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
  • Tony Lewis
  • Trace Baker
  • Kristine Johnson
  • Derek Turner
  • Carol Byerly
  • Joan Lutz
  • John White
  • Viki Lawrence

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1.
Call to Order

 

2.
Roll Call

 

3.
Approval of Last Month's Minutes

This item has attachments. 
1.Sept Minutes.pdf
  • Moved byKristine Johnson
    Seconded byJohn White
    APPROVED

4.
Presentations

 

4.1
Paintbrush Conservation Easement Acquisition

This item has attachments. 
1.Paintbrush.pdf

Staff Presenter: Aaron Clark, Land Officer


Action Requested: Recommendation to BOCC

Q: Are there water rights associated with the property?

Response: No, and since this is a CE we wouldn't mention the water rights since we would not aquire those.

Q: Do you conduct forest thinning or make recommendations regarding thinning on CE properties?

Response: We don't do forestry work on CE easements. We note our observations, but this is private property so we don't have requirements regarding thinning.

Q: What would happen if the Gross Reservoir dam is reneged on? Would the property go back to Denver?

Response: Not that I am aware of. The settlement doesn't say anything about that.

Public Comment:

None

  • Moved byTrace Baker
    Seconded byJohn White
    APPROVED

4.2
Longseth-Lynch and IBM-PVREA Easement

This item has attachments. 
1.Longseth IBM Power Line.pdf

Staff Presenter: Aaron Clark, Land Officer


Action Requested: Recommendation to BOCC

Q:  This will be underground installed with a ditch or horizontal drilling? Will the surface be restored?

Response: It will be trenched and it will be restored.

 

Public Comment:

None

  • Moved byCarol Byerly
    Seconded byViki Lawrence
    APPROVED

4.3
Fourmile Property Acquisition

This item has attachments. 
1.Fourmile Property.pdf

Staff Presenter: Tina Burghardt, Land Officer Supervisor


Action Requested: Recommendation to BOCC

Q: Can we be sure it won't be another Cardinal Mill?

Response: We will conduct a Phase 1 Environmental Assessment before the puchase that will address any issues.

Q: Will the houses remain?

Response: We don't know yet. After the Phase 1 and the accessment, we will decide what to do with the property.

Q: Doesn't the big powerline affect the value?

Response: The powerline was factored in to the calculation of the price.

Q: You mentioned that this is a Preble's meadow jumping mouse habitat. Do they acutally live there?

Response: It is an appropriate habitat for them, but they haven't been observed there.

Q: Do nonconforming buildings need to be removed?

Response: They are nonconforming because they are in the floodway. To remain, they would need to be recategorized as historic units. New homes would need to be built outside of the floodway.

Q: Has this property been on your department's priority list for a long time?

Response: Yes, for decades. 

 

Public Comment:

Patrick O'Rourk, Fourmile Canyon resident. He spoke in favor of the purchase.

Wendy Sweet, Boulder Mountainbike Alliance. The BMA supports the purchase for its trail connection to Betasso. 

  • Moved byDerek Turner
    Seconded byTrace Baker
    APPROVED

4.4
Pocket Property Acquisition

This item has attachments. 
1.Pocket Property.pdf

Staff Presenter: Tina Burghardt, Land Officer Supervisor


Action Requested: Recommendation to BOCC

Q: What could the potential for public use be?

Response: If a property is not closed for a reason, it's open to the public.

  • Moved byCarol Byerly
    Seconded byJohn White
    APPROVED

4.5
Weed Warrior Program Update

This item has attachments. 
1.Weed Warrior Program.pdf

Staff Presenters: Amanda Hatfield, Sr Volunteer Coordinator and Alex Wendorf, Invasive Plants Suppression Specialist


Action Requested: Information Only

Q: What happens to the bags full of weeds?

Response: Because they are noxious, they go to the landfill. They cannot go into compost.

 

Public Comment:

None

 

4.6
2025 Boulder County Youth Corps Season in Review

This item has attachments. 
1.Youth Corps.pdf

Staff Presenter: Luiz Bertolo, Program Manager and Kiera McClish, Field Coordinator


Action Requested: Information Only

Public Comment:

None

5.
Public Comment Period for Items Not on Agenda

 

None

6.
POSAC Members Comment Period for Items Not on Agenda

 

Joan: There are three trees down on the Grindstone Quarry trail. What is the best way to report something like this?

Response: Bevin Carithers, Resource Protection Division Manager. Anytime you have a concern like that, just call our office at 303-678-6200 or our non-emergency dispatch at 303-441-4444. But I will make sure the issue you raised here is taken care of. 

Kristine Johnston: I wanted to acknowledge an email that came to us about Prairie Dogs. When was the last time this discussion came up and when will this come up again for discussion?

Response: This was a discussion at the POSAC retreat in the last couple years. Every December, there is a Prairie Dog Stakeholder meeting that is open to the public. 

 

7.
Director's Update

 
  • Heil Wapiti Trail Culverts -In progress; closure of Wapiti Trailhead Oct. 28-Nov.7
  • Lobo Trail Resurfacing-Ongoing contract ($288K); 2-3 weeks for completion
  • West Lake (Twin Lakes) Resurfacing Contract was completed this week
  • Delonde House Reroof -complete; synthetic shingles (Look like old shake Shingles); 50 year lifespan; this was our first test of this product (looks phenomenal and will save money long term)
  • Paul Hemmick was hired as our new Safety Coordinator
  • Volunteer Appreciation Picnic was a successful event at our Braly property. We had 144 attendees. We cannot do all that we do without our dedicated volunteers.  This is our way of saying Thank You. As a reminder, in 2024 we had 190 Cultural History and 182 Natural History programs in addition to many hours associated with volunteer events (140+ events)
  • Limber Pine: 600 total seedlings planted at Caribou, Reynolds Ranch, Heil Valley Ranch with volunteers and POS staff.  400 more will be planted by November 1.
  • Utilizing POS Foundation funding and St. Vrain Valley Schools Innovation Center partnership, the wildlife group is proud to pioneer the first student-run, end-to-end environmental DNA (eDNA) laboratory in the United States. This innovative high-school program will empower students and our staff to use cutting-edge molecular tools to study open space biodiversity, monitor rare fish and frogs in local waterways, and be a leader in conservation science. 
  • Follow up to the Sherwood Creek POSAC Field trip: Contractors finished planting container plants at Sherwood Creek yesterday, which was their last task. Installed 1,341 plants, on top of 164 done during construction, for a total of 1,505. 
  • Meeker Park sort yard is closing on November 1 and Nederland sort yard is closing on November 15. 
  • Prince Lake – Project to rehabilitate the dam will be substantially complete in a month with a few items to finish in Q1 next year. Project will be done in time for spring agricultural water.
  • Prairie Run – Construction has begun on the southwest portion of the property. Crews will be working on the trailhead, trail, shade structure, and other amenities as designed in the plan. Hopeful to celebrate the opening of the property in spring of next year.

8.
Adjournment

 

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

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