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Home My Public Portal AboutP&RAC Minutes 1992 05/26PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 26, 1992 I. ROLL CALL AND CALL TO ORDER Kathy Killen, Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00p.m. Committee members Martens, Grote answered the roll call. The Chair declared a quorum present. Bud Schmidt, Administrator and Craig Baker, Recreation Director were also present. II. MINUTES The minutes of the April 27, 1992 were considered. Grote moved to approve the minutes as distributed. Martens seconded and the motion carried. The minutes of the May 4, 1992 Mill Park Inspection were considered. Martens moved to approve the minutes as distributed. Grote seconded and the motion carried. III. FINANCIAL REPORTS Bond, Recreation and Parks financial reports were reviewed. Committee questioned why property taxes were listed back to 1985. Staff reminded committee that people do not always pay their taxes. IV. STAFF REPORTS A. CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT The Administrator informed the committee that a Mrs. Jojo Lakely would like to purchase and plant a tree in behalf of Chantel Little in the new park. Administrator informed committee that the Council had acted on several items from their last meeting minutes. Council approved a special use permit for the Arts, Crafts and Food Fair at Fairway Park. In addition, Council did not act on the recommendation to place playground equipment in Mill Park. Furthermore, Council approved the golf cart storage proposal. Committee questioned whether this would go on forever, and if $100.00 per year was an appropriate fee. Staff informed committee that the Golf Committee is in the process of acquiring property for future golf cart storage. Chair with consent of committee asked for this issue to be placed on the September 1992 agenda. Finally, committee was informed that Council is considering a change order for sodding the new park instead of seeding it. Administrator informed the committee of several current work items affecting City Parks. First, it was noted that since the street paving fund for 1992 had undergone budget amendments the new park parking lot would not be paved summer 1992. Second, committee was informed the Public Works department would begin work on the Lake Street path connecting the new park to Mill Park. Finally, committee was informed that the Police Department had the Sheep Bridge area campers remove themselves. Committee was informed that the City had make a offer on the Hoyle Property and was waiting for a response. B. RECREATION DIRECTOR'S REPORT. Director informed committee of several programs in operation. Youth Baseball has 185 youngsters playing on ten teams, 3 major league boys teams, 3 minor league boys teams, 1 bantam league boys team, 2-12 and under girls teams and 1-15 and under girls team. Spring Soccer has 87 youngsters playing on 6 teams. For the first time in many years there is approximately 80 adults participating in a men's adult softball league(4 teams). Martens questioned why the Recreation Department does not charge people living outside the city limits more to participate in programs. Administrator suggested creation a "Club McCall Card" which could entitle people living inside the city limits discounts on various things such as the Recreation Department programs, Golf Course greens fees, Brundage Mountain lift tickets, Library services, Sports Club programs, etc. In addition, Administrator noted Park City Utah as an example(Attachment "A"). Chair asked staff to develop a schematic for this type of program and place it on the November agenda. V. OLD BUSINESS A. CRANE IN LAKE Committee took no action. B. NAME THE PARK CONTEST After careful review of all submitted names, and a lengthy discussion concerning all facets of possible name, co--ittee made a recommendation which the Chair will present to the Council at their June llth meeting. The committee requests that this presentation be placed on Council's agenda. C. SCHEDULING OF PARKS TOUR. Committee decided to tour parks on June 17, 1992. Committee will meet at Administrators home at l:00pm. D. ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR - LETTER FROM ADMINISTRATOR Committee reviewed the letter and took no action. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. GARNETT BEACH HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION - LETTER FORM DORRELL C. LARSEN - FROM COUNCIL 5-14-92. Committee discussed the proposed dock location and the pro's and con's of allowing a select group of people the opportunity to have private mooring on a piece of public property. Staff suggested that perhaps if city allows the Garnett Beach Association to build a dock the city could make the association include a public docking and swimming area. Grote moved to include this site in the parks tour so the committee would be able to make a educated recommendation to the council. Martens seconded and the motion carried. B. OLD GOLF CLUBHOUSE RECOMMENDATION - FROM COUNCIL 5-14-92. Administrator informed the committee that the council has asked him to analyze the needs for rehabilitation of the building, and has asked the committee to make a recommendation concerning the site within the next 30 days. After lengthy review and discussion, Grote moved to recommend to Council that in committee's judgement the old Golf Course Clubhouse could not be made useful in the current tourist season and that the committee requests council to allow a recommendation as a result of the councils directed master planning process which committee is expected to be completed within the year. Martens seconded and the motion carried. C. OLD GOLF COURSE CLUBHOUSE SITE - RESERVATIONS Staff informed committee that there has been requests to reserve the site and it's barbecue pit. Committee advised staff to research the city code concerning parks in the park reservation system and report back to the committee. D. RESIGNATION - DR. WAYNE ALLEN, ATTACHED LETTER. Grote suggested that the Mayor included this news in his weekly Star News column asking if anyone in the community is interested in the position. Administrator advised committee that the Mayor may have already offered the position to a candidate with acceptance. E. PHONE CALL TO CHAIR FORM KATHY MARTEN - MILL PARK CONDOS. Chair advised committee that the Manager of the Mill Park Condos had phoned her concerning the possible addition of playground equipment in Mill Park. Committee asked staff to inform Kathy Martens as to any upcoming discussions or actions in Mill Park. VII. PERSONAL APPEARANCES - LARRY STEVENS Mr. Stevens informed committee that he was resigning from the building of a pavilion in the new park due to time and money restraints. Mr. Stevens asked the committee about completing several picnic tables and wanted to know specific costs of purchasing picnic table legs. Committee asked staff research current costs and contact Mr. Stevens. Grote suggested that since some of the Mill Park facilities were in need of repair or refinishing that this may be a better project to coordinate and complete. In addition, Grote informed Mr. Stevens that she is in need of a 20 hour project involving gardening to obtain her master gardener certificate. After further discussion Mr. Stevens accepted this project and will proceed with staff guidance. VIII. MASTER PLAN A. Committee reviewed the following revised parks and recreation objectives; 1. To develop a variety of community park and recreation sites that guarantee a high quality of life consistent with the wishes of the citizens of the City of McCall. 2. To develop, maintain, improve and expand accesses and views to guarantee public access to Payette Lake, Payette River, and natural assets within the City of McCall. 