Star Prairie Land Preservation Trust – December 4th, 2006 Meeting Minutes

Harmony Environmental Office, 516 Keller Ave, S., Amery, WI

 

     The December Meeting of the SPLPT was called to order at 7:45 pm by President Beth Wood. Holiday Card preparation by the group preceded the meeting.  

     Board members present were Pete Kling, Mike Reiter, Beth Wood, Stuart Nelson, Aleisha Miller and Consultant Cheryl Clemens.

     The October’s Secretary’s report was approved as an earlier e-mail. The Treasurer’s report indicated a total balance of $21,276.87 with all bills paid.

 

  1. Cheryl provided information on the St Croix Valley Foundation (SDVF) grant that has been submitted.
  2. There was discussion of obtaining a centralized location for all of the SPLPT’s files, papers and documentation. Pete Kling agreed to provide such a location at his office.
  3. Signage for the Boche Property has now been acquired and is ready for instillation on the property. It was decided to have a press release with appropriate photos to include various partners involved with the project. A date will be set for the grand opening with Pete and Stu coordinating this event.
  4. Stu reported on a number of meetings with the Archery Club Land Owners, the local forester and Ron Siler to determine a course of action to acquire the Archery Club Land. Talk also included adjacent land owned by the Craig Family. The land is located west of New Richmond. Various items need to be addressed included certain stipulations before any concrete decisions can be made. Pete Kling, Ron Siler and Chris Polfus will form a task force to address these issues and move forward with this project.
  5. Peter gave an update on the South Cedar Bay Landing. The parking lot is in and the boardwalk dock has been ordered. The dock will be stored onsite until it can be installed. Installation may be postponed until the New Richmond High School Service Day which is scheduled for May 18th, 2006. A “Grand Opening” will be planned. Stu and Cheryl will coordinate the signage design. An expense sheet for the project was shared with the group.
  6. The Nelson Property easements are now in place. Boundaries have been marked and a sign visible from the Apple River will be placed which defines the property and its history. An early January article in the paper will be submitted to round out the annual accomplishments of the SPLPT.
  7.  The McMurtrie Property land swap will soon be finalized. Decisions will then be made on the location of the proposed Educational Center and the Building Planning Committee will resume its efforts in finalizing the conceptual building plans. The driveway improvement bids will soon be made also to allow viable access into the property.
  8. Aleisha provided a review of her efforts over the last year for educational opportunities at the McMurtrie Preserve. Open houses have been held onsite and plans are moving ahead for the 2007 calendar year. Along with her current spending on the grant Aleisha will provide a list of supplies she would need to continue with the education classes being planned in 2007.
  9. A few trees near the current eagle nest have been marked with the help of the DNR and will be removed soon to allow observation opportunities for educational purposes. The removal of these trees will in no way cause undo stress to the nesting eagles as the observation areas will be located at appropriate distances from the nest.
  10. Aleisha has scheduled a snowshoe building class to be held through New Richmond Community Education scheduled in New Richmond on the weekend of February 10th and 11th, 2007. The class will run from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm both days with a cost of $150.00 for class and materials. A snowshoe outing is scheduled at the McMurtrie preserve on February 25th, 2007. More details will be available later.
  11. A short article with pictures will be submitted to the Wisconsin Conservation Warden Magazine featuring work the Alternative New Richmond High School Student Class performed on the McMurtrie property this year. The Land Trust received a grant from the Warden’s organization to complete dock building and other work on the property. 
  12. A card from the SPLPT will be sent out at the end of the year to the membership. A spring newsletter is being considered.
  13. A “Thank You Letter and card” to the Phyllis Menke Family from the SPLPT was penned and signed by the Board thanking them for all they had done for the trust.
  14. A Bremer Bank grant for educational purposes will be submitted. Cheryl and Stu will put this together.
  15. The next meeting of the Land Trust is scheduled for February 25th, 2007 starting at 7 pm at Stuart Nelson’s home located on Cedar Lake.

 

With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm.

 

                                                        Respectfully Submitted

       

                                                        Mike Reiter - Recorder