Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2017 09 13

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Open Space Advisory Board Minutes August 9th 2017 Page 2 of 6 E. The Youth Corps finished working for the City on August 1st. Ember remarked that there was an exceptionally strong, motivated team this year and subsequently it was a great season. One highlight was working on a fence at Damyanovich. F. Staff is working on pond algae control. One aerator is malfunctioning at the Warembourg fishing pond. G. 90% of the design work is done on the two wayfinding trail -alignment projects, one is near Fireside Elementary, and the other is at Coyote Run. Council has approved the funding, so staff is trying to get the work done before winter. H. Staff is working on the agreement for a control burn project for this season. I. There was a closure at the Davidson Mesa Dog Off -leash Area (DOLA) last week due to the rain and mud. Staff heard from three citizens who were upset about the closure. Staff is working on how best to educate citizens on when and why closures occur. One idea is to include the DOLA's status current status on the website, so citizens can check before they visit. The challenge is how to update it on weekends when staff isn't working. Jim asked whether trash is collected from the DOLA on weekends. He recently noticed lots of abandoned plastic jugs there. Aubrey told the board that users leave water jugs there, ostensibly for others to use, but they tend to turn into litter. J. Aubrey Hilte, the new Open Space Ranger introduced herself and reported on what she has observed this summer She talked about the current dog rules enforcement campaign. Staff started with temporary, laminated signs on the properties. They then added sandwich boards at different properties. There was vandalism on the sandwich boards, which she believes came from a single, angry individual. The vandalism has been reported to PD, and staff is logging the amount of time and work it takes to repair the vandalism. For the most part, however, staff has received positive feedback about the campaign. Jim thanked Aubrey, commenting that he has noticed an improvement in dog - related behavior on Open Space. Helen asked if Aubrey if she would supply the board with quasi -regular updates. Fiona asked Aubrey about encroachment issues off Dogwood Ct. Aubrey reported that staff has been deciding how to handle it in concert with code enforcement. VI. Board Updates - A. Helen saw a roadkill elk in Superior. B. Jeff shared information from the City Council 2018 budget session last night. The budget is challenging because a number of costs are hitting at once. Council discussed Open Space issues for a while. The Mayhoffer property purchase will deplete the Open Space and Parks Fund and they discussed how to build it back up. The idea is to have enough of a balance to purchase three properties, if they come available at once, but it will be hard to build the fund back up to that level. Jeff thought it would be helpful to bring the newly -revised "Opportunities for Preserving Open Space and Improving Trail Connectivity" List to Council. Ember announced that staff has a study session with City Council in September and OSAB is invited to attend and participate. Jeff thought it would be useful to give OSAB a presentation about the Open Space and Parks Fund and its dynamics. Helen agreed that the board would like to see this. Council has also been discussing the pivot from using the fund for acquisition to using it for operations and maintenance costs. The 3