 |
| Home Page |
Meeting of Officers and Board - April 7, '10Minutes:Attending: Slate of officers as follows except Ms Abbitt, plus Rocky Edwards representing Richmond's Department of Parks & Recreation. The meeting was called to order promptly at 6:00pm by FOBF President Gerry Saunders. The first item on the agenda was Elections of new Officers and Board. Saunders moved to approve the slate as published, and this was seconded by Marcus Hanlon, and the motion was passed unanimously. Officers & Board as at April 7, '10:
Christine Hanlon presided from this time, following the published agenda. Updates on Old BusinessInvestigating the Drain FieldThe last attempt to completely clear the drainfield at the watering area was not successful, but may have cleared it enough to keep up with limited water use. Action: Gerry Saunders will turn the water back on at the main valve and put a short length of hose with a nozzle that must be held open. Approving the wording for new signThe Rules as recently re-ordered have been sent to the city for final approval. We have recently learned that the 'Park Closes at Sunset' has been extended for Barker Field, and are waiting on the final ruling for this. Action: Megan Brown and Christine Hanlon will ask The City to consider that 'sunset' during the Winter occurs before 5:00 for some weeks, and will beg for a closing rule to accomodate those who want to bring their dogs to the park after work in the Winter and stay during the cool of the evening in the Summer. New GatesThis work is complete. Rocky Edwards reports that it saves his crew a lot of time since they don't need to close the park and wait for people to collect their dogs to pick up the super cans of dog poop, since they are in a double-gated area. This gives us two double-gated sallyways for dogs entering the park. Thanks were extended to Marcus Hanlon for the drawing, and for seeking competitive bids for the job. Fence too Short and Buildup of Chips at the bottom of the parkAction: Rocky Edwards has this project in mind, needs a long dry spell to be able to get a tractor into the park, or in the area outside of the fence. When the ground is dry enough he'll get a tractor in to dig out the few feet of chips that have migrated down the hill, reducing the effective height of the 5' fence to about 3', making it easy for dogs to jump over. He also relates that there is taller fencing available that was removed from another of the City's parks, eight or ten feet, and he is expecting his crew to install this sometime soon, waiting for the dry spell. New Design for 'Baggie Huts'Action: Megan Brown has approached Richmond's Tech Center for community-service work with the offer that FOBF will buy materials, asking a Tech Center class for design/build of new huts. She will update us as this progresses. 'Kiosk' ImprovementAt a recent meeting at the dog park, JR Pope suggested that painting the kiosk to match the colors of the new signage is not a good idea, and that staining it would be better. One concern about the kiosk is to provide 'clipboards' or other method so that notes can be posted without using push-pins that fall out and make a potential hazard for dogs, or staples that will eventually need to be removed. Action: Megan and Christine will continue looking into ways to post notes, and organize volunteers to stain the kiosk and otherwise improve its appearance. New Marketing MaterialsWe need 'an identity' in the form of 'mechanical' drawings that can be used for signs and promotional items. A solicitation for design sketches and a contest to choose one was also suggested. Action: Saunders will contact Sally Brant, who did the graphics to accompany our 'Where a dog can be a dog' logo sometime back for R-DOG, and has offered to update the graphics for FOBF. Agressive Dogs, Intact MalesSome Barker Field regulars have reported that the police have not helped by enforcing our Rules when called about aggressive dogs or people who will not follow our posted Rules. Rocky Edwards related that police _should_ enforce our rules. Saunders related that the police _have_ enforced our rules in the past. Rocky suggests that a rep from FOBF attend a Parks and Rec 'Safety Meeting', first Thursdays at the Stone House, to discuss this, and we will do this. We learned that the 'Section Commander' is the Police Dept's rep to contact, and Megan Brown will do so and report to us. Action: Megan Brown will get in touch with the Section Commander and discuss recent events with him. Missing SwingAt least one of the swings donated for use in the 'shade structures' is not of the quality to withstand use in a dog park. Another may be suitable, but broke, and is being repaired by one of Rocky's crew and should appear for use soon. Suggestions about this included installing benches, like the one in the small dog enclosure, rather than swings, and that these could be used in fund-raising by selling/renting ad space for dog-related businesses or other supporters of Barker Field in the area. Action: Ed Ogozaly will update us on bench and table designs, suitable for a park setting, and for fund-raising. Rocky expects the swing will be repaired and re-hung soon. Gate to the Small Dog EnclosureRocky's crew made the best fix ever for this gate, installing a section of chain-link fence that completely closes the gap where some small dogs were able to escape. This replaced other fixes by volunteers weaving wire in the gap that could be a hazard. We need a sign reserving this area for small dogs. Report on Meeting with Landscape Architect:Marcus Hanlon met at Barker Field with an associate who is qualified in 'swales and drainage'. Over the years, there has been a lot of discussion about 'chips migrating downhill' and the problems with rain washing a gully thru Barker Field from the area around the old gate downhill through the park. This needs to be considered along along with problems draining the watering area. 
