Parks and Recreation Board – August 2023

Video Description:
Parks and Recreation Board – August 2023

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Speaker 1 0:00
As your note was usually I would like to now call the August 14, Parks Recreation advisory board in

Speaker 2 0:07
order to hear Scott Coleman here. Mr. Thomas Davis is not here. This is not here. Sam Liddy here. Nicholas novella here. Mr. Dan Wilson. Not here, Mr. Tim Walters.

Speaker 1 0:28
Awesome. Okay, let’s move on to approval of the agenda. Does anyone have any questions or request changes to the agenda? And if not, can I get a motion to approve the agenda? Agenda? Second.

Speaker 1 0:50
Okay, moving on from there, then let’s go to your previous month’s next. So, anybody have any questions or requested changes to the meeting? minutes from last month?

Speaker 1 1:07
Now, okay, if that’s the case, then can I get a motion to approve the last month’s previous minutes?

Unknown Speaker 1:15
I’ll make a motion to approve last month’s minutes.

Speaker 1 1:17
Second, all in favor? Okay. Do we have public invited to be heard? We, okay, then in that case, we can move on to old business that will be building meaning for so excited about this. So let’s move into the first item on the old business here, the library recreation and culture ballot questions update, who’s covering damage. So I

Speaker 3 1:50
think most eraser is familiar with what has happened over the past couple of days, but we’ll go through it. So on the 18th of July, the City Council approved to move forward with the writing of the the package for the recreation center and the YMCA, both separately and together with some more information gathering for you prepared for the August 8, meeting. At the August the eighth meeting, it was decided to put both of those together and was approved to move forward with that and a second reading on August 22. So the YMCA proposal and the recreation proposal Recreation Center proposal together. Those numbers are certainly available if you guys want to take a look at those but the effect of those. And that’s kind of the gist of where we’re at with that part of it. Link to that we did a presentation of the feasibility study on the 13th of July to show the need to specifically call out the need for recreation facility. And that they believe that on well it, counsel general support counsel for the for the idea that we’re not bringing questions concerning the study. And we had some some drawings out of it. And drawings updated. Right now. Pretty previous previously, this we had one other on the feasibility study. And this is the most updated rendering we’ve got I think there’s three different pictures there. And thinking about pretty good at something shows a very large scale, visit 90,000 square feet. Modern building a lot of trying to take advantage of the views. That was something that’s a common theme at that site. Indoor Outdoor does have a theme. This picture I think is it’s a really cool picture. It doesn’t give all the all we really want to see which is also there’s folks working out outside which is a really big aspect of the idea of this, again, is rendering a possible options but taking advantage of those views at that site. And yes, the glass that we recognize too. And again, these are renderings, there’ll be a lot of public input. If things go go ahead,

Speaker 4 4:51
and the glass is something that we’ve talked quite a bit about, because it seems like we always want to have all this glass in our facilities. And then the first thing we have to do is, is find ways to put blinds up on everything. So, again, very conceptual, but really wanted to show the mountain range and the ability to have the activities outside as well as inside by again, that those little conversations about, excuse me would pass that we’d have more public input and feedback on that.

Speaker 3 5:34
That’s really covers both of those, both of those items.

Speaker 4 5:41
Any discussion, we want to talk about? And I just want to make sure why has the handout from our legal staff allow what we can and cannot do?

Speaker 1 5:56
Very efficient. It’s very interesting. I like the logic.

Speaker 4 6:02
And then this one is from from Eugene, last week. So again, we are we are in the midst of being at that point where we as staff, and you as the board will not be able to advocate one way or another pro or con. You know, we are finalizing some things. But that date may have actually happened on August 8, right, where we are not able to advocate anymore. But certainly you as a group and staff off duty, can advocate but you cannot do that while you’re serving as before.

Unknown Speaker 6:52
But we can ask factual questions in

Speaker 4 6:54
a social and we can give you facts. back as we know that.

Unknown Speaker 7:03
Good preamble that Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 7:05
So as what day?

Speaker 4 7:10
We believe it was last Tuesday. Yeah. You didn’t do that as board?

Speaker 2 7:22
Barely. Oh, okay. All right. You’re not on the clock? Not

Unknown Speaker 7:32
yet. are using resources. Okay.

Unknown Speaker 7:35
That’s we have a session topics to talk about on this

Speaker 5 7:42
course. Question. I really have on that on the ballot measures side. Is there been any feedback or any concern that it’s like three pages long? And you know, there was concern about bundling is too complicated or nothing?

Speaker 4 7:59
Totally. I have not heard that. But I am sure, especially with the rec one that that has the biggest component of that, because not only are we asking people to vote yes or no on building facilities, but we’re also asking them yes or no about providing the sale or giving away our property. So that’s yeah, that I do think that we really need to educate people. And in again, I’m not trying to say for yes or no, but to really be able to read the ballot, ask questions. If if it’s not clear, because there’s gonna be a lot there with especially with the arts and entertainment is also on there and branch library and the preferred level funding is three separate questions. It is a lot.

Speaker 2 9:02
Do you are we have any influence on the development? Which

Speaker 4 9:09
I would say probably not. And that’s because there’s all these legal requirements that we have to follow. The city has gotten with legal counsel to help draft that because there’s also Tabor requirements that we have to announce it so that they’re not going to nobody’s going to have the opportunity to say I don’t like the wording or, or I think you should do that. That’s going to be on the August 22 council agenda. So if you have errands to share, that’s probably as close as you’re gonna come is whether it’s with me or another counselor.

Speaker 2 9:55
Just that her equity I just I believe that I mean, I think Walmart can do what we want and a lot more than we say we can’t because we can. And then for equity, I think about language needs to be written in a way that an eighth grader can understand. So you see my my eighth graders, because that’s the statue. That’s, that’s our constituent base can read on that level. So I just, I just would like to see it written. So that Okay, the question of Lexile? I mean, it’s Yeah, I mean, if I can’t understand the ballot question

Speaker 4 10:40
is probably well, these are going to be complicated without a doubt. Yeah, just right. Legal counsels gonna draft but we do, we are gonna get a look and we’ll have a certain element, whatever comment occurs on the 22nd will kind of be up against whoever the bond counsel is advising, but noted, readability or level of readability is going to be important. Yeah, I will share that as well.

Speaker 2 11:08
Because I really just want this to be what Longmont wants, you know, like what I want. It’s not, I mean, I’m just a board, you know, I’m just on the board, like, but I’m supposed to represent one on ones but we can’t tell what Longmont wants if they can’t read it.

Speaker 6 11:23
Or sad that not only the ballot language itself, but there are other places where it’s described, there’s a table notification that goes out separately, Tabor book, and anything that anything factual from the city that describes it differently, there’s an opportunity to do that different words than the belt. The belt language has certain requirements that the first sentences and Tabor limited sentence I think about SP phrase. So just different places, you can also message a different way, the city will

Speaker 4 11:51
do an information document that will be mailed out to every household. Again, giving giving the facts will also have statements about people that are voting in favor of the measure are doing so for this reason, and people that are voting against it are doing so for these reasons that that will and then I think that information will be put into poster size and place that city facilities. But that’s kind of be extreme. was on the website, too. Yeah, yes.

Speaker 6 12:30
Not sure if you’re causal, a fun to these actual putting something on there about this not being the end of the process would be helpful. As we mentioned earlier, the idea that the public will would likely or will have further input if approved to get into the details and that feedback. It’s not the only one version. That’s important.

Unknown Speaker 12:56
QUESTION So Is

Speaker 5 12:57
that so that’s it for say communications page he had asked about city Rec.

Speaker 4 13:04
You know, I don’t screen we will be able to provide the factual information. But I think what she was asking we can’t do now.

Speaker 6 13:15
The question I have is about centennial. If there’s actually the state in not the ballot language somewhere else that quoted cost of renovating that, versus this, that’s a good comparison thing to call out facts that are

Speaker 6 13:34
maybe as well as the fact that somebody else? Probably Probably not everybody knows that.

Speaker 5 13:43
What I know Harold mentioned this, at the last city council meeting, there were some MOU being developed with why is that can be made public or

Speaker 4 13:55
good when it’s ready. When it’s ready. We’re meeting again with them tomorrow or Wednesday to put more meat on. No bad

Speaker 5 14:12
processes. Is there is there a working name for what you want to call this besides the YMCA project, which then negates the city’s part?

