VILLAGES HIKING CLUB
General Meeting Minutes
24-Feb-2020
- Call to Order: 7:32 pm at Foothill Center.
- Executive Board Members Present: President Al Girolami, VP Trails Faye Swanson, VP Social Michelle Breslin, VP Members & Webmaster Jim Beyer,
Secretary Cheryl Allmen. Absent: Treasurer Rose Eagan.
General Attendance: 31
- President’s Report– Al Girolami welcomed all in attendance and introduced
the speaker for the evening, Eric Schmidt, President of the Portola Castle Rock Foundation. Al next summarized the Board’s current actions:
- A letter from the Board to VGCC President Jan Thompson requesting future Trail work will be finalized and sent to him within the week. The letter requests that the Board reconsider approving the $25,000 worth of maintenance previously voted on three years ago by the Club. If this is not feasible, the Club requests proceeding in phases starting with the priority of upgrading the Garden Steps.
- Establishment of the Hill Lands Trail Maintenance Committee as a standing committee with the one year appointment of Dan Kato as the Chairperson, reporting to Faye Swanson, VP-Trails. His primary responsibilities will include: organizing the Club’s annual March trail maintenance day; suggesting additional trail maintenance that becomes necessary throughout the year; and, communicating and coordinating with Villages Facilities to ensure the safety, usability and maintenance of the trails.
He also reminded the Club that the next Trail Maintenance Day is scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2020 beginning at 8:30am at the Foothill Center and to help by signing the signup sheet in the back of the room. Also in the entrance in the back of the room for viewing are the Minutes of the previous general meeting and copies of the January Financials. He mentioned that Teri Vivoli, the new Sunshine Chairperson had sent cards to Treasurer Rose Eagan who had hip surgery and to Kellen Perry whose partner Christopher Logan Edwards (also a Club member) had recently passed away. And, per our Club’s standing rules, he requested the Treasurer to forward a $50 donation in memory of Christopher to the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Sy Gelman announced he is happy to continue to represent the Hiking Club at the Villages Orientations—such a great way to introduce new members to the Club!
Secretary’s Report – Cheryl Allmen thanked Debbie Siedband for taking the minutes of the last meeting. Bonnie Preston with a second from Michelle Breslin moved that the January 27, 2020 General Meeting Minutes be approved. Motion carried.
Treasurers Report – substitute for Rose Eagan-Al Girolami
Due to Rose’s hospitalization, President Al invited members to review the report at the back of the room, indicating that in addition to the report, the current balance is now over $5,200.
VP Trails Report-Faye Swanson indicated that the Board approved the addition of a Rambler Lite group, an extension of the current Rambler group. This group will meet the needs of hikers who wish a shorter, more leisurely distance of 2-3 miles. Bonnie Preston will head up the group and will provide Faye with the schedule and publicity for The Villager. Copies of this proposal were in the back of the room for pickup.
Faye reminded members to sign up for the Trail Maintenance Day in the back of the room and then announced the details of the Club’s Spring Outing in Chico to be held April 21-23. Approximate costs to be $119/double occupancy at the Oxford Suites per night with a dinner $40 tax/tip which includes 5 entre options. Cutoff date for room reservations is March 21st. There will be a variety of hikes at various levels to choose from including Higher Bidwell Park for regular hikers and Lower Bidwell Park for Ramblers, the latter of which runs through the middle of Chico. More details will be sent out soon. Lastly Faye announced that she plans to arrange a Coyote Ridge Hike located in South San Jose on Sunday March 15 to see the beautiful wildflowers at the peak of the season. More details on signups will be available soon.
Membership Report – Jim Beyer announced the Club is now 297 members strong including three new members: JianKang Zhang, Luong Hung and Teresa Hung.
VP Social – Michelle Breslin invited the members to attend the upcoming
March 12th Game Night which will begin with a potluck dinner followed by games brought by members. Karan Foss will oversee and coordinate the event as Michelle will be out of town. Michelle indicated an email has been sent to the membership outlining more details and what dish to bring.
Hill Lands Signs Update – John Trudeau shared a slide presentation showcasing the progress of the new trail signs project, indicating that the installation is now 99.5% complete. Unfortunately, due to a bordering fence gap, several signs were bent and damaged by cattle recently. Fortunately the posts remained solid in the ground and held up well. The tasks remaining are to ensure the fence break is repaired and secure, to mount and align several broken and missing signs and to connect with the rancher and cattle owner to possibly seek restitution. He concluded with a chuckle: “keep the cattle out and we’re in good shape!”
Refreshments – Susan Brown thanked Russ Glines and John and Sandi Petrin for the evening’s beverages and cookies.
Program – Eric Schmidt presented an interesting and most informative slide show outlining the perks and beauty of hiking in the Portola Redwoods and Castle Rock Parks, both of which are approximately a 60 mile drive from the Villages.
Next Meeting – March 30, 2020 with Speaker Kiyomi Honda Yamamoto,
South Bay Regional Director of Greenbelt Alliance
The meeting adjourned at 8pm followed by refreshments, comradery and the evening’s presentation.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Allmen
Secretary
Notation: Copies of the 1-27-20 Minutes and Treasurer’s Report were available for viewing at the Hiking Club General Meeting and a hard copy is kept by the Secretary with the Board minutes.