Res 2020-141/expressing support of the submission of a grant application to the Lyda Hill Lone Star Grant Program by the San Marcos River Foundation in partnership with the City of San Marcos and San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance to fund a trail connecting Pu

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MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS AND SAN MARCOS RIVER FOUNDATION The City of San Marcos, a home rule municipality ("City") and San Marcos River Foundation, Inc. ("SMRF"), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, enter into this Memorandum of Agreement in recognition of the mutual benefits it will achieve for them. Background • SM[RF is eligible to apply for the $10,000,000 Lyda Hill Foundation Lone Star Prize and desires to fund critical greenspace and trail corridor acquisitions with the participation of the City for the purposes of habitattwater quality protection and trail connectivity over a 5 - year period. • The City of San Marcos adopted the San Marcos Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan 2019 ("Master Plan") on May 2111, 2019. • Key action plan items from the Master Plan include: o Action GRP -1.1. Evaluate opportunities to proactively pursue additional greenspace property acquisitions in and around the City. o Action GRP -1.6. Continue to coordinate with and support efforts by the SMGA and the San Marcos River Foundation (SMRF) to acquire, protect, and maintain new greenspace and/or riverfront park properties. o Action T-1.7 "The City should identify and prioritize any trail extension which could connect additional outlying areas to the river front parks system." o Action T-1.13. Add a green belt loop around the City to increase connectivity. • From August 2016 to July 2017, approximately 100,000 people visited Purgatory Creek Natural Area. • The City owns various parks and natural areas which nearly creates a contiguous natural area trail and loop around the city. • Proposed acquisitions will complete critical gaps in the green belt loop. • The City currently partners with the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance ("SMGA") to plan, construct, and maintain natural trails and other activities in the city's natural areas. • The City's management objective for the natural areas is to protect the natural habitats and ecology of the areas, balanced with a sustainable level of public access via a system of trails. • The City wishes to limit recreation in natural areas to activities that have a low level of impact on the natural habitats and ecology of the areas. • SMRF has a mission to protect and preserve a clean, flowing and accessible San Marcos River through water and land conservation, advocacy, and community engagement. Scanned with CarnScanner