Plan showing swale and timbers 
Slope Stabilization elevation showing pits with coarse stone uphill from timbers Process taken to approve The Rules:Saunders reported that the first slate of Officers and Board took most of two years to decide on The Rules for Barker Field. After considering all opinions and deliberation, three modifications were made to The Rules that were prior put together by R-DOG: a statement limiting the liability of The City of Richmond and The Friends of Barker Field; No children; and, No intact males. Recently, the rules were re-ordered to put 'No small children' near the top. This resulted in The Current Rules They were submitted to The City and vetted by the Rec & Parks' legal department, with citations added where the rules coincide with statutes, and approved to be posted. Action: Gerry Saunders will find dates and minutes from the meetings where rules were considered and get them posted so they are easy to reference next time there is a challenge like the recent flurry of activity about 'Who Makes the Rules' in the Yahoo Group. Fund Raising:The FOBF account with EnRichmond Foundation had approximately $3,700 before the recent expenditure of $2,100 for the new gates. Where most of the proposed projects will be free, or nearly free, through volunteer and community service efforts, the projects to finally correct the drainage issues will require spending. We need to keep $1,000 or more 'in reserve' to make an emergency repairs to the fence if needed. Capital Ale HouseThe Capital Ale House offers Community Chest Nights for local non-profit organizations with 501C3 status, which FOBF has as a partner of EnRichmond Foundation (formerly Richmond Rec & Parks Foundation). The organization's members show up with flyers for the event for a meal and socializing, and the Ale House donates a portion of the proceeds to the organization. Action: Christing Hanlon will get in touch with the Capital Ale House and set up a date for this event. Signs for 'Rent'Ed Ogozaly suggests selling, or renting, small signs to be included in the planks for picnic tables, benches, and other structures to be built using recycled plastics. We need to get a determination from Parks & Rec about this, which is currently under consideration by JR Pope who has said that this is likely to be acceptable in some form. Action: Given the go-ahead, Ed will add Barker Field to his discussions when he approaches businesses about advertising in a publication/website he is launching. He mentions picnic tables since most of them at BF, donated by a friend of Barker Field some years back, are in bad shape. Other Suggestions:URL bumper stickers, similar to the oval OBX tags on vehicles of Outer Banks afficianadoes, could be given for a $5 donation or more. Tee shirts, mugs, and dog waste bag dispensers would be suitable premiums for donations to FOBF. These all need a logo, discussed prior. Dog Poop Bingo, to be run at a clean up event. Braided dog toys made from strips of fleece. An on-field lottery might work, needs to be checked out with The City. Other Business:Wood ChipsNo chips can be delivered after May 4th, so as not to cause a hazard when 4th of July fireworks are launched from Barker Field. The City has been delivering some chips, but their chippers make very coarse chips and sharp blocks of wood, so we'll not request chips from them. One of the regulars works with a tree company and had several loads of excellent hardwood chips delivered, and if he reads this or anybody knows who it is, please offer chip delivery on the Yahoo Group 'Barker Field Regulars' or Facebook for 'Friends of Barker Field'. The lower half of the park, especially aroung the big tree, is muddy and would benefit from a covering of a foot of chips. The middle of the park is about two feet deep in chips now, so a chipper truck should be able to get closer to the areas where chips are really needed. Action: Gerry Saunders will start calling the list of tree maintenance companies to arrange delivery of 'clean, double-chipped, hardwood chips' before the deadline. Parks & Rec Support for CleanupRocky Edwards offered to park a 'dump trailer' in or near the dog park for any volunteer activities that require removal of soil or chips, such as around the watering area and the old gate where excess chips exacerbate the drainage problem. The piles of asphalt chips will be used to grade the parking lot. Action: Christine will schedule a special meeting soon to discuss drainage issues. There being no other businessThe meeting was adjourned at 7:00. Action: Minutes will be submitted by Gerry Saunders for approval and posting. |