February 2021 Quarterly Meeting

Mtg took place via Zoom; commenced at 4:00 p.m.

NEXT MEETING is May 3, 2021

FYI: Meetings are scheduled for the 1st Monday of 2nd month of each quarter

INTRODUCTION of New Members:

  • Carl & Dianna Peterson (Carl has a chainsaw, folks!)

  • John & Mary Ann Hansen

  • Mitch & Sheila Waldman

Welcome!

ACCOMPLISHMENTS & ONGOING WORK 

  1. Nature Trail (aka Chapel Trail) near The Terraces
    FYI: This trail is a recent addition to the roster of trails maintained by the BC Trail Committee, and significant upgrades were needed to satisfy BC Trail Cmte standards. Reg Richards, with assistance from Bill Merrick, has made significant improvements cutting in new paths, filling in eroded areas, and adding log step.

  2. New Trail Signs.

  3. Malcom Halls, Joe Cano and Phil Waldrop are sanding the most recent batch of trail signs fabricated by Joe Tipton. Rita Boje will paint them after sanding. Includes the signs for Nature Valley Trail from Wilderness Parkway parking area to Lower Falls.

  4. Next up: Signs from Lower Falls to top of Nancy Womack trail.

  5. Old Trail Signs: Will be removed to the Borrow Pit on Hubbard Road; available for anyone that wants a memento. The old “Disharoon Lake” sign will be removed.

  6. Trail Blazes

  7. Metal blazes are needed on the Cabin Loop Trail – Liz Scherer will handle.

    Metal Blazes vandalized – certain blazes have been shot up by someone with a pellet gun and will be replaced by the committee member responsible for the affected trail.

WORK CREW ASSIGNMENTS 

1- Reporting / Requesting and Giving Assistance:

  • If your trail requires work that will involve a crew or other assistance, let Liz know and the priorities will be determined.

  • Steve Papke will organize work crews; due to Covid concerns, it’s expected that crews will be smaller and more ad hoc, so let Liz know if you want to be on the potential “call out” list and if you are willing to do heavier work.

2- Upcoming work crew project(s): 2-3 large brush and debris piles in the creek along John Williams Trail need clearing once weather is warmer.

TRAIL WALK ASSIGNMENT – to come: Each month, Trail Committee members will be asked to walk a different trail and submit suggested improvements for that trail; it’s a “fresh eyes” concept. 

PRIVATE PROPERTY TREE TRIMMING AND REMOVAL AFFECTING SOME TRAILS. On a number of instances, trees being trimmed or removed on private property are being allowed to drop onto Big Canoe green space, which often involves the trails.  This results in Trail Committee members having to clean up the debris that originated on private property.  It’s unclear if this is only certain tree contractors, or a broader problem.  Suggestion was made that Treena Parrish be contacted to alert her to this and to obtain suggestions on how to handle this.

SEEKING ASSISTANCE:

  1. SEEKING VOLUNTEERS to write monthly articles for “Inside the Gates” section of the Smoke Signals newspaper. No need to commit to multiple articles; just let Liz Scherer know which month you are handling. The publication likes articles with lots of photos, which means very little writing is required.

  2. SEEKING VOLUNTEERS to help with Trail Cmte website (proofreading; provide photos and articles, etc.). Contact Liz Scherer.








Stacy Johnson