|
- Attendees:
Mike Boulland, Kitty Monahan, Jorge & Debbie Porras,
Greg & Roxanne Koopman, Ron Horii, Sam Drake, Lisa Amato, Lisa Dearborn.
- Mike
talked about volunteer hours. He figured out we have put in 1106 hours
of volunteer time for our organization (outside of other County Parks
volunteer hours). In order for your volunteer hours to count, you need
to be registered as a volunteer with the County Parks. There's an existing
online system for reporting volunteer hours. There will be a new reporting
system, but it's not ready for us to use yet. We need to modify our sign-in form for our
volunteer hours to indicate if you post your hours online so we don't
double-count them.
- Jorge made 24 glasses etched with the FOSTP logo. We used about 10. Some were given away at National Night Out as raffle prizes.
- Ron showed pictures of National Night Out, Fandango, and our field trip to the John Muir Historic Site and the Martinez Adobe. He also showed pictures of the Archery Range class, the broken statue and fence on Coyote Peak, wildlife and summer flowers on the Stile Ranch Trail, Micro-Monster Night posters at the Bernal Ranch, amaryllis at the Bernal Ranch, oak leaf galls, eclipse viewing at the Bernal Ranch, conditions on the Norred Trail, views from the Joice, Bernal Hill, and Vista Loop Trails, and grafitti on the Pyzak Ranch
buildings.
- Treasurer's report (Greg): our bank balance is
$1397.15. We got $107 in deposits, mostly from donations during
National Night Out.
- CAP
Grant Cycle 30 closed 8/31. The final report is due 9/30. We were
awarded $1150. We spent about $1158. The amount over-spent is
considered a match. We will reimburse people for expenses.
- The CAP Grant program has been merged with the San Jose Beautify
program. $300K in grant money is available. The grant application is
due on 9/21/17. The award will be announced on 10/13/17. The grant
period is 10/14/17 to 9/30/18. On 8/24, Ron and Mike attended a class
about the grant, held at the Hank Lopez Community Center. We will apply
for the grant again, based on our current grant. We need to ask for
more money for community event publications, meeting/event
refreshments, cleanup materials, and National Night Out supplies.
Should we request funding for more events? We may want to do a spring
cleanup event, but we'll have to plan it.
- We had our first National Night Out
on 8/1 at the Bernal Ranch. Over 100 people stopped by, but many didn't
know about our event until they got there. We were not allowed to post
flyers on fence posts and trees. One of the neighbors complained about
a poster on a tree. Flyers and
signs were posted on the mapboard, the side of the restroom at the
Bernal Ranch, and the fence at the Pyzak Ranch. Passing out flyers in
the neighborhood helped. The event was posted on Next Door, where a lot
of people found out about it. We had a good attendance of families. The
kids liked the crafts. Debbie and Jorge ran the crafts table, where
kids colored in journals and got patches. We had a sponge and a beanbag
toss game for kids. Ron had displays on his park photography.
Steve Crockett helped with parking. The sheriff's deputies talked
to people and let kids sit in the patrol car. A fire truck showed
up later in the event. A big crowd went to see it. Councilmember Sergio
Jimenez, who had been going to many NNO that night, stopped by to talk
to people. He even helped give away the raffle's grand prize, which was
a County Parks' backback. It was hot that afternoon. Marilyn August ran
our popsicle and ice cream booth and passed them out to visitors. We bought them at Costco and
put them on dry ice in coolers. The popsicles ran out first. We had
left over ice cream bars. We could only give away packaged and wrapped
items. Per Health Department regulations, we had to have a canopy,
tarp, and hand wash station at our ice cream booth. Only Marilyn could
work there. She had to wear gloves. We passed out newsletter and
collected donations at our table, which Kim staffed. Ranger Justin
Everts had a table for the parks. He passed out flying rings and
whistles to kids and answered questions about the parks. Mike thanked
all the people and organizations that helped out. Next Year, Fandango
may be merged with National Night Out.
- Family Fandango
was held on 8/5 at the Bernal Ranch. The banner advertising it was
posted on the restroom, not on the corner. John Dorrance organized it,
with help from Bridgett Orcutt. We had our table there, staffed by
Roxanne and Sam, and passed out our newsletter. Our model of Rancho
Santa Teresa attracted attention and questions. Mike helped with a
top-spinning game. Dorene helped with a butter-making activity. Kitty
helped with Janice Frazier's horse. Jenel organized Sunset 4H's
displays. Ron had his pictures on display.