Speaker 4 14:23
That is a problem. But I think that that’s how it was passed on. First Reading. I don’t know that we can change that. Yeah, it’s outside of the about, I guess we could call it something. What do you have suggestions, but

Speaker 5 14:41
I’ve just been calling it the city wide facility or something like that, taking off the MCA and meeting with the city. That’s what people’s concerns is. Either city giving money to a private organization And, and so or, you know, you’re having this facility, but I have to go through a third party, I can’t just have, you know, a rec center in my neighborhood. That’s a secret. So what we can do to mitigate those, that would be great. So I think it would be much more comfortable when they see that there. Because people liked the idea that like, their passes, give discounts, that’s worked out really well. So far. People were responding.

Speaker 4 15:37
And in I think you heard Harold say, last week that while I was okay with calling it something, once it happens, not just calling it the why, but it could have the city’s name. Right. Yeah. And that

Speaker 5 15:53
is language in the video or in that thing? wasn’t super clear like that. I mean, if anybody was intending, but take a quote and actually put it in some of our marketing pieces. It was quite great. So I’m holding something says, quote, that’s not

Speaker 3 16:28
just legal document

Speaker 4 16:35
that the formal agreement would happen, if it passes.

Speaker 5 16:38
Right. Yeah. So I mean, so is the why then. So like, specifically on the hook for what they’re delivering for $12 million to the city, they will be yes. Okay.

Speaker 4 16:55
As you know, that the why has that little different timeline than what the new rec center would have? Because we would be, we would have the resources needed to move forward, the Y has to get approval by voters before it can be eligible to go for the tax credits. So there is a lag time between when they will get the 12 million from the city. And when they could start moving for what there was a project.

Speaker 5 17:26
Right. So it’s more like 2026 Probably.

Unknown Speaker 17:37
Working with the federal government, we imagined three times Yeah. Same great. Great questions. Yeah, no, no, no.

Unknown Speaker 17:58
Do you on the master plan or?

Speaker 5 18:03
Yeah, just in the rec center? And if there is, you know, you have these three lines, and there’s other ones have you considered more drawings from them considered to be

Speaker 4 18:13
right now, this is what I will tell you that. Chris stehlik, who’s been working with the city has announced of Dandeli late last week that he is leaving Perkins will his last day will be August 30. So the whole master plan we’re gonna have to regroup with a new staff person once they’re assigned

Unknown Speaker 18:45
to that piece of it, which does not lead directly to this will be a guiding document towards it. Yeah, that’s really sharp.

Speaker 4 19:04
He’s, he’s worked for them his whole career. It doesn’t sound like he has a plan going.

Speaker 5 19:16
So I guess, was sort of like related. Sorry. No, please. Today is the sort of came up in this great

Unknown Speaker 19:26
little

Speaker 5 19:28
insert a couple of years ago about I think I was on the team doing scholarships for youth on the wide program to reduce the costs because the difference in the cost even though it’s seems nominal, five or $7 per entry or whatever is a concern by voters. Alright. So

Speaker 3 19:54
and they had the YMCA has an extensive scholarship program. They They rely on and I think it’s a level of my understanding too. It’s not just one, one line where it’s been explained to me so that’ll be something we’ll understand a little bit better. That’s a business they’ve been in

Speaker 4 20:21
they I think they have, I don’t think the scholarship is going to be an issue and I think it could carry over to Longmont recreation passholders as well, the whole hook $12 million is, is kind of an interesting concept, because $12 million helps build the facility, it doesn’t go towards any of the money that it takes to operate the facility. So they are committing to us that they can operate the facility with the proposal that we’ve agreed to with the recreation passholders. But it will have to be evaluated annually with the commitment as long as we want to be partners. There will always be that break for city taxpayers that are recreation passholders.

Speaker 5 21:23
Would there be any interests by this city to backfill it so that more equitable between people go to the why people who go to other city recreation facilities?

Speaker 4 21:38
We haven’t had that conversation, but the money is not in the ballot question to backfill it. But it could be something that would have could be addressed in the future. Yeah, a lot of partnerships are done that way. That Johnstown why they they build that facility? And they actually give the why some funding to help operated? So there is history of that sort of. Yeah, that is not in the proposal, right? Yeah. It’s

Speaker 5 22:11
it’s one of those things that people are like, well, this is what I’m paying for centennial. Cool, I want that same at the same place. And I was like, well, it’s not the same thing that’s not 50 years old. Or you can go to the facility in southwest Longmont and pay what you’re paying. So

Speaker 4 22:30
there’s always the option that if it let’s say that the ice rink is really the thing that they that people want to go they they may have that choice where they would rather be a why rent member? Because that’s their area of interest. And then they Cade just the normal why rate they wouldn’t, they wouldn’t have access to the recreation facilities, right. And so that’s kind of the compromise, we’ve tried to work out. It isn’t as clean as if it was just a city facility. But I think it’s a fair arrangement that we’ve tried to come up with that gives the wide money they need to operate but also gives a break to the taxpayer. I think I think we need to, we need to get clear with the counselors on what that’s going to look like. Those who are going to have to keep on behalf of this proposal are going to be asked, you’ll be asked over and over again. It was it’s what children, it’s what really hurt him that he felt like he proposed is that we didn’t have a plan. We never talked about it, it should have to make certain that we were addressing equity concerns, to support the outreach programs to support the participation or involvement of kids and families who might not otherwise have been able to afford to be involved. So I don’t think we can leave that to trust us. Yeah, I agree that there there is the direct why scholarship that they’ve indicated that they’re posted rates, most memberships or 60% do not pay that array of rookies, they’re supported by scholarship dollars. But point well taken and will work on you as much as it is going to be Councilman crystal clear in it whether it’s direction and say bring us back. Right you know, a plan so somewhat so we have an answer to a question. This is how it’s gonna work. Yeah, it starts with the grid.

Speaker 3 24:41
Now, the discount rate for residents and then Passholder and then there are some additional opportunities beyond that. Discuss concerning holidays, which are really important to folks and ice that’s, that alone is a free Big issue and they’ve been very accommodating with, we’re talking about having this kind of days around the holidays making sure we are available open during that time. So it’s it’s something that I think we can have more information as we get back

Speaker 1 25:28
you’re the question science in this subject. I have one just looking at this handy dandy guide here. Vampire rules I am for this board’s may pass a resolution and an official expression of opinion. Yes. So that is,

Speaker 4 25:44
that is the one thing you as a board can do. And we can, if you are interested, for the September meeting, we can draft a resolution that you all could consider to to

Speaker 1 25:58
just work. That’s what I’m advocating for. So we only do that yet, because we haven’t been reading until after that September meeting. Put on the agenda. To do it.

Speaker 6 26:10
You can draft something strong for us, excuse me guys trying to figure towards

Unknown Speaker 26:17
Yeah, because we can workout that day. Okay, cool. Any other questions? Topics? There’s one more in

Unknown Speaker 26:30
the library question. I think, you know, kind of Yeah, I

Speaker 5 26:33
think that that’s really just like them going and going and doing the opposite of what we did. Right? Or the library board. Voting just for the library. I think it’s it’s really tough. I think, almost going into patient I have discussed many times that it was gonna be Rec Center library, and then like the library board, now can’t be a monster. Do they explain more? Or? I was not here. So I mean, I’ve been something like from the person who came up and spoke they were in tune with their 60% even though that was the onset of they wanted to

Unknown Speaker 27:13
do it on their own.

Speaker 1 27:16
I can make up reasons but without knowing for sure. Just I don’t want to get changed at this point, right. I don’t understand dug into that matter. The outcome right?

Unknown Speaker 27:31
We’re Yeah, we’re past

Speaker 1 27:38
Yes, this is a public meeting. Okay, one last call on this. Anything else on this house?

Speaker 2 27:47
Yes. Why is it called the umpire room? Good question. Because I think this is really cool. I like this like fire and wild west but

Speaker 5 28:01
I saw the piece in there that’s the miracle part did not reflect any opinion. I think the vampire deflecting the mere thing was

Unknown Speaker 28:10
he played awful parts. Mistakes. Fun.

Unknown Speaker 28:13
I like, I just want to know why.

Unknown Speaker 28:19
You can happen. Friendly vampire, though.

Speaker 2 28:23
Feel another that nobody else was the only one that didn’t know why.

Speaker 1 28:30
Okay. That’s the question. With that, we’ll move on to new business. And we’re going to go into the open space update this month. Yes, yes. Yes. Sorry. Yes.

