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San Juan Island Trails Committee Minutes April 9, 2008 PRESENT: Steve Alexander, Jody Burns, Sam Connery, Peter Dederich, Cathy Degnan, Harry Dickinson, Eileen Drath, Louise Dustrude, Alice Hurd, Don Jarrell, Mike Lazzari, Stan Matthews, Louisa Nishitani, Cinda Pierce, Mark Pierce, Tracy Roberson, Howie Rosenfeld, Leslie Veirs. NOTICES: EVERYONE WELCOME: Tues. April 22 Sat. April 26, 1-3pm Wed. April 30 through Friday, May 2 Tues. May 6, 4pm Wed. May 14, 5-6:30pm VOLUNTEER HOURS THIS MONTH: The regular meeting of the San Juan Island Trails Committee was called to order at 5pm by chair Don Jarrell. Minutes from the previous meeting were approved as circulated by email. Tracy Roberson spoke about progress in considering bicycle use on San Juan Island roads and reported that she and Don Jarrell have met. It will be necessary to have goals and a plan if bike pathways people are to be attracted. A goal is a 3 mile radius around town with three major roads designated: Roche Harbor Road, Beaverton Valley Road and San Juan Valley Road. Tracy’s goals are to have actual trails, and the shoulder of a road shall not be considered a trail. Some existing trails make potential bike routes. If it becomes possible to cycle to town, then the problems arise within the town center. Convenience is necessary and easements need to be addressed. Future tasks include getting maps, talking to property owners to identify possibilities, and linking existing and planned trails. The timing is good for county and state and federal interest. A program called “Complete Streets” and the Safe Routes to Schools project and the ferry system are all interested in this topic. Leslie Veirs reported on the Transportation Summit to be held September 17, 2008 in Friday Harbor, 10am to 5pm. Safe Routes to School representative Liz McNett Crowl is busy that day and unable to staff a booth to represent Safe Routes to School. More work will be done to procure a representative from that project who can be present in a booth and also to find adults with school-aged students who are interested in this program. Leslie is taking leadership in this project and is helped by Eileen Drath, Jody Metzger, and Tracy Roberson, with advice from Liz Illg. A discussion was held concerning road shoulders vs. trails for bicycle use. County Council representative Howie Rosenfeld was present and explained that in the future the County will require bike trails on minimum 4-foot road shoulders, depending on the amount of shoulder available on the road. Connected to this topic is the April 22 joint meeting of the County Council and the Town Council at noon when the proposed Pipeline Trail along San Juan Valley Road will be on the agenda. There is only a 30ft. right of way along this road, but replacing the pipeline and repaving the road present a one-time opportunity to place a trail on top of the pipe. People are urged to attend the meeting in support of the trail. The communications committee has had three meetings with Stan Matthews who was present to report. That committee supports the integration of bikes and horses. It is important that in reaching out to new people we don’t neglect our base of support. We could classify the trails on our website as to what one may expect on individual trails (bird watching, good jogging, whale watching, wheelchair accessibility, etc.), and the website could tell of upcoming events, such as seasonal highlights and volunteer opportunities. Communication and negotiation are key . David Dehlendorf and Don Jarrell spoke with Island Rec and offered the message that we will use all of our allotted money from Island Rec, our parent organization, starting next year. We receive $4,500 annually from Island Rec. Island Rec is sponsoring an “Over 60” walking program now, working through the Mullis Senior Center. Don Jarrell and Louise Dustrude have taken an interest in this and they suggest working with the Friday Walkers, headed by Nancy Wight. Jody Burns reported no changes in the Carter Fields Trail around the future ball fields being built by Don Galt. There was discussion of a draft letter from Cinda and Mark Pierce to neighbors along Cattle Point Road asking for their support of the proposed 6.5-mile trail from Friday Harbor to American Camp. Peter Dederich, Superintendent of the National Park, raised a question about the projected number of users, saying there could be more than the 1500 a year anticipated in the letter. After discussion it was felt that a 2-year trial period is a safeguard for landowners to see how much usage there is. Alice Hurd spoke about the Scenic Byways Conference on April 30, May 1 and 2. She will attend and the Trails Committee will provide her registration fee of $90.00. Alice also reminded the committee that June 7, 2008 is National Trails Day. Do we want to have an activity? Do we want to combine something with Orcas Pathways? After discussion, Alice agreed to invite Orcas Pathways to join us on San Juan Island for a walk on June 1; they hosted us last year on a walk on Turtleback. Alice will pursue this and return with a plan. The Executive Committee and Succession Plan for the Trails Committee was reviewed by Alice Hurd. The election of new officers will take place in the fall (Sept. election and Oct. 1 start a new year with new officers). People are urged to volunteer for these jobs with the built-in idea that the vice-chair will move up each year to the position of chair. A report of the Roche Harbor Trail was given by Harry Dickinson. All basic trail systems are now completed with their connectors and nature trails. Everyone living within the Roche Harbor Water System received a written document from manager Brent Snow rescinding permission for any use of off-road vehicles on the trails. All posts are installed (22 were put in during the latest work party), and 90 per cent of them are now signed. The finalized trail maps are nearly ready to go into production. Still to do are the raised walkways over the wetlands. There was talk of a celebration when the Roche Harbor trails are complete. It is an awesome accomplishment and an example of organizations and individuals working in partnership! Louise Dustrude said she had written the Land Bank (personally, not for the Trails Committee) in support of horseback use of Turtleback Mountain and encouraged others to write the Land Bank if they agreed. The meeting was adjourned at 5:40pm. Respectfully submitted by Eileen Drath and others. |
