As of October 1, 2011 WSF charges no bike fee if the bicyclist uses a passenger/commuter book ticket.  A commuter book ticket for a passenger fare covers the bicycle for free.    Buying just a single ticket as a bicyclist costs quite a bit more than just a single passenger ticket.  WSF is supporting bicyclists by charging this lower rate for a commuter book of 10 tickets which still must be used in 90 days.

The meeting was called to order by Tracy Roberson at 5:05 p.m.. Attending were: Joe Cussen, Steve Ulvi, Kyle Loring, Dave Zeretzke, and Leslie Veirs. Volunteer hours reported: 3.

Old Business
Event Planning for the Year
Our previous goal of having 3-4 events each year has not materialized, although the two events (Bike Warm Up and Tune Up, and The Children’s Festival) we’ve had have been deemed quite successful. The idea of having a regularly-scheduled island bike ride was discussed in lieu of the summer ride on Shaw which didn’t occur. Other ideas generated were: Sunday biking on False Bay Road, having a single riding event, having a fall cycling series using a List Serve to notify interested bikers, and contacting the person who posted a notice at SJ Fitness about Health Club group bike rides. Tracy will follow up by making contact. Kyle will contact Marc Islam to see if he is still interested in helping with an event.

Signage
Tracy reported that everyone is supportive of having a permanent large sign made for Bike Paths events, but the sign is yet to be made. Further discussion on this topic will occur.

New Business
County Fair
The San Juan Island Trails Committee is having a booth at the fair, and they are looking for volunteers to talk with people at the booth. Members of The Lopez Community Trails Network will be sharing the booth and working each day at 11:45 a.m.. Dave passed around a sign-up sheet for times which have yet to be filled.

Mitchell Hill
In the absence of Bill Severson, Dave reported that lots of user groups on the island are ready to engage and focus on the planning process for Mitchell Hill trails. The Trails Committee has offered to help Peter Dederich with the public process once the Environmental Assessment (EA) for Mitchell Hill has been completed. Dave reported that Peter would like to have a planner help with getting the actual planning process started by spending 6 months doing the EA, but the problem is funding. Dave will follow up with Peter on this important issue this week.

Bicycle Safety in Friday Harbor
Steve expressed concern regarding youth bikers in town not understanding bike rules and regulations. He has witnessed many infractions, some of which are quite dangerous. It was suggested that the sheriff might give an outreach program in the schools to educate children about bicycle safety. Another suggestion was that Sam, who works at the bike shop in town, be enlisted to help educate the 16-18 year old population. Joe and the Sheriff Nou could also help with educating this targeted population of bikers. The Cascade Bicycle Club might also participate. Spring was suggested as an ideal time for such a program. Enforcement of biking rules and regulations continues to be very important to committee members.

Recruitment of New Members for the Bike Paths Committee
Bike Paths Committee members would like to add new members to our group. Island Rec has heard from its survey results that many islanders think that bicycle safety is an important issue. Committee consensus is that, although our small group is making a difference, new members would produce fresh ideas and energize the current committee. It was suggested that having a speaker at meetings might help with this goal. Speakers listed for our next meeting on November 21st were Rachel Dietzman, Sheriff Nou, or council members. Another suggestion was that each current and active Bike Paths Committee member recruit a new member for the next meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:24 p.m..

Respectfully submitted,
Leslie Veirs, Secretary

Next Meeting: Monday, Nov. 21st at Whidbey Island Bank – 5:00 p.m.

WHAT DID WE DO?
Bike Paths hosted a booth at the Island Rec Children’s Festival on May 7th. We accepted responsibility for hosting a booth at our Feb 21, 2011 meeting and held three planning meetings on 3/28, 4/12 and 5/2. The booth drew children in with interactive demonstrations and displays and was by any measure a success. The only times we did not have children at the booth was during the two juggling performances (the main act). Otherwise, we consistently had children engaged in one way or another.

