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Held in virtual hybrid format via Zoom webinar. I'm going

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to start the webinar now. And please note that it

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takes about 30 seconds for Zoom to bring members of

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the public into the session as attendees. Just a friendly

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reminder to all postac members, presenters, public speakers, please make

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sure you're within two inches of the microphone when speaking.

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This helps ensure we maintain an accurate public record. Members

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of the committee. Are you ready? Recording in progress. All

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right. Welcome, everyone. Welcome to the Boulder County Parks and

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Open Space Advisory committee meeting. For Thursday, August 28. And

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we'll start with the roll call. First agenda item. Trace

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Baker. Present. Carol Byerly. Present. Me. Present. Christine Johnson. Here.

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Vicky Lawrence. Present joan lewis. Here. Whoops. Joan lutz. Tony

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lewis. Is excused. Derek Turner. Excuse and John White. Here.

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All right, next agenda item is approval of last month's

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minutes. Postac. Do we have any discussion or questions about

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it? I didn't see any. Okay. Carol Byrly I thought

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they were exceptionally written because. there was a lot of

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discussion that was captured very well I agree. Very good.

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I agree. I do have one question, though. Unless somebody

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else wants to speak. Is. I noticed the very last

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one. For the direct. Director's update, and it says that.

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The extension of the zero point 15. Open space sales

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tax will be on the November ballot, which is true.

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But that didn't happen until into August. So I guess

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my question is, should the minutes actually reflect that or

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should it reflect that we were advised that it may

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get on. Yeah, at the meeting, because it hadn't been

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on. So not a big deal, but just. Kind of

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a semantics thing. Timeline. You go, Janet. All right, so

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anyway, I think that's it. For discussion on that. And

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do I have a motion to approve? Trace Baker. I

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moved it. We approve. On july. minutes july 24

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I second Carol Byerly. All right, we have the motion

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in the second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All

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right. The minutes pass. Thank you. So we'll move on

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to the presentations. And I just want to say one

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thing in preference to this. There's multiple places in the

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agenda coming up for public comment, both from online and

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from in person. And what I would request is that

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for each of the agenda items, if you want to

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have public comments, stick to that agenda item. And then

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after the agenda items that we have as far as

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the presentations, there'll be a chance for any kinds of

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comments for things not on the agenda. And that would

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be? The appropriate time for other kinds of comments. And

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so with that, We have Melissa Arnold here to present

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another property, the Creekside property. And I'm looking forward to

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this one hearing about it. Great. Well, I'm looking forward

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to presenting on this. It's a really interesting property. Melissa

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Arnold, land officer in the real estate division, parks and

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open space, and I'd like to begin my presentation by

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reading. The real estate land commitment statement. For much longer

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than parks and open spaces. History of stewarding open space,

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the land and this community has been important to american

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indian, urban, native, indigenous, and other cultural communities that continue

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to live here. We are making meaningful changes to how

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we do our work that include them, incorporate the perspectives

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and honor their land stewardship legacy. Parks and open space

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operates within modern legal constructs of land ownership. To steward

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Boulder county open space and accomplish these efforts on behalf

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of our community. So I present to you tonight the

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Creekside property. The Creekside property is located.

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In the sort of north area of the county here,

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just southwest of the town of lions near the intersection

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of State highway seven, also known as Southeast Rain Drive

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and Old St. Rain Road. We're just going to keep

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zooming in here. I have a lot of maps to

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orient you. There's a vicinity map of the property in

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red and it shows its proximity to the town of

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lions and the surrounding open space. Hall Ranch, Highle Valley

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Ranch and Olsen Open space, and the Lions Park Estate

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Subdivision borders the property to the south and the east.

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A closer look at the property in its proximity to

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open space can be seen here, and I've circled the

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section of the St. The south St. Rain creek that

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is on this property. That is not currently, is the

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one little section not currently protected as open space in

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this stretch. And I've circled the hall ranch, the main

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hall ranch trailhead, just so you can get some orientation

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as to where this property is. It's just to the

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north on the other side of the road. Can I

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ask you a question? This is John White. Buzz, can

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you back up? You said the one section that's not

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open. No. in this particular stretch is the one section

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of the creek that is not a part of the

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county open space Here. I'll go back right there. Okay,

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so this is going to remain. And I'll get to

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all of that. Yeah. Thank you. We're going to buy

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it? Yeah. So then all the green. Rest of the

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St grain. Okay. Good. Clarifier. I'll clarify that. This is

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as is. Currently owned privately by the landowners who are

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looking to sell this to the county as open space.

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So currently, this section of the sell same frame creek

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is not. The little piece in this section that is

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not currently open space. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, no problem.

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Okay, here is a Google Earth map. And ignore the

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shading. That's just two different kinds of aerial imagery that

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are pieced together in the program. But I think it

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gives you a pretty good perspective on the topography of

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this property. So we're now turned the other way. We're

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sort of looking south now. The property is outlined in

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black. I see. It's not maybe as distinct as it

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could. Be, but you could make it out on the

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hill. You can see how that hilltop. Stretches all the

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way back to the south end of the property. And

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the lions? State subdivision up to the south there. So

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now we are doing an even more close up view

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of the property, and I wanted to provide you with

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some facts. So the property is owned by Ron Riedmond

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and Andy Blackwell. Ron's family has owned this property for

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almost 60 years, and Ron grew up on this land.

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It is approximately 127 acres and it contains 420ft approximately

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of the south St. Rain Creek. The property consists of

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four parcels, and I will get into those in more

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detail in a minute. And there are some structures on

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the property. There are two residences. Two detached garage and

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in total, on the entire four parcels that comprise this

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creekside property. They're a nine out buildings. And it's a

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parade outside. So here is a map now showing the

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four parcels and the four addresses for each of them.

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Starting left, moving right. 1390 Old St. Vain Road. And

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I've put a star where the residences and as you

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can imagine. We're going to zoom in more and I'll

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give more details. On all of that in a moment,

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but just to give you the perspective on how these

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addresses all relate and what's on what? Here's 1015 Old

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St. Rain road and this has one residence where the

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star is. A detached garage and four out buildings. This

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property. Is also addressed 1015 Old St. Vane Road. It

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does have. A building, a development, right, that has not

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been exercised. The property contains two outbuildings, but it is

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vacant of residences. And zero jade way. This is just

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about a four acre piece that wraps around the edge

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and it is not buildable and it is vacant. So

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those are the four parcels that comprise this property. And

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just back to that Google map so you can have

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the perspective again of where those houses are. 1015 old,

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same frame. I've put a circle around both the house

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with the star. And the outbuildings. And then over on

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the right hand side of the screen, 1390 Old St.

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Rain Road, with a star where that residence is. Some

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pictures. So here is that hillside. Standing on state highway

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seven, looking south across. The creek. In the midground. There.

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Foreground. And here is that creek stretch of the cell

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St. Brain. And a view of old St. Vain Road

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with the property on either side and the public really

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enjoys walking this road, birding, making their way to the

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very far west end of this road. Where it's closed

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and goes through hall ranch and people walk through there.

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Ron and Andy. Say that. There are people every day

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constantly walking down this road on this whole stretch, just

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enjoying a scenic walk. And there are cliff bands galore

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on this property. Lots of possibilities for nesting birds and

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other wildlife. Okay, so let's take a look at these

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structures. We're going to start with. 1390 Old St. Frain

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road. And so I have a little close up here

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of those. Structures on the map, and I'm going to

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start just with the houses or the house. Excuse me.

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This house is approximately 1880 sqft. And it's a residence

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from 1954. And it has a detached garage. And these

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outbuildings. It has an old cellar, it's partially subterranean, it's

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sort of a walk out. Stellar. Has a machine shop.

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That's the photo in the middle and then on the

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far right. You have your chicken coop. Used to be

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a horse barn. I understand. And now on the other.

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Structures. We're at 1015 oak st. Vain road. The top

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picture is the garage. And a little game room above

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that. That's what is above there. And then the residents.

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You can see that in the bottom right hand corner

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of the screen. It's about 1300. Square foot house. That

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part of the house we're looking at with the chimney

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is the original portion from 1890. It's been added onto.

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On either side. And so a historic site survey determined

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that this house, as is right now, is not eligible.

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For local landmarking because it's been altered a lot. But

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I like this picture because you can really see that

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original old house right there. From 1890. And then some

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of the outbuildings on this property. So, starting in the

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top, the top left. An old metal shed, and in

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the middle there we have. An 8844 square foot pole

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barn that used to be an indoor riding arena. Ron's

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mother was a dressage instructor. And that whole area in

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front of these buildings here. Was an outdoor arena, so

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she used that for her horses, and now it is

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equipment storage. And then in the far right. We have

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a lien to. At the bottom left is a log

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barn, the historic site survey did find this barn eligible

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for local landmarking and listing on the National Register of

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Historic Places. And then the last picture here is a

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stable and hay storage. Just to give you an idea.

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Of what those look like on 1015. Okay, so that's

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the structures. Now for the comprehensive plan, the Boulder county

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comprehensive plan designations. I'm going to show you some maps.

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That have some resource elements on them potentially. And I

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just want to make the statement that these maps are

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intended to be illustrative rather than specific. And the following

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designations are indicators of importance, but not confirmation that these

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features exist on the property. And there's quite a few,

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starting with the view protection corridor. There's two, actually. Then.

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There's the state highway seven has a view protection cord

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of 3.21 and the old St. Rain Road scores 2.85

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on a scale of zero to five. With its scenic

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views from those roads. Riparian habitat connector. Of the area

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along the south St. Rain Creek. And critical wildlife habitat.

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The south St Vane Creek. This is an area of

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unique habitat with a crucial role in sustaining native wildlife

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and diversity of native species in the county that are

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particularly productive along. These corridors. And prebbles. Prebbles. Meadow jumping

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mouse the area. That this property includes is considered zone

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one, and that's zone one mouse management area. An area

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in which the mouse. Is known to occur, including adjacent

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habitat and patches that are likely to be occupied. Riparian

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areas. These are unique combinations of terrestrial, terrestrial, plant communities,

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and aquatic systems associated with flowing water that provides unique

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habitat. An important movement. Quarters for wildlife. And rare plant

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area sites recommended for conservation and preservation to retain living

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examples of natural ecosystems that show the enhance and maintain

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the biodiversity, biodiversity of the region. Okay, so that's all

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the background. Now, the deal terms. So the creekside acquisition.

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This property is 127 acres in size. And the acquisition

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of this property. It consists of three development rights. One

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of those is unused, the one on the 1015 parcel.

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With the arena or pul barn. That will be removed

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and will not ever be built. If the county acquires

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this as open space. And then two of those three

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development rights sit with those existing houses. The total cost

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of this acquisition is $3,600,000. And just to note that

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the county has 17 million in its acquisition budget for

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the year, and there is sufficient funds for this acquisition.

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As a part of the negotiated deal terms. Immediately upon

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closing, the sellers will lease from the county the two

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houses and all of the outbuildings in the immediate surrounding

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area at no cost until June 30, 2026. So the

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department would like to have the ability in the future

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00:16:34,078 --> 00:16:37,958
to decide whether to sell the houses and is requesting

237
00:16:37,958 --> 00:16:40,998
approval to create two house lots of approximately one to

238
00:16:40,998 --> 00:16:43,838
two acres around each house and sell them at a

239
00:16:43,838 --> 00:16:51,575
later date, subject to conservation easements. The decision whether to

240
00:16:51,575 --> 00:16:54,375
keep them to support the open space program or sell

241
00:16:54,375 --> 00:16:58,415
them will be made after closing, after the department has

242
00:16:58,415 --> 00:17:01,175
had a chance to fully evaluate the need for keeping

243
00:17:01,175 --> 00:17:05,246
them versus the potential costs of doing so. So these

244
00:17:05,246 --> 00:17:08,446
lots will not be divided from the property at closing.

245
00:17:10,027 --> 00:17:12,787
So that's not currently the plan, but if the department,

246
00:17:12,787 --> 00:17:15,067
at a future point in time, determines it's appropriate to

247
00:17:15,067 --> 00:17:17,467
sell either of both. Those lots would be divided at

248
00:17:17,467 --> 00:17:21,347
that time. And the staff would take these proposed sales

249
00:17:21,347 --> 00:17:24,947
to the commissioners to vote on that proposed sale at

250
00:17:24,947 --> 00:17:27,986
that time, if that were to occur. A question before

251
00:17:27,986 --> 00:17:32,837
you move on. Yeah, this is John White. Posek. Are

252
00:17:32,837 --> 00:17:35,677
you talking about two additional or you just carving out?

253
00:17:35,677 --> 00:17:40,512
Those two. Yeah. It's the existing ones. Yeah. Okay. The

254
00:17:40,512 --> 00:17:44,792
town of Lions. The Creekside property is within the town

255
00:17:44,792 --> 00:17:51,283
of Lions planning area. And according to the Lions Comprehensive

256
00:17:51,283 --> 00:17:56,803
Development Plan and intergovernmental agreement, the intergovernmental agreement IgA that's

257
00:17:56,803 --> 00:17:59,203
between the town of Lions and the county of Boulder.

258
00:17:59,203 --> 00:18:03,203
The property is designated as a rural preservation area, and

259
00:18:03,203 --> 00:18:06,123
by the terms of that Iga, the county agreed not

260
00:18:06,123 --> 00:18:10,039
to acquire any properties within the town planning area. Without

261
00:18:10,039 --> 00:18:14,039
first getting permission from the town. Acquire properties as open

262
00:18:14,039 --> 00:18:18,340
space. So in the creekside, landowners approached the county earlier

263
00:18:18,340 --> 00:18:21,260
this year about purchasing the properties for the property for

264
00:18:21,260 --> 00:18:25,220
open space. The county asked lions for permission to pursue

265
00:18:25,220 --> 00:18:29,393
this possibility. And at a public meeting on May 19

266
00:18:29,393 --> 00:18:32,593
of this year, the Town of Lions Board of trustees

267
00:18:32,593 --> 00:18:35,633
voted to allow Boulder county to acquire the Creekside property

268
00:18:35,633 --> 00:18:40,750
as open space. And the town board asked that parks

269
00:18:40,750 --> 00:18:43,590
and open space include them in discussions about future property

270
00:18:43,590 --> 00:18:47,281
uses. And the department will aim to do so. Having

271
00:18:47,281 --> 00:18:50,241
the property within the lion's planning area and in the

272
00:18:50,241 --> 00:18:52,921
Iga is an expression of the town's interest in this

273
00:18:52,921 --> 00:18:56,081
area and the county's agreement to continue conversations with the

274
00:18:56,081 --> 00:18:59,588
town in regards to that property. And the county will

275
00:18:59,588 --> 00:19:07,636
honor that. So upon acquisition of the property. It will

276
00:19:07,636 --> 00:19:10,076
be closed for management review and not open to the

277
00:19:10,076 --> 00:19:14,956
public. After closing, staff will determine whether the closure will

278
00:19:14,956 --> 00:19:17,836
continue or whether other open space uses of the property

279
00:19:17,836 --> 00:19:21,556
may be suitable, such as public access trails, other passive

280
00:19:21,556 --> 00:19:25,672
recreational uses, et cetera. This entails and involved planning process

281
00:19:25,672 --> 00:19:28,032
that can only be done after the acquisition of purchasing

282
00:19:28,032 --> 00:19:31,689
and protecting the property. And staff needs ample time after

283
00:19:31,689 --> 00:19:36,289
acquisition to evaluate the property, and so no evaluations about

284
00:19:36,289 --> 00:19:39,209
other potential future uses have been made at this time.

285
00:19:40,972 --> 00:19:42,972
So before I take questions, I just want to close

286
00:19:42,972 --> 00:19:46,372
by saying that Ron and Andy have been great stewards

287
00:19:46,372 --> 00:19:48,692
of this land, and Ron's family has cared for it

288
00:19:48,692 --> 00:19:51,852
since he was three years old, and we're extremely grateful

289
00:19:51,852 --> 00:19:55,012
and humbled that they were open to working. With the

290
00:19:55,012 --> 00:19:57,972
county to place the land in open space protection and

291
00:19:57,972 --> 00:20:02,530
thank. Thankful that the town of Lions agreed to allow

292
00:20:02,530 --> 00:20:07,091
the county to pursue this possibility. Creekside. It's a very

293
00:20:07,091 --> 00:20:11,556
unique property. And protection of this land will greatly assist

294
00:20:11,556 --> 00:20:15,636
Boulder County's efforts and managing the surrounding hall ranch open

295
00:20:15,636 --> 00:20:19,396
space, connecting together the natural habitats of the steep slopes

296
00:20:19,396 --> 00:20:22,796
and cliffs and protecting that significant stretch of the South

297
00:20:22,796 --> 00:20:27,183
St. Vane Creek and riparian habitat. So staff supports this

298
00:20:27,183 --> 00:20:30,943
acquisition, and we request that POSAC recommend approval to the

299
00:20:30,943 --> 00:20:33,823
board of county commissioners. So thank you for your time,

300
00:20:33,823 --> 00:20:35,983
and I would be happy to take any questions you

301
00:20:35,983 --> 00:20:41,091
have. All right. We'll start right here and just go

302
00:20:41,091 --> 00:20:44,171
down the line. How's that? Vicky, hi. Melissa, Vicky Lawrence

303
00:20:44,171 --> 00:20:47,160
with posac. I have a couple of questions. One. Is

304
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,800
just a curiosity of why there's that funny little shaped

305
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,916
piece that wraps around. That was the fourth piece of

306
00:20:52,916 --> 00:20:55,756
the property. You had the three big ones, but they're.

307
00:20:55,756 --> 00:20:58,556
All owned by the same people, even though there's this

308
00:20:58,556 --> 00:21:03,148
funny little shape. Yeah, I can't speak to the exact

309
00:21:03,148 --> 00:21:07,399
history of. Why the family acquire that piece. Except to

310
00:21:07,399 --> 00:21:11,039
say that when the landowners came to the county to

311
00:21:11,039 --> 00:21:13,719
offer that we work with them to protect it as

312
00:21:13,719 --> 00:21:16,959
open space. We determined that it was good. To acquire

313
00:21:16,959 --> 00:21:18,959
it, because the way it wraps around that entire piece.

