St. Lawrence County Recreational Trails Advisory Board Meeting
St. Lawrence County Soil and Water Conservation District Office
DRAFT Minutes for November 20, 2012
Present: Dawn Howard, Art Wilson, Danny Collins, Deb Christy, David Irish, Tom Ortmeyer, Warren Irwin, Wm Swafford, Schyler Shea, Erik Backlund, Russell Martin, Roger Bennett, Alex MacKinnon, Judy Wendt, and Stanley Hewlett.
Guests: Janet Lutz, Dale McCormick, Charles Schloer, Ronald Robert, David Rhodes, and Chastity Miller.
Excused: Bill Dashnaw, Hank Ford, Walt Paul, Scott Sutherland, Spencer Thew, and also Pat Whalen.
1. Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Chairman Roger Bennett.
2. Quorum present.
3. Judy Wendt moved, and Art Wilson seconded, to approve the minutes of the October 16, 2012 meeting, with a note from Roger Bennett that Bill Lutz was also excused. All were in favor. Schyler Shea also reiterated that he can not speak for the Towns.
4. Trail Coordinator – Deb Christy. Written report passed out and reviewed. Please see at the end of these minutes.
§ Deb Christy suggested that RVRDA funds could possibly be used for gates.
5. Speaker – Chastity Miller and David Rhodes, Franklin Co. Recreational Trails Association.
§ Chastity Miller presented a power point. See attachment.
§ Franklin Cty does not own any county lands. There are DEC Easements and Forest Preserve (a no go area). They have two ATV clubs.
§ Their Association is in the process of doing a 501c3. The group is not County supported, except for the Soil and Water Conservation District and the services of the County Attorney. They have six easements to date and have identified the roads already open.
§ Franklin Co. is not using a trail pass as it is an additional liability. Riders have to join a club. You can’t charge for use of state land. They would like to see a pass for the North Country. This would be for multiple counties and each would get a piece of the pie.
§ Easements in deeds need to be recorded, which cost money. Easements with an organization are not official.
§ Franklin Co. is using NYSORVA insurance. This is general liability. They will get additional insurance for the group and trail later. NYSORVA insurance is $5 per person.
§ This will be a trail system with no ownership.
§ NOHVCC has classes for information and safety.
§ Dave Rhodes talked about some of the history and tie ins between the counties.
§ Judy Wendt agreed this needs to be a regional effort - county to county. She wondered if club membership could be reciprocal, versus. a trail pass. She also said St. Lawrence County patterned after the snowmobile landowner easements.
§ 50” trail width was discussed. Side by sides are not legal unless they are less than 1000 lbs. The only one is the Polaris Razor. Deb Christy said the equipment is 60” wide.
§ Tom Ortmeyer asked about the town roads already open. Chastity Miller reported that the use will be as minimal as possible. Town Clerks legally have lists of what is open.
6. Reports of Committees:
a. Executive – Roger Bennett.
§ Roger Bennett reported that Lewis County is having some difficulties with their Trail Coordinator.
§ Bill Dashnaw had surgery today on both hips.
b. Board of Legislators – Alex MacKinnon, Scott Sutherland, and Tony Arquiett.
§ Alex MacKinnon reported that the Trail Coordinator position passed the BOL.
§ The GEIS also passed.
§ The Trail Coordinator money is from the Casino funds. It was cut 10%. $91,000 left. The Planning Dept. applied for Empire State Development money. This is to spend on new initiatives. The Trail Coordinator position is the only one. There will be a 14% County tax increase next year. Increases are to be within the tax cap. He would like to give some money to the Hwy Dept to buy a skid steer. Cost is approx $45,000.
§ Towns want to open trails. We need a common procedure. ATV trail vs. ATV area designations are needed. Work with the County Attorney on this.
§ The pilot trail was supposed to be a loop. It isn’t. The trail is not being utilized as much as it could be. Maybe it could be extended thru the Lenny Road.