WHAT WENT WELL?
- Dick Packard’s balance beam or tightrope trainer and Val Veir’s demonstrations of centripetal force, angular momentum and precession kept kids engaged.
- We reinforced the message to always wear a helmet for kids on the balance beam.
- Lice spray was used in the helmets in between riders on the balance beam.
- Helmets of different sizes were available for the balance beam.
- Holding a water bottle in each hand while on the turntable was a very easy solution and manageable even for small children.
- A 20″ wheel for the precession demonstration worked well for kids 8 years and older.
- 2 tables defined our space well. One table would have been tight.

- Sam McMain’s mountain biking videos were inspiring.
- We needed to use a monitor to watch the video… a projector was not bright enough.
- Volunteers were engaging (thank you!). Island Rec commented on how helpful it was to have so many volunteers at the booth. It creates an agreeable atmosphere.
- We had all sorts of paraphernalia to give away, thanks to Leslie.
- Karla’s Swiss Army bike display and write-up grabbed some attention, mostly from the parents.
- Balloons and streamers for decorations, thanks again to Leslie.
- Being outdoors, under the awning, is preferable to being outside or being inside.

WHAT COULD WE HAVE DONE BETTER?
- Signage – we put up an Island Rec sign and a Trails sign as well as a poster for Bike Paths. It’s a confusing message, being a subcommittee of a subcommittee. It would help to have our own sign.
- Be clear on what our message is for this event. If we agree ahead of time that we’re all about demonstrations, that’s fine. If we want to get a message out about safe cycling, then we should make it a priority to work that in.
- Island Cycles had a sign in our booth, along with Sam’s video while Travel Light was just a stone’s throw away. Could we partner with both Island Cycles and Travel Light Cycles next time with one booth? We could work kids through the demonstrations and direct parents to the businesses and our own educational material.
- The three helmets that we had were all different sizes, requiring us to either slow down to adjust chin straps on the most commonly used helmet or allow kids to ride without their helmet properly adjusted. Two helmets of each size (or at least the two most preferred sizes) would really help so the rider on deck could adjust their helmet and be ready to go.
- 10-11am was very slow. 11-12 picked up some. The real rush came after the first juggling show in the main building and lasted up until the second show. Things really died down for us after the second show.
- We could use counters to document the number of kids that came through. What would we use the data for?

The February 25th Meeting minutes, as revised were approved.

CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL recap
See re-cap minutes. We would like to do it again. Keep the equipment. Need a cartoon chart of why the bike balances on the balance beam.

MITCHELL HILL
Bill Severson has a meeting set up on Thursday with Rick Karon (equestrian) and Mark Hetrick (mountain biker) and Steve Ulvi (road biker). These point persons are getting together to learn what the National Park system is planning and start a dialog. The goal is to have the different stakeholders as part of the discussion to figure out where to go from here and identify the other key stakeholders in the various groups that can be invited to a meeting with the National Parks. Runners are not represented at this time. Nat’l Parks has a resource person (name from Bill) who we previously reported as being available in Mid April. A meeting was most recently scheduled for Mid-May. No hard date yet.

COFFEE WITH RICH PETERSON
Bill Severson, at Liz Illg’s suggestion, will contact Rich Peterson to discuss his support for mixed-use trails.

UPCOMING MEETINGS
Trails, Wednesaday May 23, 5:00pm at Whidbey Island Bank
May 19 4:30-6:30pm Island Rec Work Party at Lafarge property
May 23 8:30-4:00pm Transportation Element of Comprehensive Plan County Workshop (Liz Illg is calling for help from the Bike Paths group!)
May 26 4:30-6:30pm Island Rec Work Party at Lafarge property
June 20 5:00pm Bike Paths low-key, simple brainstorm to organize rides
Aug 15 5:00pm Bike Paths meeting at Whidbey Island Bank.

