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Christina. Welcome, everybody, to today's Boulder County Parks and open

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Space advisory committee meeting. We've reached our start time. These

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meetings are held in a virtual hybrid format via Zoom

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webinar in just a moment, I'm going to start the

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webinar. And it'll take about 30 seconds for people in

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the zoom to be brought into the meeting as attendees.

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Just a referendum reminder to all postac members, presenters and

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public speakers. Make sure you're within two inches of the

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microphone when speaking. This helps ensure we maintain an accurate

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public record. Members of the committee. Are you ready? Almost.

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All right, Carol's back. No worries. You're fine. All right.

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Recording in progress. Cool. All right. Welcome to the May

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22, 2025, meeting of Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee,

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postac. We have quite a few things to do tonight.

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My name is Tony Lewis, and I'm currently chair. And

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the first thing we're going to do is elect new

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officers. And I'm going to start that. With a thank

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you to the people that were on this committee. Previously

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and have supported me as chair. I have really appreciated

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both serving with you and as chair. And to have

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your support. Has been really valuable and appreciative, and I

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want to thank you for that. I also want, before

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we elect new members, to welcome our new members. And

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we're really glad you're here and joining us. And that

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is. Vicky lawrence. Joan lutz and John White. So thank

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you three for volunteering, and we're glad you're selected, and

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we're looking forward to having you join postach. Now to

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elect officers. I am not running as chair again. I

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am giving this incredible position up. Because I think it's

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time for a change. And so. I am not going

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to run his chair. And I would like to actually

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nominate a new chair. Let me just say it's a

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little awkward having three new members who are just introduced.

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And we're electing new officers. The timing is not great,

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and we have talked about this, and we have not

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actually come up with a great solution. Maybe something for

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us to work. On. But. I would like to nominate

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Janet George, who is not physically here, but I think

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Nick is. She. Online. Yes, she is here. Welcome, Janet.

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I would like to nominate Janet. She's been a great

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member of Postac. She has. Incredible experience from her CPW

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day serving with the state. And if I'm not mistaken,

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Janet, you're willing to serve as chair? And then please

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let me know if you are and then I would

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like to also open it. Up for other nominations. Yes,

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I am. I don't know if you can hear me.

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We can. Thank you. That's. Great. Cool. Thank you. Have

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a confirmation. All right, but let me open it up.

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This is a totally open process. I want to make

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sure that whoever would like to nominate anyone, including themselves,

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has that opportunity. So it's open. Anybody? I'd like to

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second the nomination of Janet. Okay. Thank you, Carol Byerly,

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Posek. Thank you. Okay. Well, Janice willing to run? She's

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been nominated and seconded. All in favor of Janet? Becoming

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the new chair. Please say aye. And opposed. No. Opposed.

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Okay. We are, Janet. It's your lucky day. You are

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the new chair of Postac. But not really fair. Because

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I have to run this meeting. That's not really how

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it should work. But it is how it's working tonight.

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Makes it easy for her. It does. Any words? Just

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thank you for the support and I look forward to

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it. And thank you, Tony, for covering. For me tonight.

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Absolutely. We didn't really do a roll call. For some

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reason, it's not on this. Agenda, but I think we

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really should, just to make sure that we know who

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is here and. Who voted. So let me run through

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a roll call real quick, and then we'll move. On

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to vice chair. Trace Baker. Here. Carol Byerly. Here. Janet

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George. Here online. Christine Johnson? Not here. Vicky Lawrence? Here.

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Tony Lewis? I'm here. Joan Lutz? Here. Derek. Turner. Here

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and John White here. Great. Christine Johnson, you are here.

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Thank you. Welcome. Christine, just so you know, we just

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voted on the new chair. Is janet george. Yay. And

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I would like to open it up for nominations for

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vice chair. Carol. Byr late. I would like to nominate

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trace Baker as vice chair. He served well as our

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chair in the past, so he's ready and able to

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step in. Should Janet not be able to. Great. I'll

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second that. Other nominations? Okay. All those in favor of

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Trace Baker becoming vice chair, please say aye. Opposed? None.

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Trace. Welcome back. Bankitonian leadership of Postac. Thank you, everybody.

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That's great. It's wonderful to have you as vice chair.

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All right. Now that we've done the hard stuff. We

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will move on to the approval of the March 27

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meeting minutes. Are there any comments or questions from Posec

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on the meeting minutes? Trace baker postac. There's one minor

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typo in the section under the elk management. Reauthorization. There's

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the word typography, which should be topography. Nice. Okay, I

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think. There was also. Something that struck me. Lesser and

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lesser. Any other comments, Carol? I found another typo. Great.

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Which is lesser instead of less or. Less. Which is

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great. Yeah. Thank you. Other comments. Okay, I think we're

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done. I think that adjust mine as well. Great. So,

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do I have a motion to approve the March 27

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minutes. Trace Baker. Tracy, you're going to be fired as

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vice chair. This is a test. Okay. I moved that.

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We approved the march minutes. Great. Is there a second?

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I'll second. Great. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Great. It

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passes. Okay. Let's get into. The meat of this meeting,

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which is one of which is the range view property

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acquisition. Can you hear me? We can. Okay. Good evening.

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Tina Burkhart. I'm a land officer supervisor at parks, and

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I'm excited. To talk to you about the range view

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acquisition tonight, but first I'd like to read. Our land

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acknowledgment for much longer than parks and open spaces. History.

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Of sorting open space. The land in the community has

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been important to american indian, urban, native, indigenous and other

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cultural communities that continue to live here. We're making meaningful

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changes to how we do our work that include them,

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incorporate their perspectives, and honor their land stewardship legacy. Parks

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and open space operates within modern legal constructs of landownership.

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To Stewart Boulder county open space and accomplish these efforts

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on behalf of our community. As I said, I'm here

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tonight to present our staff proposal to acquire fee title

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to approximately 20 acres of vacant land for $1.8 million.

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The Range View property is located between Gunboro and Nywat.

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The red circle shows you the general area of the

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property in the county. It is just north of Lookout

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Road on North 79th street on the west side of

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North 79th street. The property is currently owned by the

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Tennis center of the Rockies, LLC. The purchase price for

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this parcel includes one development, right, and a left hand

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water tap. And the acquisition will be paid for with

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open space sales tax dollars. What you're looking at now

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is a nice aerial view looking to the west. The

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property. That's more than the property. The eastern third of

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the property. Or the bottom half of what you see

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basically is the property. Here's another map showing the property.

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It's outlined in red. The large blue swaths that you

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see there are owned by the city of Boulder and

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managed by its open Space and Mountain Parks Department. I'll

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refer to them as OSMP. You can see that the

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range of property nicely connects the city's open space complexes.

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The various other parcels in green Dark green are owned

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by Boulder county parks in open space and then the

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lighter, green shaded parcels are encumbered with conservation easements, and

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tina, the property to the south. It's about the same

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size as the dark green one. No, just the one

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just below or adjacent. Exactly. Yes. Is that what it

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is? Is a church? With its own property? Yeah, it's

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a privately owned, and it has a church on the

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south. You can kind of see it on the south

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end. So it'll be basically encircled by open space, pretty

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much. While we're back on that, what about the larger

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parcels to the north? Which are also circled by open

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space and easements. They're all private. Yeah, the parcels. That

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aren't shaded are privately owned. Here's a closer area. Look

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at the property. It's a relatively flat property with a

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slightly sloping down to the west. You can see a

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few drainages that provide some topographic relief, but it's fairly

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flat. Here's another nice view looking northwest from the property.

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And one more photo because they're fun to look at.

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And this one's looking. Southwest toward boulder. Prior to the

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closing on this acquisition. A phase one environmental assessment report

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will be completed to confirm. That no environmental hazards exist

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on the property. All right, comp plan designations. There's a

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bunch. So the maps that you're going to see are

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intended to be illustrative, rather. Than specific, and the designations

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are indicators of importance, but not confirmation that these features

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exist. On the property. All right, so, like I said,

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there's a few comp plan designations. The map on the

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left shows that the property is entirely in the White

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Rocks gun Barrel Hill Environmental Conservation Area. This area has

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been restored from dry land farming to native prairie, and

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the Rainview property could undergo the same restoration. The second

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map over. Shows that lands directly to the east comprise

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critical wildlife habitat. And I'll speak more to that on

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the next slides, the third map. Shows that a good

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portion of the 20 acres of the property are significant

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agricultural lands of local importance. That's what that yellow shading

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is. And then lastly, it has a view for detection.

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Quarter. Score of two out of five due to its

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adjacency to 79th. Street. All right, so I'm going to

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talk a little bit more about. The wildlife habitat on

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the property. Or adjacent to the property. It's directly adjacent

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to the east Gunboro Hill Hill critical Wildlife habitat Area

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88, which encompasses OSMP properties as well as the county's

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open space Jeffey property that's on the bottom, on the

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left corner there. This area is designated due to its

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restored mixed grass. Prairie zurich tall grass and shortgrass prairie

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habitat supporting several county species of special concern, including grasshopper

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sparrows, burrowing owls, black tailed prairie dogs, frigginous hawks and

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golden eagles. The OSMP property directly to the east is

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close to public due to the importance of the area

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for wintering raptors as well as summer burrowing owl nesting.

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And aries close by to the south of Lookout Road,

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are also closed seasonally for burrowing owls by OSmp. On

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this map. The area adjacent to the east is designated

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as a grassland preserve by OSMP. That's the green hatch

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shading. On the circle. It's pretty zoomed out map, but

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there is that designation as well. And the parcel directly

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adjacent to the west of the range of property is

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designated as a prairie dog conservation area by OSMP in

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their grassland ecosystems management plan, and that's shown in the

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brown in this map, and then the grassland preserve area

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is in the green to the east. The property is

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currently used for private passive recreation, and like all properties

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acquired for open space, it will be managed for open

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space use due to the numerous designations I just mentioned.

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Our. Wildlife Group has requested closure of the property to

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protect the various wildlife and grassland features. Simply put, the

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range view properties situated within one of the last remaining

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intact prairie grasslands and has several county comp plan designations

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as well as OSMP management plans. Therefore, staff request your

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approval to recommend this acquisition to the Board of County

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commissioners for their approval, and I'm happy to answer questions

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that you might have. Great. Thank. You, Tina. I appreciate

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that. Questions first from Posek. Vicky, by the way, this

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is a reminder. For all of us, including me, to

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state your name and then ask your questions or make

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your comments. Just for the recordings. Helpful for people to

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know who's speaking. So Vicky learns. Hi, Tina. Vicky Lawrence.

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I'm curious if. That would, the prairie dog area would

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be allowed to continue into that. Are the prairie dogs

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allowed on the next property to the east? I'm just

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curious. I'm just going to pull up a map so

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I know right now. Let's do. This. One. Right. So

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you had prairie dogs there? In the land of the

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west was a prairie dog. Preserve and the east is

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for other wildlife, for raptors and things like that. I'm

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just curious. If prairie dogs are on that property to

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the east, their prairie dogs are going to be allowed

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on that property to the east if that's been considered

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as this will give. Them, obviously, while they could go.

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Right now, right? There's 79th street, but I can't really

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answer that because that's. All city owned and managed property.

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All the blue. This just happens to be kind of

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sandwiched in between the city owned properties. So why isn't

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the city buying? Excellent question. I figured somebody would ask

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that. Was the question on all of our minds, yeah.

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I had been in discussions with the city about this

232
00:17:12,982 --> 00:17:17,781
parcel when it came on the market. And. Their acquisition

233
00:17:17,781 --> 00:17:20,221
budget isn't out, they don't have the money to fund

234
00:17:20,221 --> 00:17:24,521
it, right? Now. They have allocated their acquisition dollars elsewhere.

235
00:17:26,029 --> 00:17:30,514
And over time. Both entities, OSMP and parks and open

236
00:17:30,514 --> 00:17:33,954
space. We partnered on projects and sometimes we have the

237
00:17:33,954 --> 00:17:37,554
funds to buy a critical parcel. Sometimes they do. In

238
00:17:37,554 --> 00:17:39,552
this case, We're able to do that, and we think

239
00:17:39,552 --> 00:17:43,386
it's. An important kind of piece to the larger wildlife

240
00:17:43,386 --> 00:17:52,422
puzzle. Okay, other questions. Carol. Carol Byerly. The memo we

241
00:17:52,422 --> 00:17:56,660
got. Before said that the property will be open to

242
00:17:56,660 --> 00:18:00,420
public use unless parks and open space later determines and

243
00:18:00,420 --> 00:18:03,260
you said that there are staff that's recommending that it

244
00:18:03,260 --> 00:18:08,217
be closed? Yeah. Our wildlife group reached out to me

245
00:18:08,217 --> 00:18:11,435
after I'd written the memo. And provided me with all

246
00:18:11,435 --> 00:18:14,155
the information I gave you and all the reasons why

247
00:18:14,155 --> 00:18:19,105
they are recommending it remain closed. Okay. So then when

248
00:18:19,105 --> 00:18:27,294
will that be determined? They'll do their assessments. After acquisition,

249
00:18:27,294 --> 00:18:33,669
okay? Good. Thank you. Other questions. Derek, you mentioned the

250
00:18:33,669 --> 00:18:37,285
city's budget. I was looking through my notes about this

251
00:18:37,285 --> 00:18:40,845
year's budget. 12.3 million. For real? Estate acquisitions. I would

252
00:18:40,845 --> 00:18:43,405
love an update on where this fits into that. How

253
00:18:43,405 --> 00:18:46,889
much is left? And what this looks like in the

254
00:18:46,889 --> 00:18:50,169
overall picture for real estate budget this year, I can

255
00:18:50,169 --> 00:18:55,949
get that to you. I don't have it. Handy. I

256
00:18:55,949 --> 00:18:59,429
can have our division manager who handles all the budgeting.

257
00:18:59,429 --> 00:19:03,986
I can have Janice provide that. For you. That would

258
00:19:03,986 --> 00:19:07,857
be great. I may have mentioned this at the retreater.

259
00:19:07,857 --> 00:19:09,377
I would love to see that as part of the

260
00:19:09,377 --> 00:19:14,245
presentations for real estate purchases. In terms of. Here's how

261
00:19:14,245 --> 00:19:18,081
much. This property will cost. Here's how much we spent

262
00:19:18,081 --> 00:19:20,766
this year. Here's how much is left. I know that.

263
00:19:21,969 --> 00:19:23,449
You all have sometimes know the properties that are coming

264
00:19:23,449 --> 00:19:25,489
on the market and you kind of have in your

265
00:19:25,489 --> 00:19:28,449
mind, we're going to spend what we budgeted. But I

266
00:19:28,449 --> 00:19:31,209
just think that. Would be useful. Bit of information for

267
00:19:31,209 --> 00:19:37,372
each of the purchases. Agreed. Thanks. Other questions. Tina, I

268
00:19:37,372 --> 00:19:44,510
have one for you. Tony Lewis Posack. What is the

269
00:19:44,510 --> 00:19:47,630
timeline for purchasing this property? Does it need to be

270
00:19:47,630 --> 00:19:49,470
done immediately? Can it be? Done in the next month.

271
00:19:51,169 --> 00:19:56,222
Well. If you recommend it to BOCC for approval, they

272
00:19:56,222 --> 00:20:00,012
got to do their thing. I think we're targeting into

273
00:20:00,012 --> 00:20:05,911
July. We have. The first right of purchase. What do

274
00:20:05,911 --> 00:20:12,007
you mean? Could somebody else come along and buy it

275
00:20:12,007 --> 00:20:14,007
in the meantime? No. We're under a letter. Of intent

276
00:20:14,007 --> 00:20:17,887
with the sellers, and we're working on a purchase agreement

277
00:20:17,887 --> 00:20:21,366
as we speak, which we should. Have? Probably by the

278
00:20:21,366 --> 00:20:26,406
Bocc hearing. Okay, another question for me. In the memo

279
00:20:26,406 --> 00:20:30,646
said the property scored a 2.6 on a scale of

280
00:20:30,646 --> 00:20:35,162
zero to five. Being the highest score possible. Yeah, that's

281
00:20:35,162 --> 00:20:38,882
the combined of critical wildlife habitat. No, that's. The view

282
00:20:38,882 --> 00:20:45,214
protection corridor score. Okay, it's not well written. Here. It

283
00:20:45,214 --> 00:20:48,094
looks like it's the combination of all of those. Oh,

284
00:20:48,094 --> 00:20:51,094
sorry. That's. Right. It's the view protection corridor score. Okay,

285
00:20:51,094 --> 00:20:58,811
do we know the score for the other? Layers. I

286
00:20:58,811 --> 00:21:04,234
don't think they score. For wildlife. We don't do numerical

287
00:21:04,234 --> 00:21:10,504
designations like that for wildlife. Other comp plan layers. It's

288
00:21:10,504 --> 00:21:12,864
just the view protection corridor score is a numerical one.

289
00:21:14,456 --> 00:21:17,816
Janet, you're online still? If you are, do you have

290
00:21:17,816 --> 00:21:19,736
questions? I want to make sure. We don't forget you.

291
00:21:22,672 --> 00:21:28,669
I guess the only question I would have. Is following

292
00:21:28,669 --> 00:21:30,829
along on. Now we know why the city of Boulder

293
00:21:30,829 --> 00:21:34,922
isn't buying it. But how will it be managed? I

294
00:21:34,922 --> 00:21:37,722
mean, the way it looks right there. It looks like

295
00:21:37,722 --> 00:21:40,362
it's. So surrounded by city of Boulder. Boulder open space

296
00:21:40,362 --> 00:21:42,722
that it makes sense that they kind of take the

297
00:21:42,722 --> 00:21:45,442
lead on it. Is there a way? How do you

298
00:21:45,442 --> 00:21:51,728
plan to handle that? That's an excellent question for our

299
00:21:51,728 --> 00:21:56,055
wildlife group, but. I would expect that they would be

300
00:21:56,055 --> 00:22:00,415
coordinating with OSMP staff on management since so much of

301
00:22:00,415 --> 00:22:03,695
the surrounding properties. So Smp. Except for, I guess, the

302
00:22:03,695 --> 00:22:08,712
Jaffe property, which is down there. To the southwest. Other

303
00:22:08,712 --> 00:22:15,754
questions, Janet. No, that's good. Thank you. Great. Okay, Christine

304
00:22:15,754 --> 00:22:21,809
and then John. Christine Johnson Posak. Is the development right

305
00:22:21,809 --> 00:22:25,489
likely to be exercised or is it just going to

306
00:22:25,489 --> 00:22:29,729
hang out? No. When we acquire property, we don't develop

307
00:22:29,729 --> 00:22:33,446
it. It's just more of saying what we're acquiring when

308
00:22:33,446 --> 00:22:38,535
we acquire that real estate. Bundle of rights. It's what

309
00:22:38,535 --> 00:22:41,996
we'd be turning down. Or what we would be releasing

310
00:22:41,996 --> 00:22:44,996
if we didn't purchase it. Well, we didn't. Purchase it.

311
00:22:44,996 --> 00:22:48,556
Somebody else could purchase it and build the house. Yeah,

312
00:22:48,556 --> 00:22:50,876
so that's not going. To happen if we purchase it.

313
00:22:52,493 --> 00:22:59,211
John. White Bozek view protection score of two out of

314
00:22:59,211 --> 00:23:02,331
five. It's sitting right up there. On a ridge that

315
00:23:02,331 --> 00:23:05,371
anybody in the eastern half of the county can see.

316
00:23:05,371 --> 00:23:08,051
It is, and I'm not an expert on view protection

317
00:23:08,051 --> 00:23:11,131
corridor scoring, but my guess is that 79th street is

318
00:23:11,131 --> 00:23:14,912
not a heavily traveled road. It's not like peak to

319
00:23:14,912 --> 00:23:17,872
peak, where you have lots and lots of cars. I

320
00:23:17,872 --> 00:23:20,312
don't. Think it's an assessment of how good the view

321
00:23:20,312 --> 00:23:24,952
is. I think it's. More of the amount of traffic

322
00:23:24,952 --> 00:23:28,082
that goes by. But I can find that out from

323
00:23:28,082 --> 00:23:31,282
reading editorials in the paper when they were first going

324
00:23:31,282 --> 00:23:36,592
to build that. That's what every single article said is

325
00:23:36,592 --> 00:23:38,952
you're going to ruin it's a pretty stunning view from

326
00:23:38,952 --> 00:23:43,980
79th street, neatly saw in the pictures. Yeah. Thank you.

327
00:23:43,980 --> 00:23:49,892
Thanks, john. Other questions from poseac. All right, let's open

328
00:23:49,892 --> 00:23:52,412
it up for public comment for people who are in

329
00:23:52,412 --> 00:23:55,092
the audience. Is there anybody who would like to speak

330
00:23:55,092 --> 00:24:00,208
to the Range View acquisition? All right, Nick. Anybody online?

331
00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:09,051
Yes. Do you want to come up? Yeah, I signed

332
00:24:09,051 --> 00:24:13,171
up. Oh, great. Yeah, sorry, I just didn't. See you.

333
00:24:13,171 --> 00:24:17,221
Yes, come up. Please. Give us your name. And where

334
00:24:17,221 --> 00:24:21,699
you are living, generally in Boulder County. Am I close

335
00:24:21,699 --> 00:24:24,379
enough? Yes. And you get, like, three minutes, so please

336
00:24:24,379 --> 00:24:26,459
state your name and where. You live? Yeah. So. I'm

337
00:24:26,459 --> 00:24:29,219
Joyce freely. I live in gun barrel estates, which is

338
00:24:29,219 --> 00:24:32,579
unincorporated. Boulder county, and I just wanted to thank the

339
00:24:32,579 --> 00:24:36,739
committee for allowing me to share my comments. I'm an

340
00:24:36,739 --> 00:24:41,019
officer of the preserve rural gun barrel 501 c three

341
00:24:41,019 --> 00:24:43,923
entity. And I'm speaking today on behalf of the officers

342
00:24:43,923 --> 00:24:47,923
and board of directors of that organization. In support of

343
00:24:47,923 --> 00:24:52,441
the county's purchase of the range view property. Preserve rural

344
00:24:52,441 --> 00:24:55,321
gun Barrel is a grassroots organization that came together in

345
00:24:55,321 --> 00:25:00,401
2023 when residents of gun barrel and unincorporated Boulder county

346
00:25:00,401 --> 00:25:04,721
learned of a special use review for 57 one north

347
00:25:04,721 --> 00:25:11,841
79th street our grassroots organization collected signatures from 3356 individual.

