Antrim County
Parks and Recreation Commission

February 27, 2003

Minutes

Members Present:

Jerome Dobrzelewski, Al Luurtsema, Al Pecar, Jerry Basch, Russ Blasdell, Mark Stone, and Stan Moore

Members Absent:

Jim Ferguson, Mike Meriwether, and Mike Crawford

Staff Present:

Howard Yamaguchi and Eileen Wallick

Others Present:

None

I.          Call to Order

Pete Garwood called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

II.         Election of New Chairman

Pete Garwood informed the Commission of the resignation of Jerome Dobrzelewski as chairman, due to his increased workload as the new chair of the County Road Commission.  He will remain on the Council as a regular member.  Pete then opened the floor to nominations for the position of chairman.

Motion by Al Pecar, supported by Jerome Dobrzelewski, to nominate Al Luurtsema as the chairman.

Motion by Jerome Dobrzelewski to close nomination and cast a unanimous ballot. --- Motion passed.  Unanimous

Motion by Al Luurtsema, supported by Al Pecar (?), to nominate Jerry Basch as the vice chairman.

Motion by Jerome Dobrzelewski to close nomination and cast a unanimous ballot. --- Motion passed.  Unanimous

Pete Garwood then turned over the meeting to Al Luurtsema.

III.        Approval of the Minutes of the December 19, 2002, Meeting

In the discussion of the minutes, there was some discussion on the history of the County’s previous efforts to acquire Sand Hill as a county park.  Al Pecar and Mark Stone recounted the history of events.

Motion by Al Luurtsema, supported by Al Pecar to approve the minutes of the December 19, 2002, meeting as presented.  Motion passed - unanimous.

IV.        Elk Rapids Day Park

Jerry Basch briefed the Commission on the last Elk Rapids Day Park subcommittee meeting.  All parties are in agreement with the grant application being for a joint project with Wetzel Lake.  The subcommittee decided that if the grant fails, they would want to continue on as committee, to pursue other monies, and perform some study items (surveys etc) locally.  The subcommittee will meet in late April, and the committee will know around then if the Elk Rapids/Wetzel Lake project is on Rotary Charities’ short list.  Al Luurtsema appointed Jerry Basch to take over the Elk Rapids project.

Howard briefed the Parks & Recreation Commission on a County Parks Committee decision to initiate talks with the Village of Elk Rapids on the ultimate disposition of the Elk Rapids Day Park.  Jack White will contact the Village and commence talks on the possibility of the Village leasing or taking over the Day Park property to be managed as it sees fit.

Discussion took place concerning the Elk Rapids Dam’s safety problem in response to a question by Al Luurtsema on the recent death of a sports fisherman near the dam.  Mark Stone also informed the Commission about kids climbing up to roof and jumping into the water.  Howard reminded the Commission on the necessity of starting up the planning process for the Elk Rapids dam parking lot.   Mark Stone presented the background on the dam project, ownership, and need for parking lot improvement for safety and other reasons.   Further discussion took place on the peculiarities of the hydropower generation system. 

 V.        Wetzel Lake Project

Janet Person, Howard, and Al Pecar briefed the Parks & Rec Commission on the first meeting between the County and Township on Wetzel Lake, held informally on February 19 at the Mancelona Township Hall.  Janet discussed the work items for which we have requested funding through the Rotary Charities grants. She noted that the group would like latrines at the site in the summer, possibly using DNR designs for outjohns.  Jerome Dobrzelewski asked what designs are used in Barnes Park for outjohns.  Eileen Wallick replied that 1000 gallon tank units, pumped regularly by the contractor, and well ventilated, are in use.  Jerry noted that the County may want to use Barnes Park design - clean, easy maintenance.

Janet noted that we are budgeted for some Wetzel Lake work, and we will move ahead with a letter to the DNR from County Lands, Agriculture and Forestry Committee or from the Parks Committee requesting use of the land and informing them of the proposed program.  A program for Wetzel Lake will include dives in the lake for debris removal, how to do bathrooms, have the site open for swimming this summer, ask Road Commission for road end work, etc.  Jerome Dobrzelewski noted that the letter should be sent as soon as possible. Janet also noted that the joint planning committee requested that electric motors be permitted on the lake for senior citizens’ use.

Further discussion on Wetzel Lake ensued.  Parks & Recreation Commission is concerned about the possibility of vandalism at Wetzel Lake.  The Commission is also concerned about the potentially limited carrying capacity of the lake in terms of camping.  Al Pecar noted that the site was always primarily a day use site. 

VI.        Cedar River Natural Area

Russ Blasdell noted that there was nothing to report on CRNA planning at this point.  Janet Person added that the Conservation District received a grant for $10,000 from the tribes to do some work in the CRNA.  Discussion ensued on the navigability of the Cedar River.  Mark Stone suggested that the issue be clarified before it becomes a liability issue for the County.

VII.       Antrim County Parks Bulletin/Flyer/Publication

Allen Pecar reported some progress in the database project.  Some of the County Lands Book info on public access sites has been input into an Access database.  The ultimate objective: publication of brochure(s), also have a countywide database.  Mark Stone led the discussion on the possible queries to make available to the public in the County website.  He also informed the Council of the “michiganmapsonline.com” website, on which Antrim County is now shown.

VIII.      Vision Statement

The group approved a short vision statement to be placed in the Rotary Charities grant application requesting funding for Wetzel Lake and Elk Rapids Day Park.

IX.        Meeting Dates for 2003

The Parks & Recreation Commission meetings will continue to be held on the 4^th Thursday of every month.  Mark Stone proposed the meetings be held at 3 p.m. instead of in the morning.  A poll of those present revealed that either a.m. or p.m. would work for everybody.  Howard will poll the Commissioner to see if an afternoon meeting is feasible.

X.         Other Matters

The turfgrass survey is now complete, thanks to the efforts of Eileen Wallick and Stan Moore, MSUE Director.

XI.        Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.

The next meeting will be on
Thursday, March 27, at 3 p.m.
at Room 203b, Antrim County Office Building