what I found? That you could drive white up to and have access to. So look up the word hypocrisy. There is a disconnect between what the users of parks want and what the design proposes. Yes, I agree with several others. Bracken Ridge does need some work on it. It's an old park, but it's a people's park. And we need to ditch this plan completely and look at repairing those areas that need our TLC, that needs TLC, and not restrain people from being able to access their park. Parks are supposed to be accessible, not an obstacle course. And I found it was really interesting when I looked at the northern part of this park and the very things they want to do away with with this plan are the very things that implement it on the northern part of this park. City of San Antonio, think about it. Thank you. So based on the sign in sheets, that is the last individual sign up to speak. Is there anybody that I missed? Or anybody that would like to share some words? Yes, ma'am. Can I get your name, please so I can June Johnson, would you mind standing up, please? I think when I came to the meeting, I expected maybe a few more channels than we talked about taking trams, but there wasn't a whole lot of detail about how are you going to accommodate for strollers, ice chests, things like this. The parking situations, you know, I know the map shows it here, but I would like in this meeting to really talk about specific locations. Also, is the plan that the city has, I mean, we're going to, someone's going to have to pay for this parking spots. So is the park usually going to have to pay for the parking in this parking garage is only to be shuttle to the park. I agree with most of what people are saying that are posted to the upgrades. I do understand that, yes, San Antonio is growing. Perhaps we should, as one person suggested, acquire the property, the golf course, that would add to the jogging trail, that they've got natural trees out there. I mean, you know, that would be an expansion of the park, which is I think what we need to get. Unfortunately, like you said, we are bound, we have boundaries around the park. But as a person who has five little ones rolling around, you take the stroller, you try to accommodate them trying to get, you know, all, you know, I may not take all five at one time, but you're taking the leases and that piece and getting them on a trolley with, you know, water bottles and all kinds of things. I just can't see doing that. It would be my, it's my, even now going to the zoo or going up St. Mary's to access the park to get to the, they have that playground near the, so just to get to there, I mean, we have to walk and I granted we have to be cautious of cars, but it is a walk to try to control little ones. And most people that are going to use a car are usually going to be families who have little ones. So making it more difficult for them to get access to the park to me is, is not, but I just can't see it. Now we used to, they put a big old parking garage up at the end of Toletta and you come down the hill. Of course pushing those, those strollers up the hill is, you know, after a long day of walking around can be trying, but I just don't see how right now in all the things that you're proposing, except for the upgrades and the maintenance of, of the different, the, the, et cetera, the, the buildings there, I wouldn't see how this is viable. I really don't see how it's viable to put parking everywhere, but I agree with another person who made a statement that you probably have less use of parking by doing that, because you don't have easy access to the park. You have to wait for a truck to get you there in 10 minutes, however long it takes, depending where the parking lot is. That's the extent of my comments. Thank you, Ms. Jensen. Thank you. Yes ma'am, did you also? I would like to make a comment or do you sign up? Okay, may I, you, you can, could you give me your name please so I can check it out? Pardon? Could you give me your name please so I can? My name is Kate, the last name is Quartz, the ORB. Okay, do you want to come up to the front? Okay. I'll be very quick. That's fine. I think I'm just going to add one, one little thing. I mean, I, I think no one argues with the idea of green spaces. I mean, there's nothing wrong with the green space, and I don't see why parking lots cannot be converted to pervious materials. I mean, they're right out here, you know? I mean, we come to this park all the time, there's tons of them out here, and they're not hard to park on. I think having a parking garage where people have to go pay to go to the park, you know, I mean, I don't like playing for parking garages, but I can afford it. And I think there are many citizens in San Antonio who not only can afford it, but they're not going to ever be able to go to that park again. I'm a San Antonio native. I've been going there since I was, you know, in my parents' arms, and I think that would be a terrible, terrible, terrible thing to do to that park. I go there a couple times a week to meet with my dog, our little doggie friends, and we go walk through the park, and we have a wonderful time. The idea of trying to get my dog out of the car in the garage and get him through the garage without getting run over, he takes cars anyway, down a walk on a people move. He wouldn't get on it anyway in which he'd let a dog on a people move, or you know, he's a dog. You know, you see tons of people with their dogs there, and I, you know, how are you ever going to do this? Half the people there are walking their dogs, not letting the runners run into them, you know, I mean, we're trying not to trip the runners, you know, I just cannot. Any of our runners have dogs that run with them. Yes, of course they do, and my dog loves seeing them, and he likes the little kids in the strollers, he thinks they're wonderful. So I just think this would totally negate every wonderful thing about that park that I've known in my 62 years, I think it would be a terrible, terrible thing to do. Anybody else before we close the citizens sign up to speak portion? Yes ma'am. May I get your name please? Margaret. Okay. Okay. Would you like to come to the front market? I did come to the meeting because I was very concerned when I heard there would be no more cars in the park, so I thought, well I'll give them a fair chance, but I'm going to say I have a memory of my mother, age 95. I, we went after, after I take her for an appointment, we'd always go pick up some fast food and go somewhere or just sit down and eat, but we decided to go to Brackenridge Park. And it was just a wonderful little memory of her at the park. She had her little, you know, red stroller, red roller, and we were able to get the food on the table and get her to the table and just enjoy a little picnic. And so she loved it because she grew up in New Brackenridge Park. She owned that house up until six or seven months ago when she passed away. And, you know, she would reminisce about the time she would ride horses at the park. She'd reminisce about when she, you know, could swim in the river. And I had a grandfather who was a San Antonio police officer, and one of his last duties when he was old was to be the policeman at the swimming hole. So I have memories of parties at the pavilion, but the main thing is my mother got to go when she was 95 and frail, have a picnic on a picnic table and we pulled up right there on the spur of the moment. So that would never happen if we couldn't have cars. Thank you. Thank you. Most of the parts do not provide plate equipment and equipment that is safe also. I have noticed that because I take my grandkids, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchild, and several parks do not have water fountains, or they're out of order. And they only have one place where they can play. And most of it is unsafe because there's so many children and they don't have a chance to use the equipment and they don't have a chance to have to stand in line and wait. And all these parents are frustrated. And that's their only chance that they get to play and be themselves and run around. And the one that's at Lions Club, they do not have enough play equipment. The San Pedro Park has force wings for babies. And that's all they have on one side, the opposite side. They have a slide, a small slide, a big slide, and just a few little items where they can run up and down. And that's not sufficient. And that's my complaint that they do not have sufficient equipment for the children. They might have stuff for the dogs because they've had that at Travis Park. They have fenced in equipment for the dogs, but they have nothing for the children. That's my complaint. Thank you, Ms. Stevens. You're welcome. So that concludes the citizens signed up to speak portion. Again, our project team members will be outside on the breezeway to answer any specific questions about the strategies or any of the elements within each strategy. And I'll be available here as well to answer any questions. If there's a need for a men's or ladies' room, it's out this door and it's a first set of doors on the right. We have comment cards outside as well. I had mentioned earlier. We have iPads here and water in the back of the room. So again, feel free to step outside. And that's where they have the dots for those that want to educate their level of support. Thank you, everybody. Thank you.