3. To encourage use of park and recreation facilities by providing a trail network which links park and recreation facilities used by citizens and visitors to McCall. 4. To recognize that park and recreation facilities and services are valuable to residents and visitors to McCall and therefore need not be self supporting. 5. To provide safe, accessible, well maintained and efficiently administered park and recreation facilities. 6. To enhance the quality of experience for the user by minimizing the conflicts between differing recreational uses. 7. To recognize that the city's efforts to develop parks and recreational opportunities often bears a relationship to the efforts of federal and state agencies to improve these services in the greater recreation area and that cooperation and coordination among these bodies is essential to achieve broad based and unduplicated recreational facilities and services. 8. To promote lifetime sports and recreational activities to all age groups and encourage group interaction, good health, social, mental and skill development by sponsoring and administering year-round community recreation programs. 9. To continually stimulate interest in lifetime sports and recreational activities by expanding and changing programs as public interests dictate and as facilities are provided. 10. To sponsor and administer recreation programs that use role models to encourage responsible behavior by youths. Martens moved that committee accepts objectives statements as written, Grote seconded and the motion carried. B. Chair with consent of committee directed staff to create specific projects, strategies, and work elements to be done under each of the adopted objective statements and include them on the next agenda. IX. Room. NEXT MEETING Friday, June 5, 1992, 12:00noon at City Hall Conference X. ADJOURNMENT - 10:00PM Respectfully Submi~t~ed~ Kathy Killen, Chair. 0 0 0 C, ,~ 0 0 0 ,~ C, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ~ b~b~i, bbYb,¥bbYgbbb~ 0 ,~0000000000000 00000000000000000 00000000000000000 OC, O00000000000000 ~CO ~ ~nO'~O~OCO O~O00~O'~O000coCn'~ OCO000~oLno000~,O~CO ¢0 ¢0 0 0 o o 0 0 o 0 o o oooooooo oooo0ooo I ¢'t 0 ,:'t "0 0 0 I 0 I t'~ 0 C.i L-ri c, 0 0 co Co 0 0 O0000000000 O0 O~ 00 CO C, 0 ,::) 0 CO 0 CO co 0 m't C, 0000 C, C' 0000000 ¢0 o CO ~ ~o ~ ~o g ~o o ~ gg o co t o Who Says You Have to Pay Your Dues? some athletic clubs, you have At to pay for the privilege of simplyi~'~.,,~Ma.! =7.- ---~-----' .... from our indoor tennis courts .... ,. , our its memberships, and its Buffys and Skips. Not so at ~ the Park City Racquet Club ~ where everyone's a member here. No dues. No pricey memberships. No initiation fees. You only pay to play. That's right, courts, aerobics room, jacuzzi and heated pools, you only pay when you use, not by the month. So, come tO the Racquet Club, where we don't do dues. Call 645-5100 for details. Locals Card For just $5.00 per year, any person that resides within the Park City boundaries or operates a business within the city limits can obtain a locals card. Please bring proof of residency (i.e. property tax bill, 6-month lease, utility bill, etc) to the Racquet Club front desk to receive your picture ID. The card will enable you to receive substantial discounts at the Park City Racquet Club, Golf Course, and Library. Also, you will save money on each Recreation Department program you participate in. Green Card Remember any family can receive the locals rate at the Park City Racquet Club and on all Recreation programs by purchasing a Green Card for the whole family for only $125 per year. See back cover for more details. Suburban Card Beginning June 1, 1992 the Park City Racquet Club and the Recreation Department will offer discounted rates to those persons that do not qualify for a locals card but they do have a Utah drivers license. If you bring in your drivers license to the Racquet Club front desk a picture ID will be issued to each member of your family for just $5.00. The suburban card will allow you to save $$$ on every visit to the Racquet Club and each time you participate in any recreation department program. If you get your card during the month of May, the cost is only $3.00 per person. Paee 6 Page 2 R E~° ..3 A GUIDE ON HOW TO INITIATE A SUCCESSFUL GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT INTRODUCTION To start a grassroots'movement related to pedestrians and bicycles, you need one person with the idea. That one person talks to at least one other person and the movement is started. Simple as that. To call your movement a success, you must satisfy the needs of the pedestrians, bicyclists and other facility users and that usually means getting something that is used on the ground. This Step-by-Step Guide is designed to help you turn your "Start" into a "Success". At a glance, here are the 15 steps from conception to completion of your grassroots movement and the related biking and walking system. This process should take you all the way to completion of a separate bike and walk path on land acquired from a private property owner because that .is usually the hardest to achieve facility. On occasion a step may not occur in this prescribed order, but by and large, this is the usual progression. The following Pages will detail and explain each of these steps: 1. One person or a few people come up with the idea of grassroots group to develop a facility related to pedestrians and bicycles. 2. General interest newspaper articles are written about the concepts of bikeways and walkways. No specific route is suggested. 3.. A group or a coalition is formed and public meetings are held to discuss the concept. At this time the range of users of the bikeway or walkway may be identified and a name for the'group or project may be considered. 4.. Destinations and public land are identified on a map but again, no specific route is drawn. 5. The potentially~involved landowners (those located . ' between the identified destinations) are talked to, ideally in person after a phone call. Their initial ideas are sought and the landowners become part of the planning process. 6. The local and state agencies (highway, parks and recreation, permitting, funding...) and organizations or clubs (scouts, schools Rotarians...) are sought for guidance and assistance. 25 7. A map with the route or routes is prepared (after the property owners agree in concept to the inclusion of their land). . 8. Specific articles are written about the grassroots group and their proposed pedestrian and bicycle routes. Maps are published in the newspapers and in newly printed brochures. 9. Large Public hearings are held with maps and plans. Votes are taken to indicate community approval. Minor plans and specs or a concept plan may have been prepared at this point and initial funding sought. 10. Major fund raising begins and/or federal money is sought to pay for at least a portion of a route. 11. The land is acquired sometimes initially through a nonbinding contractual agreement with the property owners. (The landowners should be assured that funds and permits can be obtained before they sign over their land. Also, for Department of Transportation funding, the land is formally acquired last. ) 12. Major plans and specs are prepared and the permits obtained. 13. Construction begins. 14. All land and financial donOrs are pubIically acknowledged. Ir'is wise to also be doing this as the project progresses. 15. The path is enhanced and maintained. The grassroots movement starts investigating possible connections. 