314
00:21:20,606 --> 00:21:22,806
It is plotted as a part of the subdivision, the

315
00:21:22,806 --> 00:21:26,726
Lions Park Estate subdivision to the south and east. And

316
00:21:26,726 --> 00:21:29,646
for whatever reason, I would have to have the landowner

317
00:21:29,646 --> 00:21:32,846
speak to that. Exactly. They got it. Okay, so it's

318
00:21:32,846 --> 00:21:36,828
somehow platted into that. Is there of a couple of

319
00:21:36,828 --> 00:21:42,823
questions? One, is there any possibility of this? Being. Included

320
00:21:42,823 --> 00:21:45,463
into the town of Lions and being developed if it's

321
00:21:45,463 --> 00:21:52,524
not bought. Currently. It is in the IGA, designated as

322
00:21:52,524 --> 00:21:59,516
real preservation. At the moment, no. But the Iga has

323
00:21:59,516 --> 00:22:02,716
a termination, and right now, the town of lions. And

324
00:22:02,716 --> 00:22:06,716
the county of Boulder, the long range planner, are working

325
00:22:06,716 --> 00:22:09,088
to create. A new draft and it will be voted

326
00:22:09,088 --> 00:22:13,688
on. So there are always opportunities that during that time,

327
00:22:13,688 --> 00:22:16,408
property will be reevaluated and boundaries could be drawn in.

328
00:22:16,408 --> 00:22:20,288
Properties could be reestablished. That's not a permanent protection within

329
00:22:20,288 --> 00:22:24,768
the IGA. And one further question. So one of the

330
00:22:24,768 --> 00:22:27,568
residences was right along the St. Frane river. And one

331
00:22:27,568 --> 00:22:31,904
of the advantages. Of this property is having that. Quarter.

332
00:22:31,904 --> 00:22:34,984
So if that residence were pulled out as a separate.

333
00:22:36,192 --> 00:22:39,992
Sale to sell as a private property? Would there be?

334
00:22:39,992 --> 00:22:43,312
What would happen with that riverfront? Would that be kept

335
00:22:43,312 --> 00:22:47,276
in the county somehow. So they would be like, That's

336
00:22:47,276 --> 00:22:48,396
going to be a close line to draw there. Yes,

337
00:22:48,396 --> 00:22:50,596
it is. And we've already determined it will be a

338
00:22:50,596 --> 00:22:53,476
very reasonable line tune, an area that the landowners currently

339
00:22:53,476 --> 00:22:56,676
use. And mow around the outbuildings. It gives plenty of

340
00:22:56,676 --> 00:23:00,076
space between the edge of that. House lot and the

341
00:23:00,076 --> 00:23:01,956
creek, and the significant part of the creek in the

342
00:23:01,956 --> 00:23:04,676
repair and area would in fact, stay with the county

343
00:23:04,676 --> 00:23:07,644
so the house lot would be tight. Thank you. Go

344
00:23:07,644 --> 00:23:14,867
ahead, trace. Baker, Posack, Melissa. Thank you. That was very

345
00:23:14,867 --> 00:23:18,187
comprehensive presentation, and I very much like the way the

346
00:23:18,187 --> 00:23:21,886
pictures and the graphics. Help to tell the story. Thank

347
00:23:21,886 --> 00:23:26,455
you. That was very important. And you may have already

348
00:23:26,455 --> 00:23:29,935
answered this question, but with a lot of these acquisition

349
00:23:29,935 --> 00:23:35,638
presentations, we hear. I'd very much like to. Have maybe

350
00:23:35,638 --> 00:23:40,278
a simple one statement or one sentence statement about why

351
00:23:40,278 --> 00:23:46,447
the county needs to acquire a particular property. And if

352
00:23:46,447 --> 00:23:50,667
I remember what you said you were talking about. The

353
00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:56,943
proximity to other pieces of open space. In the contiguity.

354
00:23:59,340 --> 00:24:02,669
Is that a sufficient statement? Yes. That was my closing

355
00:24:02,669 --> 00:24:06,229
statement. It's also at the end of my Poseac memo

356
00:24:06,229 --> 00:24:10,509
and the contiguity of being able to manage this together,

357
00:24:10,509 --> 00:24:14,472
having that piece of the creek. Be sort of puzzle

358
00:24:14,472 --> 00:24:16,152
piece back in there with that whole stretch of the

359
00:24:16,152 --> 00:24:18,712
cell st brain, so. That our staff can manage that

360
00:24:18,712 --> 00:24:20,672
stretch of the riparian that's been difficult for them. To

361
00:24:20,672 --> 00:24:23,952
have to work around that privately owned piece, considering it's

362
00:24:23,952 --> 00:24:27,804
prebble's habitat. And more. And also it opens up a

363
00:24:27,804 --> 00:24:31,164
lot of opportunity. I think there are people really enjoy

364
00:24:31,164 --> 00:24:33,884
walking down that road, and they enjoy the solitude of

365
00:24:33,884 --> 00:24:36,324
this area, and it gives a little bit more assurance.

366
00:24:37,611 --> 00:24:41,960
That this whole area will remain very rural. There's a

367
00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:45,732
lot more detail, but I think that probably. From a

368
00:24:45,732 --> 00:24:47,892
highlight. Yeah. Perfect. And in the future, I would love

369
00:24:47,892 --> 00:24:50,572
to see that kind of a. Statement right at the

370
00:24:50,572 --> 00:24:55,608
start of each presentation. Thank you, Trace. Janice Whistman, real

371
00:24:55,608 --> 00:25:00,191
estate division manager. I think what I'm hearing is that

372
00:25:00,191 --> 00:25:02,551
and what we often have is more than a sentence.

373
00:25:04,224 --> 00:25:06,744
So it's the whole packaged presentation. And so I hope

374
00:25:06,744 --> 00:25:10,378
that. You can take away the whole package and do

375
00:25:10,378 --> 00:25:12,418
that rather than ask us to do a one. Sentence

376
00:25:12,418 --> 00:25:17,990
statement because we don't want to simplify. Or. Understate the

377
00:25:17,990 --> 00:25:20,110
various reasons that we have for acquiring a piece of

378
00:25:20,110 --> 00:25:22,790
property, and it really is a variety of reasons, as

379
00:25:22,790 --> 00:25:27,643
you've seen in this presentation. Okay, thank you. And going

380
00:25:27,643 --> 00:25:33,150
on to the question about. That piece of unbuildable land.

381
00:25:34,797 --> 00:25:38,917
Is that unbuildable simply because the geometry is so peculiar?

382
00:25:38,917 --> 00:25:44,064
Or is there something else? That prevents. It's because of

383
00:25:44,064 --> 00:25:47,544
how it was plotted in the lion's estate subdivision. It

384
00:25:47,544 --> 00:25:50,064
was not plotted as a buildable lot. It's sort of

385
00:25:50,064 --> 00:25:53,350
an outlaw that borders the edge. Of the property. And

386
00:25:53,350 --> 00:25:56,070
so because the subdivision process did not assign it a

387
00:25:56,070 --> 00:25:59,190
development, right. It doesn't have one. Okay. Thank you. Finally.

388
00:26:00,794 --> 00:26:03,954
With the town of Lions wanting to be included in

389
00:26:03,954 --> 00:26:09,024
future discussions. Is there any way that the town of

390
00:26:09,024 --> 00:26:15,352
lions could influence. What the county does with that property,

391
00:26:15,352 --> 00:26:18,792
or is that simply a courtesy to include them in

392
00:26:18,792 --> 00:26:25,184
discussions? It is under the intergovernmental agreement. It's already something

393
00:26:25,184 --> 00:26:27,704
that has been established. That the county will honor that

394
00:26:27,704 --> 00:26:29,904
this is an interest area that they would like to

395
00:26:29,904 --> 00:26:34,224
have input. On through the planning process. Our staff will

396
00:26:34,224 --> 00:26:37,984
normally reach out to its neighbors in that area. The

397
00:26:37,984 --> 00:26:46,381
local municipalities anyway, and this is sort of. an extra

398
00:26:46,381 --> 00:26:48,901
nod toward doing that with the town of lions and

399
00:26:48,901 --> 00:26:52,261
then any communications and conversations beyond that i can't comment

400
00:26:52,261 --> 00:26:53,981
on what will happen with that except that they will

401
00:26:53,981 --> 00:26:52,260
be a participant at the table And reminded and asked,

402
00:26:52,260 --> 00:26:54,860
come sit at the table, because we've promised in the

403
00:26:54,860 --> 00:26:57,260
IGA. That we are absolutely going to be doing this

404
00:26:57,260 --> 00:27:01,853
and talking together. Okay? But. They could not change what

405
00:27:01,853 --> 00:27:08,177
the county does. As far as the conservation easements. The

406
00:27:08,177 --> 00:27:10,577
conservation. On the house lots. On the house lots, yes.

407
00:27:13,194 --> 00:27:15,234
That would be a part of this deal, and they're

408
00:27:15,234 --> 00:27:20,031
not a party to this deal. Okay. Thank you. Okay,

409
00:27:20,031 --> 00:27:29,282
that's it. Thank you very much. Joan, let's with. And

410
00:27:29,282 --> 00:27:33,724
this is just a beautiful piece of property. Walking along

411
00:27:33,724 --> 00:27:37,284
that road. Like you say, there's so many different kinds

412
00:27:37,284 --> 00:27:42,684
of birds, and I'm hoping that it's deep enough that

413
00:27:42,684 --> 00:27:46,004
perhaps there's a good mix of need of plant diversity.

414
00:27:47,734 --> 00:27:51,145
On the really steep sections because. Too difficult to graze,

415
00:27:51,145 --> 00:27:56,232
perhaps. And all the birds. The cliffs are just stunning.

416
00:27:59,652 --> 00:28:06,056
And I'm just really pleased. That Boulder county is looking

417
00:28:06,056 --> 00:28:10,873
to purchase this. There's signs of bear all along the

418
00:28:10,873 --> 00:28:12,913
road. Maybe because of the apple trees. I don't know.

419
00:28:14,625 --> 00:28:19,479
And I kind of like the connection to Jade. Because

420
00:28:19,479 --> 00:28:21,999
it just seems like it might be useful for something

421
00:28:21,999 --> 00:28:26,425
in the future that I can't. Imagine right now. But

422
00:28:26,425 --> 00:28:31,030
my only question is. These buildings look like they could

423
00:28:31,030 --> 00:28:34,310
be in the floodplain. And are they in the 100?

424
00:28:34,310 --> 00:28:39,740
Or 500 year floodplain. And if they are. could some

425
00:28:39,740 --> 00:28:43,452
of them perhaps be removed That's a great question. That

426
00:28:43,452 --> 00:28:46,332
will be part of the evaluation. After acquisition, I will

427
00:28:46,332 --> 00:28:49,572
say. That some of the property is in the floodplain

428
00:28:49,572 --> 00:28:54,333
with the buildings, and during the 2013 flood. They did

429
00:28:54,333 --> 00:28:58,453
not get. I know. The 1390 parcel in the far

430
00:28:58,453 --> 00:29:01,133
west did not receive any. Flood damage, believe it or

431
00:29:01,133 --> 00:29:05,120
not. It sits just high enough. And, yeah, any water

432
00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:07,880
damage, or I should say, excuse me, any water that

433
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:12,239
came along did not. Damage these buildings. But. It is

434
00:29:12,239 --> 00:29:16,340
in the footplane, technically, and. That's something. An evaluation and

435
00:29:16,340 --> 00:29:19,540
future use of the buildings will occur after the acquisition.

436
00:29:19,540 --> 00:29:24,616
Yeah. Because sometimes the river decides to re. Reorient itself.

437
00:29:24,616 --> 00:29:26,456
Yeah. And our plans might not agree with the river.

438
00:29:26,456 --> 00:29:31,148
Right. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. So. Someone down here. Christine,

439
00:29:31,148 --> 00:29:33,748
did you have a question? Go for it. Christine Johnson.

440
00:29:33,748 --> 00:29:40,147
Poseack. So I'm wondering. Are the two houses to be?

441
00:29:40,147 --> 00:29:43,942
Two house lots to be dealt with separately. So upon

442
00:29:43,942 --> 00:29:46,822
closing the plan right now is it's all going to

443
00:29:46,822 --> 00:29:51,413
be owned together. At whatever point in the future. Let's

444
00:29:51,413 --> 00:29:53,453
say the staff determines one of them is better for

445
00:29:53,453 --> 00:29:55,093
sale and the other one. Is better for keeping. They

446
00:29:55,093 --> 00:29:57,093
could just sell that one, and then at a future

447
00:29:57,093 --> 00:29:58,693
date, they could. Do the other one. Maybe they decide

448
00:29:58,693 --> 00:30:01,173
altogether so they have that option to do them together,

449
00:30:01,173 --> 00:30:04,853
separately. Or maybe the county decides to keep them forever.

450
00:30:04,853 --> 00:30:09,213
Thanks. And what is the timeline for making that decision?

451
00:30:09,213 --> 00:30:12,373
Is it indefinite, or do you guys have something in

452
00:30:12,373 --> 00:30:15,013
mind. No, don't have anything in mind. It's just to

453
00:30:15,013 --> 00:30:18,768
have the option. In the future should as we go

454
00:30:18,768 --> 00:30:21,688
along and gather data and the management evolves, we have

455
00:30:21,688 --> 00:30:24,408
that option, and it still will ensure, because the conservation

456
00:30:24,408 --> 00:30:28,248
easements will be on those parcels. It'll still ensure protection.

457
00:30:28,248 --> 00:30:31,048
So with someone walking by won't necessarily know any difference,

458
00:30:31,048 --> 00:30:33,048
except. That it's going to be privately owned, managed by

459
00:30:33,048 --> 00:30:35,088
somebody else, and so we don't. Have any plans for.

460
00:30:37,514 --> 00:30:39,674
That it just gives us that flexibility tool to decide

461
00:30:39,674 --> 00:30:43,095
that in the future once we have new information. Thank

462
00:30:43,095 --> 00:30:47,840
you. And then I'm wondering, it sounds like the road

463
00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:51,560
is currently being used and that the property would not

464
00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:54,280
be immediately open to the public. But will the road.

465
00:30:55,954 --> 00:30:59,890
Will still be absolutely. That's a public road, still very

466
00:30:59,890 --> 00:31:03,537
open to the public. And then both of these properties

467
00:31:03,537 --> 00:31:08,028
have wells, right? Correct. And they don't have water rights.

468
00:31:08,028 --> 00:31:11,948
How do wells work if you don't have water rights.

469
00:31:11,948 --> 00:31:14,868
They're fed by groundwater and registered with the state of

470
00:31:14,868 --> 00:31:18,868
Colorado. Division of Water. Resources and they're permitted through them,

471
00:31:18,868 --> 00:31:21,268
and so they refill through groundwater, and so they don't

472
00:31:21,268 --> 00:31:24,268
have water rights in the sense of having a surface

473
00:31:24,268 --> 00:31:26,953
ditch owned by a ditch. Company. That feed into it.

474
00:31:26,953 --> 00:31:30,953
So it's purely fed by underground sources and dealt with,

475
00:31:30,953 --> 00:31:35,187
administered to. The state of Colorado, even though. It's likely

476
00:31:35,187 --> 00:31:41,389
the same brain river that's. Anyway. JAnice whistle and I

477
00:31:41,389 --> 00:31:44,229
just like to add, well, is a type of water,

478
00:31:44,229 --> 00:31:49,100
right? They've been filed. Great. Fantastic. And then one last

479
00:31:49,100 --> 00:31:54,735
question. The section. i had Of the St. Frain that

480
00:31:54,735 --> 00:31:58,392
the county has worked so hard. To restore is just

481
00:31:58,392 --> 00:32:02,584
north of there, isn't it? I think it's on both

482
00:32:02,584 --> 00:32:05,544
sides in particular, but maybe the south, isn't it? The

483
00:32:05,544 --> 00:32:10,781
south. Yeah, both sides. Okay, but yes. I was looking

484
00:32:10,781 --> 00:32:15,186
at that shape and thinking, oh, this would be. Really

485
00:32:15,186 --> 00:32:22,793
critical for that. That's it. Thank you. No questions. All

486
00:32:22,793 --> 00:32:28,063
right, so I'll just make. Go ahead. Okay. Yeah. Oh,

487
00:32:28,063 --> 00:32:29,903
you do have one. I do. Why don't you go

488
00:32:29,903 --> 00:32:34,708
ahead, then? Go ahead. Now. Sorry, Melissa. Vicky Lawrence with

489
00:32:34,708 --> 00:32:40,657
Kosak again. So Joan brought up an interesting question. If

490
00:32:40,657 --> 00:32:43,137
these houses were determined to be in the floodplain, would

491
00:32:43,137 --> 00:32:48,757
the county. Sell them. Do they have a philosophy on

492
00:32:48,757 --> 00:32:52,557
that? That property on the floodplain maybe shouldn't. Be residential.

493
00:32:52,557 --> 00:32:58,179
You mean parks and open space? Yeah. Go for it.

494
00:32:58,179 --> 00:33:02,689
Good question. Vicky. Janice Wisman again. So parks and open

495
00:33:02,689 --> 00:33:05,089
space is not in the business of determining where housing

496
00:33:05,089 --> 00:33:07,489
should go in the county. That's a feature of the

497
00:33:07,489 --> 00:33:11,591
community planning and permitting department. And then there's. Also an

498
00:33:11,591 --> 00:33:14,311
aspect of our public works department that deals with stormwater

499
00:33:14,311 --> 00:33:17,970
and flood water, et cetera. So the county does have

500
00:33:17,970 --> 00:33:21,410
regulations about where new homes would go and what has

501
00:33:21,410 --> 00:33:23,370
to be done. To build in the floodplain, but for

502
00:33:23,370 --> 00:33:27,102
existing homes. As long as they're in the current state

503
00:33:27,102 --> 00:33:30,102
that they're in, they don't. Need to be improved in

504
00:33:30,102 --> 00:33:33,762
any way. There is no trigger that says you have

505
00:33:33,762 --> 00:33:35,762
to elevate it or you have to move. It or

506
00:33:35,762 --> 00:33:38,587
something like that, but if. The county were to decide

507
00:33:38,587 --> 00:33:42,147
to do something with these homes, then it's possible that

508
00:33:42,147 --> 00:33:45,387
the land use regulations would require us to address that

509
00:33:45,387 --> 00:33:48,027
if we were to sell these properties without doing any

510
00:33:48,027 --> 00:33:50,987
work ourselves, then a new buyer would be on the

511
00:33:50,987 --> 00:33:53,547
hook for making sure that the county land use regulations

512
00:33:53,547 --> 00:33:59,403
are met. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thanks.

