Friends of Santa Teresa Park Zoom Meeting, 2/2/23

 

    • Attendees: Members: Mike Boulland, Kim Gardner, Sam Drake, Greg Koopman, Joan Murphy, Ron Horii. 
    • This was an online Zoom videoconference meeting. Mike sent out a meeting link for this Zoom meeting. We didn't have a meeting in December. We had a recognition dinner instead. We planned to have a meeting on January 5, but Mike could not host it because of a power failure in his neighborhood.
    • Ken Podgorsek, head of UNSCC, passed away in December. We worked with him for many years. UNSCC provided our meeting and event insurance. Ken helped and supported us in getting our grants.
    • We cancelled our work day on 1/6/23 because we couldn't have a meeting before then to plan it. We will have a work day on 2/3/23. It will be indoors, cleaning up the west barn, so rain will not be a problem. We have new banners that we can post promoting our event and FOSTP during our work days. We need to recruit more members during our events.
    • Ron read the minutes from our November 3, 2022 meeting.
    • Mike ordered heat branding stamps from Jim Besau, with our logo on it. Jim made 250 wooden keychains that we can give out during events.
    • Greg is turning over the position of treasurer to Steve Crockett. Ron will be a co-signer for checks.
    • We want to put a plaque somewhere in the park to honor Kitty.
    • Ron showed a slideshow, starting from last November:
      • On 11/3/22, the stock pond on the Hidden Springs Trail was totally dry.
      • On 11/4/22, we had a work day at the Bernal Ranch, with 4 FOSTP members and 2 visiting volunteers. We cleaned out the drain above the retaining wall at the Bernal Ranch.
      • On 11/6/22, Mike led a tour for a large Meetup group. He took them through the barn, to Santa Teresa Spring, along the new trail to the Bear Tree, and to the end of the trail. Joan and Ron helped.
      • On 11/13/22, Trailhead Cyclery held their annual Bike Demo Day in the Pueblo Area. Attendees could rent any bike or multiple bikes and ride them around the park for one price. They had a variety of bikes of different types from different manufacturers.
      • On 12/1/22, instead of our regular meeting, we had a member's recogition dinner at Mike's house.
      • On 12/2/22, we had a work day at Santa Teresa Spring, with 4 FOSTP members and 2 visitors. We worked on repairing the water bars on the ramp to the spring. We also cut weeds below the canal near the spring and pulled weeds around the garden boxes.
      • On 12/17/22, as part of the Neighborhood Naturalists series, park interpreters gave a program on wildlife, which included a slideshow in the barn, an activity with animals skulls outside the barn, and a hike to the Norred Trail.
      • On 12/18/22, the Norred and Joice Trail junction was a little damp after recent rains, but was still in good shape.
      • On 12/27/22, after some rain, the waterfall in upper Laurel Canyon was flowing. There was a creek flowing past the sycamore trees that were planted in the Pueblo Area.
      • On 12/28/22, There was smoke visible from the park  It was an agricultural burn in the hills near Field Sports Park.
      • On 1/5/23, Bernal Road at Heaton Moor was flooded. There was a breech in the drain along the golf course that spilled water onto the street. It was repaired. The water came from the drain along Bernal Road, which gets water from the Coyote-Alamitos Canal. The canal is fed from runoff from hills and golf course and the waterfalls in Laurel Canyon. 
      • On 1/8/23, seen from Coyote Peak, there was a lot of water in the Coyote Valley and the Coyote-Alamitos Canal. Ron showed pictures of the Gschwend Property from the Boundary Trail (see below).
      • On 1/14/23, there was a lot of water in the drain next to the Caretaker's House at the Bernal Ranch. There were waterfalls in it. Water was flowing out of the Norred Ranch. The creek next to the Norred House was flowing. The bottom of the Mine Trail was muddy. There was water flowing in the drain by Bernal Road, the canal, and the Upper Laurel Canyon falls. Creeks were flowing past the sycamore trees in the Pueblo Area, giving them plenty of water. The creek flowing across the Mine Trail near the start of the Rocky Ridge Trail had so much water, it was hard to cross.
      • On 1/16/23, there was a rainbow over the Pueblo Area.
      • On 1/17/23, the creek next to the Hidden Springs Trail leading to Coyote Peak was full of water. The stock pond was full and overflowing, filling the creek. Views from the Boundary Trail and Coyote Peak showed lots of water all over the Coyote Valley. Laguna Seca was full. There was water covering the field at the corner of Bailey and Santa Teresa. There was snow on Mt. Hamilton.
      • On 1/24/23, there were deep ruts in the path to Santa Teresa Spring. There's a lot of water flowing in the spring, into the pond, and overflowing into the drain. There was water in the drains and field below the pond and the canal. There was a domestic rabbit running around loose below the spring.
      • On 1/27/23, the trails were still closed to bikes and equestrians. The Norred Trail had 2 very wet and muddy spots at its start and a short distance beyond.  Bikes have made ruts in the mud. The Joice Trail was deeply eroded and muddy in many places. Higher up on the hill, it was dry. There was water flowingi n the creek next to the trail. A drainage channel has been dug around the Caretaker's House.
