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O2.13.13 OSBT Minutes Approved as Amended March 13, 2 OPEN SPACE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes Meeting Date February 13, 2013 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT John Putnam Allyn Feinberg Tom Isaacson Shelley Dunbar Frances llartogh STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Mike Patton Jim Reeder Eric Stone Dean Paschall Mark Gershman Steve Armstead Steve Mertz Kacey French Ronda Romero Annie McFarland Leah Case Michele Gonzales GUESTS Ron Stewart, Director of Boulder County Parks and Open Space Gary Sanfacon, Boulder County Commissioners Office CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 1- Approval of the Minutes Allyn Feinberg asked for clarification on the January 9, 2013 minutes. She said on page five, first line, the information regarding Xcel Energy needed to be clarified. Mike Patton changed the language to say, "Originating at Highway 72." Frances Hartogh said on page three, she would remove the word "a" after "beyond a place." In the same paragraph, she changed the language of the second to last sentence to read, "She said she would hate to take the current conditions of Open Space as a baseline because of the damage already done and hopefully the work that is being done will leave a healthier Open Space; for example areas around Chapman Drive are healthier now." She asked why the Board would have to make a recommendation of designation (on page four, first paragraph) again to council. Mike said the Board will have to make this recon inendation again to council if they want it included as an HCA. Allyn Feinberg moved to approve the January 9, 2013 minutes as amended. Shelley Dunbar seconded the inotion. The motion passed unanimously. Allyn made a correction to the January 31, 2013 minutes, she changed the language on page six, first paragraph, to say, "Allyn said a workshop with outside expertise, like what was done in the Grassland Management Plan, allows the comnninity to see this kind of plan as more objective." Tom Isaacson said on page four, he would like the table to reflect the language "no, unless on Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP)-like land." Ile asked to delete the sentence on page six that stated "conflict should be looked at from the most sensitive person's perspective." Shelley Dunbar said on page two she would like the last sentence, fourth paragraph, to read "Shelley said there is a greater punishment for Voice and Sight (V&S) tag holders as they will have an additional penalty; those that do not have the V&S lag would only receive the ticket and no strike/fine." She changed the wording on the third page, first paragraph, to read, "Shelley said it should be one strike for entering a wildlife closure and two strikes for entering other closures. Shelley said when it is a guardian's AGENDA ITT M 1 A PAGE 1 behavior (such as being in a no-dog area or not picking up poop) a guardian should get those strikes. She said punislunent for dog-behavior offenses should be different than guardian-behavior offenses and there should be two different paths to re-instatement. Shelley said failure to pick up dog excrement should not be part of the dog behavior strikes in the V&S Program. She said offenses not on OSMP properties for someone with a V&S tag should not be additionally punished. People should only be given strikes for offenses on OSMP property." She said on page three, the fourth and fifth paragraph should be combined. She said on the second to last paragraph on page three, the word "overtime" should be separated to say "over time." John said on page two, last sentence of the first paragraph, the sentence "restrictions are put in place to maximize compliance" should be deleted. He said on page three, fourth paragraph, the language in the third sentence should say, "He said violations outside of OSMP should only count when they are in an area where V&S privileges are enforced;... " Shelley Dunbar moved to approve the minutes from January 31, 2013 as ammended. Allyn Feinberg seconded the motion, The motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 2 - Public Participation for Items not on the Agenda Raymond Bridge, Boulder, said the 2012 summary of violations shows sixty-six percent of summonses are dog related. He said staff should take that into consideration when discussing the Voice and Sight Tag (Tag) Program recommendations. He said this would give an idea of the enforcement costs. He said dogs are not subsidizing the rest of the department and would not be under any of the fine-schemes proposed. Suzanne Wcbcl, Longmont, thanked'the Board for their work over the past years on projects such as the new Towhee/Homestead Trail loop, the work on the Highway 93 Underpass and for saying "no" to the feedlot on the Lagerman/IMEL property. She asked staff if the city purchases Joder Arabian Ranch to not extinguish it as a horse facility. She said that property has historic significance to the horse community and if staff needs help finding a lessee, to contact the Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA). She said currently there is no parking for horse trailers on Chapman Drive or on the Flagstaff trails. She said she would