Speaker 5 28:44
So if you recall last month, we had the open space updates on the gentleman out and I realized Daniel was on vacation in that month and I really wanted to give her the opportunity to present this. So I’m just going to talk briefly to kind of my disproof, when we talk about open space in the past and Walgreens and you’re talking about that, and Dan retired, we decided it was a lot of sense to split that position. He does such a breadth of work from his land management, ecosystem management, open space management to really create that focused on your side and Daniel has a history with Clara County and Boulder County and the city here working on open space acquisitions conservation easements. So really on that that side of things the acquisition the conservation easement, monitoring, the agricultural leases and all that kind of detailed piece of oil on built into it. So Daniel is here tonight at some of the point of I have to recommend because other piece of Dan’s work is really city wide wildlife management, weed management, and that really isn’t another work without it from the airport to the landfill. Jim previously that piece of it. So Daniel’s gonna talk about your program, and where we’re at and I love her so

Speaker 2 29:54
well and I I just want to say discussing a ballot issue, or the future, we’re gonna have another ballot issue concerning extending the open space sales and use tax. So, you know, that’s, that’s the context. And I think those are called the Parks and Rec advisory board. But I think not not in your title is, is your purview over open space. So this is all stuff you’ve probably seen before, or a little familiar with. But we’re at a point where our open space management plan or master plan is five years old. And this is kind of the point where we recommend updating it. So this is just going to be a quick presentation to talk about very open space and past, present and future. So first, the land acknowledgments. So we need to acknowledge that we Longmont sits on the traditional territory of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, US and other indigenous peoples we honor the history and the living and spiritual connection that the first peoples have with this land. It is our commitment to face the injustices that happened when the land was taken, and to educate our communities, ourselves and our children to ensure that these injustices do not happen. Why is Open Space important? Because long runs open spaces, preserved natural lands, enhance quality of life for all and promote conservation and stewardship. And so a little bit about the history of the open space program. This is the ordinance that created our open space program that was developed in 2002. And I’ll get a little bit more introduced details. So the open space sales and use tax was first passed in 2000. It was approved by the voters in that year and increased the tax rate by point 2%. So two cents on every $10 purchase. And it in 2001. We before the program was even the open space program we started with acquisitions, and then planning for multimodal transportation connectivity. So then in 2002, the program was formed. The open space jails and master plan was was written the original version of it. And we purchased our very first open space property, which is older Creek Estates over here. And it will and it’s a 200 acre 218 acre property. It encompasses the confluence of St. Green and Boulder creeks. And we are now 20 plus years later, and it is going to be providing Greenway connectivity for the phase 13 On the st. Green Greenway trail that is connecting sandstone ranch to Sebring state park that we are currently 60% designed on right now. So we didn’t know at the time, that that would be a benefit of this first open space that we’ve protected, but it is. And then in 2007, we extended the OIC, the we approved the tax extension, sales and use tax. So currently, even though our program is still young, our open spaces are known regionally as time open space, great places to visit great places to recreate. And so Presently, we have some overlapping plans. So we have the original open space master plan here it was 2002. But we did update in 2018. And now we’re due for the current update. We also have our vision llama planned. That was done in 2016. And the two plans keep each other in mind. The Parks Rec and trails master plan, as well as the wildlife management plan and the regional corridors and connections that we’re working on currently. These are all kind of planning projects. And then in terms of acquisition. The open space program has oversight over land water and mineral acquisitions, and the purchase fee simple land as well as conservation easements

Unknown Speaker 34:41
to explain the fee simple.

Speaker 2 34:44
It’s it’s outright also, as part of the open space management plan, we manage leases for these various uses agriculture, recreation. You Water. So some of our farmers will use water from the city, oil and gas and also gravel mining. And primary greenways are under the purview of the open space program. So we have 11 primary greenways going through the city, which comprises about 36 miles and we’re continuing to build upon that. So this is just now I’m gonna go through a series of maps just to give you a nice visual. In the yellow, we can see the landmark planning area. So when you think of Envision Longmont and the comprehensive plan, it’s it’s kind of within this yellow, it’s in within the long life planning area. And so here we also have our parks. And then when you think of open spaces, city open spaces, they’re largely with the exception of the Greenway acres outside the lawn lawn planning area, you can see a lot of them over here to the east. So this, this includes the fee simple properties, the conservation easements, and additional lands owned by other funds. So a lot of a lot of water resource properties are here around union reservoir, and some of them are conservation easements with the purpose of future reservoir expansion. And then if you combine all of our open space, acres with what Boulder County has protected, you can you can see what what we’re looking at as our as our buffer around our Longmont planning area. So then thinking about the future, you know, even though the tax doesn’t need to be on the ballot and approved until 2030 or beyond, we’re still thinking about the future challenges for the program. Currently, we’re kind of moving out of mostly doing acquisitions and more into a maintenance phase. But that’s expensive and getting more expensive. So we do want to have continue to have any ongoing funding of the open space sales use tax. We also want to acknowledge that the open space fund does get other one time funding from oil and gas revenue, and partner relationships on joint ownership. So so some jointly owned properties. But those those are definitely one time and intermittent temporary sources of funding so that the sales and use tax is really the primary mode. And what we’re seeing on our open spaces is that Walmart is growing and people love our open spaces, and we’re using them. And we’re also seeing growth in housing within our Longmont planning area. So opportunities for the future, our open space program is going to be 30 years old two years before the open space tax sunsets. So maybe a time to celebrate, maybe something to think about planning around that. And then just continued opportunities to educate and engage through our volunteer and park ranger programs and educate around the restoration that we’re doing on our open spaces. People.

Speaker 2 38:45
Continue to work with our farmers to support regenerative agricultural practices. So working with our partner, the NRCS, seeing how we can support, you know, center pivot irrigation, which helps their operations be more successful, it brings in water savings, and then when they move on, they take that center pivot we keep the infrastructure on on the agricultural open space. So that’s the benefit to them and us. So in the future, you know, these are some of the things that are going on right now with Greenway miles. We’re building two more miles of spring Gulch, St. Bryan Greenway phases 12 and 13. And then the the trail that we’ll be working on with Weld County and other partners to connect union reservoir and state green State Park. And then back to some of that management of open spaces that we do own. It’s costly, we estimate that it costs about $7,000 an acre to restore and restoration isn’t a one time thing. It’s an ongoing process. So working to get more dedicated staff to that effort. Stewardship plans are Something that the program hasn’t started on 0% done. But so those are property specific plans that we want to be doing for each open space agricultural property. And like I mentioned before the next update of the 2018, open space master plan, update. So this is just a summary of the things that we want to continue doing in the future with our program. Thank you. Any questions you have. So I keep, like over and over, I mentioned preserving our mineral like protecting our minerals, also protecting on areas. And right now we have a new gravel mine going in, and another ag area coming off. And we’re on our main trail. So like that seems really counter. And then we’re going to expect people to just look at a few rock go, the Greenway, st grade Greenway and the left hand Greenway, you go the left hand corridor, and you go from you go from County Open Space, which is, is being protected pretty well, right now with all the farms in that I could go and there’s extra building on each sides. And we now have a you know, a huge housing complex going in. Still bears there, though, because I still see bear scat, there’s still deer going through. But it’s super high impact housing, all the way until you got where there was not ever dedicated open space that it was rec land. And that’s being developed into a shopping mall. And then we have the rec center that just keeps getting bigger and bigger. So you got like impact all the way through. It used to be just this was like nature trail, right? Like, Oh, we love our nature trail. Now it’s not a nature trail. And then it goes, you could continue into high density housing again. And then you’ve got the new Costco that was approved during the pandemic. And then you go straight to this farm that is gorgeous, and turkeys go through, but they didn’t summer because there’s so much going on with Costco I used to be a turkey nesting ground, but there’s this farm and that farmer is losing his lease and he knows it top down he knows he’s losing his lease with us with with Longmont open space so he’s gonna lose out what lease and that’s kind of become something else and then going directly into gravel mine. And then high density housing. And then maybe when we get way, way out there, it will become it will become open space again. So it’s just see we’d like keep, you know, we say we’re, I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem like doesn’t seem like that’s walking the talk of protecting, you know, our minerals. Leasing another gravel mine that used to be that used to be agricultural property and wasn’t owned by us, but the agro cultural property, that lease is not being extended. It’s like the one little respite. I mean, our trails go by things like water treatment plants, and old gravel mines. That’s, you know, in backs of industrial sites, so I’m just this is why I got on this board. This is really like this, I feel really passionate about it. I really, I you walked into this job, and there’s just there’s so much going on all around us right now. It’s not being protected. It’s not being protected at all, we have these little easements. And then every time people keep trying to, like, oh, but we don’t need to use the conservation easement in like, a hotel being built right up to that keeps like keep applying to like what’s the river easement on like, the words are failing me the river easement. The water? Yeah. The riparian. Yeah, the riparian setback, you know, they keep trying to break it and all that stuff. It’s just we’re getting it. It’s really tough. It’s really tough seeing our open space where it counts. We can’t have all of our open space view wave from where people can see it every day. Like it can’t be far away. has to be right in front of us, right in our neighborhoods. That’s what children get to access. That’s the old people that put disabled people. That’s what people that have transportation problems are smooth. And no bus stop taking me out to those conservation areas right there. If I don’t have a bike has that, or if I can’t ride a bike, my wheelchair can’t make it out there, it needs to be right here. And it keeps just getting built up. And so I’m just putting off as I say, keep it as natural as possible. less mowing, less everything. That’s what people want. Except for a few vocal people that want to walk their dogs on the lawn or something. Thanks, sorry, what my day tried, but it’s it’s big, we need to bring that back. I don’t know why we’re breaking. We’re ending on these for an agriculture and they’re

