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
  • Paula Fitzgerald
  • Drew Adams
  • Kristine Johnson
  • Derek Turner
  • Carol Byerly
Members Excused:
  • Jackson Moller

1.
Call to Order

 

2.
Roll Call

 

3.
Approval of Last Month's Minutes

This item has attachments. 
1.April 25 Minutes.pdf
  • Moved byPaula Fitzgerald
    Seconded byTrace Baker
    APPROVED

4.
Presentations

 

4.1
Sunny Belle Property Acquisition

This item has attachments. 
1.Sunny Belle Property Acquisition.pdf

Staff Presenter: Tina Burghardt, Senior Land Officer


Action Requested: Recommendation to BOCC

Public Comment: None

 

Q: I wonder about the biodiversity designation for half of the property, since it looks contiguous.

Response: I won't say the designation is arbitrary, but it's an artifact of the how the layer is displayed. The biodiversity may extend farther or not.

Q: What are the issues of having private inholdings around this land?

Response: This particular parcel doesn't have legal access since we own property around it, but they could access it through open space like any other members of the public. 

Q: Is the price considered fair market value for a property like this?

Response: The price comes to about $5,000 per acre. It is priced reasonably for undevelopable mountain acreage is worth. 

  • Moved byTrace Baker
    Seconded byCarol Byerly
    APPROVED

4.2
Fairgrounds Policy Manual Update

This item has attachments. 
1.Fairgrounds Policy Manual Update.pdf
2.Fairgrounds Manual 2024 clean.pdf
3.Fairgrounds Manual 2024 with edits.pdf

Staff Presenter: Joe LaFollette, Fairgrounds Manager


Action Requested: Recommendation to BOCC

Public Comment: None

Q: You say no armed security on the slide and deleted the paragraph about tenant-provided armed security. Should you explicitly state that tenants should not provide armed security?

Response: The absence should be sufficient. The leases state that if armed security is needed, we prefer the Boulder County Sheriff provide it and not private security.

Q: Section 3.4 states that fees have been established by the BOCC after a public hearing. Does that mean that the fees there now are set until the commissioners have another public hearing?

Response: Yes, we're in that phase now and POSAC is the first step of that phase. After this meeting, I'll have a meeting with users of the fairgrounds and explain the process. 

Q: What is the outreach for current and future users?

Response: We're starting with POSAC and then we'll have user meetings to discuss the changes and get their feedback. We have let users know that some changes are coming.

 

Recommendation of this item was tabled to the June 27 meeting to allow public feedback. Joe LaFollette will schedule a User Meeting before that date.

 

4.3
Howell Ditch Reconstruction Project and Prince Lake No. 1 Dam Rehabilitation Project

This item has attachments. 
1.Howell and Prince Lake Projects.pdf

Staff Presenters: Tim Zych, Project Manager and Obadiah Broughton, Project Coordinator/Planner


Action Requested: Information only

Public Comment: None

 

4.4
Trails Program Overview

This item has attachments. 
1.Trails Program Overview.pdf

Staff Presenters: Jarret Roberts, Recreation and Facilities Division Manager and Chris Trujillo, Trails Superintendent


Action Requested: Information only

Public Comment: None

 

5.
Public Comment Period for Items Not on Agenda

 

Alan Lewis. He spoke about the loss of farmland in Boulder County. He would like to see Parks & Open Space focus more on helping alleviate food insecurity. 

Mary Mulry, former member of the Food and Agriculture Policy Council. She wants to see a Food and Agriculture Department in Boulder County. She doesn't think the current Ag division at BCPOS is sufficient for the county's needs.

6.
POSAC Members Comment Period for Items Not on Agenda

 

Paula Fitzgerald recognized Ollin Farms for their conservation projects and other outreach that they do. 

Derek Turner commented on the BOCC response to POSAC's letter requesting action regarding agricultural housing. 

Tony Lewis commented that POSAC has the responsibility to continue looking into solutions for housing for agricultural workers. As a private citizen, he has pursued private funds to alleviate the agricultural housing problem in the short term.

POSAC members agreed that a study session with information gathering by staff around this topic would be worthwhile.

7.
Director's Update

 
  • Therese Glowacki addressed POSAC’s questions regarding the current number of trails and user satisfaction. The county has conducted visitor surveys and more general public surveys. The public is generally happy and support open space. When asked, they generally feel we have enough trails. There is an interdepartmental executive advisory board on regional trails, which includes a paved bike trail connecting Boulder and Lyons and another connecting Boulder and Longmont.
  • The BOCC has approved all recent open space acquisitions recommended by POSAC.
  • Today the BOCC approved the Weed Management Plan with modifications, including eliminating the use of glyphosate and helicopter spraying as recommended by POSAC.
  • Staff held an all staff workday in May at Hall Ranch. Some POSAC members participated.
  • POSAC was encouraged to sign up for upcoming field trips.

8.
Adjournment

 

9:35 p.m.

 

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

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