§ Judy Wendt remarked that local clubs have to do due diligence to avoid conflicts where possible.
c. Oversight – Tom Ortmeyer and Kermit Blanchard.
§ Tom Ortmeyer reported that they need to deal with issues.
d. Finance and Insurance – Dawn Howard. No report.
e. Grant Search – Judy Wendt. No report.
f. Enforcement, Safety, and Education – Judy Wendt.
§ Judy Wendt found an article on safety posters and collages to put in local schools. Would like to do by spring.
§ She is working on a safety power point.
g. SEQR – Alex MacKinnon and Erik Backlund.
§ Deb Christy received a reply from the DEC on the Recreational Trail Plan. Need to look at for additional changes. Alex MacKinnon added that enforcement was the thing. We need to work more positively with the Sheriffs Dept. and State Police. Deb Christy will be working on this.
7. Unfinished Business.
- Dawn Howard reported on three items:
§ Janice Lutz’s bio has been submitted to the BOL for appointment.
§ The bios for the five reappointments to the Board have also been submitted.
§ There is a new County local law banning smoking on the trail.
- Dave Irish asked about the Cedar Lodge Snowmobile Trail. Danny Collins said wetlands were a problem.
8. New Business.
a. Dawn Howard mentioned a scholarship that was available for training.
b. Roger Bennett asked if the group wished to hold a December meeting. The consensus was yes. Election of officers will be in January. The nominating committee will be Art Wilson and Bill Swafford.
- A motion was made by Judy Wendt and seconded by Stan Hewlett to form a new committee to develop a process for Towns to open roads and for how our group will coordinate so all are the same. Approved by all. Committee will be Alex MacKinnon, Judy Wendt, Schyler Shea, Bill Dashnaw, Deb Christy, and Art Wilson.
9. Announcements.
a. Deb Christy announced there would be cake after the meeting.
b. Warren Irwin reported that the railroad bed where the gas line is going in, looks good.
c. Art Wilson asked if Deb Christy had been paid and she replied yes, last Tuesday.
d. Schyler Shea asked about the bridge at Goldmine. Deb Christy talked to Mitchell who will leave it in until spring. She is working on buying it. FERC revisits this every five years. May be able to get language included.
10. The next meeting is scheduled for 12/18/12 at 7:00 pm in the SWCD office.
11. Hearings and Comments.
a. Dale McCormick reported on a conversation with Tommy Latimer, Pierrepont Town Supervisor. Their roads were never closed to snowmobiles.
b. Ron Roberts asked soon the Colton blue prints would be available.
c. Dave Rhodes from Franklin County would like to see a rally to give us some recognition.
d. Art Wilson wanted to thank Chastity Miller for being our guest speaker and for the power point presentation.
e. Judy Wendt suggested we consider teleconferencing in the future.
12. Motion to adjourn by William Stafford, seconded by Art Wilson, and all were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 8:26 PM.
Minutes by Dawn Howard
St Lawrence County Trail Coordinator
Deb Christy 315-386-8525
WORK REPORT
October/November 2012
Meet with Persons, groups, and entities that have an interest in the trail and build a coalition in support of the trail development and maintenance.
Traffic and Safety Board
I met with the Traffic Safety Board and gave them a report on the progress of our country trail system. I asked if we could form a committee for off road safety like they have for on road safety. I have agreed to join their board to work on this. I also asked if it would be possible to have someone from Law Enforcement to start attending our meetings. Kevin Wells has agreed that he or one of his staff will start coming to our meetings to work with us on law enforcement for our trail system.
Economic Enhancement Committee
The Economic Enhancement Committee meeting was very informative. I gave a report on the economic benefits of a trail system to the group. I know Sam Burns and Hank Ford who are part of the committee. I met Tom Plastino from the St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency (RVRDA) Community Development and Environmental Improvement Fund and Hank suggested a meeting with Tom for possible funding. I also met Wade Davis from the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority and he said he would be glad to talk to us about the 100’ right of way of the railroad bed between Ogdensburg and Norwood. This would be 30 miles of trail. I look forward to meeting with him in December. Jason Clark chair of the Northern Corridor Transportation Group was also interested to tie in a recreational trail with the I-98 corridor.