26 riends of Parks &l creation SPRING 1991 · VOLUME 1, NUMBER 3 PEOPLE WHO MAY&; A DIFFERENCE* Irrepressible greenway guru '~?' hen you meet Anne Lusk of Stowe, Vermont, you know what's on her mind. For the past 10 years she has been the irrepress- ible champion of greenways, those threads of green that are local corridors of conservation, recreation and transportation. Although the word "green- way" combines "greenbelt" and "parkway" and was coined in 1987 by the report of the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors, Lusk prefers to refer to greenways as "the new American sidewalks." And if she had her way, every community in the world would have one. "If I could be a salesman with a sample, I would go into every community and roll out a carpet of greenway and say, 'Try it, you'll like it.' I'd give them one month. If they didn't like il, I'd take it back," she says. But she knows they never would return it. The sociability that flourishes on a greenway is a magic that gives greenways a real slaying power. For Lusk her passion for greenways--and the world of volunteerism, advocacy and activism that has come with it--began quite * In this column, Friends recognizes its own '7,000-points- of-light" volunteers. by accident in 1981 when she accepted a $5,000 a year job to study the feasibility of a bikeway for her adopted home town. The project quickly catapulted her into her life's calling. Once sold on the idea herself, Lusk Anne Lusk may have found her used her con- niche by accident, but it has been siderable per- her stngle-minded pursuit that sonal charm has made her name virtually and charisma synonymous with greenways, and her . unswerving inner drive to win citizen support and donations of land and money to build the St0we Recreation Path and Town Greenway, a 5.3 mile undulat- ing path that winds along a once- neglected mountain stream. It.has benches and flowers along the way so community members can share the change of seasons. "Fewer and fewer people I know want to walk on the side of the road. They want to walk by rivers, tree lines and daffo- dils,'' says Lusk. Perhaps that's why the Stowe project ha.,; become a model for others to copy and has been awarded a point-of-light desig- nation by President Bush. Since the completion of Stowe's greenway, Lusk has been spreading the word about the benefits of greenways. She has written articles, spoken at conferences and has ap- peared on radio and television pro- grams. She ha`s also championed greenways in the halls of govern- amend both the Vern~ont and fed- eral clean air bills to have green- ways included as nonpolluting forms of transportation. It's no wonder that with such a commitment to the cause of green- ways she not only ha`'; decided to form an organization to promote greenways worldwide (Greenways International) but also has collected a number of awards along the way, including the 1990 Theresa S. Brungardt Award for "outstanding friend of parks,' the 1990 (Ver- mont) Governor's Earth Day. award and a 1989 national Take Pride in America award. Editor's note: For more infor- mation about greenways, don't miss the National Recreation and Park Association Congress, Octo- ber 18-21, 1991, in Baltimore, Maryland The topic' is gateways. and greenways. Backcountry hero H'e may be only 23, but Stanley .Carte of Columbus, Ohio, has already left his mark in vqlunteer- lng. During the summer of 1989, when he served as a volunteer backcountry/wilderness ranger in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire through the Student Conservation Association resource assistanl program, he saved the life of an I l-year-old boy who was suffering from hypother- mia. The boy was among a group of 116 Canadian children hiking near the summit of Mount Wa.shington, when a thunder and hail storm took the inadequately equipped group by surprise. Carte treated the boy nonstop for four hours and then helped evacuate the group down Linking greenways and schools The 1990s are looking like a Saharan desert in terms of fed- eral assistance to city and town revitalization, new parks or environ- mental protection of our watersheds. The $151 billion transportation bill Congress passed in December may, however, prove a startling ex- ception. Jousting effectively for the first time ever with the asphalt-and- concrete lobbies, environmentalists and bike advocates were able to get set-asides and flexible fund features written into the bill. The result could be several bil- lions of dollars for funding bikeways and greenways, "rails to trails" pro- grams, pedestrian zones and landscaping roads and transit facili- ties. t- Di ,v~fing up the pie now falls chiefl~ to states and especially met- ropoli~an planning organizations. They,ll have broad latitude to decide just h,bw the transportation dollars are silent for highways, how much for mt~ss transit and how much for "kinder and gentler" tranSportatiOn alterr~atives. Th~ process offers a big opportu- nity --"and challenge -- to citizen ,groups. Will they be able to "go up against the big boys" and actually get the quality-of-life projects funded for their communities? Yes, ~ays Anne Lusk_ ~-~-_prime mover behind the successful recre- ation path in Stowe, Vt. -- provided they enter the fray with determina- tion and savvy. Community advo- cates, she argues, will "have to go in with a good case based on popula- tion, use, location, availability of land. If they can show the real de- mand and need, they Can get the money." The case ought to be a strong one. Paths and greenways through communities are not only great for Neal Peirce recreation; they can provide alterna- tive ways for people to walk or bike to work. They relieve both road congestion and air pollution. And if they're linked to schools, they also provide a way for children to get out of the family carpool and onto their own bikes. Lusk is offering a new and intrigu- ing wrinkle to the greenway argu- ment. ~Why not, she suggests, link new or expanded paths with one of the nation's most compelling needs: better science education for its chil- dren? "My ideal is to have bikeways and alkways created to lead into the schools," Lusk says. "Kids and teachers would walk right out the door for class and in their daily field trips discover lichens, pond skimmers, tadpoles, maple skimmers." Science education --now deadly dull in many schools --. could be made alive, interesting, relevant that way, Lusk argues. And indeed, vari- ants of the school-trail-science con- nection are perking up around the country. In North Carolina, over 80 schools applied last year to be part of a new program -- "Using the Outdoors to Teach Experimental Science." The 10 winning schools not only get special training for their teachers but some money to create an array of schoolyard wildlife habi- tats ~ butterfly gardens, bird-feed- ing and observation stations and mini-ponds for small aquatic animals. The Boston GreenSpace Alliance got foundation funding for grants of z up to $3,000 for more than 25 school projects. At a middle school ~ in the Mattapan neighborhood, '~ teachers, parents and volunteers to- tally renewed the grounds with '- plantings and integrated the project into class studies. At Roxbury's Martin Luther King School, a sci- ence class planted major shrubbery and then monitored visiting birds and insects. Environmental education is partic= ularly critical for children in poor urban neighborhoods, the Alliance argues: "They grow up in degraded environments, subject to air poilu- tion, lead in the soil and other envi- ronmental hazards." Can all these initiatives be tied back into transportation facilities and federal funding? In a way it seems unlikely. But a society trapped for funds has to be resourceful. Each pot of public money ought to serve multi- ple g°als' Isn't a trails-t°-Classr°°m~ strategy smart national and local po icy if it helps haul our kids out of the cellar in international science '~ achievement tests? Lusk hopes to persuade Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander to endorse her idea, which she calls "108,000 new science classrooms for America" the total of the country's elementa- ry, middle and high schools. The refreshing thing about the -i llj new transportation act is that it '-'~ gives more authority to states and -' communities and invites them to ~, think unconventionally -- "out of 'i ~ the box" ~ on how they want to use the funds. '~ Now the question: Will they? ,, [,B 992, Washington Post Writers Group Small Towns Institute Small Town BOARD OF TRUSTEES cha~.