Here are the April meeting minutes. If you see anything that you think needs correcting let me know.
Valley Mountain Bikers Meeting Minutes, Tuesday April 26, 2011
The April meeting was held at Hello Burrito in Bethlehem. In attendance were:
Lori Pinkerton
Doug Pinkerton
Heidi Unger
Robin Rufe
Scott Stortz
Jon Roth
Don Kelly
Pat Spadt
Donna Spadt
Greg Horwath
Rich Butz
Mark Bowman
Eric Rigler
After a short “social hour” with delicious burrito dinner and BYO Cornas (thanks Greg!), the meeting came to order at 7:56 PM. This meeting was held wit the new format.
Announcements:
Jason is kicking butt on the local race scene, and Warren s also doing well, taking first in a recent race. Good work guys!
Donna announced that she made it over “the log” at Sals.
Committees: Scott talked about downsizing the committee structure. He said that membership and grants committees would likely be necessary in the future, and also a South Mountain Emmaus committee, but we had too many committees in the past, and nothing got done. Committees will be back again someday, but for now we’re going with a bare-bones organization. The plan is to do what we can do, and do it well rather than try to do everything.
Volunteers: In terms of volunteers, Scott pointed out that we didn’t have much response except for Bill K, and some help from Bob R and Jen with membership. Jason had been taking care of the “Destination Rides” punch list, but may have to back off as his racing season heats up. Don pointed out that we have actually had several destination rides scheduled, but they were all rained out.
501(c)3: Greg reported that the application has been revised and resubmitted, and we’re waiting for comments from Heather H (Matt’s wife) to be incorporated.
Monthly Trailwork Days: This format did not work out as well as hoped, so from now on the trailwork days will be scheduled by the trail committees.
TRAIL REPORTS
Nockamixon: Jon said that they are seeking approval for the two final loops. Much rock armoring has been done, but there is still a lot of armoring left to do. The trails have been set up to avoid water/mud issues as much as possible, but the unusually wet winter and spring has taken its toll. Approximately 15 places along the trail still need to be armored; moving available rock to the appropriate location is the main issue. More riders are riding there, which helps establish the trails.
The question was asked: is Nox still on schedule for completion by Fall 2011? Jon said yes, and the trails should be ready by the scheduled Trail Day.
Other projects in the works include kiosks, which are currently being made (from local cedar), and expansion of the Tower Road parking lot, which is a long-term project. Maps were also mentioned.
Jon reported that he was at a Bucks County Trails Meeting, where planners were pitching trail systems but were unaware that trails were already in place.
Are we authorized to move rocks? (Yes.) What kind of equipment do we want to use to do this? (Kenny probably has a plan.)
Greg recommended finishing the armoring before applying for more trail approval.
Mark asked: what happened to the trail sabotage? Jon said it was a one-time thing; it took days to fix but it hasn’t happened again. The biggest issue right now is equestrians poaching the trails.
The Nockamixon trail crew is there every Sunday at 10:00 AM if anyone wants to come out and help.
Trexler Game Preserve:
Scott reports that negative issues there have been addressed, and things are going better, vegetation issues have been handled. It’s time for people to start riding there, especially since riding kills the stiltgrass that can otherwise take over the trail. There are currently a total of 5-6 miles of finished trail, with a possible 20 miles of total trails to be built eventually.
Walking Purchase Park (Sals):
Many trailwork days have been scheduled, including the April 30th trash cleanup day with the town, and an upcoming rock armoring project on May 7th.
The rock armoring will be done on the Red Trail east of the “Upper Upper Spanky,” between the junction of Red and Blue (Boulder Bypass), and Constitution Drive, as well as some other places. We may have a mechanize wheelbarrow to move the rocks.
Mark asked: What about bypassing the trouble spot, since armoring is a lot of work?
Doug replied that the trail committee thought about it, but that trail would be hard to close.
We still need to close the bootleg trail near Reeb Millwork and the Dialysis Center, and it seems to be actively used again. Doug noted that we are stuck with a more formal trail-design process with the township now, but this formal relationship also gives us authority close these kinds of rogue trails.
