Girdwood Trails Committee
Minutes of Regular Meeting

US Forest Service Building, 7:00 pm 
Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Call to Order
Carolyn Brodin called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.  Kate Sandberg acted as secretary.  Others present: Alison Rein, Jonnie Lazarus, Diana Livingston, Brian Burnett, Todd Foisy, Norman Starkey, and John Gallup.

Approval of Agenda
The agenda was approved.

Approval of Minutes, March 4, 2008
The minutes were approved without correction.

Introduction of Guests
Alison introduced Sadie Youngstrom, a USFS employee and APU student.

Old Business
Trail Issues
•	Alyeska Highway Bridge/Bike Path Repair 
John reported that the bridge has no stringers (braces) and the floor wood is swollen and has buckled.  Fixing the floor of the bridge is a high priority for him this summer. It can be fixed with volunteer help.  John will ask the planning engineers for permission to fix it if we follow their exact specifications.

Alison handed out a graphic of the needed ditch culvert repair for the path.  The culverts appear to be difficult to repair because of the original installation.

•	Hand Tram Repair
The new tram rope is at the Resort.  Warren and Brian will arrange to have the new rope moved to Alpine Air, and Carolyn will coordinate getting the rope dropped at Glacier Creek (north side). Norman, Brian, and Warren will replace the old rope.  Kate will email Tom Yeager to see if he will help. The goal is to have this all accomplished by 
May 1.  
Members once again expressed their thanks to Alpine Air and will arrange to have some public acknowledgement of this community service at the end of the summer.

•	Winter Use Issues
Tree Removal Next to Dog Trail—The Committee decided to tell Andy and Dario
not to cut or remove trees next to the dog sled trail between Moose Meadow and Robbie’s Route.  The cutting or removal of trees seems unnecessary at this time.

	Winter Maps—Guest Sadie Youngstrom would like to create a Girdwood winter-use trail map for an APU project.  She proposed including elevation, grooming status, dog trail identification, and GPS coordinates on the map.  

The Committee agreed to support her project, but may not use the map in the future. Sadie agreed and will email her final map to Alison for the Committee’s consideration. 

There is no new information from Andy Morrison on winter maps. Members concurred that we want maps which do not have “You are here” printed on the map, but the term should be placed on the map before posting.

XC Skier Signs—Skier signs need to be replaced to mark trails. If there are not enough signs in the shed, Jonnie will price them for purchase.

Budget
No news

SAGA
No news

Updates
•	Girdwood 2020 Trails Subcommittee—No news
•	Lower Matrix—No news
•	South Town Site—There will be a public meeting in May.  Diana mentioned to go to the Agnew/Beck website to get further information.
•	Platting Notifications—None
•	IGA with HLB—No news

Operating Procedures Document 
The second draft of the Girdwood Trails Committee Operating Procedures was approved unanimously with the change of “last calendar year” to “last 12 months” in Voting Membership.  Kate will send the document to Land Use Committee, GBOS secretary, and to all Trails Committee members.  The document also follows these minutes.

Officers will be elected in May for the coming year.

Area-Wide Trails Plan and Section in GAP
Carolyn reported that Matt is gathering and collating information for the Area-Wide Trails Plan and the revised GAP.  He has begun the matrix too. Carolyn will edit the trails information from the 1990s that Matt has included and bring the text to the May meeting.

New Business
Anchorage Trails and Greenways Coalition
Alison mentioned that this group is primarily Anchorage-based, but that its members welcome Girdwood citizens to join.

Other Business
•	Todd announced that Channel 6 is happy to broadcast our agenda a week before
each meeting. He will be responsible for getting the agendas to the station.  Channel 6 personnel would like to have video of the hand tram repair process as well.

•	Alison is working on a Safe Routes to School grant for improvements of the bike
path between the new Girdwood Town Site and the school.  Members agreed that this section of path is in disrepair and needs substantial renovation. 

Adjourned at 8:25 pm
Next meeting is May 6, 2008
	_____

Girdwood Trails Committee
Operating Procedures

The Girdwood Trails Committee  (GTC) advocates for, protects, and maintains all trails in the Girdwood valley.  The GTC reports to the Land Use Committee and is advisory to the Girdwood Board of Supervisors.

I.  Meetings
•	Regular meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month, unless a national holiday or other important event conflicts.
•	Meetings are open to all interested people.
•	A previously published agenda is followed each meeting.
•	The chair, vice-chair, or designee leads the meeting; the secretary or designee takes and publishes minutes of the meeting.
•	Format is an open forum; Robert’s Rules of Order will be followed when necessary.

II.  Voting Membership
•	Voting members are defined as Girdwood residents or property owners who have attended six or more meetings in the last 12 months.

III.  Elections and Officers
•	The GTC officers are chair, vice-chair, and secretary. 
•	Elections are held once a calendar year, preferably in January.

IV.  Funds
•	Per agreement, committee money is independently held with Girdwood, Inc.
•	The Parks and Recreation employee or Committee Chair may request funds from Girdwood, Inc.

V.  Modifications to This Document
•	Voting members may modify this document with a majority vote.

Girdwood Trails Committee
PO Box 1154
Girdwood, AK 99587

Adopted April 2008