Star Prairie Land Preservation Trust – February 5th, 2007 Meeting Minutes

Stuart Nelson residence on Cedar Lake

 

     The February Meeting of the SPLPT was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Beth Wood.   

     Board members present were Pete Kling, Mike Reiter, Beth Wood, Stuart Nelson, Dave Peterson, Ron Siler, Trish Moberg and Consultant Cheryl Clemens.

     The November’s Secretary’s report was approved with the following correction. The New Richmond High School Service Day is scheduled for May 17th, 2007. The Treasurer’s report was approved as read.

 

  1. Stu reported that the trees that needed to be taken down on the McMurtrie preserve to allow for suitable eagle nest viewing have been felled.
  2. Cheryl will order letterheads for the SPLPT and envelopes are needed for the thank you cards.
  3. Cheryl provided information on the $2000.00 St Croix Valley Foundation (SDVF) grant that has been awarded to the SPLPT. Cheryl passed out a copy of the introduction which defines the process. She also provided an overview of the SCVCF tasks and a copy of SPLPT Land Protection Strategy Results based on the results of a survey that had been sent out. Discussion was held on providing a map of our focus area with appropriate overlays and the development of a system to identify priority properties. A draft of a property nomination form was also included in the handout. Mike will contact Kris Belling of the DNR to see if she could provide us with the set of parameter she uses to rank properties to be purchased with Stewardship Funds for our local HRA.
  4. Pete provided us with a map showing the location of the Archery Club Land. This is a 40 acre piece of property located to the west of New Richmond. There is another 40 acre tract located to the north of this property owned by the Craig family that is also of interest. Pete has been talking to Bob Goodlad and Dr. Craig and a rough draft of the proposal is moving forward. There are certain stipulations that are to be included in the draft that need to be finalized. Discussion also centered around adjacent landowners and their commitment to forming a potential buffer around the central property. Pete will set up a meeting with the appropriate people to get their input and ideas on this issue.
  5. Peter gave an update on the South Cedar Bay Landing. The parking lot is in and the boardwalk is being stored on Stu’s lot next to the landing. Installation of the dock may be implemented in early March with the help of CIP. Money for the purchase and placement of the “No Parking” signs for the road near the lot will be split by the SPLPT and the township. SPLPT internal and external signage for the lot was also discussed. Stu will locate the position for the placement of the entry sign with the County Highway Department to do the actual work. Pete agreed to write the letter to the county to get this work done. Pete has also attended several meetings to get this all accomplished.
  6. The Nelson Property easement with restrictions and subsequent interaction with adjacent landowners was discussed. Letters have been sent and after some explanations any problems appear to be resolved.
  7.  The McMurtrie Property land swap will soon be finalized with DNR approval. Phyllis Menke needs to be involved with some deed restriction changes for the swapped land. Mick will be provided an access easement to our 25 foot strip of land for access to his property on that end.  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.
  8. There was discussion on the Utgaard donation for the Educational Center. Dave will talk with Kim and Stu Utgaard to answer any questions they may have.
  9. Following an Education/Curriculum meeting at Mike’s house on February 1st, it was decided that Aleisha would hold a Hiking Outing at McMurtrie on February 25th as she had planned with Beth to contact a photography group to see if they would be interested in attending. Our open houses need to be tied into some sort of activity to generate interest. Another Open House will be planned by Aleisha in June as a Water Action Volunteers (WAV) kickoff. The McMurtrie property would provide an ideal location to display the WAV water monitoring methodology. A third Open House in the Summer/Fall will be organized. Trish will help Aleisha get the word out to educational type people through articles in their newsletters. Our newsletter will also cover this activity.
  10. At the February meeting Aleisha also provide the group with a list of equipment she felt was needed for her to fulfill her educational commitments. The River Protection Grant provides funds for this equipment and Aleisha will begin to purchase it. Jim Riemer has been contacted for his help in designing the nature trials with signage. There is a trail design book available online. It is called “Recreational Trail Design and Construction” and can be viewed by Googling the title.
  11. Several “Thank You” cards were signed by the board.
  12. Cheryl advised the group that the Spring Newsletter was being planned and invited anyone interested to contribute to it. Aleisha and Mike have already committed articles.   
  13. The remaining meetings for the SPLPT in 2007 have been set for the following dates: April 2nd, June 4th, August 6th, October 1st and December 3rd. The Annual meeting will also be held on August 6th. Meetings will begin at 7 pm with locations to be determined.  

 

With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 pm.

 

                                                        Respectfully Submitted

       

                                                        Mike Reiter - Recorder