County Commissioners greenlight improvements for parks and open space

A sweep of improvements throughout Boulder County Parks and Open Space, or BCOS, have been greenlit for 2022.

In a public hearing Tuesday night, Boulder County Commissioners approved a $1.5 million budget for capital improvement and stewardship projects for BCOS in the next year. Among those improvements, which range from species habitat improvement and trail maintenance to infrastructure development for agriculture, BCOS also will be addressing education and public outreach.

One of the major undertakings will be changes to the standards BCOS uses for signs and messaging, part of the public outreach segment of capital improvements for 2022. According to BCOS’ website on capital improvements, the signage will incorporate the use of standard international symbols and icons to minimize lengthy signs in multiple languages. 

To that end, BCOS will hire a consultant to develop a manual that includes terminology, symbols and standards for Spanish interpretation. The standards and changes will also be applied to temporary and seasonal signs, websites, social media and other BCOS communications to ensure consistent messaging, the site states.

Some of the changes have already come to fruition at the Agricultural Heritage Center, according to Volunteer Coordinator Jim Drew. BCOS updated more than half of the museum displays in the exhibit barn, Drew said, including signs in both English and Spanish.

The next stage is called the Master Interpretation Plan for Museums, which will encompass not only the Agricultural Heritage Center but also the Nederland Mining Museum and Assay Office Museums. BCOS will utilize a consultant to complete planning and guideline documents by the end of 2022, to be implemented the following year.

“It’s been about 20 years since we’ve done a major push, so it's really about coming up with relevant themes and including more stories from people who are underrepresented historically,” Drew said.

Museum exhibits and signage won’t be the only things seeing improvement at the Agricultural Heritage Center next year, Drew said. The McIntosh barn on the property will receive some stabilization in its historic sandstone foundation.

The Agricultural Heritage Center sits on the historic property of George McIntosh, an early homesteader and the namesake for the lake just south of the Agricultural Heritage Center. The barn was restored around 2003, after the county had established the property as an educational center, Drew explained.

“It’s a sandstone foundation and so over the past 18 years there has been some degradation to that foundation,” Drew explained.

The McIntosh barn has been closed to the public due to safety concerns and Drew was looking forward to seeing the building restored and open to the public next year.

More information on BCOS capital improvement and stewardship projects can be found on its website.