Monday, August 25, 2025

EVMD Board Meeting 8/21/2025 Recap

This is an unofficial summary of the Aug. 21, 2025 Meeting of the Board of Directors of the EagleVail Metropolitan District held at the EagleVail Pavilion and online produced by EVMD Communications staff. A draft of the minutes will be posted to the EVMD website once they are composed.

Board members present: Hopkins, , Laughlin, Copeland and Rumford.

Public Comment:

Dennis Saffell, representing the 19^th Fairway Condo Assoc., discussed his concerns about errant golf balls from the driving range.
Laurie Mullen thanked the EVMD for their parks master planning efforts, saying she has about 45 neighbors on the west end of EagleVail engaged in ideation for West Park, as well as some of the other parks.

Communications Update:

Held fourth Coffee Chat of the summer season with Rumford and Barber Aug. 20 with about eight people in attendance. Topics discussed included: wildlife safety and Eagle County’s role in the event of an evacuation; tee times and rounds of golf; EagleVail entry monuments; responsibility of duties (EVMD vs. POA vs. county); water costs, raw water vs. potable water; veterans request for donation; pool hours and closing date; vole park damage; parks master planning input; pickleball court management; capital replacement plan; committee representation.
An additional West Park ice cream social will occur Aug. 28 for more input on the master planning process, and a parks survey will commence after Labor Day.
The Enhance Communications Survey has seen about 100 respondents and will conclude shortly after Labor Day.
August Just the Facts addresses several current community topics.
Committees will resume the week of Sept. 8 and just prior to the EVMD board’s discussion of the 2025 budget.

Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Update:

Brent Barnum, Superintendent of Golf Courses & Parks, announced that the EagleVail Golf Club has recently been recognized for 10 years of certification as a Certified Audubon Sanctuary. EagleVail has been commended for its years of dedication to the program, and for all the projects it has undertaken to enhance wildlife habitat, achieve sensitive maintenance practices, and informing people of our commitment to environmental quality.
- Background: EagleVail Golf Club is designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary and is one of 900 courses in the world to currently be designed as such. In 2014, the EagleVail Golf Club first acquired the property’s sanctuary status.
- To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that it is maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in several categories. These categories include: Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management.
- To maintain sanctuary status, golf courses go through a recertification process every three years. EagleVail Golf Club completed the recertification process in 2017, 2020, and 2023.
- EagleVail Golf Club will continue to show a strong commitment to its environmental programs and stewardship, says Barnum. We will also continue to demonstrate our passion to a more sustainable future, and be leaders in environmental stewardship and setting a great example that others can follow.

Management Updates:

Barber reported that the courts have been very busy, and saw drop-in fees recently come in at $500 in just two days; 67 court passes have been sold to date and nearly $28,000 in revenue has been collected thus far. There are a couple of projects for 2026 that are being considered during this year’s budget discussions. Drop-in pickleball open play and events continue to be popular activities with increasing participation. Vicky continues to provide lessons and clinics. With the continued popularity, hiring additional staff to help manage the facility may be necessary.
The pool also has been very busy. The last day is Monday, Sept. 1. Hours of operations beginning Aug. 18 were reduced as kids went back to school. The pool is open until 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and until 8 p.m. Friday-Sunday. Specials are being offered throughout the month of August to help drive business.
Increased golf rounds are anticipated to continue through the summer and into the fall season as things wrap up in early October.
The East End Phase II project continues to move forward. The contract with FNF has been executed, construction commencing very soon, and a completion date on track for the end of November. Additionally, Barber has been communicating with HPS so as not to negatively impact school operations.
Feedback on the installation of the seven speed tables continues to be very positive in terms of speed reduction and pedestrian awareness. The temporary speed table has been installed at the west end of the community on Deer Blvd. with positive feedback at that location as well. Other traffic calming projects completed this summer include painting crosswalks and stop bars, repairing orange delineators along Eagle Road. Additionally, EVMD worked with Eagle County to install a 3-way stop at Eagle Rd. & Eagle Dr., along with a 2-way stop at Riverside Court to help reduce speeds and calm traffic. These pilot projects seem to be working well and not negatively impacting traffic.
Barnum reported that he is pleased with how the courses are playing and looking despite the extremely dry times, high heat, winds and fire smoke being experienced. The lack of moisture is very challenging on water supply, irrigation schedules and infrastructure, and staff. Time continues to be allocated to auditing and repairing the irrigation systems so that they can perform as expected, particularly to ensure efficiency and proper delivery of the water - crucial during these times of drought.
Barnum added that while he’s been pleased with the conditions of the parks and pocket parks this summer despite the drought conditions, West Park has proven to be a challenge once again. The turf conditions suffer during high heat and dry periods, especially due to the age and condition of that irrigation system.
Kris O’Neill reported that Resident Cards expire Oct. 31. Cards for the 2025-2026 season will begin to be issued in November – reminder that they are needed to use the skier shuttle.

Financial Update:

Above budget on golf pass sales;
Pool season passes and lessons strong; day passes down from budget. New pool offerings in Eagle and Gypsum are likely reason for decreased drop-in visitation.

Other Business:

Board Chair Hopkins asked Barber if there was anything that could be done this season to help address the errant golf ball concerns coming from the driving range. Barber responded that, per direction from the July 17 board meeting, he and Barnum met with EVMD’s golf course architect consultants to analyze and identify any potential fixes with regard to the driving range, net height, and staffing. Increasing the heights of older poles and netting currently at 50 feet is being explored, as well as options on the northeast corner to close off but maintain public access. In the meantime, as this season closes out, Barber said the team installed out-of-bound stakes and several white flags in certain locations to help direct golfer direction.

The board adjourned and went into Executive Session.