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06.12.13 OSBT Draft minutes May 8, 2013 OPEN SPACE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes Meeting Date May 8, 2013 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT Allyn Feinberg Tom Isaacson Shelley Dunbar Frances Hartogh Molly Davis STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Mike Patton Jim Reeder Eric Stone Dean Paschall Steve Armstead Annie McFarland Linda VanDervort Julie Johnson Heather Swanson Dave Kuntz Leah Case Michele Gonzales CALL TO ORDER . The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m AGENDA ITEM 1 Approval of the Minutes Tom Isaacson said on page 7, under the first paragraph of Item Five, the April minutes should reflect that he supported the first two bullets of Item Five (regarding one conviction violations), but not the third. He also noted that Shelley Dunbar supported the first bullet, but not the second or third. Allyn Feinberg said on page 9 the motion that Frances Hartogh made .Tom suggested and the Board agreed, to move the motion on page 9, regarding revocations, on all City of Boulder lands, under the first motion for Item Five (one conviction violations). Shelley said on page 7, first paragraph under Item Five the language should read, Shelley suggested revocation will occurrevocation may occur.She said on page 8 Item Seven, second sentence page 6, Item Three, significant increase in the cost estimates compared to the actual implementation costs of the program back Frances said on page 8 (above Item Six) That sentence will be struck from the record. Tom Isaacson moved to approve the minutes from April 10, 2013 as amended. Shelley Dunbar seconded. The motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 2 Public Participationfor Items not on the Agenda Mike Barrow, Boulder, said he was happy to see Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) closing trails after the last snow storm. He said timing of trail closures is important. Boulder County Parks and Open Space has been doing a good job of closing trails in time so that minimal damage is done. He said word gets out quickly through social media and people are embracing taking care of the trails. OSMP has trails that should have been closed much earlier. He noted that the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance (BMA) has a smart trails application that is in progress which is a good resource for the public. Mike Patton said staff will be touching base with BMA regarding this application as OSMP may use something similar. Mr. Barrow also voiced his support for the purchase of Joder Arabian Ranch. Gwen Dooley, Boulder, said OSMP is the largest economic engine for the City of Boulder and it is unknown as to whether council is going to extend the tax amounts. She said bonding capability is crucial when it comes to purchasing land. She voiced her concern about the .33% sales tax that will expire in 2018, and the .15% sales tax that will expire in 2019. She would like to see both of these on the ballot this AGENDA ITEM 1 PAGE 1 fall. There are several properties that lend themselves to urban agricultural needs such as: Longs Garden, the Hoge Property and the Hogan/Pancost Property. She suggested the Board look at extending both of these taxes. She proposed dedicating the .15% sales tax to urban agriculture needs and wildlife corridors and renewing the transportation tax which could provide a certain percentage to cycling needs. AGENDA ITEM 3 Cultural Resources Julie Johnson, Cultural Resources Coordinator, gave a presentation in celebration of History and Archaeology Month. She gave an overview of several cultural history projects she is working on around OSMP. This presentation is saved in S:OSMP\admin\OSBT\Minutes\Minutes 2013\May. Allyn said this is really great and staff should look for ways to convey these cultural resources to the public more broadly. Julie said Channel 9 recently did a story and that generated some interest. The OSMP website also has some good information; she said she welcomes any ideas on how to publicize. Anemone Hill Update Annie McFarland, Visitor Access Coordinator, gave a presentation on the Anemone Hill Trail. This presentation is saved in S:OSMP\admin\OSBT\Minutes\Minutes 2013\May. Tom asked how rugged the terrain would be if someone tried to cut across to the other side of the loop. Annie said following the trail will consistently be the easiest route, as cutting across would be blocked by uneven terrain, fencing, or in some cases one could not even see the other part of the trail due to natural barriers. Annie said the one struggle staff will have is in the valley, the other trail portion will be visible; this is unavoidable as the area needs to be maintained for utilities access. Shelley asked where the Sunshine Canyon loop is. Annie said that trail no longer exists, it is now an out and back trail that starts at the Centennial Trailhead. Conservation regarding the City Manag Mike Patton referenced a letter that City Manager, Jane Brautigam, sent regarding the 2014 ProCycle race. Mike asked the Board how they wanted to proceed in providing their comments. Allyn said the way to handle this is to figure out when it can be an agenda item so that the public can participate. The Board will need to give feedback on cost reimbursement. Frances asked if they could include discussion on whether this is an Open Space purpose or not. It was noted that the city manager specifically requested for feedback regarding cost, however Allyn said while the topic of finance should be primary, the public should be able to weigh in on all issues. She said once the Board has the public input they can figure out how to follow up with subsequent meetings. Tom asked if the race would be held on a weekend again. Mike said he believes that is the intent. Sustainability Dave Kuntz, Sustainability Project Coordinator, gave an update on This presentation is saved in S:OSMP\admin\OSBT\Minutes\ Minutes 2013\May. Frances asked if staff will look at how the land has changed over the last twenty years as part of the projection into the future. Dave said staff will use what they have, but there is not as much trend information from the past as preferred. Tom asked management decisionss referring to specific recommendations on how