Friends of Santa Teresa Park Meeting, 4/5/18

 


    • Attendees: Mike Boulland, Kitty Monahan,  Jorge & Debbie Porras, Marilyn August, Ron Horii.
    • Bank balance: $2697.08.
    • Head ranger Matt Anderson retired. Mike made a plaque for him from FOSTP.
    • Mike filed the S100 form with the California Secretary of State for FOSTP.
    • Mike sent in the mid-year report for our Beautify San Jose grant.
    • National Night Out (NNO), August 7, 5:00 pm: We need to update flyers and posters from last year. We can hand-deliver the flyers to neighborhoods. We need neighborhood maps to divide up territories. We can post flyers in the Santa Teresa Library. We need to contact officials, police, and fire. At the last meeting, Kim said she could contact the fire department. [Maybe the search and rescue people who practice at the Pueblo Area can come.] The Santa Teresa Swim Club is also doing a NNO. We'll have popsicles and ice cream. Mike can bring carnival-type games from New Almaden. 
    • There is a competition with other National Night Outs. We just need to fill out some forms. Marilyn can help.
    • Robin Schaut wants to mix National Night Out with Fandango. Fandango has a different purpose from NNO. It's also been held on the weekend. NNO is always on the first Tuesday of the month. That may affect who is available to help out. We need to see if the Parks Dept. will pay for expenses. The dancers cost $300. Will there be a staff to help out? We can do the activities of Fandango if we get enough people to help out. (This is last year's Fandango.) Last year, we had butter-making, old-time toys and games, barn demos, ranch-house tours, cattle-roping and branding, and caricatures. Janice Frazier brought her horse. Lisa's Hot Dogs sold food. 4H had info and crafts tables and showed their animals. WERC brought wildlife. Elena Robles' folklorico dancers provided entertainment. FOSTP had tables and info, similar to what we had at NNO. The Open Space Authority couldn't make it last year due to schedule conflicts, but came in previous years. We could ask if they can come this year. Maybe the Boy Scouts can come and talk about their projects. 
    • We want to get shirts, T-shirts or polo shirts. Debbie knows a local vendor.
    • John Dorrance is retiring before June. We don't know who's taking over for him.
    • The Parks Dept. may require friends groups to be 501c3 non-profit organizations. It costs $800 to file. Mike says we have the money. Mike and Kitty will meet with Melissa Hippard and Julie Lee on Tuesday 4/17 at 10 am at the Muriel Wright Center to talk about it. 
    • Samaritan is the new software that the Parks Dept. is using to manage volunteers. Volunteers can look up volunteer opportunities and enter their hours into the system. Contact the volunteers office for information on how to get access.
    • We talked about having a memorial for Rick Leonard. Maybe a plaque in the barn. A bench is too expensive. Maybe we can plant a tree in his honor. They are planting trees at the Pueblo Area. Rick worked more around the Bernal Ranch, so it may be more appropriat to do something there.
    • We talked about doing a cleanup on Santa Teresa Blvd. near Tulare Hill at the north end of the Coyote Valley. We can't park along Santa Teresa. The closest parking is on Bayliss. We could park there and walk south along Santa Teresa picking up trash. We would need to coordinate with the city so they could pick up the trash after we collect it. Suggested time: Friday 5/11/18 at 9:00 am. This is rush hour northbound, so it's best to work on the west side of the road. Debbie will contact the city. Another possibility: Coastal Cleanup Day in September. If we do it on a weekend, we could get high school kids to help. We may be able to work with other groups who have done cleanups, like Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, which has done cleanups along Coyote Creek
    • The Parks and Recreation Commission voted on the Parks Strategic Plan. They approved sending it to the Board of Supervisors for final approval (June 5).
    • Ron showed pictures: Storm views from the Pueblo Area, wild pigs, wildflowers, our PixInParks Fortini/Stile Ranch Trail hike, Ron's Bernal Hill wildflower hike, grafitti at Santa Teresa Spring and cleanup, garden boxes at the Bernal Ranch, Muriel Wright Center construction, tree planting and ground cover in the Pueblo Area. 
    • We led a wildflower/history hike on 3/25 on the Fortini, Mine, and Stile Ranch Trails. About 18 people showed up, including helpers. Mike gave history talks. Several people portrayed historical characters. Mike was Andres Castillero. Greg was Jose Reyes Berryessa. Mike's neighbor Gina was Maria Zacarias Bernal Berryessa, Dorene Boulland was Clementine Fortini. Sam led the hike. Ron took pictures and pointed out wildflowers. Jesse Baptista from the Parks' Outdoor Recreation program came to help.
    • Ron taught his outdoor photography class on 3/31. The class was full (30 signups). About 13 people showed up. (It was Easter weekend.) Some people came late as they went to the wrong place. Ron gave a slideshow in the barn, then led a wildflower hike up the Joice Trail to the Bernal Hill Trail. The wildflowers were out, but they were not at their peak yet.
    • We are leading a hike up to Coyote Peak on 4/21 from 2-4pm, starting at the Pueblo Area. Here are reservations. Here's a flyer for it.
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       Created 3/20/18 by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park