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09.12.01 OSBT Minutes Agenda Item 1A, Page 1 Approved OPEN SPACE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes August 22, 2001September 12, 2001 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT Chris Mueller Linda Jourgensen Larry MacDonnell Linda Andes-Georges STAFF PRESENT Jim Crain Wally Cameron Delani Wheeler Jim Reeder Cecil Fenio Kim Escalle Jim Tydings Ronda Romero Dave Kuntz CALL TO ORDER Chris Mueller called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 1 – Approval of Minutes Linda Jourgensen moved to approve the minutes from August 8, 2001 and Linda Andes- Georges seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Larry MacDonnell moved that the minutes from August 22nd be approved. Chris Mueller seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 2 –Co-Director’s Update Mike Patton informed the Board of a volunteer project planned for Saturday, September 15th at Sombrero Marsh. The department believes that there will be an excess of 200 volunteers and expects most of the trail will be completed that day. Jim Crain added that there would be a noon lunch break and Don Mock has been invited to speak at that time. Dave Kuntz invited Board members to attend the dedication of Sombrero Marsh Environmental Education Center which the Boulder Valley School District is sponsoring Friday, September 28th at 3:45 p.m. In response to Jim’s request, Linda Andes-Georges volunteered to speak at this dedication ceremony. Delani Wheeler informed the Board that West Brownlow, who was a volunteer and author of the trail guide for the Open Space program, died Tuesday, September 11. Services are planned for Monday, September 17. He was a wonderful volunteer and contributor to the program and the community. She also mentioned that the CU south campus plan has been unveiled. CU had a staff meeting the afternoon of September 12 and were having a public open house that evening. The city will prepare a unified response to the university about the plan within 30 days. At that time public comment will be welcome. Delani told the Board that more information would be coming to them in their next Board packet. She concluded by informing the Board about a statewide Open Space alliance, which will have its second conference in October. This meeting will be held at the Jefferson County fairgrounds. Jim Crain informed the Board about a lawsuit that was filed by some of the citizens of Jefferson County against a proposed development in the area north of Highway 72. The Agenda Item 1A, Page 2 property owner, Mr. Ten Eyck, lost the case in district court because it was alleged that the land was illegally annexed to the city of Arvada. The court found that if Arvada wanted to annex this property it needed to be redone following its normal procedure. The city of Arvada and the property owner may appeal this ruling. However, as a result of this, there will not be the number of houses built on this location that the developer anticipated. The area is significant to Open Space and Mountain Parks because the department tried to buy land around it in the past. Larry MacDonnell asked if OSMP might want to reconsider purchasing this land again. Jim told him that the department would be glad to work with Jefferson County but there were no immediate plans at that time. Jim thanked the support staff particularly Ronda Romero, Kim Escalle and Cecil Fenio for all of the hard work that they do. Dave Kuntz advised Board members about the prescribed burn that was scheduled to take place Wednesday, September 19th, at the Lindsay North property on Eldorado Mountain. This is the largest burn planned consisting of over 60 acres. He also mentioned that the visitor plan workshop was cancelled due to the tragedy on the East Coast but has been rescheduled for Tuesday, October 2 at the East Boulder Community Center. Dave informed the Board that due to the number of memorial requests that have been coming into the department, staff has decided to develop a memorial bench policy. This policy will be presented to the Board sometime in the fall. These benches are installed at no expense to the department but through the policy, the department will have some control over the design and size of the bench. Mike Patton invited Board members to the service awards luncheon Tuesday, September 18th to be held at the Cherryvale office. The department will honor employees who have served the city for 5, 10, 15 and 20 years. AGENDA ITEM 3 – Matters from the Board Linda Andes-Georges commended the department for having so many staff members receiving BRAVO awards or other types of recognition. Linda voiced her concern about the recent bear activity. She asked if the department would consider putting more volunteers/staff at trail- heads to warn hikers. Mike Patton told her that the department has already begun implementing such a procedure and that rangers are patrolling these areas m ore frequently. Linda then told the Board and staff about her recent visit to White Ranch in Jefferson County. She encountered many memorial benches on her hike and recommended them for OSMP trails. Linda also reported that she had attended the horseman’s picnic, where she met several members and was able to discuss various horse related issues. Linda then asked about the prairie dogs on the floodplain at Coal Creek. She noticed that there were freshly dug holes and wanted to know why the department doesn’t use more fencing material instead of the barbed wire. Dave Kuntz responded that staff is just re- digging old holes. The policy is to put the prairie dogs in former prairie dog habitats. The survival rates after relocation are still being debated. Linda Jourgensen announced that she plans to attend the first Greenways Committee meeting which is scheduled for mid October. After the meeting she will report any information to the Board and staff. Agenda Item 1A, Page 3 Chris Mueller announced