February 2025 Minutes
Minutes by Stacy Johnson
Co-Chairs: Liz Scherer & Mitch Waldman
Mtg took place in person indoors at the Village Station.
Commenced at 4:01 p.m.; ended at 4:48 p.m.
Members in attendance = 29
NEXT MEETING is May 5, 2025 @ 4:00. - Venue : TBD
FYI: Meetings are scheduled for the 1st Monday of 2nd month of each quarter
(i.e. first Monday of Feb/May/Aug/Nov)
NEXT WORK DAY: TBD
GUEST: Lydell Mack, Director of Operations at Big Canoe
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Lydell Mack thanked the BCTC for their work on the trails and spoke of the partnership between BCTC and the POA. Big Canoe appreciates the hours that BCTC spends working on the trails.
WORK HOUR METRICS:
2024: Work hours for BCTC members in 2024 = 2,688 total hours worked, consisting of 1,912 field work hours and 756 administrative/organizational hours.
2025 YTD: 220 total hours worked.
GOAL FOR 2025: Focus on Trail Safety Maintenance
Keep trails clear of leaves. Leaves are slippery, hide tripping hazards & critters, and obscure trail boundaries.
Remove tripping hazards, such as roots and stones. Use judgment, and it may require working your trail in segments. When removing roots, focus only on those smaller than 2” in diameter in order to avoid injuring the tree. Instead of removing roots, it may be more efficient to cover extensive roots with dirt (e.g. Hansen brothers on John Williams trail)
Trim branches near the trails, especially pine & holly branches, which are prickly.
Trim weeds and other vegetation hugging the trail edges in order to reduce hiking contact with chiggers and ticks.
Look up - search for loose branches hanging over the trail or dead trees leaning toward the trail. Remove them, if can be done safely. Reach out for help if needed.
Manage slippery areas on steps and bridges – use a spray or install wire mesh
Stabilize loose stepping stones.
COMPLETED PROJECTS
New handrails installed at the two sets of steps at the Meadows Trail.
Installed by Ken Bechely and Mark Decker.
Borrow Pit clean up and improvements:
Mitch shared photos showing before & after photos of the clean up; the storage cabinets along the walls; the trail maintenance hand tools neatly lined up along the walls; and newly built rack for storing materials (e.g. lumber, posts and rebar, etc).
Generator is now available at the Borrow Pit to facilitate use of power tools. A new battery is being installed on 2/6 so you can use the electronic switch to turn it on.
BORROW PIT STORAGE
Lydell Mack warned that vandalism and theft is occurring at the Borrow Pit; be certain to lock up anything valuable. He also said functional security cameras are forthcoming and will be installed within the next couple months.
Borrow Pit Gate:
Borrow Pit gate will be locked shortly after 3:30 pm each day. The gate is to deter illegal dumping.
Key lock box for gate is now on the gate.
Code for lock box is 7293.
Be sure to return the key! (Mitch, Liz or Alan will have an extra copy.)
RED LOOP DETOUR
The owners of the empty lot near the SW corner of the intersection of Wildcat Parkway and Bear Creek Drive will commence construction of their house soon. The paved Red Loop Trail cuts through a portion of this lot, which is not unusual for lots along the Red Loop and Blue Loop trails. But this is the first lot where the trail will cut across the homeowner’s driveway.
It is anticipated that construction on this lot will disrupt pedestrian traffic on this section of the Red Loop Trail, so a temporary trail will be built to detour pedestrians around the construction area and reconnect with the Red Loop Trail on the north side of Black Bear Creek.
Once plans for construction of the house and driveway are finalized, BC and the BCTC can review the situation to determine if rerouting the Red Loop trail in this area on a permanent basis is necessary or feasible.
UPCOMING PROJECTS FOR 2025
Replace the entire stairway to the Covered Bridge Trail. (Broken & missing stairs were replaced by John and Jim Hansen as a temporary fix, but the entire stairway requires replacement.)
Improve the water piping system that services the water wheel on the Jeep Trail. This is a favorite feature on the Jeep Trail and justifies the extra effort.
Dead end on the Meadows Trail. Trail overseers Ken Bechley and Mark Decker plan to take a bench from the trail and place it at the trailhead to block it off.
Address erosion on walking path behind Wildcat Pool. UPDATE: Looks like this has been completed by Public Works with fresh gravel as seen on 2/6 trail visit.
Address area on paved Blue Loop that collects water and creates large puddle at the Wildcat Parkway crossing. The puddle is difficult to walk around and is hazardous when it freezes. BCTC member Gary Romeo dug a temporary trench to facilitate water drainage and the trench is working well, but a permanent solution is needed. Lydell Mack stated that the BC road pavers, when in the area, will create a permanent crown to properly direct the water.
