OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMISSION Monday, November 27, 2017 Breckenridge Town Hall Lower Level Conference Room 150 Ski Hill Road

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1 OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMISSION Monday, November 27, 2017 Breckenridge Town Hall Lower Level Conference Room 150 Ski Hill Road 5:30 pm Call to Order, Roll Call 5:35 pm Discussion/Approval of Minutes 2 5:40 pm Discussion/Approval of Agenda 5:45 pm Public Comment (Non-Agenda Items) 5:50 pm Staff Summary 7 Field Season Update Winter Grooming CUP Update Cucumber Gulch Spreader Pond Summit Public Radio & TV Update Oxbow Park Update USFS Special Use Authorization Update 6:20 pm Open Space & Trails 10 Winter License Agreement Requests Recpath Grooming Proposal 7:00 pm Executive Session 7:30 pm Adjournment For further information, please contact the Open Space and Trails Program at (Tony) or (Anne).

2 Town of Breckenridge October 23, 2017 Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Commission Roll Call Jeff Carlson called the October 23, 2017 BOSAC meeting to order at 5:33 pm. Other BOSAC members present included Matt Powers, Gavin Dalgliesh, Jeff Cospolich, Craig Campbell, Elizabeth Miller, and Jeffery Bergeron. Staff members present included Anne Murphy, Mark Truckey, and Peter Grosshuesch. Katherine King from Summit County Open Space was present. Jeff Zimmerman from Breckenridge Ski Resort and Joe Howdyshell from Summit Endurance Academy were also present. Approval of Minutes The September 2017 meeting minutes were approved. Approval of Agenda The agenda was approved as presented. Public Comments There were no public comments. Staff Summary Field Season Update Since the September BOSAC meeting, the following field work has been completed: Reconstructed the Columbine Bridge by inserting a new cross beam. Improved Sidedoor Trail with additional trail enhancements. Started construction on Tom s Baby Trail. Installed a seasonal closure system for Wellington Bike Park. Installed Nordic blue diamond markers on Weber Gulch, Nightmare, Wire Patch, and Moonstone. Conducted bi-annual drainage maintenance on Barney Flow, Moonstone, and Carter Park. Improved drainage on lower section of Hermit Placer. Collected buck and rail material for future McCain fencing project. Mr. Cospolich: Is it possible to have a consistent winter grooming schedule on the trails in French Gulch? Also, how can you let the public know when the trails have been groomed? Ms. Murphy: Our grooming is largely weather- and staff-dependent. We will look into establishing a regular schedule. We utilize social media for updated trail conditions and will continue to post to Facebook under the Friends of Breck Trails page. Mr. Bergeron: Are the blue diamond signs along Pence Miller ours? There are far too many of them. Ms. Murphy: Those are snowshoe signs that Breckenridge Nordic Center installs. I will talk with them about their signage, as we ve received similar feedback on other trails. Page 1 of 5 2