348
00:25:11,657 --> 00:25:16,007
Individuals, primarily residents of Boulder county, in support of preserving

349
00:25:16,007 --> 00:25:19,727
the range, view property as rural and open space. The

350
00:25:19,727 --> 00:25:22,407
range view property, as has been said, is an integral

351
00:25:22,407 --> 00:25:25,727
part of its surroundings, and we believe the open space

352
00:25:25,727 --> 00:25:29,047
will safeguard the threatened burrowing owl that has a protected

353
00:25:29,047 --> 00:25:33,176
habitat just yards away, prairie dog. Dogs located on the

354
00:25:33,176 --> 00:25:35,856
property provide an active hunting ground for bald and golden

355
00:25:35,856 --> 00:25:40,136
eagles, as well as threatened. Rough legged and fruginous hawks,

356
00:25:40,136 --> 00:25:44,176
the grasshopper sparrow has an extremely fragile environment. In closed

357
00:25:44,176 --> 00:25:47,296
vicinity. And one of the biggest threats did the native

358
00:25:47,296 --> 00:25:50,816
bird species on the Boulder county plains is fragmentation of

359
00:25:50,816 --> 00:25:55,106
their habitat. Purch. Purchasing this property will provide for continued

360
00:25:55,106 --> 00:25:59,979
unification of these wildlife homes in our County. We support

361
00:25:59,979 --> 00:26:03,259
this purchase as is consistent with the vision statement of

362
00:26:03,259 --> 00:26:07,619
the Boulder Valley Comp plan's. Desired land use pattern. The

363
00:26:07,619 --> 00:26:11,779
purchase further honors Boulder County's history and legacy of planning

364
00:26:11,779 --> 00:26:15,499
for a livable community surrounded by open space and rural

365
00:26:15,499 --> 00:26:18,779
lands. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your

366
00:26:18,779 --> 00:26:21,768
comments. Thank you for coming out tonight. Anyone else in

367
00:26:21,768 --> 00:26:25,767
the audience? Doing a very better scan this time. All

368
00:26:25,767 --> 00:26:31,809
right, Nick, do we have anybody online? We don't have

369
00:26:31,809 --> 00:26:36,742
any online comments. Okay. Any other questions from Posec or

370
00:26:36,742 --> 00:26:45,594
comments? Is there a motion to approve? Or to make

371
00:26:45,594 --> 00:26:48,954
a recommendation to the board of County Commissioners for purchase

372
00:26:48,954 --> 00:26:53,768
of this property. Tree speaker. I move that post hack

373
00:26:53,768 --> 00:27:01,392
recommend that the county commissioner. 's acquire this property. As

374
00:27:01,392 --> 00:27:04,352
described in the handout and as discussed by staff this

375
00:27:04,352 --> 00:27:09,771
evening. Is there a second Christian? I think John got

376
00:27:09,771 --> 00:27:13,907
in there, so. John, thank you. Before I call for

377
00:27:13,907 --> 00:27:15,227
a vote, I'm going to let you know why I'm

378
00:27:15,227 --> 00:27:20,738
voting no. And that is primarily because of Derek's request

379
00:27:20,738 --> 00:27:24,698
for budget information, and I feel like it's. Very critical

380
00:27:24,698 --> 00:27:29,202
for us to understand. The spending of $1.8 million for

381
00:27:29,202 --> 00:27:34,515
this property. What is our budget currently? How much more

382
00:27:34,515 --> 00:27:40,297
is left? And I'm not convinced. Of the specialness and

383
00:27:40,297 --> 00:27:43,297
uniqueness of this property, although I know it is for

384
00:27:43,297 --> 00:27:45,737
the people. Who live in that area, but in the

385
00:27:45,737 --> 00:27:51,233
overall Boulder county. Landscape. I'm not convinced. And I would

386
00:27:51,233 --> 00:27:53,593
love to understand those numbers. So I'm going to vote

387
00:27:53,593 --> 00:27:56,433
no tonight, and just want to let you know why.

388
00:27:56,433 --> 00:28:00,280
So all those in favor, please say aye. Opposed? No.

389
00:28:02,369 --> 00:28:05,886
Okay, so it passes. And thank you very much, Tina,

390
00:28:05,886 --> 00:28:10,214
for your presentation. I appreciate it. Okay, next is the

391
00:28:10,214 --> 00:28:19,701
CSU extension volunteer program update. Eric hammond. And Company, et

392
00:28:19,701 --> 00:28:28,249
al. Start getting the jitters.

393
00:28:33,399 --> 00:28:36,655
If you're talking. Looks like they're going to make you

394
00:28:36,655 --> 00:28:40,832
go on your own. Hello. Thank you all for coming

395
00:28:40,832 --> 00:28:46,421
tonight. Yeah, thank you for having us. Situated, you're only

396
00:28:46,421 --> 00:28:47,981
going to get a few words from me, and then

397
00:28:47,981 --> 00:28:50,181
we're. Going to let our volunteers talk about their programs

398
00:28:50,181 --> 00:28:53,541
here. My name is Eric Hammond. I'm the director of

399
00:28:53,541 --> 00:28:55,821
the county extension office in Boulder county. Some of you

400
00:28:55,821 --> 00:28:58,621
recognize me, probably from when I rambled about soils poorly

401
00:28:58,621 --> 00:29:01,685
and made you get your hands dirty. But we're here

402
00:29:01,685 --> 00:29:05,365
tonight to talk about our volunteer programs in the county.

403
00:29:05,365 --> 00:29:08,765
And, Brenda, you can go forward a slide. We run

404
00:29:08,765 --> 00:29:11,645
a number of volunteer programs which are usually based on

405
00:29:11,645 --> 00:29:15,813
training. Around a university based curriculum designed by faculty on

406
00:29:15,813 --> 00:29:18,653
campus, and then the volunteer programs are delivered locally. The

407
00:29:18,653 --> 00:29:22,135
two most well known of those are. Colorado master Gardener.

408
00:29:23,722 --> 00:29:27,202
And four h, which is a youth development program that

409
00:29:27,202 --> 00:29:29,802
you probably have heard of even as a city boy

410
00:29:29,802 --> 00:29:31,082
like me had heard of it when I was a

411
00:29:31,082 --> 00:29:34,852
kid. We also run other programs that, some of which

412
00:29:34,852 --> 00:29:37,723
are unique to Boulder county. We have. A native. Sorry,

413
00:29:37,723 --> 00:29:40,723
not native. It's a master wildlife program. We're one of

414
00:29:40,723 --> 00:29:44,563
two. Counties that run that in the state. Jefferson county

415
00:29:44,563 --> 00:29:47,883
is the other one. We have native plant master programs,

416
00:29:47,883 --> 00:29:50,323
although those are a little bit in hiatus. I'll talk

417
00:29:50,323 --> 00:29:53,323
about that. We train people to recognize and id native

418
00:29:53,323 --> 00:29:56,018
plants. And then they hopefully go on and teach other

419
00:29:56,018 --> 00:29:59,354
classes. So it's a train, the trainer. Program. Those are

420
00:29:59,354 --> 00:30:00,994
the big ones. We also have a community garden that

421
00:30:00,994 --> 00:30:03,874
we're responsible for managing. That we manage volunteers for. They

422
00:30:03,874 --> 00:30:05,274
do a lot of work there. It's maybe not quite.

423
00:30:05,274 --> 00:30:07,234
As flashy, but a lot of weeds get pulled out

424
00:30:07,234 --> 00:30:12,981
of the ground. Go forward. These are the numbers from

425
00:30:12,981 --> 00:30:15,261
the last calendar year for the number of volunteers we

426
00:30:15,261 --> 00:30:19,390
have for the various programs and the hours donated. So

427
00:30:19,390 --> 00:30:24,430
about 250 volunteers, and it says they're 12,400 some hours,

428
00:30:24,430 --> 00:30:26,590
and Brenda will be angry with me if I don't

429
00:30:26,590 --> 00:30:29,910
tell you that for four h those 9000. Hours donated.

430
00:30:32,310 --> 00:30:35,830
There was only 27 of the 150 volunteers that reported

431
00:30:35,830 --> 00:30:44,500
their hours. So that's real numbers significantly higher. So. We

432
00:30:44,500 --> 00:30:45,620
have a lot of great people on the county do

433
00:30:45,620 --> 00:30:47,740
a lot of great work giving back. To their communities.

434
00:30:47,740 --> 00:30:50,580
Go forward again real quick. And then very briefly, I

435
00:30:50,580 --> 00:30:52,860
thought it might be interesting. For you all to hear

436
00:30:52,860 --> 00:30:54,660
some of the trends that I see. Talking to all

437
00:30:54,660 --> 00:30:58,236
our various volunteer coordinators. We have a real uptick in

438
00:30:58,236 --> 00:31:01,036
people interested in volunteering in the last year and a

439
00:31:01,036 --> 00:31:05,293
half, two years, there was a real downward. Interest during

440
00:31:05,293 --> 00:31:07,453
Covid, and we're finally seeing a bit of a rebound.

441
00:31:08,989 --> 00:31:10,789
A lot of people are looking to get involved in

442
00:31:10,789 --> 00:31:14,229
the programs, not only to do good work. But also

443
00:31:14,229 --> 00:31:16,229
just to meet people. Informed connection, which I think is

444
00:31:16,229 --> 00:31:20,055
something we undersell a little. Bit about our programs. And.

445
00:31:21,817 --> 00:31:23,057
I see a lot of people come through who talk

446
00:31:23,057 --> 00:31:26,217
to me anyways, who are looking for shorter term opportunities.

447
00:31:26,217 --> 00:31:30,327
Maybe not quite. As large programs, more episodic volunteering to

448
00:31:30,327 --> 00:31:32,607
help with a particular event and be connected but also

449
00:31:32,607 --> 00:31:35,367
to have freedom, to not have, like a 40 hours

450
00:31:35,367 --> 00:31:38,714
commitment or something like that. With that, I'm going to

451
00:31:38,714 --> 00:31:40,194
turn over to some of our volunteers to talk about

452
00:31:40,194 --> 00:31:42,394
their experience with their programs. That's probably way more impactful

453
00:31:42,394 --> 00:31:45,154
than listening to me ramble. And I don't know which

454
00:31:45,154 --> 00:31:46,874
for H. Vaughn, which one of you all is going

455
00:31:46,874 --> 00:31:54,505
to. Go first. Oh, no. Coming up. So make sure

456
00:31:54,505 --> 00:32:03,507
you introduce yourself. Hi. My name is Melanie Boren, and

457
00:32:03,507 --> 00:32:07,747
I am a 17 year volunteer with Boulder county four.

458
00:32:07,747 --> 00:32:11,027
H I raised airy goats, and I started out as

459
00:32:11,027 --> 00:32:15,547
a goat project leader. I helped develop some workshops, and

460
00:32:15,547 --> 00:32:17,467
next thing I knew, I was the leader of my

461
00:32:17,467 --> 00:32:22,004
own four h club goatsignalore. Goats and galore. Has grown

462
00:32:22,004 --> 00:32:23,964
to over 40 members each year and is now one

463
00:32:23,964 --> 00:32:28,394
of the largest clubs in Boulder. County. Being a foreh

464
00:32:28,394 --> 00:32:31,914
leader is a very rewarding experience. But I won't lie

465
00:32:31,914 --> 00:32:34,674
it takes a lot of work to wrangle 40 youth

466
00:32:34,674 --> 00:32:37,674
and their families to make sure they not only meet

467
00:32:37,674 --> 00:32:40,394
all of the requirements to complete a year of four

468
00:32:40,394 --> 00:32:44,194
h but are engaged and involved and also reap the

469
00:32:44,194 --> 00:32:47,939
benefits of the program. The Forage program is a year

470
00:32:47,939 --> 00:32:51,419
round program. It runs October to October, and the main

471
00:32:51,419 --> 00:32:55,459
objective is, the youth choose a project, they work on

472
00:32:55,459 --> 00:32:57,739
it, they learn about it all year, and then. It

473
00:32:57,739 --> 00:33:01,019
culminates by exhibiting a project at the Boulder county fair.

474
00:33:02,553 --> 00:33:05,793
In August. And this is true whether the youth chooses

475
00:33:05,793 --> 00:33:10,327
crochet as their project or cake. Decorating. Or horses or

476
00:33:10,327 --> 00:33:14,607
goats or dog trading. We have over 60 projects available

477
00:33:14,607 --> 00:33:16,967
for the kids to choose. From. And while some will

478
00:33:16,967 --> 00:33:19,807
do a deep dive into one project, we have kids

479
00:33:19,807 --> 00:33:23,172
that want to do all the projects. As for each

480
00:33:23,172 --> 00:33:26,412
leader, it's our responsibility to help these youth move through

481
00:33:26,412 --> 00:33:30,962
the project. Gaining skills and overcoming obstacles and setbacks to

482
00:33:30,962 --> 00:33:33,482
be able to create that final exhibit to take to

483
00:33:33,482 --> 00:33:35,962
the Boulder county fair and complete their for each year.

484
00:33:37,792 --> 00:33:41,112
This could be making sure that the family knows when

485
00:33:41,112 --> 00:33:44,632
the cake decorating workshops are or the dog trading, but

486
00:33:44,632 --> 00:33:47,792
it also might be helping a family find resources for

487
00:33:47,792 --> 00:33:50,872
a project that doesn't. Have a formal workshop or training

488
00:33:50,872 --> 00:33:56,152
schedule. For example, the Robotics and engineering project has seven

489
00:33:56,152 --> 00:33:59,570
levels however, there are. No formal meetings or workshops. This

490
00:33:59,570 --> 00:34:04,328
one's more self led or parent led. So that could

491
00:34:04,328 --> 00:34:07,808
include helping them find resources within the four H program,

492
00:34:07,808 --> 00:34:11,699
such as their manuals. It could mean going to the

493
00:34:11,699 --> 00:34:15,899
library and helping them find books on their subject or

494
00:34:15,899 --> 00:34:19,579
connecting them. With local middle or high school robotics teams

495
00:34:19,579 --> 00:34:22,659
or assisting them in locating any of the numerous robotics

496
00:34:22,659 --> 00:34:25,459
kits available for sale and incorporating that into their project.

497
00:34:27,311 --> 00:34:30,631
In addition to the project requirements, there are several other

498
00:34:30,631 --> 00:34:34,271
criteria that the forage leader can be integral in helping

499
00:34:34,271 --> 00:34:37,631
youth in that youth develop in their program. They need

500
00:34:37,631 --> 00:34:40,671
to do a demonstration which on the surface is just

501
00:34:40,671 --> 00:34:44,551
a short speech informing the club of how to do

502
00:34:44,551 --> 00:34:48,933
something. This public speaking requirement plays a crucial role in

503
00:34:48,933 --> 00:34:52,253
youth development, helping build a wide range of essential life

504
00:34:52,253 --> 00:34:56,693
skills. Public speaking not only boosts confidence and improves communication

505
00:34:56,693 --> 00:35:01,173
skills, it enhances leadership abilities. The youth is the expert

506
00:35:01,173 --> 00:35:03,453
in that moment when they are up there in front

507
00:35:03,453 --> 00:35:07,973
of their club. Demonstrating something. It encourages personal growth by

508
00:35:07,973 --> 00:35:12,583
pushing youth outside their comfort zones. I have heard hundreds

509
00:35:12,583 --> 00:35:16,183
of demonstrations over the years, and it never gets old.

510
00:35:16,183 --> 00:35:19,463
I have learned how to bake bread, french braid hair,

511
00:35:19,463 --> 00:35:22,343
use a soldering iron and wash a chicken and that.

512
00:35:22,343 --> 00:35:27,316
Was just at last month's meeting. Another requirement is to

513
00:35:27,316 --> 00:35:30,996
participate in the community service activity as a for each

514
00:35:30,996 --> 00:35:34,036
leader, I try and provide several opportunities each year for

515
00:35:34,036 --> 00:35:38,116
our club to participate in community service. I believe community

516
00:35:38,116 --> 00:35:41,796
service helps develop empathy and compassion as the youth can

517
00:35:41,796 --> 00:35:46,466
hopefully see the world from another's perspective. It helps with

518
00:35:46,466 --> 00:35:51,786
those social and communication skills and encourages civic engagement. Our

519
00:35:51,786 --> 00:35:54,546
club has gone to nursing homes and senior centers to

520
00:35:54,546 --> 00:35:56,786
share their animals. And I think that is one of

521
00:35:56,786 --> 00:36:00,066
the activities that's been the most impactful. They bring their

522
00:36:00,066 --> 00:36:03,506
animals and walk around, letting the seniors pet. The animals

523
00:36:03,506 --> 00:36:06,215
and they talk to them and tell them. How they

524
00:36:06,215 --> 00:36:09,855
raise and care for their animals. This is beneficial not

525
00:36:09,855 --> 00:36:13,215
only for youth development and for building those empathy and

526
00:36:13,215 --> 00:36:17,895
communication skills. It also helps reduce loneliness and isolation among

527
00:36:17,895 --> 00:36:21,535
seniors. And I believe it truly bridges the generational gap.

528
00:36:23,174 --> 00:36:25,334
Being a poor h volunteer. While a lot of work

529
00:36:25,334 --> 00:36:28,894
is a deeply rewarding experience, one of my favorite things

530
00:36:28,894 --> 00:36:31,334
over the years is seeing youth in my club who

531
00:36:31,334 --> 00:36:35,054
start out as a shy introverted junior move through the

532
00:36:35,054 --> 00:36:40,014
program, gaining confidence, skills and knowledge and become mature, capable

533
00:36:40,014 --> 00:36:43,372
seniors who themselves have become mentors and role model. Models

534
00:36:43,372 --> 00:36:47,515
for the next generation of new members. Seeing youth grow

535
00:36:47,515 --> 00:36:51,995
and succeed brings me personal satisfaction and reinforces the notion

536
00:36:51,995 --> 00:36:55,350
that I am having. A positive impact in my community.

537
00:36:55,350 --> 00:36:58,390
I learn from the creativity, energy and perspectives of the

538
00:36:58,390 --> 00:37:01,350
youth. I am working with, and it keeps me engaged

539
00:37:01,350 --> 00:37:05,709
and inspired and connected to the next generation. It's a

540
00:37:05,709 --> 00:37:10,389
partnership that I believe builds stronger individuals and a stronger

541
00:37:10,389 --> 00:37:15,638
community. Thank you. Is it? Melanie, thank you so much

542
00:37:15,638 --> 00:37:18,478
for your presentation. And for 17 years of doing four,

543
00:37:18,478 --> 00:37:20,958
eight. That's awesome. Thank you. It was really great to

544
00:37:20,958 --> 00:37:22,918
hear, and it's great to see the passion that you

545
00:37:22,918 --> 00:37:27,800
bring to it. Thank you. I really enjoy doing. And

546
00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:32,427
I'm passionate. Yeah, it shows. Thank you. So we have

547
00:37:32,427 --> 00:37:34,867
one more perspective on four h and then a little

548
00:37:34,867 --> 00:37:39,370
bit on master gardener. Great. Thank you. You hear me?

549
00:37:39,370 --> 00:37:42,890
All right? Yes. Okay. Thank you for listening tonight. My

550
00:37:42,890 --> 00:37:45,930
name is Kelly Thomas. I've been in Boulder county resident

551
00:37:45,930 --> 00:37:48,770
for 20 plus years, and I've been in Boulder county

552
00:37:48,770 --> 00:37:51,850
for H volunteer for over ten. I also am a

553
00:37:51,850 --> 00:37:54,810
club leader for easy riders for H. Club, which will

554
00:37:54,810 --> 00:37:59,664
be a 50 year old club next year. I'm the

555
00:37:59,664 --> 00:38:03,064
president of the boulder county four h horse leaders council,

556
00:38:03,064 --> 00:38:07,409
which. Basically provides activities for all the horse project kids

557
00:38:07,409 --> 00:38:11,327
in our county. I have four kids of my own

558
00:38:11,327 --> 00:38:13,527
that have been growing up in four h two just

559
00:38:13,527 --> 00:38:17,047
graduated. From CSU on Sunday, and we're in the horse

560
00:38:17,047 --> 00:38:22,346
project. And various menagerie of livestock projects as well. My

561
00:38:22,346 --> 00:38:24,946
daughter will be a senior and she does horse riding

562
00:38:24,946 --> 00:38:27,506
and the market swine project. This year, along with my

563
00:38:27,506 --> 00:38:30,226
son, who's an 8th grader, who will be doing that

564
00:38:30,226 --> 00:38:33,531
project. As well. I'm really happy to get to share

565
00:38:33,531 --> 00:38:35,771
about being a four h volunteer. It's something I'm very

566
00:38:35,771 --> 00:38:39,488
dedicated and passionate about. It's such a privilege to get

567
00:38:39,488 --> 00:38:43,208
to work in an organization that promotes such outstanding youth.

568
00:38:43,208 --> 00:38:46,955
Development. I believe the importance of our programs through the

569
00:38:46,955 --> 00:38:49,355
years is reflected in what I like to say. As

570
00:38:49,355 --> 00:38:53,195
our repeat customers or our longtime volunteers. Many of the

571
00:38:53,195 --> 00:38:56,155
volunteers I work with either grew up in the program

572
00:38:56,155 --> 00:38:59,275
and became leaders, or their kids did, and they're still

573
00:38:59,275 --> 00:39:03,435
sticking around for a long time, actually. The picture, I

574
00:39:03,435 --> 00:39:06,844
guess, is all behind. You all. Is a picture of

575
00:39:06,844 --> 00:39:10,004
Mike and Donna Thoreau up there. They've both been volunteers

576
00:39:10,004 --> 00:39:16,126
for over 40 years. Mike. Was a DJ in college,

577
00:39:16,126 --> 00:39:18,766
so he loves to announce that our horse shows and

578
00:39:18,766 --> 00:39:23,113
that sort of. Thing. Donna runs our really successful Hippology

579
00:39:23,113 --> 00:39:28,978
team. And they both generously contribute to our scholarship funds.

580
00:39:28,978 --> 00:39:31,578
Kim Madsen is our horse fair, superintendent. She grew up

581
00:39:31,578 --> 00:39:34,538
showing in poor h and was a past fair queen.

