Antrim County
Parks and Recreation Commission

April 24, 2003

Minutes

Members Present:

Jerome Dobrzelewski, Al Luurtsema, Al Pecar, Jerry Basch, Russ Blasdell, Mark Stone, and Mike Meriwether

Members Absent:

Jim Ferguson, Stan Moore, and Mike Crawford

Staff Present:

Howard Yamaguchi, Janet Person, and Eileen Wallick

Others Present:

None

I.          Call to Order

Al Luurtsema called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.

II.         Approval of the Minutes of the February 27, 2002, Meeting

Corrections to the February minutes:  insertion of “Jerome Dobrzelewski” for the “?????” placeholder in the officer election section, and the deletion of the last sentence in the Cedar River Natural Area update.

Motion by Jerome Dobrzelewski, supported by Jerry Basch, to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2003, meeting with corrections.  Unanimous.

III.        Elk Rapids Day Park

Janet Person briefed the Parks & Rec Commission about our failure to be short-listed for a Rotary Charities grant.  Due to funding restrictions, they are funding projects in the vicinity of $10,000 this year.  They are also rethinking the scope of the project they would like to fund in the future.  Mark Stone noted that because of their rethinking of the scope, we would not be able to count on Rotary Charities funding for this type of project next year.

Janet asked whether it would be acceptable to the Board of Commissioners (BOC) to put in for a Coastal Management Program grant for Elk Rapids planning only.  There would be no county cash match.  Howard noted that it would be best to have an application ready to go, pending approval by the Parks Committee at their meeting on May 1.  (The application must be postmarked May 1, 2003 --- there would be no time for a full BOC approval.)

Jerry Basch asked the Parks & Rec Commission what they thought might be an acceptable “Plan B” and “Plan C” for the park, especially if no funding turns out to be available.  Small-scale plans could be made, and then implemented using local work bees.  Al Luurtsema instructed the ER subcommittee to put the various plans on paper.  Mark Stone noted that the ER subcommittee meeting on April 29 should create a priority list of projects.  Mike Meriwether noted the need for more vegetative management practices at the ER Park. 

IV.        Elk Rapids Hydro Parking Lot

Howard informed the Parks & Rec Commission that the County Lands, Agriculture and Forestry Committee gave its blessing for the project, and that we will work with Elk Rapids this coming year.  

Jerry Dobrzelewski inquired whether the County should wait to develop the parking lot until after some commercial enterprise has taken over the dam after decommissioning, given that decommissioning was only two or three years away.  Mark Stone clarified that decommissioning actually will not take place for another ten years; hence what happens after decommissioning is hypothetical. He further noted that there is a safety issue at the parking lot now, and hence something must be done soon.  He thought that perhaps the Elk Rapids DDA could be asked to put in a cash match for the project.

 V.        Barnes Park

Eileen Wallick reported that the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant application for electrification of the campsites, a visitor center, and a trail has been submitted.  She also reported that the new bathhouse and playground are substantially complete.

 VI.       Wetzel Lake Project

Howard reported the results of his conversation with Joyce Angel-Ling, the new DNR land management officer in charge of our area.  Bill O’Neill has been promoted to cover a larger area; Ms. Angel-Ling reports to Bill O’Neill.  Ms. Angel-Ling is available to come to the June Parks Committee meeting, but if the Parks Committee wishes, a meeting could take place earlier than that in Gaylord.  Brief discussion took place on whether the County should send her details of contacts between the County and DNR to date (concerning Wetzel Lake).  The consensus was that Bill O’Neill would hand over his files to her.

Russ Blasdell noted that there was nothing to report on CRNA planning from the Friends of the Cedar River at this point.  Mike Meriwether is looking to replacing the existing (deteriorated) RR bridge, with the price tag for replacement being about $25,000.  He also hopes to be installing trails this summer.  The County Lands, Agriculture and Forestry Committee considers bridge replacement a top priority.

VIII.      Antrim County Parks Bulletin/Flyer/Publication

Al Pecar reported that he has had a couple of meetings on the subject, and have spent some time on the database, although health problems have kept him from getting as far as he would have liked. He stressed that it is now time to go “public” with the request for info from the general public.   He would also like to tap the “institutional memory” of items in the county (such as Dick Cookman for geology).  He would like to include areas with significant educational potential, making the scenic and natural resources of the County relevant to the public through education.

X.         Other Matters

Janet Person reported that the County Parks brochure was substantially complete, and an initial run of 600 copies will be distributed to 6 welcome sites in the state.  She circulated a draft to the members of the Commission.

Al Pecar noted that the County has, in the past, approved an unfunded position of environmental education coordinator.  Such a person can be the one that ties the natural and scenic resources of the County together for public education.

XI.        Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.  Next Mtg: Thursday, May 22, 2003, at 3 p.m.