Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2023 07 12

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Open Space Advisory Board Minutes June 14, 2023 Page 2 of 6 5. Public Comments on Items Not on the Agenda -none- 6. Staff Updates — See Staff Updates on pages 15-17 of the June OSAB Meeting Packet. Ember was out of town, so Adam went through the highlights of the Staff Updates. There are several issues that will be discussed at the next City Council meeting which may be of interest to the board. Council will be getting a draft of the proposed Open Space and Parks Fund Sales Tax ballot language, they will have a presentation about city fire mitigation work, and they will discuss the results of the boards and commissions' survey and discussions. Trail resurfacing at Coyote Run starts next week. Work will start at Harper Lake and work down the trail. The goats and cow grazing programs have ended for the season, but in the fall the goats will be back at North and the cows will be back at Davidson Mesa. This is the first year of a three-year contract. The animals got lots of positive feedback from citizens, especially the goats. Staff's initial impression is that the efforts were very effective. Staff is going to do some further clean up on the North Open Space properties, particularly in the brush. Helen wanted to know if seeds pass through the grazers' bodies. Adam said that the grazers add to soil quality and also regenerate seed banks. Susan asked whether the seeds of weeds can be further spread this way. Adam said that they are trying to manage the time and place of the grazers to minimize weed dispersal. There is a new Open Space Maintenance Technician, named Jacob Marinkovich, who Adam thinks is already a great fit. He is helping with mowing projects. Staff has also hired Kayla Corcelli to be the Parks and Open Space Administrative Assistant, a role that has been made full-time. The city is still working to find a new Senior Natural Resource Manager. Staff are working on an RFP for a prairie dog removal project. The prairie dogs will be relocated to a black -footed ferret refuge. David recommended Adam look into the recent, passionate controversy about prairie dog removal on Heil Valley Ranch Open Space. Laura mentioned that there was recently an article in the Daily Camera about the Heil Valley Ranch prairie dog controversy, so local emotions might already be high before staff begins their work. Adam mentioned that the regenerative grazing program and the fire mitigation work got a lot of coverage from the Daily Camera. Adam said there were three volunteers at the recent National Trails Day trail work event at Harper Lake. David thought this seemed like a low turn -out and might indicate that there needs to be more or better advertising for events.