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Residents press committee to ask BOCC to revisit indoor arena open rides; staff to present outreach framework in May
Summary
Public commenters urged POSEAC to ask the Board of County Commissioners to reopen winter 'open rides' at the Fairgrounds Indoor Arena. Staff did not promise immediate reopening but committed to return in May with a clearer public-engagement framework; director's update also covered Prairie Run design progress and mine cleanup concerns.
Members of the public told the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee on March 27 that changes to Fairgrounds Indoor Arena winter scheduling have left horseback riders without access and asked POSEAC to recommend the Board of County Commissioners revisit the decision and take additional public comment.
Cindy Johnson said the riders have organized more than 150 supporters and asked the committee to recommend the BOCC "revisit this issue and take more public comment." Committee members discussed the limits of their authority and whether the issue is best handled as a budget matter, with some members suggesting the next budget cycle could be a vehicle to resolve subsidy questions.
Therese Glowacki, director of Parks and Open Space, and Heidi Wagner, resource-planning division manager, said staff will return to POSEAC in May with a documented public-engagement framework that explains how outreach intensity and methods are selected for different plans and policies. Wagner said the framework will consolidate current practice so POSEAC and the public can better judge whether outreach has been robust for a given issue.
In the director's update Glowacki also reported that Prairie Run design work is progressing (90% design expected by early April), county staff have been involved in prescribed-burn operations in recent weeks, and the department is advancing remediation planning at the Cardinal Mill Mine. Glowacki warned that a private company, Grand Island Resources, has applied to expand the Cross and Caribou Gold Mines and that the county will file comments in the state permitting process; she said county remediation costs for the Cardinal Mill site could be in the millions.
POSEAC discussed options for addressing the fairgrounds concern: some members favored asking the BOCC to reconsider and gather more comment, while others recommended waiting for the regular budget process or for staff to present the outreach framework. Chair Tony Lewis said staff's May presentation would be informative and that individual committee members can also engage commission attention through public comment if they choose.
