JROC Minutes Jan. 7, 2004

MEETING ATTENDEES:
Dave (Let me tell you what I think)Gunn, Barry Dixon, Dave Myers, Karl Gordon, Scott (need lawn care?)Wagner, Steve Barnard, Adrian Tait, Rich Young, Scott Allison, Nathan Burrell, Vince Carman, Carrie Carman, Susanne (don’t mention the word Kiosk to me )Smith, Dan Caston, Jim Juritsch (There’s no “Z” in that name? I coulda sworn...), Ellen (not Jo)Wolf, Bart Hinkle, Chris Hull (Mr. 32 degree shorts-wearer), Litida Vaedes-McQuire (you’ve got to write better if you want your name right), Magnus Akesson, Mike McQuire, Leslie Weisberger, Amy Waters, Ralph Hambrick, Erika Gay, Bob Burch, Stephen Ensign, Buzz Kraft, Elaine Casper, J.R. Swoope (he’s so old, he remembers Parker Field), Karen Abse, Bobby Eaves, Brian (I keep waiting to get paid for attending all the meetings) Mutchler, Sally Wetzler. Ralph White came a little late, and I’d already hidden the sign-up list. Greg Velzy was there too, but apparently protested the whole sign-up list thing.

This meeting was at Legends Brewery, and a fine time was had by all. Lots of people showed up, which is a good thing. JROC is only effective when individual members put in time and effort and the more people are interested, the more we’ll get done. Thanks to Chris Hull for setting up the room. The next meeting will be on the first Wednesday in February. The next meeting may also be away from Reedy Creek, watch for details or call Greg Velzy, or me, or anyone on the list.

MINUTES
December minutes, brilliantly composed by B Mutchler, were approved. Thanks from the membership and the lazy, worthless current secretary.

TREASURER'S REPORT
Jim J gave a treasurers report and we keep getting more money. We’ve got a current balance of $8612, which will buy a bunch of gravel, signs, lumber and hardware. We always appreciate Blue Ridge Outdoors support, this month with another donation, but I didn’t get the total.

PROJECT REPORT:
Hiking and biking trail usage seems to be way up, but with the efforts of our mountain-biking enthusiasts, there seems to be fewer problems. Nathan Burrell has been organizing maintenance projects and involved with other general trail issues. Our “Share the Trail signs may be working. The next project is on 1/11/04 at 9AM meet at Reedy Creek Nature Center, to work on trails around the 22nd St. parking area.
Modifying Richmond’s current high water permit system to have an open-ended permit or at least extend the time frame is an issue with some members. The City’s river rescue folks do not have a problem with extending the time frame. Brian M has been drafting letters to the city. Anyone interested in this issue is invited to contact him or me (Dave Gunn)
The construction of Charlie’s new bridge in the Pony Pasture wetlands restored handicapped access to this natural area after the Spring flood. Our own Mike McGuire even got in the RTD for helping/supervising/kibitzing on the project, assisted by Laura McGlinchy’s Freeman High Schools Physics class. She even says they’re interested in helping on more projects.
We need some signs at Pony Pasture showing where the park boundaries are and remind visitors to control their dogs when crossing private property. Ellen Wolf is going to work on wording and present it to Ralph W. Membership approved spending $100 on the signs.
Planning has started for an April 3, 2004 swap meet, maybe combined into a larger River Days festival-type thing at the Farmers Market. Sounds like a real expanded event, with climbers, bikers and other outdoor types along with the usual boater scum. Erika Gay, executive director of the River District Alliance a non-profit working on marketing the 5th-25th street area, expressed support and may be involved with planning and execution. Karen Abse, Kathy Emerson, Tricia Pearsall, Adrian Tait and Greg (oh no, not another committee!) are working on it.
Ralph W is getting a project going with other local volunteers (kids from somewhere) to plant trees and other plant stuff. Dave G motioned to approve $300 for RW to buy flowery plant, fungus & fern stuff. Steve E seconded, Approved by membership.
Speaking of money, don’t you owe dues? It’s only $15 a year, and entitles you to legitimately represent yourself as a James River Park supporter. Jim J. leveraged his JROC participation into the $34,000 fine paid to the City by the Romers (we used to think of them as infamous villains, but since they paid up for the tree-cutting incident, we’re going to give them the benefit of the doubt). Jim’s protective attitude toward the Park made him bold enough to stop the cutting while it was going on and aggressive enough to bull-dog restitution. We all need more of the same protective attitude. If you can’t quite see yourself confronting loggers, you can show up at meetings and projects or at least give us money.
NEXT PROJECTS
Ralph W wants to put up park boundary markers (need to figure out where and how many). RW would also like to do a park user survey. Last one was centuries ago, and RW feels the need for a new one. We’ll probably need some nosey volunteers on a warm May/June day. More details to come.
MEMBERSHIP REPORT

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