Antrim County
Parks and Recreation Commission

December 16, 2004

Minutes

Members Present:

 

Jerome Dobrzelewski, Allen Pecar, Russ Blasdell, Stan Moore,  Linda Gallagher, and Jerry Basch

Members Absent:

 

Mike Crawford, Mark Stone, and Mike Meriwether

Staff Present:

 

Eileen Wallick and Howard Yamaguchi

Others Present:

 

None

I.          Call to Order

 

Jerry Basch called the meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission (Parks & Rec) to order at 9:04 a.m.

II.         New Member Introduction

 

Jerry Basch welcomed new Parks & Rec Commission member Linda Gallagher.  Linda introduced herself, and the current Parks & Rec (P&R) Commission members introduced themselves in turn.

III.        Approval of Minutes

 

Motion by Jerome Dobrzelewski, seconded by Allen Pecar, to approve the minutes of the October 28, 2004 Meeting Minutes.  Motion passed – unanimous.

IV.        Forum Update

 

It was not known whether or not the groups interested in trails have managed to convene a meeting.  Howard reminded the Parks & Rec Commission that MSU Extension and the County Forester wish to convene education sessions at the Forum in the future.  Information dissemination is a key component of these forums.  The need for PR for the forums was acknowledged; Linda Gallagher will help with PR aspects.  Discussion ensued on several items of P&R budget that could be used for PR.

 

Linda and Allen Pecar led a short discussion on the possibility of cash-strapped school districts selling off their forest lands to raise revenue.

V.         2005 Parks & Recreation Commission Budget

 

Howard introduced the 2005 budget for the Parks & Rec Commission.  He encouraged the Commission to use the training budget for website training so that Parks & Rec could maintain its own website, and that the dollar amounts committed to Parks & Rec website programming be committed as early as possible.  He also noted that the “Printing & Publishing” line item could be used for PR material creation.  The budget is as follows:

 

Parks & Rec Commission Budget Item

2005 Budgeted Amount

Per Diem- Regular

$    2,100

Training

$      400

Supplies

$      500

Parks Forum Expense

$      500

Parks & Recreation Website

$    2,500

Travel

$      500

Printing and Publishing

$      750

Total Parks & Recreation Commission

$    7,250

VI.        Parks & Rec Plan Update

 

Stan Moore reported that Sections A and B have been written.  Section C, the Planning Process, will be written by Stan.  Inventory sheets (Section D) are being compiled by Howard and LIAA.  Section E, the action plan, will be written by the Plan committee.  Some discussion ensued on the need (or lack thereof) to include township recreational plans in the action plan.  The current Plan Guidelines from the DNR do not appear to require inclusion of plans from other jurisdictions unless a joint recreation plan is being compiled.

 

The Plan Committee will meet on January 5, 2005, and the Parks & Rec Commission will meet on January 11 at 9:00 a.m. to discuss the draft of the Plan to date.

 

Some discussion ensued on the need for a strategic management plan by the County for unified management of all county lands.

VII.       Elk Rapids Day Park Signage Grant

 

Howard reported that the Elk Rapids Rotary Club has approved our request for $1,400 to pay for a new sign at the Elk Rapids Day Club and some landscaping work.  Eileen Wallick will order the sign.  The invoice will be sent to the Rotary Club.  The Rotary Club requests that a Rotary disc logo be placed in a corner of the sign.

 

Meeting adjourned at 10:52 a.m.