513
00:33:59,403 --> 00:34:04,098
Great questions, everyone. I have a comment and a question

514
00:34:04,098 --> 00:34:06,418
is this is an awesome property, and Melissa, you did

515
00:34:06,418 --> 00:34:09,618
a great job describing it. I've walked the road for

516
00:34:09,618 --> 00:34:13,338
decades. In fact, Tuesday I took another drive by and

517
00:34:13,338 --> 00:34:17,658
I saw two burners and someone was photographing birds on

518
00:34:17,658 --> 00:34:22,594
a Tuesday morning. Just in five minutes. Driving by. So

519
00:34:22,594 --> 00:34:26,034
kudos to everybody for getting this one to this point.

520
00:34:27,423 --> 00:34:32,820
My only. Question is as far as the house lots

521
00:34:32,820 --> 00:34:36,747
and the potential to sell them in the future. Has

522
00:34:36,747 --> 00:34:40,631
that been done before with open space purchases? It's not

523
00:34:40,631 --> 00:34:43,471
a new precedent setter, is it? Janice whispering again? Thank

524
00:34:43,471 --> 00:34:46,471
you for that. Question. Absolutely. We've done it many times

525
00:34:46,471 --> 00:34:50,671
because in times like situations just like this, the seller

526
00:34:50,671 --> 00:34:53,631
is ready to move on and go elsewhere, and they

527
00:34:53,631 --> 00:34:58,424
want to sell everything that they have. One other really

528
00:34:58,424 --> 00:35:02,104
good example is the Ahi property that had two homes,

529
00:35:02,104 --> 00:35:05,584
one on 75th, one on 63rd. Those were smaller homes

530
00:35:05,584 --> 00:35:08,224
and then also the ranch complex. We had to buy

531
00:35:08,224 --> 00:35:10,144
the whole thing. And then we turned around and sold

532
00:35:10,144 --> 00:35:13,224
the three homes. So that's a good. Example, but we've

533
00:35:13,224 --> 00:35:16,104
done it many times over the years. It's a standard

534
00:35:16,104 --> 00:35:18,759
part. Of our. Program when we buy a property to

535
00:35:18,759 --> 00:35:21,919
evaluate whether or not we need that home for agricultural

536
00:35:21,919 --> 00:35:25,719
housing. And if we don't, we often turn around and

537
00:35:25,719 --> 00:35:28,199
sell it, because we don't. Want to have the upkeep

538
00:35:28,199 --> 00:35:31,039
of that, and we're not in the business of renting

539
00:35:31,039 --> 00:35:35,308
houses per se. Okay, great. And Melissa Arnold again. And

540
00:35:35,308 --> 00:35:37,948
they're all subject to conservation easements, and they get monitored

541
00:35:37,948 --> 00:35:40,228
by our conservation eastern program staff, so they still stay

542
00:35:40,228 --> 00:35:44,912
in a protection. Okay. All right. Thank you. So let's

543
00:35:44,912 --> 00:35:48,672
move on to public comment. We'll go with public comment

544
00:35:48,672 --> 00:35:52,302
in the room. And limit it to the creekside property

545
00:35:52,302 --> 00:35:55,302
exposition. Do we have anybody in the room that signed

546
00:35:55,302 --> 00:35:59,876
up. Anybody that's not signed up wants to speak. I

547
00:35:59,876 --> 00:36:03,344
don't see anyone. And so, Nick, do we have anybody

548
00:36:03,344 --> 00:36:07,584
online that wants to speak? Yeah. Those on the zoom

549
00:36:07,584 --> 00:36:09,504
call. If you would like to make comments on this

550
00:36:09,504 --> 00:36:12,584
agenda item, please. Use the raised hand feature so we

551
00:36:12,584 --> 00:36:15,743
can call on you. I don't see any raised hands.

552
00:36:18,671 --> 00:36:23,362
All right. So one last chance. For any comments or

553
00:36:23,362 --> 00:36:27,322
discussion with POsac. I think it looks good. Anyone want

554
00:36:27,322 --> 00:36:29,882
to make a motion to recommend to the Boulder County

555
00:36:29,882 --> 00:36:34,762
Commissioners for approval of this project as described above in

556
00:36:34,762 --> 00:36:38,242
the written documentation and is further described by staff at

557
00:36:38,242 --> 00:36:43,875
this meeting. Carol Byerly, so move. All right, a second.

558
00:36:43,875 --> 00:36:46,595
Vicky Lawrence. I'll second. All right, we got a motion

559
00:36:46,595 --> 00:36:49,357
and a second. Let's go vote. All those in favor?

560
00:36:51,532 --> 00:36:57,341
Anybody opposed? Passed unanimously. Thank you. Thank you very much.

561
00:36:58,633 --> 00:37:04,885
Yeah. Now we need a tour of the property. I

562
00:37:04,885 --> 00:37:09,922
would volunteer to stay in house, sit. By one of

563
00:37:09,922 --> 00:37:17,628
those properties. All right. So the next agenda item presentation

564
00:37:17,628 --> 00:37:22,669
will be the 50th birthday party and fundraiser. Sponsored by

565
00:37:22,669 --> 00:37:25,029
the Boulder County Parks and Open Space foundation. And we'll

566
00:37:25,029 --> 00:37:28,349
have Tina Nielsen present. I mean, who doesn't like a

567
00:37:28,349 --> 00:37:37,897
birthday party? Good deal. Okay, let's see. If this. Looks.

568
00:37:37,897 --> 00:37:44,684
Hang on. Okay. All right. Yay. Good evening. My name

569
00:37:44,684 --> 00:37:48,004
is Tina Nielsen, and I am on staff with open.

570
00:37:48,004 --> 00:37:51,964
Space department as a special projects coordinator in the planning

571
00:37:51,964 --> 00:37:54,284
division. But tonight I'm coming to you with a different

572
00:37:54,284 --> 00:38:02,678
hat on. I'm one of the ex Fisio members of

573
00:38:02,678 --> 00:38:08,515
the Parks and Open Space foundation board. The board consists

574
00:38:08,515 --> 00:38:11,275
of people who are three staff who are ex officio,

575
00:38:11,275 --> 00:38:14,750
which means that. We can serve on the board as

576
00:38:14,750 --> 00:38:17,070
part of our job duties, and then we have six

577
00:38:17,070 --> 00:38:21,293
additional board members. Three of which are at large and

578
00:38:21,293 --> 00:38:24,853
three of which are either current or former postac members.

579
00:38:24,853 --> 00:38:29,133
Or HPAP members. HPAd stands for Historic Preservation advisory board.

580
00:38:29,133 --> 00:38:33,733
So Trace Baker is a current foundation board member Jim

581
00:38:33,733 --> 00:38:37,853
Krug, who was previously on Postac, is also on the

582
00:38:37,853 --> 00:38:44,761
board. And then Marissa Ferreira, who. Is on Hpab recently

583
00:38:44,761 --> 00:38:46,521
off of. I'm not sure if she's still on. Or

584
00:38:46,521 --> 00:38:48,961
not. But anyway, when she got on, she was part

585
00:38:48,961 --> 00:38:52,911
of Hpath. So just a little bit of background there

586
00:38:52,911 --> 00:38:57,583
in terms of our governance. With this special year of

587
00:38:57,583 --> 00:39:01,868
our 50th birthday. As you know, because I've come to

588
00:39:01,868 --> 00:39:05,308
you before to kind of give you an idea. Of

589
00:39:05,308 --> 00:39:07,548
all the things that we've been doing this year to

590
00:39:07,548 --> 00:39:13,364
celebrate. The foundation has been involved, and they have supported

591
00:39:13,364 --> 00:39:18,853
us in various ways and. They've also joined some of

592
00:39:18,853 --> 00:39:22,453
the activities the parks and open space tables at in

593
00:39:22,453 --> 00:39:27,724
order to. Raise. The awareness of the birthday and also

594
00:39:27,724 --> 00:39:30,644
of the foundation as a supporting nonprofit. So I just

595
00:39:30,644 --> 00:39:34,921
want to. Take a minute to explain that. We are

596
00:39:34,921 --> 00:39:38,081
a 501 C three, but we're a subcategory of a

597
00:39:38,081 --> 00:39:42,130
501. C three. That means that all of our donations.

598
00:39:44,744 --> 00:39:49,310
Only go to supporting. The department, parks and space departments.

599
00:39:49,310 --> 00:39:53,536
So everything that we fund. Is in support of our

600
00:39:53,536 --> 00:39:57,565
mission. And in the early years, We did a lot

601
00:39:57,565 --> 00:40:01,445
of projects that were staff projects staff led and staff

602
00:40:01,445 --> 00:40:08,862
proposed. Because of the evolution, the evolutionary stage the department

603
00:40:08,862 --> 00:40:15,751
was in. Where? Management and maintenance budgets or budgets for

604
00:40:15,751 --> 00:40:18,831
doing things hadn't really caught up to all the acquisitions

605
00:40:18,831 --> 00:40:21,471
and all the work that we were trying to accomplish,

606
00:40:21,471 --> 00:40:24,504
so. We were able to fund some things that didn't

607
00:40:24,504 --> 00:40:28,636
get funded through our regular budget process. And kind of

608
00:40:28,636 --> 00:40:30,716
a stop gap or kind of as an add on

609
00:40:30,716 --> 00:40:35,780
to do some. More fun and special things over the

610
00:40:35,780 --> 00:40:39,071
years. More and more we still do a little bit

611
00:40:39,071 --> 00:40:41,231
of that, but more and more we've been able to

612
00:40:41,231 --> 00:40:48,725
fund partners with other nonprofit organizations as collaborators whose. Work

613
00:40:48,725 --> 00:40:52,165
is in the communities where we don't necessarily have established

614
00:40:52,165 --> 00:40:55,525
relationships or the expertise in house to be able to

615
00:40:55,525 --> 00:40:58,965
serve those populations. And as I know you're aware, that

616
00:40:58,965 --> 00:41:00,845
is. Really important to us right now. It's kind of

617
00:41:00,845 --> 00:41:05,063
the moment that we're in. Today. Is to really establish

618
00:41:05,063 --> 00:41:08,663
kind of relationships with many communities that don't necessarily have

619
00:41:08,663 --> 00:41:15,116
representation on our parks, nephew. Space land. We've realized a

620
00:41:15,116 --> 00:41:19,756
while back that our user, our visitor youth statistics show

621
00:41:19,756 --> 00:41:23,956
a certain pattern. Of use. That doesn't exactly reflect the

622
00:41:23,956 --> 00:41:27,516
population in the county. So that's an area that the

623
00:41:27,516 --> 00:41:32,391
foundation has been very successful. In funding and working with

624
00:41:32,391 --> 00:41:40,248
some collaborations, which is really exciting. So with that. This

625
00:41:40,248 --> 00:41:43,768
opportunity this year for the birthday party. The foundation board

626
00:41:43,768 --> 00:41:48,110
decided that this is a really great opportunity. To really

627
00:41:48,110 --> 00:41:51,629
get our name out there a little bit more. And

628
00:41:51,629 --> 00:41:54,669
one way that we're doing that is by hosting this

629
00:41:54,669 --> 00:42:00,442
party. And so the party. Is. Well, let me just

630
00:42:00,442 --> 00:42:05,117
tell you the details first. It's scheduled for Thursday, October

631
00:42:05,117 --> 00:42:08,528
9, from five to 08:00 p.m. Is kind of the

632
00:42:08,528 --> 00:42:12,387
happy hour. Affair. There will be drinks and appetizers. Really

633
00:42:12,387 --> 00:42:16,187
heavy appetites. You can get enough food. For dinner? Because

634
00:42:16,187 --> 00:42:19,831
it does go over the dinner hour. We are going

635
00:42:19,831 --> 00:42:24,625
to have some partners that we funded. Will be present

636
00:42:24,625 --> 00:42:28,545
and hosting tables to talk about the work that they

637
00:42:28,545 --> 00:42:34,662
do. and highlight some of the ways the foundation is

638
00:42:34,662 --> 00:42:38,099
supporting them we are planning A silent auction with open

639
00:42:38,099 --> 00:42:42,419
space themed items, and we're working hard on getting some

640
00:42:42,419 --> 00:42:46,819
artwork. And photography and some special behind the scenes experiences

641
00:42:46,819 --> 00:42:51,351
that people can bid on. And have some fun with.

642
00:42:52,655 --> 00:42:55,975
We have some special guests, including the Bruce of Prey

643
00:42:55,975 --> 00:42:59,415
foundation, which they are housed on one of our properties

644
00:42:59,415 --> 00:43:04,546
out at the Carolyn Homeburg. Preserve at Rock Creek Farm.

645
00:43:04,546 --> 00:43:08,106
And they will have one of their teaching birds there,

646
00:43:08,106 --> 00:43:15,365
probably Charlie. My mind swim blank. Help me out, somebody.

647
00:43:17,461 --> 00:43:21,541
No, not a bald eagle. Anybody will come to me

648
00:43:21,541 --> 00:43:27,946
anyway. The raptor with the white feather is at the

649
00:43:27,946 --> 00:43:36,230
bottom. Osprey. Not osprey. Hawk. Turkey vulture. Thank you.

650
00:43:39,202 --> 00:43:45,417
Takes a village. Obviously, at that stage of life, my

651
00:43:45,417 --> 00:43:49,392
memory sometimes just goes blank anyway. So the burnts of

652
00:43:49,392 --> 00:43:52,752
Prey and then ranger Kevin, Kevin Grady, who has a

653
00:43:52,752 --> 00:43:56,912
search and rescue. Dog. The foundation funded part of his

654
00:43:56,912 --> 00:44:01,675
training for that. So Dottie and Kevin will be there.

655
00:44:01,675 --> 00:44:05,355
There will be a short program where we'll honor founders

656
00:44:05,355 --> 00:44:12,409
and. Say a few words. To commemorate this amazing anniversary

657
00:44:12,409 --> 00:44:16,311
that we're able to celebrate. Chitako. Of course I'll go

658
00:44:16,311 --> 00:44:23,100
back here. Is. A natural place to hold this, even

659
00:44:23,100 --> 00:44:26,833
though it's not county open space. It is historic park.

660
00:44:26,833 --> 00:44:31,375
It is surrounded by city open space. And. Just the

661
00:44:31,375 --> 00:44:34,791
connection to nature and everything, I think. Will be. Make

662
00:44:34,791 --> 00:44:38,578
it a very special, very special evening. So our goals.

663
00:44:40,407 --> 00:44:45,200
For the party? Of course. Celebrate the 50th anniversary. From

664
00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:47,960
the founding and even before the founding up to the

665
00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:51,757
present day. And even as part of our celebration, we're

666
00:44:51,757 --> 00:44:54,837
taking a look forward to sort of envision hopes and

667
00:44:54,837 --> 00:44:58,637
dreams about the next 50 years and onward, but also

668
00:44:58,637 --> 00:45:03,846
for the found. Foundation. As I mentioned earlier, it's an

669
00:45:03,846 --> 00:45:07,046
opportunity for the foundation to increase awareness about the foundation.

670
00:45:08,601 --> 00:45:12,777
We've been pretty below the radar for many years. And

671
00:45:12,777 --> 00:45:16,497
we've been lucky that we've gotten some very generous bequests

672
00:45:16,497 --> 00:45:20,217
and donations. So we've been able to do millions of

673
00:45:20,217 --> 00:45:23,764
dollars of work, really. But we're getting down. We're scraping

674
00:45:23,764 --> 00:45:25,884
the bottom of our barrel, so we're. Kind of trying

675
00:45:25,884 --> 00:45:29,664
to use this as a way to. Raise the profile

676
00:45:29,664 --> 00:45:35,139
and jump start some fundraising going forward. And then the

677
00:45:35,139 --> 00:45:36,859
way that we would like to do that is not

678
00:45:36,859 --> 00:45:40,991
so much fundraise. At this particular event, but. To start

679
00:45:40,991 --> 00:45:44,391
to do some fundraising. So to start getting names and

680
00:45:44,391 --> 00:45:48,707
contact information for. Future requests and so on. And then

681
00:45:48,707 --> 00:45:51,307
also, as you all know and I know that Teresa

682
00:45:51,307 --> 00:45:53,107
will be talking to you about this at the end

683
00:45:53,107 --> 00:45:57,837
of tonight's meeting. There is a tax extension on the

684
00:45:57,837 --> 00:46:01,917
ballot this fall, and even though as staff were not

685
00:46:01,917 --> 00:46:07,712
allowed. To campaign. On work time. The foundation is able

686
00:46:07,712 --> 00:46:10,952
to do that. So the foundation will have some materials

687
00:46:10,952 --> 00:46:13,432
just kind of low key, but have some materials and

688
00:46:13,432 --> 00:46:15,912
information and some yard signs that people can take. Home

689
00:46:15,912 --> 00:46:18,752
with them if they would like to. So those are

690
00:46:18,752 --> 00:46:22,423
the goals of the party. And really, I just wanted

691
00:46:22,423 --> 00:46:24,063
to make sure that you were all aware of it

692
00:46:24,063 --> 00:46:27,663
and that you. Hopefully will join us and you can

693
00:46:27,663 --> 00:46:32,623
get tickets on the website preservebouldercounty.org. and we will be

694
00:46:32,623 --> 00:46:38,004
sending out invitations. In the very near future. Maybe even

695
00:46:38,004 --> 00:46:42,053
tomorrow. But if not tomorrow, then next week. So that's

696
00:46:42,053 --> 00:46:45,936
all I have. I'm happy to answer any questions. Thanks,

697
00:46:45,936 --> 00:46:48,336
Tina. Thanks for the presentation. And thanks to you and

698
00:46:48,336 --> 00:46:51,016
the foundation and trace for all the work you do

699
00:46:51,016 --> 00:46:57,544
to support open space. Any comments? Questions? Post hack trace

700
00:46:57,544 --> 00:47:01,224
trace Baker Posac and forgive me if this is a

701
00:47:01,224 --> 00:47:05,128
conflict of interest. But the website will also allow you

702
00:47:05,128 --> 00:47:09,978
to purchase sponsorships in addition to tickets. Thank you, Trace.