582
00:39:34,538 --> 00:39:36,778
She lives in Lermer. County now, but her heart is

583
00:39:36,778 --> 00:39:40,663
still in Boulder County. It's interesting, we actually have a

584
00:39:40,663 --> 00:39:42,903
lot of young people that are aging out of our

585
00:39:42,903 --> 00:39:46,663
program and turning around and coming back as volunteers. And

586
00:39:46,663 --> 00:39:49,583
my daughter Lily is one of those. She's in her

587
00:39:49,583 --> 00:39:53,453
second year as a leader now. I think the desire

588
00:39:53,453 --> 00:39:56,413
to come back and give back to this program really

589
00:39:56,413 --> 00:40:00,133
reflects how much it's impacted our families and also how

590
00:40:00,133 --> 00:40:04,429
important these programs are for our community. Another discovery I've

591
00:40:04,429 --> 00:40:07,869
made as a volunteer in Boulder county is that our

592
00:40:07,869 --> 00:40:11,749
volunteers have a wide variety of talents and are intelligent

593
00:40:11,749 --> 00:40:15,629
and our leaders in their respective industries. We have computer

594
00:40:15,629 --> 00:40:19,589
programmers entrepreneurs, horse trainers, and a large list of wonderful

595
00:40:19,589 --> 00:40:21,909
people that are willing to give their time to our

596
00:40:21,909 --> 00:40:25,827
talent and program. Programs. An example of that is actually

597
00:40:25,827 --> 00:40:29,547
the beautiful backdrop in the picture that you can see

598
00:40:29,547 --> 00:40:32,920
up there. Our horse program was in dire need of

599
00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:36,720
a new photo backdrop for our county fair, and so

600
00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:41,160
a group from easy riders, parents and volunteers actually procured

601
00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:44,640
some old Barnwood and put this all together. And it's

602
00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:49,800
actually up at our fairgrounds now, permanently. So we are

603
00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:53,819
sharing it with anybody who wants to use it. But

604
00:40:53,819 --> 00:40:57,219
it's really fantastic, and a lot of craftsmanship went into

605
00:40:57,219 --> 00:41:01,349
it. Let's see here. So why do we have so

606
00:41:01,349 --> 00:41:04,669
many awesome volunteers willing to give their time to Boulder

607
00:41:04,669 --> 00:41:07,149
county for each program, and I think it's because of

608
00:41:07,149 --> 00:41:11,029
our incredible youth. Members watching these youth members, just as

609
00:41:11,029 --> 00:41:15,417
Melanie had said, grow and thrive in this program. They

610
00:41:15,417 --> 00:41:18,603
leave prepared for life. Time and time again. I believe

611
00:41:18,603 --> 00:41:22,243
in the motivation. The motivation for our volunteers is just

612
00:41:22,243 --> 00:41:26,612
watching these. Kids grow generation after generation. I've actually loved

613
00:41:26,612 --> 00:41:29,452
watching my own kids go from being the young kids

614
00:41:29,452 --> 00:41:32,532
that are being mentored by older kids to the older

615
00:41:32,532 --> 00:41:36,085
kids that are leading the younger kids. It's just an

616
00:41:36,085 --> 00:41:41,051
incredible opportunity. Helping youth members is the most rewarding part

617
00:41:41,051 --> 00:41:43,291
about volunteering, and these kids are the main reason I

618
00:41:43,291 --> 00:41:47,371
do it. Our members gain invaluable life skills and lessons

619
00:41:47,371 --> 00:41:50,331
in for each they learn to succeed and to fail

620
00:41:50,331 --> 00:41:52,811
and learn the value of having a community that is

621
00:41:52,811 --> 00:41:56,007
there. For them, for the good and the bad. Along

622
00:41:56,007 --> 00:42:00,007
with the invaluable lessons livestock teachers teaches, our members gain

623
00:42:00,007 --> 00:42:03,527
many professional skills that most people don't see until they're

624
00:42:03,527 --> 00:42:06,687
actually in a professional arena. I thought about that tonight.

625
00:42:08,252 --> 00:42:10,572
For instance, this meeting. Any of our four h kids

626
00:42:10,572 --> 00:42:13,292
could walk in here and know exactly what's going on?

627
00:42:13,292 --> 00:42:16,172
All of our club meetings are run just like this.

628
00:42:16,172 --> 00:42:20,882
They're run. By a board of. Elected members, and they

629
00:42:20,882 --> 00:42:25,042
know everything from secretary's notes to treasurers reports. They know

630
00:42:25,042 --> 00:42:27,402
how to make motions and they know how to read

631
00:42:27,402 --> 00:42:31,033
an agenda and know where we are in things. I

632
00:42:31,033 --> 00:42:36,081
think. The members actually would be a little disappointed, though,

633
00:42:36,081 --> 00:42:38,961
because we typically have a wreck activity in our meeting

634
00:42:38,961 --> 00:42:41,161
agenda, and so that kind of breaks things up a

635
00:42:41,161 --> 00:42:46,533
little bit. But. They'd get used to it. All of

636
00:42:46,533 --> 00:42:50,093
our volunteer work, just as Melanie said, culminates in our

637
00:42:50,093 --> 00:42:53,453
county fair. That's. At the end of July, early August.

638
00:42:53,453 --> 00:42:56,253
This is where those kids get to exhibit those projects.

639
00:42:56,253 --> 00:43:00,020
And all those volunteer hours can be seen. And just

640
00:43:00,020 --> 00:43:02,060
lastly, I'd like to personally invite all of you to

641
00:43:02,060 --> 00:43:05,620
come to our county. Fair this summer. You can come

642
00:43:05,620 --> 00:43:08,020
talk to all the awesome members. They're a lot more

643
00:43:08,020 --> 00:43:10,420
interesting than the rest of us, but all of the

644
00:43:10,420 --> 00:43:13,380
things that Melanie talked about, these kids want. To talk.

645
00:43:13,380 --> 00:43:15,580
They want to talk about their projects. They want to

646
00:43:15,580 --> 00:43:18,580
let you pet their pigs. You will see all of

647
00:43:18,580 --> 00:43:22,629
their great. Professional skills and speaking skills that work there.

648
00:43:22,629 --> 00:43:26,149
So you'll be talking future movers and shakers and the

649
00:43:26,149 --> 00:43:29,149
leaders of a for each community. So thank you for

650
00:43:29,149 --> 00:43:32,469
listening tonight and having us here. Kelly, thank you for

651
00:43:32,469 --> 00:43:37,622
coming. Do you know when the fair is? Well. It

652
00:43:37,622 --> 00:43:41,410
technically starts August. First, I think. But the horse shows

653
00:43:41,410 --> 00:43:45,970
up before that. Okay, so horse show starts July 27,

654
00:43:45,970 --> 00:43:49,370
and. It's not quite like the public time, necessarily, but.

655
00:43:50,721 --> 00:43:53,401
Anybody can come and see them. A couple of our

656
00:43:53,401 --> 00:43:55,161
main horse events that are really fun. We do a

657
00:43:55,161 --> 00:43:57,561
ranch horse night, which is super fun. And then we

658
00:43:57,561 --> 00:44:00,161
do a freestyle raining where the kids dress their horses

659
00:44:00,161 --> 00:44:03,121
and themselves up in costume and they do a raining

660
00:44:03,121 --> 00:44:07,784
pattern to music. Nice. Fantastic. Come find us and come

661
00:44:07,784 --> 00:44:09,944
see what we're working on and talk to some of

662
00:44:09,944 --> 00:44:12,864
our incredible kids. That sounds great. Thank you. Yeah. Do

663
00:44:12,864 --> 00:44:14,824
you have a question? Yes. Carol Byerly. I. Have a

664
00:44:14,824 --> 00:44:23,674
question. What is that bird? Baby. Silky chicken. Right? Silky

665
00:44:23,674 --> 00:44:30,174
chicken. Yes. Okay. It's a show bird. Very fluffy. Was

666
00:44:30,174 --> 00:44:32,334
that your question too, Jill? Those of us who have

667
00:44:32,334 --> 00:44:38,178
raised chickens recognized. Chickens like that. Thank you, Kelly. Appreciate

668
00:44:38,178 --> 00:44:42,620
it, Eric. All right. Well, thank you. I realized there

669
00:44:42,620 --> 00:44:44,060
was something I neglected to say at the start, which.

670
00:44:44,060 --> 00:44:46,180
Is maybe why CSU is here presenting in front of

671
00:44:46,180 --> 00:44:48,935
you. I know some of you are. New. We are

672
00:44:48,935 --> 00:44:50,895
the outreach arm of the university, and we are county

673
00:44:50,895 --> 00:44:53,975
based. And in each county in Colorado were nested in

674
00:44:53,975 --> 00:44:55,895
a county department, and we are lucky enough to be

675
00:44:55,895 --> 00:44:58,975
nested in the parks and open space department here, so

676
00:44:58,975 --> 00:45:02,011
Teresa has to put up with me and. We get

677
00:45:02,011 --> 00:45:04,627
to, but we're very lucky to have. A very supportive,

678
00:45:04,627 --> 00:45:06,547
very large amount of support from the county for these

679
00:45:06,547 --> 00:45:08,747
great programs, and as much good things, as they said

680
00:45:08,747 --> 00:45:11,027
about four h. One thing I learned as I moved

681
00:45:11,027 --> 00:45:15,830
into this director Alma. Now, is that. Research. You can

682
00:45:15,830 --> 00:45:18,150
make the argument, a research based argument, that four h

683
00:45:18,150 --> 00:45:21,790
is the most successful youth development program in the country.

684
00:45:21,790 --> 00:45:24,972
Kids have the best outcomes. It's a big deal. It's

685
00:45:24,972 --> 00:45:27,812
not just the hogs, the hands, the heifers. All the

686
00:45:27,812 --> 00:45:30,252
life skills when I interview people for jobs, and they

687
00:45:30,252 --> 00:45:33,092
do really well. Young people. It's shocking how oftentimes they

688
00:45:33,092 --> 00:45:36,492
were in for h, so very impactful. Programs that are

689
00:45:36,492 --> 00:45:40,572
being run here, including master gardener program and Pat will,

690
00:45:40,572 --> 00:45:42,132
Pat's going to talk to you about the master gardener

691
00:45:42,132 --> 00:45:44,801
program. Do you have a question, Derek? Yeah. On that

692
00:45:44,801 --> 00:45:49,142
note, I'm curious about. You mentioned kids that have been

693
00:45:49,142 --> 00:45:51,182
in four h and they're leaving and they're staying as

694
00:45:51,182 --> 00:45:53,702
volunteers. What about kids coming in? What are the trends

695
00:45:53,702 --> 00:45:57,345
and. What are you seeing for kids entering the program?

696
00:45:58,901 --> 00:46:03,182
I guess. What trend are you asking? Are they? City

697
00:46:03,182 --> 00:46:09,876
kids? County century kids? Is interest in kids joining for

698
00:46:09,876 --> 00:46:12,716
age just as robust says it's always been, is it?

699
00:46:12,716 --> 00:46:15,476
Growing? Is it more popular? I'm just curious. We, as

700
00:46:15,476 --> 00:46:19,996
most programs, had a huge downfall. Of about 33% of

701
00:46:19,996 --> 00:46:22,556
our program. During Covid, we lost a third of our

702
00:46:22,556 --> 00:46:27,196
volunteers. We lost a third of our members. And so

703
00:46:27,196 --> 00:46:29,556
I'm happy to say that we've crawled back up and

704
00:46:29,556 --> 00:46:33,531
brought those numbers back closer to that. As far as

705
00:46:33,531 --> 00:46:39,396
within the livestock programs. We identified last year 500 and

706
00:46:39,396 --> 00:46:43,116
some animals, and this year it's over 700. So those

707
00:46:43,116 --> 00:46:49,298
numbers are increasing. Slowly. I think that just as Eric

708
00:46:49,298 --> 00:46:52,698
said, the volunteers or pace is coming back. Families are

709
00:46:52,698 --> 00:46:58,166
looking to be more engaged within the community. But. They're

710
00:46:58,166 --> 00:46:59,846
still, like, testing that water when they say, okay, what?

711
00:47:01,701 --> 00:47:04,021
Does this really take to be involved? And forage isn't

712
00:47:04,021 --> 00:47:08,857
a drop in. It's not a ten week or six

713
00:47:08,857 --> 00:47:12,853
week soccer program or something like that. It's a commitment,

714
00:47:12,853 --> 00:47:14,933
and it's a year long program, and that's how we

715
00:47:14,933 --> 00:47:18,053
get the results that we do because of that engagement

716
00:47:18,053 --> 00:47:21,821
of families within our program. We always say it's a

717
00:47:21,821 --> 00:47:25,873
family program. We expect parents to be involved. Caretakers to

718
00:47:25,873 --> 00:47:28,433
be involved with the kids, and so because of that,

719
00:47:29,964 --> 00:47:31,324
I think that when we get them and we get

720
00:47:31,324 --> 00:47:34,444
them involved, they're fully engaged, but. I think a lot

721
00:47:34,444 --> 00:47:36,804
of the trends, I wouldn't say a ton of them,

722
00:47:36,804 --> 00:47:38,964
but some. Of the trends are that families just aren't

723
00:47:38,964 --> 00:47:42,444
jumping in in as many activities because Covid I think

724
00:47:42,444 --> 00:47:45,444
gave them that permission to not be as active and

725
00:47:45,444 --> 00:47:48,484
involved. But we are growing and so I'm seeing that

726
00:47:48,484 --> 00:47:51,790
come back up. Thank you. Yeah. And I'll add to

727
00:47:51,790 --> 00:47:53,150
that very quickly because I want to make sure Pat

728
00:47:53,150 --> 00:47:56,190
has enough time. One thing that's really important to me,

729
00:47:56,190 --> 00:48:01,449
and I know Brenda as well, is that. Every family

730
00:48:01,449 --> 00:48:05,089
and youth in Boulder county feels like four h is

731
00:48:05,089 --> 00:48:07,529
accessible, and for them, they can see themselves and their

732
00:48:07,529 --> 00:48:09,809
kids in it, whether they live in a city or

733
00:48:09,809 --> 00:48:13,209
the country or no. Matter what their cultural or background

734
00:48:13,209 --> 00:48:15,889
is. And so we talk about this a lot and

735
00:48:15,889 --> 00:48:18,889
how to reach new audiences and bring people in. Of

736
00:48:18,889 --> 00:48:21,021
course, Brenda only has so many hours. In the day,

737
00:48:21,021 --> 00:48:22,901
but. No, it's good. And you can see, I mean,

738
00:48:22,901 --> 00:48:25,501
I'll. Just say one more thing. We're trying to develop

739
00:48:25,501 --> 00:48:27,941
that pathway where we have an outreach. Program where we

740
00:48:27,941 --> 00:48:30,741
get a little bit of a hook as, hey, this

741
00:48:30,741 --> 00:48:32,981
is a great thing. What is for age, so they

742
00:48:32,981 --> 00:48:35,741
come for a day and then here's the pathway for

743
00:48:35,741 --> 00:48:38,848
you. To get involved. Whether you're city folk or country

744
00:48:38,848 --> 00:48:41,648
folk or have access to a place to keep animals.

745
00:48:41,648 --> 00:48:44,208
Or you're getting engaged in our archery program or cake

746
00:48:44,208 --> 00:48:47,088
decorating or something like that. So, like he said, we

747
00:48:47,088 --> 00:48:50,088
do a lot of things to get them engaged. One

748
00:48:50,088 --> 00:48:52,968
of them up. There is our viva Lacabra program, which

749
00:48:52,968 --> 00:48:56,443
was all about the goat. And it's been a really

750
00:48:56,443 --> 00:49:01,764
great program to increase some underserved audiences as well. Sorry.

751
00:49:02,558 --> 00:49:06,958
Pat Butler I live in unincorporated Boulder county. The master

752
00:49:06,958 --> 00:49:10,798
Gardener program actually originated at the University of Washington in

753
00:49:10,798 --> 00:49:19,516
1973. And it was created in Colorado by CSU in

754
00:49:19,516 --> 00:49:23,556
1975. So this is the 50th anniversary of the Master

755
00:49:23,556 --> 00:49:28,904
gardener program in Colorado, and I understand that. It's also.

756
00:49:29,959 --> 00:49:32,679
Parks and open spaces 50th anniversary, so we share an

757
00:49:32,679 --> 00:49:37,079
important milestone. Boulder was one of the first counties to

758
00:49:37,079 --> 00:49:41,868
create a program at its cooperative extension office here. In

759
00:49:41,868 --> 00:49:45,308
Longlong. I first trained as a master gardener with Barbara

760
00:49:45,308 --> 00:49:49,351
Hyde, who was at that time. The Boulder county extension.

761
00:49:49,351 --> 00:49:54,244
Horticultural agent. In 1986. So this is my 40th year

762
00:49:54,244 --> 00:49:58,633
volunteering in our program, and for about. 30 of those

763
00:49:58,633 --> 00:50:03,531
years I've been on the plant problem diagnostic team. We're

764
00:50:03,531 --> 00:50:07,291
trained specifically to diagnose what's ailing plants that gardeners. Bring

765
00:50:07,291 --> 00:50:12,603
to the extension office. Or sometimes show us photographs via

766
00:50:12,603 --> 00:50:18,953
email. And then. Help the home gardeners understand how to

767
00:50:18,953 --> 00:50:26,181
manage those problems. A similarly trained. Special group. Is the

768
00:50:26,181 --> 00:50:31,984
Boulder County. Tree team, which makes site visits to identify

769
00:50:31,984 --> 00:50:36,671
issues with homeowners trees. As all of older County's 80

770
00:50:36,671 --> 00:50:40,591
master gardeners. And I think that the statistics that Eric

771
00:50:40,591 --> 00:50:45,271
showed that was 65 in the previous year, but we've

772
00:50:45,271 --> 00:50:50,650
added about 15. More master gardeners in the current season,

773
00:50:50,650 --> 00:50:53,977
so we're up to 80. And I think there was

774
00:50:53,977 --> 00:50:56,817
a drop off, of course, in terms of numbers around

775
00:50:56,817 --> 00:51:00,497
Covid, but I think we're back to a closer to

776
00:51:00,497 --> 00:51:05,097
our normal seasonal average. And all of us provide a

777
00:51:05,097 --> 00:51:11,225
whole array of services each season. In early summer. We

778
00:51:11,225 --> 00:51:15,625
staff the garden centers and farmers markets. So we sit

779
00:51:15,625 --> 00:51:19,108
there at McGuckins. On a weekend. If you come to

780
00:51:19,108 --> 00:51:23,428
Magakins or Jack's out in Lafayette, there'll. Be a table

781
00:51:23,428 --> 00:51:26,588
with a couple of us who are there to answer

782
00:51:26,588 --> 00:51:34,357
questions. About any kind of gardening questions. Furthermore. Throughout the

783
00:51:34,357 --> 00:51:40,623
entire year. Gardner. Master gardeners are. Providing access through the

784
00:51:40,623 --> 00:51:43,703
phone system at the office, and they can work remotely

785
00:51:43,703 --> 00:51:46,623
as well, so people can call at any time of

786
00:51:46,623 --> 00:51:50,576
the year to ask gardening questions. And we'll have a

787
00:51:50,576 --> 00:51:55,858
response from the master gardeners who are part of. That

788
00:51:55,858 --> 00:52:00,936
commitment. They also give talks to schools, libraries and local

789
00:52:00,936 --> 00:52:05,216
garden clubs and other interested organizations, and they maintain the

790
00:52:05,216 --> 00:52:08,696
Chuck Bliss grass trial garden and the plant select garden.

791
00:52:10,344 --> 00:52:13,704
At the extension office and the community garden, which Eric

792
00:52:13,704 --> 00:52:16,504
mentioned, and the food pantry garden, which are part of

793
00:52:16,504 --> 00:52:21,901
the fairgrounds complex. We all receive in depth training initially

794
00:52:21,901 --> 00:52:25,261
and are required to provide a minimum number of volunteer

795
00:52:25,261 --> 00:52:33,623
hours. And continuing education. Each year. And. Over. The decades.

796
00:52:34,284 --> 00:52:37,644
I have some perspective on this. CSU's training curriculum has

797
00:52:37,644 --> 00:52:41,849
become much more comprehensive and uniform across the state. When

798
00:52:41,849 --> 00:52:44,369
we started, Barbara Hyde used what at the time were

799
00:52:44,369 --> 00:52:48,409
called service and action sheets, or then they became called

800
00:52:48,409 --> 00:52:53,911
fact sheets. Which were. A small one to two page

801
00:52:53,911 --> 00:52:59,741
CSU publications. On any number. Of issues of interest to

802
00:52:59,741 --> 00:53:04,897
gardeners, and that was our training manual. But more recently,

803
00:53:06,320 --> 00:53:11,278
The CSU coordinator of the whole program has created. An

804
00:53:11,278 --> 00:53:16,559
extensive. Manual that provides information. As part of the training

805
00:53:16,559 --> 00:53:20,480
process, but also. Allows us to send some of those

806
00:53:20,480 --> 00:53:25,040
materials to individual gardeners who are interested in particular topics.

807
00:53:25,040 --> 00:53:30,111
So there has been an interesting evolution. In the availability

808
00:53:30,111 --> 00:53:33,551
of really valuable resource materials that we can share with

809
00:53:33,551 --> 00:53:38,441
the public. Master gardeners provide valuable and well received services

810
00:53:38,441 --> 00:53:43,322
to the community. But this has been. A personally fulfilling

811
00:53:43,322 --> 00:53:47,002
experience for me. As you might assume, the diagnostic process

812
00:53:47,002 --> 00:53:50,402
itself involves research, so there's always something new to learn.

813
00:53:50,402 --> 00:53:52,482
And people, when I say I've been, this is my

814
00:53:52,482 --> 00:53:56,425
40th year. People say, well, you must know everything. But

815
00:53:56,425 --> 00:53:59,225
it's far from it. I mean, we're always confronted with.

816
00:54:00,665 --> 00:54:03,105
Interesting new problems. Unfortunately, some of those are new insects

817
00:54:03,105 --> 00:54:06,265
that have shown up that we have to help people

818
00:54:06,265 --> 00:54:10,465
understand how to cope with. And sometimes they're just unusual

819
00:54:10,465 --> 00:54:15,935
circumstances. So there's always something new to learn. And educating

820
00:54:15,935 --> 00:54:20,594
gardeners about these issues is very rewarding. And people are

821
00:54:20,594 --> 00:54:25,318
always very grateful. That's the joy of working in this

822
00:54:25,318 --> 00:54:29,678
program, is to see somebody understand a problem and figure

823
00:54:29,678 --> 00:54:34,140
out that they can actually manage it. I've been privileged

824
00:54:34,140 --> 00:54:37,924
to participate in the program for all these years. It's

825
00:54:37,924 --> 00:54:40,764
the most fun and engaging activity I do every summer.

826
00:54:40,764 --> 00:54:43,564
And while the program, as Eric said, is managed through

827
00:54:43,564 --> 00:54:46,844
CSU. Boulder county has supported it very actively over the

828
00:54:46,844 --> 00:54:49,444
years for which I know all of us are very

829
00:54:49,444 --> 00:54:55,732
grateful. Thank you, Pat. Appreciate your comments, eric. Yeah, and

830
00:54:55,732 --> 00:54:58,132
that's our presentation. So if you have any questions, I

831
00:54:58,132 --> 00:55:00,732
know you had some during it. Yeah, Vicky Lawrence with

832
00:55:00,732 --> 00:55:04,300
Posac. Could you spend a moment talking about a wildlife

833
00:55:04,300 --> 00:55:08,869
master? Sure, yeah. So it's not. Maybe not quite as

834
00:55:08,869 --> 00:55:12,819
exciting as it might sound. It's very similar to the

835
00:55:12,819 --> 00:55:15,419
master gardener in program in terms of structure. You take

836
00:55:15,419 --> 00:55:18,899
a training, where, in this case, actually, we get partners

837
00:55:18,899 --> 00:55:24,348
to do the training, like Colorado Department of wildlife. Et

838
00:55:24,348 --> 00:55:27,028
cetera, depending on what the issues are that year, like

839
00:55:27,028 --> 00:55:31,838
white nose bat. Syndrome. Syndrome was a big topic to

840
00:55:31,838 --> 00:55:35,570
share. I'm a plant person, so forgive me. In that

841
00:55:35,570 --> 00:55:37,530
case, it's a one day, day long training in person

842
00:55:37,530 --> 00:55:41,797
at our office. And then they answer questions from the

843
00:55:41,797 --> 00:55:44,757
public. So sometimes that might have to do with prairie

844
00:55:44,757 --> 00:55:46,677
dogs. It might have to do with something like a

845
00:55:46,677 --> 00:55:49,677
raccoon that they've seen in the neighborhood. It might have

846
00:55:49,677 --> 00:55:52,317
to be like a snake that needs identification. A lot

847
00:55:52,317 --> 00:55:56,207
of scat. Identification. Comes in. So they help the office

848
00:55:56,207 --> 00:56:00,571
handle those questions and answer them. And we may do

849
00:56:00,571 --> 00:56:03,011
more in the future, but right now they mostly answer

850
00:56:03,011 --> 00:56:06,251
questions one on one. With the public. Thank you. Yeah.

