SW Trails PDX
Monthly Meeting Minutes
August 24, 2017
The Watershed Building in Hillsdale
6388 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland OR 97239
APPROVED
Attendance: Doug Rogers, Don Baack, Sharon Fekety, Virgina Hendrickson, Lee Buhler, Andrea Wall, Glenn Bridger, , Barbara Bowers, Hans Steuch, Mary Ann Santana, Debbie Small, Barbara Stedman, David Murphy, Chris Mays, Bretta Gordon
Doug called to order at 7:03pm. He said he was chairing the meeting as Dave is in Ireland.
Agenda: Don made a motion to accept the agenda with the addition of a discussion of our grant.. Glenn seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
Minutes: Barbara Bowers made a motion to accept the June minutes. Debbie seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. Hans and Barbara Stedman.
Don pointed out that Keturah, a non board member, made a motion at the last meeting and that we should have a board member make that motion. Glenn said it is important to have accountability with the board.
Don made the following motion:
If a trail is to be an official SW Trails PDX project the board must pass a motion approving the project and an encroachment permit by PBOT must have been issued. Debbie seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
Events: There will be a work party at Wilson High on Saturday for the area that SW Trails has been working on for years. Don said it was looking very good. It will go from 9:00 to 1:00. Don said we have scheduled a booth at the Hillsdale farmer’s market for Sunday. He will try to move it to late September as there is so much going on. There is a walk about on September 6 to show the new director of Southwest in Motion (Nick Falbo). There will also be the monthly work party on September 7 at April Hill Park. We will have a booth at Goose Hollow days on September 16th. On September 20 there will be a trails forum at Metro. The next SW Trails meeting will be on Thursday, September 28th.
Hikes: Sharon said Rick Kaplan will lead the September hike to parts of the future Red Electric Trail.
PBOT Grant Application:
Debbie said she has been working with Dave and Don on the PBOT trail maintenance grant. The grant is for maintenance of trails. It asks for two specific areas and then other areas if needed. Copies of the grant application where handed out.
Don moved that we authorize Debbie to submit the grant. Glenn seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
SW 25th & Bertha Safe Route to School.
Don said Portland City Council approved and passed funding of this trail of about $23,000. The permit is still needed. He said we should get the money up front. Doug asked about the railings and Don said it is included. Don said he hoped the permit would be issued in the next few weeks. Andrea said many people use the trail as it is currently
SWIM:
Don explained the Southwest In Motion program and how SW Trails is involved. He said they have made good progress with a similar program in east Portland.
Emergency Trail Repair:
Don said he and Debbie met with the people near 19th from Fairmont to Council Crest drive. He said PBOT wanted to go through the trail process. Don suggested it could be included in our grant and we should wait for the time being.
Capitol Highway:
Don talked about the veto threat for the Capitol Highway project. Many people emailed about it and the governor decided not to veto the project.
25th trail by Jewish Community Center:
Andrea has a grant for this project. Andrea said Home Forward was to be their fiscal sponsor but they have asked her to find a new sponsor. Doug said we will discuss this in September.
Signs:
Hans said the goal should be not to consult a map except for the beginning and ending of a trail. He submitted a report of deficiencies on Trail 6 to PBOT. He submitted a list of deficiencies on trail 5 and 1. He has not heard back. He said there are other jurisdictions to contact for some signs.
Treasurer’s Report:
Hans said he and Glenn have completed an annual audit of SW Trails and everything is in order. They have prepared federal and state annual filing forms and Dave will need to sign them when he gets back.
Chris reported that we have a total of $19708.17 in the bank. (This includes $16,522.85 in the general account, $1,175.11 in the 4T account, $1,010.21 in the Stephens Creek account and $1,000 in the AARP Bench project.) The YTD income is $2,129.55 and expenses are $2,154.87.
Membership:
Barbara Bower said 6 people have joined in July and August for a total of 43 for the year. There were also three people who signed up at the Multnomah Days Fair and they will be included next month.
Social Media:
Barbara Stedman said almost 400 people have liked the SW Trails Facebook page. We got a lot of response for the Capitol Highway project.
Other Business:
Insurance:
Hans said he is not sure what our insurance covers. He said the agent has been out of town. Andrea said she has run into insurance complications as well. Lee said he thought it was time to review our insurance policies. Hans asked if the hike waiver was necessary. Lee will arrange a meeting with our insurance agent.
Grant Partnering/Fiscal Agent:
Doug talked about SW Trails fiscal sponsorship of trail projects. He said SWNI cannot be a sponsor of trail construction projects as their insurance does not cover it. He asked what relationship with those groups we should have and what the fiscal administration fee would be. Doug said we need to be respectful of our treasurer’s time. Hans said we have to have a sponsorship agreement. Lee described the fiscal sponsorship process at SWNI. There is a Fiscal Sponsorship agreement for each project which includes a project leader, description and budget. Each Fiscal Sponsorship agreement must be approved by the board. Money donated to the project is tax deductible based on SWNI’s 501©3 status. The project must fall under defined purpose of the organization as stated in the bylaws . Don pointed out that it may get complicated when we sponsor and supervise the project. He said we need to talk to our insurance agent about it.
Lee made a motion for the Bridlemile grant saying that we are not ready to sponsor or insure the project. However, SW trails would be glad to advise and help with the project. Don seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
The grant writer is Jenna Barnett of the Bridlemile neighborhood association and Don will contact her and explain our situation.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm
Respectfully submitted
Lee Buhler
SW Trails on Facebook
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