703
00:47:09,978 --> 00:47:16,907
You're welcome. All right. Anybody else? All right. Well, thank

704
00:47:16,907 --> 00:47:23,063
you. Thank you. All right. Well, I guess. Is there

705
00:47:23,063 --> 00:47:25,383
anybody in the public that would like to speak on

706
00:47:25,383 --> 00:47:32,093
this? On the agenda item. Anybody online? Nick. I'll give

707
00:47:32,093 --> 00:47:35,093
a second for anybody online who wants to make comments

708
00:47:35,093 --> 00:47:39,413
to use the raised hand. I'm not seeing any raised

709
00:47:39,413 --> 00:47:44,604
hands. All right. Thank you. And this is information only,

710
00:47:44,604 --> 00:47:48,244
so we will move on to the Boulder county parks

711
00:47:48,244 --> 00:47:52,524
and open space budget request for 2026, and Teresa will

712
00:47:52,524 --> 00:47:55,044
go over that. And thanks a lot, Terese, for getting

713
00:47:55,044 --> 00:47:58,124
this on the agenda. I know that several postac members

714
00:47:58,124 --> 00:48:01,244
we've. Asked for it before and to get in the

715
00:48:01,244 --> 00:48:03,704
process a little earlier. So thank you for making that

716
00:48:03,704 --> 00:48:10,296
happen. You're welcome. Theresa Loki, director of Boulder county parks

717
00:48:10,296 --> 00:48:13,016
in open space and what I'm going to present to

718
00:48:13,016 --> 00:48:18,237
you tonight is the list. Of items that we are

719
00:48:18,237 --> 00:48:21,797
going to be asking the county commissioners to approve for

720
00:48:21,797 --> 00:48:24,317
our 2026 budget, so I'm going to give you a

721
00:48:24,317 --> 00:48:29,589
little bit of background. Some detail about the specific request,

722
00:48:29,589 --> 00:48:32,029
and then this is an action item, so I am

723
00:48:32,029 --> 00:48:36,291
going to ask. For your approval or any modifications that

724
00:48:36,291 --> 00:48:40,950
you might have. And with that, we're going to see

725
00:48:40,950 --> 00:48:47,507
this rooted in reaching. Logo again. After Tina's presentation, we

726
00:48:47,507 --> 00:48:50,787
are celebrating our 50th. We are very proud of everything.

727
00:48:50,787 --> 00:48:53,507
That we have done in the past 50 years, and

728
00:48:53,507 --> 00:48:55,867
we're not done. We are still reaching into the future.

729
00:48:55,867 --> 00:48:59,703
And to do that, we need to ask. For more

730
00:48:59,703 --> 00:49:05,424
support. Just. To again put, like, a big picture around.

731
00:49:07,242 --> 00:49:09,762
What? We parks in open space where our budget comes

732
00:49:09,762 --> 00:49:15,407
from. Everything that I'm presenting to you today. Is being

733
00:49:15,407 --> 00:49:19,877
requested from our open space sales tax. We are not

734
00:49:19,877 --> 00:49:26,274
asking. For any general fund changes. And the wonderful thing

735
00:49:26,274 --> 00:49:30,034
about the voters in Boulder county is that. They have

736
00:49:30,034 --> 00:49:34,154
approved many different ballot initiatives to preserve and manage open

737
00:49:34,154 --> 00:49:39,932
space. And. That's the money that we spend to purchase

738
00:49:39,932 --> 00:49:45,021
wonderful acquisitions. Like the creekside and to do all the

739
00:49:45,021 --> 00:49:49,945
other things that I'm going to talk. About. So we

740
00:49:49,945 --> 00:49:53,625
are nearing the end of our most recent part. Service

741
00:49:53,625 --> 00:50:00,277
based strategic plan. In 2021, we said, okay, here are

742
00:50:00,277 --> 00:50:03,338
our goals for the next five years. We want to

743
00:50:03,338 --> 00:50:08,797
enhance our cultural responsiveness and inclusion. We want to be

744
00:50:08,797 --> 00:50:12,637
more resilient and implement our climate adaptation and mitigation plan.

745
00:50:14,479 --> 00:50:18,579
And one of our biggest. Targets was to really address

746
00:50:18,579 --> 00:50:23,812
our maintenance backlog. We have really felt for almost 50

747
00:50:23,812 --> 00:50:27,012
years. We're still in acquisition mode. And when you end

748
00:50:27,012 --> 00:50:31,650
up with 107,000 acres. Periodically you have to say, hey,

749
00:50:31,650 --> 00:50:35,330
wait. Are those fences fixed? And is irrigation water running?

750
00:50:37,552 --> 00:50:39,992
And what about the weeds? Which you all got to

751
00:50:39,992 --> 00:50:43,872
hear about weed management recently, so maintenance backlog. Was a

752
00:50:43,872 --> 00:50:48,552
big push for the last several years, and then internally

753
00:50:48,552 --> 00:50:51,512
was safety. So we've been really stepping up our game

754
00:50:51,512 --> 00:50:55,948
as far as assuring that our staff. Out there working

755
00:50:55,948 --> 00:50:59,068
in our parks are safe. So those are big things

756
00:50:59,068 --> 00:51:01,668
that we've been working on. We have, what, four more

757
00:51:01,668 --> 00:51:04,348
months to accomplish them? Or at least make some more

758
00:51:04,348 --> 00:51:08,559
strides. But we have to, right now, start thinking about

759
00:51:08,559 --> 00:51:13,629
what our budget requests are for 2026. So our priorities.

760
00:51:15,390 --> 00:51:18,510
For. This is just next year. We have not yet

761
00:51:18,510 --> 00:51:21,898
done. Our next five year vision. We said, let's get

762
00:51:21,898 --> 00:51:25,793
through 2025 and then plan the next five years. But

763
00:51:25,793 --> 00:51:28,393
we know that there are several things on our plate

764
00:51:28,393 --> 00:51:32,356
to do next year. And prairie run is the biggest

765
00:51:32,356 --> 00:51:35,393
for sure. It is the newest park that we are

766
00:51:35,393 --> 00:51:39,935
working on implementing. We have a contractor out there. The

767
00:51:39,935 --> 00:51:44,458
southwest corner of the property. Is, we were hoping to

768
00:51:44,458 --> 00:51:46,258
have it done by the end of this year. It

769
00:51:46,258 --> 00:51:48,898
looks like it'll. Be quarter one of next year because.

770
00:51:50,478 --> 00:51:53,478
We as parks nervous space have embraced the county's goal

771
00:51:53,478 --> 00:51:57,998
of diversifying our contractors by hiring more women in minority

772
00:51:57,998 --> 00:52:00,998
owned businesses. And so we said we'll be a test

773
00:52:00,998 --> 00:52:04,038
run. Let's see if we can raise the bar on

774
00:52:04,038 --> 00:52:07,118
the types of contractors we're using for large scale projects

775
00:52:07,118 --> 00:52:13,851
like prairie run. So. We'll be breaking ground any day

776
00:52:13,851 --> 00:52:16,611
now. On the west parking lot and the trail construction.

777
00:52:20,006 --> 00:52:22,246
And then that'll go into 2026. And then we are

778
00:52:22,246 --> 00:52:25,646
designing the river restoration and. The east railhead that will

779
00:52:25,646 --> 00:52:30,263
be on our list to do next year. Buffalo implementation.

780
00:52:30,263 --> 00:52:32,583
You've heard us talk about this in the past. We

781
00:52:32,583 --> 00:52:37,063
are working with the Cheyenne and Rapaho tribes, and we

782
00:52:37,063 --> 00:52:39,703
have identified an area where we think it would be

783
00:52:39,703 --> 00:52:42,023
appropriate for us to do a lease. Just like we

784
00:52:42,023 --> 00:52:47,823
lease grazing land to farmers for ranchers. For to graze

785
00:52:47,823 --> 00:52:53,437
cows. We are branching out and looking at having a

786
00:52:53,437 --> 00:52:57,677
unique lease with a Cheyenne Ana Rapaho and we had

787
00:52:57,677 --> 00:52:59,717
hoped that maybe it would take off this year. You

788
00:52:59,717 --> 00:53:01,477
might have seen this in the budget request last year.

789
00:53:03,258 --> 00:53:07,333
But. It's complicated. The Shine and Arapaho tribes are based

790
00:53:07,333 --> 00:53:13,782
out of Oklahoma, so. There's not an office and personnel

791
00:53:13,782 --> 00:53:16,382
here, so a lot of our work has been long.

792
00:53:16,382 --> 00:53:20,555
Distance. They are very excited, and we think this is

793
00:53:20,555 --> 00:53:22,795
going to be a novel partnership, so we're putting this

794
00:53:22,795 --> 00:53:26,987
back on the list for 2026. Then Prince Lake if

795
00:53:26,987 --> 00:53:30,667
you live out near Erie. We've been working on dam

796
00:53:30,667 --> 00:53:34,627
reconstruction and. The reason that we're doing this is because

797
00:53:34,627 --> 00:53:39,725
the town of Erie developed itself around. One of our

798
00:53:39,725 --> 00:53:46,431
larger agricultural. Storage ponds. So because of the increased flood

799
00:53:46,431 --> 00:53:50,191
risk, because of the housing downstream, we are rebuilding Prince

800
00:53:50,191 --> 00:53:53,511
Lake and that is under construction now, so 2026 is

801
00:53:53,511 --> 00:53:59,543
just. A final implementation of that. Then one other big

802
00:53:59,543 --> 00:54:02,663
one is the cardinal mill water. And I believe you've

803
00:54:02,663 --> 00:54:06,102
had a presentation on that. This is a legacy mine.

804
00:54:07,422 --> 00:54:09,822
Up west of Netherland. We had a field trip near.

805
00:54:09,822 --> 00:54:11,902
We had a field trip there. Some of you were

806
00:54:11,902 --> 00:54:17,746
on that. What has happened is we have state permits

807
00:54:17,746 --> 00:54:20,906
on water quality that comes from the mine at it.

808
00:54:20,906 --> 00:54:25,868
And underneath the mine structure. And the state has changed

809
00:54:25,868 --> 00:54:29,788
their water quality monitoring guidelines, and we are no longer

810
00:54:29,788 --> 00:54:35,524
in compliance, so we have been working with several. Consulting

811
00:54:35,524 --> 00:54:38,939
firms to try and figure out. How to treat the

812
00:54:38,939 --> 00:54:41,139
water. So we are in compliance and we are not

813
00:54:41,139 --> 00:54:47,263
polluting the stream. that basically sits just downstream of our

814
00:54:47,263 --> 00:54:49,650
cardinal mill And then the final one is what you're

815
00:54:49,650 --> 00:54:56,057
looking at in the picture here. we have had the

816
00:54:56,057 --> 00:55:00,337
cmx acquisition on our list for 25 years we've been

817
00:55:00,337 --> 00:55:02,665
paying an option to buy it Because 25 years ago,

818
00:55:02,665 --> 00:55:06,785
the people that sat in my position said, let's take

819
00:55:06,785 --> 00:55:09,665
the long view. And when CMX is finished with the

820
00:55:09,665 --> 00:55:13,865
mine up there north of Highway 66, we think it

821
00:55:13,865 --> 00:55:16,305
can be a wonderful open space and it can connect

822
00:55:16,305 --> 00:55:19,345
some existing open spaces like the Ronster preserve, a rabid

823
00:55:19,345 --> 00:55:22,983
mountain and south down. Indian mountain. This is really the

824
00:55:22,983 --> 00:55:29,282
valley in between those two open spaces and. the property

825
00:55:29,282 --> 00:55:31,928
in total was 1600 acres we have since Had acquired

826
00:55:31,928 --> 00:55:35,668
800. This is another 800 acres. It was supposed to

827
00:55:35,668 --> 00:55:38,508
close this year. They are not quite done with their

828
00:55:38,508 --> 00:55:41,148
restoration, so this will be on our list to close

829
00:55:41,148 --> 00:55:46,274
next year. So those are priorities. So before we start

830
00:55:46,274 --> 00:55:50,034
in the nitty gritty of what specifically we're asking for.

831
00:55:50,034 --> 00:55:53,234
We were given direction from the county commissioners. They give

832
00:55:53,234 --> 00:55:59,253
everyone in the county. Every department. Direction. And sometimes they'll

833
00:55:59,253 --> 00:56:03,856
say you can expect a 3% increase. So you can

834
00:56:03,856 --> 00:56:06,176
look at budgets that have a 3% increase and you

835
00:56:06,176 --> 00:56:08,616
figure out how to spend it. Well, this year. There's

836
00:56:08,616 --> 00:56:14,484
no increases coming. Actually, sales tax revenues are down. Worse

837
00:56:14,484 --> 00:56:17,924
than what they expected. It's not horrible, but they had

838
00:56:17,924 --> 00:56:22,432
projected a 2% increase. And it's actually coming in at.

839
00:56:24,656 --> 00:56:30,486
-1.3% so less than last year But 1.3% less, not

840
00:56:30,486 --> 00:56:35,191
10% or 20% less. But with federal cuts and state

841
00:56:35,191 --> 00:56:38,751
cuts, we've all heard the state has major budget crisis.

842
00:56:38,751 --> 00:56:41,751
That all trickles down to county services. And so their

843
00:56:41,751 --> 00:56:45,191
direction, they said, okay, cross the board. No new staff

844
00:56:45,191 --> 00:56:49,433
request. And no new ongoing request, so we can't ask

845
00:56:49,433 --> 00:56:53,992
for more money to maintain trails or more money. To

846
00:56:53,992 --> 00:56:58,712
restore wetlands that would be ongoing. So what we did

847
00:56:58,712 --> 00:57:00,752
is we looked at our budget and we said, okay,

848
00:57:00,752 --> 00:57:03,712
what are one time requests out of the open space?

849
00:57:03,712 --> 00:57:06,632
Sales tax. Sales tax. That we need. But I do

850
00:57:06,632 --> 00:57:09,112
have to share this picture since this happened, since the

851
00:57:09,112 --> 00:57:12,555
last pose act. Meeting. This was the parks that have

852
00:57:12,555 --> 00:57:16,543
been spaced float at the county fair. More than 35

853
00:57:16,543 --> 00:57:20,583
staff and volunteers came and joined in this wonderful community

854
00:57:20,583 --> 00:57:24,955
event. Celebrating our 50th. So I just had to tell

855
00:57:24,955 --> 00:57:27,595
you what photo you were looking at. Thanks to Dan

856
00:57:27,595 --> 00:57:31,822
Lambert. She's in the front there. Tina. Was also instrumental

857
00:57:31,822 --> 00:57:38,142
in helping. This. get Having the parade. Happen, participating in

858
00:57:38,142 --> 00:57:42,960
everything. Okay, so with that direction, here are our lists,

859
00:57:42,960 --> 00:57:47,847
and in the memo. I have outlined. A spreadsheet that

860
00:57:47,847 --> 00:57:49,767
shows what it is and gave you a lot more

861
00:57:49,767 --> 00:57:52,287
detail, so I'm just going to give you the big

862
00:57:52,287 --> 00:57:55,527
numbers here. So again, I talked about the buffalo. Fencing.

863
00:57:55,527 --> 00:57:59,967
This is for fencing and corrals. Holding facility if you

864
00:57:59,967 --> 00:58:05,088
have to vaccinate. Buffalo. General land management. That's the prairie

865
00:58:05,088 --> 00:58:10,765
dog request. So, more money. Just to. Help enhance our

866
00:58:10,765 --> 00:58:15,544
prairie dog management on our agricultural lands. And then we

867
00:58:15,544 --> 00:58:19,382
are still looking for one time ag maintenance backlog. That

868
00:58:19,382 --> 00:58:24,699
includes center pivots. And improving irrigation and more fencing. We're

869
00:58:24,699 --> 00:58:27,179
doing a lot of that this year, but this is

870
00:58:27,179 --> 00:58:29,459
a one time request for next year as well, for

871
00:58:29,459 --> 00:58:36,488
250,000. And then water assessments and crop sharing. As we're

872
00:58:36,488 --> 00:58:42,459
looking through all of. Our how? We're leasing. And assuring.

873
00:58:42,459 --> 00:58:45,819
We're trying to get a really good handle on what

874
00:58:45,819 --> 00:58:49,699
it really costs. Both to run water and for our

875
00:58:49,699 --> 00:58:52,339
crop sharing. So we're asking for a one time increase

876
00:58:52,339 --> 00:58:58,929
of 63,004. Those purposes in ag. Next is resource management.

877
00:59:01,291 --> 00:59:07,271
They. Were very conscientious and just said, okay. In the

878
00:59:07,271 --> 00:59:10,991
memo I sent you. It's $5,000 request for several different

879
00:59:10,991 --> 00:59:16,031
things. But this is really for wildlife and for our

880
00:59:16,031 --> 00:59:23,746
community engagement. So small budget increases. For monitoring wildlife, bird

881
00:59:23,746 --> 00:59:28,872
and raptor monitoring and. Continuing our work with our culturally

882
00:59:28,872 --> 00:59:36,790
responsive and inclusion strategic plan and engaging. Our administrative services.

883
00:59:36,790 --> 00:59:40,190
So not all our houses look like this, but they

884
00:59:40,190 --> 00:59:47,550
do need repairs. In 2026, it'll be the fourth year

885
00:59:47,550 --> 00:59:51,710
of our maintenance backlog investment in our houses. We have

886
00:59:51,710 --> 00:59:56,710
28 houses that we own. Several of them have rangers

887
00:59:56,710 --> 01:00:00,830
in them, many of them are leased to farmers and

888
01:00:00,830 --> 01:00:06,263
those. Two categories are leased to the general public. So,

889
01:00:06,263 --> 01:00:10,263
like, some of our fences had been neglected for many

890
01:00:10,263 --> 01:00:14,943
years, so we've been putting on new roofs. And improving.