Several people reported that John R was riding at Sals and saw someone illegally dumping trash from a pickup truck. He managed to get a look at the dumper and note his truck’s license plate, called the cops, and the guy was nailed. (Greg reported that the dumper was forced to clean up his mess.) All this news was received to unanimous acclaim.
There was a Salisbury township meeting the night of the VMB meeting (4/26), to discuss the comprehensive town plan, which would include plans for Walking Purchase Park, the “western frontier,” and connections to the Greenway, among other things. Eric R was attending – several members proposed that we buy him a beer.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
Greg reported that we have [a boatload of money] in the bank. Some noted that we still had VMB-logo socks, and after much high finance we decided to sell them at $10 a pair.
EVENTS:
Sat 4/30 Sals Cleanup Day, where we may also deal with cleaning out the hobo camp.
Sat 4/30 Skills Clinic Rain Date at Nockamixon. Conflicting dates were noted, and Scott volunteered to see if the conflict could be resolved.
Sat 5/7 Sals Rock Armoring trailwork day.
Fri 5/20 – Sun 5/22 Dirt Rag’s Dirt Fest at Raystown Lake. If you’re going and you plan to camp, make sure you register as a VMB member. The more campers we have the better camping spot we’ll get.
Sat 6/4 Trexler Open House. We have not been mentioned in any ads from the Trexler 100th Anniversary Group. What we’ll probably do is provide guided hikes/rides of the new trails, and if we have enough volunteers we’ll probably have a food stand (with donations accepted).
ERIC’S REPORT:
Eric returned from the Salisbury Township meeting with the following report: there were two people from Wildlands Conservancy and two from the Urban Research And Development Corporation, and their basic message was “we have to preserve open land.” Their pitch was apparently well received.
There was talk of open space, as well as possible Greenway connections to Sals, and a possible connection to Western Sals. This is all part of a major upgrade to their zoning laws, but it also involved talk of tourism, and restaurants, and a desire to create an identity for Salisbury Township.
Someone (at our meeting) asked about the proposed drug and alcohol rehab center near the jail, and Eric replied that problems with zoning may stop this.
There are now Comment Sheets available at the Salisbury Township Municipal Building, for the duration of a public comment period.
NEW BUSINESS AND ISSUES:
Rich is in the process of scheduling a trip to Kingdom Trails in Vermont, and is looking to book the place we stayed years ago. Mark also suggested the Lynn-Burke Hotel, where he has stayed, and which also gives out free trail passes. The tentative, approximate date for this trip will be around July 9th.
The general consensus of the group was that club funds could be used for the deposit on trips like this, and that the organizer gets comped.
Doug will plan and organize a North Carolina (Pisgah/Asheville) trip.
Dirt Fest: there is still room in the cabin, and Kris K still has room in his camper. Woodlands Campground id the place to be.
SME Trail Committee: Mark asked the question: why was the South Mountain (Emmaus) Trail Committee closed down? Mark is the trail volunteer coordinator with Wildlands Conservancy; general trail maintenance is his bailiwick (he needs approval for new trails). He coorinates several groups, VMB among them.
Doug thought that it seemed like things at SME were stagnant, and Don mentioned that maybe the impression was because the club hadn’t heard much from the committee. Mark pointed out that the trails at Emmaus are mature and do not need much actual construction like newer areas, and that he had actually given a trail report at the December meeting.
The motion was put: should there be a South Mountain (Emmaus) Trails Committee? It was seconded and carried unanimously.
In other Emmaus news, Mark reported that the Wildlands Conservancy recently acquired another 40 acres, but plans for this new land were on indefinite hold.
Don’t Feed The Trolls: Mark brought up a recent incident on the Club forums, where a new member’s post was misconstrued, and the site administrator posted a message (since taken down) calling the new member a “troll.” Mark felt that this was inapropiate, and especially so coming from a club official. The general consensus was that it was not appropriate, but that it was an honest mistake, and quickly corrected, and there was no need for further action.
THE END
The meeting was adjourned some hour or so after it started.