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1 - Draft Minutes - Cover Sheet - November 4, 2009 OPEN SPACE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes November 4, 2009 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT Kay Tauscher Bill Briggs Pat Billig John Putnam Allyn Feinberg STAFF PRESENT Mike Patton Delani Wheeler Dean Paschall Eric Stone Ann Goodhart Jim Reeder Steve Armstead Don D'Amico Megan Bowes Joe Mantione Sarah Hill Ronda Romero CALL TO ORDER ` The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Bill Briggs said that on page 4, line I of the motion for Agenda Item 5 on the budget, the minutes should say "the city manager's" not "that city manager's". Bill Briggs moved that the minutes of September 9, 2009 be approved as amended. Allyn Feinberg seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 1 - Public Participation None. AGENDA ITEM 2 - Director's Update Fourmile Canyon Creek dog regulations Steve Armstead explained that this regulation change requiring dogs to be on leash along the Fourmile Creek Greenways path was called for in the Visitor Master Plan (VMP). There is a small stretch of the path that's managed by OSMP and it is outside city limits. Staff recently heard from Greenways staff members that there have been complaints with the dog management in the area. Signs advising of the regulation change will be posted for a couple of weeks and then enforcement of the leash requirement will begin. Steve said it will be a change from what is currently enforced. Mike Patton said this regulation change was missed when staff sent a suite of changes through after the VMP was approved. John Putnam asked if Rangers will be responsible for regulation enforcement along that stretch. Steve said Rangers and County Deputies have enforcement authority in that area; it is not frequently patrolled by Rangers, but it is their responsibility to enforce. Kay Tauscher's impression is that the path is more of a commuter trail than a dog walking trail. Steve is not familiar with the use patterns in the area. Many cement paths like this one are designated as dogs on leash in the VMP. Hidden Valley Trail closure Eric Stone passed out a snap of the trail closure and the warning sign that will be posted in the area once the trail is re-opened. Complaints about the shooting range arise every couple of years. The trail was temporarily closed after a hiker reported a bullet coming near her, and staff asked the City's Risk Management group for guidance. Their advice is to post signs about the possible danger, then re-open the trail. Staff has heard numerous complaints since closing the trail, from those upset about the proximity of the shooting range, to those who say they walk there every day without the proximity being a problem. Staff plans to reopen the trail as soon as the signs are posted. AGENDA ITEM IB PAGE I John asked if a press release will go out when the trail is reopened, and asked what message will be given to the public if they call the phone number listed on the warning sign: 303-441-3440. Eric said the front desk staff will be advised to tell people that entering the area is entirely the visitor's decision. OSMP Ranger Pete Taylor and the City's Risk Manager Stewart Ellenberg inspected the shooting range and determined that it is properly run with the required berm; however, it is conceivable that at some point a bullet could go in the direction of the trail. A press release will be going out tomorrow. Bill asked if the warning sign relieves the city of liability and Eric said yes. Kay said it seems that the shooting range would be liable if a bullet struck a hiker, not the city. Mike agreed that the shooting range also would not want a hiker to be hit by a stray bullet and said they have taken appropriate precautions. John asked about the regulatory authority of the city pertaining to the shooting range, and Ann confirmed the range is outside the city limits so it is regulated by the county. Ann said the issue has come up before when the range wanted to expand. Mike added that the county did not agree with the safety plans the shooting range provided in the expansion application and the expansion was dropped. Eric said staff used its best judgment and guidance from other city departments in making this decision. Mike explained that Hidden Valley is a popular trail that receives a lot of use. It was originally a social trail that was designated and Mike does not think OSMP would be successful in closing the trail pennanently. South Boulder Creek Restoration Megan Bowes, plant ecologist, worked with Don D'Amico and other staff on the South Boulder Creek restoration project. Megan and Eric Fairlee, the IPM coordinator for the eastern part of OSMP's system, are the co-leads for the restoration legacy program, and the South Boulder Creek restoration is the first large project done under that program. South Boulder Creek is a State Natural Area, and provides vital habitat for rare plants and animals. OSMP's riparian system consistently rated fair to poor for many indicators in the Grassland Plan; there are a series of undesignated trails through the South Boulder Creek riparian area, which can lead to serious problems. The Boulder Sesquicentennial Committee approached OSMP to do a volunteer project with them and staff decided to focus on South Boulder Creek. There were four main goals for the project, and all were accomplished. Megan went through her PowerPoint slides showing the accomplishments of the project, and the work done in preparation for the project. Megan explained that there are many areas along the creek where staff wants to remove non-native species to allow natives to expand, and some areas where natives will also be thinned to provide habitat for the Ute Ladies Tresses Orchid and the Northern Leopard Frog. John asked what kind of monitoring is in place to see how the attempts to keep people away from the riparian area are working. Megan said there is not any planned monitoring for quantitative sampling, but photo point monitoring will be used to compare how