Minutes of the June 22, 2009
Meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails
Attendees: Rich Burton, Tom Krinke, Judy Rydeen, Michele McNulty, Karen Schik, Carol Seefeldt, Mike White, Tom Triplett, Mike Harnetty, Matt Rasmussen. Absent: Stephen Ledo.
1. The agenda was approved without any amendments.
2. The minutes of the May 18 meeting were approved.
3. Reports
a. Picnic Tables - Mike Harnetty reported that 3 tables were delivered to the Community Center and 3 to the lighted ballpark on Olinda Trail. The tables were donated to us by the condo association in Minneapolis where Friends member Diane Herman has her downtown abode (with spouse John Herman). Mike suggested that because the tables are so heavy, we should consider concrete pads for them so they will be easier to mow around. Rich Burton suggested that we send a thank you to Heike Rucker, manager of the condo association for donating the tables, and Tom Triplett said he would ask the mayor to do so (which was already done). Mike requested that he be reimbursed for the cost of the trailer rental and that he would seek that from the city. If the city does not reimburse, we will review this issue at our next meeting..
b. Gateway Trail - Ric Ahern (Parks and Trails Council of MN) has been invited to speak at an upcoming meeting to update us on progress and plans. The council has reported great progress in acquiring land for the trail through Scandia.
c. Wetland Restoration Fund - Karen Schik reported that the Carnelian Marine Watershed District has agreed to contribute $12,500 to the fund to be used for a water control structure in Lilleskogen.
d. Winds In Pines - Karen Schik reported that bids have been received and a supervisor has been selected to supervise the trail construction working with 10 volunteers. She estimates that it will be a two day effort scheduled for late September completion.
4. Financial Report
Tom Triplett reported that we have a balance of $1279 after all bills are paid. Rich Burton is our Treasurer and will submit future reports.
5. Future Activities:
a. Summer Fundraiser - Carol Seefeldt reported that she is still waiting to hear from her contact at Big Marine regarding a group rate. She also reported that they did not reject the idea of allowing beer for our group outing. She asked if we could pick a date so she can reserve it, if possible, when they call her back. Mike White suggested that we do it after Taco Daze, perhaps, late September, so we can advertise it at Taco Daze, and everyone thought that was a good idea. However, concerns were expressed that we would need to do it on a weekend at that time of year because children will all be back in school and then we'll run into conflicts with football and hunting and other fall activities. After some discussion, Carol suggested that she should ask her contact at the park about the availability of a weekend date.
b. Boat Landings - Karen reported that she checked several boat landings, and, they all looked good; so, we decided that we should all keep an eye on them as much as possible going forward.
c. Trail Construction at WIP - See 3-d above.
d. Eagle Scouts - Tom Triplett reported that he will contact Stephen Ledo about the interests of the Boy Scout troop to help on Friends projects.
e. Access at WIP - Judy Rydeen handed out a map of WIP park showing the easements for access, etc. She explained that parcel SW of the park is being farmed almost up to the North boundary line of the parcel; so, the full width of that easement is no longer available for access from highway 95. Mike White suggested that the matter should be referred to the Parks and Recreation Committee because it's their charter to do with such issues. The property has been surveyed in the past, so there should be markers, and if not the committee should get it marked.
f. Signs in WIP - Karen reported that signs to mark the trail are up through the efforts of the Parks and Rec committee.
g. Invasive Species Removal - We discussed concerns with troublesome species, particularly at Lilleskogen and WIP, and it was suggested that it would be a good event for our Taco Daze Booth to have an expert (i.e. a tree specialist) and examples to educate people on how to identify Buckthorn, Prickly Ash, Oak Wilt, Ash Bore, etc. and how to safely remove them from their property. Karen explained that cutting them in the fall and treating them with herbicide is the correct process, but, care must be used, particularly at Lilleskogen, because of the wetlands. Carol Seefeldt volunteered to coordinate with Mayor Dennis to see if he can find a suitable expert through his connections at the University of Minnesota.
h. Taco Daze - We now officially have a booth at the event, so we have decided to do two things - advertise our fundraiser and provide an invasive species education exhibit. Hopefully Carol will be successful in finding an expert for the latter.
j. Table at Beer Event - We decided not to have a table at the Hay Lake Beer Tasting Event (Fundraiser for Washington County Historical Society) on June 27, but, "everyone is encouraged to show up."
6. Meeting Schedule:
a. The next Friends meeting will be on Monday, July 27 at 7:00pm. Matt Rasmussen requested to have discussion of the Rasmussen Home site on the agenda for that meeting.
b. We will also meet on Monday, August 24, but after that time the center will no longer be available to us on the fourth Monday, so we tried to come up with another specific day of the month, and the best seemed to be the second Monday. We will need to discuss this further, but for now we will meet on Monday, September 21; Monday October 12 and Monday, November 9. (Tom checked with the city office and the 2nd Monday in the Heritage Room is available).
Respectfully submitted by Tom Krinke, acting secretary