to manage the land or just the process. Dave said in the final report there will be specific recommendations, but he was just trying to highlight the things necessary to keep the system looking the same over time. Tom said he is concerned about this process as it seems similar to a Trail Study Area (TSA). He said it seems with this time frame there will not be enough time allowed for public input. Dave said staff was asked to provide an overview of information which is already known, public participation will be later in the process. Tom said if actual decisions are being made then there is AGENDA ITEM 1 PAGE 2 not enough time. Dave said staff is simply collecting all of the data, and will use it to provide possible strategies and scenarios. Allyn said once this data is collected then the public can weigh in. Mike said the informed. Tom said gathering information is critical, but if the vision is to talk about the other hot button issues then those need to be added as an agenda item. Dave said in addition to the final report to the Board and council, staff is going to use this information in decision making when applicable. Shelley said she would have liked to have this as an agenda item with information provided ahead of time. Mike said the intent was simply to inform the Board, not to make any official decisions. He said staff can bring this back as an agenda item at any point. Shelley said decisions do not necessarily have to be made, but it could still be an agenda item simply to inform the Board. Molly Davis asked about new acquisitions and if there is a way to trend those, as well as compare them to previous properties. Dave said staff has extensive acquisition data, but he is unsure if there is a way to analyze it. AGENDA ITEM 4 Matters from the Board Board procedure/ efficiency Shelley said when staff is presenting topics that will initiate large discussions; it would be a good idea to break up both the presentation and discussion into smaller chunks. Then, the Board could vote on items one by one. Allyn noted that in this scenario the public would have to stay through a broken up presentation. Mike said if there are topics that lend themselves to this staff would be happy to try it out. Tom said when large numbers of people are planning to speak; they should have to line up. He also suggested that the Board Chair be ready to put conversation back on track. Frances added that use of the timing lights would be beneficial. She said people who are of the same opinion should pool their time. Allyn said giving specific instructions ahead of the public speaking sections can help; including that folks do not need to repeat things already said. Frances said the Board should respect the one person who is speaking on behalf of large group. Tom said groups who use a spokesperson should whole group. He said to encourage more Board interaction with staff before the meeting for presentations; if it seems like it will be a controversial topic, then it can be allocated more time. Tom also noted that when it is obvious that the Board has made up their mind, to not continue the conversation. Scheduling public discussion on Open Space sales tax Allyn said the Board needs to schedule a discussion regarding extending the Open Space sales tax for a th public discussion. She said council has items going on the ballot June 18 so, having this discussion on the June agenda would be good. Tom asked if the discussion will be deciding if this should be on the ballot, or does the Board need to have a position on what the vote should be. Allyn said the discussion can in the past the OSBT has recommended something going onto the ballot. Shelley asked if the Board would be discussing the acquisition plan. Allyn said at the City Council meeting there was a large number from the public involved in urban agriculture, one of council members who are interested in local foods. Shelley clarified that the Board will discuss whether or not they should recommend the tax going on the ballot or not. Allyn said there are two taxes expiring, and what was proposed by Gwen Dooley was to attach the .15% sales tax to urban agriculture. Allyn said it would be helpful to know what both of these taxes generate. Shelley said it would be useful for real estate to give dollar numbers of potential acquisitions as part of their presentation. Mike said staff cannot advocate so, the Board would need to give direction as to what they would like include; Mike said he would produce an outline and send to the Board. Tom said it should be clear what the tax would need to be in order to accomplish purchasing all of these properties. Mike said he is hoping that council will say what needs to be bonded on. Molly asked if this would be a dedicated fund and would this ever go into a general fund. Allyn said it is a dedicated fund; Open Space taxes need to stay dedicated to Open Space. Molly said this should be included in the verbiage. AGENDA ITEM 1 PAGE 3 Future Agenda(s) Allyn said the topic of sustainability will need to be on an upcoming agenda. Mike said presentation was intended to be a broad assessment showing what might need to happen for the future of OSMP and to make sure staff is on a path that the Board is comfortable with. Shelley asked if this is realistic to have on the next agenda. The Board agreed that this could be discussed in July. Tom asked when the Voice and Sight monitoring plan will be discussed. Mike said council is aware that this still st needs to be dealt with, and even if they make final decisions on May 21, it will have to go back for ordinance changes. AGENDA ITEM 5 Consideration of the purchase of approximately 336 acres of land and all mineral rights along with 10 shares of Left Hand Ditch Company water located at 7495 and 7497 N. Foothills Highway from the Joder Arabian Ranch, LLC and the Patricia Joder Cox Trust for $5,025,000 for OSMP purposes. gave a presentation on the Joder/Cox property located approximately three miles north of the intersection of North Broadway and Highway 36 adjacent to Beech Open Space. In the mid 1990s, OSMP attempted to purchase the ranch. At that time the family was not interested in selling the fee simple ownership and in 1996 a conservation easement (CE) was purchased by OSMP for $2,040,000. The CE limits development to four