OSAC Meeting Notes – July 11, 2019

Study Session

Gina Barton presented the proposed 2020 budget. The major change from 2019, is not having to pay $8.4 million on the $100 million bond. The budget includes $250,000 for forest health; $330,000 for additional staff and accommodating the new minimum wage; $441,000 for scanning the files, printing, maintenance supplies, timing clocks, and materials for climbing  access; $181,000 for Hiwan Museum roof replacement; $190,000 for an updated Natural Areas study; and $14.4 million for capital projects (Peaks to Plains Trail, Dinosaur Ridge, Beaver Ranch, and other park improvements.)

Regular Meeting

The meeting started with a planning and projects update:

Staff is proceeding on the Vision to Action program that will result in producing a Conservation Greenprint that will contain most of the items of a conventional Master Plan, with it being a guide rather than a “Plan”.

• Progress is continuing on the Rocky Mountain Greenway trail from DIA to Estes Park. Soil sampling for plutonium is continuing in the trail’s footprint. The trail will cross Indiana Street on an overpass, go South and West around the restricted area, then North to Highway 128. The trail will pass under Highway 128 into Boulder County.
• A natural resources inventory is being made jointly by JCOS and City of Boulder Parks. It will be two years or so before a strategy for development is determined.
• JCOS has assisted the Evergreen community in finding a potential location for a dog park and will assist in drafting a request to Great Outdoors Colorado for funds to develop the park. The local community will be the operator of the park.
• The upgraded Windy Saddle trailhead will be completed by mid-July.
• The Indiana Street trailhead for Van Bibber Park is complete. The trailhead and parking have been moved out of the flood plain. The trail has been improved with new culverts, and a bridge that flooded easily has been replaced. The Creek culvert under Indiana also was cleaned of debris.
• The South Valley trailhead along Deer Creek Road will be improved with a vault restroom and an expanded parking lot.
• Work is continuing on the trail along the South side of Clear Creek at the mouth. Later this year work will begin on parking lots near Highway 93 and near Tunnel 1.
• Staff are working with Friends of Dinosaur Ridge staff on a master plan for a new visitor center and potential road realignment. Plans have been made for rock mitigation above the tracks.
• Electrical lines at Meyer Ranch are being moved underground.
• The GIS group has been busy providing information for other projects, updating maps, and developing an Open Space dashboard that will allow self-service information on the parks, trails, etc.
• The IT group has been working on the Cartegraph Asset Management program that will track the facilities and their management costs. They also have online the app for permits, reservations, etc. The needs of the CSU extension will be added in 2020.

Visitor experience surveys are indicating fewer trail conflicts. Volunteers are doing a lot of interviews in the parks. Apex and Mt Galbraith are the main focus of collecting user experience information.

OSAC approved waiving a portion of the reverter on Arvada’s Youth Memorial Sports Complex in order to allow some flood control improvements. Tom Hoby reported that the biker-only section of the Longhorn Trail at White Ranch was working nicely.

Mary Ann Bonnell reported that the parking lot cameras on the trailhead lots were in training to develop algorithms to determine lot usage and space availability.