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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Los Alamos County Parks and Recreation Board Meeting – August 13, 2026

County Council & Boards — Thursday, August 13, 2026

BodyLos Alamos County, New Mexico

SessionCounty Council & Boards

DateThursday, August 13, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 29:38

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:04

All right.

0:05

I um call this meeting to order.

0:09

Um first thing on the agenda.

0:12

First item is public comments.

0:14

These are comments on items that are not on the agenda.

0:19

Um I don't see any public out here.

0:23

Do we have anybody online that has a hand up for public comments?

0:28

Nobody online.

0:31

Excellent.

0:33

Well, then we'll move on next to uh business items.

0:36

Um first thing is the approval of the um minutes from the July 8th, 2026 meeting.

0:43

Um does anybody have any comments, corrections, edits, anyway?

0:52

Yeah, Jerry, I can hear you, and I don't have anything to add.

0:55

Okay, great.

0:57

All right.

0:58

Uh does anybody want to make a motion to approve those minutes?

1:03

Yeah, gotcha.

1:04

I move that the board approve the attached minutes meeting minutes from the July 9th 2026 meeting.

1:12

Uh second.

1:14

I second that.

1:17

All in favor.

1:19

Uh that passes unanimously.

1:27

Um we have on this uh business item next uh working group discussion.

1:36

I don't know if you guys remember last week we talked about a new um procedure for um authorizing working groups to take up certain tasks or assignments.

1:51

Um I don't know.

1:53

You saw that, didn't you last week that uh Brian brought to the meeting?

1:59

Okay, well, we'll get you a copy of that at some point.

2:02

Um he's not here, and uh I none of the three working groups that I'm associated with met this month, so we did not discuss that um procedural um form at all.

2:19

So they don't have any input at this point, so I don't think there's any point in um trying to have any sort of a discussion about this unless uh Paula or David, if you had any comments about that particular procedural form.

2:36

Jerry, uh this is David Bovin.

2:37

Can you hear me?

2:38

Yeah.

2:39

I I don't think I received a copy of that form.

2:42

Uh and I didn't see one when I went uh look at the agenda packet.

2:46

Was it not out there?

2:49

Huh.

2:51

I received a written copy last week, and I don't know why you guys didn't um I Brian may have given one to me only.

3:01

Um we should certainly get that out and distributed to everybody uh before next month's meeting so we can actually have a discussion about it, and hopefully by then I'll have some input from the working groups on that.

3:13

Um can we get that Senator?

3:15

Yes, yes, Vice Chair uh board members, we'll make sure to get that email out to everyone tomorrow.

3:21

I can tell you that we have created that form online like we spoke about at last month's meeting uh for those that are you know more tech savvy and would rather do something online uh then we'll have that made available.

3:32

Uh so yes, we'll send that out, and then once we receive all the feedback, we can go in and make those adjustments online and get everything set up as need be.

3:40

Okay, terrific.

3:41

Then I think we'll um just table this discussion and uh move it to next month's um board meeting and have a discussion at that point.

3:53

Any other comments or questions?

3:59

Okay, great.

4:00

Um next item on the agenda uh presentations, proclamations, recognitions.

4:07

Um we have a presentation on the canyon median design.

4:12

I think that's you, Wendy.

4:15

Yes, Vice Chair, that would be me.

4:17

Thank you.

4:18

You're welcome.

4:51

Can you guys see it?

4:54

Yes, okay.

4:56

Okay, Vice Chair Board members, we'll we'll go ahead and start.

5:00

So if you recall, some of you might not have been on the Parks and Recreation Board at the first initial presentation that myself and Emmanuel Abeda presented a couple of years back.

5:12

But this is the information that was pretty much shared then with a little bit of changes on here.

5:17

So I'll just kind of talk about it a little bit.

5:19

So we started, we kicked this process off in latter part of 2022, 2023, just kind of looking at medians and kind of what standards are out there and designs and and uh by the airport.

5:32

That median is also just a very narrow median, so you're pretty limited on what you can do and what you can get away with.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████64%

Procedural██████████████████25%

Community Engagement█████7%

Engineering And Infrastructure███4%

Summary of Proceedings

Parks and Recreation Board Meeting – August 13, 2026

The Parks and Recreation Board of Los Alamos County met on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 5:30 PM in Room 110 at 1000 Central Avenue, with in-person and Zoom participation. The agenda included approval of prior minutes, a working group procedure discussion (tabled), a presentation on Canyon median design, staff reports on recent projects, and updates from Councilor Cull. Public comment was absent.

Consent Calendar

Approval of minutes from July 9, 2026 meeting: A motion to approve the minutes as presented was made, seconded, and passed unanimously. (Note: The transcript initially references a July 8, 2026 meeting, but the agenda and subsequent motion specify July 9, 2026.)

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comments were offered in person or online.