support using the pullout on Highway 119 for parking and if there is a possibility to talk with the new owner of the Red Lion Inn bridge about parking on that side of the road, the horse community would encourage that. She thanked John for his time on the Board. -John asked staff for an update on the underpass on Highway 931Mike. said there is no change with the anticipated time frame. He said OSMP has permits from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for work in the area and staff is working on plans for a parking lot. Mike said it is likely that OSMP will purchase Joder Arabian Ranch. He said there are multiple families involved which can make the process take longer however, staff is optimistic. AGENDA ITEM 3 - Director's Updates Mountain Linkages Trail Project Kacey French, Environmental Planner, gave a presentation regarding regional trail connections. This presentation is saved in S:OSMP\adnun\OSBT\Minutes\Minutes 2013\February. Frances asked if an environmental impact statement (EA) will be done for these areas and if there are any constraints for different uses of the trails. Kacey said staff will have to abide by each agency and will only do an FA if needed by the specific agency. She said uses will need to be compatible with what is allowed on each agencies land. AGENDA ITEM 1 A PAGE 2 Shelley asked what the plan is for trails crossing private property. Ron Stewart said a lot of private ownership can make this a challenging task. Ile said an effective trail system would have to include the thought of a potential easement or acquisition. Allyn asked what the public process will look like. Ron said the goal is to engage the public in the early stages in order for the county to get a sense of what the public wants. Gary Sanfacon, Boulder County Commissioners Office, said the goal of the initial outreach is to have a public forum and then an aggressive outreach with different stakeholder groups. He said the county wants to find out what the public's concerns and expectations are. Allyn said starting with a blank slate can create disappointment; there should be some notion of the constraints up front. John asked how much the process will cost and how other entities will contribute. Kacey said a benefit to working with Gary is that it eliminates finding a facilitator. John said it would be helpful to have a regional pooling of resources and recreational data; it will be good to compare data from OSMP, Boulder County and the Forest Service. Kacey said staff had conversations on how to incorporate other agencies data and will incorporate natural resource data as well. John said having all of this data is helpful to make OSMP better and doing this could potentially save money by not duplicating the process. Mark said the county is working on identifying the environmental resources. Ron said the county is working with a wildlife biologist and plant ecologist to gain a sense of significant areas in Boulder County. John said this is all very encouraging and to let the Board know how they can help. Voice and Sight 'l'ag Program Education and Outreach Strategies Steve Mertz, Education and Outreach Coordinator, and Steve Armstead, Environmental Planner, gave a presentation about education and outreach strategies. The PDF of this presentation is saved in S:OSMPladminlOSBTIMinutes\Minutes 20131February. Frances asked if the cost of implementation is included in the cost estimates the Board has already seen. Steve Armstead said it is built in; however, there is outreach staff time that is not included. Frances asked if trail guides can bring their dogs when volunteering. Steve Armstead said yes, but the dog needs to be on a leash and the dog cannot interfere with interactions. He said the dog would need to represent the department in a way that is appropriate. Frances asked who the stakeholders arc for the Tag Program. Steve Annstead said Friends Interested in Dogs on Open Space (FIDOS), Boulder Valley Humane Society and individuals who want to make sure the program is successful. Ile said information should come from a wide variety of community perspective on how to effectively have dogs on Open Space. Shelley asked if trail guides could have their dogs be ambassadors for the Tag Program. Steve Armstead said the way the program currently works is the dog would have to be on leash. He said having their dog on leash allows for a better opportunity to be successful. Shelley said having an ambassador of the Tag Program should be an option. She said staff should cast a wider reach than just stakeholder groups and incorporate all people versus just FIDOS; outreach should not be just to these groups. Steve Mertz said it is tough to find someone who is not a stakeholder. He said there will be a net broadcast to include many people. Steve Armstead said individuals can always go out and represent high standards. Shelley said OSMP could put out a request for an exemplary dog and dog guardian to the Tag Program e-rnnail list. Shelley asked for clarification on the special dog events that Steve Mertz mentioned in his presentation. Steve Mertz said some examples are dog days at city pools or the K-9 classic run. He said OSMP will set up an outreach table at an event with the Tag Program information. AGENDA ITEM