      • On 1/28/23, there were lots of weeds growing around the Bernal Barn and in the garden boxes. 
      • On 1/30/23, water was still flowing past the sycamore trees in the Pueblo Area. There were deep erosion ruts on the Mine Trail, but less water was flowing in the creek crossing by the Rocky Ridge Trail. There were lots of muddy spots and erosion along the Mine, Rocky Ridge, Fortini and Pueblo Trails
    • We need to submit our activities calendar to the Volunteer Office. Currently on the list are:
      • ST Historic Area weed/invasive removal.
      • Care for existing historic gardens at Bernal Ranch.
      • Grafitti removal and clean-up at Santa Teresa Park.
      • Brushing on Norred and Ohlone Trails.
      • Public classes for Outdoor Rec. Program.
      • National Night Out Event Planning for 2023.
    • Greg will continue to work on advocating pedestrian safety at the entrances of the new trail along Curie Drive.
    • Ron submitted a proposal for us to host a pre-Mother's Day hike on the Stile Ranch-Mine-Fortini Trail loop on May 13. It is being reviewed by park staff.
    • National Night Out is on August 1. We can only do it if we get the Beautify SJ Grant. La Fuente is being moved to a different month, so there won't be a conflict, like last year. Kim can help organize the event. Greg and Roxanne will be doing their own NNO event.
    • We need a fundraiser, where we can ask for donations. We could have a guest speaker at a talk at one of our meetings. We could ask Mike Cox to do a talk on geology.
    • Jaclyn Caldwell, who was an interpreter at the Casa Grande, is now a ranger at the Black Diamond Mines in Pittsburgh. We could ask her to give us a tour in April. It is open Saturdays and Sundays year-round. Group tours are 15 people max. We could do a tour with the NAQCPA board.
    • Carolyn Schimandle is asking for help hosting the visitor centers. Youngmee will be helping at the Bernal Ranch.
    • PG&E will be grading the Joice and Bernal Hill Trails, as well as the service roads leading to their towers.
    • Treasurer's report:  We have $1,348.82 in our Wells Fargo account. There are $937.33 in outstanding checks. If the bank balance falls too low (<$500-$1000), there will be a $10/month charge. If we get the BSJ Grant, we'll add $1500 to our account. There may be a shortfall in-between.
    • Park Commission meeting 2/1/23: 
      • The Interpretive Team is hosting the County's first UC Climate Stewards certification course starting February 14. It will be a 12-week service learning program. It will include a service project monitoring the native tree plantings in Santa Teresa County Park.
      • Senior Park Maintenance Worker Jason Gormon was recognized for his work with volunteers and landscapring projects, like planting the sycamores in Santa Teresa.
      • Planning will be started for the trail in the newly-acquired 47-acre property on Fortini Road to connect Rancho San Vicente and Santa Teresa Park. 
      • The Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency purchased the 17-acre Gschwend Property in the hills between Tulare Hill and Santa Teresa Park, above the Laguna Seca Community Garden. It has been identified as a critical wildlife corridor. The owner had planned to build a 5,900 sq. ft. house there, but it was opposed by environmental groups and the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, so approval of the plan was delayed, and the owners agreed to sell the property. The board approved the acquisition of a floating easement over the property to allow a future trail access between Santa Teresa County Park and property on Tulare Hill, purchased by County Parks.
    • The Beautify San Jose Grant program has been affected by UNSCC Executive Director Ken Podgorsek's death. He was the financial agent for the program. The decision on whether we get this year's grant has been delayed. The due date for the final report for last year's grant has been delayed to 2/14/23.
    • Mike ordered 20 T-shirts with the FOSTP logo for $300.
    • We talked about what we could do if we don't get the BSJ grant for this year. We would not be able to put on National Night Out, but we can volunteer to help out with park events, like La Fuente. We need insurance for our own events, but not for participating in events that some other party initiates. We could go to other events that let us be there for free, like the 4th of July celebration at Almaden Lake. To continue hosting meetings on Zoom costs $99. If we go back to meeting in-person, we need meeting insurance, which costs $200. It would be cheaper to keep meeting on Zoom. We could publish our newsletter online only and not print it, which would save printing costs. We still need to pay for a PO Box, which costs $74. If we don't have money to pay for our website, Ron could host it on his website, but it would not be able to keep the same domain name.
    • Interpreter Rob McDonnell is presenting a program at Martial Cottle's visitor center on Saturday 2/11/23 from 4:00-4:45 pm, called "The Stupendous Women of Santa Clara's Ranches."  It will be about the lives of several women who lived on the valley's ranches, including Rancho Santa Teresa and the Cottle Ranch.
    Return to the Friends of Santa Teresa Park Home Page

       Created 2/8/23 by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park
    Funding provided by a Beautify San Jose Grant