Villages Hiking Club Board Minutes
February 20, 2020, 9:30am Forum Room
Present Board Members : President-Al Girolami; VP Trails-Faye Swanson; VP Social-Michelle Breslin; VPMembership/Webmaster-Jim Beyer; Secretary-Cheryl Allmen; and, Treasurer- Tim Eagan substituting for Rose Eagan. Others: Dan Kato, Hill Lands Committee; Bonnie Preston & Sy Gelman, Lite Rambler and walking hikes proposal. Meeting was called to order at 9:40am.
Secretary’s Report: – Cheryl Allmen. Motion :Faye- second, Michelle to accept the January Board meeting minutes with the date change of March 12 for the January social, Approved, unanimous. Attachment A
Treasurer’s Report: Tim Eagan provided the report for Rose Eagan who is in the hospital recovering from hip surgery. In addition to the report, a $28 deposit was made and a $2,216 check from the Villages Accounting Department was received and will be deposited reflecting a new current balance of $5,228.70. Action: In memory of Christopher Logan Edwards, a hiking club member who passed away recently, Al will request the treasurer to send a $50 donation to the charity of the family’s choice, the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
Attachment B, Treasurer’s Report.
Membership Report: Jim Beyer. Membership is 297. The following are 3 new members: JianKang Zhang, Luong Hung and Teresa Hung. Rosaly King has resigned and has asked to be removed from the Club membership. Jim stated that he will see to it that the fees are credited to her account, or if necessary, request Rose to send a check.
VP Trail Report: Faye Swanson indicated that she plans to add elevation and other hiking details to future Hiking Club publicity. She also discussed future hikes. Al added that several new signs were bent by cattle and that the MGCC will reach out to the ranch owner for restitution.
VP Social Report: Michelle Breslin announced that plans for the March 12, 2020, 5:30pm potluck/game night are proceeding well and since she will be out of town, the event will be coordinated that evening by Karan Foss.Attendees are to rsvp via a new link and to bring their assigned food item/board games to share. Michelle reported that Kathryn Nymoen, the Assistant Co-lead, has resigned.
OLD BUSINESS:
Hill Lands Standing Committee-Dan Kato. Faye and Dan met with Tom Munoz from the Villages Staff who is in favor of widening the foot paths to 4 feet for improved maintenance and that a quote will be requested for the completion of the step trail. Dan has prepared a draft of a response letter to Jan Champion, President of VGCC. He will make the modifications to the letter recommended by the Board and Michelle will wordsmith it prior to Al’s forwarding the response to Jan Champion for further support of the trail improvement recommendations. Motion : Cheryl, second-Michelle Al to submit the letter on behalf of the Club after Dan’s finalization of modifications. Approved, unanimous Dan recommended the creation of a Hill Lands Standing Committee to monitor the continuation of improvements on the trail. Motion: Cheryl, Second- Michelle- to create a Standing Committee for the purpose of providing oversight of progress of improvements on the hill lands. Approved, unanimous . Motion: Jim, Second-Cheryl-to appoint Dan Kato as head of this committee for a term of one year to report to Faye. Approved, unanimous. He will serve as the sole speaker on behalf of the Club relevant to the Hill Lands issues. The Guideline for the Committee is in Attachment D .Motion: Jim- Second, Michele- to add the Hill Lands Standing Committee to the Club’s Standing Rules. Approved, unanimous. Should additional funds be needed in the future, Michelle suggested that the Board reach out to the VMA through their Walk Safe Program Attachment C, Response Letter Draft . Attachment D, Scope of Standing Committee, Hill Lands Spring/Fall Outing – Faye & Michelle. Sy gave a recent history of the past spring/fall trips and emphasized the importance of securing a contract, identifying a common meeting/appetizer space, and determining if the restaurant/hotel allows for outside food/alcohol. He also expressed concern over the difficulty of securing leaders for hikes .Faye has completed initial research on a Spring Chico trip with lodging at the Oxford Suites (approximately, $130/night with a 30 day room hold agreement) and dinner at Sierra Nevada (around $25/meal) to be held mid to end of April. She will handoff records to Laura Gelman who will finalize details and oversee publicity etc. for the spring trip. There are many potential hikes in the area including visits to bird sanctuaries and Bidwell Park. Dan agreed to help Faye plan the hikes. Focus of the outings is for Club members and their significant others. Michelle will plan appetizers if needed.
Sunshine – Cheryl agreed to be the Board Member reporting on Sunshine Committee activity.
NEW BUSINESS
Rambler Lite Hiking Group Formation – Bonnie Preston and Sy Gelman. Bonnie read a letter proposing an extension of the Rambler Group to include a Rambler Lite hike for 2-3 mile hikes on Wednesdays to start to accommodate those wishing a shorter, slower hike. Bonnie will oversee the arrangements and leaders and plans to forward publicity to Faye for inclusion in The Villager. Motion : Cheryl-Second, Michelle moved the Board accept the proposal with the addition of running all publicity through Faye. Approved, unanimous. Attachment E,
Membership List Usage- A discussion ensued whether the Club would allow EVF fundraisers to use our email membership list. Al reminded us that the last Board voted it down previously. The present Board agreed that if it’s not hiking business, Jim will not release our list. Board Member
Assistants-It was unanimously agreed that should Assistants attend a Board meeting, they will be non-voting individuals.
Future Programs – Al Girolami announced that Eric Schmid, President of Portola and Castle Foundation, will lead an interesting hiking talk at the February 25 Club meeting.
Next Meetings – Board March 26, 2020 at 9:30am in Forum
General March 30, 2020 at 7:30pm at Foothill Center
Meeting concluded at 11:20 am. Respectfully Submitted, Cheryl Allmen, Secretary.