891
01:00:14,943 --> 01:00:17,583
We put solar panels on at least one of the

892
01:00:17,583 --> 01:00:21,903
houses. We're doing better. Installation, making them, bringing them up.

893
01:00:23,455 --> 01:00:26,575
To a nicer living standard that we can then increase

894
01:00:26,575 --> 01:00:29,415
the rent. And so our goal is to get the

895
01:00:29,415 --> 01:00:34,744
houses. Too. I would not say market value, but closer

896
01:00:34,744 --> 01:00:38,664
to market value, depending on who is renting. Them like

897
01:00:38,664 --> 01:00:42,624
we subsidize our ranger rent and our agriculture tenants, they're

898
01:00:42,624 --> 01:00:49,601
not. Paying market value. That we're assisting those. By investing

899
01:00:49,601 --> 01:00:51,641
another half a million dollars this year, we think that

900
01:00:51,641 --> 01:00:54,441
we can increase the rents and help recoup some of

901
01:00:54,441 --> 01:00:57,201
the costs, and then we should be in a steady

902
01:00:57,201 --> 01:01:01,121
state where our existing budget will be able to maintain

903
01:01:01,121 --> 01:01:06,891
these houses in the long run. Resource planning. This is

904
01:01:06,891 --> 01:01:11,091
again, the biggest ticket item on our whole budget request

905
01:01:11,091 --> 01:01:16,266
is the cardinal mill water and that's $4 million. This

906
01:01:16,266 --> 01:01:23,983
is an ever changing. Engineering recommendation. We're working. Working on.

907
01:01:26,225 --> 01:01:29,849
What we can do. What's the economic way to do

908
01:01:29,849 --> 01:01:32,769
this? What's the right way to do this? How are

909
01:01:32,769 --> 01:01:36,827
the neighbors going to. Feel if we need to put

910
01:01:36,827 --> 01:01:39,907
in a big water treatment facility up there. What about

911
01:01:39,907 --> 01:01:43,827
fire? If we're putting in a big water treatment facility,

912
01:01:43,827 --> 01:01:47,627
the fire protection district wants a bigger road so they

913
01:01:47,627 --> 01:01:49,547
can get in there if there's a fire and an

914
01:01:49,547 --> 01:01:52,787
accident. So all of those things just keep adding, adding,

915
01:01:52,787 --> 01:01:56,790
adding cost to this project. So we are working very

916
01:01:56,790 --> 01:02:00,788
hard. With our staff and consultants to try and get

917
01:02:00,788 --> 01:02:06,228
this to accomplish the goals and meet CDPHE requirements without

918
01:02:06,228 --> 01:02:10,292
this turning into a huge. Industrial. Complex up in the

919
01:02:10,292 --> 01:02:15,218
middle of nowhere, basically. So again. It's a mining legacy.

920
01:02:16,601 --> 01:02:20,838
Prairie run. We actually increased a little bit of the

921
01:02:20,838 --> 01:02:24,622
money that we were spending to get the southwest. Cluster

922
01:02:24,622 --> 01:02:27,182
done this year, so we need less money next year.

923
01:02:28,706 --> 01:02:31,841
So it's just over half a million dollars. To finish

924
01:02:31,841 --> 01:02:34,761
up the southwest cluster and to get the design for

925
01:02:34,761 --> 01:02:40,360
the creek restoration in the northeast. Cluster. Prince legdam. That

926
01:02:40,360 --> 01:02:44,200
is what I talked about with Erie. Again, final touches

927
01:02:44,200 --> 01:02:48,135
on that. That has a FEMA grant associated with it.

928
01:02:48,135 --> 01:02:51,255
$3 million FEMA is putting into the prince Lake dam.

929
01:02:52,550 --> 01:02:58,662
And so our contribution is significantly. Very small percentage of

930
01:02:58,662 --> 01:03:05,102
that big project. Heron lake. That after the 2013 flood,

931
01:03:05,102 --> 01:03:11,489
when Pella crossing flooded, It flooded parts of Longmont, not

932
01:03:11,489 --> 01:03:15,671
far from the St. Vrain. We worked with Longmont and

933
01:03:15,671 --> 01:03:19,191
put in this big swale with a drain underneath it

934
01:03:19,191 --> 01:03:24,452
while the drain gets clogged regularly. It's not functioning as

935
01:03:24,452 --> 01:03:28,862
we had hoped. It's mitigating the flood risk. It's a

936
01:03:28,862 --> 01:03:33,394
swale there that can. Hold 100 year flood event. But

937
01:03:33,394 --> 01:03:35,194
we're working with the city of Longmont, and we want

938
01:03:35,194 --> 01:03:37,954
to redesign that a little bit and improve it so

939
01:03:37,954 --> 01:03:41,034
it's not always clogged and causing problems, so. That's what

940
01:03:41,034 --> 01:03:44,874
the heron Lake project is. And then Howell Ditch is

941
01:03:44,874 --> 01:03:47,834
really a part of Prairie run. It's a ditch that

942
01:03:47,834 --> 01:03:51,674
comes off lower Boulder Creek out there in the prairie.

943
01:03:51,674 --> 01:03:57,696
Run area and. We've been working. With mile high flood

944
01:03:57,696 --> 01:04:02,136
control district, and they've been setting money aside for at

945
01:04:02,136 --> 01:04:05,456
least five years, we've been contributing small amounts, kind of

946
01:04:05,456 --> 01:04:08,816
like a savings account, so that we could. Redo that

947
01:04:08,816 --> 01:04:13,016
Howell ditch. Make it better passage for water, better passage

948
01:04:13,016 --> 01:04:20,529
for fish. It's going to. Meld better. With our lower

949
01:04:20,529 --> 01:04:24,109
Boulder Creek restoration that we're doing. The design of the

950
01:04:24,109 --> 01:04:26,749
prairie run stuff that you see a couple up there,

951
01:04:26,749 --> 01:04:30,789
a couple of lines. Above. So the Howell Ditch is

952
01:04:30,789 --> 01:04:33,709
really an agricultural project, but part and parcel to prairie

953
01:04:33,709 --> 01:04:38,773
run with mile high urban drainage funding. And then acquisitions.

954
01:04:40,426 --> 01:04:46,545
So we have $17 million. That we have in our

955
01:04:46,545 --> 01:04:51,665
budget every year for acquisitions. Now, you just heard presentations.

956
01:04:51,665 --> 01:04:54,985
What? This map? Shows you are. In the blue are

957
01:04:54,985 --> 01:04:59,281
the three. Of the acquisitions that came up this year.

958
01:04:59,281 --> 01:05:01,841
Not all were planned, but we got the creek side.

959
01:05:01,841 --> 01:05:07,153
There near Lions and Hall Ranch and Highle Ranch. We've

960
01:05:07,153 --> 01:05:10,353
got the Castro property, which is out on Highway 66,

961
01:05:10,353 --> 01:05:13,473
and then the gateway property. Which just closed. You heard

962
01:05:13,473 --> 01:05:17,734
about it last month. It's kind of one of the

963
01:05:17,734 --> 01:05:23,969
missing pieces of the buffer around Lafayette. And between Lafayette

964
01:05:23,969 --> 01:05:28,013
and Broomfield. The big red circle at the top is

965
01:05:28,013 --> 01:05:31,493
the CMEX property, which we anticipate purchasing. Next year, that's

966
01:05:31,493 --> 01:05:36,775
going to be 6.6 million. And then another option is

967
01:05:36,775 --> 01:05:39,815
coming into play next year, and it says wack property.

968
01:05:41,894 --> 01:05:49,180
And. That's a budding Longmont. Smaller red circle there. But

969
01:05:49,180 --> 01:05:51,860
there are two there because we also have the golden

970
01:05:51,860 --> 01:05:54,580
fried strum. Which is just north of the St. Frain

971
01:05:54,580 --> 01:05:59,300
river on 75th street between the St. Frane river and

972
01:05:59,300 --> 01:06:04,726
Pella. So that was an acquisition that we were supposed

973
01:06:04,726 --> 01:06:13,343
to get this year. And. We're negotiating. The final acquisition

974
01:06:13,343 --> 01:06:15,623
of that. If it doesn't happen this year, it'll roll

975
01:06:15,623 --> 01:06:17,703
into next year. But it could happen this year too.

976
01:06:19,506 --> 01:06:23,226
So anyway, two option parcels. Those are two parcels again,

977
01:06:23,226 --> 01:06:26,306
that we had committed more than 20 years. Ago that

978
01:06:26,306 --> 01:06:31,581
we want those parcels along the same brain river. As

979
01:06:31,581 --> 01:06:34,941
urban buffers and riparian corridor, and they're both coming to

980
01:06:34,941 --> 01:06:39,141
fruition. 2026 and then I put a very fage circle

981
01:06:39,141 --> 01:06:43,488
around. A very big area. When the gross reservoir expansion

982
01:06:43,488 --> 01:06:50,955
was approved. In the negotiations. Denver Water agreed to put

983
01:06:50,955 --> 01:06:55,355
more than 5 million. It was 5,100,000 into a bank

984
01:06:55,355 --> 01:06:58,235
account for us to purchase open space in the gross

985
01:06:58,235 --> 01:07:02,658
reservoir area. So that is $5 million. It's not the

986
01:07:02,658 --> 01:07:05,258
17 million that I talked about that. Is buying these

987
01:07:05,258 --> 01:07:10,030
other properties. It is $5 million just to purchase. More

988
01:07:10,030 --> 01:07:12,751
open space in the area. In the area of gross

989
01:07:12,751 --> 01:07:16,594
reservoir. We have spent one this year with the bear

990
01:07:16,594 --> 01:07:25,134
berry property. Out on. Creek. Is a road. Coal creek

991
01:07:25,134 --> 01:07:28,094
canyon. Canyon. Thank you. I was going to say Cole

992
01:07:28,094 --> 01:07:31,614
Creek drive, but. Cole Creek canyon up there. So that's

993
01:07:31,614 --> 01:07:34,894
what the big target is. There's not. One particular property

994
01:07:34,894 --> 01:07:38,494
that we've identified up there, but as properties come up

995
01:07:38,494 --> 01:07:42,991
for sale, And they meet open space goals. We'll use

996
01:07:42,991 --> 01:07:48,493
that five. Well, the remaining. It's. 3.6 or something remaining.

997
01:07:50,039 --> 01:07:52,639
So overall, I just wanted to give you another big

998
01:07:52,639 --> 01:07:57,439
overall picture of our operating. So we are still spending

999
01:07:57,439 --> 01:08:02,039
more than half of our operating budget on acquisitions. According

1000
01:08:02,039 --> 01:08:08,269
to this, it's 56%. The next largest is ag. And

1001
01:08:08,269 --> 01:08:13,862
we had an Ag tour last Saturday. And. Mike Foster,

1002
01:08:13,862 --> 01:08:18,741
our ag division manager. Was very forthright in telling the

1003
01:08:18,741 --> 01:08:24,350
public that. It's expensive to manage agricultural lands. We bring

1004
01:08:24,350 --> 01:08:28,790
in about $1.5 million in revenue from our leases, and

1005
01:08:28,790 --> 01:08:31,510
we are currently spending about four and a half million

1006
01:08:31,510 --> 01:08:37,496
dollars on these. Irrigation projects and fencing projects. And all

1007
01:08:37,496 --> 01:08:43,503
the other expenses. So ag. Is currently the number two.

1008
01:08:43,503 --> 01:08:48,393
And then number three would be resource planning. And this

1009
01:08:48,393 --> 01:08:52,033
is just operating. This does not include personnel. So I

1010
01:08:52,033 --> 01:08:56,513
put a slide in here now. That shows expenses by

1011
01:08:56,513 --> 01:09:00,273
division. And this does include personnel. So again, you can

1012
01:09:00,273 --> 01:09:05,045
see. We are still spending a lot over 18 million.

1013
01:09:07,092 --> 01:09:10,172
On acquisitions. That would be acquisitions and the whole real

1014
01:09:10,172 --> 01:09:15,492
estate division. The next one is resource management. Resource management

1015
01:09:15,492 --> 01:09:19,572
is one of our larger divisions. More than 42 people

1016
01:09:19,572 --> 01:09:22,412
in that division that their rangers in education and outreach

1017
01:09:22,412 --> 01:09:27,705
and our biologists and foresters. The director's office that comes

1018
01:09:27,705 --> 01:09:33,222
in third. What is in that budget? Is our cast

1019
01:09:33,222 --> 01:09:36,942
projects, our capital and stewardship. Tina is typically the one

1020
01:09:36,942 --> 01:09:39,902
that comes in and says here we have $2 million.

1021
01:09:39,902 --> 01:09:42,942
Here's the projects that we want to fund and it's

1022
01:09:42,942 --> 01:09:47,640
kind of spurring innovation among staff. It's engaging the public.

1023
01:09:49,284 --> 01:09:52,912
So that's why the director's budget itself. Is third in

1024
01:09:52,912 --> 01:09:59,808
line here. Next is recreation and facilities. At just under

1025
01:09:59,808 --> 01:10:07,626
5 million. Ag resources. Below that next resource planning. And

1026
01:10:07,626 --> 01:10:09,866
this is 2025. So this is not like, this does

1027
01:10:09,866 --> 01:10:12,466
not include the $4 million. That resource planning is asking

1028
01:10:12,466 --> 01:10:17,632
for. For Cardinal Mill, this is. This year's spending or

1029
01:10:17,632 --> 01:10:22,512
budget administration is farther down than you can see fairgrounds.

1030
01:10:24,271 --> 01:10:30,493
Even. Less than a million dollars. CSU extension and then

1031
01:10:30,493 --> 01:10:35,743
youth corps are smallest divisions. And actually, something did come

1032
01:10:35,743 --> 01:10:41,053
up about the fairgrounds within the last week. And we.

1033
01:10:41,053 --> 01:10:44,453
So the fairgrounds usually is managed by public works, all

1034
01:10:44,453 --> 01:10:47,933
of their big capital projects. It's not parks and open

1035
01:10:47,933 --> 01:10:52,888
space. We house the fairgrounds and we do some of

1036
01:10:52,888 --> 01:10:55,728
their budget. Their staff budget is in our budget, but.

1037
01:10:57,583 --> 01:11:00,783
Any big building rebuilds is usually in the public works.

1038
01:11:02,004 --> 01:11:07,691
Budget and. We saw the public works presentation and. Just

1039
01:11:07,691 --> 01:11:11,091
like the post, the roof at the exhibit building needs

1040
01:11:11,091 --> 01:11:13,931
to be repaired. For those of you who weren't at

1041
01:11:13,931 --> 01:11:17,771
dinner. We had leaking roof at the post tonight. Anyway,

1042
01:11:17,771 --> 01:11:20,691
the roof is leaking at the exhibit building. And we

1043
01:11:20,691 --> 01:11:26,945
have fair exhibitors, Molly McGee's craft show. A host of.

1044
01:11:28,904 --> 01:11:35,108
Users in that building. With very valuable things and. It's

1045
01:11:35,108 --> 01:11:43,374
not good to have a building that leaks. so what

1046
01:11:43,374 --> 01:11:47,574
we are going to do is add that to our

1047
01:11:47,574 --> 01:11:50,854
request using conservation trust funds it's a pot of money

1048
01:11:50,854 --> 01:11:53,614
that the state sets aside comes out of great outdoors

1049
01:11:53,614 --> 01:11:56,974
colorado and it is not restricted like our open space

1050
01:11:56,974 --> 01:11:57,709
money it can be used on Any public project. Public

1051
01:11:57,709 --> 01:12:00,069
recreation. So we're going to ask for a new roof.

1052
01:12:02,556 --> 01:12:05,328
at the exhibit building So then here. Is the fund

1053
01:12:05,328 --> 01:12:10,103
balance, and this is what we look at because. We

1054
01:12:10,103 --> 01:12:15,675
have been holding steady with acquisitions. And increasing our spending.

1055
01:12:17,230 --> 01:12:21,166
With maintenance. Our maintenance backlog. And so we work with

1056
01:12:21,166 --> 01:12:24,686
our budget Office and put together projections of what the

1057
01:12:24,686 --> 01:12:26,566
forecast is going to look like if we were to

1058
01:12:26,566 --> 01:12:28,966
keep spending money the way we are today? For one

1059
01:12:28,966 --> 01:12:31,766
thing. And then we put adjustments in there, like in

1060
01:12:31,766 --> 01:12:33,446
three years. We said, we're not going. To be spending

1061
01:12:33,446 --> 01:12:35,766
20 million on acquisitions in three years. We can't, because

1062
01:12:35,766 --> 01:12:38,766
we can't. Afford it. So what you see here is

1063
01:12:38,766 --> 01:12:42,553
it kind of levels off. 26. 27, 28, 29. And

1064
01:12:42,553 --> 01:12:44,993
then the sales tax expires at the end. One expires.

1065
01:12:44,993 --> 01:12:46,553
At the end of 29 and another one at the

1066
01:12:46,553 --> 01:12:51,266
end of 2030, and then you see. Basically. A cliff

1067
01:12:51,266 --> 01:12:55,816
that we go below where our. Expenditures will be more

1068
01:12:55,816 --> 01:13:02,673
than. The revenue we're bringing in. Now, fortunately, this morning

1069
01:13:02,673 --> 01:13:10,691
at accounting commissioner's public hearing, They approved. Putting. The 2030

1070
01:13:10,691 --> 01:13:16,515
sales tax. On the ballot. For November. So that's what

1071
01:13:16,515 --> 01:13:20,583
you heard about in July. That had not been approved

1072
01:13:20,583 --> 01:13:25,398
by the county commissioners when we presented in July. But

1073
01:13:25,398 --> 01:13:28,278
there were actually two public hearings on the parks, not

1074
01:13:28,278 --> 01:13:32,931
space one. And the second one was this morning. And

1075
01:13:32,931 --> 01:13:37,085
they decided. To yes. Ask the voters in November to

1076
01:13:37,085 --> 01:13:40,549
put that zero point 15. Percent sales tax on the

1077
01:13:40,549 --> 01:13:45,482
ballot for. This November. So what that does is that

1078
01:13:45,482 --> 01:13:47,882
it narrows out our curve. It's kind of. Like the

1079
01:13:47,882 --> 01:13:50,042
Covid curve. You don't want it to be spiking or

1080
01:13:50,042 --> 01:13:52,322
dropping. You want it to be flat? Well, that's what

1081
01:13:52,322 --> 01:13:58,584
that does for our budget here. So. That is what?

