Friends of Dicken Woods General Assembly
DRAFT Minutes for the Monday, October 13, 2008 meeting at Dicken Elementary School
Members Present: Jim Boyd, Brian Cressman, Jack Eaton, Jason Frenzel,
Jim and Sandra Foulke, Harry Gable, Stephanie Hunter, Diane Imredy,
Debbie Johnson, Theresa Leite, Diane Macauley, Deb Norbotten, Marian
Williams, Doug Wood.
Meeting was called to order at 7:02pm by Jack Eaton.
1. Old Business
A. Minutes. Tom Ivacko moved to approve the minutes from the June 2
meeting, Deb Norbotten seconded, no discussion and motion passed.
B. Financial Report. Deb said there hasn't been too much activity
lately, and there is $5,467.91 in the bank now, after paying the State
of Michigan $20, non profit Huron Valley membership $25, and $10 to Ann
Arbor schools for meeting space for the year. A motion was made by Tom
Ivacko to pay money due, it was seconded by Jim Boyd, and it passed.
2. Updates, Reports, and Discussion Items
A. Wood Chipping. Doug Wood said the city chipped all the wood removed
during the Fall Work Day, but Jason Frenzel, from NAP, asked us to stop
cutting more buckthorn because we have exceeded our annual chipping
allotment of $250. Since then, Doug met with NAP staff, and they agreed
to chip twice a year starting next year. We still have buckthorn to
get rid of it this fall, and we have two choices: either don't do it, or
pay for a city-approved contractor to chip more. Doug proposed
authorizing another chipping this fall to get rid of the big buckthorn
trees. There was discussion about buckthorn removal, what's used on the
stumps (an ingredient in Roundup), and the need for education of
neighbors about the invasive nature of buckthorn. Doug moved that DW
authorize to pay a contractor up to $400 to chip one load of buckthorn,
Tom seconded it, and the motion passed.
B. 42 North. Jack gave a brief overview, explaining that the approved
plan was 25% smaller than the original project, and the developer has up
to 3 years to start 42 North after the project was approved. Harry
Gable said he appreciated all the effort put into 42 North by the group.
C. Citizen Participation Ordinance. Jack said the ordinance has now
passed and is in effect, so PUDs and planned projects have to go to the
neighbors within 500' to initiate one meeting at least before they can
have the site plan approved. The bad news is that the ordinance is
badly worded, but it should at least help get the notice out.
D. Grants Program for 2007-2008. Stephanie Hunter mentioned the bird
count - 24 species counted - 2 new species this year, the third year the
birds were officially counted. Stephanie said the Leslie Science
Center will do all the programs for Dicken for $1,200, and the extra
$300 can go to the Winter Walk. The kids and teachers all like the
Leslie Science Center programs.
E. Special Grant Project. Stephanie said this project, using a special
donation of $1,000, is almost done. The Leslie Science Center's project
will show teachers how to teach kids about the woods. The project
includes a new brochure, copies of which were handed out at this
meeting, and a field guide to come out soon. It will also provide
wooden posts as directional guides and boxes for the brochures. Jason
said the brochures are easy to update. Tom congratulated Stephanie, and
said all of these projects have been worthwhile.
F. Fall Stewardship Day. Doug said the turn out was good, and a lot
was accomplished. We will continue to have fall work days every Sunday
from 2-4 pm, since there is plenty to do in addition to cutting
buckthorn. Jason thanked Doug and said this group is a model:
self-sufficient, productive, functional, with positive interaction with
the city. Doug also mentioned that he and Ray Hunter can now apply
herbicide which helps the city's workload. He said this year there were
4 students who helped with the workday for their community service
project. Jack said that Stephanie and Doug are the DW stewards and
mostly responsible for getting the work done.
3. New Business
A. Ending FoDW membership in the South Maple Group. Jack said now we
can focus our efforts on the woods and leave the politics to others.
Tom made a motion for us to withdraw from the South Maple Group, Doug
seconded, and it passed.
B. Winter Walk. Stephanie briefly talked about it, saying we will
discuss it more at the next meeting. It will be scheduled sometime in
February on a Tuesday, with Wednesday, or Thursday as backup days,
depending on the weather.
C. Fund Raising. Naela Jenkins wasn't at the meeting, so Jack said he
will talk with her about the Max & Erma's fundraiser. Deb said
Whole Foods has some program along those lines, too. Tom will draft a
general donation solicitation letter to the whole list.
D. Pine Lake Coop Area. Diane Macaulay discussed the Pine Lake Coop
area at length. It surrounds her property, so she has been working in
this area, in particular rehabilitating the pond with a group from the
Pine Lake Coop and removing buckthorn.
E. Community Garden. The scheduled person didn't show up, so Jason
talked about Project Grow and how they want to find new garden plots,
and are looking for neighborhood support. One potential location is at
South Maple Park. Jack said we won't pick a position because the park
is fairly far from this area.
A move was made to close the meeting, it was seconded, no discussion and motion passed.
The meeting ended at 8:05 pm.
Minutes by Debbie Johnson.