851
00:56:06,251 --> 00:56:11,752
Chase. Yeah. Very good presentations, all of you. Thank you.

852
00:56:13,217 --> 00:56:16,697
Eric, you mentioned that the extension service is, I think,

853
00:56:16,697 --> 00:56:20,789
used the word nested. In Volter county parks and open

854
00:56:20,789 --> 00:56:26,405
space. So what? Parks and open space resources. Do you

855
00:56:26,405 --> 00:56:32,225
use other than the fairgrounds? Sure. Good question. Yes, unnested

856
00:56:32,225 --> 00:56:34,705
may not be the technical term, but we have an

857
00:56:34,705 --> 00:56:37,305
MoU, CSU. As an MoU at the county to provide

858
00:56:37,305 --> 00:56:41,055
services. And our county liaison is the director of the

859
00:56:41,055 --> 00:56:44,495
Parks and open Space department, and that Mou it's agreed

860
00:56:44,495 --> 00:56:47,375
that the county will provide us office space. It so

861
00:56:47,375 --> 00:56:50,215
computers we have county computers, county email addresses, all that

862
00:56:50,215 --> 00:56:53,058
sort of stuff. And then some staffing as well. And

863
00:56:53,058 --> 00:56:54,778
boulder kind of. We're lucky it's actually a fair amount

864
00:56:54,778 --> 00:57:00,446
of staffing compared to nearby counties. So that's admin staff,

865
00:57:00,446 --> 00:57:02,086
and then in Bowler, what is a little unique is

866
00:57:02,086 --> 00:57:06,585
there's a lot of programmatic staff. Like our small acreage

867
00:57:06,585 --> 00:57:09,345
coordinator, is completely funded by the county, so these are

868
00:57:09,345 --> 00:57:15,368
boring monetary resources. We utilize. They're really important. And we're

869
00:57:15,368 --> 00:57:21,714
really grateful for them. We have. Used. We've taught classes

870
00:57:21,714 --> 00:57:25,305
at the fairgrounds outside in the trial gardens. This summer.

871
00:57:25,305 --> 00:57:29,855
Actually, we're working to have. A series of ecology classes

872
00:57:29,855 --> 00:57:32,703
that will be taught. One of them will be taught

873
00:57:32,703 --> 00:57:35,991
anyways in the county open space, so. We've taken advantage

874
00:57:35,991 --> 00:57:40,052
of that occasionally as well. I'm sure I'm forgetting something,

875
00:57:40,052 --> 00:57:43,052
but that's quite a lot, so thank you. Good. I'm

876
00:57:43,052 --> 00:57:48,857
glad. Carol. Carol Byerly. Thank you for your presentations. I'm

877
00:57:48,857 --> 00:57:53,714
really gratified. By. My dad was an agricultural extension agent

878
00:57:53,714 --> 00:57:56,794
at Michigan State University, and so I knew what the

879
00:57:56,794 --> 00:58:00,941
moral act was. A long time ago, and I'm a

880
00:58:00,941 --> 00:58:03,981
historian. I'm probably one of the few. Historians who includes

881
00:58:03,981 --> 00:58:06,781
the Smith lever act in her class. It's a big

882
00:58:06,781 --> 00:58:09,221
one, but that is a big one that established a

883
00:58:09,221 --> 00:58:13,541
cooperative extension to bring the knowledge and the wealth of

884
00:58:13,541 --> 00:58:17,221
our agriculture and our land to the people and to

885
00:58:17,221 --> 00:58:22,120
see it thriving here in Boulder. Is really lovely. And

886
00:58:22,120 --> 00:58:24,400
so I think Abraham Lincoln would be proud of us.

887
00:58:26,026 --> 00:58:29,040
Thank you very much. Thank you. It's very nice, Christine.

888
00:58:29,040 --> 00:58:31,360
And a lot of Smith leaver knowledge there. I've got

889
00:58:31,360 --> 00:58:37,933
all the rest. Of era. Yes, exactly. Christine. Christine Johnson

890
00:58:37,933 --> 00:58:42,926
Posak. I'd like to hear more about the hiatus. With

891
00:58:42,926 --> 00:58:47,492
the Native Plant Master program. I'm a native plant master,

892
00:58:47,492 --> 00:58:52,052
and I'm training to be a trainer, and I'm aware

893
00:58:52,052 --> 00:58:55,292
of the demand for the classes and of a number

894
00:58:55,292 --> 00:59:00,859
of people traveling to other counties. For all of their

895
00:59:00,859 --> 00:59:06,713
courses. Yeah. I guess the reason for the hiatus was

896
00:59:06,713 --> 00:59:08,633
we had a lot of turnover right around Covid. So

897
00:59:08,633 --> 00:59:12,273
the horticulture specialist who runs those programs turned over three

898
00:59:12,273 --> 00:59:15,233
times in less than three years, and so it's hard

899
00:59:15,233 --> 00:59:17,833
to do all the logistics. So that's the excuse. About

900
00:59:17,833 --> 00:59:22,490
why it hasn't happened, but. We have a very good

901
00:59:22,490 --> 00:59:26,930
horticulture specialist where actually, we rephrased it. Sustainable landscape. Specialists,

902
00:59:26,930 --> 00:59:29,965
so she'll have a little more freedom. To pursue a

903
00:59:29,965 --> 00:59:33,140
variety of topics, including native plants, Along with our small

904
00:59:33,140 --> 00:59:38,641
acreage coordinator, Lindsay Gonzalez. They're attending classes. Actually, tomorrow one

905
00:59:38,641 --> 00:59:40,841
of them is, and they'll be looking to run the

906
00:59:40,841 --> 00:59:43,521
program to kind of start building up the base of

907
00:59:43,521 --> 00:59:45,521
the volunteers to teach the classes. And all that goes

908
00:59:45,521 --> 00:59:49,641
with that Moulder county next year. So that's the plan.

909
00:59:51,308 --> 00:59:52,788
No one's going to leave. It's going to be good.

910
00:59:54,307 --> 00:59:57,398
Yeah. It's been really frustrating. Yeah, I can believe it.

911
00:59:57,398 --> 01:00:02,506
For sure. They're coming back. Thanks for the question. Other

912
01:00:02,506 --> 01:00:05,626
questions. I don't see anybody in the audience other than

913
01:00:05,626 --> 01:00:09,026
staff with questions. They may have questions. Nick, is there

914
01:00:09,026 --> 01:00:16,257
anybody online? Nobody online for comments. Okay. Eric et al.

915
01:00:16,257 --> 01:00:18,217
Thank you very much for coming tonight. Thanks for your

916
01:00:18,217 --> 01:00:22,731
passion and your great work. It's really appreciated. Thank you.

917
01:00:22,731 --> 01:00:31,668
Thank you all so much. And now we have Heidi

918
01:00:31,668 --> 01:00:37,337
Wagner. So great to have you come back. To Postac.

919
01:00:37,337 --> 01:00:41,620
Thanks for coming. Usually you're taking a nap back there,

920
01:00:41,620 --> 01:00:48,118
waiting. You might have some brain power left. You have

921
01:00:48,118 --> 01:00:48,158
money?

922
01:01:06,642 --> 01:01:13,292
It is. You just haven't been there yet. Sea level

923
01:01:13,292 --> 01:01:19,007
rise. Okay. Am I close enough to the mic today?

924
01:01:22,479 --> 01:01:26,039
You are. All right. Well, good evening, everyone. My name

925
01:01:26,039 --> 01:01:28,799
is Heidi Wagner, and I am the deputy. Director of

926
01:01:28,799 --> 01:01:32,239
strategic foundations. And it's nice to see you all again

927
01:01:32,239 --> 01:01:34,439
in some new faces. As well. I haven't met you

928
01:01:34,439 --> 01:01:37,879
all yet, but I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunity

929
01:01:37,879 --> 01:01:42,341
over. These next two years as you serve. So why

930
01:01:42,341 --> 01:01:47,178
am I here tonight? So I am here tonight to

931
01:01:47,178 --> 01:01:51,858
talk about our processes and methods for obtaining public feedback.

932
01:01:55,200 --> 01:01:58,445
And I'm going to. Hopefully pull back the curtain a

933
01:01:58,445 --> 01:02:01,965
little bit to share kind of the insider's view of

934
01:02:01,965 --> 01:02:06,245
how we think of and do outreach at parks and

935
01:02:06,245 --> 01:02:11,802
open space. And per usual for these presentations. Please ask

936
01:02:11,802 --> 01:02:14,802
me questions. This is a discussion I want to hear.

937
01:02:14,802 --> 01:02:18,802
From you. So anytime. Just jump in and then we'll

938
01:02:18,802 --> 01:02:21,042
be half time, of course, for questions at the end,

939
01:02:21,042 --> 01:02:25,787
yes. And I'm sorry for right away, but I had

940
01:02:25,787 --> 01:02:32,351
a question with. Strategic foundations. And I'm just curious where

941
01:02:32,351 --> 01:02:36,481
that fits into parks and open space. Have you talked

942
01:02:36,481 --> 01:02:41,907
about the realignment? No. Okay. Do you want to or

943
01:02:41,907 --> 01:02:43,187
do you want to? Yeah. I was like, maybe I

944
01:02:43,187 --> 01:02:49,742
should have Therese. Handle this one. That's very strategic.

945
01:02:53,575 --> 01:02:58,015
Therese Gloakie, parks member, space director and Vivian just said,

946
01:02:58,015 --> 01:02:59,935
as you put that up, she's like, have you told

947
01:02:59,935 --> 01:03:05,729
Posex? So we have done a realignment in our department

948
01:03:05,729 --> 01:03:09,500
over the past couple of months, and. We are complaining

949
01:03:09,500 --> 01:03:13,215
it or starting it. Whichever way you want to look

950
01:03:13,215 --> 01:03:15,695
at it. So we used to have eight different divisions,

951
01:03:15,695 --> 01:03:19,582
and then extension was number nine. And in order to

952
01:03:19,582 --> 01:03:25,904
make that large group. Of divisions manageable. We've created four

953
01:03:25,904 --> 01:03:29,784
deputy directors, so we aren't creating any. New divisions right

954
01:03:29,784 --> 01:03:34,624
now, but we have four deputy directors, including strategic foundations,

955
01:03:34,624 --> 01:03:42,756
land stewardship, community amenities. And administration. Admin services. So. It's

956
01:03:42,756 --> 01:03:47,551
basically. Four people underneath me, the director, that each have

957
01:03:47,551 --> 01:03:50,231
two or three, one, two or three divisions underneath. Them.

958
01:03:51,909 --> 01:03:56,589
Derek Turner and strategic foundations is which divisions is real

959
01:03:56,589 --> 01:04:02,124
estate? Pie. So public information and outreach and then resource

960
01:04:02,124 --> 01:04:08,984
planning. Thank you. Nice background dancing. Excellent. Yes. She has

961
01:04:08,984 --> 01:04:13,019
the best work group name. We'll send you out an.org

962
01:04:13,019 --> 01:04:17,972
chart. We have an organization chart, but it doesn't have

963
01:04:17,972 --> 01:04:20,172
all the staff listed underneath it yet. We're still working

964
01:04:20,172 --> 01:04:22,532
on it as we're reorganizing, but we'll. Get that to

965
01:04:22,532 --> 01:04:26,756
you. Great. Thank you. Is that a date already? What's

966
01:04:26,756 --> 01:04:29,236
that, John, you have to get a lot closer to

967
01:04:29,236 --> 01:04:32,316
that, Mike for holding John White when you gave us

968
01:04:32,316 --> 01:04:34,996
last week. Is that a date? No, that. You three

969
01:04:34,996 --> 01:04:38,949
got the sneak preview of the new one. Right. You

970
01:04:38,949 --> 01:04:41,349
know more than the existing posac. How about that? It's

971
01:04:41,349 --> 01:04:44,670
all about the flow of information. There you go. And

972
01:04:44,670 --> 01:04:50,563
with 160 plus full time employees, And I think 70

973
01:04:50,563 --> 01:04:55,155
or 80 seasonals now. It was time. So we can

974
01:04:55,155 --> 01:04:59,454
talk more about that as well. Future meetings. Well, deputy

975
01:04:59,454 --> 01:05:05,852
director. Still awkward to say. Okay, so tonight, I'll give

976
01:05:05,852 --> 01:05:09,231
you a little bit of background. I'll introduce the public

977
01:05:09,231 --> 01:05:11,751
Outreach guide, and then I want to step back a

978
01:05:11,751 --> 01:05:15,391
little bit. And talk about where we've been, what we've

979
01:05:15,391 --> 01:05:22,146
learned, and where we're headed. Okay. So a little bit

980
01:05:22,146 --> 01:05:25,466
of background for you. First, I just want to very

981
01:05:25,466 --> 01:05:30,546
clearly state that parks at all time has multiple outreach

982
01:05:30,546 --> 01:05:35,636
projects running simultaneously. If you have gotten on our website,

983
01:05:35,636 --> 01:05:39,556
received a press release, looked at our images magazine, all

984
01:05:39,556 --> 01:05:43,569
of those are a form of community outreach. So we

985
01:05:43,569 --> 01:05:47,609
are constantly communicating to the public everything from our large

986
01:05:47,609 --> 01:05:53,466
management plans to trail closures. To forest health initiatives. And

987
01:05:53,466 --> 01:05:57,186
sometimes we're reaching out just to inform. Sometimes we want

988
01:05:57,186 --> 01:06:01,946
to consult, sometimes we are. Inviting them to attend a

989
01:06:01,946 --> 01:06:08,623
public event. Or a meeting or an open house. And

990
01:06:08,623 --> 01:06:14,143
we are asking them to engage, participate, inform, create a

991
01:06:14,143 --> 01:06:18,924
feedback loop. It all looks different. Depending on what project

992
01:06:18,924 --> 01:06:23,471
we're doing. And how do we manage all of that?

993
01:06:23,471 --> 01:06:27,860
Because. Being a large organization with all of these things

994
01:06:27,860 --> 01:06:30,660
going on at once, the way that we manage. It

995
01:06:30,660 --> 01:06:37,060
is through many different staff having responsibility for outreach based

996
01:06:37,060 --> 01:06:43,636
on their project. So it is throughout the organization. And

997
01:06:43,636 --> 01:06:48,276
we created the public outreach guide so we could define

998
01:06:48,276 --> 01:06:51,076
for you all how we do that. And how we

999
01:06:51,076 --> 01:06:54,596
think of that. So what I'm presenting today is actually

1000
01:06:54,596 --> 01:06:58,996
our current state of outreach, and we have had this

1001
01:06:58,996 --> 01:07:03,498
information documented in several different place by. Work group by

1002
01:07:03,498 --> 01:07:06,458
subject, and we put it all together in this guide,

1003
01:07:06,458 --> 01:07:10,775
which we found very, very helpful already. Excuse me. Yeah.

1004
01:07:10,775 --> 01:07:20,674
Carol Barley. Posek. I'm having acronym issues. I've

1005
01:07:20,674 --> 01:07:24,314
had acronym issues for years, but these are new. So

1006
01:07:24,314 --> 01:07:28,754
what is pie? What's? PI. Public information and outreach. That

1007
01:07:28,754 --> 01:07:34,064
is our work group. You're looking at the memo. I

1008
01:07:34,064 --> 01:07:40,572
am? Yes. Because I'm trying to understand acronyms. Okay, thank

1009
01:07:40,572 --> 01:07:45,077
you, thank you. And that is. The Guide is an

1010
01:07:45,077 --> 01:07:51,624
internal document. So I should include all the abbreviations so

1011
01:07:51,624 --> 01:07:54,984
you know what they are. I'm not. Sharing it with

1012
01:07:54,984 --> 01:07:59,910
anybody. You can, though, Carol. It is now a public

1013
01:07:59,910 --> 01:08:08,361
document, okay? So the outreach guide really articulates our vision

1014
01:08:08,361 --> 01:08:12,378
around community outreach and engagement in order to support. Inclusive,

1015
01:08:12,378 --> 01:08:17,611
consistent and effective engagement throughout the department. And it adds

1016
01:08:17,611 --> 01:08:22,131
clarity to staff about what the expectations are when they're

1017
01:08:22,131 --> 01:08:27,574
doing outreach. And we also want to make sure that

1018
01:08:27,574 --> 01:08:32,451
all staff. Understand and align with both department and countywide

1019
01:08:32,451 --> 01:08:39,131
strategic priorities, especially around our crisp plan. Culturally responsive inclusion

1020
01:08:39,131 --> 01:08:45,562
strategic plan. And not crispr. Not crispr. And, of course,

1021
01:08:45,562 --> 01:08:49,002
our equity and inclusion goals at the BOCC level. So

1022
01:08:49,002 --> 01:08:52,002
it really tries to tie those things together so staff

1023
01:08:52,002 --> 01:08:56,162
is reminded to use the tools and strategies that are

1024
01:08:56,162 --> 01:09:02,043
effective to meet those goals. So this is really, when

1025
01:09:02,043 --> 01:09:06,283
I say current state, this is what captures that current

1026
01:09:06,283 --> 01:09:09,283
state. So in your memo in the guide there is

1027
01:09:09,283 --> 01:09:12,283
a chart and I purposely didn't put it all up

1028
01:09:12,283 --> 01:09:14,843
on the PowerPoint because it's just too many words. So

1029
01:09:14,843 --> 01:09:17,563
I would encourage you. To reference that, and it is

1030
01:09:17,563 --> 01:09:23,381
available. Online, of course, in the agenda packet. But what

1031
01:09:23,381 --> 01:09:27,466
it defines. Are four tiers of outreach, and this is

1032
01:09:27,466 --> 01:09:31,066
really how we think of our outreach in the department.

1033
01:09:31,066 --> 01:09:34,786
So tier one. You can think of tier one outreach

1034
01:09:34,786 --> 01:09:38,866
as really the really big projects, the really big plans.

1035
01:09:38,866 --> 01:09:42,906
East Boulder Creek the integrated Weed management plan for those

1036
01:09:42,906 --> 01:09:45,904
of you new to POsac I encourage you to. Go

1037
01:09:45,904 --> 01:09:49,281
back and watch those videos. It'll give you a good

1038
01:09:49,281 --> 01:09:53,041
flavor of the complexity of those planning processes and then

1039
01:09:53,041 --> 01:09:55,121
a couple of things that I want to point out

1040
01:09:55,121 --> 01:10:00,321
is we have examples of tools and methods and those

1041
01:10:00,321 --> 01:10:03,121
are meant to be just that, the actual tools and

1042
01:10:03,121 --> 01:10:07,669
methods that are chosen for each type. Of outreach. Depends

1043
01:10:07,669 --> 01:10:11,059
on? The staff person that is the lead, and the

1044
01:10:11,059 --> 01:10:15,499
conversations that they have internally when they're creating their plans

1045
01:10:15,499 --> 01:10:18,779
based on this framework and guidance. And you can see

1046
01:10:18,779 --> 01:10:21,899
in the far right column the staff involved for tier

1047
01:10:21,899 --> 01:10:26,721
one projects is pretty much from. Every work group that

1048
01:10:26,721 --> 01:10:29,681
we have in the department. We need everyone to pull

1049
01:10:29,681 --> 01:10:33,721
off those large projects. And work together to create the

1050
01:10:33,721 --> 01:10:37,401
appropriate outreach and engagement for that project. So those are

1051
01:10:37,401 --> 01:10:42,315
tier one. Tier two projects. We think of more as

1052
01:10:42,315 --> 01:10:46,915
subject matter expert projects, so a good example of that.

1053
01:10:46,915 --> 01:10:49,875
Would have been the elk management plan update that you

1054
01:10:49,875 --> 01:10:53,155
recently heard and you didn't have. A planner sitting here.

1055
01:10:53,155 --> 01:10:58,582
You had a wildlife specialist. And. That's their project, because

1056
01:10:58,582 --> 01:11:01,702
they are the expert and they write the whole document.

1057
01:11:01,702 --> 01:11:03,942
But it also means that they are responsible for the

1058
01:11:03,942 --> 01:11:09,388
outreach that goes with that project. Tier three projects are

1059
01:11:09,388 --> 01:11:14,823
what I would consider more operational. Outreach and notifications. So

1060
01:11:14,823 --> 01:11:20,504
if there's going to be a closure. Infrastructure maintenance, maybe

1061
01:11:20,504 --> 01:11:24,515
minor change to a language. Then that outreach is going

1062
01:11:24,515 --> 01:11:27,835
to be handled by that subject matter expert staff and

1063
01:11:27,835 --> 01:11:30,475
then you're. Mostly going to see it through forms of

1064
01:11:30,475 --> 01:11:35,561
press releases, website updates. One other thing to point out.

1065
01:11:36,991 --> 01:11:40,831
The audience focus can vary depending on these projects. And

1066
01:11:40,831 --> 01:11:45,405
again, this is a guidance piece. So. I might be

1067
01:11:45,405 --> 01:11:48,757
doing. A closure, but I'm not going to take that

1068
01:11:48,757 --> 01:11:51,237
to POSac and the board. For approval. I'm just going

1069
01:11:51,237 --> 01:11:55,722
to put that out, that information out there. But maybe

1070
01:11:55,722 --> 01:11:58,762
I'm making language changes to a policy, and even though

1071
01:11:58,762 --> 01:12:01,602
they're pretty minor changes. They still will need to be

1072
01:12:01,602 --> 01:12:04,562
approved by the board, so all of that is figured

1073
01:12:04,562 --> 01:12:09,511
out when staff is sitting down working. Through outreach and

1074
01:12:09,511 --> 01:12:13,023
designing their plan. Any questions there before I move on?

1075
01:12:15,208 --> 01:12:18,544
Because that's a lot. It's a lot for us to

1076
01:12:18,544 --> 01:12:23,616
work through and many meetings and conversations around this. Okay.