Discussion Items

Working Group Discussion (Item 22026‑26): Vice Chair Jerry Cowan explained that three working groups did not meet during the month, and the proposed procedural form for authorizing working groups had not been distributed to all board members. The board agreed to table the discussion to the next meeting; staff will email the form and provide an online version for feedback.
Canyon Median Design Presentation (Item 22031‑26): Wendy Parker presented two design templates for medians along Canyon Drive: the “Plateau” option and the “Bandelier” option. Both feature stamped concrete, rock landscaping, and a sloped curb design for vehicle safety. Trees will not be planted due to visibility, maintenance, and heat‑stress concerns. The selected template prioritizes low‑water landscaping, drainage, emergency access, and reduced long‑term maintenance. A public comment period (survey and in‑library) will launch in the next week to gather community input on the two designs. Final design, construction task order, and timeline will follow.
Staff Reports:
- Katherine Hudspeth (Recreation): Reported a successful Los Alamos County Fair, Parade, and Rodeo: approximately 1,500 attendees for the first‑ever night rodeo on Saturday, and about 3,000 people at the parade and fair. The Aquatic Center pump‑and‑filtration room demolition has begun, and Pinyon Pool hours will decrease after Labor Day (lagoon: Mon‑Fri 9‑7, Sat 9‑5; Pinyon: Mon‑Fri 12‑6, closed Saturday). Golf course warranty work is nearly complete, with a grand reopening planned for September 12 (coupled with the 19th Hole Sports Pub). The Trans Rocky Mountain Bike Single Track event is set for September 19.
- Wendy Parker (Parks): Updated on Sportsfield renovations: Bun Ryan field complete, Senior field active, Spirio field must be finished by September 5; limited team access after that. Brewery Arena grandstand foundation poured; restrooms (85‑90% complete) were available for the rodeo and received positive feedback. Upcoming FY27 projects: a Demo Garden ADA‑accessibility listening session on September 14 at the library; North Mesa Recreation Master Plan (bike park) design‑build procurement; Guahe Pines Columbariums Phase 1 (including ossuary, scattering garden, cenotaph) with community engagement – noted that the master plan is conceptual and tree canopy will be preserved where possible.
Council Communications – Councilor Cull: Provided highlights from recent county council meetings: a climate action plan update; introduction of ordinances for gas service rates and the LEDA project at the ROC (former Time Out Pizza in White Rock), with public hearings August 25; the plastic bag ban failed on a 3‑3 vote (needed 4); approved a 7‑year tree‑trimming service agreement, changes to Article 5 of the development code, mechanical improvements for the Olympic pool, and a letter opposing reduction of the CHOPCO Cultural National Historic Park; a work session reviewed the community dashboard and comprehensive plan update; and an agreement with NMDOT for the Crossing and Multi‑Use Trail Improvement Project in White Rock was approved.

Key Outcomes

The minutes of July 9, 2026 (with the noted date discrepancy) were approved unanimously.
The working group procedure discussion was tabled to the September 10, 2026 meeting; the form will be distributed before then.
The Canyon median design presentation was received; a public comment period will open shortly, and final design and construction scheduling will occur afterward.
Staff reports were accepted as information; no formal board action was taken.
The next regular meeting is scheduled for September 10, 2026, and will include the working group discussion.

Meeting Transcript

All right. I um call this meeting to order. Um first thing on the agenda. First item is public comments. These are comments on items that are not on the agenda. Um I don't see any public out here. Do we have anybody online that has a hand up for public comments? Nobody online. Excellent. Well, then we'll move on next to uh business items. Um first thing is the approval of the um minutes from the July 8th, 2026 meeting. Um does anybody have any comments, corrections, edits, anyway? Yeah, Jerry, I can hear you, and I don't have anything to add. Okay, great. All right. Uh does anybody want to make a motion to approve those minutes? Yeah, gotcha. I move that the board approve the attached minutes meeting minutes from the July 9th 2026 meeting. Uh second. I second that. All in favor. Uh that passes unanimously. Um we have on this uh business item next uh working group discussion. I don't know if you guys remember last week we talked about a new um procedure for um authorizing working groups to take up certain tasks or assignments. Um I don't know. You saw that, didn't you last week that uh Brian brought to the meeting? Okay, well, we'll get you a copy of that at some point. Um he's not here, and uh I none of the three working groups that I'm associated with met this month, so we did not discuss that um procedural um form at all. So they don't have any input at this point, so I don't think there's any point in um trying to have any sort of a discussion about this unless uh Paula or David, if you had any comments about that particular procedural form. Jerry, uh this is David Bovin. Can you hear me? Yeah. I I don't think I received a copy of that form. Uh and I didn't see one when I went uh look at the agenda packet. Was it not out there? Huh. I received a written copy last week, and I don't know why you guys didn't um I Brian may have given one to me only. Um we should certainly get that out and distributed to everybody uh before next month's meeting so we can actually have a discussion about it, and hopefully by then I'll have some input from the working groups on that. Um can we get that Senator? Yes, yes, Vice Chair uh board members, we'll make sure to get that email out to everyone tomorrow. I can tell you that we have created that form online like we spoke about at last month's meeting uh for those that are you know more tech savvy and would rather do something online uh then we'll have that made available. Uh so yes, we'll send that out, and then once we receive all the feedback, we can go in and make those adjustments online and get everything set up as need be. Okay, terrific. Then I think we'll um just table this discussion and uh move it to next month's um board meeting and have a discussion at that point. Any other comments or questions? Okay, great. Um next item on the agenda uh presentations, proclamations, recognitions. Um we have a presentation on the canyon median design. I think that's you, Wendy. Yes, Vice Chair, that would be me.

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