3 Town of Breckenridge October 23, 2017 Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Commission Friends of Breckenridge Trails Volunteer Update The Friends of Breckenridge Trails (FOBT) volunteer program concluded the 2017 season with a well-attended volunteer recognition party at Downstairs at Eric s on September 28 th. The FOBT program experienced a substantial increase in volunteer turn out for individual events this year, making it one most successful seasons to date Highlights Include: 14 events including Community Service Projects. 455 volunteers. 2,716 volunteer hours. 5, 800 feet of natural surface trail constructed. Claimjumper, Mineral Hill, Yellow Brick Rd, Silver Shekel trail work. 400 willow stakes planted at the Blue River/McCain Property. 30 garbage bags of false chamomile removed along Vista Point Trail and Cucumber Gulch Preserve. 20 garbage bags of trash removed along Blue River and French Creek. Staff thanked everyone who participated or contributed to the 2017 volunteer season. Summit County Wildlife Linkages Staff presented an overview of the wildlife linkages project in Summit County, which is in an effort to identify priority linkage areas based on a scoring/ranking matrix of species, habitat, and roadway collisions/accidents. Out of an initial study, three areas in the County were identified as priority projects, including the Lower Blue River, Vail Pass, and the Upper Blue River. Collectively, these particular areas are important for wildlife connectivity of several species, including elk, moose, and lynx. The Upper Blue River project is located along Highway 9 near Blue River and the tarn. With the many driveways, topography challenges, and a possible future recpath system, this project area presents more challenges than the others. While no funding is currently available, the Upper Blue River project team is examining the feasibility of a potential crossing structure to facilitate movement of wildlife. A representative from USFS will be presenting an overview of the Summit County Wildlife Linkages project at the Upper Blue Planning Commission meeting on October 26 th. Staff encouraged BOSAC to attend. Mr. Truckey: We should look into installing a motion sensor camera underneath Four-Mile Bridge to evaluate effectiveness of wildlife movement. Cucumber Gulch Spreader Pond Staff explained that research and monitoring are ongoing in Cucumber Gulch. Without active beavers in the Upper Gulch, more hand work has been necessary to maintain banks and dams. Additionally, the top spreader pond below the 60 culvert currently holds a significant amount of sediment that needs to be cleaned out. Staff have been working with Breckenridge Ski Resort (BSR) to coordinate the removal of the sediment this fall season. Work should be completed within the next two weeks. Page 2 of 5 3

4 Town of Breckenridge October 23, 2017 Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Commission Mr. Zimmerman stated that BSR would hire and contract with Stan Miller, who completed the last cleanout of the Gulch in BSR will work with staff and Ecometrics to coordinate the cleanout this fall. Mr. Zimmerman also explained that the work on Ski Hill Road was progressing with the new grade and retaining wall. Paving of the roadway and resurfacing of the retaining wall will occur next year. Summit Public Radio & TV Summit Public Radio & TV (SPRTV) have requested an amendment to an existing utility easement the Town jointly holds with the County covering their utilities to the top of Baldy. The easement allows SPRTV to install a new underground power line, fiber optic cable, and related equipment and facilities under existing roads on public and private lands, including the Larium Claim, to provide electric power and transmit telecommunication signals to the Baldy Mountain Electronics Site. SPRTV is seeking an amendment to construct an above ground switching cabinet and pad on the edge of the Larium Claim. As part of the amendment, the Town and County want to ensure that, after construction, the access road is narrowed and naturalized with proper drainage. Town and County staff will be meeting the SPRTV at the end of the month to discuss the amendment and road restoration plan. BOSAC confirmed that a road restoration plan is an essential component of the easement and amendment process with SPRTV and want to see it finalized before the amendment is signed. Campground Feasibility The Mayor and Council have a 2018 goal to examine the feasibility of a small public campground in or around the Town. Council has asked Town staff to consider potential campground parameters and locations. While it is unknown what role, if any, Open Space may play in the operations of a small campground, staff is currently evaluating options and will continue to keep BOSAC apprised of the issue. BOSAC visited the area behind Public Works and the McCain property as part of the site visit preceding the meeting to look at possible locations for a small, future campground. BOSAC rejected McCain as a possibility because of its location as the gateway into the Town of Breckenridge, but unanimously agreed that the area behind Public Works is well suited for a campground. They also agreed that an open space property on Tiger Road could provide an alternative location for a campground. Ms. Miller explained that BOSAC initially brainstormed the concept of a campground some time ago, but the time was not yet ripe. Discussion ensued about how primitive the campground should be, including whether or not there should be hookups, a bath house, or restroom facilities. With the close proximity to the Rec Center, the Public Works site could potentially make use of Rec Center staff for reservations, answering questions, or selling Rec Center passes that would Page 3 of 5 4

