San Juan Island Trails Committee
Minutes May 13, 2009
Present
James Blackmer, Peter Dawson, David Dehlendorf, Susan Dehlendorf, Louise Dustrude, Rick Exstrom, David Harsh, Liz Illg, Don Jarrell, David Jenkins, Jill Johnson, Loren Johnson, Glenn Kaufman, Dick Keefe, Mike Lazzari, Peter Morrison, Cinda Pierce, Howie Rosenfeld, Maria Small, Steve Ulvi, Brian Windrope, Chris Wolf, Leslie Veirs
Notices
- Trail Building Workshop May 29 and 30. All but two of the 30 spaces have been spoken for.
- Next steering committee meeting: Wednesday, June 3, at 4:00 pm at the library. All are invited.
- Next regular monthly meeting: Wednesday, June 10, at 5:00 pm in the community room at Whidbey Island Bank.
Volunteer Hours Since Last Meeting
| April Steering Committee |
7
|
| Today’s Meeting |
38
|
| Bike Sub-Committee |
10
|
| Work Parties |
0
|
| Roche Harbor Stewardship Group |
13
|
| Other Volunteer Hours |
81
|
| Total Hours |
149
|
Call to Order, Introductions, & Minutes
The regular meeting was called to order by Chair David Dehlendorf at 5:05 pm. All present introduced themselves. Minutes from the previous meeting on April 8, 2009 were approved as circulated by email and posted on our website.
Trail Tale
Peter Morrison provided a report on a visit by his hiking group to the San Juans. The group of 15, who have been hiking together for 25 years, hiked to Ships Peak on Turtleback Mountain on Orcas.
Nominees for officers for 2009/2010
It was noted that all officers’ terms expire on September 30. All present were asked to consider volunteering to serve and/or to nominate other candidates by contacting any member of the steering committee. Susan Dehlendorf offered to take minutes for May through September if no one else wants to in replacement of Sue Buettell when she is not available.
Treasurer’s Report
Rick Exstrom reported that only $442 has been spent to date this year out of our budget of $4,100. Upcoming expenses include materials and rentals associated with maintenance of the Airport Trail network and the upcoming Trails Workshop.
Trail Easements and Liability
Dick Keefe provided a clear and concise summary of the various ways property owners can allow access to their land, while protecting themselves from liability and avoiding any danger of adverse possession. These range from a verbal agreement, which may be hard to prove if there is any disagreement, through a revocable written agreement documenting rights and responsibilities, to a recorded easement which will appear on the property title. An easement conveys an ownership interest and requires a title search. For our trail easements the Land Bank will fund title searches and be the grantee on the trail easement document.
Trail Construction and Training
Steve Ulvi reported on planning for the 2-day trail construction and maintenance workshop which he, Doug McCutchen and Nick Teague will lead May 29 and 30. Steve will e-mail a syllabus to each participant. He handed out a “pre-work package” to those attendees present at today’s meeting. The same material will be mailed to those participants not present. The construction training phase of the workshop will take place at Limekiln Preserve on May 30.
Beach Court Pathway
Brian Windrope gave an update on the proposed Beach Court Pathway down the hill behind the community theater from the north end of Culver Ave. to McDonald Street, providing a way for pedestrians to avoid a dangerous walk on Tucker Avenue. The town will fund the work as a Centennial Project; many thanks to the Town Council, especially Liz Illg and Town Manager King Fitch. There will be a work party June 6, with 11 individuals at today’s meeting volunteering for this work party. Others interested in volunteering should contact David Dehlendorf at sjitrails@rockisland.com.
Bicycle Initiative
The next bicycle sub-committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 18 at 5 p.m. at Whidbey Island Bank.
Jackson’s Beach Trail
David Dehlendorf reported that a letter has been send to the Home Trust Design Team asking them to include in their plans an easement for a multi-use trail from Sunday Drive through the Buck property to Island Rec’s gravel pit property, where the trail will continue on to Jackson’s Beach. The Trails Committee will need to find funding for this project once details of the trail design have been determined.
The County is planning a nearby road connection between Turn Point Rd. and Pear Point Rd. Cinda will check with Rachel Dietzman of Public Works to determine the status of this project.
Public Works 6-Year Transportation Improvement Plan
Summaries of seven trail projects have been provided to Public Works for their use as they update the County’s 6-Year Transportation Improvement Plan. At his request, a list of these trails will also be provided to Howie Rosenfeld.
Update on Mar Vista
The Land Bank and the Preservation Trust are considering the possible purchase of this 40-acre former resort property on the southeast side of False Bay. As the asking price is high, a public fund raising campaign would probably be required. The property has endangered Yellow Paintbrush on it.
Cattle Point Road Trail
Cinda Pierce reported that three landowners along the trail are expected to sign easements as soon as the Land Bank completes “due diligence” on their title searches. Cinda has met with the Fairway Drive Owners Association to discuss possible use of their private road as part of the trail.
Valley Farm Trail
This is the new name for the proposed Pipeline Trail. Liz Illg reported that work has begun by Brown & Caldwell on the feasibility study of the replacement water transmission pipeline project. Phase 1 will be route selection and should be done by end of the summer. She suggested contacting Bob Anderson of Star Surveying as a source of information on progress.
Mitchell Hill
Howie Rosenfeld reported that the purchase of Mitchell Hill so it can be added to English Camp is in the President’s proposed 2010 budget.
Scenic Byways
Liz Illg reported that Governor Gregoire has signed into law the designation of the new San Juan Islands Scenic Byways, which includes several roads on San Juan Island. She also said that the corridor management plan study for the San Juan Islands Scenic Byways project will begin soon once the corresponding federal funds, which have already been approved in the current federal budget, are allocated by the State of Washington. The study will take at least a year to complete, including public meetings on our island to determine priorities for funding requests and implementation in subsequent stages of the project. Trails are one of the possibilities to be considered in the study.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Dehlendorf, Acting Secretary