1077
01:12:27,973 --> 01:12:31,533
So the other pieces of the guide include messaging tips

1078
01:12:31,533 --> 01:12:35,733
so you can think of those as best practices around

1079
01:12:35,733 --> 01:12:40,853
messaging, so reminding staff, especially on tier two and tier

1080
01:12:40,853 --> 01:12:43,733
three projects. Oh, sorry, one more. Thing. Tier four. I

1081
01:12:43,733 --> 01:12:46,653
want to go backwards. Real estate projects. So I'm not

1082
01:12:46,653 --> 01:12:49,111
going to. Talk about that. Tonight because that's kind of

1083
01:12:49,111 --> 01:12:51,111
its category in and of itself. But I just want

1084
01:12:51,111 --> 01:12:55,788
to make sure that I acknowledge that. Okay, so core

1085
01:12:55,788 --> 01:13:00,541
messaging. So what that includes is just good reminders to

1086
01:13:00,541 --> 01:13:04,381
staff. Be sure when you're putting out the word on

1087
01:13:04,381 --> 01:13:08,250
your project that you're including. What's the purpose? What's changing?

1088
01:13:09,834 --> 01:13:14,205
Why are we doing it? And other information like that

1089
01:13:14,205 --> 01:13:16,445
just to serve as reminders that they need to put

1090
01:13:16,445 --> 01:13:20,005
that information out there because just because they're a wildlife

1091
01:13:20,005 --> 01:13:22,525
expert does not mean that they're an outreach expert, so

1092
01:13:22,525 --> 01:13:28,397
it helps give them guidance. And then. We also include

1093
01:13:28,397 --> 01:13:33,757
best practices around accessibility and equity. And so those are

1094
01:13:33,757 --> 01:13:38,197
going to be things like plain language, prompting the use

1095
01:13:38,197 --> 01:13:43,129
of. Graphics and visuals, making sure they close the loop

1096
01:13:43,129 --> 01:13:46,289
with community or what happened with the project that they

1097
01:13:46,289 --> 01:13:51,671
did. And then lastly, it does logistics. So just how

1098
01:13:51,671 --> 01:13:53,271
do you do all of this stuff and you see

1099
01:13:53,271 --> 01:13:56,911
that in the attachment to the guide. It's like, who

1100
01:13:56,911 --> 01:14:00,353
do you need to call? To do a mailing. How

1101
01:14:00,353 --> 01:14:03,782
do you go to a printer? There's a lot of

1102
01:14:03,782 --> 01:14:08,502
effort behind. These outreach tasks. That staff may or may

1103
01:14:08,502 --> 01:14:10,742
not be familiar with, and so that helps give them

1104
01:14:10,742 --> 01:14:15,989
a little guidance. So one thing before I move on

1105
01:14:15,989 --> 01:14:19,509
is that this guy does not do everything for parks.

1106
01:14:19,509 --> 01:14:24,509
There's. More documentation around each one of these tiers, but

1107
01:14:24,509 --> 01:14:29,665
it serves as a really good framework. So you can

1108
01:14:29,665 --> 01:14:33,898
understand how we think about it. And how when we

1109
01:14:33,898 --> 01:14:36,858
come to you with different projects and plans, why you

1110
01:14:36,858 --> 01:14:43,562
see different people up here. Talking about it. So that's

1111
01:14:43,562 --> 01:14:47,002
the guide. But I want to go backwards a little

1112
01:14:47,002 --> 01:14:50,122
bit because as I mentioned this was a snapshot in

1113
01:14:50,122 --> 01:14:53,682
time, and so I want to talk about where we

1114
01:14:53,682 --> 01:14:56,856
have been. In the most recent past as related to

1115
01:14:56,856 --> 01:15:00,471
our outreach. And this guide and just what we've learned

1116
01:15:00,471 --> 01:15:04,592
and where we're going. So I want to take you

1117
01:15:04,592 --> 01:15:10,699
back to the old days of 2022. It does feel

1118
01:15:10,699 --> 01:15:12,699
like a long time ago. But it wasn't. But you

1119
01:15:12,699 --> 01:15:16,139
can see everyone. In this picture is in masks, and

1120
01:15:16,139 --> 01:15:24,639
in 2022, We were re envisioning our management plan process.

1121
01:15:24,639 --> 01:15:27,079
For those of you that were here with me through

1122
01:15:27,079 --> 01:15:29,919
East Boulder Creek, I would often say, hey, we have

1123
01:15:29,919 --> 01:15:35,126
a new vision. Engage, guide, connect. And that vision came

1124
01:15:35,126 --> 01:15:41,115
from this work. And during that process, we said, What?

1125
01:15:41,115 --> 01:15:45,155
We are picking back up management planning. We are picking

1126
01:15:45,155 --> 01:15:50,547
back up community engagement because. Everybody was coming back online

1127
01:15:50,547 --> 01:15:54,183
again. Wanting to hear about what we were doing, not

1128
01:15:54,183 --> 01:15:58,556
just for the big management plans, but in general. And

1129
01:15:58,556 --> 01:16:01,236
especially after the increase and the love that we saw

1130
01:16:01,236 --> 01:16:04,476
for our open spaces, people were ready. To be engaged.

1131
01:16:05,846 --> 01:16:14,535
And. We really reaffirmed our commitment. To engagement. And see

1132
01:16:14,535 --> 01:16:17,815
it as central to our mission of stewardship and partnership

1133
01:16:17,815 --> 01:16:21,802
with our community. And we also talked a lot about

1134
01:16:21,802 --> 01:16:24,762
how we wanted to hear the voices of everyone in

1135
01:16:24,762 --> 01:16:28,882
our community, and we wanted the feedback from our community

1136
01:16:28,882 --> 01:16:34,131
to reflect the diversity of our community. And we wanted

1137
01:16:34,131 --> 01:16:38,957
to really build that trust. And transparency into our work

1138
01:16:38,957 --> 01:16:42,117
so everyone understood why we were doing what we're doing.

1139
01:16:43,790 --> 01:16:48,736
And just really get that meaningful feedback. To help us

1140
01:16:48,736 --> 01:16:54,736
make better decisions. So that was 2022, and. That's what

1141
01:16:54,736 --> 01:16:58,616
you see. A lot of that language in the public

1142
01:16:58,616 --> 01:17:02,216
outreach guide, and we were definitely doing many of those

1143
01:17:02,216 --> 01:17:06,056
things before 2022. I want to acknowledge that, but that's.

1144
01:17:06,056 --> 01:17:09,296
How it really arrived in its present state. And a

1145
01:17:09,296 --> 01:17:11,896
lot of that is due to the guidance of our

1146
01:17:11,896 --> 01:17:17,111
Chris plan. Let me say it again, Carol, okay? I

1147
01:17:17,111 --> 01:17:21,599
will because it's a wonderful plan and also. Our board

1148
01:17:21,599 --> 01:17:27,399
of county commissioners also putting equity and inclusion and trust

1149
01:17:27,399 --> 01:17:31,147
with community at the center of their work. And what

1150
01:17:31,147 --> 01:17:35,227
that translated into practically were some of these outreach tools

1151
01:17:35,227 --> 01:17:38,387
that are just lists in the guide, but how we're

1152
01:17:38,387 --> 01:17:41,947
doing them and what they look like now is substantially

1153
01:17:41,947 --> 01:17:47,695
different from the past. Eric, do you have a question?

1154
01:17:47,695 --> 01:17:53,156
Okay. This is a conversation, so please jump in. But

1155
01:17:53,156 --> 01:17:54,956
it looks a little bit. It does look different. In

1156
01:17:54,956 --> 01:17:58,276
the past. Plain language. This was a great one for

1157
01:17:58,276 --> 01:18:04,139
me to learn because. When you evolve in this space.

1158
01:18:05,495 --> 01:18:08,735
You have a lot of acronyms and you use a

1159
01:18:08,735 --> 01:18:13,872
lot of terminology and technical language. And we really, really

1160
01:18:13,872 --> 01:18:16,112
needed to shift a plain language if we wanted to

1161
01:18:16,112 --> 01:18:20,700
be accessible to our community. We're using a lot more

1162
01:18:20,700 --> 01:18:26,396
graphic design. We are translating our materials, and we are

1163
01:18:26,396 --> 01:18:32,227
offering translators at our events, our social media. Presence has

1164
01:18:32,227 --> 01:18:36,667
really, really grown and been boosted by the addition of

1165
01:18:36,667 --> 01:18:40,583
new staff with wonderful skills in this space. We are

1166
01:18:40,583 --> 01:18:46,645
creating compelling videos. And we are hosting events on site,

1167
01:18:46,645 --> 01:18:50,668
so. We're not just propping up posters in a meeting

1168
01:18:50,668 --> 01:18:53,748
room, which is important and definitely has its place, but

1169
01:18:53,748 --> 01:18:59,180
we're also going. To the property. And planning with the

1170
01:18:59,180 --> 01:19:03,328
community on the property that we're talking about. And then

1171
01:19:03,328 --> 01:19:06,128
lastly, we are also going to where community is already

1172
01:19:06,128 --> 01:19:08,728
at, so we're not asking them to always come to

1173
01:19:08,728 --> 01:19:12,008
us. We're going to see them, and you can think.

1174
01:19:12,008 --> 01:19:14,808
Of like, now we have tables at Cinco de Mayo

1175
01:19:14,808 --> 01:19:17,568
and pride in the park and just. Ways to go

1176
01:19:17,568 --> 01:19:21,156
out and engage where people are. And listen to them

1177
01:19:21,156 --> 01:19:24,476
and build relationships. So those are things that we've done.

1178
01:19:26,394 --> 01:19:28,714
And along the way, we've learned a lot of lessons.

1179
01:19:30,986 --> 01:19:34,666
And I have a list up there. It's definitely not

1180
01:19:34,666 --> 01:19:42,966
inclusive. But I think in this space, To acknowledge lessons.

1181
01:19:42,966 --> 01:19:46,846
Learn acknowledges that you're trying new things and you're trying

1182
01:19:46,846 --> 01:19:51,138
to innovate. And if I could not sit up here

1183
01:19:51,138 --> 01:19:53,538
and say, oh, no, we haven't learned a thing because

1184
01:19:53,538 --> 01:19:57,538
we're perfect. No one is perfect. No organization is perfect.

1185
01:19:57,538 --> 01:20:01,298
But we do have a commitment to continuous improvement. And

1186
01:20:01,298 --> 01:20:04,178
these are the lessons that we've been learning and the

1187
01:20:04,178 --> 01:20:08,021
first one I really want to emphasize is. It's just.

1188
01:20:08,021 --> 01:20:11,575
Never underestimate the public interest in your topic. And I

1189
01:20:11,575 --> 01:20:16,348
think this one. Has. This one's tripped us up because,

1190
01:20:16,348 --> 01:20:20,228
especially in what we wouldn't consider the big big projects.

1191
01:20:20,228 --> 01:20:23,696
I mean, I think for the big projects, We see

1192
01:20:23,696 --> 01:20:26,136
some of that coming. Not all of it, but some

1193
01:20:26,136 --> 01:20:28,776
of it, but sometimes we don't. See it when it's

1194
01:20:28,776 --> 01:20:31,336
kind of like, oh, we're just doing this. Language change

1195
01:20:31,336 --> 01:20:34,176
or only three people ever do this thing and nobody's

1196
01:20:34,176 --> 01:20:38,773
going to care. So we just proceed as planned on

1197
01:20:38,773 --> 01:20:42,253
that chart, and it can take us by surprise, and

1198
01:20:42,253 --> 01:20:44,933
so. That's definitely been a lesson learned is to never

1199
01:20:44,933 --> 01:20:49,738
underestimate that interest in your topic. And then we want

1200
01:20:49,738 --> 01:20:52,738
to be able to get the word out early, and

1201
01:20:52,738 --> 01:20:57,279
this is for all of our projects. Is we want

1202
01:20:57,279 --> 01:21:00,239
to be able to leverage our outreach tools and continue

1203
01:21:00,239 --> 01:21:04,279
to grow our outreach tools. So we get the attention

1204
01:21:04,279 --> 01:21:07,159
of our community early, and I'll talk a little bit

1205
01:21:07,159 --> 01:21:11,479
about that in what's coming as well. And that science

1206
01:21:11,479 --> 01:21:15,660
and subject matter expertise. They don't always resonate, and maybe

1207
01:21:15,660 --> 01:21:17,940
that goes back a little bit to the plain. Language,

1208
01:21:17,940 --> 01:21:24,390
conversation. Is that you can. Have a great. Binch of

1209
01:21:24,390 --> 01:21:28,992
experts. But sometimes. The community doesn't really resonate with those

1210
01:21:28,992 --> 01:21:32,512
messages, and we need to think of other ways to

1211
01:21:32,512 --> 01:21:37,049
share what we're trying to communicate. And that also some

1212
01:21:37,049 --> 01:21:40,169
of our staff that are responsible for their subject matter.

1213
01:21:40,169 --> 01:21:43,889
Subject matter expert plans. They could use more support and

1214
01:21:43,889 --> 01:21:46,684
understanding in this space. So we're going to look at

1215
01:21:46,684 --> 01:21:49,884
that as well, and internal processes to improve support for

1216
01:21:49,884 --> 01:21:54,644
them. And then we do want to create additional strategies

1217
01:21:54,644 --> 01:21:59,841
for this group. Pose that to continue. To connect with

1218
01:21:59,841 --> 01:22:03,361
our board of county commissioners on hard and crunchy topics

1219
01:22:03,361 --> 01:22:07,997
because you all talk about things. Very, very deeply, and

1220
01:22:07,997 --> 01:22:10,077
you give it a lot of consideration, and you ask

1221
01:22:10,077 --> 01:22:13,317
a lot of good. Questions and we have some great

1222
01:22:13,317 --> 01:22:17,670
methods and strategies. For communicating what those conversations were to

1223
01:22:17,670 --> 01:22:19,990
the board. But we can add more, and we're looking

1224
01:22:19,990 --> 01:22:21,630
at that. And I'll come back to see you in

1225
01:22:21,630 --> 01:22:26,482
October to talk about those. And then lastly. And this

1226
01:22:26,482 --> 01:22:30,162
is another double underline, is it's a challenging to obtain

1227
01:22:30,162 --> 01:22:34,122
broad feedback from a community if you don't have a

1228
01:22:34,122 --> 01:22:38,522
relationship with that community so often, we're in our desks

1229
01:22:38,522 --> 01:22:41,122
doing our work, and then we're like, great, it's outreach.

1230
01:22:41,122 --> 01:22:42,922
Time, and we get out there and say, what do

1231
01:22:42,922 --> 01:22:44,882
you think? And then no one shows up. Because they

1232
01:22:44,882 --> 01:22:48,521
don't know who we are. What we're doing. Why should

1233
01:22:48,521 --> 01:22:52,401
they care? And so we're really thinking about those. Relationships

1234
01:22:52,401 --> 01:22:55,161
with our community. And so when we show up, it's

1235
01:22:55,161 --> 01:22:59,161
just part of an ongoing dialogue. And it's not just

1236
01:22:59,161 --> 01:23:01,801
something that we're like, oh, tell us now, and then

1237
01:23:01,801 --> 01:23:04,641
go back to do your thing. So those are all

1238
01:23:04,641 --> 01:23:07,561
lessons we have been learning along. The way with all

1239
01:23:07,561 --> 01:23:09,681
of the outreach that we've been doing over the past

1240
01:23:09,681 --> 01:23:13,905
several years. So where are we headed? So, first, I

1241
01:23:13,905 --> 01:23:16,985
want to speak to some county wide initiatives that I'm

1242
01:23:16,985 --> 01:23:19,505
very excited about and I think will be very supportive

1243
01:23:19,505 --> 01:23:23,065
in this space. We are not the only department working

1244
01:23:23,065 --> 01:23:28,437
to do outreach in the county. And I think that

1245
01:23:28,437 --> 01:23:32,077
has been acknowledged by the office of our county administrator

1246
01:23:32,077 --> 01:23:35,157
and lots of her staff are working on these pieces,

1247
01:23:35,157 --> 01:23:39,037
too. So one of those things is communication and messaging.

1248
01:23:39,037 --> 01:23:43,917
Guidance countywide and you can see this is a little.

1249
01:23:43,917 --> 01:23:47,501
I grabbed a screenshot from our internal intern. Internet that

1250
01:23:47,501 --> 01:23:51,124
we have, and this is all about. Language access and

1251
01:23:51,124 --> 01:23:55,478
plain language. We didn't have this when I was working

1252
01:23:55,478 --> 01:23:59,038
on East Boulder Creek and a lot of our questions

1253
01:23:59,038 --> 01:24:03,194
that we asked. And especially through PI and her team,

1254
01:24:03,194 --> 01:24:05,994
we would ask them, and they had to work together

1255
01:24:05,994 --> 01:24:10,877
to create. The bilingual material, guidance and plain language, and

1256
01:24:10,877 --> 01:24:15,437
a lot of that helped spur our central communications team.

1257
01:24:15,437 --> 01:24:18,637
To create this guidance, so it was a great improvement.

1258
01:24:20,177 --> 01:24:26,220
For everyone countywide. And then. They are also they meaning?

1259
01:24:26,872 --> 01:24:29,352
I want to say. County is also working on a

1260
01:24:29,352 --> 01:24:34,056
community engagement framework. There is a team of staff that

1261
01:24:34,056 --> 01:24:36,536
is contributing to that effort. But again, it is a

1262
01:24:36,536 --> 01:24:39,656
countywide effort, and we are hopeful in the next few

1263
01:24:39,656 --> 01:24:42,496
months that they will be releasing a framework that parks

1264
01:24:42,496 --> 01:24:46,176
an open space can leverage all the wonderful things that

1265
01:24:46,176 --> 01:24:49,416
we've been doing and use that framework for additional guidance.

1266
01:24:50,631 --> 01:24:54,713
And to plug into the countywide messaging and efforts. Yes,

1267
01:24:54,713 --> 01:25:01,926
this is John White. The very first question that the

1268
01:25:01,926 --> 01:25:08,897
commissioners asked when we got interviewed was. About diversity. And

1269
01:25:08,897 --> 01:25:12,657
I assume that what you're saying here has been presented

1270
01:25:12,657 --> 01:25:16,377
or will be presented to them to the commissioner. Yeah,

1271
01:25:16,377 --> 01:25:19,937
I'm not sure I could definitely bring it up to

1272
01:25:19,937 --> 01:25:23,817
that. Was their very first question. Yeah. Oh, how interesting.

1273
01:25:23,817 --> 01:25:27,248
That's great. I could bring it up to them, though.

1274
01:25:27,248 --> 01:25:29,888
We get a chance to see them once a month.

1275
01:25:29,888 --> 01:25:32,608
On different parks topics, and I could definitely present this.

1276
01:25:34,442 --> 01:25:38,555
Thanks, John. The second thing, where we're headed in October.

1277
01:25:41,030 --> 01:25:43,030
There was a team of staff that came to you.

1278
01:25:43,030 --> 01:25:46,390
They are community engagement team and they are still fairly

1279
01:25:46,390 --> 01:25:49,710
newly formed. I think they've only been active for about

1280
01:25:49,710 --> 01:25:53,295
a year. But this is a group of staff, and

1281
01:25:53,295 --> 01:25:56,095
I put their vision up here is that they are

1282
01:25:56,095 --> 01:26:01,215
really about co creation with the community and building those

1283
01:26:01,215 --> 01:26:04,695
relationships with the community and all of us. Have as

1284
01:26:04,695 --> 01:26:08,917
staff have the opportunity. To show up at those events

1285
01:26:08,917 --> 01:26:13,037
and contribute to those efforts and build those relationships as

1286
01:26:13,037 --> 01:26:17,791
well. And for example, just recently at Cinco de Mayo,

1287
01:26:17,791 --> 01:26:20,431
we had a staff there with the community. Engagement team

1288
01:26:20,431 --> 01:26:24,789
was there, but we also had planning staff there. To

1289
01:26:24,789 --> 01:26:28,149
just engage with the community, listen to the team or

1290
01:26:28,149 --> 01:26:34,256
listen to the people and. They have some wonderful. Stories

1291
01:26:34,256 --> 01:26:37,776
to tell from that experience, and I'm not going to

1292
01:26:37,776 --> 01:26:40,696
give it away because they will be here sometime in

1293
01:26:40,696 --> 01:26:42,736
the future talking to you about that work as well.

1294
01:26:44,204 --> 01:26:47,164
Heidi, Tony Lewis with Posec is the community engagement team.

1295
01:26:47,164 --> 01:26:50,962
Is that their full time job? No. Or not. Some

1296
01:26:50,962 --> 01:26:55,955
of them, yes, but not all of them. Okay. Yeah,

1297
01:26:55,955 --> 01:27:03,169
great. Thanks. And then lastly. We are working on creating

1298
01:27:03,169 --> 01:27:08,929
more compelling messaging for our community and timing that messaging.

1299
01:27:10,714 --> 01:27:13,822
In. A way that gets the attention of our community

1300
01:27:13,822 --> 01:27:18,373
early. And I was just introduced to this concept. I'm

1301
01:27:18,373 --> 01:27:23,240
really excited about seven points of contact. So this is

1302
01:27:23,240 --> 01:27:27,875
a marketing principle. I've mentioned that. We have added some

1303
01:27:27,875 --> 01:27:30,995
staff recently that have a lot of expertise in this

1304
01:27:30,995 --> 01:27:33,835
space, and they're bringing this to parks and open space,

1305
01:27:33,835 --> 01:27:38,482
but this is a marketing principle. And I'm so appreciative

1306
01:27:38,482 --> 01:27:45,364
of it because. It helps. Give us additional tools. So

1307
01:27:45,364 --> 01:27:48,662
that. Public message that will here sometimes, which is like,

1308
01:27:48,662 --> 01:27:51,462
I didn't know about this. I didn't hear about this.

1309
01:27:51,462 --> 01:27:53,822
You sent me a brochure, but I didn't see. It.

1310
01:27:53,822 --> 01:27:57,815
I threw it out in my junk mail. And us

1311
01:27:57,815 --> 01:28:00,975
as staff with just traditional tools. We're like, oh, we

1312
01:28:00,975 --> 01:28:04,729
don't know. What else to do. Intermarketing. So there's something.

1313
01:28:04,729 --> 01:28:08,849
Seven points of contact. Which is you try to let

1314
01:28:08,849 --> 01:28:11,649
people know in seven different ways. The same message severed

1315
01:28:11,649 --> 01:28:17,579
in different ways. And some of this involves. Remember how

1316
01:28:17,579 --> 01:28:21,699
I've told you, like. Well, I mailed everyone. A brochure

1317
01:28:21,699 --> 01:28:25,899
within 1500ft of the property and I did it four

1318
01:28:25,899 --> 01:28:28,579
times. I don't know why they didn't see it. So

1319
01:28:28,579 --> 01:28:32,619
you can use those same addresses and. Put it into

1320
01:28:32,619 --> 01:28:37,056
social media marketing and. When that address goes on Facebook

1321
01:28:37,056 --> 01:28:40,732
or Instagram, they get your message. I was like. And

1322
01:28:40,732 --> 01:28:43,612
then thinking, I'm like, oh, and you probably think of

1323
01:28:43,612 --> 01:28:47,692
your own. Feeds, and you've seen that. And so we're

1324
01:28:47,692 --> 01:28:51,965
looking to do something like that. So people see. Hey,

1325
01:28:51,965 --> 01:28:56,052
we're doing something right next to your house. Please. Come

1326
01:28:56,052 --> 01:28:59,791
tell us what you think. And then lastly, we are

1327
01:28:59,791 --> 01:29:05,591
looking always to increase eternal communication and alignment. So staff

1328
01:29:05,591 --> 01:29:11,852
doing all kinds of projects all the time. That we

1329
01:29:11,852 --> 01:29:15,092
increase our ability to communicate what those projects are, the

1330
01:29:15,092 --> 01:29:18,812
timing of those projects, and really support each other to

1331
01:29:18,812 --> 01:29:24,212
use these tools and leverage best practices so they can

1332
01:29:24,212 --> 01:29:28,626
also have successful outreach. So that is what I've prepared

1333
01:29:28,626 --> 01:29:33,979
for you today, and I just want to acknowledge. We

1334
01:29:33,979 --> 01:29:37,859
have not always been perfect, but we have also made.

