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Minutes February 15, 2005
Attendees—Donna Bishop, Scott McNew, Bob Laport, Bob Golden, Robin Giss, Jennifer Groth, John Bragg, Reg Pullen, Tom Sill, Amelia Dexter, Jenny Webster, Mike Law, Don Luce January Minutes—The minutes were approved with one correction to reflect that OHV groups have not been involved in trail management on the North Spit Letter to Schools—The Coos Bay, North Bend, and Coquille School Districts have been sent a letter soliciting their help in the CRTP, and seeking journalism students to help with publicity and news releases. This letter will also be sent to the Bandon and Myrtle Point School Districts. Healthy Hiking Meeting—John, Miranda, and Reg met with Susie McDaniels and Brandy Mault from Bay Area Hospital to seek their support for the Healthy Hiking Initiative. The proposal was well-received, and the hospital will begin sponsoring the monthly hikes, beginning with the first one at Empire Lakes on February 26. They will assist with publicity, send fliers to all of the people on their mailing list, and provide incentive prizes such as blood pressure monitors and pedometers. Brandy will be the primary contact for the hospital. The only concern is if the hospital will provide blanket liability coverage for the events. Susie will contact their legal staff to see if this is possible. The Par-Q health screening questionnaire and consent form will be used to partially address the issue of liability. Miranda will check on the insurance coverage provided to Sole Pursuits by the Curry County Hospital. The CRTP will take care of all paperwork before the hikes, and collect addresses and e-mail addresses for all participants to build up a data base for publicity purposes. The CRTP will also provide staffing by people with First Aid and CPR cards, and epipen training as well. Hikes will be held monthly, with 12 already planned. Several women’s health groups will be contacted to garner support for the effort. Some discussion ensued about the first event, which will start at John Topits Park entrance at Hall Street. Don Luce will obtain copies of the Empire Lakes Trail Map, which will be handed out to all participants. Event fliers will be mailed to all the people on the CRTP mailing list. Mike Law will post fliers from Lakeside to Florence, Reg for Bandon, John Bragg for Coos Bay, Amelia for Ash Valley, and Bob Golden for Coquille. Fliers will also be posted at all of the entrance kiosks around Empire Lakes. Miranda will be interviewed by KCBY on February 22 about the event. News releases will be sent to all of the local papers by Jenny Webster, as well as regional radio stations. KCBY will do some filming during the hike. Bob Golden will lead the hike, with the assistance of Don Luce. Waterfront Trail—Jennifer Groth and Robin Giss presented a proposal for a bayside trail from Coos Bay to North Bend, and possibly from Eastside to Charleston. Jennifer, who has an extensive background as a grant writer, has talked to officials from both North Bend and Coos Bay about this idea. She is concerned that there are few opportunities in this areas for people to safely walk. She recognizes that the industrial sites along the proposed route can pose some problems, but suggested that energy tax credits might be available for companies that would allow the trail to cross their lands. Reg pointed out that some portions of the trail are already doable, including parts of the North Bend waterfront, CEDCO, the Coos County Historical Society parcel, and the Coos Bay Boardwalk. Robin suggested that the trail would not have to cross all of the industrial properties to be successful, and could actually be routed upslope in some places, allowing for viewing of more historic homes as well as the bay. This project would be a good way to bring the two communities together. The role of the CRTP will be to provide letters of support for the project, to lobby public officials, and to do some research on how best to complete the trail. Bob Golden suggested presenting the concept to the Coos Bay Park Commission at their monthly meeting on March 1. The CRTP will also provide support for a grant application to have an architect complete a trail design and conceptual model. A good model might be the Cottage Grove to Dorian rails-to-trails project. There was a general recognition that a bayside trail network may take many years to complete, and it will have to be done a piece at a time. New national trails legislation may help speed up the process. The CRTP and its umbrella organization OCEAN have 501 c(3) status, which is necessary to apply for grants. Jennifer will come back to the group with a more detailed proposal at some point in the near future. Another part of this project may be the revived Pony Slough Trail. Jan Willis, North Bend City Manager, plans to pursue completion of this trail with state bike trails funding. Ultimately, Pony Slough could be connected to the rest of the bayside trail system. Again, the CRTP could provide assistance with letters and lobbying. Winchester Creek Trail Maintenance—John will be attending an OCEAN meeting at 3 PM on Thursday to update them on the administration of grants obtained for trail maintenance at Winchester Creek. Now that the South Coast Trail Riders have decided not to assist any more, some way needs to be found to take care of this trail. Mike Law, State Parks ATV Coordinator, has encouraged the Coos County Trail Riders Association, led by Scott McNew, to continue with the work. A meeting has been set up with the County Commissioners by Larry Robison and Bob Laport to discuss the future of Winchester Creek and how future grants are obtained and used. It is clear that in the future grants cannot be used to pay members of ATV groups to do maintenance. Grants can, however, be used to pay organizations like the Northwest Youth Corps. Timber sales and culvert removals this summer will result in major modifications to the Winchester Creek trail system. The Coos County Trail Riders and South Coast Single Track Mountain Bikers have expressed an interest in helping to design reroutes and bypasses. There is a lot of interest by horse, ATV, and mountain biking organizations to keep the Winchester Creek trail system alive. Volunteer time provided by these groups can serve as a great match for future grants. A lot of discussion ensued about how grants are obtained and administered. Bob Laport intends to carefully examine the last grant that the South Coast Trail Riders got from the State ATV fund. The Coos County Trail Riders Association needs to be in place for three years before they can apply for, obtain, and administer state grants. However, another established group, like a horseback club, could serve in this capacity as well. The message that needs to be sent to everyone is that volunteers cannot be paid to do trail maintenance through grants, only outside companies like the Northwest Youth Corps. Competitive bidding is not always necessary, but a legitimate contractor not a part of the group obtaining the grant has to be used. Mike Law made it clear that the CRTP will not be held accountable by the state for possible violations that have occurred because of this misunderstanding. One possible way to avoid future difficulties is to have an MOU with the County. A Request For Proposals has been sent out by the Tillamook State Forest to develop a guidebook for trail bridge designs, including load limits for horses and motorized and non-motorized activity. The goal is to have a simple bridge design that is more universal. The anonymous $1300 donation for Winchester trail maintenance might be used to purchase materials to construct bridges. The spirit of cooperation between horseback, ATV, and mountain biking groups is encouraging and will help ensure the continued existence of the Winchester Creek Trail. Emergency grants may be available in April from the State ATV fund. Typically, Operations and Maintenance grants are available in January, and law enforcement grants are issued in April, but exceptions can be made in the case of an emergency. Law considers the loss of the South Coast Trail Riders to be such a situation. If an April grant is obtained, it will have to be spent by June 30, 2006. It may also be possible to use the anonymous donation/grant as a match for an ATV grant. |