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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLand Conservation And Stewardship Board - Minutes - 07/12/2023 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting | 1745 Hoffman Mill Road July 12, 2023 Members: Ross Cunniff, Chair Elena Lopez, Member Scott Mason, Vice Chair River Mizell, Member Denise Culver, Member Joe Piesman, Member Andrea Elson, Member Mark Sears, Member Holger Kley, Member 7 /1 2 /20 2 3 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order at 5:31 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: Holger Kley, Denise Culver, Ross Cunniff, Scott Mason, Elena Lopez, Andrea Elson, Joe Piesman, River Mizell. Mark Sears joined the meeting at 5:35 p.m. NAD Staff: Katie Donahue, Julia Feder, Tawnya Ernst, Kristina Ostrowski, Mary Boyts Matt Parker 3. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION: None 4. AGENDA REVIEW: No changes to the agenda 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Member Lopez submitted minor changes to the June 14, 2023, minutes. Mary Boyts amended the minutes as requested. Member Piesman made a motion to approve the June LCSB meeting minutes with changes submitted by Member Lopez. Member Lopez seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved 9-0. 6. WELCOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS Chair Cunniff welcomed the two new Board members and asked that they to introduce themselves. Member Mizell stated her interest in serving stems from her graduate degree in Conservation Communication with a focus on disabled communities. She is employed with a climate positive bank. Mark Sears noted his 22-year tenure as the Manager of Natural Areas and is pleased with an opportunity to again be involved, in a small way. He stated his hope to share his knowledge and looks forward to serving. Chair Cunniff then asked the rest of the board members to each provide a brief self-introduction for the benefit of the new members. He again welcomed the new members and stated he is looking forward to their contributions to the discussions. 7. ACTION ITEMS Hughes Stadium site Chair Cunniff opened the discussion with the announcement that the City closed on the DocuSign Envelope ID: DDAD27B3-9119-4A21-8706-C3C7A7B590A3 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting 7/12 /2023 MINUTES Page 2 purchase of the former Hughes site last week. Chair Cunniff then provided a recap of last month’s gatherings of the of the Board. He reported that several Board members and 6-8 members of the community toured the Hughes parcel on the afternoon of June 14. He explained the benefit of being physically on the property was to gain a better sense of the site features and the relationship to Maxwell and Pineridge Natural Areas. Chair Cunniff noted members of the community asked about vegetation and restoration, wildlife that had been observed, and the footprint of the former stadium. The Board held their regular monthly meeting at Primrose Studio where they engaged in a discussion of their observations of the site and future use scenarios. It was decided to form a committee (Cunniff, Lopez and Piesman) to draft a memorandum to Council to express their observations and to make a general recommendation regarding the future use of the parcel. Member Piesman stated his intent was captured in the draft and thanked Chair Cunniff for the final edits. Member Lopez stressed the importance of the Board to not constrain themselves at this time given the limited information about the site, including environmental site assessments. She stated she would like to add Member Culver’s comment, made during the June meeting, regarding high-intensity use precluding a wildlife rehabilitation center. She thanked Member Piesman and Chair Cunniff for their work on the draft memorandum. Member Elson expressed her gratitude to the committee for their excellent work. She stated the draft memorandum clearly outlines the ecological values of the parcel as well as the Board’s concerns regarding future use. She expressed the importance of the Board communicating their recommendation early to Council, especially as organized interests advocate for high-intensity use. Member Culver appreciated the bulleted lists would be an efficient way to clearly communicate the Board’s recommendations and values to Council. Several Board members supported Member Piesman’s suggestion that “integrated into Maxwell Natural Area” be added the first bullet item under recommendations. It was agreed to strike “abundance” from the first paragraph as proposed by Member Sears. Member Kley stated a wildlife center has a strong synergy with the mission of the Natural Areas program. He asked the committee if they had discussed the definition of “large” used to describe parcel size. Member Lopez replied the use of the word “large” was intentional; not wanting to constrain considerations of the Board, especially given the wildlife on the site. The Board has the option to scale back their recommendation. Chair Cunniff added, the committee was not comfortable drawing specific boundary at this time. While the southwest and western portions have more plants and animals, even the parking lot areas could eventually have conservation value. Member Elson asked if the Board’s recommendation is potentially committing the NAD to management of more of the parcel than staff are comfortable with. Katie Donahue responded that staff is withholding judgment until the completion of the public engagement process, and regardless of final acreage, will work to meet the community’s goals. As with all property DocuSign Envelope ID: DDAD27B3-9119-4A21-8706-C3C7A7B590A3 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting 7/12 /2023 MINUTES Page 3 acquisitions, the NAD will assess and prioritize critical needs on the property. She also noted that funds spent on the Hughes purchase will impact restoration resources; there will be trade- offs. Member Lopez pointed out the paragraph in the memorandum that emphasized restoration costs should not prohibit land conservation/acquisition. Member Lopez explained that Council can also ask the citizens, through a ballot measure, to set aside additional funds for this particular property. There was additional general discussion around financing, acreage valuation, various departments contribution based on use, and the potential income from a lease for a wildlife rehab center. Member Elson made a motion that the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board approve the amended memorandum to City Council regarding the Hughes Stadium site. Member Culver seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously, 9-0. 