that the budget committee meeting,which was cancelled, will be rescheduled. This committee will be addressing the ordinance that would give OSMP $1.5 million. Chris asked Larry MacDonnell if he could attend the meeting when it is rescheduled. Chris also thanked Ricky Weiser for hosting a tour of Windhover Farm two weeks ago. AGENDA ITEM 4 – Public Participation/Items Not on the Agenda Ricky Weiser, 4020 N. 75th St., told the Board that the origin of the name for the Windhover Farm comes from another name for kestrels. She was, however, primarily concerned about the railroad right-of-way and questioned the status of any plans for a trail there. She said that she would oppose a trail in that location because of the sensitive riparian habitat. She also hoped that the construction of the Lafayette pipeline would not jeopardize any of that habitat. Jim Crain explained that the city of Lafayette is considering a future trail but no final decision has been made. He agreed that there are threatened and endangered species in the area Ricky mentioned. AGENDA ITEM 5 – Consideration of a joint purchase with Boulder County of approximately 185.7 acres of land in fee, 185 shares of Left Hand Ditch Company, and 200 shares in the New Hinman Ditch Company, and all seller’s interest in mineral rights, located north of the existing IBM Corporation campus between Monarch Road and Niwot Road and northwest of the Longmont Diagonal from International Business Machines Corporation (hereafter referred to as “IBM” for Open Space and Mountain Parks purposes. Wally Cameron began his presentation by explaining to the Board briefly about the history of IBM and its past transactions with the city. He also projected what the development possibilities were for the parcel if it was not purchased for protection. Since the county had also been purchasing land in that area Ron Stewart came to the department suggesting a joint effort to preserve this land for open space purposes. Wally explained that the purchase price was below the appraised price and comparable to what the department paid recently for the Imel property. The parcel is traditional farmland composed mostly of irrigated crops with some dry land crops and lies adjacent to a section of land owned by the Audubon Society that protects some critical wildlife habitat. Linda Andes-Georges asked when the Dodd Lake property was purchased by the county. She was curious because several people had gotten parking tickets there while they were birdwatching. Chris Mueller asked how many acres were jointly owned with the county. Staff did not have the exact acreage but Wally told him that together they had spent $21 million since 1999. Chris questioned how the departments protect themselves against disagreements about how the property would be managed. Wally told Chris that the decision about who would take the management responsibilities was decided on a case by case basis. Because the county owned a parcel contiguous to this property, it was jointly decided that the county would take over the management responsibilities. He also stressed the power of the cross conservation easements and their ability to subvert potential problems. If there would be contention over some issue he said that it could be taken to the people for a decision. The department did not anticipate problems. Agenda Item 1A, Page 4 Public Participation Donna Tucker, PO Box 716, Niwot, owns a small parcel of land east of IBM. She has done considerable research on the area and explained to the Board and staff some of the history of the Dodd property. Ms. Tucker believes if this property is acquired, it would reunite the original boundaries of a dairy farm known as Lakeside farm. By purchasing this property OSMP would also protect the land on her property and the wildlife that lives there. Ms. Tucker was concerned about the general problems with many of Boulder’s rural roads and particularly the increase in traffic on 75th and Nelson Road. She suggested that OSMP consider acquiring this area also to protect this land and its species as well. She advised that the lake is not to be used by boats. Return to Board & Staff Chris Mueller inquired about the ditch shares and how the amount of water in a share is determined. Wally told him that one share from one ditch is rarely equal to one share from another ditch. He added that one share of Lefthand is a bit short of 1 acre foot and probably a little less than what the property needs. He told Chris that IBM was not able to sell the city any more than that. He also explained that the Hinman ditch was just a carrier ditch and did not have any water rights per se. Linda Andes-Georges agreed with Ms. Tucker about Dodd Lake - that it is a gem for wildlife and she would also love to keep it rural. MOTION Linda Andes-Georges moved that the Open Space Board of Trustees approve the joint purchase with Boulder County of approximately 185 acres in fee, including improvements and water rights, from IBM Corporation under the terms and conditions outlined herein for Open Space and Mountain Parks purposes and recommends that the Council approve the purchase and authorize the City Manager to execute the documents needed to complete the purchase. Linda Jourgensen seconded the motion. VOTE The motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 6 – Consideration of the expansion of the acquisition areas approved in the adopted Open Space and Management Plan for 2000-2006. Wally Cameron began by reminding the Board about the original acquisition plan for 2000- 2006 that was approved during September 1999. Using a map, he showed Board members the areas in the original plan and the additional areas included in the expansion proposal. He then explained how the spreadsheet listed the original acquisition acreage, the balance of that yet to be purchased and the proposed expanded acreage in each of the main target areas. He also explained how the department’s projected budget and