Friends of Pajaro Dunes Meeting Minutes

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2004

Time: 1:00 to 3:00 pm

Location: Pelican 33

1. Introductions

Attendees:

· John Vernon

· Barbara Vernon

· Henry Robinson

· John Warriner

· Jim Van Houten

2. Adoption of Agenda

· Upon motion made by John Warriner, seconded by Barbara Vernon and passed 4 to 0, the board approved the agenda.

3. Approval of Meeting Minutes from January 17, 2004

· Upon motion made by Henry Robinson, seconded by Barbara Vernon and passed 4 to 0, the board approved the minutes.

4. Committee Reports

· Treasurer

· Dick McFarland was not present, no report

· Education

· John V. described the Pelican Point signage project that he is leading as part of the Coastal Development Permit “special conditions” for the riverwall.

· John is proposing two types of signs:

· Path signs will be placed along the Pelican side of the riverwall to encourage all who visit to stay on designated trails and walkways. These signs will be paid for by PHOA.

· Interpretive panels usually include artwork and written descriptions about the location’s unique habitat and wildlife. John is approaching Pajaro Dunes business partners to sponsor the creation and installation of these signs. Each sponsor will have their business’ name displayed on the panel.

· Sharon Erspamer from Design Science of Santa Cruz is developing trail signs for the Pelican Point restoration project that reflect the same design elements and educational philosophy used for the Watsonville Wetlands trails.

· Examples of the path signs will be available on the FoPD website.

· Sharon has designed and installed interpretive panels for the:

· City of Santa Cruz (wharf and open space properties)

· San Francisco Bay Trail (Oyster Point, Bayside Park, South San Francisco)

· University of California, Santa Cruz (Life Lab Science)

· State of California Parks (Big Basin, Wider Ranch, New Brighton, Natural Bridges, Sunset and Nisene Marks)

· Outreach

· Communications

· Monthly Email distribution (re: monthly meetings and minutes posted on our website) to:

· FoPD contributors (less than 50% have known email addresses)

· FoPD partners (Watsonville Wetlands Watch, City of Watsonville, County of Santa Cruz, Elkhorn Slough Foundation)

· Henry suggested that we contact Carol Turley regarding the submission of one or more articles on FoPD for the Spring, 2004 edition of the Beachcomber in order to reach more of our constituency. John will contact Carol.

· Pelican Point Restoration Project

· On Saturday, March 13 from 10:00 to noon, John V is hosting a Pelican homeowner’s “work day” to install native plants in front of building D. Kathy Lyons, from Biotic Resources Group, will supervise the work.

· On Wednesdays, March 24 and 31, from 10:20 to 12:20 at Pelican Point, John V will be hosting a high school group called “Youth Build” to install native plants along the slough and beach areas.

· On Saturday, April 17 from 10:00 to noon, John V will host another “work day” at Pelican Point. Anyone interested is invited, please contact John at johnrvernon@comcast.net

· Fund-raising

· No report

5. Old Business

· Discussion and next steps: Committee structure and board development will resume at the March meeting (Richard Jensen)

6. New Business

· Henry Robinson volunteered to lead a re-design of the FoPD website.

· Henry presented the new look to board members using his laptop and style sheets created in Dreamweaver.

· Board members present approved the new design. Henry will test and then post the new pages prior to the March meeting.

· Jim Van Houten from the Watsonville Wetlands Watch attended the meeting to discuss two important projects.

· Wetlands Education Resource Center (WERC) to be located at the new High School (Lee Road)

· Project is being sponsored by the City of Watsonville and the Watsonville Wetlands Watch

· Additional funding needs to be raised to complete the project.

· Pajaro River Flood Protection project

· County of Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors will meet on:

Date: Tuesday, March 16

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: Watsonville Council chambers at 250 Main Street

· Objective of this meeting is to review and possibly select the design for the new Pajaro River levy system.

· The board is also reconsidering its previous decision to relinquish maintenance of the channel to the state’s Department of Water Resources.

7. Announcements

· Next Meeting:

· Date: Saturday, March 20

· Time: 1:00 to 3:00 pm

· Location: Pelican 33