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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 Sept hrs minutes 2024 1 HEALTHY RIVERS AND STREAMS CITIZENS ADVISORY BOARD Regular Meeting September 19, 2024 4:00 PM 123 Emma Road 2nd Floor Aspen, CO 81621 River Board members present: Kirstin Neff, Wendy Huber, Chris Lemons Maciej Mrotek, Andre Wille, Bill Jochems River Board members absent: Attendees in addition to presenters: Lisa MacDonald, Lisa Tasker, Laura Makar Media Present: Heather Sackett, Regan Mertz _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Board Comment: Chair Huber asked the audience to introduce themselves. Mr. Mrotek stated the Westbank Project is looking good. Mr. Lemons noted he is meeting the engineers at the site Friday, if anyone is interested in attending. Ms. Huber cannot attend the River District’s annual conference Friday if anyone is interested in her spot. Public Comment: Charlotte Anderson, a resident of Spring Valley in Glenwood Springs, brought to the Board’s attention and passed around information to make the board aware of a hearing on the Spring Valley Development Project. Ms. Anderson is a concerned homeowner and asked the board to be aware of the project as it moves forward through the Garfield County. There are serious water issues regarding golf courses, snowmaking, ski areas, disruption of wildlife. Ms. Tasker can share documents electronically as well. Ms. Makar let the Board know Steve Hunter with the City of Aspen was able to get a SnowTel site on Castle Creek and it has been installed. Additions/Deletions to the Agenda: None Approval of the Minutes: Ms. Lemons moved to approve the minute of August 15, 2024. Ms. Neff seconded the motion. The motion passed 5/0. Mr. Jochems abstained as he was not in attendance. Fall Grant Requests Roaring Fork watershed-wide Wildfire Ready Action Plan to identify critical risk areas and post-fire hazards in our region’s water systems. - Angie Davlyn, Executive Director, Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative Ms. Davlyn presented the grant request to the Board. Ns, Neff moved to approve the grant request for $28,000 for the Roaring Fork watershed-wide Wildfire Ready Action Plan to identify critical risk areas and post-fire hazards in our region’s water systems. M. Mrotek seconded the motion. The motion passed 6/0. Marble Charter School Interdisciplinary Water Education Program – Crystal River Focused 2023-2024 Nikki Beinstein 2 Ms. Beinstein and Mr. Anders Carlson provided a re-cap of the program and showed the board the film Mr. Carlson created with the students. EcoFlight Grant Presentation-Overflights of the Crystal River and Leadership of the Wild and Scenic Subcommittee Lea Linse, Conservation Program Manager Ecoflight Ms. Linse presented the grant request to the Board. Mr. Jochems moved to approved the $35,160 grant request for the Overflights of the Crystal River and Leadership of the Wild and Scenic Subcommittee and direct staff to make clear concerns of the Board. The Board expressed concern regarding the time it is taking for the subcommittee and its related efforts to get to a decision on wild and scenic designation. Also the board be invited to along on a flight. Mr. Wille seconded the motion. The motion passed 6/0. Scholarship Funding for Local Elected Officials; Water Fluency Class with WECO - Kirstin Neff Ms. Neff presented a plan to offer scholarships to local officials, HOA presidents and other like local officials. Mr. Jochems moved to approve funding the scholarships program. Mr. Wille seconded the motion. The motion passed 6/0. Board members interested in drafting a form of application and assisting Ms. Neff are welcome. Budget Discussion Staff discussed budget items including landscaping fees at Sam Caudill State Wildlife Area, Sediment Core Study at Grizzly Reservoir, and website accessibility improvements due to 2021 laws intended to improve accessibility to government documents for individuals with hearing and vision impairments. Ms. Neff moved to increase the Lincoln Creek funding from $100,000 to $150,000 in the 2025 budget. Mr. Lemons seconded the motion. Motion passed 5/1. With Mr. Wille opposed. Mr. Lemons motion to allocate $50,000 for accessibility compliance for the river’s external website. Mr. Mrotek seconded the motion. The motion passed 6/0. Matt Annabel encouraged The Aspen 82 local channel on the mpountain video occur again in 2025 as it drove our FB audience up an additional 10% as well as the reels on FB. Monthly Staff Report Staff provided an update on projects and work as contained in the report in the Board’s packet. Ms. MacDonald noted the road shift construction started on Two Rivers Road. She also let the board know the costs to repair the fence that was damaged due to an accident was $1250.00. Open Discussion Does this Board want to opine on the Spring Valley development’s impact on water. Ms. Makar thanked the board for the opportunity to serve the Board. Mr. Jochems suggested setting a date at one of our future meetings to bring in their ideas of a project for something for us to do. Chair Huber suggested setting a work day to brainstorm ideas rather than taking time from an agenda. Ms. Neff suggested doing that after positions are turned over next year. Chair Huber asked the board to send in their scoresheets for the grant requests. Ms. Neff moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Wille seconded the motion. The motion passed 6/0. 3 The meeting adjourned at approx. 7:25 pm. Approved: Attest: ______________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Wendy Huber – Chair Lisa Tasker