Speaker 5 45:50
like, you want to respond that it’s gonna be Tom Adams, which is basically on the office property, which is going to be Georgia one and keywork hospital is open space, sometimes his opportunities. And a lot of times, if you look at all the counties with telephones, if you look over at Walden Pond, Isaac, he’s likely to have more opportunities where there was a great ground mining lease in place, and for the city, then just to give that back to gravel mining company, to reclaim it and do everyone with it. We lose control over that. So all these properties are purchased with that gravel mining. Right, already sold. So that spot north of golden ponds was the purchase of the property, those mineral rights were already suffered. So that wasn’t a giving up on it. That was we knew when we acquired that property, that was the gravel mined at some point, the city that has the ability to come in and say how do we want to reclaim that, and when things are working right now with water resources is we channelized a lot of our creeks and stuff and so it’s a gravel pond if you think about even Isaac here repellent, you get these kind of squarish ponds with a trail with Alana will really help him deal with there as long as the creek to have room to move back and forth meander and use what knowledge that you say you will farm and I love that you coming into. But once that gravel mining is done, which the city had no say over because that was sold by the golden family prior to the city purchase that we have the ability to restore that in a way we work with the mining company to do it in a way that gives a create much more room to meander have a natural habitat for five more habitat for Turkey ears in cover as you move through that area. So that’s the piece I would like respond to is again, that getting up on the open space values. I think Danielle’s passion background in history is not giving up on it. Mine is not giving up on it. But I think the pieces you look at this to this yellow line on one piece you’re trying to get at, you’re saying Open Space Mondays right here, that’s a piece of you look at our comp plan. So one lot a long time ago, when we built our first cities in this community, was it we wanted to develop in the in the center, we didn’t want to have sprawl, we wanted to have development where you had services. So there’s a real commitment, that development happens in the planning area. And then open space doesn’t compete with that. So we really do not get into acquiring open space within that yellow boundary. Because that’s where primary jobs go, that really is where the housing, the community has decided they wanted to see the housing Go in peace with the greenways the open space and and I heard you pretty loud and clear if you don’t have a bike, but really Longmont provides a great opportunity because kids can get out into the backyard into a neighborhood park and enjoy a neighborhood trail and onto a greenway in into an urban natural area like Dickens, and then continued on that same pathway up to a sandstone ranch or out to a Golden Pond out to those other property. So we have a great connectivity. I think that’s the story. Danielle’s been trying to tell us that we started with great parks system, we’re building great trail system, we’re really trying to tie that open space piece into it. But again, there’s gonna be a conversation with different boards and groups and community members about development and how we provide housing for people how we provide jobs for people that also keep this natural setting. So that’s how I see these fitting together. And I do think, though, that as we look at those areas with gravel mining, that’s one of those places where the price is right, because we’ve had mineral suffering and a lot of people you know, it’s hard to develop that. So we get a good bite of the apple with a fair price that allows us to do things within that footprint, we may not have had the chance to do otherwise. And

Speaker 2 49:26
I would just add that whenever we can. Moving forward, we do acquire the mineral rights whenever we possibly can. And the silver lining of not having the mineral rights is those temporary intermittent royalties that come to us into our open space fund and allow us to do you know, we find another piece of the creek quarter that we can protect and it’s available to buy than we have have that money, we can buy that and we can continue to, you know, connect those riparian areas that you’re speaking of.

Speaker 5 50:11
So again, that’s what I did. Again, I did it so great that you really this, this group really is our open space sounding board. So this input from the community is Wurtzbach, for us to get that your vote is really for which plans, how we, how we messages to the community, how open space fits into the overall planning of our community, in connection with our greenways in our parks, and the development that I think, you know, Council is very important to them, how you provide housing for people who buy the jobs, our community is right, that balance with their open space program. For sharing,

Speaker 2 50:47
yeah, I, I feel like maybe I’m like, the city as a whole to be more cohesive on it. Like it keeps a you know, kind of feels like when suggests something, it’s like, that’s planning that’s, you know, like, that’s planning that’s Council this, but like, I had that same thing that you guys explained to me explained to me five or six times, I know it, I know this, it doesn’t change the fact of what it looks like, to a system and the trail user doesn’t change the fact that we didn’t have a really tricky nesting. You know, they’re like, it doesn’t change doesn’t change the real deal facts sometimes. And so, I mean, I think some of it can just be like, the day to day management could also help. Like, if we had, say, on a day to day management, like, can we keep it as natural as possible? And can we mow less? And can we have less, like, you know, post emergent weed control is one of the silliest things ever like to do doesn’t work, like the contractors come out and everything goes to see it and gets worse and things like that, and sprayed green. And there’s herbicides everywhere. And I don’t know like this kind of stuff and just doesn’t seem like there really is any way if Republicans have a say over that kind of thing. They don’t, because that’s what I want to say a

Speaker 6 52:32
couple of things, I guess the first one being, I think there’s a lot of interest in this topic. And so having another chance to talk about it with the full board at some point in future will be great, I think appreciate the sentiment that we have a opportunity to get your feedback. And let’s do that. But it’s been a lot there. I think I had two questions that asked about one, what what has led to the change from being more acquisition focused and more focused on monitor

Speaker 2 53:00
just the growth of the city and the program and the fact that we’ve acquired a lot. And you can see from this map, you know, that the opportunities to acquire have diminished.

Speaker 5 53:14
Yeah, always kind of hard to see with you. Throw in what Boulder County has in the city hazards, there’s getting a lot of those original goals objective in that that is I think this the those opportunities.

Speaker 6 53:28
Okay, and then I guess, financially does the department maintained funds to be able to make the conscious acquisitions if those do happen, other kind of partnership or opportunity comes up. I remember hearing when I looked closer and bolder about the the savings account that the County Open Space had and to be able to space out and they were always able to pay what similar extremely large amounts for really beautiful properties. I would like to think that we could do the same came up and wouldn’t be limited in some way by that by having chosen to pursue maintenance and not save for future acquisition. Does that make sense?

Speaker 2 54:07
You’re saying we sold our piggy bank? Yeah, we have enough to do maintenance and your acquisition, as they call? Yes. Well, our open space Sales and Use Tax provides the bulk of it. And so our last large purchase that Adams open space that is under the 30 acres. We had we had the money but we also worked with partner relationships to get it done. And then we rely on some of those inner minute funding to keep you know, to get us through as well. We don’t answer it adds new flows

Speaker 6 54:52
is the answer. Yeah. But the reason I ask is as we look towards 34 and re enable in that I think 15 years of May Since is not a great story to be able to extend the tax and so continue to consider acquisition, understanding that there’s not a lot of opportunities. And we have achieved a lot of goals in the program. But as an option when it’s optimistic and available is interest.

