Friends of Dicken Woods General Assembly
Draft Minutes for the Monday, April 5, 2004 meeting at Dicken Elementary School
Synopsis of April 5, 2004 General Meeting
- $46,000 is in our bank account, and we are prepared to donate the funds to the city.
- Trails have been generally mapped out with the help of the NAP.
- A Cleanup Day is scheduled for May 8.
- The Garage Sale is planned for June 26 and June 27.
General meeting began at 7:03 p.m., Monday, April 5, 2004.
Attending were Jim Boyd, Mike Champion,
Brian Cressman, Jack Eaton, Kay Holsinger, Doug Wood, Stephanie Hunter,
Diane Imredy, Tom Ivacko, Naela Jenkins, Debbie and Merle Johnson,
Theresa Leite, Burt Perry, Erik Stalhandske, Mary Unterburger, Marian
Williams, Max Ziegler.
Erik Stalhandske chaired the meeting.
$46,100.39 is our current total in the
bank, with $500 more in pledges expected before the end of April. There
is general acceptance that history and the unwritten assurances from
the city are sufficient for us to turn the money over to the city. A
formal ceremony to hand over the check is favored. Possibly in
September during a tree planting ceremony. Max thinks it is most
important to have it when the city wants it, a ceremony could be held
later. Erik would like to give the check to Ron Olson, for his past
efforts. The city's satisfaction with our work, and the lack of
interest from the Ann Arbor District Library, makes most of the present
members comfortable that the city will maintain DW as a nature area.
The Trails Committee has been closely
involved with the Natural Area Preservation department. Jason Frenzel
and Laurel Malvitz walked DW last Wednesday morning. They found parts
of the current trails would need to be moved to more level routes, and
stick to higher ground. Orange ribbons were laid out to mark the
currently proposed trails. They would like bridges over the wetlands.
The trails have been laid out within the property boundaries, and in a
circle fashion. The latter was a concern for the school, which wanted
limited access to their property.
A Cleanup Day in May could focus on
trail building, invasive species, and trash. Brush can be removed and
stacked along the sides of the trails. FoDW can build corduroy bridges
across muddy areas as we see fit. Non-native species such as Dames
Rocket need to be extirpated when they bloom. We can start pulling
Dames Rocket in May. Most of the large trash is concentrated around the
old homesite.
The Garage Sale is planned for Naela's
house the weekend of June 25 and 26. We want a "gourmet" garage sale
with no item's worth less than $1. Drop off will be over one weekend,
no more. Items will be tagged and cleaned June19. Jeff Jenkins will be
available before the sale to pick up large items with a pickup. We
will need to help from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the days of the sale. Naela
will not want many card tables. She will update us on her needs. No
concession stand is planned.
All kid stuff sells, but adult clothes and books don't. Tell your
friends and neighbors about the sale. In early June we will send a note
through the school, allowing parents to volunteer and contribute.
Diane said we are already well publicized at Walden Village. Notice of
our general meetings appear on all of their bulleting boards. Max
suggest that Barnes Hardware may have items for donation before they
move. Naela will contact them.
The microgrants are of great interest to
Dicken Elementary. Stephanie's friend Dody presented raptors to the
5th graders. The school was very pleased with the owls, hawk, and Lily
the turkey vulture. They would like it provided for all the classes,
but there is too much stress on the birds to do more than one class at a
time. Brian has offered to provide a presentation on amphibians and
their calls. Although his presentation generally focuses on tropical
species, he will tailor it to include local ones.
The Spring Cleanup will be May 8, from
10-1. The city will provide a truck, trash bags, and hand tools. It is
not certain if a work crew will stay with the truck. Jason Frenzel of
the NAP will help us prioritize tasks. Trash removal from the old
homesite will be brought out to Maple. Trails edges will be lined with
fallen brush. Dames Rocket will be pulled up and left where it was.
Holes will not be filled, many are now dens. Buckthorn removal and
woodchip distribution will wait for later in the year.
NAP recommends against power tools! Wear gloves and good shoes. If
you bring your own hand tools, please identify them. Kids can help, but
please provide appropriate supervision. Some snacks will be provided,
but feel free to bring your own.
Long term improvements to DW will entail
trail maintenance, cleanups, and fund raisers. A fundraising committee
may be warranted in the future. Discussion of a pond and amphitheater
was broached with Jason. His experience suggests we wait and see. The
priority is to develop a nice trail that can be walked in street shoes.
Any sitting areas within the nature area are likely to have negative as
well as positive effects.
Dave Szczygiel of the AAPS said that DW
is not a prime site for natural features education. Ideally, the AAPS
looks for areas with a diversity of prairie, lake, forest, and wetland
environments. He was very supportive of our planting a grove. He would
like us to plant not only species that are native, but come from
southeastern Michigan seed stock.
Jack Eaton move to close the meeting. Naela Jenkins seconded the motion. All were in favor.
The meeting ended at 8:37 p.m.
Minutes by Jim Boyd.