Girdwood Trails Committee
Minutes of Regular Meeting

Girdwood Community Center, 7:00 pm 
Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Call to Order
	Carolyn Brodin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Kate Sandberg took minutes. Others present were Norman Starkey, Diana Livingston, Dwaine Schuldt, Matt Wedeking, Brian Burnett, Jonnie Lazarus, Di Hiibner, Darren Hawes, and Nels Barber, a new member.

Approval of Agenda
The agenda was approved as written, with the addition of the 2010 Budget.

Approval of Minutes, September 1, 2009
The minutes were approved as written.

Introduction of Guests
No guests.

Old Business
	Trails Issues
	Alyeska Highway Bike Path:  Patching is complete, and the difference is notable. We need to apply for a grant next year to repave the entire path from the railroad bridge to Crow Creek Road. Isobel Roy will get bids for by the foot or yard.

	Hand Tram Maintenance and Signage: Members agreed that we need to create a regular maintenance and inspection schedule. Alyeska employee, Walt Inis, a certified tram inspector, may do the maintenance and inspection.  We need to contact him and set this up.  

As well, users are hard on the tram, and signs need to be made that 	say to 	the effect, “Handle gently,” or “Pull slowly.”  The Forest 	Service can make signs that announce this in the new parking lot and at 	the tram.

Carolyn will contact the Forest Service about signs.  Jonnie will investigate different sizes of rope coils and report back.

	Shed:  The conex is not assured until the final GBOS budget is passed.   The conex may have to be rented and/or shared.  We are still missing one chainsaw.

	Winter Grooming:  The Committee hopes that Sean Stash and Lisa Portune will be the main groomers this winter.  Carolyn will contact them to confirm.  
	We have $2,000 for batteries, belts, gas, and other supplies.   Jonnie will try to arrange a pre-pay card for gas.   Brian will arrange hauling the snow machine to Anchorage for maintenance.

	Other Trail Issues:  Norman reported that SAGA did some drainage work near the shed. Redmonds might be willing to haul more gravel from Portage. He will contact Redmonds.

Budget
•	2010 Budget:  The GBOS is in the middle of deciding the Roads, Fire, and Parks and Recreation budgets for 2010.  October 7 has been slated for a special meeting, and Trails members are urged to attend. Jonnie said that the total Parks and Recreation budget has been preliminarily cut by 16%; Trails has been cut by 25%. However, the funding could be added back in before the final vote. 

•	Fungus Fair Formal Earnings:  Diana will have the figure by the next meeting.

•	State Recreational Trails Program Grant—no report

•	Alaska Trails Initiative Grant—no report
		
New Trails Map
	Members agreed to start planning the new edition of the map.  Summer trails could be on one side, winter trails on the other.  All of the trails that SAGA has improved need to be on the map.  Di will bring Alyeska Resort’s trail map, and we can start from there. 
 		
	Trail signage needs to be evaluated and repaired and new signs for the map trails. Tiny Creek, Abe’s Trail, and Danich Trail were mentioned as needing new signs.
 
November’s meeting will emphasize the map.

Updates
•	Nordic Trail—There will not be any cutting of trees this fall. The Club will concentrate on fund raising and planning. 

•	Chugach State Park Plan--Matt reminded members that the deadline for submitting comments is October 16.  Carolyn and Brian went to a public meeting in Girdwood.  There are plans for a loop of Abe’s and CA trails as well as extension of the bike path from Indian to Anchorage. Matt and Carolyn will submit an endorsement of the plan on behalf of the Trails Committee.

•	Pedestrian Priority Zones—Kate reported that America Walks is the primary organization that she has found in support of pedestrian priority zones. She handed out a three-step plan for community action from America Walks. 

•	Holtan Hills Subdivision—The Platting Board has given Holtan Hills developers 60 months to submit a plat with their requirements, one of which is the Iditarod. The Board agreed with the Trails Committee in their Summary of Action, 9-2-09
	
		…Approval of the plat for 60 months subject to the 	following conditions… 
5. Dedicating an easement for the Iditarod National
Historic Trail on the plat, the location and width to be
resolved with the Non-Motorized Trails Coordinator in
conjunction with public input...

15. Entering into a subdivision agreement with the
Private Development Section, PM&E prior to recording a
Final plat for… 
c. Construction of the segments of the Iditarod
Trail that are proposed to be relocated outside the
boundaries of the platted tracts and lots….

	22. Submitting a revised copy of the preliminary plat for public hearing review that shows… 
			g. Proposed final location of the Iditarod National Historic 			Trail…

Dwaine will contact Kevin Keeler about GPS coordinates for this section of the Iditarod.  Kate will contact Lori Schanche, MOA Non-Motorized Trails Coordinator, to see if there are coordinates 	    in the MOA database.  

•	Girdwood Valley Trails Plan—Brian introduced his work on a Girdwood Trails Plan. He wrote a first draft based on the Chugach State Park Plan. Matt said that we could copy anything but pictures from the Chugach Plan. We plan to use the same terminology, standards etc. that CSP, the USFS, and MOA Parks and Recreation use. 
		 Brian said that UAA, doing watershed work, may help us with 		    GPS and GIS of the trails this winter. 
We will dedicate a series of meetings to creating the plan and answer questions, such as who will be responsible for which trails, what future protection can we arrange, and how does the IGA process help us?

•	Stop Signs and Brushed Area at Donner and Alyeska Highway—Brushing is done, and we have the stop signs. Norman will call Nick Danger about installing them. 

New Business
	Emergency ATVs on Trails with Bollards—After discussion, Carolyn will call Chief Chadwick several options and get his recommendations. We could also give him a tour of the trails in question. 

	Short, Monthly Articles for Turnagain Times—Kate volunteered to write a series of 300-word articles if others help her. She will contact Ken Smith. The first article will be about the history and mission of the Trails Committee.

Other Business
None

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:50 pm.

Next meeting, November 3, 2009
Girdwood Community Center—7:00 pm