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Present: Dorothy Baker, Roy Baker, Bill Brunelle, Kathleen Brunelle, John Gale, Raymond Larose, Jim Smith, Dave Stanley, Chuck Vile (FP&R), Bonnie Waninger (NRPC)
Chair Raymond Larose called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
D. Roberge moved to accept the minutes of the April 19, 1999 meeting as written. B. Brunelle seconded. Motion carried.
Parking Area Grants - B. Brunelle gave an update on the site visits to Sheldon Junction, North Sheldon, and East Berkshire. The purpose of the visits were to determine what enhancements would be made and which activities were appropriate for the Youth Corps crew to undertake. Brunelle noted several neighbors in Sheldon Junction and East Berkshire participated in the site visits and their comments were incorporated into the work. B. Waninger presented the proposed layouts, which the Council discussed at length. Council members agreed to separate the Youth Corps activities from the work to be done under the Transportation Enhancement grant to facilitate the project's development.
Port-o-Let Grant - B. Brunelle motioned that NRPC write a letter to FP&R on behalf of the Council declining the grant and noting that an inventory of business willing to open their restrooms to trail users showed the port-o-lets were not needed at this time. D. Roberge seconded. Motion carried.
Bicycle Rack Grant - Eleven businesses have expressed an interest in purchasing a bicycle rack through the Council incentive grant. One contract was signed to place a rack in Sheldon. Several Council members agreed to distribute the information in St. Albans, East Berkshire, and Enosburg. Information has already been distributed in Richford and Sheldon.
Due to the late hour, these items were not discussed.
Council members offered advice on maintenance issues for other trail advocates: 1) do annual maintenance; 2) develop a good relationship with your resident engineer. It will help implement design changes that are necessary when construction begins; 3) involve the community from Day 1 to address neighbor issues; 4) investigate whether easement lease funds from the rail corridor can be used for trail maintenance; 5) plan for annual maintenance and find a steady source of maintenance funding; and 6) plan for short- and long-term maintenance needs before beginning trail construction. The information will be added to NPRC and VAOT's upcoming presentation at the 1999 International Trails and Greenways Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mile Marker Posts -- R. Larose noted he has inventoried the posts for missing numbers. A work day is planned to install the mile markers from Sheldon to Richford.
Mowing - Council members asked if mowing would be done this year. J. Smith noted the VAOT District office had recently issued its mowing contracts and could add trail mowing to the contracts if funding could be found. R. Larose will consult with Richard Bowen at VAOT.
State Park Proposal -- C. Vile noted the MVRT bill had remained in committee. VAOT and FP&R are still negotiating a broader agreement involving the MVRT and the D&H Rail Trail.
New VAOT District 8 Administrator: J. Smith noted that John Bushey had retired as District Transportation Administrator. Gil Newberry has been hired as the new DTA and will begin work on August 1, 1999.
Beebe Srur Rail Trail -- B. Waninger encouraged Council members to visit the Beebe Spur Trail in Derby, VT. The trail parallels Lake Memphremagog and is about 4 miles long. Funded through VAOT, the Beebe Spur has a slightly different surface material and has posts instead of gates at trail crossings. These changes reflect VAOT's experiences with the MVRT.
B. Brunelle moved to adjourn at 9:30p.m. J. Gale seconded Motion carried.
Copied using scanner & OCR software by Kenyon F. Karl <railtrails@crosswinds.net> from materials supplied by the NVRTC. Unintentional errors are likely!