County ATV Association, Parishville ATV Club, and Sunday Rock ATV Club
Our three ATV clubs have their last meetings in November for the year and will start meetings again as of March 2013. We hope to start organizing volunteers to work on the multi use trail.
ADK Laurentian Chapter Mountain Club
I attended the ADK Laurentian Chapter meeting in October. I talked about our multi use trail system. They informed me their club offers a variety of outings including hiking biking, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing that community residents, as well as chapter members can participate in on a volunteer basis. These include trail maintenance, picking up litter, helping with educational programs and participating in fund-raisers. The Laurentian Chapter maintains the Red Sandstone and Stone Valley Trails. They are considering expanding the Stone Valley Trail across the county land along O’Malley Brook. Martin has offered to walk the parcel to get a feel for the location and other logistics.
Town of Colton
Attended Town of Colton meeting. They have three bridges that are 8’ x 30 8’ x 40 and 8’ x 6- . We are going to ask the Town if they will consider donating these bridges for our trail system.
Town of Pierrepont
Town of Pierrepont has completed opening up some of their town roads to atv’s. They are discussing if the county might be able to open a portion of Rt 24 from Howardville Rd to Crary Rd. Art Wilson suggested opening the Rt 24 from Howardville Rd to The Town Barn so we can use it as a parking area.
Trail Oversight Committee will look into this further before bringing it back to the board.
Become Knowledgeable in and provide advice on Recreational Trails
I am monitoring monthly reports from our trail-user groups that I met at the NYS Trails Council meeting. I have sat thru three webinars with the Trail Council about Bikes and Pedestrians sharing trails. They were Off Road Facilities: Shared Use Path Design", Experimentation for Advancing Best Practices, "Maps that Guide, Encourage and Inform. These will all help when we start designing the trail.
Grants
· Completed A to Z Grant writing class with Suny Potsdam.
· Started a second grant class at Suny Potsdam ”Writing Effective Grant Proposals” from November 14 thru January 4. Grant classes are Wednesday and Friday. This class will progress with more grant writing skills and also talk about building relationships for sponsorships.
· NYS Trails Council is keeping us informed on the new Transportation Bill, Moving Ahead for Progress (MAP -21). I took part in theFHWA webinar to provide an overview of the MAP-21 guidance documents. We hope these funds become available again by fall 2013.
· Consolidated Funding Application for $500,000 thru Empire State Development that I worked with the county to apply for in July should hear back results soon.
· Met with Tom Plastino November 16 to go over guidelines for the St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency (RVRDA) Community Development and Environmental Improvement Fund grants. In January we will apply for possible funding for all our gates we need for the trail system.
· I continue to look for other recreational grant opportunities to take part in.
· We will need a 501C3 status or partner agency to apply for grants. One possibility is Black River- St. Lawrence RC&D Council that Soil and Water partner with. They have a recreation committee. We will research this further and decide our best direction.
County Trails Advisory Board Meeting
Future projects to work on:
o Trail Oversight Committee has suggested we need to work with towns and county to come up with a list of open roads to ATV’s, abandon roads and seasonal roads in each town that may help with our trail system.
o Trail Oversight Committee has also suggested we find out:
§ What the status of the Orbed Road and connections to it in the Town of Clare?
§ What is the status of Davis Road/Buck Brook Road in Town of Clare?
§ What ATV riding connects to the Fifield Road?
§ What ATV riding connects to Cloe Road?
§ Is there a way to get from the Howardville/Butternut Ridge Road section of trail to Keener Road?
§ IF we can’t open up all of Rt 24 is opening the shorter section on Rt 24 between Plains Road and Selleck Road feasible?