Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2023 07 12

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more detail on OSAB's role with trails, and it has some conflicting information as to whether the board is in a recommending role on all trails or just trails that are on or adjacent to city open space. To help clarify this discrepancy, we would prefer that OSAB be given the responsibility to advise on all new and proposed trails within the city, and to consider the city's trail network and specifically how it functions as an interlinked network. A holistic view of the trail network is important and is preferable to having two or more boards responsible for the review of different parts of the trail system. What have been your greatest successes? What about your greatest failures? Wayfinding has been both a success and a failure. The planning and proposals have been thoughtfully and thoroughly developed, but the new signs have not yet been delivered even after ten years of detailed work by the board and city staff. The acquisition of the Mayhoffer property should also be considered a success. OSAB's recent rallying around not paving the Coal Creek Trail between 36 and Dillon should ultimately be counted as a success, but it revealed many process and communication problems between Council and the board. Convincing the city not to require open space volunteers to undergo background checks is definitely a success. The board has demonstrated success in general teamwork and specifically a mentorship program for new board members. OSAB's advocacy for improved transparency about how the open space and parks sales tax money has been allocated is a strong success too. Lastly, the board advocated for both the ranger program and staff senior naturalist position, both successfully implemented initiatives. On the whole, communication back and forth between OSAB and City Council has been a failure. Another example of this is the creation of the "half-and-half' concrete and crusher -fine gravel section of the Coal Creek Trail at Aspen Way and Roosevelt near Community Park. The City Council asked for OSAB's recommendation and despite OSAB advocating for maintaining a gravel trail, the Council decided on the more costly and poorly designed half-and-half approach instead. Several years later, the Council changed its mind again and decided to pave the entire section and, in turn, adding further to the overall cost of the project. In addition, the meeting about Redtail Ridge in the summer of 2022 was a failure in planning and preparation, as the board was asked to opine about a proposal that it was not given adequate time or information to fully understand. The board ultimately attained some level of success, however, as they made it clear that they could not comment at that time despite being pressured to do so. The board could use more training on its roles and responsibilities during quasi-judicial proceedings to better handle these complex circumstances in the future. How is your process to develop your annual work plan? How does it align with Council's work plan? OSAB has a goals document that is carried over from one year to the next and which provides ownership and task detail on a variety of topics such as land acquisitions, trails, resource management, wayfinding, education and outreach, and general business. This document could be more structured in terms of scheduling, but it does provide guidance for what efforts each member of the board should be leading and what is on the board's priority list for the year. The board hopes that it will continue to receive an early draft of Council's annual work plan, and it would be helpful to also have some visibility into staff's work plan as we have responsibilities to serve both entities. During the year, it would be useful to provide regular delivery of Council's advance agenda to all boards as currently we on OSAB find that we have to ask for updates.