1335
01:29:39,192 --> 01:29:42,632
Amazing progress in this space, and we are committed to.

1336
01:29:43,573 --> 01:29:48,933
Continuous improvement. We're committed to continue to innovate and build

1337
01:29:48,933 --> 01:29:55,711
relationships. And encourage the trust of our community through. Transparency

1338
01:29:55,711 --> 01:29:59,970
and just. We're not going anywhere and. We will continue

1339
01:29:59,970 --> 01:30:04,010
to commit to hearing their voices and doing our best

1340
01:30:04,010 --> 01:30:08,997
to co create these management decisions together. So that's what

1341
01:30:08,997 --> 01:30:12,237
I have today, and I'm excited to hear any questions

1342
01:30:12,237 --> 01:30:17,330
or discussion. Or insights. Thank you. Thank you very much.

1343
01:30:18,637 --> 01:30:21,357
It's a great presentation. I appreciate it's in response, in

1344
01:30:21,357 --> 01:30:24,037
part to a lot. Of questions that Postac has had

1345
01:30:24,037 --> 01:30:29,117
over various projects and concerns. So I appreciate that. Let's,

1346
01:30:29,117 --> 01:30:32,698
start with Joan. Yeah. Thank you. That was very good.

1347
01:30:32,698 --> 01:30:36,978
And I like your ideas about finding new groups to

1348
01:30:36,978 --> 01:30:41,457
reach. Out to in new ways to reach them. And

1349
01:30:41,457 --> 01:30:44,208
my name is. My name is Joan Lutz. I'm. But

1350
01:30:44,208 --> 01:30:47,128
I just wanted to say I hope the science and

1351
01:30:47,128 --> 01:30:54,340
the expertise doesn't get buried. Too much because. Many of

1352
01:30:54,340 --> 01:30:59,190
us feel that that really helps to explain. Why the

1353
01:30:59,190 --> 01:31:01,590
county might want to do things in a certain way.

1354
01:31:03,213 --> 01:31:05,213
And I know many of us find the science and

1355
01:31:05,213 --> 01:31:11,288
the expertise quite persuasive. Thank you, Joan. I agree. It's

1356
01:31:11,288 --> 01:31:16,475
an and, right? We want both. Thank you. And I'm

1357
01:31:16,475 --> 01:31:18,515
going to remind you to get really close to that

1358
01:31:18,515 --> 01:31:24,550
mic, everyone. Thank you. Trace. Trace. Baker. Posack. Thank you,

1359
01:31:24,550 --> 01:31:30,074
Heidi. I know the guide is a very necessary process

1360
01:31:30,074 --> 01:31:35,595
for dealing with. The times we've had public perception of

1361
01:31:35,595 --> 01:31:38,795
inadequate communication, and I think this will go a long

1362
01:31:38,795 --> 01:31:46,844
way. Towards. Resolving that. I have a number of questions

1363
01:31:46,844 --> 01:31:50,844
on the guide because that is what we received to

1364
01:31:50,844 --> 01:31:59,644
review. And your phrase. Never underestimate the public input. Public

1365
01:31:59,644 --> 01:32:05,778
interest in your topic. And I really think the guide

1366
01:32:05,778 --> 01:32:12,406
should consider the fact that public interest. May escalate. Which

1367
01:32:12,406 --> 01:32:20,321
tier? Gets assigned. I can think of anything to do

1368
01:32:20,321 --> 01:32:25,321
with prairie dogs, anything to do with weed management, anything

1369
01:32:25,321 --> 01:32:31,078
to do with eagles? You'll do. A minor staff will

1370
01:32:31,078 --> 01:32:37,304
propose a trail reroute and we'll get 60 emails. So

1371
01:32:37,304 --> 01:32:43,853
that is one thing I would hope that. You could

1372
01:32:43,853 --> 01:32:52,695
add. Let's see here. The. Audience focus.

1373
01:32:54,258 --> 01:33:00,129
Seems to emphasize proximal impact. And remote impact, I think

1374
01:33:00,129 --> 01:33:07,073
needs more attention. When you talk about. View sheds water

1375
01:33:07,073 --> 01:33:14,999
flow or water tables wind drift animal movements. Plant distribution.

1376
01:33:16,845 --> 01:33:23,035
Those all. Need to be looked at. Let's see. There

1377
01:33:23,035 --> 01:33:29,785
was a phrase. In the plan, all public. And it

1378
01:33:29,785 --> 01:33:34,121
reads like list of site visitors. And you should either

1379
01:33:34,121 --> 01:33:38,552
state that explicitly. If that's the intent. Or again, look

1380
01:33:38,552 --> 01:33:43,112
at adjacent property owners or remote view shed people sure.

1381
01:33:45,342 --> 01:33:50,102
When you create a project web page that should include

1382
01:33:50,102 --> 01:33:58,706
a timeline. As Joan mentioned.

1383
01:34:00,751 --> 01:34:04,357
Science and subject matter expertise. Does not always resonate on

1384
01:34:04,357 --> 01:34:09,109
one of your slides. And. What I've seen many, many

1385
01:34:09,109 --> 01:34:13,736
times. Is that the public will bring in people that

1386
01:34:13,736 --> 01:34:22,154
they claim. Are scientists and subject matter experts. And. Managing.

1387
01:34:23,461 --> 01:34:27,722
That conflict, I think, needs to be addressed. And I

1388
01:34:27,722 --> 01:34:33,345
have a bunch of typographical things. With your permission, I'll

1389
01:34:33,345 --> 01:34:36,345
just email those and not take discussion time for them.

1390
01:34:38,070 --> 01:34:40,910
That sounds good, trace. Thank you. Okay. And again, thank

1391
01:34:40,910 --> 01:34:44,870
you so much. Great comments, trace. Appreciate your close reading

1392
01:34:44,870 --> 01:34:51,524
of that. Other questions, Christine. Christine johnson posack I think.

1393
01:34:53,591 --> 01:35:00,055
I have maybe three comments. Two comments. On the never

1394
01:35:00,055 --> 01:35:08,080
underestimate. I think that. Pos. Tries so hard. To think

1395
01:35:08,080 --> 01:35:12,520
of every contingency and to think of every possible question.

1396
01:35:14,417 --> 01:35:18,217
I see so much diligence in that, and that is

1397
01:35:18,217 --> 01:35:23,163
amazing. But you are not going to be able to

1398
01:35:23,163 --> 01:35:29,550
think of every contingency. In every possible question. And I

1399
01:35:29,550 --> 01:35:34,616
think as far as. You can't never underestimate the level

1400
01:35:34,616 --> 01:35:42,044
of interest in your topic. I think it's. Some of.

1401
01:35:42,699 --> 01:35:48,359
The. I think what's happening is. Areas that you did

1402
01:35:48,359 --> 01:35:51,559
not anticipate were going to be of interest, and I

1403
01:35:51,559 --> 01:35:58,243
think that what might be missing from this is. Response

1404
01:35:58,243 --> 01:36:02,433
to that, if that makes any sense. Like, in the

1405
01:36:02,433 --> 01:36:06,921
moment or in the process, because. Again. You guys are

1406
01:36:06,921 --> 01:36:16,624
super. Careful. Very professional. And. How do you respond and

1407
01:36:16,624 --> 01:36:22,377
when do you respond? When things go awry, like what

1408
01:36:22,377 --> 01:36:31,411
rises to. That. Level. And then. How do you respond?

1409
01:36:31,411 --> 01:36:33,931
And is there a protocol for responding? And I think

1410
01:36:33,931 --> 01:36:37,131
that might be something. To think about. Like, how do

1411
01:36:37,131 --> 01:36:41,298
you keep something from getting bigger? Right. Do you want

1412
01:36:41,298 --> 01:36:43,698
me so I have a slide on that that I

1413
01:36:43,698 --> 01:36:48,282
didn't go? Into tonight. There's a lot there. It would

1414
01:36:48,282 --> 01:36:57,623
save you time. Yeah. I just created. This, but I

1415
01:36:57,623 --> 01:37:02,350
didn't include it tonight because. It's like part two of

1416
01:37:02,350 --> 01:37:06,845
the conversation. And I wanted to focus just on process

1417
01:37:06,845 --> 01:37:10,565
and methods, but. This is what, when I say, like,

1418
01:37:10,565 --> 01:37:13,685
internal alignment and support, this is what I mean. And

1419
01:37:13,685 --> 01:37:16,865
what we're talking about. Because sometimes I just want to

1420
01:37:16,865 --> 01:37:19,785
acknowledge that you can do all of these best practices,

1421
01:37:19,785 --> 01:37:22,665
and there's still going to be disagreement at the end,

1422
01:37:22,665 --> 01:37:26,652
and it's okay. It means that people are passionate and

1423
01:37:26,652 --> 01:37:28,612
they care about what you're doing, and we want that.

1424
01:37:30,532 --> 01:37:33,612
But when you disagree at beginning, middle, end, what do

1425
01:37:33,612 --> 01:37:36,760
you do? And so. We're talking about this, and we

1426
01:37:36,760 --> 01:37:39,562
will be talking about it more. But you're absolutely right,

1427
01:37:39,562 --> 01:37:45,857
Christine. I really appreciate this and that it's something that's

1428
01:37:45,857 --> 01:37:50,201
in the mix to support. Staff. Other post questions Carol.

1429
01:37:53,016 --> 01:37:55,696
Carol Byerly Posac. Yes. And you had that slide. You

1430
01:37:55,696 --> 01:37:59,439
were ready. I just want to kind of back up

1431
01:37:59,439 --> 01:38:06,896
a little bit and say, That I've been impressed. By

1432
01:38:06,896 --> 01:38:10,816
how embedded and how much effort there is. So I

1433
01:38:10,816 --> 01:38:15,416
have been less critical, and I think that you're dealing

1434
01:38:15,416 --> 01:38:19,563
with an environment. In this country of competition for attention

1435
01:38:19,563 --> 01:38:22,843
and most people are being get a fire hose of

1436
01:38:22,843 --> 01:38:26,632
information. And one of my least favorite is an organization

1437
01:38:26,632 --> 01:38:32,167
called Constant Contact. With your customer. Well, not all of

1438
01:38:32,167 --> 01:38:37,315
us want constant contact. So you're dealing with that, and

1439
01:38:37,315 --> 01:38:41,561
we're also dealing with. An angry or more divisive society.

1440
01:38:43,105 --> 01:38:48,850
There's some static going on as you're negotiating this. And

1441
01:38:48,850 --> 01:38:52,795
so I think. We need to be cognizant of that

1442
01:38:52,795 --> 01:38:55,315
as well. And that people are getting too much stuff.

1443
01:38:56,852 --> 01:38:59,012
And so the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater

1444
01:38:59,012 --> 01:39:04,751
sometimes. Tracy, this is wonderfully responsive presentation to pose Act's

1445
01:39:04,751 --> 01:39:10,732
concerns. Thank you. Trace Baker Posac just want to respond

1446
01:39:10,732 --> 01:39:15,075
a bit to what Christine was saying about. Being. It's

1447
01:39:15,075 --> 01:39:21,039
impossible to anticipate. Every contingency, and that is very true.

1448
01:39:22,489 --> 01:39:29,060
And that is the purpose of review. Both. For presenting

1449
01:39:29,060 --> 01:39:35,939
to the public. And also for presenting to postac. We

1450
01:39:35,939 --> 01:39:41,293
can certainly bring up things. And public will bring up

1451
01:39:41,293 --> 01:39:44,495
things. And so I think that's very necessary. The process.

1452
01:39:45,980 --> 01:39:55,825
Derek. Derek Turner. Thanks. Great presentation. I am wondering

1453
01:39:55,825 --> 01:39:59,559
about. Well, I guess. I've been with serving on Posac

1454
01:39:59,559 --> 01:40:02,519
for two years, and there's two big tier one projects.

1455
01:40:04,069 --> 01:40:05,869
I assume you would consider them tier one, the East

1456
01:40:05,869 --> 01:40:09,629
Boulder Creek, and the Weed management plan, where I think,

1457
01:40:09,629 --> 01:40:15,647
especially with East Boulder Creek. Some of the things you

1458
01:40:15,647 --> 01:40:18,607
describe with going out to the property and meeting with

1459
01:40:18,607 --> 01:40:21,727
folks and having them place the pins on where they

1460
01:40:21,727 --> 01:40:24,967
think the parking lot should be. Like you nailed, I

1461
01:40:24,967 --> 01:40:29,276
think. That chart you just showed. And we had a

1462
01:40:29,276 --> 01:40:32,876
room full of people upset. Even though in my mind.

1463
01:40:34,445 --> 01:40:38,045
You really did. So I guess maybe I'm wondering, in

1464
01:40:38,045 --> 01:40:41,885
looking back at that situation, What I remember hearing is

1465
01:40:41,885 --> 01:40:45,125
then it went to the county commissioners, who had feedback

1466
01:40:45,125 --> 01:40:49,045
that we hadn't thought of and direction and all the

1467
01:40:49,045 --> 01:40:52,085
folks in here that had to spend hours both talking

1468
01:40:52,085 --> 01:40:54,965
to us. Multiple meetings and then talking to the county

1469
01:40:54,965 --> 01:40:58,645
commissioners, if I was one of them. I don't know

1470
01:40:58,645 --> 01:41:00,885
if I would save my time for the county commissioners,

1471
01:41:00,885 --> 01:41:03,923
because ultimately they're making the decision. And I guess I'm

1472
01:41:03,923 --> 01:41:10,414
just wondering about. Creative ways. To either have a bigger

1473
01:41:10,414 --> 01:41:14,420
forum that might. Allow the county commissioners to be here

1474
01:41:14,420 --> 01:41:17,975
with us to hear. A tier one project like that,

1475
01:41:17,975 --> 01:41:21,380
which to me, some of those are like, generational. Projects

1476
01:41:21,380 --> 01:41:25,902
that they shouldn't follow. This kind of formula on how

1477
01:41:25,902 --> 01:41:28,622
you're going to make a decision, and they're so important,

1478
01:41:28,622 --> 01:41:33,210
right? They are like, this is going to. Change. An

1479
01:41:33,210 --> 01:41:39,042
entire community in a county. Depending on. Two votes, right?

1480
01:41:39,042 --> 01:41:43,725
And I'm thinking about the st. Rain corridor from lions

1481
01:41:43,725 --> 01:41:47,085
to Longmont. These projects that are 25, 30 years in

1482
01:41:47,085 --> 01:41:52,424
the making. I would just love to encourage. Ways of

1483
01:41:52,424 --> 01:41:58,299
thinking about, especially the public hearing process. That might. Make

1484
01:41:58,299 --> 01:42:01,179
it more efficient for both people who want to weigh

1485
01:42:01,179 --> 01:42:05,942
in and then have maybe. I am seizing on your

1486
01:42:05,942 --> 01:42:11,402
idea of increasing communication with the county commissioners. With us

1487
01:42:11,402 --> 01:42:15,372
because. I have not had any communication since starting, and

1488
01:42:15,372 --> 01:42:19,506
we've had these huge projects. That they've done what they

1489
01:42:19,506 --> 01:42:22,706
want to do, right. And all the hours we spent

1490
01:42:22,706 --> 01:42:27,137
felt like? I'm not sure. How much it played into

1491
01:42:27,137 --> 01:42:32,238
the ultimate plans for those projects. No, I really appreciate

1492
01:42:32,238 --> 01:42:36,278
that, Derek. So I think a couple of things. I

1493
01:42:36,278 --> 01:42:39,358
don't know our ability to change that formal process, because

1494
01:42:39,358 --> 01:42:41,838
a lot of it is ruled or is rooted in

1495
01:42:41,838 --> 01:42:45,158
regulation, but I'm going to find out. I do know

1496
01:42:45,158 --> 01:42:47,758
we can do things like joint work sessions with the

1497
01:42:47,758 --> 01:42:50,798
county commissioners, and I think that's definitely something that we

1498
01:42:50,798 --> 01:42:56,955
should explore. There's also joint field trips. Here comes Teresa.

1499
01:42:58,403 --> 01:43:01,283
Therese Kalawaki, director of Parks open space I do want

1500
01:43:01,283 --> 01:43:03,763
to interject at this point. Because I do love that

1501
01:43:03,763 --> 01:43:09,823
suggestion, and it has happened in the past. Two big

1502
01:43:09,823 --> 01:43:12,896
projects. And it was a good thing. It was definitely

1503
01:43:12,896 --> 01:43:15,736
a good thing. And it was preempted. The county commissioner

1504
01:43:15,736 --> 01:43:20,860
said. One is the GMO issue. And they said, we

1505
01:43:20,860 --> 01:43:23,140
know that there are going to be hundreds of people

1506
01:43:23,140 --> 01:43:26,107
who want to speak, and so. It was a joint.

1507
01:43:26,107 --> 01:43:29,427
Posac and the county commissioners were all sitting together. You

1508
01:43:29,427 --> 01:43:31,587
all heard? The same comment. I think that that's a

1509
01:43:31,587 --> 01:43:35,169
very good thing we can bring up again. And. I

1510
01:43:35,169 --> 01:43:39,721
think. St. Frain is a good example. It's going to

1511
01:43:39,721 --> 01:43:43,241
be as controversial as East Boulder Creek, and it could

1512
01:43:43,241 --> 01:43:45,721
be a great opportunity. So, yes, I love that suggestion.

1513
01:43:45,721 --> 01:43:51,601
And. I can't ever guarantee anything. But it might be

1514
01:43:51,601 --> 01:43:56,051
considered. Thank you, Teresa. And just briefly, I will come

1515
01:43:56,051 --> 01:44:00,469
back in October. With some additional tools and strategies that

1516
01:44:00,469 --> 01:44:05,202
we have thought of. To strengthen and reinforce that communication

1517
01:44:05,202 --> 01:44:08,202
and deliberation that you all go through so it can

1518
01:44:08,202 --> 01:44:11,576
show up in many different ways. In front of the

1519
01:44:11,576 --> 01:44:15,218
board at a public hearing. So I'll come back and

1520
01:44:15,218 --> 01:44:17,698
talk more about that, and then I'll work with Teresa

1521
01:44:17,698 --> 01:44:20,098
and others and do research on how we might be

1522
01:44:20,098 --> 01:44:25,007
able to. Bring or get that piece going again. Thanks.

1523
01:44:25,007 --> 01:44:29,075
And I'm just curious. Do you have any tier one

1524
01:44:29,075 --> 01:44:32,619
projects you can tell us you're thinking about? We're cooking

1525
01:44:32,619 --> 01:44:35,259
it up, Derek, right now, but we're not quite ready

1526
01:44:35,259 --> 01:44:38,777
to talk. About it, but get excited. Get some sleep.

1527
01:44:41,617 --> 01:44:48,334
Get your sleep now. Christine. Christine Johnson Poseack I might

1528
01:44:48,334 --> 01:44:52,823
be going out on a limb with these comments. I

1529
01:44:52,823 --> 01:45:02,638
am wondering. Where the balance. Of. Respectful treatment of

1530
01:45:02,638 --> 01:45:07,786
staff figures into them because. That is definitely a concern

1531
01:45:07,786 --> 01:45:10,672
that I have. Because I know you guys work really

1532
01:45:10,672 --> 01:45:18,007
hard. And that. You are serving the public, but you're

1533
01:45:18,007 --> 01:45:23,271
also human beings. So there's that. And then the other.

1534
01:45:25,524 --> 01:45:30,244
Thought that I'm having more concerns. Us and possibly the

1535
01:45:30,244 --> 01:45:39,175
board of county commissioners. And. Is there? Any what?

1536
01:45:40,645 --> 01:45:44,125
Kind of guidance or guidelines are given to people giving

1537
01:45:44,125 --> 01:45:53,898
public feedback, and I wonder. What constitutes effective public

1538
01:45:53,898 --> 01:45:56,738
feedback, and I would imagine that would vary for all

1539
01:45:56,738 --> 01:46:02,099
of us, but that's another efficiency. Matter? Is there anything

1540
01:46:02,099 --> 01:46:05,973
that we could do? To improve the quality of feedback

1541
01:46:05,973 --> 01:46:09,748
that we get from the public. Like I said, out

1542
01:46:09,748 --> 01:46:14,815
on a limb. Yes, Carol. This is Carol Barley. I've

1543
01:46:14,815 --> 01:46:22,851
really never heard. Democracy, inefficiency in the same sentence. I

1544
01:46:22,851 --> 01:46:25,531
know you can get frustrated, but that's not the way

1545
01:46:25,531 --> 01:46:28,491
the system works. And if it was efficient. It'd be

1546
01:46:28,491 --> 01:46:31,771
scary because it would be top down. So when you

1547
01:46:31,771 --> 01:46:38,249
have things that are bottom up, they just get. So

1548
01:46:38,249 --> 01:46:41,565
that's kind of what we are supposed to do. We

1549
01:46:41,565 --> 01:46:45,095
are supposed to filter some of that. Out there. So

1550
01:46:45,095 --> 01:46:49,697
the word efficiency is and. I'm pretty protestant about all

1551
01:46:49,697 --> 01:46:53,642
that, but. I'm not used to hearing those two words

1552
01:46:53,642 --> 01:46:58,711
together, I think. There is an interesting. Place to play.

