Friends of Santa Teresa Park Zoom Meeting, 6/4/20

 

    • Attendees: Mike Boulland, Kitty Monahan, Kim Gardner, Steve Crockett, Greg & Roxanne Koopman, Gus Letona, Sam Drake, Ron Horii
    • This was an online Zoom videoconference meeting. The Santa Teresa Golf Course banquet facility and clubhouse are closed, and we are under a shelter-in-place order due to the coronavirus crisis, so we can't meet in person. (Restaurant alternatives are also closed.) Mike apologizes to those who were left off the email notification by mistake. We didn't meet in May because Mike's computer wasn't working.
    • All park events and volunteer activities are on hold. Park administration workers and interpreters are working from home. Park offices, museums, and visitor centers are closed. Rangers and maintenance are still working. Park trails and restrooms are open.
    • During our meeting, there was a fire in the Santa Teresa Hills. It was allegedly set by an arsonist. The Greystone neighborhood in the Almaden Valley was evacuated. Greg could see helicopters flying overhead. Mike and Kitty could hear planes from New Almaden. [Ron made a Facebook album of pictures of the aftermath of the fire.]
    • Mike talked about a new book by Jenny Clendenen that has just been published. It's called Mine: El Despojo de Marķa Zacarķas Bernal de Berreyesa. It tells the story of Maria Zacarias Bernal, whose father founded Rancho Santa Teresa. She married Jose de los Reyes Berryessa, who owned Rancho San Vicente, which included the New Almaden Mines. Mike took Jenny on a tour to Santa Teresa Park to show her a survey marker for Rancho San Vicente. We should invite Jenny to be a speaker.
    • Ron showed a slideshow. Since we didn't have a meeting in May, he showed pictures from April 1 to June 1. The pictures showed Santa Teresa Park conditions, news, wildflowers, and wildlife. [Here are the slideshows in Facebook albums: April, May (Facebook sign-in required)]. Some news highlights:
      • Kids broke into the Pyzak House on Curie Drive. They tore off boards from the windows and damaged the interior. The rangers caught some of them. Their parents will probably have to pay for the damage. The windows have been boarded up again.
      • Kids were using plywood stored in the old pavilion above the Norred Ranch to make skateboard ramps. Park Maintenance used those boards to cover up the Pyzak House windows.
      • COVID-19 signs about social distancing have been posted at trailheads and the park entrance on Bernal Road. 
      • Picnic tables and BBQs have been taped off. Drinking fountains are covered up. Restrooms are still open. Parking fees at the Pueblo Area (and in all County Parks) have been waived. 
      • The park has been busier since the shutdown. The small parking lot on Bernal Road near IBM has been full. Cars were parked on the road outside of the parking lot, which is illegal. Rangers put up signs saying there's no parking along the road, but parking in the Pueblo Area is free.
      • A huge oak tree fell down and blocked the Hidden Springs Trail. Rangers and Park Maintenance cut it up and cleared the trail.
      • The golf course and archery range were closed starting in March. Some golfers sneaked onto the golf course and were playing for free. Rangers chased them off when they saw them. 
      • The golf course and archery range reopened in May, with safety protocols. The golf course clubhouse and banquet facilty remain closed. [Here are the safety protocols for the Santa Teresa Golf Club. Here are the protocols for the archery range.]
      • The Air National Guard had 2 flyovers over Bay Area hospitals to salute health care workers and first responders. They flew F15C fighter planes over O'Connor Hospital. They flew a C130 cargo plane and rescue helicopters over Kaiser San Jose Hospital. Ron got pictures of the flyovers from the trails in Santa Teresa.
      • At Santa Teresa Spring, the interpretive sign by the spring, the fence rails, and the upper lamppost were covered with graffiti. Park maintenance cleaned off the sign and lamppost and sanded down the fence rails to remove the graffiti.
      • Ron took a park map and highlighted the wide trails, which are easier to practice social distancing on compared to the narrow single-track trails.
      • The Koopmans have been maintaining some of the garden boxes at the Bernal Ranch.
