Friends of Santa Teresa Park Meeting, 3/5/15

 


  • Attendees: Mike Boulland, Kitty Monahan, Ed Jackson, Sam Drake, Ellen Finch, Greg & Roxanne Koopman, and Ron Horii.
  • We didn't have meetings in January and February. December's meeting minutes were approved.
  • Treasurer's report (Greg Koopman): no outstanding bills. Balance: $725.75.
  • We need to spend $500 for our CAP Grant. We may need another project before the end of our CAP Grant. The grant money was released late, so the end date was extended.
  • We need to come up with another newsletter before our next big opportunity to distribute it, which would be Festival in the Park. That event will be held earlier this year (June 6, Carrie Grisenti is running it). Get articles to Ron in May, the earlier the better. Greg can write something about biking in the park. Roxanne can write about getting kids out to hike in the park. Kitty can write about the Parks for Life Challenge. Ed can write about the mustard field by Santa Teresa Spring. Ron or Mike can write about the Coyote Peak dedication event. We can list sponsors and even put copies of their business cards on a page. Sam can also write an article. Any articles are welcome.
  • There will be a Parks for Life Challenge picnic for winners this Sunday at the Casa Grande from 12-3.
  • Ron showed pictures. They include Santa at the Ranch, views of and from the hills on clear days, trail conditions including the Norred Trail, cattle fencing, waterfalls, Rocky Ridge Trail Day, wildflowers, volunteer open house, Bernal Ranch tours, Santa Teresa Spring, pig damage by the Ohlone Trail, the Johnson House at the Buck Norred Ranch, and a potential dirt bike track location by the Mine Trail below the Hidden Springs Trail junction.
  • Ed said that park maintenance cut down the mustard in the field in front of Santa Teresa Spring shortly after started blooming. He was told by Ranger Will that they are required to cut down the mustard when it exceeds a foot in height. They are worried about snakes, ticks, and vermin. Most of the neighbors like the way it looks and did not want it to be cut down so early. It's OK when they dry up. There used to be lots of rabbits in the area. After the mustard was cut down, the rabbits have gone, maybe picked off by hawks. If we have complaints about the mustard, we should talk to Phil Hearin, senior ranger for Santa Teresa. If he can't do anything about it because of park rules, we can go talk to the Parks Commission.
  • There was a Volunteers Orientation event last week. Kitty spoke about NAQCPA. Mike spoke about FOSTP.
  • Park staff is supposed to report back to the Park Commission on building the trail from the Pyzak Ranch to Santa Teresa Spring. The project was approved, but money to build it was not put in the capital budget for 2016. We can go to the next Park Commission meeting on Wednesday April 1 at 6:30 and speak on the issue. We can meet there instead of holding our regular meeting in April. Mike will get back to us on it.
  • We got the CAP Grant money. Mike got reimbursed for spending his own money on the Coyote Peak dedication.
  • For this year's project, we can do a scavenger hunt, along a trail, like the Norred Trail.
  • Sam said that on April 16 at 6:30, the Historic Heritage Commission will be meeting to discuss putting the Mt. Umunhum radar tower on the county's historic inventory.
  • Adopt-a-trail: we adopted the Norred Trail. It got very muddy after the rains. It needs to have gravel on it. Kitty will talk to Greg Bringelson. We might be able to request help from Americorps. The current crew is booked up, but we may be able to get help from future crews.
  • Ed said there has been a lot of activity at Santa Teresa Spring. High school kids were throwing turtles around. Rangers came. He said there have been break-ins on the street. Tires have been stolen. There's been graffiti on the canal by Bernal School. The same graffiti is by the golf course. Although park maintenance has been emptying the trash cans, there's still a lot of trash around the spring. We can talk to George Santiago, head of maintenance at Hellyer about maintenance concerns..
  • Roxanne met with Eric Goodrich at Martial Cottle about holding the Oak Grove School District's SLUG run at Martial Cottle. It was approved for May 2. The 5 km race will start and end at Del Roble School, which is just south of Martial Cottle. The race will use the park's trails, but not its facilities. 8 elementary schools are involved There were over 400 runners last year. They expect to get more this year. The event opens at 7 am. The race starts at 8 am. They expect to finish by 10 am. There will be lots of families there. We can have an information booth at the school. In exchange for getting permission to hold the race, the schools will put in 12 hours of volunteer time by helping to count trail users.
  • Ron is leading a hike at Coyote Ridge this Saturday at 9 am. Registration through the Open Space Authority is required. He is leading a hike at Rancho San Vicente on March 28 at 9:00. He will be teaching a photography class and leading a hike at Coyote Lake on May 9 at 10:00.
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    Created 3/5/15  by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park