OSAC NOTES

December 2, 2004 - Study Session

Thea Rock narrated a Power Point presentation reviewing Open Space’s accomplishments in 2004.

Regular Meeting -

Wheat Ridge requested revision of their acquisition priorities. The request, which adds the Northwest Lakewood Sanitation District property at 41st and Miller as a high priority, was approved.

Approval was given for the County General Fund to purchase the remainder of the Foothills Government Complex property owned by, but not used by Open Space. Included are 18.47 acres for Human Services to erect a building for the Workforce Development Center and six other parcels totaling 28.19 acres. Of the purchase cost, Open Space will receive $2,440,000 that must be used for acquisition and $4,055,000 will be added to the Open Space fund balance.

Approved negotiations for 2.7 acres near Coal Mine and Pierce for Columbine Knolls Grove Metro District.

Approved transfer of 10 acre property at 82nd and Simms (adjacent to Pioneer Park) to Arvada. Arvada then will lease the property to North Jeffco Parks. The property needed to be annexed into Arvada in order to have water and sewer connections.

Approved negotiations to acquire a 40-acre parcel adjacent to Cathedral Spires.

Withdrew approval of negotiations for a Conifer recreation site as the inclusion vote into the Foothills Park and Recreation District failed.

Reviewed the North Table Mountain Park Management Plan.

November 11, 2004 - Special Meeting

Ralph Schell presented final terms for the acquisition of 737 acres of South Table Mountain from Coors Brewing. The purchase price is $10,000,000. A GOCO grant will cover $4,000,000 of the cost with the balance coming from bond funds. Open Space is paying all closing costs and a fee of $150,000 to the Trust for Public Lands for their assistance in the transaction. Closing for the transaction was December 15th and Coors Brewing made a $200,000 donation to the Jeffco Open Space Foundation for further acquisitions or development on South Table.

November 4, 2004 - Study Session

Brian Posthumus, Natural Resource Specialist, gave a presentation on wildlife management in Open Space Parks. The Open Space staff and volunteers inventory wildlife by surveys and photography, monitor changes by surveys, and do some research mainly on avian species. One of the findings is that the abundance of cavity nesting bird species are about one-half that of most forested communities. Staff have drilled cavities, but they tend to only be used as protection from the wind. There are 27 Golden Eagle nests on Open Space with 7 or 8 being active any one year. There are 7 prairie falcon territories and two peregrine falcon territories. Peregrine falcons nested at Ralson Buttes in 2004. The photography is done using a infra-red camera triggered by a motion sensor. In one 24-hour period of activity 74 photo’s were taken of Black Bear with about one-half of the photos taken during daylight hours.

Regular Meeting

OSAC approved Arvada’s requested change in their acquisition priorities which change the Gunter property in East Arvada and Hiatt Lake to high priority.

A five-year lease with the State Land Board on 160 acres that are part of Hildebrand Ranch Park was approved.

Ralph Schell reported that prescribed burns were completed on a total of 220 acres in Elk Meadow, White Ranch, and Mount Falcon Parks during 2004.

October 7, 2004 - Study Session

Presentation was made of the Clear Creek Canyon Trail Feasibility Study, see separate article in this newsletter.

Regular Meeting

Terry Green gave an update on the Rooney Soccer Field. The capping of the landfill was finally complete and seeding for erosion control would be done in the next few days. The facility will be turned over to Golden for installation of fields in March or April 2005.

OSAC approved the sale of Open Space’s storage rights in Bergen Reservoir #5. This reservoir is located along Racoon Creek, North of Bowles Avenue between Alkire and Simms Streets. Bill Swalling is developing the adjacent property and desired moving the reservoir, which is not used for water delivery, and converting it to a detention pond. The developer agreed to pay $11,452 for the storage rights and $150,000 for other considerations.

The DOE and Fish & Wildlife Service need to do some mitigation to off-set lost habitat on Rocky Flats. However, they are not authorized to acquire real estate rights outside of the Rocky Flats boundary. Open Space has negotiated a lease with the State Land Board for an 100-acre parcel of Section 16 that will be re-leased to the two Federal agencies. The 100-acre parcel has been high on the list for preservation of the Rocky Flats ecosystem and previously had been subject to potential gravel mining.

