LARIMER COUNTY | DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

1800 South County Road 31, Loveland, Colorado 80537, 970.619.4570, Larimer.org

Larimer County Open Lands Advisory Board

Date: May 24, 2018

Time: 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Location: City Council Chambers, Civic Center Municipal Building, 500 E. 3rd St., Loveland, CO.

Contact: Please contact Emmy at ellisoea@co.larimer.co.us or 970-619-4462 if you are unable to attend.

AGENDA

Scheduled times are subject to change.

1. CALL TO ORDER/INTRODUCTIONS

2. PUBLIC COMMENT

3. AGENDA REVIEW

4. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF LAST MEETING MINUTES

5. INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS a. Natural Resource events for this month: See http://www.larimer.org/naturalresources. b. To sign up for Open Lands Advisory Board minutes, go to

http://larimer.org/subscriptions.cfm, enter your email, click ‘Subscribe,’ and then check the ‘Open Lands Advisory Board’ box.

c. Larimer County Department of Natural Resources has released its 2017 Annual Report, a reporting commitment to Larimer County citizens through the Help Preserve Open Spaces sales tax. The 12-page report celebrates the department achieving the 50,000-acre milestone for land conservation in Larimer County. More information and the full report can be found here: https://www.larimer.org/spotlights/2018/05/10/2017-annual-report-celebrates-milestone-land-conservation – Gary

The mission of Larimer County Department of Natural Resources is to establish, protect and manage significant regional parks and open lands providing quality outdoor recreational opportunities and stewardship of natural

resource values. We are committed to fostering a sense of community and appreciation for the natural and agricultural heritage of Larimer County for present and future generations.

This meeting will be recorded and archived according to law. Votes require a quorum. Public can view agenda and minutes at: http://legacy.larimer.org/boards/minutes/openlands_advisory_board.cfm

d. Hermit Park is famous! The Wall Street Journal ran a travel story by Kathryn O’Shea-Evans called “An Insiders’ Guide to the National Parks” on April 12, 2018 in which a few locals were asked for “advice on treading wisely in and around four of the country’s busiest national parks.’ Estee Rivera Murdock, the Executive Director at Rocky Mountain Conservancy, listed Kruger Rock Trail as a favorite, saying: “There’s a beautiful area just outside Estes Park called Hermit Park Open Space. I did Hermit’s 4-mile round-trip Kruger Rock hike with my 6 year old. It’s switchback-y and meanders, with views of the park’s peaks and Estes Valley.” Full article here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-insiders-guide-to-the-national-parks-1523547586 – Gary

e. Calling all Board Members! Jenn Almstead is seeking three members to join the subcommittee for the 2018 Small Grants for Community Partnering program. If you haven’t participated before, please consider joining! It’s a great way to get out in the community and see exciting and innovative projects that connect and educate people to the land in Larimer County. Thanks for your consideration – Gary

f. The March Sales Tax Distribution Report is still using the old stats as the Department of Revenue is still working on the new stats – Lori

g. Phase II (eastern plains geographic area) of the Larimer County comprehensive plan has kicked off and is anticipated to be a year-long process. Presentation on the plan from the Larimer County Planning Department will be set up for a future Board meeting – Meegan

h. The Trail Crew is rerouting the last 600’ of HT Rock Trail (just before the rock itself). The current alignment has sections <45 degree inclines and 20’ wide due to erosion/trail widening. Weeds staff will be assisting with subsequent restoration on the closed portions (see photo) – Meegan

i. During a bill signing tour, Governor Hickenlooper visited the Long View Trail on May 18 to help highlight the importance of trail connections in Colorado – Meegan

6. UPDATES & REPORTS

a. Open Space District Reports – Steve/Chris

7. DISCUSSION ITEMS a. Continued discussion of 2018-2023 CIP – Gary b. Organizational Chart update – Todd

8. ACTION ITEMS

9. OTHER BUSINESS

10. NEXT MEETING SCHEDULED: June 28, 2018 at City Council Chambers, Civic Center Municipal

Building, 500 E. 3rd St., Loveland, CO.

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Pursuant to C.R.S. (24-6-402(4)(a)) for discussion pertaining to purchase, acquisition, lease, transfer, or sale of any real or person property interest.