OUR IDENTITY/GOALS/STRUCTURE AND SIGNAGE
Creating Pathways to Safer Cycling:
- Improving Bike Safety
- shoulders, helmets
- safety in numbers
- multi-use trails
- Improving Share the Road Message
- Increasing Cyclist numbers

When this group was first formed, it was intended to give cyclists a voice in the Trails Committee, especially in the context of mixed-use paths. At this point in time, our group may be trying to be all things to all people in regards to bike safety. There was discussion about the need for Signage to promote our group and our cause at future events.
As a sub-committee of the Trails Committee of Island Rec, the signage, logos, and recognition can become confusing. There’s a great deal we get for free being a subcommittee… we get the mission statement for free. We get the budget for free. We get structure for free.

Structure is separate from Identity. Tracy will get clarification from SJI Trails and Island Rec about how to best adress our signage needs.

BIKE SHARE
Our supply of cheap bikes dwindled. In a couple more years, more bikes may be available for a cheap price. Our idea of a bike shares is to keep obnoxiously painted bikes around town. Tracy researched this. Orcas tried this with little governance… leading to orphaned bikes, vandalism, and theft. A Bike Share is not intended to impact local bike rentals… but it may. How do we prevent it? If we were take this on, it would take a dedicated group of people to manage & repair. This discussion is intended to plant a seed of discussion for future meetings.

EDITORIAL RESPONSE
We all gave Joe divergent feedback on whether or not he should respond to an inaccurate and belligerent response to his editorial. We agree that it’s important to educate people that it is indeed legal to stop and not put our foot down.

EVENTS
We’ve had two events in 2011. Our goal was to have four events. No upcoming events are planned at this time. We can start an event by email anytime. Island Rec is OK with us having organized rides. The leader has to be a registered volunteer with Island Rec as well as one other rider who has to also have CPR/First Aid AND we have to have a sign-in sheet for the riders to deal with the waiver issue. Bike Swap, Organized Rides, Bike Share, Bike to Work (biking schoolbus for adults). An event for tourists to join with locals on a organized ride.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I absolutely love the Children’s Festival. Island Rec puts on a fabulous show and I’m thrilled that the Bike Paths group put up the volunteers to participate this year.

We had a constant stream of children flow through our booth, with lines at times for each of our activities. I know that my own kids have never seen anything like this in the five years that we’ve attended the event. For every child that participated on the balance beam, there were two or three that looked on with apprehension. And *every* child that walked through enjoyed the gyroscope/centripetal force demonstrations. Older kids, who were too cool to enjoy the demonstrations, found the Sam’s video worth while. I think we offered a great mix and a whole lot of fun!

My own photos of the event can be found on:

http://keithp.com/~marc/photos/110507Festival/BikePaths/

Thanks to everyone that helped to make this happen…

Val Veirs & Dick Packard… your demonstrations were a huge hit… for some kids, our booth was the highlight of the festival! Thank you for taking some wacky ideas, running with them, and delivering activities that were safe, educational, and a whole lot of fun.

Sam McMain & Island Cycles… you and your friends produced an incredible video that was clearly put together with forethought and style. The footage is exciting, humorous and at sometimes painful to watch . The video and sound editing rivals the best I’ve seen on the internet. May I post it, along with the photos? Let me know…

Joe, Leslie, Karla, Dick, Val, Marc, Bill, Tracy, Kyle, Liz and Steve and Sam… thank you for your support, planning, and volunteering efforts to put this on. We may have had more than we needed at the event, but I hope we were all able to take breaks and enjoy the show going on around us. Bill, Dick, and Joe stuck around through both shifts (I hope it’s because you were having so much fun!) Setup and Take down went painlessly. Decorations looked great, with balloons and streamers from Leslie, a fabulous cork signboard from Bill, signage from Tracy and Karla’s funky Swiss Army Bike (and you send around the post you found that describes the bike?).

Remember, May is Bike Month, and this year Bike to Work Week is May 16-20 and Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 20. The editorial from Joe Cussen and Sheriff Nou should appear in the Journal this week. Be sure to share it with your friends!

CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL planning minutes
Present: Tracy Roberson, Karla Sabin, Joe Cussen, Val Veirs, Bill Severson, Kyle Loring, Marc Islam, and Dick Packard

Event Details:
When: May 7th, 10-2, plus setup/takedown
Where: San Juan County Fairgrounds
More Information: http://www.islandrec.org/childrens-festival/

OTHER MATTERS
Joe Cussen informed us that the PUBLIC WORKS CHIP SEAL program is on Orcas this year. If you want to go to Mt. Constitution on a bike, you’ll have to cross some chip seal. The map can be found at http://sanjuanco.com/docs/hottopics/PW/154_2011%20Chipseal%20PlanningMap.pdf, but the schedule has not yet been posted.

Public Works is bringing the entire county up to code with regards to SIGNAGE. PW expects to hold a public meeting with cyclists to see what we can do to participate in their signage program. Be on the lookout for more information.

Joe also asked whether we would like to re-post our MAY 2010 EDITORIAL, co-authored with Sheriff Nou. Discussion that followed noted that last year’s editorial was a little heavy with RCW references. Re-posting without the rest of our letter-writing campaign tends to sound authoritative. Can we focus on the responsibilities and less so on the rights? Could we simply remove the RCW references and move them as citations to the end of the letter? Let’s try to tone down the RCW, get input from Sheriff Nou and get it posted in the online papers, perhaps in conjunction with National Bike Month (May). Joe will follow up with Sheriff Nou.

Travel Light Cycles status is unknown at this time. Raffle is also unknown. If we have a raffle, some advertising before hand may be useful. MARC will follow up.

Island Cycles will not have a booth. Paul is still considering how he may participate. JOE will follow up.

SIGNAGE. TRACY can have a large sign printed on paper. MARC *may* be able to get it laminated for free. BILL has a freestanding corkboard we’ll use to hold the sign.

SPACE We have 15×50′ to use, more than enough for our table and demonstrations.

ACTIVITES
TIGHTROPE TRAINER. We saw a demo today. We’re on track for the festival. Its our intention to require helmets for participants, but the elementary school’s LICE oubreak may complicate matters. MARC is following up with San Juan Public Health on best practices.

CENTRIPETAL FORCE DEMONSTRATION. On track with one wheel. Val needs a few more wheels of different sizes. We currently have only one 20″ wheel. Please email vveirs@coloradocollege.edu if you can help.

OUR TABLE will hold our materials (stickers, buttons, and coloring books). MARC/LESLIE will follow up. We will also have handout materials from local bike shops. MARC will follow up with TLC. PAUL will follow up with ISLAND CYCLES. Upcoming event advertising (Bike to Work Week?) NEED SOMEONE TO OWN

CANCELLED ACTIVITIES
- Raffle for ridership
- Mechanical – electrical energy transfer (blender). Food handlers permit required.
- Bike decorating

VOLUNTEERS (3 NEEDED). Please contact MARC at 317.5377 if you’re available.
We want to have four volunteers present at all times (two to spot the tightrope trainer, one to manage the centripetal demonstrations, and one to float/answer questions at the table). Two 2-hour shifts equates to eight volunteers.
FIRST SHIFT: Bill Severson, Joe Cussen, Karla Sabin, NEED ONE VOLUNTEER
SECOND SHIFT: Val Viers, Marc Islam, NEED TWO VOLUNTEERS

NEED TO BRING
Cork Board – BILL
Bunting – BILL
Easle – MARC
Signage – TRACY/MARC
Flags – NEED VOLUNTEER
Balloons – NEED VOLUNTEER

Next Meeting: May 2nd, 5pm at the fairgrounds.

CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL planning minutes
Present: Tracy Roberson, Karla Sabin, Joe Cussen, Val Veirs, Marc Islam

When: May 7th, 10-2, plus setup/takedown
Where: San Juan County Fairgrounds
More Information: http://www.islandrec.org/childrens-festival/

We will NOT be providing a UNICYCLIST needed for this event for reasons that I’m purposely not going to go into here. Want to learn more? Come to our next planning meeting…

TRAVEL LIGHT CYCLES will have their own booth. MARC will follow up.
TLC has confirmed that they are still committed to donating a reconditioned BMX bicycle to raffle off.
TLC has confirmed that they would like to have their booth adjacent to ours.

Does ISLAND CYCLES know about the festival? If so, are they participating? If not, would they like to have a presence either through our booth or as a separate (perhaps adjacent) booth? JOE will follow up to solicit participation and/or ideas.

Are HELMETS being given away at the festival this year by either EMS or Public Health. If they are not being given away, we’ll have to decide at our next meeting whether or not we want to take that on. MARC will follow up.

How much SPACE do we need? It will depend on whether or not we do the tightrope activity. TRACY will follow up with Island Rec to figure out our options.

Should we hold a RAFFLE for people who ride their bikes to the fair to encourage ridership? Bring your ideas to the next meeting.
Things to consider… we would need a way to identify riders (perhaps we should make them show their helmet?). We would likely want to advertise ahead of the festival to encourage ridership and advertise the raffle. UNASSIGNED

ACTIVITIES
Angular momentum/gyroscope VAL/MARC
- Pass a handle through the hub of a wheel so the wheel can be held on either or both sides.
- Spin the wheel fast and simply walk around to experience the effects of the angular momentum.
- Spin the wheel fast, sit on a rotating chair. Changing the wheel’s orientation makes you spin in the chair.
- Attach a rope to the end of one of the handles, then spin the wheel fast holding the wheel upright. Let go of the handle. The wheel
continues to stay upright, cantilevered at the attachment point with the rope. This is the gyroscopic affect that lets us balance while
riding the bike.
- Try weighing down the bike wheel (fill the tube with water) to increase the angular momentum
- Use a small motor to initially spin the wheel by touching the tire to a rotating device (easier for small children to get the wheel up to speed)

Tight-rope MARC
- an actual tightrope would need to be a permanent installation, or attached to vehicles.
- Instead, we can simulate a tightrope by placing a rod or small diameter pipe on top of a beam which is then raised off the ground by
sawhorses (everything securely attached, of course) using only wood and a metal rod. See
http://keithp.com/~marc/Temp/TightRopeTrainingSchematic.jpg for a crude schematic.
- Imagine the sawhorse raising the beam off the ground 12″. We would hang a weight off the bottom of the bicycle below the beam.
That weight would have to be at least as much as the weight of the bike and the rider. The further down we hang the weight, the
less weight needed.
- Alternatively, we could attach a pole with weighted ends to the handlebars.
– Come see a proof-of-concept to demonstrate at our next meeting.

Transfer mechanical ENERGY to run a blender. MARC
- Marc will follow up with a local 5th Grade student who created this demonstration for their science project. Perhaps we can solicit their
help for a demo at our booth.
- Sadly, we would need a food handlers permit to create smoothies. Send in your suggestions.

TRICKING out your bike UNASSIGNED
- Just a suggestion… could we come up with colorful ideas/demonstrations for tricking out your bike with everyday materials?
- plastic clickers attached to your spokes
- magnets to create a current that power LEDs
- streamers for your spokes to add color/visibility
- rolls of different colored electric tape to decorate the tubing/helmets
- battery-driven LEDs for your helmet
- If we want to do this, we need someone to take this on.

NEXT MEETING will be at Whidbey Island Bank, TUESDAY April 12th at 5pm.

The Bike Paths Sub-Committee of the San Juan Island Trails Committee met on Monday, February 21, 2011 at Whidbey Island Bank. Present were: Joe Cussen, Eric Eisenhardt, Wayne Helgoth, Marc Islam, Kyle Loring, Tracy Roberson, Karla Sabin, Bill Severson, Carol Severson and Leslie Veirs. Hours reported totaled 20 1/2 hours.

