MEETING OF THE PARKS & OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO

Regular Meeting Minutes

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Third Floor Hearing Room
County Court House
1325 Pearl Street, Boulder
Members Present:
  • Janet George
  • Trace Baker
  • Kristine Johnson
  • Carol Byerly
  • Joan Lutz
  • John White
  • Viki Lawrence
Members Excused:
  • Tony Lewis
  • Derek Turner

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  • Moved byTrace Baker
    Seconded byCarol Byerly
    APPROVED

Staff Presenter: Melissa Arnold, Land Officer


Action Requested: Recommendation to BOCC

Q: Is there a possibility of the property becoming part of the Town of Lyons and being developed if the county doesn't purchase it?

Response: Currently no, because the IGA [Intergovernmental Agreement] has this area designated as rural preservation. However, the IGA has a termination date and a new draft is being written, so this protection may not continue with future IGAs.  

Q: Why is the piece of unbuildable land deemed as such?

Response: It was not platted as a buildable lot. It was platted as an outlot. 

Q: Could the Town of Lyons have influence over what the county does with the property? 

Response: The Town of Lyons is not a party to this deal. The Intergovernmental Agreement establishes that our staff will reach out to local municipalities during the planning process, so Lyons will be a participant at the table when future decisions are being made. 

Q: These buildings look like they are in the floodplain. If that is the case, would BCPOS still sell them?

Response: It's not the responsibility of BCPOS to determine whether a house is allowed to be in the floodplain, that is something for the Community Planning & Permitting department to decide based on county Land Use regulations. 

Q: Will the two house lots be dealt with separately?

Response: The decisions about selling those off will come later. It's possible that one will be sold and we hold on to the other.

 

Public Comment:

None

  • Moved byCarol Byerly
    Seconded byViki Lawrence
    APPROVED

Staff Presenter: Tina Nielsen, Special Projects Coordinator and Foundation Board Vice Chair


Action Requested: Information Only

Public Comment:

None

Staff Presenter: Therese Glowacki, Director


Action Requested: Recommendation to the BOCC

Q: With budgets tightening, I was looking at what things could we cut for 2026. Could we cut 5-10% across the board? 

Response: We are not in that place today where we need to cut 5% across the board.  Instead, would POSAC recommend cutting any of the expenses I mentioned in my presentation? 

Q: Is there less money available from grants and matching funds?

Response: Yes, and that is definitely impacting us. We applied for a Brownfield Grant through the EPA, but we didn't qualify. 

Q: You mentioned you were getting $3 million from the federal government for the Prince Lake Dam project. Is there any chance that money could be clawed back?

Response: That's a possibility. 

Q: Regarding the Heron Lake Outlet Construction project, does that include making the trail better or is the work just to address the flooding?

Response: We'll looking to make the crossing better for the trail experience, because when that section floods visitors have to turn around or wade through. That creates an accessibility issue. 

Q: With investments in agriculture infrastructure that happen over time, will there be a time when less money will be needed for that?

Response: With our new asset management system, we hope that it will give us a good projection of what maintenance costs will be in the long run and help us plan for those costs.

  • Moved byTrace Baker
    Seconded byJohn White
    APPROVED

Kristine Johnson: She would like to see more consideration for managing recreation on trails, such as reversed directions. 

Carol Byerly: She would like to get an update on the plans for the new compost facility, because she is getting questions about it.

Response: The county put money aside to establish a compost facility and has been looking for a site for that. The City of Longmont purchased two properties in Weld County, very close to Boulder County. One property is owned by Longmont Public Works department and it has already been mined and is now being restored. The other is owned by Longmont Open Space is currently being mined. The proposal is to switch the uses of the two sites and put the compost facility on the property that had been designated open space and the site that is being restored will become open space. That is a City of Longmont decision and doesn't have anything to do with Boulder County Parks & Open Space. The Boulder County Sustainability Office and Public Works will be partners with Longmont if they decide to put a compost facility on that site. 

  • A ballot measure will be on the ballot this November asking voters to approve a .15% open space tax in perpetuity
  • The Gateway property acquisition near Louisville closed recently.
  • We hosted an agricultural tour last Saturday and we had a great turnout.
  • CSU Extension is working with Wildfire Partners to develop a program for HOAs to learn about sustainable landscapes and wildfire mitigation.
  • Will Towle is the new Recreation & Facilities division manager. Michael Agena is the new Resource Management division manager.
  • The Conservation Awards will be on Sept. 23. at 3 p.m.

This is only a summary of the meeting. The meeting video is viewable on the POSAC webpage.

Closed to the public


Staff Presenter: Janis Whisman, Real Estate Division Manager


Action Requested: Information only

No Item Selected