Study Session:
Parks Cost Recovery & amp; Fee Assessment – update: See the January study session in the January 12, 2017 OSAC Meeting Notes.
Scott Grossman, Special Projects Coordinator, reviewed the status of the Peaks to Plains Trail. The phase presently under construction will add about 3/4 of a mile and a second trail head to the project. At the area referred to as the “Big Easy”, Highway 6 is being moved to allow for a large parking lot. There will be a bridge across the creek and the area will be landscaped for recreation.
At the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon, the plan is to add about 55 parking spaces along Highway 6, a trail head with restrooms and a picnic area, and trails on both sides of the creek. The north side trail will connect with the present Clear Creek Trail from Golden and go west past Tunnel 1. The south side trail will start at the Chimney Gulch Trail and follow the Welch Ditch using both the ditch bank and the flume to west of Tunnel 1. The wooden portion of the flume will require major reconstruction to make it safe for unsupervised use. The goals are to do the design work in 2017, to stabilize and construct in 2018, and to open in 2019. Potentially, there are additional plans to access Mt. Galbraith Park across Highway 6, and a hiker-only bridge across the creek west of Tunnel 1.
Regular Session:
Three of the contractors for the completed portion of the Peaks to Plans Trail have received awards from their appropriate associations. The awards were for architectural design, land stewardship, and environmental excellence.
Christine Hartman, Natural Resources Specialist, gave a presentation of the “Raptor Monitoring Program.” Open space has been monitoring raptors for over 20 years. Last year, 35 volunteers contributed more than 800 hours to the monitoring program. Eighty-nine nesting sites for golden eagles, red-tail hawks, great-horned owls, and peregrine and prairie falcons are being monitored. In 2016, 23 of the nests were active, and 18 persons were ticketed in Clear Creek Canyon for violating areas closed during nesting season.
Drew Rayburn was introduced as the new Supervisor of the Natural Resources Team.
Final terms for three Meyer Ranch properties were approved. These terms included buyout of the conservation easement on the 10.6 acres that include the house, 42 acres north and adjacent to the house easement, and 1.5 acres for a trail corridor from the house to Aspen Park.
Edgewater is planning to use a portion of their owned area of Walker Branch Park for a municipal building. The exchange of the Open Space reverter on this area of the County to a portion of Citizens Park was approved.