the area fares going forward. The push in the short term will be for people to stay out of the area because of the restoration, which staff is trying to accomplish through new signs and fencing. Pat asked if there is information on the website on the restoration legacy program, and Mike explained that it is part of the Strategic Operating Plan (SOP) which is on the website. Mike added that staff is trying to channel visitor use away from the creek, but also plans to add additional water access. Megan explained that there are two areas built to handle water access, and staff is interested in installing one or two additional areas if possible given the budget. Kay complimented Megan on the great project; she visited the area recently and said it looks great. Update on 2010 work plan and budget allocation Delani gave a brief update on the budget process, explaining that Directors Staff and Supervisors have been working together to develop the work plan and discretionary operating budget for 2010. Staff has come up with a long list of projects and programs and organized those by priority. The West TSA is listed as the number one priority for the department for 2010. The next step will be for project sponsors and AGENDA ITEM 1B PAGE 2 leads to decide on their project teams so that workgroups can coordinate their work so they are not double booked. Part of the group that has been involved in this process will attend a training this Friday on priority budgeting, which is the budget process the entire city will use in 2011. Staff has been busy with the work planning, but it allows us to be prepared to start work at the beginning of January. Bill asked who is leading the training Friday. Delani said it is International City/County Management Association (ICMA). Mike explained that the city manager wanted to look at a different way of doing the budget, and priority budgeting was chosen. Allyn asked if every department is sending staff to the training so all departments are following the same protocol. Mike replied that the expectation is that the 2011 budget will be based on this new priority process with a focus on the city's major core services. Allyn said having an integrated approach across the whole city is important, but is concerned about who will set the city's priorities. Mike said that about 20 hours of 16 staff members' time has gone into the budget and work plan process for 2010. It took more time having a large group, but it provides clarity throughout the organization so all staff understand how the budget and priorities are determined. Delani added that this goes back to the development of the :Strategic Operating Plan (SOP) in 2007. Staff members are pretty familiar with the eight legacy program components, which were laid out in a five year plan and each year projects are pulled from those legacy programs for work planning. Allyn imagines setting priorities within OSMP is probably pretty clear, but when the entire city is evaluating budget priorities, it may be tricky. She thinks there needs to be up front input on the city priorities if the budgeting system is being changed. Mike said City Council attended the first meeting on this budget process, and hopes that some clarity will be provided at the January retreat. Delani added that she expects to see the priorities fit inside the city's overarching goals for sustainability. Allyn asked if the extra funds available going forward are in the budget. Delani explained how OSMP determines the available discretionary funding from the operating budget. This year, OSMP also has $525,000 from the Lottery capital improvement projects (CIP) and $425,000 from the Visitor Infrastructure CIP. Allyn clarified that she was asking about future savings from the bonding issue that voters passed. Delani said it will show up in the fund when OSMP sells bonds because they will be at the lower interest rate. John thinks it would be helpful to have a study session to talk about acquisition priorities and budgeting in light of the County Open Space tax issue not passing in the election. Mike said scheduling will be discussed at the end of this agenda item. Community Collaborative Group (CCG) Update CCG meetings have been scheduled for the remainder of the year. Dean went over the upcoming meeting dates, times and locations. Dean attended a neighborhood listening session held by the neighborhood CCG members and alternates and thought they did a good job running the meeting. At the first CCG meeting on October 21, the group tried to have a reconciliation conversation; some were not very satisfied with how that conversation went, but everyone did commit to moving forward and working together. Pat asked if the agendas for each meeting will be available before hand, and Joe said that the agendas, reading materials, and links to documents will all be posted on the web site before the meetings, and the notes posted afterward. It will be very transparent with all of the information available to the CCG also available to the public. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) Mike explained that City Council has questions about OSMP's GMO policy. Council Member Macon Cowles asked how OSMP deals with jointly owned properties, and if OSMP has had any recent discussions on the issue of GMOs. Mike learned that a memo on GMOs was needed for City Council next AGENDA ITEM 1B PAGE 3 week, and OSMP ended up writing a portion of the memo, which has been distributed to the board. The City has an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the County that was developed in 2005 when it became clear that the city and county had differing opinions on various management practices, including GMOs. The IGA states that one party or the other is designated as the lead and management of the jointly-owned land will follow that party's rules, regulations and management practices. There is GMO corn on a part of the jointly owned Imel property and this was acknowledged in the IGA. Mike added that in regard to Macon's second question, he concluded that Macon was asking if OSBT has reviewed the