1082
01:13:58,584 --> 01:14:03,663
Photoshopped. That is not photoshopped. I tell you, the person

1083
01:14:03,663 --> 01:14:05,463
who took the picture sent it to me and said,

1084
01:14:05,463 --> 01:14:08,703
this is not photoshopped. What you can tell is there

1085
01:14:08,703 --> 01:14:10,943
is a wooden post that the open space sign is

1086
01:14:10,943 --> 01:14:16,542
on. A one by two. If you look, there's the

1087
01:14:16,542 --> 01:14:18,262
one by two you see at the bottom, so it

1088
01:14:18,262 --> 01:14:24,131
really is standing there. It's the most amazing open space

1089
01:14:24,131 --> 01:14:32,195
yes sign ever. So. With. And this would be.

1090
01:14:34,471 --> 01:14:36,191
The second sales tax that we were asking for in

1091
01:14:36,191 --> 01:14:40,071
perpetuity. The existing one we have in perpetuity brings in

1092
01:14:40,071 --> 01:14:43,471
about 5 million a year. If you looked at how

1093
01:14:43,471 --> 01:14:46,351
much it costs us for our staff and for our

1094
01:14:46,351 --> 01:14:49,751
acquisitions and for our operating $5 million is not going

1095
01:14:49,751 --> 01:14:52,831
to keep our department running. So this will add about

1096
01:14:52,831 --> 01:14:59,035
14 million in. $2,025. So it gets us closer to

1097
01:14:59,035 --> 01:15:01,315
perhaps something that could at least keep our department going.

1098
01:15:02,580 --> 01:15:06,407
So with that. I am happy to answer any questions.

1099
01:15:07,952 --> 01:15:12,589
All right. Thanks, teres. That was very thorough. Yes, thank

1100
01:15:12,589 --> 01:15:16,419
you. I learned a lot from that. Puts it in

1101
01:15:16,419 --> 01:15:21,058
perspective. So about some questions, posack. It looks like Carol's

1102
01:15:21,058 --> 01:15:27,010
got one. Maybe not questions, but a comment. I just

1103
01:15:27,010 --> 01:15:29,410
think things are getting tighter and tighter in the world.

1104
01:15:32,276 --> 01:15:36,899
And so I did a little thought experiment. About where?

1105
01:15:36,899 --> 01:15:40,899
Looking at this budget, what would I do if it

1106
01:15:40,899 --> 01:15:49,418
had to be reduced? And. What could I handle? And

1107
01:15:49,418 --> 01:15:52,898
I won't go through my whole thinking process. You wouldn't

1108
01:15:52,898 --> 01:15:56,196
want to hear. That. But I think I was thinking

1109
01:15:56,196 --> 01:15:59,476
of two things, and I just wanted reactions to that

1110
01:15:59,476 --> 01:16:03,675
because. I just came from public broadcasting. The funding is

1111
01:16:03,675 --> 01:16:08,363
gone for that. It's getting darker, and this is all

1112
01:16:08,363 --> 01:16:11,992
really wonderful stuff, but what will we do? And so,

1113
01:16:11,992 --> 01:16:17,183
one thing. I would think would be either to slow

1114
01:16:17,183 --> 01:16:23,130
down prairie run. Because. We can't not do the cardinal.

1115
01:16:25,022 --> 01:16:28,102
Water quality thing that's just required and that a lot

1116
01:16:28,102 --> 01:16:30,542
of these things seems like there are emergencies that need

1117
01:16:30,542 --> 01:16:34,168
to be handled. So I look at that. I look,

1118
01:16:34,168 --> 01:16:40,098
well, maybe. We could slow down prairie run, maybe. Give.

1119
01:16:41,418 --> 01:16:45,948
And then. I just copped out and I said, okay,

1120
01:16:45,948 --> 01:16:51,475
just reduce everything by 5%. And I don't know what

1121
01:16:51,475 --> 01:16:53,835
people think, but I think that's something we all need

1122
01:16:53,835 --> 01:17:00,941
to be thinking about. As everybody starts getting squeezed.

1123
01:17:03,539 --> 01:17:07,779
So that's what I looked at, is if we were

1124
01:17:07,779 --> 01:17:13,422
required or if the. Because. I was going to preface

1125
01:17:13,422 --> 01:17:17,821
this by saying that. I'm on the mosquito control board,

1126
01:17:17,821 --> 01:17:21,221
and we've been sunset, and apparently the county. Commissioners are

1127
01:17:21,221 --> 01:17:25,149
getting rid of some of these. Advisory boards, and I

1128
01:17:25,149 --> 01:17:28,589
don't blame them. There are 27. And so then I

1129
01:17:28,589 --> 01:17:32,389
thought, well, if you only wanted 20 advisory boards, which

1130
01:17:32,389 --> 01:17:35,989
ones would you want? And the mosquito control mosquito program.

1131
01:17:35,989 --> 01:17:40,075
Is in good hands, and so. It's not a problem

1132
01:17:40,075 --> 01:17:44,155
if it's sunset, but the county commissioners are cutting the

1133
01:17:44,155 --> 01:17:48,355
budgets. And so I just thought maybe we should be

1134
01:17:48,355 --> 01:17:57,584
thinking about what could we handle? This continued. If these

1135
01:17:57,584 --> 01:18:01,344
imperatives continued. And I know this is separate money that

1136
01:18:01,344 --> 01:18:06,578
we have, it's special money, but. We're going to try

1137
01:18:06,578 --> 01:18:11,741
to offer. But we wiggle around too, by getting. The

1138
01:18:11,741 --> 01:18:15,482
roof and that kind of thing. Anyway, that was my

1139
01:18:15,482 --> 01:18:20,543
thought experiment out there. For consideration. So I think that

1140
01:18:20,543 --> 01:18:27,050
is a very good thought experiment. We are not in

1141
01:18:27,050 --> 01:18:32,411
that place today. But what I would ask is. Of

1142
01:18:32,411 --> 01:18:36,950
the things I presented. The buffalo and the fencing. And

1143
01:18:36,950 --> 01:18:40,030
you did mention prairie rung, if there are any of

1144
01:18:40,030 --> 01:18:47,094
those. That you feel. We should be. Saying, hey. Let's

1145
01:18:47,094 --> 01:18:51,894
pull that from 2026. That's what the commissioners are going

1146
01:18:51,894 --> 01:18:55,604
to be. Deciding on. Is. What of these things? House

1147
01:18:55,604 --> 01:18:57,644
maintenance. Are we still going to put another half a

1148
01:18:57,644 --> 01:19:00,564
million into house maintenance. Are we still going to put

1149
01:19:00,564 --> 01:19:06,395
a million into buffalo fencing or 250? Into. Ag infrastructure.

1150
01:19:07,885 --> 01:19:11,182
So that's what I would focus on. If I were

1151
01:19:11,182 --> 01:19:13,542
you. As a group, we like this or we don't

1152
01:19:13,542 --> 01:19:16,482
like this. If you're going to cut something, here's what

1153
01:19:16,482 --> 01:19:21,380
we would recommend. We have been told explicitly we're not

1154
01:19:21,380 --> 01:19:25,498
asking for everybody to cut 5%. So that could happen.

1155
01:19:25,498 --> 01:19:30,672
It has happened in my tenure, for sure. But right

1156
01:19:30,672 --> 01:19:35,533
now they're not saying, just cut. Well, they're not saying

1157
01:19:35,533 --> 01:19:40,871
anything right now for the open space. But the world

1158
01:19:40,871 --> 01:19:46,970
is changing, right? Okay. Let me just say, on the

1159
01:19:46,970 --> 01:19:51,570
buffalo fencing, that one seems like it's an ethical promise.

1160
01:19:51,570 --> 01:19:58,458
Or it's a relationship thing that. Is hard. To reneg

1161
01:19:58,458 --> 01:20:03,226
on. But it also seems like just a wonderful thing.

1162
01:20:05,153 --> 01:20:07,153
So that's part of my thought process as I went

1163
01:20:07,153 --> 01:20:12,751
through all of this. In a prayer run. I know,

1164
01:20:12,751 --> 01:20:16,948
but gosh, something anyway. I think christine wants to. Christine

1165
01:20:16,948 --> 01:20:24,618
johnson posac. I really appreciated. The memo, and I appreciated.

1166
01:20:25,941 --> 01:20:28,821
The presentation. And I like how you slice and dice

1167
01:20:28,821 --> 01:20:31,421
things in a thousand different ways so that we understand.

1168
01:20:32,897 --> 01:20:40,061
And I also think that. Everything that you presented. Is.

1169
01:20:41,966 --> 01:20:46,328
I feel like every year. You're very clear about. The

1170
01:20:46,328 --> 01:20:53,581
priorities. And these fit. In. Very clearly. With the priorities

1171
01:20:53,581 --> 01:20:58,741
and the values of Pos. And I also wanted to

1172
01:20:58,741 --> 01:21:04,671
note that. The county commissioners have been very clear about.

1173
01:21:05,915 --> 01:21:11,415
Continuing to focus on equity. And I see that. In

1174
01:21:11,415 --> 01:21:19,976
the way the spending. Is budgeted in this. I reflect

1175
01:21:19,976 --> 01:21:25,459
on? Some things. That you, Therese, have said in the

1176
01:21:25,459 --> 01:21:30,194
past, which is that. CMax. I think about the gravel

1177
01:21:30,194 --> 01:21:39,504
mining, I think about. The cardinal mill, even the extrapation

1178
01:21:39,504 --> 01:21:45,701
of. Bison and reintroduction. Some of these have been done

1179
01:21:45,701 --> 01:21:50,341
by private entities, but that it's a public entity which

1180
01:21:50,341 --> 01:21:56,549
has the capacity and has the funds. To make things

1181
01:21:56,549 --> 01:22:03,168
right, and I think that's reflected. In this budget. And

1182
01:22:03,168 --> 01:22:08,656
I like that. I also want to note that. We're

1183
01:22:08,656 --> 01:22:12,918
at a point in time where. Some federal lands are

1184
01:22:12,918 --> 01:22:22,741
being threatened and. I feel really. Fortunate to live. in

1185
01:22:22,741 --> 01:22:25,981
the city of boulder and in boulder county and i

1186
01:22:25,981 --> 01:22:30,134
have reflected quite a bit about Protection of lands and

1187
01:22:30,134 --> 01:22:39,965
conservation. And restoration of land. Being done. At different levels

1188
01:22:39,965 --> 01:22:45,085
by different entities. And I think that the work that

1189
01:22:45,085 --> 01:22:51,103
Pos in Boulder county is doing is. Extremely important. And

1190
01:22:51,103 --> 01:22:55,783
I'll also note that you also very clearly show how

1191
01:22:55,783 --> 01:22:59,951
this is aligned with a comprehensive plan. And the last

1192
01:22:59,951 --> 01:23:03,831
thing I'll comment or the question I have is I

1193
01:23:03,831 --> 01:23:10,655
assume that. Part of the reason the Cardinal mill. Expenses

1194
01:23:10,655 --> 01:23:14,255
are increasing is because of changes in state regulation, but

1195
01:23:14,255 --> 01:23:19,738
I assume that also. There's less state and federal money,

1196
01:23:19,738 --> 01:23:22,738
matching or grant money, and that we're having to come

1197
01:23:22,738 --> 01:23:27,995
up with the shortfall. Yes, that's true. We investigated whether

1198
01:23:27,995 --> 01:23:30,475
we would qualify for brownfields and they said no. We

1199
01:23:30,475 --> 01:23:32,475
put in the first proposal and they're like, now doesn't

1200
01:23:32,475 --> 01:23:38,647
qualify for brownfields. Yeah, so it is. It's definitely impacting

1201
01:23:38,647 --> 01:23:43,114
us. Maybe it's not fair to ask, but how much

1202
01:23:43,114 --> 01:23:46,354
do you think the cost of that item has increased

1203
01:23:46,354 --> 01:23:55,879
because. Of. Decreases in monies available elsewhere.

1204
01:23:58,197 --> 01:24:01,637
Well, in all honesty, when they came with the first

1205
01:24:01,637 --> 01:24:04,557
estimates, it was going to be 14 million. So this

1206
01:24:04,557 --> 01:24:07,997
is looking good to us right now. But at the

1207
01:24:07,997 --> 01:24:15,658
14 million, I mean, in either case. well i use

1208
01:24:15,658 --> 01:24:20,058
the prince lake example $3 million came from the feds

1209
01:24:20,058 --> 01:24:23,083
and we had to put in a fraction 10% Cardinal

1210
01:24:23,083 --> 01:24:25,643
Mill. You could imagine the same thing that we could

1211
01:24:25,643 --> 01:24:32,293
have expected. 75%. With state and federal. And this, we're

1212
01:24:32,293 --> 01:24:36,029
going to have to cover ourselves. Yeah, right. That's all.

1213
01:24:38,011 --> 01:24:44,744
You said that. You've done a trip to Cardinal Mill.

1214
01:24:44,744 --> 01:24:50,352
A third of the third of Posac. Is new. I

1215
01:24:50,352 --> 01:24:59,070
don't have the right word. Some point. Where? You could

1216
01:24:59,070 --> 01:25:04,076
do that again where you're not just repeating. What you

1217
01:25:04,076 --> 01:25:06,516
did for these other people. Well, there's a lot of

1218
01:25:06,516 --> 01:25:09,876
major expenditure that you're. Asking us about. Exactly. Yeah, we

1219
01:25:09,876 --> 01:25:12,076
would love to take you up there and so much

1220
01:25:12,076 --> 01:25:17,787
is evolving. That. Yeah, even for those who. Saw it

1221
01:25:17,787 --> 01:25:21,037
two years ago or something. They're going to have. A

1222
01:25:21,037 --> 01:25:24,996
better understanding. Part of the budget, too. It is? Well,

1223
01:25:24,996 --> 01:25:28,917
that's why I'm asking. It's a big part of the

1224
01:25:28,917 --> 01:25:31,485
budget. And. I've driven up and looked at the outside,

1225
01:25:31,485 --> 01:25:34,901
but that doesn't tell me anything. About. What you got

1226
01:25:34,901 --> 01:25:40,355
to do. Yeah, well. We can certainly schedule a field

1227
01:25:40,355 --> 01:25:42,835
trip. Probably not between now and the time the commissioners

1228
01:25:42,835 --> 01:25:46,896
are going. To be looking at the budget. But no,

1229
01:25:46,896 --> 01:25:48,816
we would love to take you up there. And that

1230
01:25:48,816 --> 01:25:50,976
does remind me I'm going to give another plug for

1231
01:25:50,976 --> 01:25:53,136
the September 12. We're doing a field trip up in

1232
01:25:53,136 --> 01:25:58,653
that area. It's congremine. And Prescott wetland. So two other

1233
01:25:58,653 --> 01:26:01,813
things nearby. We will not swing by a cardinal mill.

1234
01:26:03,445 --> 01:26:08,124
But. You already signed up, of course. We're glad that

1235
01:26:08,124 --> 01:26:14,615
you did. Well, Joan, you had your hand up. Yeah.

1236
01:26:14,615 --> 01:26:22,094
Oh, you got it. Yeah. Okay. All right, Vicky. Thanks,

1237
01:26:22,094 --> 01:26:25,374
Teresa. I have a couple of questions. One is maybe

1238
01:26:25,374 --> 01:26:28,694
just my ineptinus. Where would the buffalo fencing go? Is

1239
01:26:28,694 --> 01:26:34,458
that up in rabbit mountain area? Where's my cMax map?

1240
01:26:38,459 --> 01:26:40,804
So. We haven't been. I think I skipped over it.

1241
01:26:44,222 --> 01:26:46,462
How many times would you like to see these photos?

1242
01:26:46,462 --> 01:26:54,176
I like the little baby. There we go. So surrounding.

1243
01:26:54,176 --> 01:26:56,576
So we're not going to put Buffalo where the mine

1244
01:26:56,576 --> 01:26:59,936
was? The whole idea. Is, perhaps. And again, we're working

1245
01:26:59,936 --> 01:27:02,136
with a shyna and Rapaho. We just. Had a recent

1246
01:27:02,136 --> 01:27:08,752
visit in the last six weeks. With. Two tribal members

1247
01:27:08,752 --> 01:27:12,792
or representatives that have worked with Buffalo. And so they

1248
01:27:12,792 --> 01:27:15,232
came out to look at the land and give ideas

1249
01:27:15,232 --> 01:27:17,672
of how much what the carrying capacity could be and

1250
01:27:17,672 --> 01:27:22,074
everything. Basically on the edges where we have had agriculture

1251
01:27:22,074 --> 01:27:25,674
in the past, we have leased land around the edges

1252
01:27:25,674 --> 01:27:32,557
of the mine. For the past 20 years. 25 years.

1253
01:27:32,557 --> 01:27:36,477
And so it's just converting it from cow grazing. To

1254
01:27:36,477 --> 01:27:42,496
Buffalo grazing. So it's in that area. And the Cheyenne

1255
01:27:42,496 --> 01:27:45,336
and Arapaho would manage this, so they would have somebody

1256
01:27:45,336 --> 01:27:47,296
here that would. Manage it or the Boulder county is

1257
01:27:47,296 --> 01:27:52,355
going to manage. It will definitely be a partnership. And

1258
01:27:52,355 --> 01:27:56,435
all those details are still to be decided. Okay. Yeah.