Tracy called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m.. The November 15th minutes were approved as written.

Mitchell Hill Update:
Bill gave a Mitchell Hill update and distributed a written report from Peter Dederich titled “Mitchell Hill Protection and Planning, January 13, 2011″. The report states that there is a twofold mission regarding planning in National Parks: “to promote enjoyment while leaving resources unimpaired”. Interested groups and individuals are invited to participate in the long-term management planning for Mitchell Hill beginning in the spring of 20ll. The National Parks Service has a resource person who will be available in April to help with the planning process. Bill said that Peter is supportive of a multi-use area, and would like feedback on how to integrate various groups such as hikers, bikers and equestrians into the park system. Tracy mentioned that we need to be sure that bicyclists are included in these important stakeholder meetings. Eric said that there are a number of regular mountain bikers who use Mitchell Hill year-round, although the shoulder seasons offer the best biking opportunities. Bill also distributed copies of a map of Roche Harbor Highlands, Mitchell Hill and English Camp Trails put out by the San Juan Island Trails Committee, and pointed out that people have gotten “lost” by missing a turn at an intersection in the Roche Harbor Highlands. Bill will continue to work with Peter and others and keep us posted as the Mitchell Hill planning process progresses.

Event Planning:
March 19th Warm-up and Tune-up Event:
Marc broke down the jobs which need to be filled for this event: 2 volunteers for set-up (tables, chairs, signs); 2 people for the Children’s Station; 3 individuals for the Tune-up Station; 1 person to man the Bike Gear Display; 1 volunteer for Routes; 1 person to act as Runner; 2 people for Take-down and Clean-up; and 1 volunteer for Sign-ups and Brochures. The maximum number of volunteers is 13 and the minimum number is 9. Five members of the Bike Paths Committee have committed to volunteering for this event. The committee is looking for 4-7 more volunteers; please contact Marc Islam at 360-317-5377 if you are interested in helping with this event.
There will be no vendors or cost for the facility (Friday Harbor Elementary School grounds). Marc will talk to Vice Principal Marty Robinson about participants using the school bathrooms during the event. There will be an All Seasons Display, a Kids’ Booth, and Bike Maintenance Area. Marc said that Judy Packard will probably be able to handle the distribution and fitting of helmets. Four tables will be needed for the event. Kyle is coming up with three different biking routes for people to try out on their own after this event: short (Pear Point), medium (Cattle Point) and long (Roche Harbor/West Valley Rd. intersection to Beaverton Valley Rd. to town).
Publicity for the event was then discussed. Karla showed a flyer for the Warm-up and Tune-up Event, which will be printed on colored paper. Marc will laminate a few copies for outside postings. Tracy will prepare a press release for papers by Thursday, March 3rd and will see that the event is posted on community calendars. Karla will prepare an announcement for the middle and high school by Friday, Mar. 11. Marc suggested that Kyle be the person in charge for the day of the event.
Mikial Denker will be in charge of the Basic Tune-up Station, and guidelines for this will be decided at the next event planning meeting on March 7th. Tasks at this station will include checking brakes, raising or lowering handlebars and/or seats for proper fit, cleaning and oiling chains, and repairing flat tires with patch kits. It is hoped that at least two other volunteers will be able to help at this station, including Mikial’s assistant, Frank. Joe will talk to the owner of Island Bikes about other potential volunteers. The next event planning meeting will be on Mar. 7th at Whidbey Island Bank at 5 p.m..