policy recently. The GMO policy is simple: they are not allowed on open space. Mike offered that staff can bring the IGA and GMO policy to the board for a public hearing if that is the board's request. Mike is not sure if the County has a different opinion on GMOs now, but does know they are currently growing GMO corn on some property. Bill asked if Mike is presenting the GMO item to city council next week and Mike said yes. Mike said it is up to the board what other information from this discussion they would like reported to council. Pat asked if there is more to the policy than OSMP does not allow GMOs. Mike said there is a brief rationale, and an explanation of OSMP's view that there are risks and unknowns with GMOs. Bill asked Mike if he thinks the board will invite the same public outcry the County Conunissioners received if the board requests the policy be brought up at a future meeting. Mike answered that it could generate the same level of interest, but it's likely that OSMP's policy would be viewed favorably by the public. Kay is curious to know if there is any additional scientific data on GMOs. Mike said staff can come back to the board with more current research. John commented that it is hard to think about GMOs since their current level of use is not high on open space; he thinks it would be interesting to think about the future of the agriculture program and sees GMOs as a small subcomponent of the program. Mike said OSMP has 13,000 acres of land under some sort of agricultural production. John said agriculture is one of OSMP's charter purposes that is not often discussed. John asked if the GMO policy applies to land in conservation easements. Ann said some of newer easement agreements prohibit them, but some older ones do not, and that staff will try to renegotiate some easement agreements. Mike spoke briefly about Roy Bell and Andy Pelster, OSMP's agricultural managers. Pat said she would like an agriculture presentation at a board meeting. Allyn said that since council brought up the sustainable agriculture issue, this would be the perfect time to look into agriculture. Allyn is not interested in looking solely at the GMO question or re-looking at the IGA, but would like to take a larger look at OSMP's agricultural program. John added that one of the agents working with the county focuses on sustainable agriculture, and could provide an important view on the market place and whether OSMP land could be profitable or not. Mike said staff will start work on an agriculture presentation for the board. He added that the board should also be talking about the budget and work plan. The board agreed that the December meeting will be on December 9, 2009. Staff will look at January dates for the work plan/budget study session and February dates for an agriculture study session. AGENDA ITEM 3 - Matters from the Board Pat Billig asked if it would be appropriate to invite the two new council members to a meeting or event to get to know them. Allyn Feinberg said in her experience that most departments make themselves available to new council members. Mike Patton said new council members are invited to attend department-specific orientations, but that attendance has been sparse. Mike is interested in inviting current and new council members to a board meeting to help provide greater understanding of the issues dealt with by OSMP, and will check on that possibility. Allyn added that it might work out better to do something later once the new members are settled. AGENDA ITEM 1B PAGE 4 Bill Briggs asked when the thinning on Enchanted Mesa will end. Eric Stone said it already ended, but there is still some slash to be removed. A press release about tree cutting in general was sent out, but it's not likely to be picked up by the news. Mike added that when he toured the area he could see why people are concerned with the heavy equipment in the area, but OSMP's ecologists are confident that the tracks won't be visible for long. Bill's concern is that after the snow storm the heavy equipment appears to have caused some severe damage. Eric explained that when the last piece of equipment comes out, the tracks will be covered with the remaining slash and some chipping; staff may also plant native seed in some areas. Bill also asked for a quick update on Boulder Falls. Jim Reeder met with the City Attorney and Risk Manager and they said it is the department's decision whether to leave it open, close it or somewhere in between; their recommendation is to leave it closed. A viewing platform could be created part way down to the falls that would keep people out of the major rock fall area. OSMP had an analysis done by a contractor that does rock fall work and they recommended two options: putting in a concrete wall at a cost of at least half a million dollars, or doing periodic scaling work. Scaling would reduce the risk, but would not eliminate it and there would be no guarantees rocks would not fall. The department has decided to leave it closed indefinitely. Mike added that Ann Goodhart has been working with the Forest Service to see if a deal could be reached with them taking ownership of the area. The board, city manager and city council will likely weigh in on plans for the area. Bill asked if the Forest Service is interested in the property. Ann said they originally were not, but indicated that if it was kept closed for a certain amount of time that they may consider it. Bill explained that another issue is access to climbing above the falls; it is a good place to climb in the winter and he asked if there is any other way for climbers to access that area. Mike is not sure about where the climbing access trail is, but said staff will take a look at other possible routes. OSMP has always had trouble stabilizing the route into the area where people view the falls. John asked about the status of work in Bear Canyon. Jim said he's been told that they will be done this week. ADJOURNMENT - The meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m. These draft minutes were prepared by Sarah Hill. AGENDA ITEM 1B PAGE 5