building sites. Two homes are located on the property while the two other building sites are generally undeveloped. Additional improvements include an older na. This presentation is saved in S:OSMP\admin\OSBT\Minutes\Minutes 2013\May. Tom asked if there was an appraisal done on this property. John said there was on the Cox home site as an agreement was harder to come to; Mike added there was not an appraisal of the whole property. John compared this purchase to that of the Weiser property. He said it too was encumbered by a CE, had four home sites, and paid $4 million for the fee purchase. He noted that the Joder property is about 90 acres larger, and staff met the market offer on the Weiser purchase. Shelley asked about the current CE on the property and what that entails. John said the CE is for the entire property, and limits building to the four home sites; there is also no public access. Shelley asked what regional trail connection this will provide. Mike said this is one step closer from connecting Foothills Trail to Heil Ranch. John said there are private parcels which could inhibit access; Mike said this purchase is one step closer to this connections. Frances asked if under the CE, additional home sites could be built. John said no, but OSMP would be acquiring the development rights to the four current home sites, two of which are undeveloped. Frances asked about regional trail connections, and if the effect on wildlife corridors was looked at. Mike said yes. John added that these types of decisions are not being made independent from planning process; that is why staff felt it important for this to be rolled into the North TSA. Molly asked about the mobile homes and if they would be removed before purchase. John said yes, they will also be removing debris, downed fencing and other items that would improve the property value. Molly asked if the old sheds would be disassembled. John said yes, but the hay storage and large Quonset would remain. Allyn asked about other horse facilities and what will end up being on that site. John said the main house, the house by horse facility, the large 60x120 Quonset and the large hay facility; he said the old horse barn should be removed. Shelley asked what the intent of the house will be. John said these will be rolled into property management. Public Comment John introduced Daniel Joder. Daniel said he is a third generation Joder. Over the last ten years he and his two brothers have been running this ranch. The last few years the ranch has not made any money. He said the money from the CE allowed for operations to continue overtime however, the infrastructure is not in AGENDA ITEM 1 PAGE 4 good shape. He said this has been a great run and a lot of people have grown up on this ranch the best thing for them to see is for it to be part of the public domain. Allyn said this is a really wonderful piece of property and the public will enjoy it greatly. Shelley asked if he would like still like to see equestrian use on the property. Daniel said this has been the legacy, and would like to see it continue as this sort of land. He said he understands that once this sale goes through it will no longer be their decision. Return to the Board Shelley asked for the time frame of the North TSA. Mike said the TSA in the north covers a large amount of land and might take a while for staff to get to it; it might look at this piece of land separately. Tom said it might make sense to put this process on a future agenda. Tom noted that several Board members recently spent time at the Joder Property so a lot of their questions got answered at that time. Motion Frances Hartogh moved the Open Space Board of Trustees approve a motion recommending the Boulder City Council approve the purchase of approximately 335 acres of land and all mineral rights along with 10 shares of the Left Hand Ditch Company located at 7495 and 7497 N. Foothills Highway from Joder Arabian Ranch, LLC and Patricia Joder Cox Trust for $5,025,000 for Open Space and Mountain Parks purposes and include this land as part of the North Foothills Habitat Conservation Area. Tom Isaacson seconded. This motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 6 Consideration of a motion regarding registration fees for the Voice and Sight Tag Program. Steve Armstead, Environmental Planner, gave a presentation on updated fees for the Voice and Sight Tag Program. The OSBT discussed and recommended to the Boulder City Council a package of enhancements to the Voice and Sight Tag (Tag) Program on April 10, 2013. In the discussion of program fees, staff proposed that the cost for attending the information session be a separate fee to cover the cost of the information session. A specific fee amount was not proposed, but was thought to be in the five to ten dollar range. OSBT members recommended including the cost of attending the information session as part of the program registration fees. With only limited information on the potential cost of the information session available, the OSBT recommendation to City Council allowed latitude for This presentation is saved at S:OSMP\admin\OSBT\Minutes\Minutes 2013\May. Shelley asked if two hours the anticipated length of the information session is. Steve said no, the class itself will most likely be one hour, but there is built in time for set up, questions, and any other administrative needs (such as taking attendance). Frances said a lot of thought went into this and she appreciates that the costs is this low. Steve said that was intent. Tom asked about the motion from the last meeting regarding cost, and if there was any change. Steve said the only change is to the registration fee. Public Comment None Return to the Board No further discussion. Motion Shelley Dunbar moved the Open Space Board of Trustees revise the recommendation to the Boulder City Council that the Voice and Sight Tag Program be modified with the program enhancement listed below: AGENDA ITEM 1 PAGE 5 Program registration fees: City of Boulder residents ($13), Boulder County residents outside the City of Boulder ($33), Non-Boulder County residents ($75). Frances Hartogh seconded. This motion passed unanimously. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:31 p.m. These draft minutes were prepared by Leah Case. AGENDA ITEM 1 PAGE 6