Speaker 2 55:16
Yeah, I think one thing that I hear you and I kind of agree, I agree with that, right. It’s not as exciting as acquisition. However, it’s, it’s just as important now that we have these areas, how do we, how do we educate the public about what what Ecological restoration is? How long it takes, how expensive it is? You know, we’ve been, we’ve, we’ve been starting to go out a little bit with council members and residents and just showing them out in the field, what these open spaces are, what they look like, on the ground. And it’s, it’s, it’s such a different view than us sitting here and looking at that. But, you know, how do you act on that, in the same way that that valid issue that you’re with the recreation centers, how do you, you know, those pictures aren’t going to be on the ballot either? Yeah. How do you do that? It’s a really good

Speaker 5 56:20
question. It’s a piece, I think that open space programs struggled all the time, because there’s always that portion of your community to say when’s enough enough. And one of us is going to maintain even internally staff is very overwhelmed with we’ve got more property to maintain. So we’re going to have maintenance in perpetuity. So we have a long term obligation to maintain these properties have done a great job acquiring years, and that does not go away. So I think that’s a key piece is we have to let people know that this is going on. And you know, like Daniel talked about restoring those properties after we do the gravel mines to become places for them. Mana Turkey and all those those pieces. But I have to agree, you showed us as we dry powder are available that when that opportunity comes up before Connie wants to partner if we have a chance to work with, again, partners, we can do both as well, county coming to us so they want to work with a project in town a meeting, can we do a greenway connection, and not have that ability. But again, it’s like your recipes. We don’t want to get funny about this, you have nothing on your plate. But those be the nuances of this. How do you package them in a way that lets people know that our our goal is to kind of strike that balance you talked about, we don’t want to give up on those opportunities to expand our program. But we also know that we have an obligation to maintain what we have in perpetuity.

Speaker 2 57:34
And isn’t that what goco funding often is, as we have the scope co funding from some of the stuff out there before you were here?

Speaker 5 57:44
Yes, just sorry. Look at me. So here’s a piece that I’ll talk about. Daniel talked about with some bitcoin and gas revenue, that there’s a little bit of money that, you know, isn’t the greatest say that we have coming along, not constantly a great job at keeping that out of here. But we have historic oil and gas and gravel that comes into this revenue. Prior to me being here, and I pulled the stuff up for Danielle, that and, and Stephanie, that there’s kind of a commitment, those Goko dollars are supposed to be going towards creation, completion of the greenways. That’s an expensive process. Danielle does hit a snag and her runway extension and our foreign language and our battle language for open space is pretty clear that those dollars can be used for open stakes acquisitions. And those, those include that kind of activity and connection of those properties to bring resistance. So we can use open space dollars for greenways are Goko dollars do not even touch the $5 million underpass she has to put in. So we are leveraging those Goko dollars right now to complete completed the Greenway. Using some open space dollars to do that, once a greenway is done. We have made a commitment. Jeff, Jeff knows I’m aware of the commitment that was made before I got here that once agreements are done, let’s go code dollars really have the ability under the language of Go code to go to the library to go to the Rec Center to go to other places in the community. So I really think that the future are those Goshen dollars, we’ll be looking to manage open space or to management three ways. I think there’s other people that city will say that there’s other ways to be Jews that we should be looking or open space dollars for manager open space.

Speaker 4 59:22
And I’m not saying that recreation, museum or library are a priority. But they need to always be at the table. Because we’ve had this agreement for many, many years. And it’s time that at least other things are being considered.

Speaker 5 59:40
And we really have 13 was Daniel’s working on and then we have 12 which should go out to gold and ponds and out to Boulder County’s property. And then that one will right protein looks like having the Greenway completed. We’ll have that conversation with Jeff on How was lunch to be spread across the community.

Speaker 2 59:59
So I don’t want you to think that I think that you’re doing a bad job or that, that open space isn’t great. I just want to better. Does that make sense? Because, you know, I like we do a good job. And I want to even better. So I want to, like push even better, but not even better saying like, You’re bad. But some of those things, there’s Heartbreakers, when you see, see the land go? As it’s heartbreaking. And it’s also really heartbreaking for people when they go vote, you’re gonna be like, my trail goes through the back of a mall, you know, and they’re like, you know. So that’s kind of, that’s kind of some of the hard stories.

Speaker 6 1:00:48
My last comment maybe would be that, you know, 11 years is a long time to wait for the renewal the facts only be what, nine years before you begin to think about that renewal ballot, but they’re not constrained by the funding you have. If we look for public input on adding more funding to the program, we only have this actually out. But one great way to get feedback, and we’re going to want to buy more land is to develop. And so thinking about changing the program, you don’t have to not change it for 11 years, and then keep the same tax and funding Yeah, increases, revenues go up. But there may be people that are interested in funding at a higher level, but we will never know, you know, as voters. And so I’m not saying we have to do that just an idea that one way to increase the United program is to have more money. If there’s an option to do that, is there have more revenues from oil and gas and gravel or raise more tax dollars, it may be worth trying to find out if that’s possible, that legislation do that. But that would be a way to transform the program are able to reach the goals that you have

Speaker 1 1:01:54
studied clients and this is in an earlier slide, you had dates, no timelines, and I think you’re going to be doing the master plan that’s 2023 for that, making that up? Yeah, regional quarters and connections is that

Unknown Speaker 1:02:15
it’s that’s us working on?

Speaker 1 1:02:17
Okay. I guess my question, here’s what you said, it’s about the time we’re five years that you shouldn’t be revisiting the national analysts. So we’re there. What are you like, what are the inputs into this process? That that we’re doing a master plan? How can we help you through that?

Speaker 2 1:02:38
Yeah, I think it’s I think it’s a lot of what Mr. Levy said, about, you know, having continued conversations, and, you know, I have I have this 2018 update in front of me, and, you know, moving forward, what are the important statistics and figures that aren’t in here that would, that would tell the story that would, you know, would be our guiding document for this process that we want to go through? And what are those other ideas? And are there other surveys that we want to be doing right now? Right?

Speaker 1 1:03:16
I think the question was, why isn’t this just going to be a evolutionary update or a revolutionary update? It’s going to be like, a just a simple thing that we’re getting from the 18th? Or is it gonna be like a full like, tear down? And like,

Speaker 2 1:03:30
I don’t think it needs to be torn down, not torn down. But I do think what I would like to see is real statistics, facts and figures that like, you know, it’s an opportunity, right, I think this is an excellent plan. But what I want more depth.

Speaker 1 1:03:49
So missing, there’s gonna be some kind of like studies have to be part of that process. And probably need funding for those studies is Well, sure.

Speaker 2 1:03:57
I mean, it takes it takes money to do a master plan. process, but I mean, not astronomical amounts.

Speaker 1 1:04:07
But things that we can help make or conditions work, I guess, through that process. Absolutely.

Unknown Speaker 1:04:10
Yes. Yes.

Speaker 1 1:04:15
Different ending this belongs in future agendas. Yeah. More questions, but I will save time for OSHA.

Speaker 5 1:04:20
We don’t want to bog you down. We want to do this in front of you. And again, I look is it through us is there there are groups out there our community are looking at how we could extend this and kind of work with them to try to time things that council has a lot on their plates boards have a lot of complaints are trying to not get in the way of grassroots enthusiasm for the program. But we also want to ensure that people are coordinating things partly this group has learned in the past but not doing that can do for an initiative. So we’re trying to walk that fine line of trying to make sure that people our community that want to make sure this gets extended. And again, that’s a ways out but again, if we want to bond those, the closer you get to that extension, it’s harder to bond those those dollars to so that’s what Having that extension sooner than later could do to it allows us to make that big acquisition because we didn’t make that that bonding piece of our RP stupid as we close that gap is harder for us to go and get a good rate of bond.

Speaker 2 1:05:17
It also ties into, you know, I was here in February, and we were talking about joint efforts with Boulder County, and that kind of future planning. And you know, that’s also a piece of this and that sort of large picture partner thinking and planning is a piece of this too. Yep. I look forward to

Unknown Speaker 1:05:39
talking to you’re ready, let us know.

Speaker 1 1:05:40
And thank you for the presentation. Yeah. Okay, thanks. We’ll keep pressing on. So it’s similar but different. Next item on the agenda is Greenlee updates.

Speaker 5 1:05:51
Yes. And I asked me to be here this evening, to get another face in front of you. I’m used to seeing Steve here for this group. Again. We’ve been very fortunate, in fact, it is the city’s wanted to push forward, including some of our projects completed, those projects were being worked on best at this group. It was fabulous, Steve and Kathy, they catch up to those kinds of Steve doing that. We’ve expanded that group and stepping away a little bit, but the parks and the greenways are always on that group, having an open space, and it was better to program. Some of these out of the city planning area, portions of the greenways, I think is going to help Stephanie was still in town. Her and her staff have been really working on the RSVP and the Greenway connections in town. So I’ll let her talk about that. And the questions. Yeah.

Speaker 7 1:06:40
Well, I’m assuming that you are curious still about closure.

