Friends of Santa Teresa Park Meeting, 11/1/07




  • Attendees: Mike Boulland, Ronald Horii, Kitty Monahan, Paul Vincze, Mario Blaum, Holly Davis, Ed Jackson, Lynne Paulson
  • Mike went to the STFNA meeting on October 25 and talked about the master plan for Santa Teresa Park and asked for their support..
  • At the STFNA meeting, the neighbors talked about the park and trails and complained about all the closure signs that have been put up on the volunteer trails in the park.
  • Paul said the orange fencing blocking the shortcut between the Rocky Ridge Trail and the Mine Trail is ugly and ought to be replaced. Making this a real trail would require a bridge and approval by the DFG.
  • The old bridges are gradually being replaced by new ones.
  • The van tour for Ash Kalra and others is on hold for now. Mike will re-schedule.
  • Ron showed pictures of the Martial Cottle Ranch, the Volunteers BBQ at Vasona, Tarantula Night at the BGJ Ranch, and pictures of Coyote Peak.
  • Mike said he wants to get the city to provide support for programs to make the Santa Teresa Historic area a destination.
  • Mike led a ghost tour, with help from Sam and Mario. It raised funds for the Kiwanis scholarships. 55 people came. They had a big tour bus. Mike showed a video of ghost stories during the tour. They saw 3 ghost houses, a ghost school, and 3 burial grounds.
  • Upcoming presentations by Mike: St. Timothy's Super Seniors - Jan. 24, 2008; Santa Teresa Golden Gems - Jan. 2, 2008; Los Paseos Elementary School - Jan. 9, 2008.
  • Mike got invited to IBM's Almaden Research Center to give a history talk. They want him to tell stories at an IBM campout with kids.
  • There are some new hand-carved wooden animal habitat signs by the IBM Harry Road entrance.
  • We discussed having the new master plan mention having a friends group for the park. The Almaden Quicksilver master plan does not specifically mention having a friends group, but Don Whedon, the county planner for Quicksilver Park, recommended establishing a friends group.
  • Antoinette is handling the master plan for Santa Teresa Park. The first meeting was held with the consultants who are working on the design. They were presented with concepts and will come back with ideas, which will be reviewed.
  • Jane Mark is working on the planning for the Martial Cottle Ranch.
  • We have adopted the Norred Trail. Adopt-a-Trail crews do vegetation trimming along trails. There is a form to fill out when work is performed. People can go out and patrol the trails individually, but when we see a need for a major project, we can schedule a group event.
  • We need to plan our calendar for 2008.
    • Trails days for 2008: 1/5/08 on the Stile Ranch Trail, 5/3/08 on the Fortini Trail.
    • Ron can do another photo class and tour. He'll have to clear it with Kathleen Hooper. Possible date: 4/5/08.
    • April 12: we can have a trail work day on the Norred Trail and a picnic, or we can do it after Ron's photo tour.
    • June 12: possible date for a geocaching tour of the park.
  • There will be a holiday hike on 12/28 in Almaden Quicksilver on the Wood Road Trail.
  • Treasurer's report, Holly: our portion of the lawyer's fee for preparing the 501c3 is $108.33. We will have $125.11 left after paying the bill.
  • Brush removal at Santa Teresa Spring: Drew Merry's crew cleared the brush and mulched it.
  • The Almaden CDF fire department will pick up brush.
  • The Healthy Trail program has started. There is a booklet and application form online. Participants take 5 trails, send in a logsheet, and receive a scarf. The rangers, Kitty, and other volunteers selected the trails.
  • Holly on 4H: The Coyote Grange had a talk by the PLF on eminent domain issues. There was a Halloween dance for kids. There will be new projects: reptiles and knitting. The county horse project will use Calero's rental horses to teach kids horseback riding. The rabbit project will use the barn. Jenel has been planting bulbs at the BGJ Ranch.
  • We talked about putting a plaque on top of Coyote Peak. Robin Schaut can pay for the plaque out of the interpretive budget. We can help design it.
  • The 501c3 application is ready to go. We have the by-laws and the application form. We need to back and look a the balance sheets for the past 5 years. We need $500 to apply. We can apply for a CAP grant for the funds.
  • We talked about the CAP Grant. Last year, the form was released on November 20 and was due Jan 12. We will ask for money to cover the UNSCC membership fee, the 501c3 grant fee, other operating expenses, and expenses for events. (See here for the CAP Grant Plan.)
  • The UNSCC conference is November 17. (Here is a description of the workshops.) Lynne and Ron may go.
  • Sam talked about geocaching. There were 24 geocachers who cleaned up at Uvas Reservoir. There is an informal program starting at Alum Rock Park on who to call for cache issues. The Bay Area Ridge Trail has asked for help reporting on signage problems and needs. Geocachers have bene working with commissioners of other park agencies on geocaching rules.
  • Mario said the trails are dry and look good so far.
  • The Fire Safety Council has a presentation with pictures from the last Santa Teresa fire. They want to come talk to the community about fire preparedness. We can schedule them for the March meeting.
  • The January 3, 2008 meeting will be a potluck at Mike's house.
  • History San Jose will have a Heritage Holiday event on December 1. They want groups to come out. Mike and Art Boudreault will be there giving a presentation.
  • Lynne Paulson talked about the issues the STFNA is addressing. The city is having a consultant do another engineering study done on the feasibility of the Coyote-Alamitos Canal Trail. They may do a ridge trail route along the Santa Teresa Hills. There is a proposed development at the end of Miracle Mountain Drive. The owner died. There is no buyer yet. There is a trail easement at the top of the property on the ridge.
  • Upcoming event: Sunday, December 15, Santa at the Ranch, Santa Teresa County Park’s Historic Bernal Ranch  1-4pm
    Join Santa in the parlor of the historic Bernal Ranch house.  Bring a camera and step back with your family into Santa Clara County’s historic past.  The ranch is located at the corner of Camino Verde & Manila Dr. in San Jose, near Santa Teresa Hospital.  Call (408) 226-5453 for information.
  • Volunteer Hours and activities since our September meeting:
    • Ronald Horii: 40 hours, FOSTP meeting, park photography, slideshows, trails, Pioneer Day, FOSTP & Almaden websites
    • Mike Boulland: 60 hours, FOSTP meeting, presentations, trails
    • Kitty Monahan: 2 hours, FOSTP meeting
    • Paul Vincze: 15 hours, FOSTP meeting, trail watch
    • Mario Blaum: 12 hours, FOSTP meeting, trails, ghost tour
    • Ed Jackson: 5 hours, FOSTP meeting, watching Santa Teresa Spring
    • Sam Drake: 8 hours, FOSTP meeting, trails, geocaching liaison
    • Holly Davis: 12 hours, FOSTP meeting, 4H
    • Lynne Paulson: 4 hours, FOSTP meeting, trails
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Created 11/06/07 by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park