This meeting will be recorded and archived according to law. Votes require a quorum. Public can view agenda and minutes at: http://legacy.larimer.org/boards/minutes/openlands_advisory_board.cfm

12. ADJOURN

Included in PDF: Attached Separately:

· Agenda · Info Item photo · Sales Tax Revenue Distribution Report · Open Space Operations District Reports · CIP 2018-2023 · Acquisition & Development sheet

· Minutes of last meeting · News articles · Executive Session materials

OPEN SPACE SALES TAX ACTIVITY

REVENUES:

SALES TAX 1,042,757.63$ MV USE TAX 92,990.75$ BUILDING USE TAX 115,153.15$ INTEREST 3,457.99$

TOTAL REVENUE 1,254,359.52$

EXPENDITURES:PERSONNEL & OPERATING 10,402.46$ 16,625.65$

16,625.65$ PRIOR MONTH RESERVE TO DISTRIBUTE 59,010.84$

NET REVENUE: 1,302,967.90$

DISTRIBUTED: 95% 1,237,819.51$ RESERVE: 65,148.40

% SALES TAX DISTRIBUTED TO INCORP. AREAS (USED AS A BASIS) 55%

DISTRIBUTION BASED ON POPULATION 2016 State of Colorado Statistics2015 % OF INCORP

POPULATION AREA REVENUE

FORT COLLINS 160,935 62.55 425,817.96$ LOVELAND 74,461 28.94 197,016.38$ ESTES PARK 6,209 2.41 16,428.39$ BERTHOUD 5,619 2.18 14,867.31$ WELLINGTON 7,662 2.98 20,272.89$ TIMNATH 2,418 0.94 6,397.79$ TOTAL INCORP. 257,304 100.00 680,800.73$ TOTAL UNINCORP. 68,242 557,018.78$ TOTAL 325,546 1,237,819.51$

DISTRIBUTION BASED ON SALES TAX GENERATION 2016 Colorado Department of Revenue Statistics2015 % OF INCORP

GENERATION AREA SALES TAX REVENUEFORT COLLINS 77,227,921$ 58.46 397,993.42$ LOVELAND 42,625,178$ 32.26 219,600.40$ ESTES PARK 6,526,042$ 4.94 33,631.90$ BERTHOUD 1,233,275$ 0.93 6,355.67$ WELLINGTON 992,813$ 0.75 5,116.45$ TIMNATH 3,499,531$ 2.65 18,034.80$ TOTAL INCORP 132,104,760$ 99.99 680,732.65$ TOTAL UNINCORP 15,744,025$ 557,086.86$ TOTAL 147,848,785$ 1,237,819.51$

DISTRIBUTION BASED ON HIGHEST YIELD TO INCORPORATED AREAS:

FORT COLLINS 425,817.96$ LOVELAND 219,600.40$ ESTES PARK 33,631.90$ BERTHOUD 14,867.31$ WELLINGTON 20,272.89$ TIMNATH 18,034.80$ TOTAL INCORP 732,225.27$ TOTAL UNINCORP 505,594.23$ TOTAL 1,237,819.51$

MARCH TAX REVENUES

DISTRIBUTION BASED ON NEW MUNICIPAL AGRREMENT:

DISTRIBUTION BASED ON POPULATION 2016 State of Colorado Statistics2015 % OF INCORP

POPULATION AREA REVENUE

FORT COLLINS 160,935 60.82 445,370.85$ LOVELAND 74,461 28.14 206,063.06$ ESTES PARK 6,209 2.35 17,182.76$ BERTHOUD 5,619 2.12 15,550.00$ WELLINGTON 7,662 2.90 21,203.79$ WINDSOR 6,496 2.46 17,977.00$ JOHNSTOWN 790 0.30 2,186.24$ TIMNATH 2,418 0.91 6,691.56$ TOTAL INCORP. 264,590 100.00 732,225.27$

DISTRIBUTION BASED ON SALES TAX GENERATION 2016 Colorado Department of Revenue Statistics2015 % OF INCORP

GENERATION AREA SALES TAX REVENUEFORT COLLINS 77,227,921$ 57.09 418,047.09$ LOVELAND 42,625,178$ 31.50 230,663.69$ ESTES PARK 6,526,042$ 4.82 35,326.51$ BERTHOUD 1,233,275$ 0.91 6,675.91$ WELLINGTON 992,813$ 0.73 5,374.26$ WINDSOR 1,319,612$ 0.98 7,143.27$ JOHNSTOWN 1,843,248$ 1.36 9,977.80$ TIMNATH 3,499,531$ 2.59 18,943.52$ TOTAL INCORP 135,267,620$ 99.99 732,152.05$

DISTRIBUTION BASED ON HIGHEST YIELD TO INCORPORATED AREAS:

FORT COLLINS 445,370.85$ 56.02LOVELAND 230,663.69$ 29.01ESTES PARK 35,326.51$ 4.44BERTHOUD 15,550.00$ 1.96WELLINGTON 21,203.79$ 2.67WINDSOR 17,977.00$ 2.26JOHNSTOWN 9,977.80$ 1.26TIMNATH 18,943.52$ 2.38TOTAL INCORP 795,013.15$ 100.00

