Jefferson County staff told commissioners Aug. 5 they plan to sponsor a Greater Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Pathways grant application of up to $450,000 to help formalize the Colorado Open Space Alliance (COSA) as a sustainable membership organization.

Matt Robbins, Community Connections Director for Parks and Open Space, described COSA as an ad-hoc coalition of more than 35 open-space organizations that the county and others would like to formalize into a membership-based organization with governance structure and sustainable funding. Robbins said the county would be the eligible applicant for GOCO because COSA itself is not an eligible grantee; matching funds would come from COSA, not from county dollars.

Robbins said the grant would strengthen statewide open-space organizations and that Jefferson County has led COSA efforts in recent years. "The intent . . . is to help formalize what we refer to as COSA," Robbins said. He told commissioners the Pathways grant would support governance and organizational development across the state's open-space community.

Commissioners asked about the proposal and expressed support. Robbins said he had been working on the effort for several years in a volunteer role and that the county's sponsorship is a way to meet GOCO eligibility requirements.

No final grant award was made Aug. 5; commissioners signaled support for the county to pursue the GOCO Pathways grant application and for staff to proceed with the application process.