Gibbs House
The recorded comments below
are expressions of council members
and are not approved policy until voted
on. The statements
were not recorded verbatim and cannot be used as quotes.
AGENDA:
I.
Call to Order
Meeting was called to order at
II.
Roll Call
a. Sign-In Roster
Council Members Present: Frank Wolf, Paul MacNellis, Chuck Ide, Bill
Steinmann, Steve Kohler, Mickey Cook
Guests Present: Cal Mastin
III.
Adoption of Agenda
IV.
Approval of
Frank
Wolf moved to approve the
V.
Old Business
a. Discussion of Consulting Company
Presentations
Paul MacNellis
On
August 29, 2007 L.L. Harris & Associates and Site Design Solutions presented
their ideas for collaborating with the Council to improve the Asylum Lake
property. Paul opened the floor for
discussion on these presentations. There
was general agreement that both firms are very capable. They both presented
ideas for taking a comprehensive look at the property, and coming up with
a long-term strategy or master plan.
Several
Council members made the point that there are infrastructure issues at the
property that should be dealt with soon. The
subcommittees, specifically the trails subcommittee need the advice and expertise
of a consulting company.
Chuck raised concern that there is discrepancy within the Council as to each
member’s long-term vision for the property. This needs to be decided before
working with a consulting company. There has never been a discussion of an
overall philosophy for the property other than what is included in the Conservation
Agreement. He suggested that the Council discuss and agree upon a philosophy
for the property that is consistent with the existing management documents.
It was agreed that this should be put on the agenda for next month’s meeting.
VI.
New Business
a.
Cari DeLong
Cari handed out copies of the Kalamazoo
Foundation Quarterly Report for
VII.
Project/Special
Committee Reports
a. Research/Education Committee
Nothing new to report.
b. Operations Committee
Paul
reported that as of this spring the entire prairie has been burned, and much
of it has been burned twice. He is
currently working on dividing the prairie up into smaller burn areas rather
than the larger areas currently separated by mowed paths. In the future the
plan is to burn smaller plots in a mosaic pattern to mimic natural fire occurrences.
Also, we should consider alternating between fall and spring burns to better
control invasives. Would like to burn each area every three to four years
but need monitoring to determine the best frequency. Cari is working with faculty to get classes to
begin an ecological monitoring program for the property.
c. PR Subcommittee
Logo for ALPMC
Cari DeLong
Cari passed out examples of a few logos developed by the PR subcommittee.
A favorite was picked and some suggestions were given. The PR subcommittee will move ahead with the
development of a logo.
d. Trails Subcommittee
Cal
reported that the trails committee has met and discussed a few main projects
that should be dealt with soon. These included the re-design of the Winchell
entrance, and the re-design of the outflow from Asylum to Little Asylum Lake. Due to safety concerns, they would also like
to re-design the entrance closest to Little Asylum Lake to become a walking
only entrance since visibility is limited and parking there is dangerous.
They would also like to work on adding one handicap accessible trail that
leads to the lake. Trails committee needs the expertise of a consulting company
to advise them on these projects.
VIII.
Public Comments
Bob
Macher voiced his concern for restoring the anthropological historical integrity
of the preserve. He wanted to reiterate the historical significance of the
preserve and stress that this be considered by the Council in managing the
property.
IX.
Council/Staff Comments
None.
X.
Adjournment
Meeting
was adjourned at