1553
01:46:58,711 --> 01:47:02,589
Tony Lewis. After this, I don't have to follow any

1554
01:47:02,589 --> 01:47:08,735
rules since I won't be chair. And I think there

1555
01:47:08,735 --> 01:47:12,415
is some efficiency, as Derek suggests, around trying to have

1556
01:47:12,415 --> 01:47:16,015
some sessions around tier one projects with the county commissioners,

1557
01:47:16,015 --> 01:47:21,728
because I think that would be both. More efficient and

1558
01:47:21,728 --> 01:47:26,217
more helpful. But I also agree with you, Carol. I

1559
01:47:26,217 --> 01:47:29,666
think back to the weed management. Or the writing arena

1560
01:47:29,666 --> 01:47:33,706
and the open writing. And I heard the same comments

1561
01:47:33,706 --> 01:47:38,733
from pretty much the same people. Like a lot. And

1562
01:47:38,733 --> 01:47:42,450
that's okay. This is their opportunity, and that's why we're

1563
01:47:42,450 --> 01:47:47,087
here, is to hear that feedback. And, yeah, there were

1564
01:47:47,087 --> 01:47:50,127
some late nights, and there were a lot of repetition,

1565
01:47:50,127 --> 01:47:52,969
and that's. Okay. It's not efficient, but it is clearly

1566
01:47:52,969 --> 01:48:01,046
okay. Perhaps the word I'm looking for is effective. Yeah,

1567
01:48:01,046 --> 01:48:03,726
I think it is. I think you're asking what is

1568
01:48:03,726 --> 01:48:06,966
the most effective feedback to be given to postac. And

1569
01:48:06,966 --> 01:48:09,766
can we help guide that at all? I think there

1570
01:48:09,766 --> 01:48:12,206
might be. Some things we could do, I guess worthy

1571
01:48:12,206 --> 01:48:21,178
of discussion. Vicky. Vicky lawrence posak, I guess. My just

1572
01:48:21,178 --> 01:48:24,258
quick thought on that is that we are all going

1573
01:48:24,258 --> 01:48:27,458
to have different things that impact us positive or negative?

1574
01:48:29,107 --> 01:48:30,587
And some of us might be more impacted by an

1575
01:48:30,587 --> 01:48:34,187
emotional or a wildlife issue or a plant. Issue or

1576
01:48:34,187 --> 01:48:38,867
a noise issue or whatever. So in some ways we

1577
01:48:38,867 --> 01:48:42,964
need to hear it all. I guess. Okay, good discussion.

1578
01:48:45,020 --> 01:48:49,840
Enough for tonight. Enough for tonight. Chair says enough. Okay?

1579
01:48:51,777 --> 01:48:54,137
I think Janet is probably gone. Is that right, Nick?

1580
01:48:56,521 --> 01:48:59,721
No, she's still on. Oh, my goodness. Janet, anything you

1581
01:48:59,721 --> 01:49:03,812
would like to add? I think you've all covered a

1582
01:49:03,812 --> 01:49:07,572
great discussion, and thank you for checking in. She's. Doing

1583
01:49:07,572 --> 01:49:10,772
a great job of running this meeting. Yeah. Excellent. Thank

1584
01:49:10,772 --> 01:49:18,748
you, Janet. I heard that. I didn't get my name.

1585
01:49:20,923 --> 01:49:25,401
Yeah. We'll fire you if you aren't careful. Okay. So

1586
01:49:25,401 --> 01:49:26,881
any we're done with post that. Comments. Are there any

1587
01:49:26,881 --> 01:49:30,436
public comments? I don't see unless the peanut gallery in

1588
01:49:30,436 --> 01:49:33,876
the very back row against the wall has any comments,

1589
01:49:33,876 --> 01:49:37,556
you're welcome to provide. Nick, do we have anybody online?

1590
01:49:37,697 --> 01:49:41,457
No online comments. Okay. Thank you, Heidi. Thank you very

1591
01:49:41,457 --> 01:49:44,057
much for the presentation. Thank you. And for your thoughtful

1592
01:49:44,057 --> 01:49:51,721
responses. Okay. Yeah. They are still there and with you.

1593
01:49:53,780 --> 01:49:56,020
Do we have any public comment for items not on

1594
01:49:56,020 --> 01:50:01,579
the agenda? And, Nick, is there anybody online? We have

1595
01:50:01,579 --> 01:50:05,299
people online, but only staff members. Okay? Only staff members,

1596
01:50:05,299 --> 01:50:11,312
not public. Okay? They want to. Make. We're good there.

1597
01:50:11,332 --> 01:50:14,652
Postac members comment period for items not on the agenda.

1598
01:50:16,640 --> 01:50:19,720
Do we have any items not on the agenda? Okay,

1599
01:50:19,720 --> 01:50:24,575
Terese, you're up. Director's. Report. No. Well, thank you. Teresa

1600
01:50:24,575 --> 01:50:30,325
Galawkey, parks office space director. I have a few updates,

1601
01:50:30,325 --> 01:50:33,715
and then we have. Two videos to show you. One

1602
01:50:33,715 --> 01:50:37,178
is commemorating the 50. We want to show it to

1603
01:50:37,178 --> 01:50:43,600
you as we celebrate. The is a fun little. Instagram

1604
01:50:43,600 --> 01:50:50,090
post. Surprise. So as far as updates go, Vivian will

1605
01:50:50,090 --> 01:50:54,090
send you the overview.org charts that the new members have

1606
01:50:54,090 --> 01:50:57,370
already seen. So watch that. It's already in your email.

1607
01:50:57,370 --> 01:51:05,328
There you go. Talk. About efficiency. We are doing. A

1608
01:51:05,328 --> 01:51:08,593
pos. University, which we had at Potasso. And I think

1609
01:51:08,593 --> 01:51:11,593
a couple of you came. We were doing another one

1610
01:51:11,593 --> 01:51:14,473
and we will send you an invitation for it. But

1611
01:51:14,473 --> 01:51:17,393
mark your calendars if this interests you? June 3 at

1612
01:51:17,393 --> 01:51:22,783
10:00 at the fairgrounds. CSU, who gave a presentation. They're

1613
01:51:22,783 --> 01:51:25,583
going to have a two and a half hour pos

1614
01:51:25,583 --> 01:51:30,039
university. So you are. Invited to that. We talk tonight

1615
01:51:30,039 --> 01:51:34,439
about community engagement, who the community engagement team is. And

1616
01:51:34,439 --> 01:51:38,079
you know we got approval. For a second community engagement

1617
01:51:38,079 --> 01:51:44,882
person. Monsterat Alvarez is our first community engagement. Bilingual community

1618
01:51:44,882 --> 01:51:49,402
engagement person. We are hiring a second one, and she's

1619
01:51:49,402 --> 01:51:55,780
starting. Sometime next week. And her name is Jira Snika

1620
01:51:55,780 --> 01:51:58,780
Rose. And so now we will have two full time

1621
01:51:58,780 --> 01:52:01,380
where, you asked, was this the community engagement team's full

1622
01:52:01,380 --> 01:52:05,433
time job? It will be. Two of their job. Two

1623
01:52:05,433 --> 01:52:06,833
of the two people. Two people out of a committee

1624
01:52:06,833 --> 01:52:09,913
of ten. It is their full time. Job. Are they

1625
01:52:09,913 --> 01:52:14,705
both bilingual? They are both. I'm quite sure Jerusnaek is

1626
01:52:14,705 --> 01:52:19,539
bilingual. Yes, Montsrada is definitely bilingual. Everyone on the community

1627
01:52:19,539 --> 01:52:22,219
engagement team? Not everyone. Nine out of the ten are

1628
01:52:22,219 --> 01:52:31,844
bilingual. Awesome. Yeah. In the extension. Slideshow that they gave.

1629
01:52:34,286 --> 01:52:37,406
Emma Dimitri, who was also here presenting on the community

1630
01:52:37,406 --> 01:52:43,240
engagement team several months ago. She was successfully awarded a

1631
01:52:43,240 --> 01:52:50,738
$14,000 grant. To support. A kid's climbing program. So something

1632
01:52:50,738 --> 01:52:55,668
new, something else. That CSU extension. Is taking on, so

1633
01:52:55,668 --> 01:53:01,115
I think that's. A wonderful new grant and program. Every

1634
01:53:01,115 --> 01:53:04,315
year. Every year. Every five years. And sometimes every four

1635
01:53:04,315 --> 01:53:07,035
years, we do a five year study. We're doing it

1636
01:53:07,035 --> 01:53:09,475
in four years because of Covid. We didn't do it.

1637
01:53:09,475 --> 01:53:13,035
In 2020. We did it in 2021. 2025. We're doing

1638
01:53:13,035 --> 01:53:15,275
our five year study. If you're out on the trails,

1639
01:53:15,275 --> 01:53:19,155
somebody might stop you after you exit the trail and

1640
01:53:19,155 --> 01:53:23,222
ask. You for? Your opinions. So this is an exit

1641
01:53:23,222 --> 01:53:26,142
study where we gather information on how they rank the

1642
01:53:26,142 --> 01:53:29,102
park, what other amenities do they need? Did they have

1643
01:53:29,102 --> 01:53:34,122
conflict? Demographics, so this is our year. Watch for that

1644
01:53:34,122 --> 01:53:39,142
while you're out there. Tonight? Probably. Just. Well, I don't

1645
01:53:39,142 --> 01:53:43,452
know what time, but. There is an owl and a

1646
01:53:43,452 --> 01:53:47,012
hawk release at Hill Valley Ranch tonight. I didn't even.

1647
01:53:47,012 --> 01:53:51,134
Get invited, so don't feel bad. We work regularly with

1648
01:53:51,134 --> 01:53:55,482
the birds of Prey Foundation. They are housed at Rock

1649
01:53:55,482 --> 01:53:57,762
Creek Farm. Carolyn Hover Preserve at Rock Creek Farm is

1650
01:53:57,762 --> 01:54:02,162
where their flight cages and emergency room are. And so

1651
01:54:02,162 --> 01:54:07,342
periodically, they will release birds that have. Rehabilitated out onto

1652
01:54:07,342 --> 01:54:10,142
county open space. And that's happening tonight. That's kind of

1653
01:54:10,142 --> 01:54:15,062
exciting. Speaking of community engagement, we are gearing up for

1654
01:54:15,062 --> 01:54:18,542
a winner project up outside of Netherland. I think you

1655
01:54:18,542 --> 01:54:20,702
may have heard of this already. The tucker and elk

1656
01:54:20,702 --> 01:54:24,622
draw forest. Management project, which means we'll be cutting trees,

1657
01:54:24,622 --> 01:54:28,612
which means the public is going to. Get upset. So

1658
01:54:28,612 --> 01:54:31,532
in an attempt to educate and work with the public

1659
01:54:31,532 --> 01:54:34,372
who are going to see trees coming, down. We are

1660
01:54:34,372 --> 01:54:38,375
working. This is actually a cross boundary project. There are

1661
01:54:38,375 --> 01:54:41,815
more than one organizations, including private landowners, US Forest Service

1662
01:54:41,815 --> 01:54:45,935
and county and the boulder watershed collective, and they are

1663
01:54:45,935 --> 01:54:48,455
running our community engagement for this. They've already had one.

1664
01:54:49,316 --> 01:54:52,356
Public open meeting on it. I believe it might have

1665
01:54:52,356 --> 01:54:57,014
been on site. So in addition to what Heidi outlined

1666
01:54:57,014 --> 01:55:00,814
here, we are also working on this community engagement with

1667
01:55:00,814 --> 01:55:06,498
multiple partners. Someone asked early on when it might have

1668
01:55:06,498 --> 01:55:11,536
been you, Janet. When we hear about the stearns Lake

1669
01:55:11,536 --> 01:55:14,616
bald eagles and weather the nest, how the nest is

1670
01:55:14,616 --> 01:55:18,715
doing, would you please? Let Posak know. And I think,

1671
01:55:18,715 --> 01:55:21,355
Vicky, we can let you tell Posek what we. Know

1672
01:55:21,355 --> 01:55:25,395
about the eagle's nest down there? Vicky Lawrence from Posak.

1673
01:55:25,395 --> 01:55:27,795
You really want me to tell you what's going on,

1674
01:55:27,795 --> 01:55:31,548
okay? I was there today. Just for information. Those who

1675
01:55:31,548 --> 01:55:34,788
don't know I've been monitoring that nest, that territory. Since

1676
01:55:34,788 --> 01:55:41,160
those eagles arrived there in 2011, 2012. There's been one

1677
01:55:41,160 --> 01:55:43,320
turnover for the female, but other than that, we believe

1678
01:55:43,320 --> 01:55:47,736
it's the same male the whole time. The new female

1679
01:55:47,736 --> 01:55:52,064
last year was her first successful fledging one. The first

1680
01:55:52,064 --> 01:55:56,184
year when she showed up because of the avian flu

1681
01:55:56,184 --> 01:55:59,264
that killed the original female. That is the assumption. My

1682
01:55:59,264 --> 01:56:02,384
assumption. We have no proof. But she disappeared at the

1683
01:56:02,384 --> 01:56:05,024
same time. The geese were covering the ice. The dead

1684
01:56:05,024 --> 01:56:07,624
geese and the raptors were all eating the dead geese.

1685
01:56:09,265 --> 01:56:12,465
So this new female, this is her second year of

1686
01:56:12,465 --> 01:56:14,985
success. Her first year, she was too young. Is the

1687
01:56:14,985 --> 01:56:19,201
belief. Second year. They had one this year. They have

1688
01:56:19,201 --> 01:56:22,201
two. They seem to be doing well. The tree therein.

1689
01:56:22,201 --> 01:56:25,681
Is dead. I do not understand why these eagles always

1690
01:56:25,681 --> 01:56:32,395
pick dead trees. Same tree. Pardon? The same tree that

1691
01:56:32,395 --> 01:56:35,936
got hit by lightning? No. So that was a big

1692
01:56:35,936 --> 01:56:38,936
to do because the tree that their nests had been

1693
01:56:38,936 --> 01:56:42,616
in for several years, got hit by lightning. The nest

1694
01:56:42,616 --> 01:56:45,136
burned. The tree eventually fell about a couple of weeks

1695
01:56:45,136 --> 01:56:47,837
later. So these eagles were sort of all over their

1696
01:56:47,837 --> 01:56:51,447
territory. And I was all over their territory, too, trying

1697
01:56:51,447 --> 01:56:52,767
to figure out where they were going to nest. This

1698
01:56:52,767 --> 01:56:55,847
year. And they are nested at the end of 104th

1699
01:56:55,847 --> 01:56:58,887
street. Now, so the cradle. Board trail is now open,

1700
01:56:58,887 --> 01:57:03,176
but 104th street is closed. They're in a dead tree

1701
01:57:03,176 --> 01:57:05,496
that had had a redtail hawks nest in it, so

1702
01:57:05,496 --> 01:57:10,026
the redtail hawks are often. Reminding them that they're not

1703
01:57:10,026 --> 01:57:14,701
happy with their presence there. But things are looking good

1704
01:57:14,701 --> 01:57:16,461
for this year. We should have two fledglings within a

1705
01:57:16,461 --> 01:57:21,769
month or so. As the world turns on Stern's Lake.

1706
01:57:21,769 --> 01:57:24,769
Thank you, Vicky. We appreciate your volunteering out. There too,

1707
01:57:24,769 --> 01:57:29,783
and the public can see. The nest from Stearns Lake

1708
01:57:29,783 --> 01:57:34,439
parking lot. I do a lot of public outreach and

1709
01:57:34,439 --> 01:57:38,956
involvement when I'm out there. Yeah, that's. Great. You have

1710
01:57:38,956 --> 01:57:42,116
asked what we're doing with Ingred management plan? We have

1711
01:57:42,116 --> 01:57:47,836
awarded the steam. Weeding contract to edafic solutions who came

1712
01:57:47,836 --> 01:57:51,316
and spoke at our public hearings. And they're going to

1713
01:57:51,316 --> 01:57:56,549
be working on this experiment at Rabbit Mountain. So if

1714
01:57:56,549 --> 01:57:59,949
you're out there and see weed hopefully dying, perhaps it

1715
01:57:59,949 --> 01:58:08,807
is because they were steamed. At extension. Eric talked about

1716
01:58:08,807 --> 01:58:13,727
the native landscape, the sustainable landscape position, and they've been

1717
01:58:13,727 --> 01:58:17,927
working on native landscaping through extension, and the local PBS

1718
01:58:17,927 --> 01:58:20,647
station is going to do a documentary on that. So

1719
01:58:20,647 --> 01:58:27,869
when that's out, we will let you know. Vivian is

1720
01:58:27,869 --> 01:58:32,655
working on a newspaper insert and. That's in celebration of

1721
01:58:32,655 --> 01:58:35,335
our 50th. So watch for that. It will be in

1722
01:58:35,335 --> 01:58:40,316
newspapers both print copy and online. Probably in the next

1723
01:58:40,316 --> 01:58:44,484
two months. Poria, who's in the back here many of

1724
01:58:44,484 --> 01:58:47,764
you have met, is working on our podcast. We have

1725
01:58:47,764 --> 01:58:51,044
six or seven episodes already recorded, and we are about

1726
01:58:51,044 --> 01:58:56,958
to launch that. As soon as. All the final touches

1727
01:58:56,958 --> 01:58:59,278
get on those. So watch for that in the next.

1728
01:58:59,278 --> 01:59:01,798
Again, probably in the next month for sure. We'll have

1729
01:59:01,798 --> 01:59:06,698
the podcast out there. As far as big trail projects

1730
01:59:06,698 --> 01:59:11,228
go. We're going to be resurfacing another stretch of the

1731
01:59:11,228 --> 01:59:16,115
lobo. In the Nywat area. Monarch parks, or what we

1732
01:59:16,115 --> 01:59:20,541
call it. And finally. We talked a lot about Prairie

1733
01:59:20,541 --> 01:59:24,061
run. Today we have 100% design. We are in the

1734
01:59:24,061 --> 01:59:26,701
process. Of getting the contractors, and the goal is to

1735
01:59:26,701 --> 01:59:30,021
open the parking lot on 100 a night and a

1736
01:59:30,021 --> 01:59:32,890
mile of trail by the end of this year. So

1737
01:59:32,890 --> 01:59:35,130
those are my updates. And now we are going to.

1738
01:59:36,902 --> 01:59:38,742
First watch the founders video.

1739
01:59:51,181 --> 01:59:54,661
Every piece of open space has a history to it,

1740
01:59:54,661 --> 01:59:57,221
and almost every piece of open space could have gone

1741
01:59:57,221 --> 01:59:59,861
one way or another. There was this argument that it

1742
01:59:59,861 --> 02:00:03,301
was an extravagance. It's what people love about this place,

1743
02:00:03,301 --> 02:00:05,781
but sometimes they don't understand what it took to make

1744
02:00:05,781 --> 02:00:11,668
it happen and what it will take. To continue to

1745
02:00:11,668 --> 02:00:16,948
preserve it, we had to preserve this magnificently wonderful place

1746
02:00:16,948 --> 02:00:21,268
in the world, preserving the uniqueness of Boulder county really

1747
02:00:21,268 --> 02:00:23,908
means preserving land that's both in the mountains and on

1748
02:00:23,908 --> 02:00:27,988
the plains, our farmland as well as our forests. There

1749
02:00:27,988 --> 02:00:33,659
is not. A single place. Between the mexican border and

1750
02:00:33,659 --> 02:00:39,266
the canadian border. Where the continental divide comes so close

1751
02:00:39,266 --> 02:00:42,266
to the great plains as it does right here in

1752
02:00:42,266 --> 02:00:46,546
Boulder. County. I think Boulder county is unique because of

1753
02:00:46,546 --> 02:00:50,026
parks and open space. Without the public support I don't

1754
02:00:50,026 --> 02:00:52,066
think parks and open space as we know it today

1755
02:00:52,066 --> 02:00:57,190
would exist. And that's something. That myself and the staff

1756
02:00:57,190 --> 02:00:59,030
that I worked with kept in mind all the time.

1757
02:01:00,889 --> 02:01:02,769
Open space to many people in the county was a

1758
02:01:02,769 --> 02:01:06,209
pretty foreign concept. There were only two governments. In Colorado

1759
02:01:06,209 --> 02:01:08,928
that had open space programs. And a lot of people

1760
02:01:08,928 --> 02:01:11,728
in Boulder county just didn't think it was necessary to

1761
02:01:11,728 --> 02:01:14,648
have open space. And when you look at it now,

1762
02:01:14,648 --> 02:01:18,820
I think, There's something in excess of 50 open space

1763
02:01:18,820 --> 02:01:28,022
programs just in the state of Colorado. When we moved

1764
02:01:28,022 --> 02:01:37,285
here, 1969. There's a tremendous amount of open space. Magnificent

1765
02:01:37,285 --> 02:01:40,405
views of the mountains from almost anywhere. What I found

1766
02:01:40,405 --> 02:01:44,657
out is that. That isn't automatically preserved. One of the

1767
02:01:44,657 --> 02:01:49,275
local issues that. Was talked about a lot in Boulder

1768
02:01:49,275 --> 02:01:55,736
county because. Of the surge in development over the preservation

1769
02:01:55,736 --> 02:01:59,056
of open space. I came here in 1970 and I

1770
02:01:59,056 --> 02:02:03,016
was very involved in the hearings about whether what we

1771
02:02:03,016 --> 02:02:05,936
should have in a Boulder county comprehensive plan in fact.

1772
02:02:07,105 --> 02:02:09,585
I found this. My little tattered copy of it. That

1773
02:02:09,585 --> 02:02:16,683
comprehensive plan. Called for the preservation of agriculture. It was

1774
02:02:16,683 --> 02:02:20,563
obvious then that we were losing a lot of agricultural

1775
02:02:20,563 --> 02:02:26,189
land. To development. The basic idea contained in the comprehensive

1776
02:02:26,189 --> 02:02:29,909
plan that urban development should occur in and around cities

1777
02:02:29,909 --> 02:02:33,461
and not in the rural parts of the county. Is

1778
02:02:33,461 --> 02:02:37,221
critical, really, to the way Boulder county is developed. The

1779
02:02:37,221 --> 02:02:41,341
citizens wanted it prior to the department. Even starting. There

1780
02:02:41,341 --> 02:02:44,741
were many surveys that were done countywide, and it was

1781
02:02:44,741 --> 02:02:47,461
literally in the thousands. Of surveys they got back, they

1782
02:02:47,461 --> 02:02:51,025
had a very good idea of what people wanted. And

1783
02:02:51,025 --> 02:02:54,225
they also had them list which properties or areas of

1784
02:02:54,225 --> 02:02:58,149
the county they thought should be preserved. The county and

1785
02:02:58,149 --> 02:03:01,669
other parts of Colorado were losing agriculture, landed at an

1786
02:03:01,669 --> 02:03:04,109
alarming rate, and we really knew something needed to be

1787
02:03:04,109 --> 02:03:10,179
done. Because farming and agriculture is. Talking about longtime, historic

1788
02:03:10,179 --> 02:03:15,424
families that have been here, fourth, 5th generation. Urban sprawl

1789
02:03:15,424 --> 02:03:18,224
had always been kind of outlying. It was always something

1790
02:03:18,224 --> 02:03:21,384
that you saw somewhere. Else in the metro area now,

1791
02:03:21,384 --> 02:03:24,104
rather than being outlying, it was infilling, and it was

1792
02:03:24,104 --> 02:03:27,544
becoming part of Boulder County's personality. Well, for sure, the

1793
02:03:27,544 --> 02:03:31,064
eastern part of the county would have grown together. You

1794
02:03:31,064 --> 02:03:36,614
couldn't tell the difference between. Lewisville, Lafayette, Erie or superior,

1795
02:03:36,614 --> 02:03:40,214
they would have all grown together, people coming to the

1796
02:03:40,214 --> 02:03:43,512
realization that. If we don't do it now, it's going

1797
02:03:43,512 --> 02:03:48,237
to be gone. And finally. The tax proposal was on

1798
02:03:48,237 --> 02:03:51,877
the ballot in 78, and I worked on that. There

1799
02:03:51,877 --> 02:03:54,797
was a lot of support for it. But still a

1800
02:03:54,797 --> 02:03:58,397
lot of people who didn't understand and who didn't trust

1801
02:03:58,397 --> 02:04:01,557
what the government would do to preserve open space if

1802
02:04:01,557 --> 02:04:10,925
they paid a tax for it. The decade between the

1803
02:04:10,925 --> 02:04:13,885
first election and 78 and the second election had seen

1804
02:04:13,885 --> 02:04:17,765
a lot of growth. In Boulder county. Subdivisions were poppying

1805
02:04:17,765 --> 02:04:21,325
up all over the place. Agland was being lost there.

