Parks and Public Landscaping Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2022 09 14

Home Browse Search

Open Space Advisory Board Minutes August 10, 2022 Page 5 of 7 Thank you, Jean Morgan, a Louisville citizen for 50 years! @ 1131 Spruce St. Louisville, CO 80027 B. Mike Deborski 601 Pine Street. Mr. Deborski was also concerned about the property on 10064 Empire Rd. and sent OSAB an email on this topic (to be included in the minutes). He would like to see the board advocate on behalf of the agreed -to conservation easements. He thinks that 100 ft. is the Boulder County's required setback for development. He feels that the new owners bought the land with the knowledge that there was an easement on the property and he wants to see them adhere to that agreement. The board would like some clarity on this issue from city staff. 8. Discussion Item: Open Space Volunteer Program. Overview of Open Space Volunteer Program. Presented by Catherine Jepson, Open Space Specialist. Catherine said that her presentation was in response to a request from Susan to talk about how the open space staff organizes volunteers work on mechanical weed control. Relevant city projects include the Adopt program, raptor monitoring, Weed Whackers, public and private events, and the Boulder County Youth Corps work. It has a $1000 annual budget. Catherine shared images illustrating how volunteers and staff engage with those projects. The total cumulative hours have been increasing over the last 5 years. She shared pros and cons of using volunteers to do mechanical weed control. Enhancements to Weed Wacker Volunteer Program. Present by Susan McEachern, OSAB Member. Susan has been volunteering as a Weed Whacker for a long time. She said the organization and activity of the group has declined: it used to have an organized crew with some leadership. Catherine said she mostly works with the individuals who lead the crew. Susan would like to volunteer as a possible "Leader Weeder" and would like some ideas to re -energize the Weed Whacker crew. She recommended a card or a sign that she and other Weed Whackers could use to communicate to interested passers-by. She suggested that the senior naturalist could give property tours ending with plugs for volunteers to work with the Weed Whackers on specific properties. She felt like Weed Whackers could use more marketing and visibility. Charles recommended having volunteers come to organizations like scout meetings to talk up the opportunity for volunteer hours. Jessamine asked if there was a way to get a hierarchy of highly -trained volunteers in place who could train new people. Susan liked the idea. David asked Catherine if she perceived any disadvantage to separate the Weed Whackers team from the Pulling for Louisville events. Catherine was equivocal. He asked Susan if it was her observation that neighbors favor working on their local