Friends of Santa Teresa Park Meeting, 10/6/05

  • Attendees: Mike Boulland, Ronald Horii, Sam Drake, Kitty Monahan, Paul Vincze, Ed Jackson, Holly Davis
  • Sam set up a Yahoo group so we can post messages and have people communicate with us. It's at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FoSTP/ We can see messages, meeting notices, can send automatic notices. We can put files, pictures, or documents on it. People have to be invited to join. Sam sent out invitations to everyone. You must respond to become a member. Anyone can find or read a message, but only members can reply to them. You can request to join the group. A moderator must approve it. So far, Sam and Mike are moderators. Sam is also the owner.
  • Paul suggested setting up a Paypal account on our website to collect donations. We need to become a 5013c in order to accept tax-deductible donations. Mike said we're working on it.
  • We heard that there will be a public meeting on 10/19/05 at 6:30-8:00 pm at the Santa Teresa Golf Course Upper Clubhouse (same place as out FOSTP meetings) to discuss the proposed trail between the BGJ Ranch and the Buck Norred Ranch. It will also cover the Brockenhurst entry. The parks department will send a meeting notice to discuss the issues. Some issues we talked about:
    • Will bicycles and horses be allowed on the new trail?
    • Will the proposed parking lot at the Pyzak Ranch across from Bernal School be used for school parking?
  • We talked about opening up the gate at the BGJ Ranch to public parking. There may be issues about not having enough room in the lot to turn around, or the rangers having to wait for late park users to leave before closing the gate a night. While the ranch house and grounds are wheelchair-accessible, with the gate locked, handicapped people can't get in (unless they call ahead). We suggested having the resident caretaker or the ranger who locks up the Pueblo area lock up the gate at night.
  • Phil Kearns has been answering calls on problems at the springs.
  • There were some kids skateboarding down the Joice Trail. Ed warned them it wasn't allowed. They kept skateboarding. One fell down and hurt his wrist.
  • The park trails look good now, but the areas near the Pueblo that get muddy in the winter should be fixed. 
  • The retaining wall at the springs has some loose bricks that should be secured.
  • The BGJ ranch house was pressure-washed last week.
  • Pooper-scooper dispensers should be installed at the BGJ Ranch.
  • No new trail events have been scheduled. Greg Bringelson is in charge of trail maintenance, but he is not in charge of getting volunteers. Eric Goodrich has been taking over for Heidi who is on maternity leave until January.
  • We propose a workday at the BGJ Ranch on Nov. 5. We can help fix the wall at the springs and work on the landscaping.
  • We talked about R/C gliders at the Pueblo area. Technically they are not allowed. We talked about this in our May meeting.
  • We talked about access to the pond at the golf course. It was closed to the public when the golf course expanded. They don't want people going to the pond. They are afraid of them being hit by golf balls. The master plan said that the pond was a teenage hangout and someone drowned in it.
  • There was a controlled burn at the Pueblo Area. The grass in the center has been burned. 
  • Garnetta Annable is chairperson for the Yes on Parks Committee, which wants to put the renewal of the County Park Charter on the ballot for next June. She sent out an information sheet and petition form. Garnetta is a director of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority.
  • Cynthia wants to have tule elk in Santa Teresa Park. Tule elk were put in Grant Ranch, which is much bigger than Santa Teresa, but they were unable to compete for forage with the resident animals and disappeared. Santa Teresa may not be big enough to sustain them, and they may invade the neighborhood looking for food.
  • Cynthia complained about the semi truck parked at the Mounted Ranger Unit. It belongs to the camp host who works for a concrete company. He parks it there one day of the week. If he didn't park it there, he would have to park it in Fremont and drive there to work. He can't park it on the street because it is loaded, and the load might get stolen.
  • Kitty said the Bay Area Ridge Trail is looking at a route through Santa Teresa Park to get to the Ridge Trail at Coyote Creek. They are looking at the Ohlone Trail. We talked about routes along the Coyote-Alamitos Canal. The city of San Jose has been looking into this. They said that there was not enough room for a bridge from the end of the Coyote-Alamitos Canal to the Coyote Creek Trail. It has to bridge over the railroad tracks and Monterey Highway. The new Bailey Avenue overpass will provide access from Santa Teresa Blvd. to the Coyote Creek Trail. The Ridge Trail is multi-use, so any trail route would have to be accessible to hikers and bikes.
  • There was a Tarantula Night at the BGJ Ranch on Oct. 1. There will be a movie night on Oct. 29, showing Young Frankenstein.
  • Ron Horii taught a photography class at the BGJ Ranch on 9/17/05. He put the information from the presentation on a Website: http://www.geocities.com/rhorii/Outdoor_Photography.html.
  • Ron showed pictures of the park: an event at the Pueblo Groups site with lots of young people, the view of the dry hills from Coyote Peak, deer on Bernal Road, the burned grass at the Pueblo Area, and algae-covering the pond at Santa Teresa Spring. He also showed pictures from the Santa Teresa Community Fest and the Guadalupe River Trail Dedication.
  • Ron updated his Web page on geocaching in Santa Teresa Park. At the last count, there were 36 cache listings in the park, though some are multis with several stages.
  • Volunteer Hours:
    • Ronald Horii: 50
    • Mike Boulland: 10
    • Kitty Monahan:  3
    • Sam Drake:  8
    • Paul Vincze: 20
    • Ed Jackson: 3
    • Holly Davis: 10
Return to the Friends of Santa Teresa Park Home Page

Created 10/6/05 by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park