Speaker 7 1:06:53
Close. So you know, we did update in the packet, and it will be closed until summer 25, most likely, due to the United States Army Corps of Engineers project, which is going to start construction in November, they’re going out to bid and they also let the GC end of September, there’s really nothing we can do about it. They’re dredging, deepening and widening the channel. And then they’re gonna rebuild that district and bridge under Boston bridge as part of that busting bridge project as well. So then the idea is that whenever we did have higher, higher flow rates in the spring, the pedestrian area. So I don’t I wish I had better information. But there’s just no way around it because of what they’re doing rather than moving material out of the river and using that session. Don’t have anything?

Speaker 6 1:07:48
To give up on that one. Is there anything that can be done to improve the detour for two years? Yeah. Like temporary.

Unknown Speaker 1:07:58
Sketch is scary and hard to manage.

Speaker 6 1:08:00
It’s Boston, Ave is a tough Street, it’s quite wide. So it feels safer, but it will drive faster on it. And there’s a lot of like off angle turns on Boston. And there’s a lot of time which we mentioned the reasoning, why is anything that could be done to temporarily improve that

Unknown Speaker 1:08:17
of the disorder.

Speaker 7 1:08:18
And let me pull up really quick. I’m doing this

Speaker 7 1:08:29
Yeah, team that’s managing the project. They’re managing the communication on the website. That’s overseeing the widening of the general the deepening of the jail, the replacement bridge

Unknown Speaker 1:08:41
to this. So as we know, where are the leaders? And I have written I totally understand. So maybe an idea would be because it’s right here. It’s soft, that here comes back down and connects.

Speaker 7 1:09:06
Actually, over here to get back on the screen. If they could do you like it? This is just me personally right now, because I don’t honestly know, what has been discussed with that team. But doing a BiPAP that maybe has some sort of a buffer between and our history is wide enough that you know where we you don’t have just a painted line that maybe like a little revolutionaries. Yeah. I don’t I don’t know. Aside from that. Well, that’s the simplest route. It is.

Speaker 6 1:09:41
My comments really just about Southern part of it. First Avenue is basically a pedestrian walkway. Nobody drives on that. But the Boston Avenue connection, the price is price that right? Yeah. It’s really complicated. And one of the sides doesn’t stop, right. And it’s very helpful. It’s like less than that. I couldn’t get that because there’s a bunch of other ways to go around. And that decision itself is quite unsafe for any industry or cyclists. So it’s gonna be there for a while, and we can do to temporarily slow traffic or provide,

Speaker 7 1:10:11
you know, somewhat of a buffered bike lane would be preferred over right now. It’s just I think the Chevron’s that are kind of directing you. And so yeah, I think your group.

Unknown Speaker 1:10:20
Yeah, so so.

Unknown Speaker 1:10:22
So first off,

Speaker 5 1:10:24
like, if we could use Bowen extension, rather than go out to Boston, going out to Boston is dangerous prospect anyway. And we’re back to where we were three years ago, with all the homeless trucks and campers and stuff on price. So if you could come off and mean my, immediately take the left, staying away from that intersection of Boston price, and see the cut,

Speaker 8 1:10:51
or you can join my tickets got the most real quick, there’s a little zigzag. So check that out real soon. It’s like right

Speaker 5 1:10:58
here, basically. So there’s a there’s there’s other little road, there’s what road, you step that left hand over here. And so there’s auto body shops, and that sort of thing. But it’s it’s like zero traffic. Right? So instead, you’re coming out here, and you’re asking people to basically counterflow on a site, which there’s no place in the entire city. We ask people to do that. Right. And so that is it’s not maintained. It’s doesn’t stop directions doesn’t stop. Yeah. So it’s if you take, I think this is called Bowling street circle rolling circle is that you went in took this instead, you’re at least crossing it, the 90 degree crosswalk was putting in, you have some sightlines, although for little kids, we tend to on Wednesday, it’s not great, because people come whipping around this, this corner, you have like eight seconds from when you see them to when they’re at the crosswalk. So there’s not a lot of time for like a family with little kids trying to cross that road. So. So we don’t really have a solution for that. Other than the, you know, it would be great to negotiate the sides of those little detour things. So probably don’t know, that’s as big as I could get the detour signs. I would love them breaker because of what the city would allow somebody in transportation is no longer here with the city. Because we’re not official city detour signs. That’s the size Arizona to basically the size of other trail signs. But we can do them as yellow. There’s tons of problems, people can’t see them. There’s people who have side issues that would love us to instead spray on on the ground to be able to see it because you have to have that look in you know, kind of a busy background to be able to see the signs to be able to see that. But the other thing is just get rid of this down here. This isn’t this isn’t. This isn’t a detailed price Price to Sell sensor down here is that’s super dangerous, like ridiculously dangerous to like even tell people they should be going down over by Nelson price and getting onto something. Yeah,

Speaker 7 1:13:18
it’s like, yeah, and I’ll connect with the team has kind of put this plan in action, it actually isn’t being managed by our team so that they can control this feedback. I’ll go back to them. We can talk about the signage, and maybe we need something like this by the city. And I’ll certainly open this discussion and

Speaker 2 1:13:40
it really shouldn’t be signage. Like there’s no reason why we can’t paint on the ground. Like,

Speaker 7 1:13:45
Chevron’s on the first street section. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 1:13:50
But then, more or more, yeah, like, we really can’t do it.

Unknown Speaker 1:13:55
I’ll go back. I don’t have any interesting

Speaker 5 1:14:01
because the other part where there’ll be that’d be great to see is, you know, does get maintained or seen once in a while is that because of the bridge project, this alignment is getting pushed out further as what we understand. But until it does, connecting river to sell Frances to price is the preferred route, like if you’re going to take this so right now connect right here and then connect over and it’s all ADA Zell side. So it’s got a sidewalk so but yeah, these other

Speaker 6 1:14:38
two areas of feedback, I think are one is the detour and signage for the cycle detour. The other is there are options for transportation to for example, at a stop sign the price. Places that I don’t want to see that ever but there are other ways to temporarily improve traffic in the area that wouldn’t be permitted to our auctions today. If he says it’s like, that’s totally fine. Yeah.

Speaker 2 1:15:06
Stop scientists and cyclists think there’s going to be I’ve been trying to get a stop sign near me. Cyclists. There’s a stop sign to stop that. It’s a new stop sign. This is the argument I anytime as a new stop sign so people won’t stop. So it’d be actually less safe than having a stop sign because people might not stop.

Unknown Speaker 1:15:26
I guess we shouldn’t ask you.

Speaker 5 1:15:31
And, you know, Boston will probably get resurfaced after the bridge project. So. So that’s been a long standing reason for not

Unknown Speaker 1:15:42
saying that yes, southeasterly path for that community. And that community to, by the way,

Speaker 5 1:15:52
the price. Yeah. And so there’s the one the alignments can move further west even so, well, bridge is getting longer, right?

Speaker 7 1:16:03
It is, it’s getting longer, but it’s, it’s gonna be it’s gonna get longer on this side as well, from what I understand, not just the west side. So you’re asking for that other portion of the playground, because right now they’re going, they’re getting up here coming down, back. Here, you’re saying to have a place for them to come down?

Unknown Speaker 1:16:26
Right now? It goes down here. So

Unknown Speaker 1:16:30
I don’t know. And that’s what I’ll need to check in with.

Speaker 5 1:16:34
And hopefully, nobody actually really does that. I just think taking those signs down would be much better, because I run into that physically seeing cyclists at sunset in like Nelson. And there’s no reason why somebody should get a sunset Nelson looking at scientists not a good place for somebody to be. And so it’s not it’s that’s a whole dangerous mess. Right. So and then you then you’re going to try to get onto

Speaker 7 1:17:04
so this is Colorado material. I guess it comes down to what’s the area of this that they’re going to put the need for construction. And I’m guessing

Unknown Speaker 1:17:19
that will

Speaker 7 1:17:25
I ended up destroying a Home Park. Yeah, you can get to this section here. But it’s a close

Speaker 5 1:17:34
as well. So there’s the southerly route in Sunset Boston River, Frances pipe. The northerly route is bridge, Bolin circle. Bowing first, right to directional mentors. This

Unknown Speaker 1:17:55
is that bone circle fence? There Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 1:17:57
right here.

Speaker 5 1:17:58
So that it says direction, there’s a crosswalk here detour, which it isn’t. Now it’s sort of like choosing the way most people are choosing the northern path to go in.