IA PAGE 3 Shelley asked if trailhead leash requirements have been implemented. Steve Armstead said yes, at all trailheads. Shelley said sending palm cards by mail is very expensive and might not be the most effective way to get information out to the public. Steve Anmstead said these would be sent in the mail along with the new tags. Shelley asked what the Tag Wag event was. Steve Mertz said this was an event set up for the Tag Program when it first started; it allowed the public to come to the event and register for the program. Tom asked if staff has baseline data on how much people know about the dog rules. Steve Armstead said both the Citizen Survey and the Visitor Survey have questions pertaining to OSMP and the Tag Program. Tom asked if there is another survey planned. Steve said the Visitor Survey was completed in 2010-2011; the next survey would not be for four or five more years. Mike asked if the city has scheduled the Community Survey as there are always questions about Open Space. Staff was unsure whether this has been scheduled or not. Tom said staff should be looking for what portions of violations are out of ignorance versus not knowing the rules. Mike said having a class where dialogue and the exchange of information is mandatory will snake a big difference. Allyn said reaching out to the community is a good idea, but to keep in mind there is only so much that can be done to help people be successful. Allyn asked what staff is anticipating for stakeholder participation in the refresher videos. Steve Armstead said staff learned a lot going through the first round and this video will not be as in depth as the original video. Ile said it is just for information and will not be explaining the requirements. Allyn said short videos are easier/better than they were before. John said including enforcement and social norms in the information videos will help people be successful. He said it is important to set aside a budget for outreach. He said staff should also look into engaging the public to help with the creation of the video(s). Staff could utilize micro grants, video contests, social media, etc. John asked how staff plans to set realistic expectations for people without dogs regarding dog behavior. He said staff would need to set social nouns for dog guardians, but also educate non-dog guardians as well. Steve Armstead said the outreach group is very creative and will come up with new ideas for catching everyone's attention. Mike said OSMP will initiate conversations trail-side in order to reach out to those who do not have dogs. He said this will help people understand that dogs are going to be present. Steve Mertz said staff could also give out palm cards with dog expectations to both those with dogs and those without. Allyn said Quick Response (QR) codes could take a person to a website with more dog related information. Shelley agreed with Allyn and said staff could come up with a video that speaks to etiquette and courtesy. She said this could give a better impression-to those that-do not have-dogs or fear them. Mike said it is a good idea and thought channel 8 would be able to do a story on this. Shelley suggested putting a non-dog guardian on the video having a conversation with a dog guardian about what to expect. John said staff could incorporate other user groups into these videos as well. Summary of 2012 Violations Mike Patton highlighted the 2012 violations summary. Shelley asked if the summary shows those who have received two citations for the same event. Mike said it is unlikely that one person would receive two separate citations for the same encounter. He said in camping cases, the violation summary is probably showing multiple people. Tom asked if the summary showed all tickets issued by rangers and not just those who went to court. Staff said that is correct. Tom asked what the breakdown was for the tent, net, structure prohibited violations. Mike said most of these were for camping on Open Space and not a recreational tent. Prances said sixty six percent of violations for dog violations are significant and said she hopes to see that number go down. AGENDA ITEM IA PAGE 4 Other Updates Mike said OSM1' was contacted by the Boulder Philharmonic to create music events on Open Space and staff will be meeting with their administrative director next week. He said they are interested in creating music that is associated with Open Space. AGENDA ITEM 4 - Matters from the Board Shelley said OSMP needs its own Facebook page. Mike said staff agrees however, staff is waiting on Patrick Von Keyserling for more information. Shelley noted that there are other OSMP Facebook pages that are not official and suggested staff looks into it. John said it would be helpful to have a presentation on Facebook and how the city policy works. He also noted that the Board could use the opportunity to express their opinion to council as he does not think council agrees. John said Pedestrian and Bike Month is coming up and staff should work with the city to organize this. He said it would be good to promote people using alternative transportation to get to Open Space. AGENDA ITEM 5 - Consideration of a motion to recommend that City Council authorize a revised version of the Intergovernmental Agreement with