Antrim County
Parks and Recreation Commission

December 18, 2003

Minutes

Members Present:

 

Jerome Dobrzelewski, Russ Blasdell, Jerry Basch, Al Luurtsema, Mike Crawford, Mike Meriwether, and Stan Moore

Members Absent:

 

Mark Stone and Al Pecar

Staff Present:

 

Howard Yamaguchi

Others Present:

 

None

I.          Call to Order

 

Al Luurtsema called the meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission (Parks & Rec) to order at 9:09 a.m.

II.         Approval of the Minutes of the September 25, 2003, Meeting

 

Motion by Jerome Dobrzelewski, seconded by Jerry Basch, to approve the minutes of the November 20, 2003 meeting.  Passed - unanimous.

III.        Elk Rapids Day Park Update

 

Jerry Basch reported that the Elk Rapids subcommittee met in Elk Rapids on the day the gas supply failed.  The police chief's office was the meeting place, but with no heat, only half of the first page of the planning process was covered. The next meeting was set for Jan 7, but this may be changed to the 14th, 15th, or 16th of January. We will also invite Terri Crandall and Leonard Klein to join the committee.  Maybe a representative from the Lions Club and Mrs. Lee could join.

 

We also need participation of the county forester. We might be able to use the annual maintenance budget money for the entrance way upgrade.  The matter of turning the park over to the Village is still on the back burner.  Gordon Stewart of the Village Parks & Rec is the new member of the committee. There is still lots of local enthusiasm. Signage: ACD will send letter to MDOT, avoiding some permitting steps.

 

Mike Crawford joined the meeting at 9:30 a.m. and Mike Meriwether joined the meeting at 9:45 a.m.

IV.        Parks and Recreation Forum

 

Jerry Basch noted that there was no meeting last month on the forum.  He suggested adding Camp Hayo-Went-Ha on Torch Lake as a possible meeting site for the forum. A possible meeting date is March 12 (Friday after the Board of Commissioners meeting).  Howard was instructed to check on availability and prices.  A meeting time in the afternoon, possible 1 to 4 p.m. is also a possibility.

 

Phil Alexander of the MSUE may be a keynote speaker.  Stan Moore will try to book his time, but we need to know what the objective of the forum is.  General discussion by Parks & Rec concluded that: (a) we want to develop enthusiasm for public parks, (b) stress importance of parks and rec facilities to development of the economy of the area, and (c) promotion of what we have.  The audience is local parks and recreation folks, some special interests, and possibly private sector folks that might be able to spread the word, such as realtors..

 

Jerry Basch also suggested speakers that stress how local interests have furthered parks in the communities, etc. Al Luurtsema: suggested an awards ceremony for those locals who have been working on parks behind the scenes. Park system will be more and more important to Antrim County. Howard suggested that informational maps and such should be distributed. Mike Meriwether suggested that representatives from the state, local units of governments, and others can stand up and inform the participants on the current goings-on in their field. Educational materials from MSUE and others can be distributed.  Jerry Basch suggested that the updates can be organized as several panels with similar topics.

 

The next forum meeting is 9:00 a.m. on January 14, 2004.  Stan Moore will try to get Phil Alexander at the meeting for planning purposes.  We will invite Terri Crandall to that meeting as well.  The Coordinator/Planner Office was instructed to start preparing an invitation list for the meeting.

V.         New Shooting Range in County

 

Russ Blasdell gave a brief update of the ongoing search for a suitable shooting range in the County.  Mike Crawford added that the original suggested site in Kearney Township may be on the table again.

 VI.       Budget and De-icer Update

 

Mike Crawford noted that he will continue to press the Finance Committee for more funds for the Parks & Recreation Commission. He also reviewed the Board of Commissioners action on the de-icer issue.  The County Prosecutor office, the Sheriff Department, and the County Health, Animal Control, and Public Safety Committee have taken ownership of the issue.  Mike noted that the issue is not a major one for MUCC and MAC because the issue currently appears to be limited to counties with large amounts of lake frontage.

 VII.      Comprehensive Recreation Plan Update

 

Stan Moore reported that he will set subcommittee meetings to start the plan update process. Initially, the subcommittee will work on the structure of the plan. Alan Pecar already sent Stan some notes on details of the plan. Jerry Basch suggested using the Forum for input by others in the county toward the plan update. Stan briefed Parks and Rec on some of the results of visioning sessions and the county opinion survey concerning attitudes towards parks and recreation facilities.  Stan asked for direction from Parks and Rec Commission on the plan.

 

Jerry Dobrzelewski gave an overview of county recreational facilities from the County Road Commission standpoint.  He felt that road access points to sites are mostly in decent shape.  Some have some erosion issues, but may not want to blacktop all.  He requested information on whether South Bayshore Dr. in Elk Rapids is a village or a county road. Barnes Park is in good shape road-wise. Wetzel Lake is OK, is up to twp to improve the road to the site. Traffic system at Wetzel works pretty well now.  Jordan Valley area may not want too many improvements. New bridge over Green River to replace old rotting one.

 

This may be an occasion where we can complete and update our inventory of publicly-owned recreational sites in the county.  Using the data from the existing database, we might be able to request that the individual jurisdictions update the inventory.  We can use the existing database to compile an initial list of attendees.  We should involve the Chambers of Commerce in this to ensure all stakeholders are contacted.

 

The information gathered can be disseminated through our website.  We are thinking of a series of two mailings publicizing the meeting.  The first one will be followed by phone calls and such.  The second one will contain the agenda and meeting details.  We will be assigning contact work to Parks & Rec members.  The Forum subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, December 2.

 VIII.     Elk Rapids Trail meeting

 

Howard attended a trails meeting in Elk Rapids on November 24.  The Elk Rapids Rotary Club is initiating a series of meetings that they hope will result in a project that will ultimately tie Elk Rapids to the Grand Traverse County trails.  The next meeting, on January 8, will be attended by Mark Randolph.

 IX.       Membership

 

Howard noted that the Board of Commissioners opted not to appoint any new members to the Parks & Rec Commission (and to any other commission) last month.  The Board will limit or reduce the membership of the Commissions gradually in line with the declining meeting budgets available for 2004 and possibly onward.  In January, two commissions (Mike Meriwether and Allen Pecar) expire.  Allen has already sent in a letter of interest.  Mike Meriwether will continue to attend meetings whether or not he is re-appointed to Parks & Rec.

IX.        Member Comment

 

Al Luurtsema asked about DNR land sale plans, especially around the Dead Man’s Hill area.  Jerry Dobrzelewski clarified that DNR is selling only non-contiguous lands in order to consolidate the areas under their management.  The Dead Man’s Hill overlook and trail system is not for sale.  Mike Meriwether noted that Antrim County has expressed interest in purchasing any tracts within Antrim County that DNR may be willing to sell.

 

Mike Meriwether also announced that the Conservation District will be hosting a meeting on fisheries..

IX.        Adjournment        Meeting adjourned at 11:03 a.m.

 

Next Meeting
Thursday, January 22, 2004, at 9:00 a.m.