Unknown Speaker 1:18:11
proximity to the intersection,

Speaker 5 1:18:13
the crosswalk was put in, as it can see, for this, because we couldn’t wait, basically, one might argue was a removal of the center lane. So you can create bike lanes. And it was like, well, we’re gonna resurface it any days. Now. That was five years. That was five years ago. So it just read if you didn’t have centrally that you could put a real bike lane in. And it would be and I’ll be down at the bureaucracy of this too. But I again, since almost our first ALS is definitely one looked at we’ve driven it, she’s written it. We’ve tried to figure it out. But she does have some constraints with work in engineering and transportation to so it’s something we can’t fix in this room. It goes back to your piece in planning score is in engineering, but it’s definitely is on those teams. I think it’s conversation, we should be good at kind of taking this message forward

Speaker 7 1:19:07
as my six months has become a thing. I am getting to be more integrated with that team. And so I’m happy to reach out. We didn’t talk a lot. But hearing your concerns, I think we can make it better. Their engineers and that’s what you do better. So we’ll work on them. And we’ll see. I’ll bring it back to you next month.

Unknown Speaker 1:19:30
Okay. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 1:19:33
we can have a small one. Yeah.

Speaker 5 1:19:36
Yeah, in we can see it on the on the bicycle side. There are people who are arguing for some Amsterdam approach with tomorrow for it, which is well, it’s like the almost like closure of Boston Avenue and putting the grass base and like, none of that’s going to happen anytime soon. We haven’t built bridge first. So there’s at that meeting with me So, so there are even people from the bicycle as well. But I mean, just having a safer way to process more clear directions.

Speaker 7 1:20:14
It’s all great suggestions, the zigzag over development, I think I’ve just, I just need, I can just hear them saying the crosswalk. So that would be the concern. The less dangerous than what it is

Speaker 5 1:20:32
now, the railroad crossing has gotten has deteriorated pretty bad. Going southbound on Boeing, over the railroad. At first avenue, there is now a giant hole that that’s spray painted by someone like three months ago, but it still is a good size hole. That’s there. That’s basically in the bike path, or car tire path, reference riders. But it needs to timbers. Yeah, it would be great if there was some cement there. Because we’ve always been

Unknown Speaker 1:21:16
to the tracks down on

Unknown Speaker 1:21:25
a timber to

Speaker 1 1:21:31
you, Senator, were there other agreements or updates that you would have to provide? I don’t

Speaker 7 1:21:35
have any. This is really the focus of the work right now. Yeah, some of our street team are doing some of the reach two or three for the spring Gulch out on the east side of town. And then Daniel’s got the case 13. So there’s a lot of things in your way I am, I just made an opportunity, a senior position. And she comes from across the country, and she’s really got a lot of great skill sets, maybe she’ll be a great addition to the team. So she’s going to come in and then working on in order to get another. So we’re going to have a team of four project managers here soon. And then we’re gonna see some stuff that we’re getting knocked off the list. It’s been a very interesting six months. So I feel like we took it and then I backed up. We lost it.

Speaker 5 1:22:28
And then Daniel beginning a project managed for her bruises, you will focus on some of these overlapping Greenway projects that fall into the open space and grow but also water research projects, talking about reservoir expansion, that project manager can focus on some of those as well. This was group knows, just because, again, going back to that cost of managing, maintaining and acquiring, we had a pull based or cumulate offer or we’re planning we need to lose, sorry, 12 going out west is pull it up over plan. So we shift those dollars over to 13 and make sure we could take it to counselors and fully funded project. We’ll reevaluate that next year. It’s a critical piece for the community and for this group to try to get that full extension done. But just if you look at things they’ll see out there that 12 was pulled off to somebody ship those dollars over to Danielle’s

Speaker 6 1:23:17
question about two months ago, four months ago, there was a comment about one last landowner on the 12 section and the polls being done the progress on that, yes.

Unknown Speaker 1:23:28
And it was no one there to

Speaker 5 1:23:35
talk about her. Yeah, her hiccup there, again, where these costs come up with the golden family when they sold and they’re developing that they have family members that have just signed off on this vertical and has a property manager that’s really helping to shepherd it through that name. We’ve talked about Tom Adams and the farming over there in North and when he he talked about like Costco peas, we talked about some open space that families above my stuff that there will be the city and so this is kind of dropped to a lower level on that that piece oil wasn’t it, but it is not up for radar. It’s not off my radar, and we’re working on that.

Speaker 6 1:24:12
All right. grandvision the 13th update to mentioned briefly, and with that 60% design was completed. And I asked this maybe a month ago but that’s not public. Right? Those designs 60% Except published somewhere until its final.

Unknown Speaker 1:24:30
It’s not published yet.

Unknown Speaker 1:24:34
It’s not held secret

Speaker 6 1:24:39
right because of the property changes and I think understanding

Speaker 5 1:24:46
this so you know, because I was talking to Harold big enchilada. Danielle’s is stuck in is the big probably the biggest change in this and Danielle can talk about some of the challenges she’s faced. Is it remember this was supposed to go under what 19 out the same green freak. But after 2013 flood, the state redid their hydrology, and they pulled it up the table and said we did nothing that impacts arising the floodplain there. So the whole plan of going under existing underpass was taken off the table by the same agency, we’re partnering with kids project. And who is across the road for us we wants to connect. So it’s been a little bit of a frustration. But Danielle is really push on, is there any way we can use that, and we’re like the guinea pigs in this new blood, I want to talk about your experience. And Danielle,

Speaker 2 1:25:36
it’s just, it’s just added complication and time to the project. But we’re through a lot of it. We’ve worked through those details. And that’s why I can show you this. This is our 60% design plan and shows you where we’re crossing now a little bit to the west to get to the north side of 118. And then we’ll travel across heading east, in the CDOT, right of way, connect to the State Park. And to avoid a rise in the floodplain over there. We’re building a 240 foot span, single span bridge, without tears.

Unknown Speaker 1:26:17
So that we

Unknown Speaker 1:26:19
see that modeling hydrology is required. That’s huge. Yeah, there are three bridges on

Speaker 5 1:26:25
this project now that were never contemplated in the beginning.

Speaker 2 1:26:28
I mean, just the one underpass, but it’s one that we’re building a new one there, we’ve got the 240 foot span on there, and then we’ve we have to avoid this cellphone tower. on County Road five, so we’re building a bridge there as well. So the bridge, okay, so we’re taking bridges not over water, but over cars. Well, one is under a highway one is over some water, but the majority of it is.

Speaker 2 1:27:02
I’m not criticizing it. I was just clarifying. Like I just sort of bridges it with cars.

Speaker 5 1:27:09
No, no, no jumpers. No. No passenger cars,

Speaker 2 1:27:13
the underpass is going under the highway. I thought you said that we couldn’t know. So we’re building a new one. Existing damage underpasses that crossed 119. And that is what we can’t use

Speaker 5 1:27:31
today, we just kind of show what goes under right now what the original intent was where the creek goes under. That’s where we were supposed to go and what the new floodplain modeling that was taken off the table. So we’re

Speaker 2 1:27:41
going to build a new underpass here. So I’m David mentioned that that’s a piece of this project, it’s a $10 million. section of trail, 5 million of it is this new underpass that we’re building to get under there, and then we will. And then we will do the bridge to connect into the state park over here. North here of the highway, this is the single stanbridge Like wetland area,

Unknown Speaker 1:28:12
we have crossed the creek to get back over

Speaker 2 1:28:15
there will be crossing there. And then this is the underpass that second and then there’s a there’ll be a bridge over here. Okay, so all over this viewsheds of Boulder Creek Estates, which we talked about in the presentation, this bridge here will be overlooking all of this. So it’ll be it’ll be the views will be spectacular on this section. Over here, too,

Speaker 5 1:28:39
it keeps us up at Eagle habitat. It keeps us on the floodplain. It does a lot of

Speaker 2 1:28:42
Yeah, I this is what was coming to my mind when you were speaking before is that, you know, when this trail was first imagined, we thought about being down here down by the creek down right in the wild area. But instead we’re choosing to be out of the wild area in that fragment the wild area, keep the wild habitat here, you know, one of our last unfragmented wild places in the middle of the city and be up here and see, get the views into this, but educational signage here. And people of this intact even though the river moves, all those standing dead cottonwoods that are down there is evil risks that are being currently used. And so working with our partners CPW we really looked at this and thought we can still have an amazing trail experience if we stay out of there and keep it

Speaker 5 1:29:35
unpregnant. And just to give Danielle so this sorts of people know what she went through. This was a big internal and external conversation because people still think about the Greenway right along the creek. And they want to experience it as a human evolutionary piece be along water to so to really pull that Greenway out of that area to protect that habitat was a hard conversation.

