GREENBELT COMMITTEE MINUTES
Sunday, June 4, 2006  

 The Greenbelt Committee held its first meeting of 2006 in the Ponderosa Office at 9:00AM.  (We met in the office because it was raining.) PRESENT:  Bobbie Lambert, Judy Toenyan, Gina Wilkins,  Lorelie Olson, Pam Nicklas and Mary Bunney CHAIRMAN:  Bobbie advised that she agreed to be Chair of the Greenbelt Committee while she was here this Summer, but that we still needed a permanent Chairperson.  Judy suggested that maybe we could have a Co-Chair.  Everyone thought that sounded like a good idea. 

BUDGET:  Bobbie stated that we have $150 for trails.  We still have some trail signs from last year, but we will need to buy some metal posts and hardware to hang the signs.Pool garden- $250 (some already spent for bark).  Chipper $2,000, herbacide for powerline $3,400

 MEETING DATES:    It was decided that we would generally meet on the 1^st and 3^rd Saturdays from 8:30 to 11:30 AM.  If needed, we would have a little meeting from 8:30 to 9:00AM, then work on the project scheduled for that day.  Bobbie will post the location of where we are working that day on the bulletin board that is outside the office door in case people come to work after 8:30AM.  It was decided that for the month of June our next scheduled work day would be June 24^th instead of June 17^th because June 17^th is Father’s Day.  However, we will have a short update meeting at 9:00AM at the Clubhouse on June 17.  We would also like to put an announcement of where we are working on the Ponderosa Reader Board.  The following is the list of dates when we plan to work at this time:             June 24, July 1, July 15, (possibly July 29), Aug. 5, Aug 12. 

PROJECTS: It was decided that members of the Ponderosa can call any of the local committee members for suggested “mini” projects. 

1)      Lupine Trail:  needs some cleaning up, bark placement and logs placed along the trail to mark the trail.  Judy will contact the Ombudsman to have her write a letter to two residents who have placed the debris from their fallen trees in the greenbelt area

.2)      Bluebell Trail:  is in very good shape, just needs some more bark, some relocating of the trail where it got lost due to the “water project” and a new sign for the new access off Saddle Street.   Lorelie and Tim Olson have been working on this project for quite a while.

3)      Aster and Balsamroot Trails:  Judy advised that the trail are not as bad as they look (due to the logging last Winter), but the little bridge needs to be repaired and two signs need to be put back up.  Judy will talk to Jim Lawson regarding the loggers’ cleanup work.  Gina and Dean Wilkins and Pam and Dick Nicklas will survey the bridge to determine what it will take to repair it.

4)      Pool Garden:  Lorelie will be putting in some new plantings.  The caretakers weeded the garden.

5)      Pine Drop Trail:  Pam reported that it was fine, but that she will trim back any places where it has become overgrown

.6)      Mock Orange Trail:  Lorelie reported it is still under water.

7)      Pool Beach Picnic Area:  Bobbie reported that is a nice area next to her cabin and that it will be maintained by the caretakers.  She also advised that she does not want a fence

.8)      Beach Access Off Saddle Street:  Pam reported that it was fine and Bobbie did not believe we needed to take this on as a project.

9)      Fire Department Flag Pole:  Mary reported that she had volunteered to clean up and plant around the Fire Department Flag Pole.

10)  Baseball Field:  Gina reported that there is quite a bit of knapweed on the ball field.  Pam will check with WSU and others on the knapweed bugs

11)  Bonneville Power Lines Area Cleanup:  Bobbie gave the pros and cons of taking on the maintenance of this area.  Judy will check with Jim Lawson on the status of the maintenance contract with Bonneville Power.

12)  Fire Safe Zone Cleanup:  Bobbie will check with Fire Chief Bruce Merighi on this.  Mary, Bobbie, Bruce Merighi, Mike Bunney,  and Austin walked the fire safe zone area on Sunday afternoon.  There are lots of small (up to 10 feet tall) trees that need to be cut in the interior of the circle.  A few tall trees will need to be cut. We agreed to have a work party on July 1.   Bruce will recruit fire Dept members and we will post the activity on the web site and bulletin boards. Please come if you can We will need as many chain saws as possible and willing people to haul the felled trees to a pile in the center of the area.  Bruce will tarp the piles and burn them next winter.  Greenbelt members Please talk with neighbors and friends and ask if they could help for any amount of time on that day. We will probably also have to do some more work on July 15. Note: the safe zone is off the powerline to the left in a circle marked with blue polkadot ribbon, above the sledding hill.

Anyone who wishes can take on any project on an individual basis.  The Lupine Trail will be our first project on June 24. 

 

NEW PROJECTS: Pam suggested two new trails sometime in the future could be made.  One might be on the lower side of Primitive Park Road near the Reader Board sign.  The other might be on the upper side of Primitive Park Road near the upper water tank and eventually getting into the National Forest and on the old railroad bed. Everyone needs to be pulling knapweed on their properties and along the roads. We ended the meeting with Gina, Pam, Judy and Mary walking the Lupine Trail to see what exactly would be needed. 

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Bunney, Secretary Pro Tem