bonding capacity would cover the anticipated expense of the additional acreage. Jim Crain explained that the department would not be able to buy, outright, the additional 2000 acres at this time. He described the ability of the department to “borrow” the needed money in the form of bonds or payment agreements with sellers. He reassured the Board that by the year 2019 the department will have enough funding to cover the 6000 acre balance from the earlier plan as well as the additional 2000 acres in the new expanded plan with Agenda Item 1A, Page 5 money left over. He told them that this proposal expands what the property agents are able to consider. Jim reiterated the value of joint acquisitions with the county as a way of stretching our purchasing power and the possibility of contributors lending money to the department with no interest until the final payment. Linda Jourgensen inquired about the purchasing process of possible “unidentified” properties. Jim explained that if a property came up for sale, staff would approach the Board before any acquisition would take place. He assured her that the department would not expand beyond the dollars that are available. Mike Patton pointed out that the spreadsheet includes a budgeted 300 “unidentified acres” that would be available for situations such as the one Linda was describing. Jim said that the department has worked methodically to reserve $6.3 million dollars in excess of the budget in anticipation of future economic downturns or problems. Larry MacDonnell liked the plan and was delighted with the vision the staff has exhibited with this proposal. He also suggested that the department pursue land farther north and west of the mountain parks for critical purchases. He described this as the best long term plan he has seen since he has been on the Board. Chris Mueller questioned the status of the land close to the city of Lafayette. Jim explained that the department had formally made an informal agreement with Lafayette to stay west of 95th Street. As part of a program designed to protect the riparian habitat along Boulder Creek and the heron rookery, Lafayette gave OSMP permission to extend its purchases beyond 95th Street. Jim thought that the working relationship between the department and the city was a positive one and anticipated that they would be open to future negotiations. Chris hoped that the expanded acquisition plan would not jeopardize the ability to purchase property on the eastern side of Boulder. Wally assured him that there was still money budgeted for acquisitions in that area known as “Area III”. Chris hoped that the department would continue to pursue acquisitions in that locality. He also questioned the area close to Longmont. Wally told him that the county is focusing on that area, alone or in joint purchases with OSMP. Jim told the Board that he had plans to meet with a property owner south of town who was considering selling the majority of his property but wanted to retain 200 acres for a possible gravel quarry. Jim thought that the department might want to pursue this acquisition with the intention of going after the remaining 200 acres at a later time if the property owner was not able to get a permit for the project. Chris questioned the source for the funding of the expanded acquisitions, wondering why that potential was not realized before. Jim and Mike Patton told him that the anticipated help from the county and the decision to “borrow” the extra $20 million made the projection possible. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None BACK TO THE BOARD Linda Andes-Georges was concerned about the department’s optimism for future revenues and asked for an explanation of projected sales tax. Jim Crain replied that a .6 percent growth was projected for 2001 although some individual months have shown greater rates of growth. He told her that historical trends justify the projections. Jim pointed out an error in the amount designated as “administrative transfer” that will be corrected before it is sent to council. He said we were concerned and would, as always, continue to be vigilant. Agenda Item 1A, Page 6 Chris asked if the general fund allocation calculated in this projection included the $1.2 million that the department is requesting from the city in the form of an ordinance. Jim said that it was and the proposed expanded acquisition plan was dependent on that revenue. If the department did not receive that money, it would have to be taken from either maintenance or the department’s acquisition budget. Chris thought that it should be pointed out to the Board that if they pass this expanded acquisition plan the money will only be there if the $1.2 million general fund ordinance is also passed. Linda Jourgensen was concerned about the loss of sales tax and the possibility of being directed to purchase part of the CU south campus land. Jim told her that to come up with the unbudgeted money for that property the department could either give up the possibility of buying other properties or take it to the citizens and request a special sales tax specifically for the one acquisition. Linda Andes-Georges agreed with Jim that the citizens would probably be willing to do this. MOTION Larry MacDonnell moved that the Open Space Board of Trustees recommend that the City Council authorize the expansion of the area previously approved in the Open Space Acquisition and Management Plan for Years 2000-2006, and authorize the purchase of an additional 2,000 acres. Linda Andes-Georges seconded the motion. VOTE It was passed unanimously. Delani Wheeler reminded Board members about the memo they received regarding the policy considerations for the disposal of open space. She told them that if they felt the need for a study session regarding this staff would be willing to accommodate them. ADJOURNMENT – The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. These draft minutes prepared by Kim Escalle and Cecil Fenio.