1259
01:27:56,435 --> 01:27:59,835
So then I had another question about. The Prince Lake

1260
01:27:59,835 --> 01:28:02,515
Dam. And you said $3 million of that has come

1261
01:28:02,515 --> 01:28:05,788
from the federal government. Is there any possibility that's going

1262
01:28:05,788 --> 01:28:10,195
to be clawed back? Everything is possible. We had a.

1263
01:28:10,195 --> 01:28:12,355
Yes, go ahead. Don't worry about it. From the state.

1264
01:28:12,355 --> 01:28:14,275
The money comes from FEMa to the state to us.

1265
01:28:15,643 --> 01:28:18,880
And then. A communication month after that, probably in March.

1266
01:28:20,852 --> 01:28:26,917
Was like, If we can't come up with it. You

1267
01:28:26,917 --> 01:28:30,831
might be on the hook. And we have not heard

1268
01:28:30,831 --> 01:28:34,071
any yay or nay since then. It's always been steady.

1269
01:28:34,071 --> 01:28:37,031
State. Keep going. Keep going. And our county commissioners know

1270
01:28:37,031 --> 01:28:42,196
that. If the well, they've been talking to. Our representatives

1271
01:28:42,196 --> 01:28:45,993
as well. That. If there will be an outcry if

1272
01:28:45,993 --> 01:28:49,756
the money does not come through. But it's entirely possible

1273
01:28:49,756 --> 01:28:52,985
it could not come through. And guess what? We'll need

1274
01:28:52,985 --> 01:28:56,265
three more million dollars to pay for the contractors fixing

1275
01:28:56,265 --> 01:28:59,105
Prince Lake. So I was trying not to say that.

1276
01:28:59,105 --> 01:29:03,178
Hoping not to jinx us here. Sorry. It just seems

1277
01:29:03,178 --> 01:29:07,480
like a big chunk. If we're to lose it, and

1278
01:29:07,480 --> 01:29:11,001
we're seeing that happen all over the government. Obviously. Yes,

1279
01:29:11,001 --> 01:29:15,127
without a doubt. Without a doubt. Thank you. All right,

1280
01:29:15,127 --> 01:29:20,143
any more questions? I just have a couple of trees.

1281
01:29:20,143 --> 01:29:22,503
First off, I think it's a good job doing this

1282
01:29:22,503 --> 01:29:25,583
and putting this all together and showing it to us.

1283
01:29:25,583 --> 01:29:27,503
Most of these projects seem really important. And some of

1284
01:29:27,503 --> 01:29:31,567
them are ongoing. Or promises like Perry, Ron has been

1285
01:29:31,567 --> 01:29:34,104
something that. 's been a lot of times been put

1286
01:29:34,104 --> 01:29:37,786
on planning that. And a lot of effort by this

1287
01:29:37,786 --> 01:29:41,586
group as far as reviewing it. One of the questions

1288
01:29:41,586 --> 01:29:45,915
I have is Harren lake outlet construction. And as someone

1289
01:29:45,915 --> 01:29:49,115
that's out there a lot, is that going to include

1290
01:29:49,115 --> 01:29:53,474
making the trail? Better too. Or is it mainly about

1291
01:29:53,474 --> 01:29:57,794
flooding? It's mainly about flooding because the trail gets flooded

1292
01:29:57,794 --> 01:30:01,804
now. And I'm just wondering if that'll get part of

1293
01:30:01,804 --> 01:30:04,705
the project, too. I was looking at Stefan to see

1294
01:30:04,705 --> 01:30:09,060
if Stefan has more details on it. Oh, Jared. Yeah,

1295
01:30:09,060 --> 01:30:12,100
it says culvert repair, but the outlet doesn't have a

1296
01:30:12,100 --> 01:30:15,722
real culvert. That you can see right now. Jared Roberts,

1297
01:30:15,722 --> 01:30:18,002
deputy director of community amenities yeah, janet so I think

1298
01:30:18,002 --> 01:30:20,282
part of the process is to look at. Can we

1299
01:30:20,282 --> 01:30:22,682
make that crossing better for the trail experience as well,

1300
01:30:22,682 --> 01:30:24,682
because the flooding is what's causing the issue for the

1301
01:30:24,682 --> 01:30:28,122
trail experience, right? Especially from an accessibility standpoint. You get

1302
01:30:28,122 --> 01:30:30,082
to that point and you either have to turn around.

1303
01:30:31,945 --> 01:30:33,225
Or wait through where some people are able to kind

1304
01:30:33,225 --> 01:30:36,705
of, like, skirt around the edge. Yeah. And. You did

1305
01:30:36,705 --> 01:30:41,265
install something nice to get around it, but for people

1306
01:30:41,265 --> 01:30:43,585
that aren't so good. On their feet or they've got

1307
01:30:43,585 --> 01:30:46,705
strollers and stuff they can't get through. Then that's the

1308
01:30:46,705 --> 01:30:49,185
intent with the design. I think, depending on what the

1309
01:30:49,185 --> 01:30:51,385
expense or the cost would be that could limit our

1310
01:30:51,385 --> 01:30:53,254
ability to do. Things because we can't raise it very

1311
01:30:53,254 --> 01:30:56,214
much is my understanding in that area. Okay, but. If

1312
01:30:56,214 --> 01:31:00,134
it drains, it'll be better. Okay. All right. Thanks. That's

1313
01:31:00,134 --> 01:31:04,261
the only question. I have. So how about. We'll do

1314
01:31:04,261 --> 01:31:06,261
some more discussion in a minute, but let's see. If

1315
01:31:06,261 --> 01:31:09,998
we got any public comment. Do we have anybody in

1316
01:31:09,998 --> 01:31:13,356
the room that wants to comment on this? I don't

1317
01:31:13,356 --> 01:31:18,566
see anybody. Nick, do we have anybody? Online. Yes, we

1318
01:31:18,566 --> 01:31:23,443
do. Jamil Molian, I'm going to allow you to speak.

1319
01:31:28,049 --> 01:31:30,049
You'll need to unmute yourself and you'll have three minutes.

1320
01:31:36,855 --> 01:31:40,820
Hi. Can you guys hear me? Yes. We can. Awesome.

1321
01:31:40,820 --> 01:31:44,380
I'm Jamila. I go to see you boulder. I was

1322
01:31:44,380 --> 01:31:46,620
just joining. This meeting, but I had a question about.

1323
01:31:48,346 --> 01:31:51,346
The fencing for the buffaloes. I was wondering what the

1324
01:31:51,346 --> 01:31:54,386
purpose would be for converting that specific area in Cheyenne

1325
01:31:54,386 --> 01:31:58,506
and Arapaho. From pow grazing to buffalo grazing. I just

1326
01:31:58,506 --> 01:32:02,468
wanted to know. A little bit more about that. Okay,

1327
01:32:02,468 --> 01:32:06,428
so the question, not so much input or comment, theresa.

1328
01:32:09,171 --> 01:32:11,447
Do you want to try to answer that question? Sure.

1329
01:32:13,199 --> 01:32:15,919
In parks and open space. We've got 25,000 acres of

1330
01:32:15,919 --> 01:32:23,531
land that we lease. To ranchers and farmers. And they

1331
01:32:23,531 --> 01:32:32,311
have historically been. Of european heritage. So we know that

1332
01:32:32,311 --> 01:32:35,471
there are buffalo herds in the area. There are counterpart

1333
01:32:35,471 --> 01:32:40,311
agencies like Daniels park. That have been raising have buffalo

1334
01:32:40,311 --> 01:32:45,939
on their open space. And same with Larimer County. And

1335
01:32:45,939 --> 01:32:48,659
so we were introduced to the Shyan and Rapaho. They

1336
01:32:48,659 --> 01:32:53,461
were here on consultations. With the city of Boulder. And

1337
01:32:53,461 --> 01:32:56,661
they talked to our county commissioners and said, hey, is

1338
01:32:56,661 --> 01:32:59,941
there something that we could do some sort of partnership

1339
01:32:59,941 --> 01:33:02,261
that we could do to bring Shyana and Rapaho back.

1340
01:33:03,867 --> 01:33:06,507
To Boulder county. They are one of the historic tribes

1341
01:33:06,507 --> 01:33:10,725
here in the most recent. Tribes that lived in Boulder

1342
01:33:10,725 --> 01:33:16,609
county before white settlers. So we said in our context,

1343
01:33:16,609 --> 01:33:23,262
rather than. Leasing land to a traditional cow rancher. Could

1344
01:33:23,262 --> 01:33:27,142
we have an agreement with a shyan rapaho? And they

1345
01:33:27,142 --> 01:33:30,662
would bring buffalo here. So that's what our discussions have

1346
01:33:30,662 --> 01:33:35,759
been. For the past several years. And so the answer

1347
01:33:35,759 --> 01:33:40,319
is yes, they are interested. They also have a board

1348
01:33:40,319 --> 01:33:43,159
just like this that they have to get approval for

1349
01:33:43,159 --> 01:33:47,759
staff and budgets. And that sort of thing. So both

1350
01:33:47,759 --> 01:33:52,439
entities are working on this novel partnership, which would be

1351
01:33:52,439 --> 01:33:55,359
leasing for a fraction a dollar a year to the

1352
01:33:55,359 --> 01:33:57,639
Cheyenne and Arapaho to bring buffalo back. So it would

1353
01:33:57,639 --> 01:34:03,663
be. Converting land we have grazed. With cows to land

1354
01:34:03,663 --> 01:34:08,070
that would be grazed with buffalo. All right. Thanks, Terese.

1355
01:34:08,070 --> 01:34:10,470
And thanks for the question. Generally, what we do is

1356
01:34:10,470 --> 01:34:13,990
take comments at this point and don't really get into

1357
01:34:13,990 --> 01:34:17,498
a discussion back and forth. So hopefully that answered your

1358
01:34:17,498 --> 01:34:21,894
question. Did you have any more of a comment? No,

1359
01:34:21,894 --> 01:34:24,014
all good. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Yeah,

1360
01:34:24,014 --> 01:34:28,014
thank you. We appreciate hearing from you. Anybody else online?

1361
01:34:31,504 --> 01:34:34,904
I don't see any other hands raised. Okay. All right.

1362
01:34:34,904 --> 01:34:39,064
Thank you. And let's go back. Postag, at this point,

1363
01:34:39,064 --> 01:34:43,424
did you have something, Trace? Yes, Terese again on the

1364
01:34:43,424 --> 01:34:51,957
subject of the buffalo. In addition to the fencing, Would

1365
01:34:51,957 --> 01:34:54,357
any changes have to be made to the ground in

1366
01:34:54,357 --> 01:35:00,947
terms of planning specific grasses or anything? Like that. Well,

1367
01:35:00,947 --> 01:35:04,667
weed management for sure. Yes, we'll need to manage weeds

1368
01:35:04,667 --> 01:35:07,587
out there. The area is pretty diverse. It is not

1369
01:35:07,587 --> 01:35:13,267
a monoculture of planted grazing grass. It has a good

1370
01:35:13,267 --> 01:35:15,987
plant diversity. Out there, which would be ideal for Buffalo.

1371
01:35:15,987 --> 01:35:23,174
Okay. Thank you. Okay. Any more questions? I had one

1372
01:35:23,174 --> 01:35:26,134
more question, Terese. So, looking at the egg and you

1373
01:35:26,134 --> 01:35:29,941
pointed out how expensive it is. And each time we've

1374
01:35:29,941 --> 01:35:32,741
been looking at budgets, there's quite a bit of investment.

1375
01:35:32,741 --> 01:35:36,581
In infrastructure, whether it's fencing or the center pivots, to

1376
01:35:36,581 --> 01:35:41,411
improve water efficiency. Is there a point where. It's going

1377
01:35:41,411 --> 01:35:45,070
to be caught up and we might see that. 1

1378
01:35:45,070 --> 01:35:48,870
million revenue versus 3 million spent. Start to balance out

1379
01:35:48,870 --> 01:35:52,385
and maybe switch a little bit. Just like how I

1380
01:35:52,385 --> 01:35:54,985
described in our housing. We're putting a lot of money

1381
01:35:54,985 --> 01:35:59,192
into ag. Now and. We are in year two of

1382
01:35:59,192 --> 01:36:03,632
our asset management system. This is a system that you

1383
01:36:03,632 --> 01:36:07,112
put in. All of your inputs and you can budget

1384
01:36:07,112 --> 01:36:08,832
out how much things are going to cost in the

1385
01:36:08,832 --> 01:36:11,192
long run and you can do a better job of

1386
01:36:11,192 --> 01:36:13,552
budgeting for the next ten or 20. Or 50 years.

1387
01:36:15,178 --> 01:36:18,335
So that asset management system. Our agriculture division is one

1388
01:36:18,335 --> 01:36:22,015
of the first groups that jumped on board, and they're

1389
01:36:22,015 --> 01:36:26,854
putting all of their how many irrigation structures. How many

1390
01:36:26,854 --> 01:36:30,788
miles of fencing? So with that, we are certainly hoping

1391
01:36:30,788 --> 01:36:33,188
that we will be able to have a good, steady

1392
01:36:33,188 --> 01:36:35,788
projection. Of what maintenance costs will be in the long

1393
01:36:35,788 --> 01:36:38,388
run and be able to keep up with that. Out

1394
01:36:38,388 --> 01:36:42,119
of steady state, so. We don't need $4 million a

1395
01:36:42,119 --> 01:36:47,439
year to deal with maintenance backlog. Okay, great. All right,

1396
01:36:47,439 --> 01:36:51,159
so at this point, any more questions? Comments? Discussion? Do

1397
01:36:51,159 --> 01:36:55,057
we want to make a motion? Does anybody want to

1398
01:36:55,057 --> 01:37:01,664
make a motion? Terry speaker? Yeah. Shall I make a

1399
01:37:01,664 --> 01:37:03,944
motion? You can make a motion. Okay, so I move

1400
01:37:03,944 --> 01:37:07,904
the postdack. Recommend approval to the board of county Commissioners

1401
01:37:07,904 --> 01:37:12,304
of the budget. Request as presented by Director Gloaki I'll

1402
01:37:12,304 --> 01:37:14,464
second it. All right, so we got a motion and

1403
01:37:14,464 --> 01:37:18,413
a second. Let's do a vote. All those in favor?

1404
01:37:20,043 --> 01:37:27,009
Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank

1405
01:37:27,009 --> 01:37:32,061
you. Thank you very much. All right. So next on

1406
01:37:32,061 --> 01:37:36,486
the agenda would be. A public comment period for items

1407
01:37:36,486 --> 01:37:39,526
not on the agenda. Let me ask anybody in the

1408
01:37:39,526 --> 01:37:43,225
room want to comment. See no one. Anybody online want

1409
01:37:43,225 --> 01:37:46,105
to comment? And this could be items not on the

1410
01:37:46,105 --> 01:37:52,012
agenda. I don't see any hands raised. All right, thank

1411
01:37:52,012 --> 01:37:55,252
you. So the next agenda item moving. Right along will

1412
01:37:55,252 --> 01:37:59,092
be posTC members comment period for items not on the

1413
01:37:59,092 --> 01:38:05,582
agenda. All right. Christine. Christine Johnson Posak. I just wanted

1414
01:38:05,582 --> 01:38:12,310
to comment. On. Some of the. Two public comments that

1415
01:38:12,310 --> 01:38:18,167
we received since the last meeting. There was a comment

1416
01:38:18,167 --> 01:38:25,686
regarding bikes. At Marshall Mesa and. Is that city. But.

1417
01:38:29,302 --> 01:38:34,505
Talking about opposite directions for bike and pedestrians and. I

1418
01:38:34,505 --> 01:38:38,545
think that it's not a bad idea, just in general.

1419
01:38:40,341 --> 01:38:46,069
For us to be thinking. On properties or trails where

1420
01:38:46,069 --> 01:38:53,866
bikes and horses and pedestrians. Are working together about enforcement

1421
01:38:53,866 --> 01:38:59,099
and novel ways of managing things and looking at. What

1422
01:38:59,099 --> 01:39:05,542
other county? Open space. Other city open space is doing,

1423
01:39:05,542 --> 01:39:09,104
and I just wanted to acknowledge that comment. And then

1424
01:39:09,104 --> 01:39:17,126
there was another. Comment that. Was not. Pos. Related. About

1425
01:39:17,126 --> 01:39:23,005
compost, and it sounds like the county. Is supporting. The

1426
01:39:23,005 --> 01:39:29,198
land swap. With city of Longmont open space. And I

1427
01:39:29,198 --> 01:39:34,524
just wanted to go on the record saying, That. We

1428
01:39:34,524 --> 01:39:40,889
need compost. Happening? Within Boulder county or supporting Boulder county,

1429
01:39:40,889 --> 01:39:45,365
and I would encourage that person. To rethink their position.

1430
01:39:48,261 --> 01:39:50,956
That's it. Thanks. And thanks for the reminder about that

1431
01:39:50,956 --> 01:39:55,569
comment about Marshall Mesa, because. And thank you, Renata, for

1432
01:39:55,569 --> 01:39:58,249
forwarding that. She forwarded that onto the city of Boulder.

1433
01:39:58,249 --> 01:40:05,317
To handle it. Anybody else? All right. Thank you, I

1434
01:40:05,317 --> 01:40:11,954
guess. Carol byerly. I just. Continue. Christine's comment. I've been

1435
01:40:11,954 --> 01:40:17,855
getting queries about. Compost issue. Me too. So I'm wondering

1436
01:40:17,855 --> 01:40:20,855
if we could get a brief on what's going on,

1437
01:40:20,855 --> 01:40:24,766
so. I don't say. Well, I don't know. If it

1438
01:40:24,766 --> 01:40:31,912
is a ripe issue, as it were. Good one. City

1439
01:40:31,912 --> 01:40:35,875
of Lawmark. Okay, well, if I could. I can give

1440
01:40:35,875 --> 01:40:39,075
you a little bit of background information on it. So

1441
01:40:39,075 --> 01:40:43,356
again, Teresa Glow Ikea. Parks nervous space. So what? The

1442
01:40:43,356 --> 01:40:49,803
county, when the county established its sustainability tax, 2015? 2017?