5 Town of Breckenridge October 23, 2017 Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Commission provide access to showers and other Rec Center facilities. Ms. Miller and Mr. Campbell also brought up the trail connection possibilities that the Public Works site provides to Iowa Hill. Ms. King: Within the County, there currently is no zoning that allows for campground use. A PUD or zoning change would be necessary to accommodate a campground. Open Space & Trails Winter License Agreement Request Staff recently received a permit request from Summit Endurance Academy (SEA) for commercial use of Town-only trails during the winter season. SEA conducted coaching for youth mountain biking and running on Town trails under a summer license agreement. SEA is requesting a license agreement to conduct a winter youth program for ski mountaineering racing. They would like to use Town-only open space and trails to provide a training venue for youth athletes during the snowy months. This program is anticipated to run between November 6 th and March 31st, depending on snow conditions. BOSAC made the decision to not allow any additional summer licenses after issuing licenses to Breck Bike Guides, Colorado Adventure Guides, Alpine Sports, and SEA until staff can develop a process to coincide with the yet-to-be-fully developed permit process that County is currently evaluating. As BOSAC is aware, the vast majority of our trail network crosses jointly owned Town and County lands and/or cross slivers of National Forest lands. The Town-only network of trails is limited and disconnected. Mr. Howdyshell explained his winter ski-mo program to BOSAC and said that he d prefer to find a hillside on Town open space, rather than a trail, to train and coach youth. Ski-mo is now a Youth Olympic Games sport and SEA wants to offer this program to area youth. Mr. Bergeron: I m fine with granting them a winter license agreement but would like to see them set their own tracks. Mr. Truckey: I wonder if there s space at GRNC to do this program. Ms. Miller: I m in support of this but would like to see additional reporting that includes specific trails/areas used for each session. Mr. Howdyshell: We retain the information on trails for each session, so it would be easy to include in our reporting. Mr. Powers: The group size and infrastructure is very limiting on Town-only trails. Mr. Howdyshell: For the summer season, the coach to participant ratio worked fine, but I m fielding a lot of interest for the program next summer and am not sure if that same ratio will work for us. Page 4 of 5 5

6 Town of Breckenridge October 23, 2017 Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Commission Mr. Cospolich: Where is the County on their process for permits? Ms. King: One of our staff has been reaching out and surveying other communities about permits. We hope to develop some recommendations soon, but the County Open Space program doesn t have this as a top priority right now. Ms. King: Have you considered the impacts of more vehicles at trailheads because of these programs? Mr. Howdyshell: We are generally scattered in different areas due to the group size requirement, so there has been little impact to individual trailheads. Ms. King: How do you know which trails are Town-only? Ms. Murphy: Each concessionaire that had a summer license agreement with us came into the office to sit down with Tony and me to look at maps and GIS of the available trails in the Townonly network. BOSAC unanimously supports granting a winter license agreement to Summit Endurance Academy, with added reporting requirements to include trails for each session. Executive Session Mr. Carlson made a motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss property acquisition and negotiations at 6:56 pm. Mr. Bergeron seconded the motion. Mr. Carlson made a motion to exit Executive Session at 7:43 pm. Mr. Bergeron seconded the motion. Adjournment Mr. Carlson made a motion to adjourn the BOSAC meeting. Ms. Miller seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 7:43 pm. Next Meeting The next regular meeting is scheduled for November 27 th at 5:30 pm in the Lower Level Conference Room at Breckenridge Town Hall, 150 Ski Hill Road. Jeff Carlson Page 5 of 5 6

7 Memorandum To: Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Commission From: Open Space & Trails Staff Re: November 27, 2017 Meeting Staff Summary Field Season Update Since the October BOSAC meeting, the following field work has been completed: Completed Sidedoor Trail enhancements. Installed additional No ebikes signs on recreation path and in Town. Completed seasonal closures in Cucumber Gulch Preserve, HooDoo VooDoo, and Four O clock Free Ride Park. Removed numerous downed trees system wide. Removed Muddy Meter signs and installed Fat Bike Etiquette signs. Installed gate, reinforced buck & rail, and installed signs for the Claimjumper HOA. Motivated materials to the Hard Luck Trail. Collected buck & rail material for the McCain Property. Installed panels on the Tiger Dredge Trailhead kiosk. Trailhead Kiosk panels Winter Grooming CUP Update Summit County approved a Conditional Use Permit for expanded winter grooming along Gold Run Gulch Road from Gold Run Road to French Gulch Road (Gold Run Nordic Center to the Wellington Neighborhood) and portions of Upper and Middle Flume, Tom s Baby, and the Wellington Trails on jointly-owned Town and County lands. The CUP will expire in Future plans to expand winter grooming to the surrounding trail system will be addressed in the Special Use Authorization with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). 7

