Friends of Santa Teresa Park Meeting, 2/1/07




  • Attendees: Mike Boulland, Ronald Horii, Kitty Monahan, Paul & Jenel Vincze,  Mario Blaum, Woody Collins, Holly Davis, Ed Jackson. Guests: Darcie Green representing Assemblyman Joe Coto, Ash Kalra from the San Jose Planning Commission
  • Trail news from Woody Collins:
    • Greg Bringelson wants to get an inventory of all trails in the parks, including soil types, grades, and potential problems. He wants to see which ones need regular maintenance.
    • There are plans to re-route the Stile Ranch Trail around an uphill portion that tends to get muddy. They also want to discourage shortcutting.
    • To eliminate the steep uphill on the Rocky Ridge Trail past the bridge, they want to eliminate the bridge by going deeper into Big Oak Valley and keep the trail higher up the hill.
    • The Nature Trail is a dead-end trail, which encourages illicit activities. They want to loop the Ohlone Trail into it and out of it. The trail will then run along both sides of the creek.
    • Greg measured the Norred  Trail. It's 0.8 miles. He was looking where to put up signs. They may build a retaining wall along it. The trail drops down steeply into the Mounted Ranger Unit because Don Rocha did not want to disturb the back of the valley.
    • There's a new trail watcher, Angelica. She will be working at Santa Teresa and Almaden Quicksilver.
  • We talked about having a dedication ceremony for the Norred Trail in June. First we need to see if the Parks dept. wants to have one, then we can help out.
  • Ash Kalra from the San Jose Planning Commission visited to hear our concerns. He met Mike at a meeting on preserving the Almaden Feed & Fuel building and property. The planning commission is made up of 7 commissioners appointed by the city council and serves as an advisory board on development issues. While they don't represent particular districts, Ash is the only one from district 2. He talked about issues such as the upcoming Coyote Valley Environmental Impact Report and the Hitachi site.
  • Darcie Green came, representing state Assemblyman Joe Coto. Joe Coto represents the 23rd district, which includes the east side, downtown, and Monterey Road corridor in San Jose. Darcie talked about bringing pending legislation issues to our attention, such as voter registration for high school students, affordable housing, and healthcare. Joe Coto's office can be a liaison with state agencies, such as the tax board.
  • Ron showed park pictures from December and January: the Norred Trail and the closure signs; Christmas decorations in the ranch house; construction of the water supply upgrades at the Bernal Road entrance for the Wright Center; the Ohlone Trail at the archery range, showing the grass coming back on the burned hills and the pig damage on the hillsides; trail closure signs around the Pueblo Area and on the Rocky Ridge Trail; the Hidden Springs Trail, which is in good shape except for a muddy spot at the start of the trail below the Wright Center; the Mine Trail starting by the corral at the Pueblo Area, which is still in good shape; and the creek crossing at the Mine Trail near the Rocky Ridge Trailhead.
  • Ron pointed out that there is a temporary trail closure sign at the gate to the Pueblo Area. The problem is that it's not clear whether it applies to one trail (the Pueblo Trail, which is next to the sign) or all the trails in park.
  • Mike said Ranger Julie Lee is re-evaluating the trail closures in the park, looking to close them only when needed.
  • They are closing volunteer trails. One of those is the trail from the creek crossing on the Fortini Trail, running along the creek, then heading up the hill to the Stile Ranch Trail. We thought this would be a good choice for an official trail.
  • There have been meetings on the master plan for the historic area around the Pyzak Ranch. Robin Schaut has been involved. We need to find out from the park's commission who will be in charge of the master plan.
  • Mike talked about the "Happy Trails" recreational program. The Stile Ranch Trail is part of that. Mike will take people on tours of the trail.
  • Mario reported that the trails are in good condition so far. We haven't had much rain. Maintenance has been very good at Santa Teresa and at Almaden Quicksilver.
  • Drew Merry's crew has been doing a good job maintaining the park. We need to thank him and his crew. Holly will draft a letter to Lisa Killough and Joe Schultz expressing our appreciation.
  • Paul said he'd like to see the end of the Norred Trail at the Mounted Ranger Unit come down the hill more gradually.
  • Paul talked about the service road that branches off the Ohlone Trail near the archery range. Right now it dead ends at an old building. He'd like to see a new trail built so it loops back down to the Ohlone Trail.
  • People have expressed interest in flying model gliders in Santa Teresa. An organization can get a special use permit to do so, but they need to have $1 million in liability insurance. (Note: SCCMAS used to fly in Santa Teresa Park until they had to stop. They moved to their current site on the Coyote Creek Trail.)
  • Fandango Day: if it's held again this year, Holly will be our lead person to help organize our participation.
  • Ron will be the lead to organize our participation in the Santa Teresa Community Fest in September.
  • Kitty talked about Adopt-a-Trail. Debra and Jorge Porras have adapted the Nature Trail.
  • Mike said that the scout troop led by Debra and Jorge Porras have done a lot of work for the park over the years and deserve recognition.
  • We talked about geocaching. Sam (who couldn't come) helped to make geocaching an officially approved activity in the county parks. There are now rules for geocaches. Ron updated our geocaching web page to include those rules.
  • Woody has been nominated for an award by the Association of County Parks. They give awards to volunteers. Woody is getting an award from the Santa Clara County Parks. It will be award on 2/9 at Coyote Point Recreation Area in San Mateo.
  • Holly said 4H has received a $100 from the County Parks. They are using it to pay their bills for the plants at the BGJ Ranch.
  • Mike passed out award nomination ballots (here are the award guidelines) for the Volunteer Recognition Dinner in April. It will be held at the Santa Teresa Golf Course Upper Banquet Facility on Thursday April 5 at 6:30 pm in place of our meeting. Volunteers should have received invitations. RSVP by Friday, March 23, to Irene Tsobanakis at (408) 355-2278 or e-mail irene.tsobanakis@prk.sccgov.org. (Contact her if you have been volunteering and haven't received an invitation.) Award nomination ballots are due on 3/9/07.
  • Volunteer Hours for December/January:
    • Ronald Horii: 21/22
    • Mike Boulland: 15/10
    • Holly Davis: 6/6
    • Kitty Monahan: 3/3
    • Paul Vincze: 20/15
    • Jenel Vincze: 5/5
    • Ed Jackson: 6/3
    • Mario Blaum: 12/12
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Created 2/2/07 by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park