~ of~he sv,~ F/mold $. ~iUiams The Rens~lae~Ue ~sfitu~ Re~iae~e, New York Vice Chairman Jay M. Becher The Beachcomber Press Inc. Vashon, Washington Secretary- Treasurer Lawrence A. Danton School of Business Central Washington University Ellensburg, Washington Randolph T. Hester, Jr. Department of Landscape Architecture University of California Berkeley, California Richard Lingeman The Nation - New York, New York Ralph Munro Washington Secretary of State Olympia, Washington The Small Towns Institute is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to collecting and disseminating information on new and innovative ideas concerning the issues and problems facing small towns and nonurban areas. Each member of the Small Towns Institute receives six bimonthly issues of Small Town which brings together the interests of a broad spectrum of people and organizations concerned with community well-being. The newsjournal contains perspectives from individual cilizens, planners, government officials, business groups, educators and others who share a common interest in enhancing the future of small communities. 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Lapping College of Architecture and Design Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas Marcia J.-McNally Community Development lay Design Berkeley, California .Ralph Nilson Physical Activity Studies University of Regina Regina, Saskatchewan Barton D. Russell National Association of Towns and Townships ~Washington~ D.C Gene Summers Department of Rural Sociology Madison, Wisconsin Copyright © 1989 by the Small Towns Institute ISSN 0196-1683 Small Towns Institute Third Avenue and Poplar Street Post Office Box 517 Ellensburg, Washington 98926 509 925-1830 Stowe, Vermont, Builds a Greenway: A Multi-purpose Path Rejuvenates Community Life by Anne Lusk When people think about small town America, the images they create are nostalgic: movie scenes of a lazy Main Street, front porch swings, boisterous neighborhood ballfields, kids tooling around on bikes and old-timers sharing jokes while sitting on the bench in front of the general store. Real life, however, isn't quite so perfect; for, too often Main Street is a congested through road, porch swings are idle or gone, ballfields are a car ride away, it's unsafe for kids to ride their bikes to a friend's house because of the traffic and, save for a local coffee shop, few gathering places remain for small town socializing. Enter the Report of the President's Commission on the American Outdoors. The study, publishedin 1987,doesnot propose a cure-all for the loss of small town pleasantries, but it does contain one suggestion of considerable merit: the creation of greenways. Rather like natural sidewalks, these paths or linear parks would be for walking, biking, cross country skiing or watching wildlife. And, unlike town sidewalks built by the edge of the road between the houses and the street, greenways can run along the river- bank, swing by the elementary school, head into the country and then scoot back into town. They can be placed on the edge of a farm field where the farmer never mows or they could go to and from and through the town's parks. In short, greenways can't give back everything that time and traffic have taken away from our small communities, but they can add a few new elements that improve how we presently conduct our small town life. A well-placed greenway gives all people a way to get around town other than by using a car. Kids can ride carefreely to the ballpark, to a best friend's house or home after school and not have to be cautioned about Main Street traffic. People can also use a greenway for everyday recreating. It is an everyday alternative for people who want to exercise and enjoy ,their free time. And last, but perhaps best, the path gives back to a town a place where people can engage in that neighborly "porch-swing" socializing; a location for those general store-type benches and hanging out spaces for kids on bikes. With arbored canopies, a companion stream, romantic bridges and people smiling at the pleasures of the out-of-doors and at each other, the real life path can turn into a small town's version of a Hollywood dream setting. According to the report, local communities would build the greenways because their residents know their land better than anyone else. The location, users, landscaping, the usable seasons, the funding and the path surface are variables best decided upon by local consensus. A small town is the perfect place for collective decisions and the people can be effectively polled by using town votes, committee reports, citizen opinion surveys and even grocery aisle discussions among groups of friends. The town of Stowe, boasting a year-round population of about 3,000, is a community ski resort in Vermont. Starting in 1981, the town began work on a long dreamed of project: a path or greenway which would parallel, but not run along side, the busy seven mile road that goes from the village of Stowe to Mount Mansfield where the chair" lifts begin. When finally in use, this small town recreation path would win a U.S. Land and Water Conservation Fund award, a Take Pride in America Finalist Award, and a Rudy Bruner Finalist Award for Urban Excellence. Stowe won the later award, not because of the community's size (it certainly isn't urban), but because the judges deemed the path a model project that other communities could easily duplicate. Based on other communities' positive experiences and the President's Commission findings, greenways can be built and they actually should be built in virtually every American community. The intention of this article is to explain why a town should build a path and also how to do it. Then we will take a short look at the Stowe Recreation Path. In doing so, it is hoped that other communities can create greenways appropriate to their unique situations. The Benefits of Creating a Greenway The benefits accruing from a greenway, trail or path once built are widely accepted, but benefits also exist in the actual process leading to its creation. Unlike many other types of town projects, this effort can pull together and Anne Lusk, the Stowe Recreation Path Coordinator, is also chair of the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council and a citizen boardmem- her of the National Recreation and Park Association. For further information on the Stowe Recreation Path, contact Lusk at Rural Delivery 112, Box 3780, Stowe, Vermont, 05672. 