8 Cucumber Gulch Spreader Pond Approximately 7-8 yards of sediment were removed from the top spreader pond at Cucumber Gulch on November 2 nd. Breck Ski Resort organized and paid for the cleanout using their contractor, Stan Miller. Staff was on site to ensure the pond and surrounding area were stabilized during the cleanout. Very little sediment was transferred to the other ponds throughout the cleanout process. Top spreader pond below culvert. Pond below top spreader pond with minimal cloudiness from sediment during cleanout. 8

9 Summit Public Radio & TV As BOSAC will recall from the October meeting, the Town and County are working with Summit Public Radio & TV (SPRTV) to grant an amendment to an existing utility easement we jointly hold covering utilities to the top of Baldy. The parties are close to finalizing the documents, which will include a road restoration or operations plan following construction of an underground power line. Oxbow Park Update The 50% construction documents for Oxbow Park were recently submitted to the Engineering Department, who is overseeing the nature play park design and construction. The park will be constructed in at least two phases; the first phase is supported by a $350,000 GOCO grant. Nature play features and hardscape components will include timber play structures, boulders, lighting, shade structure/restrooms, and bridge over the Blue River. Construction is set to begin next spring/summer. USFS Special Use Authorization Update As discussed at our September meeting, staff is working with the Golden Horseshoe Oversight Committee, including County Open Space and USFS, to develop a Special Use Authorization (SUA) application through the USFS that would allow Town and County to assume the maintenance and management responsibilities for the non-motorized recreational trail network within the western third of the Golden Horseshoe. The goal of the SUA would be to allow the Town and County to build and maintain a functional, sustainable recreational travel network on National Forest lands, pursuant to the Golden Horseshoe Management Plan and White River National Forest Travel Management Plan. A SUA would enable Town of Breckenridge and Summit County to assist the USFS in implementing the Intermix prescription as envisioned in the White River National Forest Travel Management Plan. As the Town and County continue to acquire and manage lands with open space, recreational, and potential Federal land exchange values, we seek to improve our ability to manage the Golden Horseshoe (the western portion under the 7.1 Intermix prescription) in a seamless fashion. We have received the final comments from the County on our initial proposal to USFS and will be submitting it soon. This proposal can be viewed as a pre-application and will trigger USFS feedback before submitting a full application. 9

10 Open Space and Trails Winter License Agreement Requests Staff recently received two permit requests for commercial use of Town-only trails and open space during the winter months. 1. Breck Bike Guides (BBG) BBG is requesting a license agreement to conduct winter fat bike tours on Town-only trails. As BOSAC will recall, BBG conducted bike tours on Town trails under a summer license agreement. Last winter, they also had a permit but did not lead any tours. Please see attached proposal. 2. Colorado Adventure Guides (CAG) CAG is requesting a license agreement to conduct guided snowshoeing and fat biking on Town-only trails and to conduct 1-day Avalanche Rescue courses at Carter Park. As BOSAC will recall, CAG conducted hike and bike tours on Town trails under a summer license agreement. Please see attached proposal. BOSAC made the decision at the October meeting to issue a winter license agreement Summit Endurance Academy for winter youth ski mountaineering coaching. As BOSAC is aware, the vast majority of our trail network crosses jointly owned Town and County lands and/or cross slivers of National Forest lands. The Town-only network of trails and open space is limited and disconnected. Staff requests BOSAC review and discuss the two proposals and answer the following questions: 1. Is BOSAC in favor of the proposals and do they fit within the Open Space & Trails mission? 2. If BOSAC recommends winter license agreements to Breck Bike Guides and Colorado Adventure Guides, are there any conditions you wish to apply? Recpath Grooming Staff have been working with Summit County Open Space and the Town of Frisco/Frisco Nordic Center on a proposal to groom the Summit County recpath between Breckenridge and Frisco. As BOSAC will recall, our groomers at Gold Run Nordic Center (GRNC) periodically groomed the recpath from the Recreation Center to Tiger Road last year. We received positive feedback and would like to continue grooming this season on a more regular basis. Summit County, who manages the Recpath north of Four-Mile Bridge, submitted a proposal to the USFS about grooming the recpath between Breckenridge and Frisco. USFS agreed to the request but will set a requirement on the time of day for grooming, likely dawn to dusk. The Town of Frisco, through their Frisco Nordic Center, is also interested in grooming the recpath. We have determined that Gold Run Nordic Center will groom the recpath from the Recreation Center to Alpensee Drive (the midpoint between Breckenridge and Frisco with a convenient turn-around area) and Frisco Nordic Center will groom from their center to Alpensee Drive. We will coordinate to groom the recpath two times per week to maintain regular consistency. 10