Speaker 2 1:29:57
It wasn’t even the consultants We hired we’re like, what? What are we doing? Why did we but now we’re adding we’re all on the same page.

Speaker 6 1:30:08
Add a couple of quick questions. This is very cool to see so awesome. As far as how will we want to work along since the drive? Talking about more Visitor Center

Speaker 2 1:30:24
sensitization Yeah. So it’ll, it’ll be alongside the road here. And then yeah, it’ll continue to set up a parking lot. And then we have it’ll come. So we’ve got these two landowners here that share a driveway. So it’ll continue along the road and then it’ll, it’ll cut in to get it’ll go over their driveway and then we’ll cut in to get on to here. So the this is Skyway drive, all the businesses collision, etc. All their driveways come out over here, but we will be behind them. A second one.

Speaker 5 1:31:11
With neighbors have a trail in their backyard when they move out there wasn’t

Speaker 2 1:31:14
direct in this landowner? Yeah, she’s gonna have instead of this view, she’s gonna have to tread like, this is her we know this. But

Unknown Speaker 1:31:26
she was okay with that.

Unknown Speaker 1:31:28
Okay, okay.

Unknown Speaker 1:31:29
We’ve had a lot of conversations.

Speaker 6 1:31:33
What, what goes along the backlog? Is there any word of way to connect from the trail into that area? into that?

Speaker 2 1:31:43
So you can start up above it? The collision has offense. Yes. And these two developers that are coming in are going to be doing similar to what collision is doing. So I mean, you appreciate one extra, you think they want it, because who I mean, you’ve already written 50 miles, you want to stop for a beer, we had all the conversations about all of that, you know, one, we imagined at one point that maybe the trail will be here, this is going to be a better user experience, they’ll still get the bike and foot traffic as a result of the trail coming close. So

Speaker 6 1:32:24
what was the question about the on the sense to drive the park goes parallel to the road there? Yes. Did you look at options to put it on the road like bike lanes, it seems like a lot of trails are built along very quiet road. I read that section all the time. And there’s filters and drag down that as you’re going in Visitor Center, which is not that many cars or public works, where the site is there. And it seems like building a new path through a pretty steep complex kind of hillside, they’re probably pretty expensive. So is there any way to

Speaker 2 1:32:54
move things along? Well, it’s less expensive, because it’s following the road. And a huge consideration here is Ada and doing the best we can to make you know, bikeable and ADA compliant here. So yeah, we looked at going out and around and being over here, we looked at maybe coming up and we looked at all all possibilities and the path of least resistance is to be here along the road. You know, there there there is I mean, I kind of agree riding that road isn’t scary at all. Like

Speaker 6 1:33:33
it’s a steep to go right next to it. And we’re putting a whole bunch of new concrete next to a bunch of unused

Speaker 2 1:33:36
right? Well, we are we have drainage issues going on with the boat here. So we’re we’re going to be improving that.

Unknown Speaker 1:33:44
Because we have, you know, visitors in there. So right at the Visitor Center we’ve got the way it is right now, when this was built somehow

Speaker 2 1:33:57
now that the water washes over the road when there’s any sort of storm event so that will be corrected by our trail coming through we’ll deal with the drainage issues. So we’ll see improvements there and it’ll be safer. And you know, we do have an I acknowledge it doesn’t occur way down here and occurs up here in our parking lots, but we do have, you know, soccer traffic, lots of sports traffic and things like that. So continuing to have a trail that is not the road it was the thought.

Speaker 5 1:34:39
Spring goes to number three, what’s the standard standard

Speaker 7 1:34:44
design with our students team, okay? And I understand as the aerials she comes over to me, and so you’re working on different engineering Okay, I’ll get you more

Speaker 5 1:35:04
that’s probably our number one question everybody’s like, Oh really got got to Union reds now. I’ve turned around who back the other way is I mean half the year that the dirt roads are so muddy or nobody wants to run out

Speaker 1 1:35:25
all right, let’s head on over to the items in the packet updates there any items in the packet starting over

Speaker 5 1:35:40
Okay, so I thought one was was kind of funny from today. So it’s page nine the E coli level at Union that we tripped over it I think today or something? Yes, more than was good today or in the packet says we’re doing great in our E. coli levels are so low that we’re eating all these other people but yeah, so our E coli numbers Why is Boise Ranger other days you got into the numbers more water quality lab. So personal Give me what what are typical numbers are which is around two. The state asks us to close that around 230, I think is the number for that. And somehow in our last lesson, we were over 700. Yeah. And they don’t know if you know, a lot of times so you know, like big rain events and washes things out the temperatures get right does it know things need to be in place. So the wind is what they were and all that wind pushing stuff down towards is when beach that’s a gas prices trying to do something that would have made sense to align with that high number. So really, we’re having a retested is the biggest thing. And you know, just following the state guidelines, we definitely close the beach. I can’t imagine who grew up in the day. But Jeff, do you hear anything on your side different than what?

Unknown Speaker 1:36:58
We juxtaposes Wednesday during the weekend?

Unknown Speaker 1:37:05
Right. Like

Speaker 2 1:37:09
you’re gonna believe this? Yeah, yeah. I mean, it’s gonna love dogs. I just want to say like the brightest spot thing, am I allowed to say during the horticultural maintenance that we’re going to switch. So turf, high water turf, to lower landscaping, like, hopefully, just the grass that would normally grow without irrigation and turn off those things that makes me happy. Thank you.

Speaker 5 1:37:53
Just Just so you know, we had an idea of our water resources group. And this is, again, that collaborative piece that we’re always working with water conservation group, our parks group, timbers group, and Greg has a great background that so we were looking at, you make those changes, were appropriately stepping herper Dillard piece if we hope we don’t have to do conversions in the future is if we’re trying to design these parks in a way that does that as well. So again, you know, you and I erred on this, too, we’re always had plenty of them. Don’t want that regressed her to do those pieces, but where we can minimize that, we’re always looking for that. So super excited, great, great results, I think I’m just gonna throw because I think it’s the same do. You’ve seen other communities try this. And it had huge failures. I mean, they paid over a million dollars a character vote with a little water chip in, it fails, the community is upset, they have to tear that out, put new grass back in. And now they’ve had never had the chance of the trust of that community. We have done small trials around the city where no one knows if we fail and the fails is not a huge cost. We now have information on what not to use. We have areas that have worked really well and kind of tucked away places. And so as we go forward with larger projects, I think we have a good toolbox to pull from and so can you share with the community what has worked well in the past, I think ours is going to be an education piece too.

Speaker 6 1:39:16
To have two things one on Union also in my first year of Passover has been amazing. I was surprised or sad to see the closing date I should have voted in years past. The closing is just the swimming beach. You can still paddleboard garbage and just the swimming in my garden is all the changes. Okay, I think on the website, it sounds like the whole thing is closing. So just basic clarifying something about like just only 90% of what you do at Union but because the date the other day to see for opening or like it’s open for the season, and then it closes August 19 Swimming in little parentheses wherever it says so. But I just had a great experience of the Passholder this year and it’s my first time so kudos to you guys. What a great facility it is. But the question was in the packet as much of that Thompson renewal, which is my neighborhood, which I’m psyched about, that’s your study. I started potentially going to RFP soon. Cool. Awesome. People were asking about it.

Speaker 7 1:40:21
Yeah. So we’re gonna get the website updated with all of our communications. I had a meeting with him recently, so that we’re not eaten by projects in Dry Creek. But at least it was interesting. Actually, passion. She used to be proficient in that zone for seven years. So she knows the struggles and she’s got some great ideas, and she’s got a good team. So that one I think, is actually I said the other team, I think that was actually really smart. But it will be awarded in September.

Unknown Speaker 1:40:56
Oh, great. Any other comments from that package? I was gonna say thank you see $4 billion opening. Okay, let’s

Speaker 2 1:41:14
move on. It’s public record. So just turn to that camera. And

Unknown Speaker 1:41:18
thank you see you.

Unknown Speaker 1:41:21
I’ll take your time Mark, unscented.

Speaker 1 1:41:23
Yeah. I am strum stab. Items from the board that aren’t, we never actually bring things up in the second year, because you cover in the back of the face or whatever, any items from the board that are not related to the fact that updates and so like, you want to raise

Unknown Speaker 1:41:47
those when there’s no resolution

Speaker 1 1:41:50
for next, because it’d be after the second round reading. Yeah, definitely agree with that. Okay, with that good, probably monitoring Germans do have a motion to adjourn. move to adjourn. Second on here. All right. Thank you, everybody. Thank you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai