Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2023 05 10

Home Browse Search

Open Space Advisory Board Minutes April 12, 2023 Page 4 of 9 David said that this feels like a communication issue and he doesn't want to spend a lot of OSAB's time researching and articulating recommendations that will be ignored by the City Council and Public Works when they make independent decisions about trails. Helen felt like some of this is a lack of leadership. She added that since the funding for trail work comes out of open space tax funding, then Open Space staff and OSAB should take the leadership on trail issues. Charles said that one way to get ahead of things would be to pay more attention to projects in the works. Laura commented that she liked Charles' comment about having the senior naturalist weigh in on any rushed decisions about trail upgrades and best practices about trail placement to minimize disturbance. She felt that the purpose of the position is to have a person with that expertise about the specifics of Louisville's land to be a guide. Charles thought that mapping social trails addresses the first bullet point under Equity (identifying use patterns), the Senior Naturalist could address the second (identifying conservation concerns), but he wasn't sure about how to address the third point (seeking public input). Jessamine pointed out that the board itself represents the public and can give voice during decisions. She added that the public will get to weigh in on the Open Space Master Plan as well. She agreed that looking ahead at future CIPs will help. Jojo felt that any City plans that impact open space should come before the board. Michiko agreed, and asked how this process works now. Ember replied that the process changes with leadership roles and perspectives. She said sometimes with large CIPs there is a group meeting with multiple Departments. But for smaller projects sometimes they get addressed in an ad hoc fashion depending on time sensitivity. 8. Information Item: Staff Updates. Presented by Ember Brignull, Open Space Superintendent The full staff updates are found in the April 2023 Meeting Packet, pages 34-36. Ember presented a few highlights to the board. Ember reminded the board that on May 10th the OSAB meeting would be a joint meeting with the Superior Open Space Council and that the Wildfire Hazard and Risk Assessment consultants would be presenting. They are hoping for lots of feedback from the two boards for preparation for an open house with the wider public. It is currently scheduled to begin at 7:00pm and it will be held in the Louisville Library. Board members from Superior will be meeting to discuss a few of their own issues before the joint meeting. Jessamine suggested a fifteen -minute, informal time for a meet -and -greet before the meeting starts. Staff applied for a $400k grant from the Colorado State Forest Service to help support fire mitigation work. They will hear back on May 3ra There are several staffing updates to be announced, including the departure of the Louisville Senior Natural Resource Specialist, Brendan Close. The board was concerned about the turnover and low applicant pool for seasonal maintenance workers. Ember said it has been particularly hard to find seasonal workers in the last few years. Jessamine asked if some of this difficulty has been due to salary. Ember thought not, lei