11 Because regular grooming of the recpath along an extended route and winter grooming of Town/County trails were not budgeted this year, staff would like BOSAC to consider using up to $10,000 in Open Space Funds for grooming costs on public trails and pathways outside of GRNC. Staff requests BOSAC review and discuss recpath grooming and answer the following questions: 1. Is BOSAC in favor of grooming the recpath in coordination with Frisco Nordic Center? 2. Is BOSAC willing to commit Open Space funds for the labor and fuel costs to groom the recpath as well as winter grooming of public trails? a. If so, what amount of funds is BOSAC comfortable recommending? 11

12 Breck Bike Guides 411 S Main St Breck Bike Guides would like to continue operating fat bike tours on the Town of Breckenridge trail system 10/15/17-05/27/18, in accordance to the policies and procedures set out by the Town of Breckenridge. We will have one guide per five customers, ride only on Town owned trails, teach and embody trail etiquette including right of way, appropriate trail conditions, reading trail signage to understand which trails allow winter fat bike usage, and more. Our guides are also CPR certified and guide trained. Our guides will wear identifiable clothing, which is to be determined. We will use discernment and move tour times around if conditions do not permit riding, such as too much fresh snow, slushy spring snow, or if they trails are becoming muddy. Breck Bike Guides embodies professionalism to the utmost degree. We employ guides from diverse backgrounds which enhances the guiding experience. Our guides are professional cyclists, ski instructors, ski patrollers, retired physicians, retired military commanders, professional coaches, and more. We strive to find the best guides who can not only show visitors around, but enhance their experience on the Town of Breckenridge trails. We teach them how to be better riders, how to respect the trails, conditions, and other users. We make sure they're having the best experience possible by connecting with them on other topics than just the ride before them. We teach them about the town culture and give them a glimpse of why we choose to live here and make our lives here. We don't just take people out for a bike ride, we give them an experience they won't forget. Breck Bike Guides is not just another outfitter, we are a culture within the culture of Breckenridge and our goal is to create lasting experiences that make people more excited about riding bikes, visiting Breckenridge, and enjoying the outdoors. We hope to continue working with the Town of Breckenridge for many more years and grow the passion of cycling and Breckenridge- there truly isn't much we are more passionate about than that. 12

13 Anne Murphy Open Space & Trails Manager Town of Breckenridge 150 Ski Hill Rd / PO Box 168 Breckenridge, CO P: Anne, I would like to request to be added to the agenda for the next BOSAC meeting for the following: Inquire about groomed trails throughout TOB and possibility for guided Nordic skiing permit. Request permitting for guided snowshoeing within TOB. Request permitting to utilize Carter Park for 1-day Avalanche Rescue courses. Request permitting for guided fat biking on TOB trails. Thank you and I m looking forward to the meeting. Abe Pacharz General Manager/Lead Guide Colorado Adventure Guides abe@coloradoadventureguides.com (970)