14 Small Town November-December 1989 unite the entire community because people of all ages, professions, athletic abilities and income levels can effectively participate and make the project their own. In this respect a greenway is better than a playground, a senior citizens center or a hockey rink because it enables every- one to both give something and gain something. Greenway creation stages include planning, publicity, funding, land acquisition and construction. Each can give everyone an important role, and, in Stowe, a tourist- oriented town, even visitors eagerly became involved. The following are the most evident benefits of greenway creation. It develops and intensifies a sense of community. The effort establishes a feeling of local camaraderie, pride in belonging and the kind of barn raising-type satisfaction November-December 1989 Left: Designers carved the Stowe Recreation Path through the woods to allow walkers a feeling of nature's quiet beauty. Above' Contributors names are listed on an attractive sign at the beginning of the Patt~ Everyone, from the $2 contributors to those who gave $2,000 are included All photo, graphs in this article by Jeff Turnaw. that comes with working together, all through the personal interactions, publicity and fund raising needed to develop the path. Even sending in a two dollar contribution allows the donor to share in the path's success. That donor will take pride in the path and probably later help maintain it. Finally, the sense of community will be forever visible when people look at the path, itself, as well as view the permanent donor sign full of the names of community residents who helped. The effort also fosters the training of volunteers. A greenway is an easy project for people to volunteer for because so many of the activities are pleasant and the company so good natured. The people first trained through working on a greenway often go on to volunteer for other programs and projects because of the strong sense of accomplishment that developing the path first gave them. The project provides worthwhile events for everyone. Developing greenways requires the help of the well-to-do as well as the less well-to-do. It requires brainpower for the organizational work and brawn for the manual labor. The effort needs the help of all kinds of people, from the town kingpin to the shyest citizen. Also, the required events, such as fund raising, idea gathering and the cultivation of public support, need to be staged for everyone, either in formats that enable the town as a whole to participate or by Small Town 15 developing a series of individual activities for different population segments. The project also provides a chance for people to engage in healthy and worthwhile physical labor. Some green- ways are entirely built by volunteer local labor while others use contracted crews for much of the heavy work. In either case, the effort requires much physical work for such things as bench installation, sowing wildflowers or other plant- ings, clean up or selective tree prunings. When building the trail, all of the town's citizens--the carpenter, banker, dentist or grocer--can have an equally good time cutting, hauling and planting. The Benefits of the Greenway When Stowe citizens began to conceptualize building a path, their prime consideration was safety--how to keep people away from the congested Mountain Road. Now, with the path in place, Stowe, like other communities with greenways, has learned that it provides other benefits unimaginable when the plan lay only on the drawing board. The first benefit is recreation. Some communities have chosen to have a greenway only for bicycling, or only for cross country skiing or only for snowmobiling. The most successful ones, however, are those available for activities in all seasons and which allow at least two users or user types to share the path. A good example would be a trail that accommodates cross country skiers in winter and hikers or walkers in summer. Remember, once the path is "'"' built, users tend to recreate more often because the route is close to home and free. Better transportation is another greenway benefit. If the town locates the path carefully, it will take people where they want to go and, in some cases, to and from work. If the path runs not just by the side of a road, but instead on a separate grade removed from traffic, kids have a way to ride their bikes safely through town. This reduces the need for parents to shuttle them to and fro. Also, the greenway gives the members of families that own only one car an attractive alternative for getting around town. Lastly, it provides another transportation option to senior citizens who cannot or prefer not to drive. While providing them an attractive route for traveling around town, the path's sociability can also ease the isolation that some seniors feel. And, this is the type of sociability that cannot be found behind the wheel of a car. Instead, it is available at every bench on the path and in each exchange of hellos as a fellow walker approaches. A third greenway advantage is safety. A good, athletic bicyclist can ride on the shoulder of a heavily travelled road, even though it is highly unpleasant, but other cyclists cannot. The greenway provides senior citizens and chil- dren riding tricycles or bikes with training wheels a far less dangerous place to ride. Also, mothers and fathers pushing ,._., baby carriages can enjoy this same sense of safety. In short, separation from the automobile provides a protected place that allows people of all ages to go where they want without the worry that accompanies them when they must use the street. Greenways can also provide benefits in the form of increased tourism. It can provide an amenity attractive enough to induce people to actually travel to the town to experience it. The greenway can also foster a bond between tourists and the local residents. In a tourist town tike Stowe, the visitors are never equal to the inhabitants. In a restaurant the tourist feels superior to the local waitress and in the grocery store the tourist is subservient to the residents who know where to find the milk and bread. On a greenway, though, the tourist and resident are equal as they both are enjoying the same pleasurable experience. Greenways can encourage tourism, but, better yet, when the tourists use the path they can genuinely feel welcomed and accepted as equals. The health benefits of greenways are almost self explanatory. The only option people often have for engaging in prescribed daily exercise is a treadmill or a stationary bike. In Stowe, people out for their regimented two mile walk often forget that they are exercising because the path is so attractive and socializing is available at every turn. Greenway creation is also an important step in preserv- ing the environment. Small towns often feel defenseless in relation to such megatrends as global warming, loss of the ozone layer and the loo~ning solid waste disposal crisis. But, a community can make a difference. It can preserve 16 Small Town November-December 1989 Top Left: The first five miles of the Stowe Recreation Path has a total of 10 bridges. Above: The path changed the life of local chiMren, who now often meet on it and spend the entire day riding and exploring. Some mothers have even hem birthday parties on the path. Left: Joggers often ca#friends to safely run together through the woods. Below: Path coordinator Anne Lusk strides past the town center. November-December 1989 Small Town 17 The dappled sunlight, the white birches, the rustic bridges, the boulders and rushing stream all add to the rustic atmosphere created by the Stowe Recreation Path. a corridor of green, showcase a clean river, frame the picture of a preserved, working farm or run an attractive, planted oasis through the center of a mostly concrete and blacktop town--just by creating a greenway. Built as a hometown environmental monument, a linear greenway is a far better legacy for the next generation than just saving a postage stamp-sized piece of parkland containing the town statue. How to Build a Greenway No perfect method for building a greenway will apply to each and every community. Each town has its own specific needs, the land has different constraints and the users different requirements. But, a few generalities can help get the job started. The biggest