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- This
was an online Zoom videoconference meeting. Mike sent out a meeting
link for this Zoom meeting.
- Attendees: Mike
Boulland, Ron
Horii, David Huntley, Kim Gardner.
- We
are going to have a work day tomorrow 2/6/26 at 9:00 at the Bernal
Ranch. After our work day, we'll have lunch for volunteers. We'll order
pizza from Bossman's Pizza on Capitol Expressway. Dorene will pick it
up on her way to the ranch.
- Katrina Semene, Extra Help Park Interpreter, sent a note with updates about the deparement:
- There
are 2 new park interpreters: Amanda “Mandy” McGuire and Casey Chalmers.
Mandy will be working at Martial Cottle and helping at Rancho Santa
Teresa on the weekends. Casey will be working at Anderson and
Chitactac-Adams.
- School Programs started this past week. School
programs at the Bernal Ranch will be held every Friday from 10:00am –
11:30am, from March 6th to May 29th.
- There was a Parks & Recreation Commission meeting on 2/4/26. It was on Zoom. (This is the agenda. This is the agenda packet.)
- The Unused Structures Inventory Project Report was presented. There are recommendations for which properties are historically
significant and worth saving and which are not and should be left alone
or removed.
It evaluated several structures in Santa Teresa Park: the Door House,
the Fortini Ranch, the Jacoba Bernal Fisher/Pyzak House, and the
Bernal-Johnson-Norred Ranch, totalling 13 historic properties. Ron posted a note on our Facebook page, showing which pages of the report apply to Santa Teresa Park.
- Ron showed pictures:
- 2/2/26:
There was graffiti on one of the benches in the Pueblo Area, at the
Hidden Springs Trailhead. The adjacent bencch had a piece broken off of
it.
- 2/6/26: FOSTP work day at the Bernal Ranch. 3 new
volunteers helped. The volunteers cleaned up the yard and weeded around
the ranch house. They swept the flagstone path, cleared the drain above
the retaining wall, raked up leaves, pulled weeds, chopped grass, and
worked on the garden boxes.
- 2/12/26: turkey vultures were eating a dead deer by the junction of the Hidden Springs and Ridge Trails.
- 2/19/26:
After heavy rains, there was water running down the trails and in the
seasonal creeks of the Pueblo Area. The fence at the parking lot on
Bernal Road was down, maybe being rebuilt. The graffiti on the bench in
the Pueblo Area has been cleaned off (by Ron). The upper waterfall in
Laurel Canyon was not visible due to tree growth.
- 2/20/26: There was water in the serpentine seep on the Stile Ranch Trail. Poppies are starting to bloom.
- 2/22/26:
Hike to Coyote Peak: There was snow on the Mt. Hamilton Ridge. Poppies
are starting to bloom above the Hidden Springs Trail. The stock pond is
full and overflowing. Laguna Seca in the Coyote Valley has water in it.
Firefighter students were training in the Pueblo Area.
- 2/28/26:
Conditions around Santa Teresa Spring, the Bear Tree Lot, and the Pyzak
Ranch. Grass is growing high. The grass needs to be cut before we can
cleanup. Mud is still flowing at Santa Teresa Spring. We should wait
until the dry season before working there.
- 3/4/26:
Conditions around the Bernal Ranch house. Grass and weeds are growing
all over the place. There were volunteers from Hope Services raking up
leaves by the ranch house.
- Beautify San Jose Grant:
- We got awarded the Beautify San Jose Cycle 8 grant. We uploaded the requested documents.
- We
asked for $1500 for Cycle 8 and were granted $1330. We don't know which
of our requested budget items was denied, but we asked for $170 for
Zoom. If we don't get approved for Zoom, we can do it for free by
getting 2 40-minute sessions and alternating between the two, but it's
clumsy. David said there may be other free alternatives.
- The Beautify San Jose Cycle 8 Grant goes into effect on April 1, but last year, we didn't get the check until June.
- David is starting to fill out the final report for our Cycle 7 grant so it will ready on time.
- Cycle
7, like previous grants, require matching contributions, either in
cash, in-kind donations, or volunteer hours. We have lots of volunteer
hours, so it's no problem meeting the requirements. It's not clear whether Cycle 8 requires it. The documentation for Cycle 8 doesn't mention it.
- Cycle
7 ends on March 31. We have until then to spend the rest of the grant,
or we have to return the balance. If we don't spend it, we'll have to
return $404.
- David asked Tai at UNSCC if becoming a 501(c)(3)
non-profit would affect our grant status. Tai said that there's no
segregation of organizations based on whether or not they are a
501(c)(3). This is different from what Ken Podgorsek, the late director
of UNSCC, used to say. Ron pointed out that 501(c)(3) typically need to
get Directors and Officers insurance, which can be several hundred
dollars, and the grant does not cover it. (NAQCPA, which is a 501(c)(3)
gets D&O insurance.)
- Treasurer's report (David): We
have $717.75 left in our account. We spent $823.80. We will spend $420.
We did not spend $167.94 that was allocated to newsletters.
- 4/25/26
is the County Parks Volunteer Recognition party at Hellyer from 12-3.
Volunteers who are in the Samaritan system should have received
invitations.
- Our "Mothers and Flowers" hike has been approved.
It will be on May 9, 2026 from 9-12 at the Stile Ranch entrance. Mike
and Ron will be leading it.
Go to the Friends of Santa Teresa Park
Home Page
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