Board / Landscape and Fire Mitigation Update- Zoom call November 21, 2021

Landscape Master Plain progress  – updated 01.25.2022 Darrell Walker

History

  1. 2019 Winter
    1. 2019 Annual meeting 
      1. Landscape is ‘on borrowed time’. Board members will get estimates this summer for replacement during 2020.
  2. 2020 Summer
    • Roof Project
    • COVID 19
  3. Fall 2020
    • Developed basic requirements created for a request
    • Became apparent the irrigation system needed replacement (on life support) vs repair
    • Important to have a landscape plan before any design of a new irrigation system could be completed
    • Request first draft to develop a master landscape plan 
    • Fall 2020 Good Earth contacted to create first stage of the landscape glide, to establish a requirements list, base line inventory of what our needs, we is currently on site, recommendations of solutions. 
  4. Spring / Summer 2021
  5. Winter 2022
    • Future (tentative / goals and rescheduling)
    • Cost analysis: funds are not available
      • Can not implement irrigation / landscape plan until summer 2023
    • Update current plans with new requirements learned from summer 2022
      • Committee to create a ver2 of master plan to submit review by Owners for review and discussion
        1. Additional owner surveys / tools to submit ideas
        2. Schedule  landscape meetings min 1 per month  (Feb – April)
        3. Resubmit to Good Earth, request V2 (Owner review version)
        4. Schedule meeting to review V2 with owners
      • Update Capital Reserve for implantation two phases
      • Irrigation summer 2023
      • Landscape completion 2024  (estimate 2 years)
  6. Owner Gardens
    • Place holder TBD 
  7. Fire Mitigation
    • First Basberg fire mitigation completed 2004
    • Three additional fire assessments
      • 2008 (local)- High Hazard Rating – Jerry Peetz Ops Director – Audit work completed in 2004
      • 2015  – Rating High  Eric Lovgren Wildlife Mitigation Specialist
      • 2019 – Karl Oliver / Basalt Fire  
  8. Work Summer / Fall 2021
    • Review past assessments
    • Determined we should prioritize some action to support the assessments
    • Fire mitigation has a  direct relationship to the landscaping plan
      • Green Earth l requirement incorporate fire mitigation into the new plan
      • The more we studied the fire mitigation plans, prioritizing our current state became  more important  
      • Review 2019 Assessment with Aspen Tree Service and Earth-Wise
      • What is reasonable to do this summer?
      • Prune dead fall – trim Uplift branches
    • Removal trees 2021
      • Cedar – Sopris unit 6 & 7 (2020)
      • Three pinons FP courtyard
      • Aspen – unit 8
      • Russian Olives – unit 9
  9. 2023 Maintenance *see future below
    • Create Phase II plans  – Set maintenance priorities for summer 2022
    •  Coordinate tasks with options from the landscape plan and capital reserve.  Balance present with future.
    • Maple tree unit 1 scheduled for removal
    • Current stressed trees
      • Cedar / Junipers unit 17 and gully behind dumpster shed
      • Cisterns 2 remaining FP building
    • Additional fire mitigation slopes on South (Sopris) and East (Frying Pan) building
    • Irrigation maintenance
      • Sprinkler heads audit, replace where needed.  (can we reuse new heads updated irrigation p) 
      • Pressure test irrigation system at start up
        1. Identify Leaks 
      • Audit water lines what is still working what is not 
    • Lawn Maintenance upgrades
      • Budget considerations
      • Increase landscape management landscape support
        1. 2 / 3 times per summer – Cut natives areas to 6″
        2. Prune and trim where needed
        3. Identify stressed trees monitoring – remove if necessary
        4. Landscape health and fire mitigation awareness  (photos)
    • Frying pan garden area
      • Shade options, replace trees, architectural shape options, combination of both
      • Native areas – add routine maintenance
        1. Level grounds
        2. Manage surface fuels – Pine needles, grass cut to 6 inches X times per summer
    • End Unit bare ground mitigation Unit, #1, 9, 10, 17, north bank of the Sopris parking
    • Abandon water pipes unit 9,
    • Irrigation connection boxes  bare wires
    • Review capital reserve plan for task overlap
      • Pool Fence repair
      • Reserve for cistern replacement
    • Fire Mitigation Phase II / Phase II  (TBD) . 
  10. Future* (TBD)
    1. Firewise type Community idea
      1. Create a committee of owners and neighbors to build
        1. Firewise USA
        2. National Fore Protection Assoc
        3.  REALFire  – Vail Board of Realters, Eagle County partnership 
  11. Resources
    1. *Lake Christine Post-Fire Study and other resources
      2. Lake Christine fire updates
        1. Aspen Public Radio Nov 19, 2019 
        2. Lake Christine Fire Mitigation Study 2019
        3. REALFire Post Mitigation Study Highlights
      3. Urban Wildfire Interface (WUI)
        1. https://www.communitywildfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CWPC_Land-Use-WUI-Report_Final_2021.pdf
      4. Colorado Wildfire Risk Viewer
        1. https://co-pub.coloradoforestatlas.org/#/
      5. Fire wise Home Ignition Zones
        1. https://fire.sref.info/
Community Wildfire Planning Center