May 7th Children’s Festival “Cirque de San Juan”:
This special event will be on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Last year over 1200 people attended this event. Tracy will submit a preliminary proposal from the Bike Paths Committee for this event by the deadline, March 4th. Brainstorming ideas for this event were: have an information table to advertise biking in the community and get input from people; Centrifugal force bike wheel table, distribute or have kids make buttons promoting biking; hand out stickers; have bike coloring books or a coloring page; and use money in the budget and/or get sponsors to buy a bike to raffle off. In the past Peter and Susan Risser expressed interest in helping with a Bike Rodeo, Marc will contact them to see if they would like to team up on this for a separate date to be determined..

Scenic Byways Update:
The last day of the comment period is February 28th. The focus group has pledged to think about bikes as related to safety and alternative transportation issues.
San Juan County Public Works Trails Standards:
Tracy distributed a draft of the Public Works trails standards which aim to make road right of way trails ADA compliant as required for eligibility for state and federal funding. During the public comment period, Island Rec and the San Juan Island Trails Committee raised concerns about these standards and the associated costs. The general concerns reflected a need for exceptions, can common sense rule over a strict interpretation of standards? The implication for bicyclists is that the Trail Standards Draft also allows for widened shoulders for bicycle travel.

House Bill 1018, which relates to changes in the “Three Ft. Rule”, has been tabled.

Mike Martin has volunteered to create videos to help publicize upcoming Trails Committee and (possibly) Bike Paths Subcommittee events in local media, including the San Juan Island Update and Trails Committee website. Bill will contact him to see if he will come to our March 19th Warm-up and Tune-up Event, as his help would be most appreciated.

Important Upcoming Dates:
March 7 @5 p.m.,Whidbey Island Bank – planning meeting for Warm-up and Tune-up
TBA: planning meeting for May 7th Children’s Festival Event – 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
May 16 @ 5 p.m. at Whidbey Island Bank – regular meeting of Bike Paths Subcommittee

The meeting was adjourned at 6:25 p.m..

Respectfully submitted,
Leslie Veirs, Secretary

Cascade Colors Hiking Trip- Wednesday, October 19^th 8:00am-7:30pm

Enjoy some of the Northwest’s finest fall foliage on this guided, scenic hike.  The hike will venture up the North Cascades Highway to Diablo Lake and the Colonial Creek area.  The views of mountains, lakes and old growth trees will be breathtaking!  This is a moderate hike approximately 6-8 miles with elevation.  All transportation costs are included in program fee. Participants will walk on the 8:00am ferry and meet the program van at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal. You will be dropped off in time to walk on the 6:00pm ferry.  $53 before Oct. 12^th; $63 thereafter.  Go to www.islandrec.org for more information or to register for this program!

Snowshoeing Near Mt. Baker- Sunday, January 22^nd 8:00am-7:30pm

Get out and enjoy the snowy landscape!  Perfect for the beginner or seasoned veteran, participants will receive instruction on basic snowshoeing techniques and simple winter safety skills while exploring gentle slopes and trails near Mt. Baker.  Program fee covers all transportation, instruction, equipment, and supplies.  Participants will walk on the 8:00am ferry and meet the program van at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal. You will be dropped off in time to walk on the 6:00pm ferry.  $66 before Jan. 13^th; $76 thereafter. Go to www.islandrec.org for more information or to register for this program!

Facilitating and participating actively in the creation, maintenance and use of a network of trails for non-motorized use on San Juan Island.

San Juan Island Trails Committee Minutes

June, 2011

Present: Peter Dederich, Eileen Drath, Louise Dustrude, David Harsh, Alice Hurd, Jill Johnson, Rick Karon, Mike Lazzari, Kyle Loring, Cinda Pierce, Howie Rosenfeld, Bill Severson, Theresa Simendinger, Steve Ulvi.

Notices:   June 18^th, 12:30-4:30 Scoping session for 1000 acres of BLM properties in SJC, RSVP to Nick Teague at BLM office on Lopez, 468-3754.

June 25^th—4^th Saturday Walk, Land Bank with Eliza Habegger and Doug McCutchen at Beaverton Marsh.