Boulder County previously authorized on Oct. 2, 2012 to construct and maintain the IBM Connector Trail Jim Reeder, Land & Visitor Services Division Manager, gave a presentation regarding a recommendation from the Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT), the Boulder City Council recently authorized the city manager to sign an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the construction of the IBM Connector Trail. This presentation is saved in S:OSMP\admin\OSBT\IVlinutes\Minutcs 2013\February. Allyn said she is concerned with having no assurance from the railroad and asked if there is a way the county could communicate with the railroad to find out what their schedule is. Jim said the county has already tried to communicate with the railroad. He said after the railroad received the pen-nits from OSMP, they indicated the bridge would go in the first half of this year. John asked if staff needs to spend all of the money prior to the bridge being put in. Jim said that is up to staff. Ilse said staff can wait until the bridge is put in or staff can put in the bridge now. Allyn asked if it would be worth having an IGA set date or to go ahead and spend the money and do the work. Staff said it would be a good idea to do the bridge design now so staff has an idea of what it will look like as well as the survey to know how much wetland mitigation would take place. Allyn asked if the Army Corps of Engineers would be setting the requirements for the wetland mitigation. Jim said yes. Tom asked about the trail crossing at Lefthand Ditch. He said there is already an existing trail and asked if there is value in putting the bridge in there. Jim said the county created that trail as part of this project when there were not any prairie dogs in the prairie dog colony, but the trail does not lead anywhere. Tom asked how often the wetlands get looked at as they seem incredibly dry. Jim said delineation of a wetland permit is only good for a year. Mike said the city does map all of the wetlands, but not with great regularity. Allyn said they do not have to be wet; John said salt is an indicator. Shelley asked if the request for $200,000 is approximate and is it possible that this project could cost more. Shelley asked if staff would be coming back to the Board if this project costs more than $200,000. .Jim said he feels comfortable going ten-percent over, but it is Mike's call. Mike said the Board could say up to $220,000 in their motion. Frances asked how staff is going to make sure there is enough time for this project as staff has no control over the railroad. Mike said staff is doing everything they can to accommodate the railroad and while the railroad has said yes, staff still has to rely on them. Frances said she would support going ahead with design and planning so all that is left is the bridge construction. AGENDA ITEM 1A PAGE 5 Public Comment Eileen Monyok, Gunbarrel, said this trail would be a good thing. She said she would like the opportunity to run from home and do this loop. She asked staff if it was impossible to cross the trail without the bridge in place. Mike said one would have to cross the road and the railroad. Eileen asked if there were any commonalities with the Longmont to Boulder (LOBO) 'frail. Jim said this is piece of the LOBO Trail. Eileen asked if the railroad does not get approved, will there still be an underpass. Jim said the railroad bridge is approved, but there is no promise on timing. Eileen asked if the trail would go under the diagonal if the bridge does not get put in. Jim said the county probably would not put the trail there unless the railroad puts the bridge in. Return to the Board The Board asked about the total time frame for putting the bridge in, Jim said it will roughly take six weeks for the design, eight weeks for building and the rest for installation. Allyn said if staff were to move forward with the construction and design, it might not take quite as long as waiting for the county. She said if staff was to go ahead and do the planning and bridge construction there is a chance the bridge may sit there while waiting for the railroad. John said he will leave this up to the discretion of staff. He said he would like to start sooner than later and is willing to take the risk that staff will order the bridge with the possibility that the railroad will postpone the project. Tom agreed that staff should use discretion. He said the department does not want to be the cause of this project getting delayed; he asked the Board to approve staff getting it done to make sure the OSMP piece is done so as not to be the hold up. John said it would be helpful to include interpretive signs in the area about wetland values. Motion Shellev Dunbar moved the Open Space Board of Trustees rccommends the City Council authorize a revised version of the IGA with Boulder County previousiy authorized on Oct. 2, 2012, to include an OSMP commitment of up to $220,000 for the construction of two bridges and wetland mitigation for the IBNI Connector Trail. Frances Hartoph seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. ADJOURNMENT - The meeting adjourned at 8:18 p.m. These minutes were prepared by Leah Case. A/PPR9VED BY: Allyn Feinberg Board Chair DATE AGENDA ITEM I A PAGE 6