NEW DISTRIBUTION FOR MUNICIPAL AGREEMENT: YEAR TO DATE PAID TO DATE

FORT COLLINS 410,196.73$ 1,098,592.66$ 75,972,471.91$ LOVELAND 212,446.52$ 568,976.23$ 34,948,244.98$ ESTES PARK 32,536.52$ 87,139.62$ 5,755,218.24$ BERTHOUD 14,321.90$ 38,357.05$ 2,769,198.60$ WELLINGTON 19,529.17$ 52,303.20$ 2,476,953.59$ WINDSOR 16,557.23$ 44,343.72$ 1,293,132.78$ JOHNSTOWN 9,189.78$ 24,612.15$ 829,978.52$ TIMNATH 17,447.42$ 46,727.84$ 903,050.58$ TOTAL INCORP 732,225.27$ 1,961,052.47$ 124,948,249.20$ TOTAL UNINCORP 505,594.23$ 1,354,087.14$ 89,724,967.83$ TOTAL 1,237,819.51$ 3,315,139.61$ 214,673,217.03$

(0.00)$

Big Thompson District April 2018 Monthly Report

Camping Camping Nights:41 Camping Revenue: $1308 Annual Permits Permits Sold: Permit Revenue: $630 Day Use Pass Day Pass Sold: Day Pass Revenue: $2688 Visitation Vehicle Count: Visitor Count: Visitation Narrative We are still trouble shooting our counters. We are continuing to have ghost counts and data was not captured from the middle of the month forward. Staff will be working directly with the company to try to solve the ongoing issues. Area Achievements Busy preparing budgets for presentation at the end of the month. Working with senior leadership and other District Managers on the CIP. Rangers attended 1st period firearms qualification and have

been working diligently on preparing RES. Staff attended the Spring Visitor Services Retreat. All hands on deck for spring cleaning of the HPOS cabins. Pam rounded up a fantastic volunteer crew and all cabins were detailed from the ceiling and walls, to the floors, windows and bunks! Maintenance has been frantically working on getting all of the concrete forms built and ready for the beginning of the bear proof food storage containers, which should arrive next month.

New signage was added to the Hidden Valley trail.

Staff is working hard to train up all the new folks this season. 4 new rangers, 1 new front desk person and 2 new maintenance workers!

Carter District April 2018 Monthly Report

Camping Camping Nights: 1396 Camping Revenue: $32,636 Annual Permits Permits Sold: 284 Permit Revenue: $18,375 Day Use Pass Day Pass Sold: 2669 Day Pass Revenue: $18,683 Visitation Vehicle Count: 23,033 Visitor Count: 46,067 Visitation Narrative April totals for camping are slightly behind the same period from last year. We speculate spring snow storms and violent winds, and South Shore still being closed half the month are the most likely reasons. Water levels are good and all the spring infrastructure minus the swim beach and tipis were open. Towards the end of the month the marina was fully operational and open for regular business hours. Fishing has been a strong draw as the spring bite has been better than average. Boating visitation is picking up but some new requirements from the BOR have restricted some boating access, hard to say what the full impact of these changes will be. Area Achievements South Shore reopened on April 15th and the new camping loop has already seen quite a bit of use. All the camphosts are in place and are up and running. Conduct a full district project and facility tour with the BOR to expedite project request approval and lay baseline for creating a preapproved annual operational work plan. Presented budget packet for the 2019 district operational budgets.

Met with engineering staff to make project assignments for the CIP projects scheduled for 2019. Big Landia campground is officially in research and design phase. In order to increase efficiency and reduce wildlife conflicts we have centralized trash collection sites in the larger campgrounds. Training this month included the boat academy, firearms, driving and a few specialized classes.

Red Mountain District April 2018 Monthly Report

Annual Permits Permits Sold: 71 Day Use Pass Gatehouse/Iron Ranger: 4,288 Revenue Total Annuals and Day Pass: $30,988 Visitation Vehicle Count: 16,414 Visitor Count: 32,828 Acreage Managed 22,971 acres Miles of Trail Patrolled 69.5 miles Interpretive Summary: Visitation was very heavy when it wasn’t raining. We estimated that we turned away, (due to being full) a total of 10,305 vehicles from Horsetooth Mountain in the month of April. This has caused a severe parking issue on the roadways surrounding the park. We closed all the open spaces down for a few days due to wet and muddy conditions, to let the trails dry up and decrease the amount of damage that takes place. New seasonal rangers spent a lot of time keeping people out during the closure, but they got a lot of training on making contacts with the public and educating them on resource protection.

