Friends of Santa Teresa Park Meeting, 12/6/18

 


    • Attendees: Mike Boulland, Kitty Monahan Marilyn August, Kim Gardner, Sam Drake, Woody Collins, Steve Crockett, Greg & Roxanne Koopman, Gus Letona, Ron Horii, visiting Ranger John Maney.
    • Report from John Maney, Ranger at Hellyer, Santa Teresa, and Martial Cottle: 
      • There has been trespassing at the Curie (Pyzak) House. The doors and windows have been secured. The fence has fallen down in places. They want to to fix it. There is grafitti on the house and out-buildings. The grafitti needs to be painted over. They could use volunteer help. John will follow-up on providing paint and materials. 
      • The Ohlone Trail culvert above the golf course and south of the Nature Trail needs replacing. It keeps plugging up. They plan to get a permit to replace it in April-May. It's a 2-person project.
      • We talked about making an informational flyer and passing it out to neighbors around Santa Teresa Park near the Pyzak House and along Manila Drive so they know who to contact in case they see problems there. They could email acting senior ranger Lisa Pappanastos (Lisa.Pappanastos@PRK.SCCGOV.ORG), call the Hellyer ranger station at 408-225-0225, or call County Communications at 408-299-2311, which is monitored 24 hours/day.
      • Someone stole a fire extinguisher from an apartment complex and discharged it into Santa Teresa Spring. Park Maintenance cleaned it up. They also cut back the blackberry brambles in front of Santa Teresa Spring. There is still dirt that needs to be cleared away.
      • The Bonetti House and the Caretaker's House at the Bernal Ranch are park residences. Staff can live in them for 4 years. Vacancies have not been announced yet for new residents to move in.
      • The trails are closed to bikes and equestrians when it rains. If any are seen on the trails when they are closed, it should be reported right away.
      • If we want to have a park ranger present at our meetings, it would be better to start at 6:00. Sam wouldn't be able to make it that early. We could do it once a quarter. Rangers have later summer hours, so they could come later. Our March meeting could be early.
      • New park trail signs are coming in mid-January. They are replacing old signs. They have the same information. Ranger David Hamblin is replacing the signs.
      • There are new park maps being made. All trail junctions will have an ID number. When in trouble, call and give the number. (This is the new map for Santa Teresa Park.)
      • Senior Ranger Philip Hearin is retiring in April. He handles Almaden Quicksilver and Calero/Rancho San Vicente.
      • Vehicle and pedestrian counters are counting park visitor. Erick Perkins is collecting the data.
    • Ron signed up for the City of San Jose's anti-litter program for cleaning up along Santa Teresa Blvd., which is in San Jose. To get more information or to have someone from the program come talk to us, the contact number is 408-975-7181 or email annie.gambelin@sanjoseca.gov 
    • New trees have been planted in the Pueblo Area. They need watering. There is a volunteer opportunity to water them.
    • We can do speaker presentations for fundraising. We need a list of potential speakers. We may be able to do the talks in our meeting room in the Banquet Facility if we can't find a free venue elsewhere.
    • At our next event, we need a FOSTP tablecloth. We need a design. An 8' 1-color tablecloth costs $150. A full-color one costs $450.
    • Treasurer's report (Greg): we have $1865.83 in our account, with pending charges. Our San Jose Beautify Cycle 2 grant has been approved, but the check hasn't arrived yet. Checks have been written to Ron and Marilyn to compensate them for expenses.
    • The parks department wants friends groups to become partners. Partners raise money for the parks department. NAQCPA doesn't fit as a partner. The money goes to the general fund. 501c3's can raise funds for themselves. Mike and Steve are working on our 501c3 application.  NAQCPA, FOLAW, GBA, and Umunhum Conservancy are 501c3's. We should have Melissa Hippard come to talk to us about partnerships.
    • Ron showed pictures: the ofrenda in the Bernal Ranch barn, dirt bike demo day in the Pueblo Area, Raptor Migration event at the Bernal Ranch, construction at the Muriel Wright Center, views from the park on smokey days, Santa Teresa Spring, rescue crews training in the Pueblo Area, views of rainbows and clouds, views from Coyote Peak.
    • Future hike activities (not scheduled yet): Coyote Peak Hike, Ron's photo class/wildflower hike at the Bernal Ranch, Pre-Mother's Day hike on the Stile Ranch-Fortini-Mine Trails.
    • We will not have a regular meeting in January. We will have a potluck dinner at Mike's house on Thursday 1/10/19 at 5:30.
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       Created 1/4/19 by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park