An amended resolution was approved for the a conservation easement on 120 acres adjacent to Cathedral Spires. The amendment adjusted the price to reflect the inflation in land values since the original resolution was passed in October 2003.

September 2, 2004. - Study Session

A presentation on the Youth Engaged in Service & Stewardship (Y.E.S.S.) was made. This is a new program begun this year to bring youth into the Open Space Program. Nine students participated two days a week shadowing staff and doing trail building, slash clean-up, service projects at Hiwan, and participating in the Bear Creek Festival at Lair O’ the Bear Park.

Regular Meeting

The Ken-Caryl - Hildebrand Ranch land trade discussed in August was approved unanimously.

OSAC accepted final terms for purchasing the portion of Alderfer Three Sisters Park that is leased from the State Land Board. This 440-acre parcel, which includes Evergreen Mountain, has been leased by Open Space since 1979.

Staff was given authorization to negotiate for a 1.4-acre parcel along Dutch Creek that is adjacent to the Foothills Park & Rec District’s Christian Meadows Park The parcel would provide trail corridor and a connection from the Christian Meadows Park to the trail.

August 5, 2004 - Study Session

The meeting started with a discussion on the manner in which Joint Venture Grants are awarded. Should distribution be more "per capita" based? After much discussion as to how a ‘per capita’ basis would impact the smaller districts, the Committee’s consensus was to stay with the present method of awarding grants.

The status of the Front Range Mountain Backdrop/Foreground acquisitions was reviewed. OSAC and the Commissioners have authorized staff to pursue lands that total about 41,500 acres. In addition the Natural Areas authorization totals33,900 acres. Allowing for over laps, the two authorizations total 64,200 acres. The amount preserved by Open Space to date is 18,715 and by other agencies is 14,935 (including private open space). Of the remaining 30,600 acres, about 8,900 are already developed, heavily subdivided, or are small remnant-type parcels. The majority of the remaining 21,700 acres are already covered by active projects.

Regular Meeting

A second review was made on a proposal by a developer for a road easement over the Southwest corner of Elk Meadow Park. This access to his property under development would be much more convenient than the presently adjudicated access. Some of the OSAC members had taken a field trip to the location prior to the meeting. After much discussion the request was denied.

CDOT re-presented their proposal for the Hogback Park-N-Ride at I-70 and US 40. The proposal moves the Hwy 40 intersection to the North and combines and enlarges the present RTD and Pterodactyl lots. CDOT’s evaluation of the alternate proposed by PLAN Jeffco and CARE was presented. CDOT’s major concerns on the alternate were that it would have a $5,400,000 higher cost to cover more Right-of-Way acquisition and addressing the Lena Gulch wetlands. As a result of the earlier presentation, CDOT had changed their proposal to include more landscaping and adding trail under I-70 at an estimated additional cost of $250,000. Recognizing that if the proposal was not accepted, CDOT had the right to condemn the property, OSAC unanimously approved the sale of the desired 6.36 acres.

A land trade of 86 acres of Ken-Caryl Ranch Metro District land near the Southwest corner of the South Valley Park for 32.46 acres of open space land acquired in the Hildebrand Ranch acquisition was discussed. The open space land is North of the Deer Creek road and is surrounded by Ken-Caryl Open Space, including the Cathy Johnson Trail. The matter was tabled until September so that the resolution could be rewritten.

July 1, - Study Session

The Study Session began with a field trip to Conifer to view the potential recreation center site for the Confer area, provided inclusion in Foothills is approved in November.

The budget for 2005 was presented. Because revenues are increasing at a slower rate than proposed when the current five-year budget was approved, some reductions were necessary. These reductions will allow for the future OSAC fund balance to easily cover servicing the bonds without reducing services and maintenance. There was some discussion on how reductions could be made.

Regular Meeting

The meeting opened with discussion on the Conifer recreation center site. After much discussion and a short Executive Session, a resolution was passed expressing support for negotiations provided the November vote is successful.

An access easement across the Southwest corner of Elk Meadow Park was presented. The easement would allow access to a property West of the Stagecoach parking lot. The property presently has access easements that are convoluted and construction of the access would scar much of the property. OSAC planned a site visit to view the potential impact on Elk Meadow Park.