Volunteer Hours this Month:

Call to Order:

The regular meeting was called to order by Vice Chairperson, Bill Severson, at 5:00pm following our 15 minute social time.    Minutes from the previous meeting were approved as circulated by email.

Trail Tale: Bill Severson shared with us his recent cycling trip from Pittsburg along the Allegheny Passage, to Washington D.C. on the C.& O. trail. They took a detour to Falling Water to view the beautiful house built by Frank Lloyd Wright. He provided information on distance, elevations, and even heart rate!

Continuing Business:

1. A. Volunteers for Trail Walks: the 4^th Saturday of every month still needs some Trails Committee volunteers, especially those with First Aid training. Contact Eileen Drath at 378-5646.    Dates—–June 25^th, Aug.27, Sept.24^th, Oct.22^nd.
2. B. Volunteers for Hospital Groundbreaking: Saturday, July 23^rd. We have been asked to help with pedestrian traffic control during the combined Hospital Groundbreaking and the Airport Fly-In. These are 2 hour shifts beginning at 8:00am until the afternoon. There will be a traffic control training session, time to be determined.
3. C. Mitchell Hill Access: Peter Dederich reported that there has been some recent preliminary activity by the National Park Service (NPS) assessing the trails on Mitchell Hill. Markers have been temporarily placed to advise which type of traffic the trail is most appropriate for. There has been damage caused by “social trails” to the Old Military Road and wetlands. Decisions will be made at a later date, but funding is not currently available for the planning process. Peter is asking for help from Trails Committee members who are interested in becoming National Parks Volunteers and assisting with trail maintenance. Pruning, removal of tree limbs and cutting brush can only be legally done by NPS volunteers.  The NPS will have a Trail Workshop in July, assisted by Nick Teague and Steve Ulvi. Time to be determined.        Theresa Simendinger from the Trail Riders Club offered volunteers and funding to help build future multiuse trails with NPS.      Louise Dustrude with Magda Balise have recently checked the trails and re-marked our maps.
4. D. Hospital Trail Update: Steve Ulvi, Bill Severson, and Loren Johnson met with the hospital team, Charlie Anderson and Pamela Gross, to continue discussion of the future trail on the Peace Health property. Peace Health feels that a multiuse trail is not appropriate due to patient safety issues, but support a pedestrian loop trail. Formal easement is not granted at this time, but will be explored. Financial assistance is not offered, but we have plans to start construction in August. Mike Lazzari brought up the possibility of the Peace Health construction crew moving some of our supplies with their heavy equipment if the opportunity presents itself.
5. E. Passports: Dave Zeretzke has the sample is at Printonyx for their bid. If it is acceptable we should be able to do a first run and have the Passports available to Island Rec for Camp Eagle Rock which should host about 60 kids.
6. F. State Park Pass: Starting July 1^st, Washington State Parks will require a parking permit. $10.00/day or $30.00/year. Concerns have been raised that there is not a way to purchase permits at park sites, they can only be purchased in town. This potentially creates an unfriendly situation for visitors.
7. G. Trail Planning Template: Bill Severson says they are ready to be placed on the web and will work with Mike Lazzari on this.

New Business:

1. A. Minnie May Trail: Update from Cinda Pierce—she will communicate with Public Works about providing wood chips. Cinda has had contact with the neighborhood chair on the maintenance needed on the trail.
2. B. Work Parties for the Smith and Middleton properties: Boundaries have been cleared by Public Works but work parties have not been planned yet. The Middleton easement was approved by the County Council. Cinda will continue discussion of easement with the Pratt family.
3. C. Land Bank Update: Steve Ulvi helped the L.B. with a new trail on Turtleback on Orcas Island that will connect to the top. It starts up the road from the parking lot on the left. He also informed us that new trails are being developed on Vendovi Island .
4. D. New Trail on Guemes Island: Eileen Drath will be going to the opening of a new trail on Guemes Island, opening Saturday, June 17^th.

Respectfully submitted,

Jill Johnson

Secretary