- We should look into getting contributions from sponsors. We could put ads on our website.
- Curie Drive/Santa Teresa Historic Site
- For
several years, we have been trying to solve the problem of the
narrowing of Curie Drive between San Ignacio and the Bear Tree Lot.
It's a hazard, especially for bicyclists and for kids going to Bernal
School along Curie. The Santa Teresa Historic Site Plan calls for
widening the road, but the plan is on hold due to lack of funds to
implement the whole project. We have been looking to see if the County
Parks can just widen the road and implement the rest of the project
later. Here's a history of our recent meetings on the subject:
- On 5/30/17, Mike and Ron met with Bernal
School Principal Jamal Splain. He was concerned about the safety of
kids coming to school and would like to see the road improved. He also
said there is an Hispanic Club at the school that has been visiting the
Bernal Ranch to learn about their heritage. He asked if we could make a
presentation to them.
- On 6/2/17, Ron, Mike, and Greg met with
Councilmember Sergio Jimenez and his legislative advisor Helen Chapman.
We took them on a tour of the Santa Teresa Historic Site and showed
them our concerns about safety issues on Curie Drive. We also talked to
Jamal Splain.
- On 6/15/17, Ron and Mike went to County Parks headquarters and
met with Director Robb Courtney, Construction Services Manager Mark
Frederick, Deputy Director Don Rocha, and Principal Planner Anne
Thomson. We talked about widening Curie Drive, but the issue is a state
law restricting the county's ability to turn park land over to the city.
- On
8/2/17, Mike, Kitty, and Ron met with Councilmember Sergio Jimenez at
City Hall, along with Helen Chapman and Robb Courtney. The Deputy
Director of San Jose's Department of Transportation and Terry Medina
from Real Estate Services were also there. We talked about the
city-county issues and options.
- We discussed the options in our
meeting. The majority of our members want to see the road widened,
rather than just having an internal trail built.
- A
large home has been proposed for a 17-acre property above Manresa
Court, next to the Santa Teresa Park's Archery Range and above the
Coyote Valley. On 6/22/17, there was a community meeting about it at
the Los Paseos Community Center, which Ron attended. Attendees were
concerned about the visual impact to the community and the impact to
the environment. The decision on the development is in the hands of the
planning commission and can be appealed to the city council.
- Another
large residence has been proposed for Scenic Vista Court, which
overlooks the Santa Teresa area above Lean Ave. There was a
meeting about the house on 6/29/17 at the Blossom Valley Bible Church.
Ron attended the meeting.
It's in an existing subdivision that was approved in 1989. It is part
of the 160-acre Gustavson Property. As part of the deal to develop part
of the property, 153 acres were set aside as private open space and
cannot be developed. There is one more lot that can still be developed.
East of the subdivision is open space. This is in the County, so the
County Planning Department has jurisdiction over it. The Santa Teresa
Foothills Neighborhood Association is working on this issue.
- The
Muriel Wright Center was built to be a correctional facility for girls.
It's owned by the County. About a decade ago, the facility was closed,
and the residents were moved to the James Ranch. In 2013, the County
Parks Volunteers Office moved in. Early last year, they were told they
have to move out to make room for the County's Mental Health Program.
It will be used to treat non-violent offenders who have drug,
alcohol, or mental health issues. This will not be a locked facility.
There is a petition in the neighborhood to stop this from happening.
Neighbors are afraid of the type of people this will bring into the
community and will be free to wander about, including into Santa Teresa
Park. We can sponsor a community meeting and invite the County Mental
Health Department to answer questions. We can also ask John Gibbs to
represent Supervisor Mike Wasserman. He is also on the County Parks
Commission, so he can represent the parks. We can't do it at our
October meeting. It will be November at the earliest. We need to look
for a venue if our meeting room isn't big enough.
- Jorge talked about having a Halloween party for kids next year.
- Ron will be teaching a photography class at the Bernal Ranch on Saturday 9/30/17 at 11 am. He will also be giving a nature photography presentation at the Open Space Authority headquarters on 33 Las Colinas Ave. on Friday 9/22/17 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.
Return to the Friends of Santa Teresa Park
Home Page
|
|