hurdles involve fund raising, acquiring the land and publicity. The following 12 steps provide a short overview of the process. Choosing the Location and Name On a town map, identify the schools, housing areas, shopping centers and districts, playgrounds, parks and any other places where people want to go. Then, take a pencil and lightly begin connecting these destinations (using a variety of alternative routes). Next work as a team with property owners. Erase the routes that won.'t work, make the appropriate corrections and use the property owners' suggestions in order to arrive at the most acceptable location for the trail. This is also the time to choose a mutually agreed upon name for your greenway. Finding A Worker or Forming a Committee Someone has to keep the maps, accept suggestions, investigate funding and handle the publicity. This could be one designated person or a committee of dedicated citizens. The people involved should be willing to read case studies of how other paths were developed and they should then discuss the whys, hows and wherefores in a public forum. The facilitator for this stage could be a volunteer, a paid member of the town or city staff, be paid by a non-profit corporation or be one of a variety of people with the overriding goal of creating this new amenity. Generating Publicity If the path will run solely on private land, an anonymous benefactor will pay for the entire construction and a separate trust fund has been established to pay for mainte- nance, you will not need to generate much publicity. But, in all likelihood, that won't happen. In that case, the public needs to be informed. The good news is that on a project such as this, people are eager for information and therefore the media are usually very willing to oblige and dissemi- nate the data. Publicity is 75 percent of the project because, without the public's knowledge, approval, land, funds and other help, there can be no path. And, this is true for virtually any project. The publicity starts as education, but the task is easier 18 Small Town November-December 1989 Often the Stowe Recreation Path follows the meande~ng of the West Branch which flows down from Mount Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont and location of Stowe's famous ski slopes. The wide, curving path is perfect counterpoint to the busy, noisy road that formerly was the only route between Mount Mansfeild and the town center. for greenway promoters because the public is already environmentally aware and is generally conscientious about the natural surroundings. If people are told just what they can do to help and that the path will produce positive results, the public will listen and learn. Promoters can get their message across through the use of newspaper articles, radio programs, television spots on local cable, lectures or slide show presentations, workshops, community displays or even school flyers. With a little imagination the number of avenues available to distribute information is limitless. After the initial education phase, direct the remaining publicity efforts at maintaining involvement and then use it to extend the final thank yous and for showing everybody appreciation for all of their efforts. It is important to realize that the more publicity the better and that each time you publicize the trail, the format should allow for two-way communication in order for you to hear the public's good ideas. Soliciting Volunteers As earlier described, one of the benefits of creating a path is that it provides the perfect opportunity for the whole town to participate. The trick to getting from point A (no volunteers) to point B (an abundance of volunteers) is strong advance publicity and making a special effort to have even the most boring meetings turn into a party that everyone will enjoy. Also, volunteers will appear when you make a special effort to publicly thank everyone for even the smallest contribution or idea as well as when everybody knows that they can freely communicate their ideas and impressions before, during and after the greenway is built. Acquiring the Land Public land, such as a state forest, is an ideal place for a greenway, but it might not be located conveniently near residents. The land near town is more apt to be held privately and that creates a major difficulty. The land must be purchased, the right-of-way donated or a deed easement negotiated. A fourth option, a temporary easement, may be much less desirable than the others because all of the physical labor and the fund raising will go down the drain if the owner eventually retracts the temporary permission or sells the land. Acquisition in some form is essential and it is possible with town-wide participation and enthusiastic publicity. Raising Money Rather than looking upon fund raising as a chore, participants must think of it as an opportunity given to every community citizen to buy into and share in the success of a terrific idea. People do want to take part in a good cause and all you need to do is to tell them ahead of time how their money will be spent, spend it wisely and sincerely thank them. Raising local money means that the townspeople will really feel that the greenway is theirs. Because of this sense of ownership, they will be more willing to pay later for their path's maintenance. November-Dece~nber 1989 SmaUTown 19 If the advance publicity is well done, if the p{oject receives endorsements from respected citizens and if people know that their generosity will be acknowledged, even mail solicitations, not to mention door-to-door efforts, produce a good return. Other kinds of fund raising, such as parties, sporting events or meals may be more labor intensive and less profitable, but the increased visibility brought about by these opportunities for socializing will increase goodwill and ~bring in more funds later. Finally, a town tax request is more likely to receive approval if path promoters have created a solid base of support through the publicity. While localities should try to rely as much as possible on local fund raising and local tax dollars, other funds are available. For example, the federal government provides Land and Water Conservation Service grants for this type of construction. Getting the Permits Depending on the users, location, land and the construction methods, the permits needed will vary widely from location to location. Often, these will involve the local, state and federal governments. The sequence of permits is often interrelated and permit preparation is sometimes very involved, so it is crucial to identify the necessary permits early in anticipation of the time and work you will need in order to develop the applications. Constructing the Path Path surfaces can be grass, dirt, stone, bark, asphalt or other material that the community agrees upon. Construc- tion efforts dealing with trees can range from trimming a few low-hanging branches to clearing trees and stumps with a backhoe. Stream crossings can involve Iow tech solutions such as leaving low water crossings that people can ride mountain bikes through to building elegant 120- foot bridges for pedestrian traffic. Between these two extremes are a number of solutions to solve crossing problems. Volunteers can craft the path, itself, or have it constructed by paid crews. No matter which course the town chooses to take, the key is to have the path look as if nature instead of man created it. Some naturalists prefer to have the land remain as grass or dirt. The people who tend to use the natural terrain paths are mountain bike riders, hikers and active walkers who fall into the age ranges that only use the path after school, after work or on weekends. The people who would use the path all seven days a week if it