    • Greg talked about the budget. We have $2936.84 in our Wells Fargo account. There are checks outstanding, so the amount will go down when those checks are cashed. In Quickbooks, we have a balance of $1486. We got $2480 from the Beautify San Jose Cycle 3 Grant.  We have $1450.01 left from the grant. We have $516.34 not allocated or committed to the grant.
    • Mike filled an online application for our 501c3 incorporation. It cost $275.
    • Mike got a letter from Ken Podgorsek, head of UNSCC. He administers the Beautify SJ grant. Mike asked him some questions about the grant. He said the county is allowing group assemblies of up to 25 with rules. The new grant application, which usually comes out in May, has been delayed. The Cycle 4 grant might not happen or it may be reduced.
    • Mike paid for a yearly subscription to Zoom for our meetings. It costs $163.40/year. Ken said it was covered by the grant.
    • The group that organizes National Night Out events recommends delaying them to October 6. Normally, they would be held the first Tuesday in August, 8/4/20. If we have our NNO event on 10/6, that pushes it into the next grant cycle, so our current grant, which ends on 9/30/20, would not cover it. If there is no or a smaller Cycle 4 grant, we might not get enough money to pay for it, so it's hard to plan for it. The parks department isn't issuing any permits now, so there's no way to know when or even if we can hold it or any other event in the park. 
    • For any public event, including meetings, the major issue is safety. COVID-19 isn't going away anytime soon and probably not this year. We have to consider how to protect ourselves and guests.
    • Kelsi Ju, the park interpreter at the Bernal Ranch, who organized last year's La Fuente and other events, abruptly resigned earlier this year. She has not been replaced. All interpreters are working at home. All museums and visitor centers, including the Bernal Ranch buildings, are closed. It's unlikely there will be a La Fuente or similar events this year at the ranch.
    • We talked about having an event in the park, like a community BBQ, once shelter-in-place orders are lifted and the picnic and BBQs are open again. We don't know when that will be, so it's hard to plan for it. If we supply food, we'll need a health department permit. We could have a potluck.
    • We could do a small private picnic/BBQ event that wouldn't require permits, but it wouldn't be covered by the grant.
    • We could have guest speakers online using Zoom. 
    • We could shift some of our grant money from events to communications. We could print out flyers and newsletters. Without events and with the libraries closed, where would we pass them out? We could have a table in front of businesses, like Moonbeams, and pass them out. We could leave copies at businesses that reopen.
    • We need an updated flyer that talks about our organization and is not time-sensitive. We have a flyer, but it's old and needs updating. Sam has a design for the Umunhum Conservancy that we could use for ideas. His flyers cost 40 cents each for 2-sided color 5 years ago for 1000 copies on heavy paper. Kim said she'd help with the flyer.
    • Ron will edit the newsletter. Normally we would prepare a newsletter before a big event where we would distribute it. That has usually been Fandango or National Night Out. Since we don't have any events scheduled, we don't have a definite target date, except for the end of the grant period, Sept. 30. Some possible topics: the effects of SIP on the park, safety measures, park usage, wildflowers, an historical article, a review of Jenny Clendenen's book, our grant.
    • Mike wants to do a story on the Treaty of Santa Teresa. He has a copy of it, which is in Spanish.
    • We talked about spending money on branding. We could have more T-shirts made, but the grant only covers $15 per shirt, which must have our organization's name on it. If we sell the shirts to make up the difference, we may need a business license. Gus will look into T-shirt costs. Kim will look into other branding possibilities.
    • The Koopman family made a video of Santa Teresa Park. Greg took videos of the park. His daughter Vanessa edited the footage. Greg added text. This is the video. Ron will put a link to it on our website.
    • The Koopmans are tending the garden boxes at the Bernal Ranch. They have been pulling weeds and planting tomatoes.
    • Future project: get paint and have 4H (or Boy Scouts) paint the garden boxes.
    • The County Parks Commission has not been meeting during shutdown.
    • Julie Karnoff, who worked in the Volunteer Program office, left. They are looking for a replacement.
    • Our next meeting is July 2. It will probably be a Zoom meeting. Mike will send instructions out to the current email list. If anyone new wants to join in, they need to email Mike.
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       Created 6/4/20 by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park