Friends of Santa Teresa Park Meeting, 5/5/11
- Attendees: Mario Blaum, Ed Jackson, Sam Drake, Mike Boulland, Woody Collins, Kitty Monahan, Maureen Kluska, Rick Mandel, Ron Horii. Visiting: ranger Ryan Lugo, Deputy Sheriff Cindy Bush.
- Balance: $396.62
- We had 1800 volunteer hours last year, 256 hours this year so far.
- Mike spent $55 on color ink to print up flyers.
- Ron showed pictures: the volunteers dinner, the wildflower walk at Santa Teresa led by Rangers Gina Ellis and Carolyn Tucker, flowers on the Stile Ranch Trail and Bernal Hill, and our wildflower presentation and crafts at the Santa Teresa Library.
- Ranger Ryan Lugo:
- He's been on morning patrol,
but is now on nights.
- Ranger Gina Ellis has left to go traveling. They are looking for a replacement. They may hire seasonal employees.
- Seasonal rangers will fill-in
as needed. They rotate shifts from 7 am to 10 pm. They stay on until
the end of August to the start of September.
- CalFire will do training and testing at Santa Teresa this month around the Pueblo Area. They won't be doing burning. They will be laying hoses.
- There will be controlled burns
at Grant and Mt. Madonna.
- People were cited recently for
being in the park after hours.
- Ryan talked about their patrol schedules.
- The upper light at Santa Teresa Spring works, but the lower one does not.
- The number to call to report incidents in the park is 299-2311.
- The graffiti system project
for the County Parks is on hold. However, they are uploading pictures
to San Jose's graffiti system.
- Ed said that he saw someone riding a motorcycle in the park. He saw a family come to the spring to go fishing. A car was broken into on Manila Drive in the owner's driveway.
- Maureen says she sees a yellow VW bug frequently parked at the park.
- Cattle grazing is being planned for Santa Teresa Park. It is years away. Money has been allocated for Phase 1 in July 2012. Fences have been put up at Calero for grazing, but there are no cattle yet.
- Maureen said she saw surveyors taking measurements of the ground for the old barn.
- Cindy Bush has been with
Sheriff's Department for 12 years. She has been assigned to patrol the
County Parks for 2 years. The sheriff's deputies cover all the
County Parks on day and swingshift. 2-3 are on the early shift.
3-4 are on the later shift. They work 4 days a week for 10 hours a day.
They are paid from the Parks Fund, so they are not affected by cuts in
the Sheriff's Department.
- All houses in Santa Teresa Park
are set aside as residences for Maintenance personnel.
- The fence replacement on Curie Drive near San Ignacio is on hold. Drew Merry has been working on it.
- Long-time trail crew member Brian Shively has left to work at West Valley College. Friday was his last day.
- Mike talked about working with the California Pioneers to digitally archive our records. He has old pictures and movies.
- Mike talked about the speaker series at the Santa Teresa Library. We gave a wildflower crafts activity and slideshow presentation at the library. Kids came in and made 4-5 different types of cards for Mother's Day.
- Next, Basim Jaber will give a presentation at the library on Thursday June 16 from 6-8 pm. He will give a slideshow presentation on the Almaden Air Force Station at Mt. Umunhum.
- Robin Schaut approved the sign on top of Coyote Peak. She needs to put it in the budget for 2011-2012. We need the final pictures.
- We need to work on our next
newsletter, target for Festival in the Park on June 25. Possible
articles: Mike on Coyote Peak, Maureen on the library, Ron on
photography, Mario on trails.
- Mike got an e-mail inviting us
to come tour Gilroy Hot Springs. The tour takes about 3 hours. We can
have a picnic and soak in metal tubs filled with water from the hot
springs. It costs $20 per person or $100 per group. If we get 20
people, it will only be $5 each. Ron will check the schedules and
propose some dates.
The Pre-Mother's Day Hike will be on Saturday May 7. Sam is
responsible for the hike. Kitty is leading the event. Mike and Ron have
to leave to appeal the CAP Grant. At 9:15, we'll begin the setup at the
Stile Ranch trailhead. Dorene will bring the refreshments. Maureen,
Dot, and Robbie will handle the crafts tables. They will have
wildflower cards, lavender bouquets, and poppy crafts. Maureen will
sign up members. There will be a sign-in table with wildflower books.
Kitty will handle the registration. They will hand out flyers from the
Quicksilver Wildflower Scavenger Hunt, a wild bird identification hunt,
a geology hunt. All presentations will be at the trailhead. Maureen can
portray Mrs. Berryessa, reading a script. Mike wants to recognize the
volunteers and sponsors. - Our CAP Grant was denied. We must appeal it. Mike and
Ron wrote an appeal letter. They will make an appeal presentation on
Saturday morning May 7. We can talk about how we benefit the community,
how we get kids outdoors, get people acquainted with the trails, make
neighbors aware the park is there, generate a sense of community, and
get families together to explore the park.
- Kitty says we should make up a budget and not apply for the
CAP Grant. If we don't get a CAP Grant this year, we'll worry about it
this year. If we do get the CAP Grant, we can wait until next year
decide if we want to apply for a CAP Grant, though it may not be funded
next year.
- Festival in the Park is coming up at Hellyer on June 25. There will be 2 booths provided for all of the Friends groups. We can provide materials for the booth. The friends groups include us, NAQCPA, Grant, Harvey Bear, Mt. Madonna, Ed Levin, Penitencia, the Archery Range, and Coyote Creek Disk Golf.
- Woody said there is a new invasive plant called whitetop or hoary cress by the stables. It looks like a small yarrow.
- Woody led a small group which removed teasels.
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