were paved are senior citizens, parents pushing baby carriages and kids on tricycles. Other users who prefer pavement include roller skaters, roller skiers and wheelchair riders. All of these patrons would be excluded from a dirt path and it would be used fewer days and hours if left unpaved. A paved path can appear natural if allowed to meander side to side, flow up and down and have a variety of bordering trees that dapple the paved surface with sunlight and a mixture of fallen leaves. Finally, an agreeable compromise between the bird watcher desiring isolation and the child wanting to test his or her new training wheels. is to have a paved core path with dirt appendage paths radiating out into the woods. Sighting Signs, Benches and Garbage Cans With nature possessing its own sense of order and continuity, any man-made additions should not appear as intrusions. In order to achieve a sense of preplanning and neatness on a path, the design and the materials of the benches can be developed to match the signs which should also match the garbage cans. In some cases all of these can even correspond with the design and materials of the bridges. If they all feature wood tones and make the effort to blend into the environment, these structures will provide pleasant places to find directions, to sit, or to throw refuse. Providing for Maintenance Greenway upkeep is minimal compared with the effort needed to maintain a swimming pool or clay tennis courts. On a dirt trail, volunteers can clear branches or dig drainage ditches. On more elaborate paved paths, town employees can mow the shoulders and picnic areas. Long term maintenance alongside a river might include bank stabilization with rip rap. Considerate citizens can take care of much of the day- to-day garbage pickup. If the townspeople have developed a sense of ownership and think of the path as theirs, and if garbage cans are liberally distributed along the route, then people will tend to pick up the litter and deposit it into the next garbage can. Dealing with Insurance Questions A greenway is really nothing more than a sidewalk, and although towns are fearful that liability concerns may take away their playgrounds and swimming pools, nobody has yet threatened to close down a town's sidewalks. A rider attached to the municipality's existing insurance policy is usually all that insurance companies require in order to cover the municipality's liability. Saying Thank You Since saying thank you is the:last requirement and it often occurs after the project is completed, it is easy to dismiss the act as an affected relic of bygone Victorian manners. The truth is, however, if you want the greenway maintained or extended or if the town wants to undertake 20 Small Town November-December 1989 other, related projects, having said sincere thank yous is a sure fire way to achieve success in the future. Thank yous can be addressed to the town at large through newspaper articles, given to elementary school kids in school assemblies, typed in formal letters sent to service clubs and individuals, or personally delivered in the form of homemade chocolate chip cookies or a warm apple pie. Though the thank yous are not always openly acknowledged, the undercurrent of community well-being is definitely felt in a town where the citizens have been repeatedly told that their actions are appreciated. The Stowe Recreation Path: A Case Study Begun in 1981, the first 2.7 miles of the Stowe Recrea- tion Path cost $300,000 and took three years from conception to completion. The eight foot wide, paved, handicapped-accessible path for hiking, walking, jogging and cross country skiing includes six bridges which span the West Branch, a temperamental river often swollen with runoff from Mount Mansfield, Vermont's tallest mountain. The path sits on 27 different parcels of private land donated by deeds of easement. Land acquisition involved obtaining a total of 60 signatures on the deals since some of the properties were jointly owned. The owners donated the deeds to the town and, in a few cases, they took a federal income tax deduction for their benevolence. One person coordinated the project. The town of Stowe contracted her to work with the property owners, design the path, gain the easements, raise funds and supervise the construction. A hand-picked volunteer committee assisted with the work. The construction funds came from federal revenue sharing monies, U.S. Land and Water Conservation funds, a private donor and individual donations. Local fund raising included selling pieces of the path ($ 2 per inch, $15 per foot, $45 per yard and on up through chains, rods and links) and then listing the purchasers' names in the local _weekly paper. Parties, presentations, dinners, banners and even Burma Shave-type rhyming signs set up on a cross country race cturse sang the path's praises and helped bring in money. Organizers also sent the public general mailers on xeroxed paper and with computer printed addresses. The public didn't mistake the plain packaging ~for junk mail since sponsors told them ahead of time to expect a cost-saving letter. The funds raised always went into path construction instead of towards paying unnecessary overhead. Propelled by the first leg's success, in 1986, organizers began a 2.6 mile extension in order to complete the Mountain Road stretch of the path. Finished in November of 1989, it cost $380,000 and included four bridges. The new stretch crossed private land donated by four property owners and ran principally on the edges of farm fields and by the river. November-December 1989 The promoters used the same fund raising techniques as they had with the first leg, but this time also asked the town for $120,000 in tax monies. Since the first section proved extremely popular with the townspeople, they used it extensively and they had been genuinely thanked for the part they played in completing it, they overwhelmingly approved the expenditure of tax funds in a boisterous town meeting. People now consider the path extension so beautiful that they have variously described it as a park having a Vermont dairy theme, a fairy tale woodland theme or a babbling brook theme. Conclusion Communities considering building a greenway often ask, "how can this take precedence over education, roads, the fire department, health and feeding the poor aad.. ~' housing the homeless?" The answer is that it can't, but it is also not an either/or question that must relegate path construction to the bottom of the wish list. A community can legitimately build a greenway at the same time that it addresses its other needs. America has a great network of roads for cars but has a history of giving only secondary consideration (if at all) to the needs of its citizens who do not wish to use automo- biles for transportation. Walking by the side of the road was once pleasant because the cars traveled slowly and only a few of them passed by. In the past, a person could usually even exchange a wave with the driver. Now the typical passing car rushes by in a blur and only the noxious exhaust fumes make an impression on the walker. Side- walks help, but curb cuts and constantly busy intersections reduce the safety, not to mention the pleasure, of anyone out for a leisurely stroll. Perhaps everyone now has to drive a car to work, to shop or to attend meetings, but commu- nities should provide places that encourage people to find alternatives. Greenways provide a place to pursue nonpol- luting options and have the added benefit of holding onto and preserving precious land. Recreation, even in a passive, unskilled form, should be available to everyone. In a small town, where people's income levels tend to be common knowledge, people do not need the most expensive high tech equipment available in order to use the path. Ordinary shoes suffice and specific athletic prowess is unnecessary. There is little reason for class differentiation on a greenway and there is pleasure for all. A greenway is the great equalizer. Everyone, young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sick, can use it in order to have the opportunity to enjoy the out-of-doors. A green- way just says, here I am. Small Town 21 JANUARY 1989 VOL. 24, NO. 1 FEATURES DEPARTMENTS [68 Maintaining Blue Ribbon Ballfields by Harry W. West 28 52 56 6O Congress '88: On the Right Track Byte Back: A Computer Guide for the Professional by Jeff Gardner Trees That Won't Leave You Liable by Brent ~4. Wood Mother Nature's Scorching Message by Suzanne McCormick 70 Greenway in Vermont by Anne Lusk 1988 PARKS & RECREATION Article Index 4 P&R This Month 6 Readers Write 7 From the Field 8 Washington Scene 101st Congress Opens with Unfinished Recreation Agenda 15 Coming Events 17 Research Update Leisure Research Symposium 22 NRPA Law Review Does U.S. Flood Control Immunity Include Reservoir Recreation? 