Villages Hiking Club – General Membership Meeting Minutes 29-March-2021 (Zoom)
1. Called to Order: 7:38pm by President Al Girolami
2. Attending Board and General Members:
President – Al Girolami VP Membership & Website – Jim Beyer
VP Hiking & Trails – Faye Swanson Treasurer – Sandy Petrin
VP Social – Michelle Breslin Secretary – Gordon Carbonetti
Total attending: 32 including 20 individuals plus 6 couples
3. Guest Speaker – Lieutenant John Nores (ret.) – ex-California Fish & Wildlife Warden and Author. Contact information: website www.johnnores.com; email trailblazer413@yahoo.com; follow on Instagram @johnnores; phone 408-314-0858.
· Born and raised in Morgan Hill, John was hired as a warden for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) in 1992 and retired in December 2018 as a special operations lieutenant working directly at the state level, co-developing and leading his agency’s elite tactical unit, the Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET) and developed the CDFW’s first sniper unit aimed at combatting the most environmentally damaging criminals working within California and impacting the nation.
· John gave a very interesting and informative talk about protecting our wild lands from the drug cartels during COVID. Speaking from experience, he also highlighted his team’s efforts through video clips which were featured in the Patriot Files – Life of Duty, a documentary TV series and the National Geographic Channel’s Wild Justice game warden reality TV show. He also discussed his Team’s extensive use of trained dogs to protect team members and attack criminals.
· His most recent book, published in 2019 is titled Hidden Wars: How Special Operations Game Wardens are Reclaiming America’s Wildlands from the Drug Cartels. The purchase of this book can be arranged through the HC President or directly with Mr. Nores by email.
· John looks forward to hiking w/HC members in our Hill Lands when the Villages opens up
4. Reports
President – Al Girolami
· Al was informed by Villages management that all April activities are cancelled.
· Some unknown people have been doing some volunteer trail improvements which Al appreciates. If you want to volunteer like this, please contact Fay Swanson. Tools can be made available through the Garden Club and HC members. Also, the Board approved the purchase of two firefighting tools to work the trails, and they will supplement the two or three other HC tools being held hostage by Villages management in our cage at the Corporation Yard.
· Al wants all to be on alert for ticks. The is no real tick season, but ticks seem to be out now in numbers in the Upper Meadow area, especially in the high grass.
· Al reports there is a dog poop bag problem where people leave filled bags on the trail. The HC displayed a trailhead poster reminding people to carry all poop bags out of the Hill Lands. Al is considering putting an article about ticks and poop bags in an upcoming “Villager”.
· Al provided an update on the following Hiking Club (HC) project proposals being worked with the Villages Board – #1 Re-work the Steps Trail into a gentler, single switchback trail to be performed by a third party, #2 Install new Picnic Table in NE corner of the Hill Lands, near signpost 50 at the second highest spot in the Hill Lands, #3 Install sign-In mailbox at the Joe Marsh trailhead and #4 create and install 2-by-3-foot map/signs at each trailhead. Projects #2 and #3 won’t cost the Villages anything as the HC has its own funding. All four projects have been under consideration by the Villages Board for some time now (and a few years for #1) for incorporation into the 2021-2022 budget. Villages management advised in a March 22, 2021 email to Al that the proposal has been sent to Villages’ president and general manager for a decision. At a minimum, Al was hoping to get a quick response on projects #2 and #3 since there is no cost to the Villages. Al also highlighted project #1 can get done easily when King Grading is called in periodically to cut grass around Hill Lands trails per a Villages contract.
Secretary – Gordon Carbonetti
· There were no questions on the 22-Feb-2021 general membership meeting minutes. Cheryl Allmen made a motion for approval, which was seconded by Sandy Petrin and the motion passed unanimously.
Treasurer – Sandy Petrin
February 2021 General Fund
Beginning balance as of January 31, 2021 $4,612.80
Income – Annual Membership Dues collected by the Villages $1,932.00
Balance total $6,644.80
Expenses –
Reimbursement to Michelle Breslin for annual Zoom subscription. $202.95
Ending book balance as of February 28, 2021 $6,341.85
Note – no outstanding checks
February 2021 Hiking Club Hill Lands Project Fund
Beginning balance as of January 31, 2021 $2,801.82
No Income and Expenses $0.00
Ending Balance as of February 28, 2021 $2,801.82
· A motion was made by Wate Bakker to approve the preceding Financial Reports. It was seconded by Cheryl Allmen and passed unanimously.
· Sunshine Committee – Sandy advised there were no reported events. Al said he was trying to get an update on how Bernie Loth is recovering from his stroke. Sandy Petrin volunteered to check with Bernie’s daughter and report back at a future meeting.
VP Membership & Website – Jim Beyer
· Jim advised we have two new members (Roy Tsai, Wayne Williams) so the current membership now totals 282.
· Villages weather information link is no longer supported, so Jim reports there is no such information on the HC website.
· Al reminded all that the HC website includes a membership application which can be easily downloaded. New members should coordinate directly with Jim Beyer with completed applications along with a $7 check
VP Hiking & Trails – Faye Swanson
· Faye reported unsanctioned Rambler and Rambler-lite hikes continue and are going well thanks to volunteers Sy Gelman, Bonnie Preston and others. Additionally, Russ Glines continues to look for members to join him on Hill Lands hikes on Wed and Sat.
· Faye is looking at a possible wildflower hike in the coming weeks.
· Al did a hike at Lexington last week and saw many wildflowers.
· Wate Bakker proposed combining Long and Rambler hikes on Saturdays. He wants to volunteer to lead such a hike to Russian Hill for Wildflower viewing. Getting to the location early should avoid full parking lots. Faye cautioned some people may still not be comfortable with carpooling. Such a hike could be offered on an individual-decision basis. Wate will advise details later.
· Faye reported limited trail maintenance was worked recently in small groups of volunteers (with Dan, Russ, Wate, Mary and others) with focus on the Garden Steps. Russ has been re-routing and improving the trail at upper Bay. Wate reports it’s about 90% complete.
· Wate raised the subject of putting more benches on the lower Hill Lands. He said we can do that ourselves on a volunteer basis. The benches would be popular with the older hikers. It was decided to discuss this at the next Board meeting.
VP Social – Michelle Breslin
· Michelle presented a potential Hill Lands scavenger-hunt type activity of “Seven Secret Spots” for advanced hikers (above Tower) and seven others for Rambler hikers (below Tower), where all spots would be identified with some kind of marker. Deb Siedband and Dan Kato assisted Michelle in this effort. A couple hikers could form a Team and we would get clues (creatively developed by Dan) to locate and photograph the spots (photo to include team members and marker).
· Sandy Petrin talked about a possible Fall outing in late Sept or early Oct 2021 (mid-week) to the Pismo Beach Area near San Luis Obispo. Michelle can look into organizing activities during the outing.
5. Next Meetings
· April Board – April 15, 2021 at 9:30am, via Zoom
· April General Membership – April 26, 2021 at 7:30pm, via Zoom
6. Meeting Adjourned – The meeting adjourned at 9:11pm after a motion made by Michelle and seconded by Cheryl Allmen.
Respectfully submitted
Gordon Carbonetti – Secretary