Star Prairie Land Preservation Trust – May 11^th, 2009 Meeting Minutes

Suzanna’s in New Richmond

The May Meeting of the SPLPT was called to order at 4:00 pm by President Beth Wood.

Board members present were Pete Kling, Mike Reiter, Mike Kelly, Stu Nelson, Beth Wood, Dan Davison, Trish Moberg, Consultant Cheryl Clemens and Aleisha Miller with daughter. .

The March 2009 secretary’s and treasurer’s report was approved as read.

1. Strategic planning for the SPLPT was last addressed in 2006 and will be performed again to bring things up to date. A special meeting scheduled on Thursday, June 18^th, from 11-3 pm at the Menke cabin, will be held to update the plan. This update would go a long way toward certification under the Land Trust Alliance. Cheryl mentioned that a small grant application has been submitted through the St Croix Valley Foundation to help fund this effort.
2. Aleisha received a copy of the Nelson Property Agreement from Stu. She will use this to document baseline parameters of the property and also provide Cheryl a copy for inclusion in our Trust Notebooks.
3. Pete reported on the Schottler Conservation Easement Celebration scheduled for June 24^th. A draft copy of a brochure describing the event was distributed. The event will run from 4:30 - 7:30 pm and provide tours, demonstrations and presentations. A motion was made and approved to provide $250.00 to help offset refreshment expenses. Trust members will be responsible in supplying and dispensing these refreshments.
4. Cheryl passed around copies of the signage for the Schottler property. A decision was made on the format of the signage. Perimeter signs will also be provided by the Trust with verbiage help from the Schottlers. Unveiling of the signs will be part of the celebration.
5. Trust T-shirts will be designed and ordered for Trust Board members. Individual sizes were taken and Trish will follow up on the orders.
6. Jim Riemer from the USF&WS has secured a grant for $2500 to help seed the Boche property in the proper vegetation type dictated by the SAFE program in which the land is presently enrolled.
7. Stu brought to the attention of the Trust the availability of Apple River acreage and riverfront property belonging to Stu Utgaard in Star Prairie. Approximately 2000 feet of frontage and 15 acres encompasses this parcel. After a lengthy discussion it was felt that this may be beyond the focus of our Trust. Pete will contact the Utgaards and direct them to other partners that may be interested in the property.
8. Warren Irle, an area resident, is interested in working with the SPLPT in setting up a conservation easement on his 40 acre parcel of land in Stanton Township east of Star Prairie. Mike Kelly has talked with Warren and following further clarifications concerning the easement, the project will move forward before year’s end.
9. An Operation Round Up grant will be pursued by Cheryl to help defray the cost of bus transportation to area schools for transportation for fields trips to the McMurtrie Preserve this fall. A June 1^st deadline for the grant has been established.
10. The 2009 New Richmond High School Service Day is scheduled for Friday, May 15^th. Stu provided Trish a list of projects on SPLPT land and a group of students will be provided to accomplish these tasks. A $100.00 donation was made to cover some of the expenses for that day.
11. A Citizen Monitoring Training session will be held on the McMurtrie property on Sunday June 14^th by Aleisha Miller.
12. Cheryl has taken on the responsibility of finalizing the trail guides for use on the marked trails of the McMurtrie Preserve. The copies of the guide should be available by Service Learning Day, May 15^th.

The next scheduled meeting of the SPLPT is Monday, July 13^th, 2009 at Suzanna’s in New Richmond. The second Monday of every other month was selected as potential meeting dates. Remaining meeting dates for 2009 include: September 14^th and November 9^th, 2009.

With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 5:15 pm.

Respectfully Submitted - Mike Reiter - Recorder