1443
01:40:49,803 --> 01:40:54,063
I don't know the year. They put money aside. To

1444
01:40:54,063 --> 01:40:56,943
establish a compost facility in Boulder county, and since then,

1445
01:40:56,943 --> 01:41:00,894
we've been looking for a site. Many of you may

1446
01:41:00,894 --> 01:41:03,734
have heard about the rainbow Tree nursery. That's where it

1447
01:41:03,734 --> 01:41:08,134
had an open space Nexus. That one was not approved

1448
01:41:08,134 --> 01:41:15,947
by the county commissioners, but. There's a fear in the

1449
01:41:15,947 --> 01:41:19,507
community that anyone, county commissioners are open space are going

1450
01:41:19,507 --> 01:41:22,547
to use open space. Sell open space and use it

1451
01:41:22,547 --> 01:41:26,418
as a composting facility. What's happening right now in the

1452
01:41:26,418 --> 01:41:30,938
city of Longmont is they have identified they purchased two

1453
01:41:30,938 --> 01:41:34,378
properties, and these are about a mile and a half

1454
01:41:34,378 --> 01:41:37,178
east of east county line Road, so. They're in Weld

1455
01:41:37,178 --> 01:41:42,378
county, but very close to Boulder county and southeast Longland.

1456
01:41:42,378 --> 01:41:45,594
The two properties. One is purchased by public works. The

1457
01:41:45,594 --> 01:41:48,914
others purchased by open space. The one that open space

1458
01:41:48,914 --> 01:41:53,234
owns is currently being mined. The one that public works

1459
01:41:53,234 --> 01:41:57,634
owns has already been mined. So the proposal is swap

1460
01:41:57,634 --> 01:42:01,314
the two properties so the one that is already being

1461
01:42:01,314 --> 01:42:05,234
restored and is closer to the riparian area would become.

1462
01:42:05,789 --> 01:42:09,189
Open space. And the current open space that is being

1463
01:42:09,189 --> 01:42:14,029
mined for gravel would become the public works. Site. That

1464
01:42:14,029 --> 01:42:18,374
is what is confusing the public. On. You're selling open

1465
01:42:18,374 --> 01:42:21,294
space and going to put a compost facility that is

1466
01:42:21,294 --> 01:42:25,654
not the intention. Open space would actually get more acres

1467
01:42:25,654 --> 01:42:29,374
if they did the land swap, but it's public perception

1468
01:42:29,374 --> 01:42:31,974
that you're selling open space to put in a compost

1469
01:42:31,974 --> 01:42:36,268
facility. So that has not been decided by the city

1470
01:42:36,268 --> 01:42:38,548
of Longmont. That is the city of Longwood. Decision does

1471
01:42:38,548 --> 01:42:40,988
not have anything to do with Bowler county open space.

1472
01:42:42,376 --> 01:42:47,788
But boulder county. Our sustainability office and public works. Will

1473
01:42:47,788 --> 01:42:51,788
be partners with whoever, like Longman. If Longma decides to

1474
01:42:51,788 --> 01:42:54,068
put a compost facility there. We have said we have

1475
01:42:54,068 --> 01:42:56,708
money in order to do that and are willing as

1476
01:42:56,708 --> 01:42:59,908
a county to help contribute. So that's where Boulder county

1477
01:42:59,908 --> 01:43:03,588
gets drugged into this. Now, if that whole deal falls

1478
01:43:03,588 --> 01:43:08,160
apart, Boulder county is still willing to look for. A

1479
01:43:08,160 --> 01:43:11,400
composting facility. They're not looking on open space. It would

1480
01:43:11,400 --> 01:43:13,960
be where in Boulder county. Is someone going to say

1481
01:43:13,960 --> 01:43:16,560
yes, we can have a composting facility next to us.

1482
01:43:18,254 --> 01:43:24,061
Hence the dilemma. We, Boulder county, our partner, parks and

1483
01:43:24,061 --> 01:43:26,781
open space. We want the compost facility as much as

1484
01:43:26,781 --> 01:43:30,101
anyone. We have 25,000 acres of agricultural land that need

1485
01:43:30,101 --> 01:43:36,424
compost. So anyway, that's what it is. And if you

1486
01:43:36,424 --> 01:43:39,885
have any questions, you can let me know. Vicky Lawrence

1487
01:43:39,885 --> 01:43:42,485
with Posek. Teresa, did you say this land is in

1488
01:43:42,485 --> 01:43:44,965
Weld county? It's. Just adjacent to Boulder county. But this

1489
01:43:44,965 --> 01:43:50,165
is Weld county land that Longmont bought, yes. And the

1490
01:43:50,165 --> 01:43:53,325
city of Longmont owns both of those, and I don't

1491
01:43:53,325 --> 01:43:55,965
know if it's in their town, limited, certainly in their

1492
01:43:55,965 --> 01:43:59,960
influence zone. But the city of Longmont owns both of

1493
01:43:59,960 --> 01:44:08,415
those parcels right now. Anything else? All right, moving on.

1494
01:44:10,330 --> 01:44:13,770
To the director's update. So, Teresa, you're still on. Well,

1495
01:44:13,770 --> 01:44:15,530
that's why. I stayed here. I knew it wouldn't be

1496
01:44:15,530 --> 01:44:18,730
long, so just a few things I already. Told you

1497
01:44:18,730 --> 01:44:22,169
about the wonderful news for the ballot. Measure is going

1498
01:44:22,169 --> 01:44:25,849
to be put in front of the voters in November.

1499
01:44:28,824 --> 01:44:32,151
to request them to approve Zero point 15% tax in

1500
01:44:32,151 --> 01:44:38,920
perpetuity. Real estate update, the gateway property that was. The

1501
01:44:38,920 --> 01:44:42,823
property. Between Broomfield and Lewisville had been on Lewisville's list

1502
01:44:42,823 --> 01:44:47,806
for a long time. We purchased it for 2.7 million,

1503
01:44:47,806 --> 01:44:52,275
so that's a nice closing. I know. Poseac asked, is

1504
01:44:52,275 --> 01:44:55,235
the city of Louisville going to contribute? We are still

1505
01:44:55,235 --> 01:45:00,060
working very hard to get them to contribute. So we

1506
01:45:00,060 --> 01:45:06,746
have not forgotten about that request. AG hosted. Ag tour.

1507
01:45:06,746 --> 01:45:09,986
John was on it. Vicky was on it. That was

1508
01:45:09,986 --> 01:45:13,906
last Saturday. Wonderful. We visited two. Farms. There were 45

1509
01:45:13,906 --> 01:45:17,233
people that came out. We got to hear from. The

1510
01:45:17,233 --> 01:45:21,193
great, great granddaughter of John Clark and all the stories

1511
01:45:21,193 --> 01:45:24,793
of that farm that is now county. Open space and

1512
01:45:24,793 --> 01:45:30,126
the current farmers, so that was. A great. Public tour.

1513
01:45:32,280 --> 01:45:35,720
CSU extension is now working with wildfire partners. They have.

1514
01:45:37,486 --> 01:45:40,406
A new within the last year, they hired a sustainable

1515
01:45:40,406 --> 01:45:45,049
landscapes person. And they're working with wildfire partners to help

1516
01:45:45,049 --> 01:45:54,483
develop a program. Working with hoas. to get sustainable practices

1517
01:45:54,483 --> 01:45:58,123
and wildfire mitigation in the home so that's a nice

1518
01:45:58,123 --> 01:46:01,563
new branch that csu extension you heard eric's presentation not

1519
01:46:01,563 --> 01:46:02,574
that long ago How they're constantly evolving. What they're doing,

1520
01:46:02,574 --> 01:46:04,774
it's not just for H. It is four h, which

1521
01:46:04,774 --> 01:46:09,381
is great, but it's a whole lot more. Will toll

1522
01:46:09,381 --> 01:46:13,501
is our new recreation of facilities division manager. Since Jared

1523
01:46:13,501 --> 01:46:16,781
got promoted, will toll was buildings and historic preservation. So

1524
01:46:16,781 --> 01:46:20,461
he will now be the recreation of facilities division manager.

1525
01:46:20,461 --> 01:46:23,341
You might remember him. Because he did the tiered approach

1526
01:46:23,341 --> 01:46:28,332
to all of our historic structures. Mike agana is here.

1527
01:46:30,505 --> 01:46:33,865
Mike Agna is our new division manager for the resource

1528
01:46:33,865 --> 01:46:36,905
management division. So Stefan got promoted to deputy and now

1529
01:46:36,905 --> 01:46:43,580
Mike. Has been. Selected as our new division manager. There's

1530
01:46:43,580 --> 01:46:46,580
a little cascade happening there. Shane, I think, gave a

1531
01:46:46,580 --> 01:46:50,220
presentation not that long ago. About limber pine. So Shane

1532
01:46:50,220 --> 01:46:53,980
is having additional responsibilities as well to fill in for

1533
01:46:53,980 --> 01:46:59,866
Mike. And Vivian is getting ready for the conservation awards.

1534
01:46:59,866 --> 01:47:04,188
We would love to have. Posac attend the conservation awards.

1535
01:47:04,188 --> 01:47:06,668
They're going to be held at our shelter at our

1536
01:47:06,668 --> 01:47:10,308
parks nervous based building on September 23, so we'll make

1537
01:47:10,308 --> 01:47:12,108
sure that you get an invite to that, I think.

1538
01:47:13,411 --> 01:47:21,295
It is typically 03:00 right, renata? She's talking. 03:00 on

1539
01:47:21,295 --> 01:47:24,175
September 23 we'll make sure that you know about that

1540
01:47:24,175 --> 01:47:26,535
and then two other things. We want to invite you.

1541
01:47:26,535 --> 01:47:30,215
We are going to have another 50th celebration for staff.

1542
01:47:30,215 --> 01:47:34,335
At the Ag Heritage center on the 7 September. So

1543
01:47:34,335 --> 01:47:36,975
we would like to extend that invitation to you if

1544
01:47:36,975 --> 01:47:38,895
you want to come out and have a picnic with

1545
01:47:38,895 --> 01:47:43,746
staff from 430 to six. 30 on Sunday. September 7.

1546
01:47:45,174 --> 01:47:47,776
It will be the entertainment there. Will be the low

1547
01:47:47,776 --> 01:47:49,816
flying knobs. And if you haven't heard of them, they're.

1548
01:47:49,816 --> 01:47:54,736
A fabulous marimba band. You might recognize one of the

1549
01:47:54,736 --> 01:47:59,363
members. And then. We are also going to send you

1550
01:47:59,363 --> 01:48:02,283
a parks and open space all staff work day for

1551
01:48:02,283 --> 01:48:05,723
September. 10, September 10 is we're going to be out

1552
01:48:05,723 --> 01:48:08,963
at Prairie run, so if you want a close up

1553
01:48:08,963 --> 01:48:12,283
look at Prairie run and get to interact with staff.

1554
01:48:12,283 --> 01:48:15,563
We usually get between 50 and 80 staff out there

1555
01:48:15,563 --> 01:48:18,949
doing a host of different work projects, so. We would

1556
01:48:18,949 --> 01:48:20,349
like to invite you to come join us for that.

1557
01:48:20,349 --> 01:48:23,570
If you're up for it. That's all I have. Great.

1558
01:48:25,837 --> 01:48:29,509
Any questions? I had one. I know. I forgot. Yeah.

1559
01:48:29,509 --> 01:48:35,865
Go. Joan Lutz with Posac with the sustainable landscapes. My

1560
01:48:35,865 --> 01:48:39,945
understanding is that there will be a recommendation for specific

1561
01:48:39,945 --> 01:48:44,947
plants to plant. And I would like all of those

1562
01:48:44,947 --> 01:48:48,067
plants to be native plants because we have seen so

1563
01:48:48,067 --> 01:48:52,703
many times in the past. When people have planted things

1564
01:48:52,703 --> 01:48:57,541
that aren't native and they got out of control. It

1565
01:48:57,541 --> 01:49:03,629
is possible to meet. All of the criteria for sustainable

1566
01:49:03,629 --> 01:49:11,761
landscapes using natives only. I am not 100% sure. So

1567
01:49:11,761 --> 01:49:14,838
let me tell you. I have been an advocate for

1568
01:49:14,838 --> 01:49:21,224
that for many years. Knowing how weeds take off when

1569
01:49:21,224 --> 01:49:23,664
you plant them in an environment where they don't have

1570
01:49:23,664 --> 01:49:28,727
natural predators. Now what I am also impressed with is

1571
01:49:28,727 --> 01:49:36,487
CSU extension. And what do they call it? Something select.

1572
01:49:38,896 --> 01:49:44,499
Plant, select, plant, select. Where there's sometimes hybrids and. To

1573
01:49:44,499 --> 01:49:48,772
me. I'm not an expert, but to me. They are

1574
01:49:48,772 --> 01:49:51,892
selecting plants and breeding them so that they are really

1575
01:49:51,892 --> 01:49:56,892
well adapted for our environment here. And I'm not 100%

1576
01:49:56,892 --> 01:50:02,355
sure. But. I do think they are less likely to

1577
01:50:02,355 --> 01:50:10,614
escape. so that's what i don't know with the csu

1578
01:50:10,614 --> 01:50:14,414
extension and wildfire partners if they might be promoting some

1579
01:50:14,414 --> 01:50:19,174
of the csu plant select varieties okay because sometimes these

1580
01:50:19,174 --> 01:50:21,934
non native plants you think they're going to be okay

1581
01:50:21,934 --> 01:50:25,854
like bradford pierre and it was sterile it can't possibly

1582
01:50:25,854 --> 01:50:28,614
reproduce and then nature found a way and now it's

1583
01:50:26,656 --> 01:50:27,455
The eastern part of the United States. A terrible blight.

1584
01:50:30,146 --> 01:50:38,771
But the trouble with picking plants. That appeal to people

1585
01:50:38,771 --> 01:50:44,051
for zero escape purse purposes or whatever is that they're

1586
01:50:44,051 --> 01:50:48,752
not picking plants that appeal to our native pollinators. That

1587
01:50:48,752 --> 01:50:51,472
are not the generalst ones. They're going to be okay

1588
01:50:51,472 --> 01:50:56,789
no matter what, but. The particular ones. Nobody's going to

1589
01:50:56,789 --> 01:51:06,583
see whether. These. Rare bees. Are going to prefer the

1590
01:51:06,583 --> 01:51:11,882
plant select ones because. Of the nectar content or something.

1591
01:51:13,700 --> 01:51:17,220
So, anyway, just a plug for native plants. Well, I

1592
01:51:17,220 --> 01:51:19,860
appreciate your plug, for sure. And in parks? And open

1593
01:51:19,860 --> 01:51:23,607
space. We definitely just go with the natives, that's for

1594
01:51:23,607 --> 01:51:28,418
sure. But I agree. The amount of yard space that

1595
01:51:28,418 --> 01:51:32,618
could be converted to native habitat could change the trajectory

1596
01:51:32,618 --> 01:51:38,975
of our pollinators for sure, right? Given. The apocalypse that

1597
01:51:38,975 --> 01:51:43,387
insects are experiencing. It'd be good to give them as

1598
01:51:43,387 --> 01:51:48,082
much help as possible. Well, I'll check and see. If.

1599
01:51:49,427 --> 01:51:53,227
I'll ask csu. What their program is promoting. Thank you.

1600
01:51:54,809 --> 01:51:59,555
Christine. I'd like Christine Johnson. Poseack. I'd like to piggyback

1601
01:51:59,555 --> 01:52:02,650
on that. And. I would like to make some very

1602
01:52:02,650 --> 01:52:09,809
specific. Recommendations because I consulted on the CSU. Extension low

1603
01:52:09,809 --> 01:52:14,786
flammability plant list, which. Is not very extensive and doesn't

1604
01:52:14,786 --> 01:52:18,866
include just native plants, and I would suggest that the

1605
01:52:18,866 --> 01:52:25,499
Idaho firewise. Plant list be included. It's much more comprehensive.

1606
01:52:27,132 --> 01:52:31,648
Than the csu list. And it includes many plants that

1607
01:52:31,648 --> 01:52:39,816
are native to. Colorado and plant select. While many of

1608
01:52:39,816 --> 01:52:48,218
those plants. Thrive in Colorado. And are low water plants.

1609
01:52:48,218 --> 01:52:56,590
Only 22% are native. So. That's not. A great resource.

1610
01:52:58,211 --> 01:53:07,889
In terms of. Fire. And habitat. That's it. vicky Lawrence

1611
01:53:07,889 --> 01:53:12,683
pozak while we're on native plants, Do you know anything?

1612
01:53:12,683 --> 01:53:16,174
This might not be quite. In your knowledge base, whatever.

1613
01:53:17,843 --> 01:53:22,443
Are we moving towards getting a native plant masters program

1614
01:53:22,443 --> 01:53:26,180
for Boulder county through the extension service? We are. We

1615
01:53:26,180 --> 01:53:31,575
had one for a while, and then. It disbanded. And

1616
01:53:31,575 --> 01:53:34,779
yes, they are bringing it back. Do you have any

1617
01:53:34,779 --> 01:53:37,299
details on that? Like when or what? They're. I don't.

1618
01:53:37,299 --> 01:53:40,732
But we can find that out. Thank you. All right,

1619
01:53:40,732 --> 01:53:46,548
Posac. So we're going to adjourn the meeting right now,

1620
01:53:46,548 --> 01:53:49,188
but don't go. Away because we're going to go into

1621
01:53:49,188 --> 01:53:53,550
an executive section. Yeah. So. Meeting is adjourned. The public

1622
01:53:53,550 --> 01:53:56,110
portion of the meeting. And then what? I have to

1623
01:53:56,110 --> 01:53:58,630
do is. I have to read a motion to go

1624
01:53:58,630 --> 01:54:01,590
into executive session. We need a second. And then we

1625
01:54:01,590 --> 01:54:04,590
need to vote. So here's the motion. I move that

1626
01:54:04,590 --> 01:54:10,110
poseack enter. Executive session in accordance with CRS 24 six.

1627
01:54:12,204 --> 01:54:16,004
Four two four a for the purpose of discussing confidential

1628
01:54:16,004 --> 01:54:20,564
real estate matters and negotiations relating to potential open space

1629
01:54:20,564 --> 01:54:21,364
acquisitions.