Area Achievements: Rangers worked on downloading trail counter and camera data for the Visitor Use Study. Golden Eagle Nest is still active in the area of spring creek trail at Horsetooth Mountain and still remains closed on a small portion of that trail. Rangers patrol there frequently warning visitors to stay out of the area to protect the nesting site. Rangers also responded to Soapstone Natural Area for a woman and horse who passed away after a fall. Rangers worked with local rescue agencies on 5 total rescues at Horsetooth Falls and Duncans Ridge. Some were high angle rescues and litter carry outs and others were transported via Helicopter to the hospital. Great job by all involved with these complicated multi agency rescues.

Rangers worked with the Sheriff’s office on locating and aprehending a suspect who pointed a gun at someone at a nearby trailer park. On a separate incident rangers were patrolling at Horsetooth Mountain and noticed a young male standing in the roadway yelling. Rangers were able to take him into protective custody and transport him to the hospital, as it appeared he was on narcotics and was a danger to himself and others.

Rangers were dispatched by the Sheriff’s Office to complaints of over 80 vehicles parked on CR38E west of Horsetooth Mountain Open Space. They were already working on the issue. Staff at the gatehouse had turned away more than 800 people that day. Every spring we have to re-educate folks on what capacity means in our parks

We have been interviewing and hiring seasonal Ag/Maintenance staff. We are happy to have Allen as our new long term seasonal maintenance technician position. Allen worked with us previously and brings a plethora of experience to our team. We also hired Jim for a 6 month position. If you see them around, working hard, please welcome them to the team.

Maintenance staff have been doing a lot of work on the retention pond at Little Thompson farm; bringing in large rocks to shore up the sides. We also put in signs on the west side of Red Mountain for people illegally accessing through private property. Cattle trespass issues are still ongoing at Red Mountain on the north and south end. Staff continually move cattle back into neighbor’s property.

After working through a lengthy process, we have worked with Road and Bridge on a contract to maintain the entrance roads to Eagles Nest and Red Mountain. The entrance road leading up to Eagles Nest has been graded, watered, sprayed, and rolled and looks in great shape. We are happy to have a great relationship with other county divisions.

With the huge increase in visitors, comes a lot of waste and garbage. Maintenance has been working hard to keep our trailheads clean. The webcam at Horsetooth Mountain went down for several days and staff were able to troubleshoot and get the camera back up and running.

Staff worked with NRCS(National Resource Conservation Service), a division with the USDA, on evaluating all the rangeland conditions on all open spaces that have agriculture and grazing related activities. So far we have a glowing report from these specialist about Red Mountain.

“Overall the condition of all the pastures is very good. The 4 inches of minimal stubble height after grazing is ideal and throughout all the pastures this is evident as your management. “

This is a quote from soil and range conservationist with NRCS. This just goes to show that we are doing a great job at managing our properties in diverse ways; from recreation to agriculture. Great job Travis Rollins and team.

Department of Natural Resources - Open Lands

Capital Development & Acquisition Summary 2016 - 2019Prepared:

5/16/2018

DNR FUNDS ONLY (NOT TOTAL PROJECT COST)

PROJECTED

SALES TAX (See Note) AVAILABLE 2016 2017 2018 2019 TOTAL

BALANCE

REMAINING 2016 2017 2018 2019 TOTAL

BALANCE

REMAINING Total Project

GRANTS &

PARTNERS PARTNERS

Available Funds 12,487,106$

Loan from Solid Waste 8,000,000$

ACQUISITION

Malchow 8,393,944$ (3,922,000)$ 4,471,944$ -$ 4,471,944$ -$ 4,471,944$

Revenue to LC for water sharing agreement (Brighton $3,770,250 , CWCD

$51,750, Gates $100,000)

Samen Phase I 760,000$ 760,000$ -$ 760,000$ 1,750,000$ 2,510,000$ GOCO $1,000,000 , Fort Collins $750,000

Soderberg Trail 15,147$ 15,147$ -$ 15,147$ 31,802$ 46,949$ LTM: $22,934, Parks: $8,868

Spring Canyon Ranch 1,250,000$ 1,250,000$ -$ 1,250,000$ 2,096,000$ 3,346,000$ Fort Collins $2,096,000

White Ranch Fee & Residual 405,829$ 405,829$ -$ 405,829$ 671,000$ 1,076,829$ GOCO $300,500, Fort Collins $370,500