Replace all trail signs on the BC trail system with more permanent ColorCore plastic signage (see detailed discussion below).
REPLACEMENT COLORCORE TRAIL SIGNAGE
Liz Scherer stated that all BC trail signage will be replaced with the ColorCore signage, which will make all trail signage consistent among trails. The new signs will be more permanent than the existing signs, requiring little to no maintenance.
Liz has created an inventory of all the required signage, including any necessary directional arrows applicable to the various signs.
Cost / Donation: The RidgeRunners organization in BC donated $3000 to the BCTC. $2000 of this donation has been used to purchase materials for the new signs. Thank you, RidgeRunners, for your generosity!
Joe Tipton shared a prototype of the new signage and described the various parts needed to be fabricated for each sign.
There are 325 sign locations. 750 sign placards are needed, and over 500 sign boards are needed, each with the metal rod and metal plate and washer attached.
VOLUNTEERS TO FABRICATE NEW SIGNAGE COMPONENTS
The following BCTC members have volunteered to fabricate the signage parts listed below:
NOTE: Detailed instructions and dimensions for each part are available from Joe Tipton.
Joe Tipton: cut the placards from the ColorCore material, “engrave” the trail names on the placards with a CNC router, and add holes to each corner to accept screws to mount the placard to the sign board.
Mike Sheely: cut pressure treated 2”x 4” sign boards to length; cut any necessary points at the end of each board to indicate any needed directional arrows on each; and drill each to accept ½” round mounting rod.
Dion Golden and Alan Moffatt: (a) Fabricate the steel mounting plates that secure the sign to post. Requires cutting 1/8” x 2” wide steel flat bar to length, drill a hole (approx.. 3/16”) at each corner to accept mounting screws, and drill one ½” hole in center to accept mounting bracket rod. (b) Cut ½” steel round bar to length and thread one end to create mounting bracket rod.
PJ Docka: Weld a steel mounting plate and a washer to each mounting bracket rod.
Sheila Waldman: spray paint completed steel bracket assembly with flat black paint (if it is decided that the metal parts should be painted to prevent rusting).
VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED:
Volunteer(s) to attach the sign placards to the sign boards.
Volunteer(s) for final assembly of the sign
Volunteer(s) to attach the completed signs to the sign posts that are in the ground.
CHARTER UPDATES: The BCTC charter has been updated to emphasize trail safety and to provide a clearer expectation for members regarding regular participation and reporting work hours. The updated charter has been submitted for approval to the BC General Manager (Scott Auer) and the POA Board. More information will be shared once approval is obtained.
REVISED SYSTEM FOR REPORTING TRAIL WORK SYSTEM
It is important to log your trail work hours. The POA does look at and consider these hours.
Liz has updated and simplified the online trail work reporting system.
3. Some items of note regarding the new reporting system:
Still found at bctrails.info
Know which PARK your trail is in. (If you don’t know, look on a trail map). When you click on your PARK in the new reporting system, it will list all the trails in that park. Then you can select the trail you worked on.
If multiple members work on a particular project, the project leader can list all the members that worked that project and the new system will automatically apply the time to all workers listed for that project.
Photos cannot be uploaded directly in this new system. If you have photos to share, the reporting system directs you to email them to bigcanoetrails@gmail.com or text them to Liz and/or Mitch (the new system provides their phone numbers for that purpose).
To see the most recent activity on your trail, click on “ 2025 Work Log” (top of page) then click on “Trails” (bottom of page).
Reporting Tips: When reporting your time, (a) round up to the nearest ¼ hour; (b) include travel time; (c) include time for tool pick up & drop off & clean up; and (d) if you walk your trail every day, report your time weekly.
SEARCH FOR NEW MEMBERS & TRAIL COVERAGE INFO
BCTC is looking for two new members. If you have recommendations, please let Liz or Mitch know. UPDATE: Liz received applications from and did orientation walk with 2 new members, Les and Claudette Parker. Still need a few more we will look at current LBC class next week when Mitch and Liz present.
New trail opening(s): Red Loop Trail to work alongside Pete
Floater Teams are now in place
If you will be gone for a week or more, let Mitch or Liz know so that a floater can cover your trail.
Floater Team Volunteers: Alan Moffatt, Bill Merrick, Ignacio Leon, Gary Romeo, Liz Scherer, Sheila Waldman, Mitch Waldman
QUESTIONS & COMMENTS
Alan Moffatt has several pieces of equipment he is able to loan out: Two chainsaws and a 27 foot pole saw.
Bob Kenyon is looking for volunteers to help with the hike with the boy scouts and girl scouts on February 23 at 2:00.