A gap exists in property ownership on the Northeast corner of North Table Mountain due to surveying errors. OSAC approved Open Space and the adjacent land owner dividing the area covered by the gap. The piece retained by Open Space includes part of an anticipated trail corridor.

Ralph Schell noted that a pair of peregrine falcons nested in the Ralston Buttes and are raising three chicks. Open Space is looking at selling the remaining Open Space lands on the County campus to the County/General Fund. This would allow using the funds on other significant lands.

The proposed 2005 budget was approved with reductions from the original five-year budget. These reductions include:

Including natural trails construction in the operating budget

Include design and development in project costs

Delay building a Park Services Shop

Hold Joint Ventures at $2,000,000 per year.

Keep the park development budget constant at $2,000,000 per year.

Reduce Park Upgrades from $250,000 to $150,000 per year

Do not pre-budget for Trails 2000 past 2005

June 3, 2004 - Study Session

The Study Session began with a field trip to the trail under construction through the Town of Morrison.

Jim Johnson requested that OSAC field trip a property in Conifer that Foothills Park and Recreation District is considering as a recreation center site if the Conifer area votes for inclusion in the District. The property presently is undergoing rezoning and a civil lawsuit. Therefore, OSAC cannot take any action relative to negotiations.

Regular Meeting

OSAC approved proceeding on negotiations for three properties South west of Golden Gate Canyon Road and North of Robinson Hill Road. The three properties total about 1452 acres and include much of Douglas Mountain..

The County is looking at building a facility for the Human Services Workforce Development Center somewhere within the County campus. The most appropriate location is North of the Human Services building on Open Space lands. Once an appraisal has been made, staff will bring a resolution to OSAC for consideration.

May 6, 2004 - Study Session

The study session was a field trip to observe the Clear Creek Trail construction between Tucker Gulch in Golden and the 44th Avenue overpass. The trail includes 1600 feet on the top of the Church Ditch and extensive lengths of retaining wall. The trail is targeted to be open sometime in August.

Regular Meeting

OSAC approved acquisition of a 17-acre property adjacent to the North entrance of Centennial Cone Park. Owning the property will allow construction of a lower-cost entrance road. In addition the two structures on the property can be used for a park residence and storage.

Staff reviewed the proposed trade with R-1 for expansion of Chatfield High School. OSAC passed a resolution to allow proceeding with detailed negotiations to occur if the bond issue is successful.

A conservation easement was approved for two 80-acre parcels on the South side of Ralston Creek, West of White Ranch. The easement allows for trail connections.

Extensive discussion was held with Golden representatives relative to the Rooney Road area lease. Golden staff presented how they planned to manage the soccer facility. OSAC requested a few changes relating to scheduling priorities. With these changes, OSAC approved the proposed lease with Golden.

Acquisition of 43 acres contiguous with the West side of Reynolds Park was approved. The property will allow construction of a loop where the Eagle’s View Ttrail now has a dead end.

April1, 2004 - Study Session

Discussion with members of Ken Caryl Metro District relative to why OSAC did not commit to remodeling projects as part of the joint ventures. The discussion also related to Ken Caryl not following fee guidelines where Open Space funds have contributed to a facility. Open Space’s guide lines are that County residents must pay less than out-of-county residents and that the entity can charge there own residents less, since their taxes directly are supporting the facility.

Regular Meeting

R-1 schools is considering a necessary expansion of Chatfield High School as part of the bond issue to be considered in the November 2004 election. This expansion includes more parking and athletic fields. The best place for expansion is onto a part of the West Meadows Golf Course. The area is not close to any fairways. The OSAC consensus was that a trade with R-1 would be appropriate.

The Northwest corner of The Robert Easton Regional Park (formerly the Ridge at West Meadows) requires an entrance to Alkire as does the commercial area to the North that fronts Bowles. The commercial property developer was willing to purchase the appropriate right-of-way from Open Space and construct the entrances. OSAC approved.

There was a long discussion on the lease of the Rooney Road area with Golden. This area is intended to have soccer fields with artificial turf. The consensus of OSAC was that Golden still did not demonstrate the financial capability to proceed.