Wright Fee & CE 980,957$ 980,957$ -$ 980,957$ 2,542,655$ 3,523,612$ Fort Collins $985,155, GOCO $1,557,500

DEVELOPMENT

Carter Lake South Shore 316,784$ 316,784$ -$ 316,784$ 798,475$ 1,115,259$ $316,784 CTF, $200,000 Park Fees, $281,691 BOR

Colorado Front Range Trail Property 244,442$ 36,023$ 280,465$ -$ 280,465$ 936,947$ 1,217,412$ $14,707 Ft Collins, $122,240 Loveland, $350,000 State Parks, $450,000 CDOT

Devil's Backbone trail Head 232,000$ 232,000$ -$ 232,000$ 121,500$ 353,500$

Loveland: $118,500, Overland Mtn Bike Club Grant: $3,000. ($232,000 previously

approved)

Forks Project - Big Thompson Canyon 55,000$ 100,000$ 155,000$ -$ 155,000$ 730,000$ 885,000$ $730,000 CDOT

Hermit Day Use Area 100,000$ 100,000$ -$ 100,000$ 596,515$ 696,515$

$300,000 GOCO, $292,587 FEMA, $2,000 Friends, $1,000 Roundup Riders, $928

HP

Hermit Trail & Trailhead Development 234,950$ 234,950$ -$ 234,950$ 401,138$ 636,088$ FEMA $381,138, VOC in-kind Labor $20,000

Historic Assessment II 50,000$ 50,000$ -$ 50,000$ -$ 50,000$

Horsetooth Complex Redevelopment 1,770,594$ -$ 1,770,594$ -$ 1,770,594$ 3,759,649$ 5,530,243$ $198,462 Bureau,$1,365,061 Lottery, $2,196,126 Parks

Lions Park 160,000$ 160,000$ -$ 160,000$ 332,000$ 492,000$ FEMA $182,000, CWCB $150,000. LC = $70,000 LTM+160,000 A&D=$230,000

Longview Request Trail Property 459,463$ 459,463$ -$ 459,463$ 3,833,545$ 4,293,008$ $1,164,088 Ft Collins, $669,907 Loveland, $999,550 GOCO & $1,000,000 CDOT

PARTNERSHIP

Beierwaltes 375,000$ 375,000$ -$ 375,000$ 2,647,000$ 3,022,000$ Loveland: $2,325,000, GOCO & Berthoud requested

School Initiatives 95,000$ 95,000$ -$ 95,000$ -$ 95,000$

$80,000 for fort Collins; $15,000 is Loveland Inspire 2018; $30,000 Designated for

Loveland in 2019

Small Grants 20,748$ 20,748$ -$ 20,748$ -$ 20,748$

Ward CE partnership 250,000$ 250,000$ -$ 250,000$ 2,407,070$ 2,657,070$ GOCO $500,000, Loveland $1,907,070

RESTORATION

Lions Restoration 27,000$ 63,000$ 90,000$ -$ 90,000$ 508,000$ 598,000$ $230,000 previously approved, $74,000 CWCB, $204,000 FEMA

River Bluffs OS- Poudre River Restoration & Resiliency

(Implementation) 360,000$ 360,000$ -$ 360,000$ 1,153,370$ 1,513,370$ $1,000,000 DOLA, $153,370 CPW

-$ -$ -$

OTHER ADJUSTMENTS -$ -$ -$ -$

Repayment of LTM Loan as required 18,352$ 1,559,648$ 526,556$ 2,104,556$ -$ 2,104,556$ -$ 2,104,556$

Bond Debt Service Reserve Release -$ -$ -$ -$

LTM Adjustment (1,660,594)$ -$ (1,660,594)$ -$ (1,660,594)$ -$ (1,660,594)$

Other -$ -$ -$ -$ -$

USEAGES IN FUTURE YEARS

Budgeted Items 3,464,351$ 3,464,351$ 3,464,351$ 3,464,351$

Totals 10,514,046$ 1,423,412$ 1,340,385$ 13,277,843$ -$ -$ 3,464,351$ -$ 3,464,351$ 16,742,194$ 25,316,666$ 42,058,859$

Remaining Balance 7,209,263$ 3,744,912$

NOTES:

Lottery funds may be used for acquisition, development of a new conservation site, maintenance, or capital improvements on any public land for park, recreation, open space, or similar purpose. It may not be used for personnel except maintenance.

Parks Fund Balance may be used only for expenses incurred at the four BOR reservoirs.

Sales Tax may be used for acquisition, development, and long term management of open space; and up to 15% may be used for improvements to existing parks.

Anticipated grant money for proposed project to be received when arrangements are finalized.

Total Project Cost