8. DISCUSSION ITEMS Coterie Notice of Alignment Tawnya Ernst, Land Conservation Lead Specialist provided a brief background of Coterie Natural Area and shared maps showing the property location as well as the existing underground powerline and the paved trail. The powerline was installed on the property in the 1990s and the trail was constructed in 1995, both prior to transfer of the property to Natural Areas management in 2000.Tawnya Ernst stated a Notice of Alignment (NOA) can be described as an internal version of an easement. Recently, when L&P needed to perform maintenance work on the powerline at the Coterie Natural Area it was discovered that the underground powerline had not been documented with the City or recorded with the County. The City’s survey crew found the paved trail segment was also not documented. Subsequently, the City completed legal descriptions, including locations and dimensions, of both the underground powerline and paved trail segment. Tawnya Ernst explained the purpose of the memo was to update the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board on plans to formalize Notices of Alignment with the City of Fort Collins’ Light and Power and Parks Departments on the Coterie Natural Area for an existing underground powerline and paved trail, respectively. This Notice of Alignment is intended to clean up an oversight from 20+ years ago and to formally document the existence of the trail and powerline by recording a document with the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder. She noted the Notice of Alignment does not require City Council approval and will be finalized by the City Manager. Discussion Member Kley commented the NOA memorandum appeared straight-forward, and he had no questions. Member Elson stated the memo was really well done and headed off any questions she may have had. Chair Cunniff asked if the stream (Spring Creek) is slated for rehabilitation. Julia Feder explained the stream is managed by Stormwater Utilities and that she did not think it was slated for rehabilitation in the near term. DocuSign Envelope ID: DDAD27B3-9119-4A21-8706-C3C7A7B590A3 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting 7/12 /2023 MINUTES Page 4 9. BOARD UPDATES Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) Member Mason reported the BAC took a bike tour on June 26th to preview the current and upcoming bike improvements throughout town. Active Modes staff would like the Bicycle Advisory Committee become an official advisory board so that it would be able to directly make recommendations to Council rather than going through the Transportation Board. This change would also allow for the board membership to reflect mode use and community diversity, including people with disabilities and those historically underrepresented. The City’s Ad Hoc committee on Boards and Commissions will consider this change to the BAC during the July 19th meeting. 10. DEPARTMENT UPDATES Katie Donahue, Natural Areas Director Hughes site The City closed on the Hughes property acquisition. The next public engagement cycle is still planned for this fall. NAD Master Plan update Katie Donahue thanked the LCSB for their feedback on the naming of the NAD management plan which will be titled Natural Areas Strategic Framework: The Guide to Conservation and Stewardship 2025 and serve as the department’s vision document. Staff will be posting a Request for Proposal (RFP) to assist them in developing the plan. The Zone updates will continue to reflect the planned tactics for each geographic management zone. Staffing Updates Rachel Balduzzi, who currently coordinates the NAD volunteer program, has been promoted to Senior Supervisor for Public Engagement. The Ranger Sr. Supervisor position will be posted in the coming weeks. Katie Donahue briefly described some adjustments to the department staffing structure and noted that several supervisory positions would be filled in coming months. Staff is currently conducting interviews for the Trails and Visitor Amenities Sr. Supervisor. Good News items CBS News, Denver has been running a series on the conservation agriculture work that the NAD is doing in partnership with the Poudre Valley Community Farms. Staff is planning the official opening celebration of Kestrel Fields Natural Areas for Saturday, September 9th, 3-6 p.m. Tentative agenda includes family activities, plein air artists, and food from Poudre Valley Community Farms. Once details are finalized, staff will send an announcement to the LCSB. DocuSign Envelope ID: DDAD27B3-9119-4A21-8706-C3C7A7B590A3 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting 7/12 /2023 MINUTES Page 5 The Colorado Sun recently published a news article about fireflies in Colorado and the research being conducted at Riverbend Ponds by the Colorado Butterfly Pavilion. The article also described the NAD community programs about fireflies. West Nile Virus The abundant rainfall this summer has resulted in very high mosquito counts. The City will likely be posting spray notices in the coming week(s). 11. EXECUTIVE SESSION Member Mason made a motion that the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board go into executive session for the purpose of discussing with the City's appropriate management staff water and real property acquisitions. Member Kley seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved, 9-0. 12. ADJOURNMENT The executive session concluded at 6:48 p.m. and the regular meeting resumed. The meeting was adjourned at 6:58 p.m. Ross Cunniff, Chair Date DocuSign Envelope ID: DDAD27B3-9119-4A21-8706-C3C7A7B590A3 8/21/2023