1806
02:04:21,325 --> 02:04:24,285
Was a growing concern about the loss of important lands.

1807
02:04:27,618 --> 02:04:29,578
Oh, man, what a disappointment. And when we lost that

1808
02:04:29,578 --> 02:04:34,218
election, I was just sick because development was happening so

1809
02:04:34,218 --> 02:04:36,218
much then. And I thought, if we don't get the

1810
02:04:36,218 --> 02:04:38,698
money to get ahead, of this. This thing will be

1811
02:04:38,698 --> 02:04:42,138
a sea of rooftops. Even though the issue lost in

1812
02:04:42,138 --> 02:04:45,138
1988. That didn't mean that all the growth stopped and

1813
02:04:45,138 --> 02:04:48,269
that there weren't. That what? Wasn't the challenge. To our

1814
02:04:48,269 --> 02:04:51,469
future quality of life. The effort continued to try to

1815
02:04:51,469 --> 02:04:56,746
find a way to find an appropriate funding source. And

1816
02:04:56,746 --> 02:05:00,833
it was Rock Creek. On 36. Growing and growing and

1817
02:05:00,833 --> 02:05:04,480
growing. Finally. Made people realize if we don't save it

1818
02:05:04,480 --> 02:05:08,128
now, It's going to be gone. It provided kind of

1819
02:05:08,128 --> 02:05:10,728
a wake up call to the county. That either. Something

1820
02:05:10,728 --> 02:05:13,707
needed to be done. Or there was going to be

1821
02:05:13,707 --> 02:05:17,307
significant additional development in lots of other places throughout the

1822
02:05:17,307 --> 02:05:20,707
county. So I think it played a pivotal role in

1823
02:05:20,707 --> 02:05:25,670
changing public sentiment about whether. This proposal for a county

1824
02:05:25,670 --> 02:05:30,542
tax was necessary or not. We always looked with some

1825
02:05:30,542 --> 02:05:35,551
regret on that property. They offered it to the county,

1826
02:05:35,551 --> 02:05:38,625
but we didn't have any money. So we had to

1827
02:05:38,625 --> 02:05:41,385
pass. Had to pass on it when it was all

1828
02:05:41,385 --> 02:05:47,427
still rolling grasslands. The 93 election work, one of the

1829
02:05:47,427 --> 02:05:50,267
things that we knew we had to do was to

1830
02:05:50,267 --> 02:05:54,467
just to get people on board support wise, and we

1831
02:05:54,467 --> 02:05:58,787
had more three pronged approach with wildlife. It was agricultural

1832
02:05:58,787 --> 02:06:01,587
lands, and it was separating our cities so we could

1833
02:06:01,587 --> 02:06:07,936
stay. Individual cities. By the time this went to election,

1834
02:06:07,936 --> 02:06:12,256
the supporters included eight mayors from Boulder county towns over

1835
02:06:12,256 --> 02:06:16,216
20 city council members from those towns, the Boulder Area

1836
02:06:16,216 --> 02:06:18,896
board of realtors, which is a big deal. And then

1837
02:06:18,896 --> 02:06:23,545
people from a lot of community organizations. The consideration was,

1838
02:06:23,545 --> 02:06:25,625
well, what should we do now in order to move

1839
02:06:25,625 --> 02:06:29,364
forward? With a different kind of proposal, and the thought

1840
02:06:29,364 --> 02:06:31,971
was it would be good to get. Everyone in the

1841
02:06:31,971 --> 02:06:35,411
same room who cared about open space, whether they were

1842
02:06:35,411 --> 02:06:39,171
for it or against it. To provide input about what

1843
02:06:39,171 --> 02:06:41,811
an open space program might look like. So the open

1844
02:06:41,811 --> 02:06:48,030
Space task force was created. In 1992, businesspeople and farmers.

1845
02:06:49,205 --> 02:06:54,887
And citizens who were interested in preservation. Environmentalists. So the

1846
02:06:54,887 --> 02:06:56,927
task force, it's at a wonderful stage for the store

1847
02:06:56,927 --> 02:06:59,087
to open. People in the eastern part of the county.

1848
02:06:59,087 --> 02:07:02,687
We're also starting to see enormous growth. Long Mount Lafayette,

1849
02:07:02,687 --> 02:07:06,487
Lewisville, superior, Erie, all of those places. Growth was starting

1850
02:07:06,487 --> 02:07:09,727
to happen. It was easier. In that election to get

1851
02:07:09,727 --> 02:07:12,727
people to understand why open space might be important, because

1852
02:07:12,727 --> 02:07:17,534
they were seeing land. Disappearing to development throughout their communities.

1853
02:07:17,534 --> 02:07:23,356
The doing of that was really. Essential to Carolyn Holberg's

1854
02:07:23,356 --> 02:07:27,476
perspective. She was very, very sensitive to the affordability of

1855
02:07:27,476 --> 02:07:30,796
this tax. We had to make sure that the people

1856
02:07:30,796 --> 02:07:34,270
in the eastern county knew that. This open space tax

1857
02:07:34,270 --> 02:07:37,590
was more about them than it was about proximity to

1858
02:07:37,590 --> 02:07:42,150
the Boulder City environment. She was a spitfire, and she

1859
02:07:42,150 --> 02:07:46,619
had the unique ability to talk to anybody. People respected

1860
02:07:46,619 --> 02:07:49,499
her, and she was able to fill those relationships in

1861
02:07:49,499 --> 02:07:53,787
a way that promoted our program. And so I had

1862
02:07:53,787 --> 02:08:03,475
an idea. For an ad. That had three images. And

1863
02:08:03,475 --> 02:08:06,435
the words that went with it, going, going, gone. This

1864
02:08:06,435 --> 02:08:08,435
is something that really hit home with people. This is

1865
02:08:08,435 --> 02:08:11,266
the one where. It was a wake up call for

1866
02:08:11,266 --> 02:08:15,894
people. Who maybe didn't realize how much this was happening,

1867
02:08:15,894 --> 02:08:18,574
so we were starting a campaign and. We knew native

1868
02:08:18,574 --> 02:08:20,894
yard sign but we didn't want just a square, rectangular

1869
02:08:20,894 --> 02:08:23,494
yard sign and we thought of the bear that the

1870
02:08:23,494 --> 02:08:26,974
science and cultural facilities district use is to pass their

1871
02:08:26,974 --> 02:08:29,334
vote. So we thought we should do an animal. And

1872
02:08:29,334 --> 02:08:33,077
I was for an owl because of al's. Wise. It's

1873
02:08:33,077 --> 02:08:36,157
actually shaped about right. Hootie was the creation of a

1874
02:08:36,157 --> 02:08:41,030
wonderful friend. And a terrific artist. Joanne Dufty, she was

1875
02:08:41,030 --> 02:08:43,990
a remarkable, fine artist, and she was a real advocate

1876
02:08:43,990 --> 02:08:46,550
for open space, not only for the preservation of land,

1877
02:08:46,550 --> 02:08:49,909
but also for the idea of having. Trails that connected

1878
02:08:49,909 --> 02:08:53,149
communities and that were available for the public to use.

1879
02:08:54,728 --> 02:08:59,744
Simple open space. Yes. And it sold. People do it.

1880
02:08:59,744 --> 02:09:02,584
And finally you got a name named Hootie. When you

1881
02:09:02,584 --> 02:09:08,089
have. This little character like Hootie. Every time you see

1882
02:09:08,089 --> 02:09:13,583
it, it reinforces. The image. And it was a positive

1883
02:09:13,583 --> 02:09:18,922
image. Open space. Yes, with hoodie's message. On election night.

1884
02:09:21,794 --> 02:09:24,354
I was pretty confident. I felt a whole lot better

1885
02:09:24,354 --> 02:09:27,234
the third time than I did the other. Two times,

1886
02:09:27,234 --> 02:09:31,511
and it was a very exciting night because. It was

1887
02:09:31,511 --> 02:09:35,001
an issue that we'd been working on. For a decade

1888
02:09:35,001 --> 02:09:39,681
and a half. For 15 years. It's just a slogging

1889
02:09:39,681 --> 02:09:44,108
effort. And you just have to stick with it. And

1890
02:09:44,108 --> 02:09:46,788
we did. And it was the most glorious moment. When

1891
02:09:46,788 --> 02:09:50,348
that finally passed in 93, it's. Amazing what Boulder county

1892
02:09:50,348 --> 02:09:53,348
has been able to accomplish in our early years. In

1893
02:09:53,348 --> 02:09:56,268
the first 18 years of our existence, we didn't have

1894
02:09:56,268 --> 02:09:59,548
a funding source, a dedicated funding source, and we had

1895
02:09:59,548 --> 02:10:03,947
limited means and. We had to be very creative about

1896
02:10:03,947 --> 02:10:07,307
the deals we did. We had big plans, and we

1897
02:10:07,307 --> 02:10:09,547
had a lot of things we wanted to do, but

1898
02:10:09,547 --> 02:10:13,227
it took hard work before we were able to. Accomplish

1899
02:10:13,227 --> 02:10:17,547
those. When I started in 1979, I think we had

1900
02:10:17,547 --> 02:10:21,027
roughly a department size of about a dozen people. I

1901
02:10:21,027 --> 02:10:24,950
think the overwhelming part. Was we were not staffed for

1902
02:10:24,950 --> 02:10:28,750
it. It was exciting because now you could really move

1903
02:10:28,750 --> 02:10:31,694
ahead. In all of those things that have been put

1904
02:10:31,694 --> 02:10:34,854
on the plan since 1960, you could now have a

1905
02:10:34,854 --> 02:10:39,334
potential of making that happen. When I first got here,

1906
02:10:39,334 --> 02:10:42,734
we were really the poor stepchild. Of every department in

1907
02:10:42,734 --> 02:10:47,480
the county. We would beg everything we could. Just to

1908
02:10:47,480 --> 02:10:51,280
operate. We would buy our vehicles from Colorado Surplus, and

1909
02:10:51,280 --> 02:10:53,680
they were all army vehicles from the World War II

1910
02:10:53,680 --> 02:10:59,011
era, that's what we had. In 1993, our first sales

1911
02:10:59,011 --> 02:11:02,651
tax passed, and all of a sudden we had the

1912
02:11:02,651 --> 02:11:04,531
means to go. Out. We were able to sell a

1913
02:11:04,531 --> 02:11:06,971
bond and get a lot of money, and we had

1914
02:11:06,971 --> 02:11:10,171
our eye on some pretty important pieces of property. The

1915
02:11:10,171 --> 02:11:14,011
Highle Valley Ranch, the Hall ranch, and our acquisition program

1916
02:11:14,011 --> 02:11:18,145
exploded in that next ten years. It happened fast because.

1917
02:11:19,632 --> 02:11:23,960
We had been anticipating and be able to buy. Those

1918
02:11:23,960 --> 02:11:28,149
properties that we'd been longing to buy. Was really the

1919
02:11:28,149 --> 02:11:32,829
highlight of my time in office. The hill Wrench played

1920
02:11:32,829 --> 02:11:36,749
so significantly into the 93 election. It was so critical.

1921
02:11:38,949 --> 02:11:42,292
When that option to buy that place came up. It

1922
02:11:42,292 --> 02:11:46,012
was 8 sq. Mi for $8 million, and it was

1923
02:11:46,012 --> 02:11:49,692
a gift horse. Just looking. Boulder county in the eye.

1924
02:11:51,418 --> 02:11:56,064
And then a lot of the farm properties along. 287

1925
02:11:56,064 --> 02:12:01,104
and having bonding capability was vital because we bought large

1926
02:12:01,104 --> 02:12:04,584
tracks of agricultural lands and it took us a while

1927
02:12:04,584 --> 02:12:06,944
to catch up with the planning on all those to

1928
02:12:06,944 --> 02:12:10,664
get the facilities in place. And the property is open

1929
02:12:10,664 --> 02:12:15,880
for the public's enjoyment. There's still an opportunity to purchase

1930
02:12:15,880 --> 02:12:19,200
land and to preserve land, and we should definitely do

1931
02:12:19,200 --> 02:12:22,532
that. So you got to buy those remaining parcels. It's

1932
02:12:22,532 --> 02:12:24,892
like a jigsaw puzzle and. Those last ones are almost

1933
02:12:24,892 --> 02:12:27,132
always the hardest to get, so you need to keep

1934
02:12:27,132 --> 02:12:29,772
focused on that. Because once it's gone, it's gone. The

1935
02:12:29,772 --> 02:12:33,212
open space program now is preserved about 105,000 acres of

1936
02:12:33,212 --> 02:12:37,332
land, and it's land that's as diverse as the farmland

1937
02:12:37,332 --> 02:12:40,972
around Longmont to the caribou ranch up by the continental

1938
02:12:40,972 --> 02:12:45,883
divide. Near Netherland. I think the challenge now is how

1939
02:12:45,883 --> 02:12:47,883
to manage that land, what to do. With that land.

1940
02:12:49,566 --> 02:12:52,486
How to be sure that we're applying the best principles

1941
02:12:52,486 --> 02:12:55,704
of management to the land. And also being sure that

1942
02:12:55,704 --> 02:12:58,944
we're involving the public in the stewardship of the land.

1943
02:13:00,645 --> 02:13:04,664
Sometimes people don't understand. The gifts they have and they

1944
02:13:04,664 --> 02:13:07,944
take them for granted. So education is really important to

1945
02:13:07,944 --> 02:13:10,744
help people. Understand. How did we acquire some of those

1946
02:13:10,744 --> 02:13:15,198
properties? What was their historical significance? And then what do

1947
02:13:15,198 --> 02:13:17,878
we all need to do for stewards to preserve that

1948
02:13:17,878 --> 02:13:21,478
we're very aware that building stewardship ethic is so important.

1949
02:13:22,718 --> 02:13:25,638
For the legacy of Boulder county open space and for

1950
02:13:25,638 --> 02:13:30,925
future generations to enjoy and steward these properties. This open

1951
02:13:30,925 --> 02:13:34,725
space is going to continue and be preserved and be

1952
02:13:34,725 --> 02:13:38,605
used in the future. We need the next generation coming

1953
02:13:38,605 --> 02:13:43,033
behind. Not only the users, but also the professionals that

1954
02:13:43,033 --> 02:13:43,873
are going to take care of it.

1955
02:13:56,346 --> 02:13:59,906
We have provided the foundation for a quality of life

1956
02:13:59,906 --> 02:14:00,946
that will carry on forever.

1957
02:14:41,140 --> 02:14:43,900
And we. Yes, we can definitely have a round of

1958
02:14:43,900 --> 02:14:47,660
applause. The person responsible who really managed this. Project was

1959
02:14:47,660 --> 02:14:54,197
Tina. And what year was this, Tina? Well, you start

1960
02:14:54,197 --> 02:15:03,592
in it, at least. It was right around 2017. And

1961
02:15:03,592 --> 02:15:11,439
as they ended that, talking about who. Is going to

1962
02:15:11,439 --> 02:15:15,719
be the Stewarts who will be the stewards of our

1963
02:15:15,719 --> 02:15:17,559
open space in the future. We thought we would give

1964
02:15:17,559 --> 02:15:20,959
you this short little clip again, put together by Poria.

1965
02:15:38,474 --> 02:15:41,714
Walking around today. There's a lot more wide eyes, giggles

1966
02:15:41,714 --> 02:15:45,788
and tiny footsteps than usual. That's because we open our

1967
02:15:45,788 --> 02:15:48,388
doors at Boulder county parks in open space to the

1968
02:15:48,388 --> 02:15:52,937
next generation. We invited children of employees to come in

1969
02:15:52,937 --> 02:15:56,369
for the take your child a workday event. Our goal

1970
02:15:56,369 --> 02:16:00,929
for the day is to inspire future generations, provide opportunities

1971
02:16:00,929 --> 02:16:05,729
for staff to connect with their families and showcase careers.

1972
02:16:05,729 --> 02:16:08,529
We kept the power of play in mind and showcase

1973
02:16:08,529 --> 02:16:16,109
careers by hosting hands on and interactive learning. Not only

1974
02:16:16,109 --> 02:16:18,949
did children get a chance to see careers their own

1975
02:16:18,949 --> 02:16:23,509
parents have, but the day had demonstrations and interactions with

1976
02:16:23,509 --> 02:16:28,830
careers in the public land conservation realm. We hosted everything

1977
02:16:28,830 --> 02:16:32,854
from designing their own nature play center. To climbing in

1978
02:16:32,854 --> 02:16:37,094
the big construction trucks and walking side by side with

1979
02:16:37,094 --> 02:16:41,134
wildlife biologists at public open space park. Children have a

1980
02:16:41,134 --> 02:16:44,854
chance to make and take home signs and birdhouses to

1981
02:16:44,854 --> 02:16:46,574
remember their day with their parents.

1982
02:17:20,111 --> 02:17:24,871
We hope that today's experiences sparked limitless curiosity.

1983
02:17:30,208 --> 02:17:32,408
In the minds and the hearts of the children who

1984
02:17:32,408 --> 02:17:33,128
joined in today.

1985
02:18:01,206 --> 02:18:06,246
Yeah, we can definitely clap for putting that together. Erica

1986
02:18:06,246 --> 02:18:09,086
Scoffka. Who's the one? Who coordinated that. She was also

1987
02:18:09,086 --> 02:18:11,846
the thing. Anyway, put a little smile on your face

1988
02:18:11,846 --> 02:18:14,526
as you head out the door here. Nice work for

1989
02:18:14,526 --> 02:18:17,686
you. Teresa, I have a question for you before you

1990
02:18:17,686 --> 02:18:25,533
go. Curious about. We had talked at the retreat. About

1991
02:18:25,533 --> 02:18:30,813
budgets and postac input to budgets coming this summer and

1992
02:18:30,813 --> 02:18:34,893
into August. I think when you start submitting. Can you

1993
02:18:34,893 --> 02:18:38,533
remind me of the timeline for that and what you're

1994
02:18:38,533 --> 02:18:41,613
planning? To do with us? Yes, we will bring it

1995
02:18:41,613 --> 02:18:44,813
to you before we present it to the county. Commissioners.

1996
02:18:45,383 --> 02:18:50,355
We just got guidance from the county commissioners yesterday. On

1997
02:18:50,355 --> 02:18:54,311
what we should be planning for, for our budgets. So

1998
02:18:54,311 --> 02:18:57,231
then myself and our new for deputies will be working

1999
02:18:57,231 --> 02:19:00,551
over the next two months to put together the list

2000
02:19:00,551 --> 02:19:04,887
of. What we are going to ask for, and I

2001
02:19:04,887 --> 02:19:10,095
will give you. A brief summary. It doesn't look good

2002
02:19:10,095 --> 02:19:16,863
for the county budget. So. They are directing all departments

2003
02:19:16,863 --> 02:19:20,103
to be very conservative with what we are asking for.

2004
02:19:21,751 --> 02:19:24,431
Great. So we will bring it back to you, probably.

2005
02:19:27,034 --> 02:19:29,914
Either July or August 1 of the two we presented

2006
02:19:29,914 --> 02:19:32,834
to the county commissioners in September. So we've got time.

2007
02:19:32,834 --> 02:19:34,714
Thank you, Teresa. Can I ask a question around that?

2008
02:19:36,200 --> 02:19:39,480
Is the money. That is for the purchase of new

2009
02:19:39,480 --> 02:19:42,468
property. Is that dedicated to that? So it can't go

2010
02:19:42,468 --> 02:19:44,548
to anything else, or is that all? Kind of fluid,

2011
02:19:44,548 --> 02:19:47,148
the money that you have as far as maintenance or

2012
02:19:47,148 --> 02:19:53,221
development of recreation or purchase. Or whatever. Excellent question. We

2013
02:19:53,221 --> 02:19:55,181
get our budget from two pots of money. One is

2014
02:19:55,181 --> 02:20:00,696
the general fund, which comes from property. Taxes. And that

2015
02:20:00,696 --> 02:20:04,552
money competes with everything else the county does. Our open

2016
02:20:04,552 --> 02:20:08,432
space sales tax is dedicated just to open space, and

2017
02:20:08,432 --> 02:20:14,802
it can be used for acquisitions. Maintenance. Mine cleanup staff.

2018
02:20:16,507 --> 02:20:21,419
So. There's not just that. This is how much. Only

2019
02:20:21,419 --> 02:20:24,619
this revenue can be used for acquisitions, so it is

2020
02:20:24,619 --> 02:20:29,974
more fluid. It's acquisitions and maintenance. Vicky Lawrence with Posac.

2021
02:20:29,974 --> 02:20:33,534
Again, just so the 1.9 million or whatever it was.

2022
02:20:33,534 --> 02:20:36,694
For this property up near gun barrel. That money could

2023
02:20:36,694 --> 02:20:41,295
be used for other things equally. It's not money that

2024
02:20:41,295 --> 02:20:44,135
has to be used for acquisition. When we outline a

2025
02:20:44,135 --> 02:20:48,145
budget like this year. And actually. I will talk to

2026
02:20:48,145 --> 02:20:50,305
Janice and we will give you that update. I thought

2027
02:20:50,305 --> 02:20:52,225
the same thing as we were talking about it. We

2028
02:20:52,225 --> 02:20:55,025
used to do that sometimes. You're like. We used to.

2029
02:20:55,025 --> 02:20:57,665
Always tell you how much it cost per acre and

2030
02:20:57,665 --> 02:21:01,997
where it fits in our priorities. Anyway, so we have

2031
02:21:01,997 --> 02:21:05,317
a budget, and actually, this year, our acquisition budget is

2032
02:21:05,317 --> 02:21:09,936
$19 million. That is what the county commissioners say you

2033
02:21:09,936 --> 02:21:13,456
can spend on acquisition is 19 million. Now, if we

2034
02:21:13,456 --> 02:21:18,769
get to a point where. We need an extra million.

2035
02:21:18,769 --> 02:21:21,129
We can go back and ask for a budget amendment,

2036
02:21:21,129 --> 02:21:23,769
and there is money sitting in the pot of open

2037
02:21:23,769 --> 02:21:27,342
space sales tax. That has not been spent yet that

2038
02:21:27,342 --> 02:21:32,019
we could tap into for that. Thank you. Thank you,

2039
02:21:32,019 --> 02:21:35,539
Teresa. Okay, all done. Meeting adjourned.