26 Editorial Fire! Revisiting Management 66 Product Roundup 76 People 91' New Products 94 Resources 96 Advertising Index Cover: Field irrigation in California. Photo by Toro Co. PARKS & RECREATION ISSN 0031-2215 is published monthly by the National Recreation and Park Association, 12th FI., 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302, a service organization supported by membership dues and voluntary contributions. Copyright 1989 by the National Recreation and Park Association. Reproduc- tion in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of NRPA. Issued to members at the annual subscription price of $12.00, included in dues. Nonmember subscription, $18.00 a year in thc U.S., $24.00 elsewhere. Single copy price $3.00. Library rate $25.00. Second class postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and at additional mailing offices. Editorial and advertising offices at 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302. Telephone (703) 820- 4940. POSTMASTER send address changes to PARKS & RECREATION, 12th FI., 3101 Park Center Dr., Alexandria, VA 22302. 2/JANUARY 1989/P&R EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: R. Dean Tice EDITOR: Pamela Leigh ASSOCIATE EDITOR: A~mnda Tiffany NEWS EDITOR: Suzanne McCormick ART DIRECTOR: Annabel N. Markle ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Tom Danitschek (703) 820-4940 ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVE: The R.W. Walker Company, Inc. 2716 Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica, California 90405 (213) 450-9001 in Santa Monica (415) 788-6655 in Sail Francisco Dick Busch, Inc. 14 Heritage Blvd. Princeton, NJ 08540 Dan Aronovic (609) 520-8854 Anne L. Busch (609) 921-7763 Allan & Associates P.O. Box 128 Winnetka, IL 60093 (312) 446-5818 in Chicago NRPA REGIONM. SERVICE CENTERS: Pacific Secvicc Center Pm Earle, Regional Director 1600 Sacnlnlento Inn ~';.i)', Suite 217 Sacrameqto. Califi~rnia 95815 (916) 646-9050 Southe;Lst Regional Office Tom Martin, Regional Director 4319 Covington I lighway Room 209 Decatur, Georgia 30035 .(404 ) 284-5626 Northeast Service Center KathyJ. Bartlett, Regional Director 1800 Silas Deane Ikvv. Suite 1 Rock),, I {ill, Connecticut 0606" (203) 721-1055 Western Service Center Frank Cosgrove, Regional Director Garden of the God's Visitor Center, P.O. Box 6900 Colorado Springs, Colorado 80934 (719) 632-7031 Great Lakes Service Center Walter C. Johnson Regional Director 650 W. lliggins Hoffman Estates, IL 60195 (312) 843-7529 Turn to page 28 for highlights of the 1988 Congress for Recrea- tion and Parks. This convention featured an all-out effort by our host city, Indianapolis, Indiana, and four days of valuable educa- tional sessions, national issues, on-site institutes, and exhibitor exchanges. See "Congress '88~on the Right Track." If your department is like most others these days, chances are you have some experience with computers--and chances are you have questions about their most efficient use. In "Byte Back: A Computer Guide for the Pro- fessional,'' page 52, Computer Consultant Jeff Gardner answers some of the most-asked questions about computer hardware and software, and helps sort out their use in recreation and leisure faci- lities. In "Trees That Won't Leave You Liable," page 56, Brent A. Wood, director of educational services for ACRT, Inc. forestry consulting firm, explains how proper landscaping can not only enhance MCCORMICK LUSK 4/JAN UARY 1989/P&R the way your park looks, it can als() help prevent accidents. Mr. Wood explains the importance of b(xh proper staff training and proper tree maintenance. How has last year's devastating drought affected our use ()f water in maintaining your F~cr~adon areas? Depending on your part the countw, the effects can great or slight. In "Mother ture's Scorching Message," page 60, Suza~e McCo~ick, NRI% communications specialist, eval- uates the situation across the ct)umW, citing ways that many de- partments are heightening aware- ness and altering their landscap- ing maintenance policies. Maintaining baseball fields is often a mysterious process to those who play the game. But there are steps revolved m bring- ing a ballfield into playing con- dition; steps that can organize and simplifi.' the process. Harry W. West, president of West Devek)p- ment Corp., lists these steps, encompassing foul lines t()bath- rooms in "Maintaining Blue Rib- bon Ballfields," page 68. The President's Commission Americans Outdoors recom- mended that communities es- tablish greenways~but thc next step, implementing, is more apt to happen if communities arc told how. One community eager see grcenways buih nationwide the town of Stowc, kq'. Its award- winning greenway, buih in 1983, ~s a modal in the state of Vet- moult. For moro i~llk)rmadon on how this town built its greenway (and h()w y()u can too sec "Greenwav in Vermont," page 70, bv ~ne Lusk, St()wc tion Path co()rdinator. It's the bottom of the ninth. Bases loaded. Two outs. Guess where everybody's looking? When the game's on the line, everyone wants to know what's happening...before it happens. What inning is it? How many outs? What's the count? All eyes turn to your scoreboard. Coaches. Players. And most importantly, fans. That's why the preci- sion of your scoreboard is as important as the precision of your team. And that's why more and more schools are looking to Nevco Scoreboards to provide that precision and reliability. © Copyright 1988, Nevco Scoreboard Co. · FIVE-YEAR Guarantee · Direct Factory Service · UL Listed/CSA Certified · Solid State Cirquitry · High Intensity Lamps · Easy to Install · Factory-trained Reps Write or call today for a FREE, full-color catalog, pricing and sponsorship information. MPC Microprocessor Operator's Control gives fur game information on a bright display. Easy-to-use, operates more than 200 model variations just by adding a new overlay. Call TOLL-FREE 800-851-4040 The score NEVCO SCOREBOARD COMPANY 301 East Harris Avenue Greenville, Illinois 62246 USA (618) 664-0360 never looked better. Canada Office: Orillia, Ontario Please circle reader service card number 3 P&I~JANt 'ARY 1989, 5 VERMONT BY ANNE LUSK S mall towns in America have an idiosyncratic charm, and getting something done by consensus ,---- takes determination coupled with attention to local sensitivities. Building a greenway in a small town is a challenge, but the results can please even the most skeptical. What follows is a step-by-step explanation of how the town of Stowe, Vermont, built its greenway. ® DECIDE IF YOU NEED A GREENWAY. This can be a statistical analysis of traffic and users or an un- analytical response from the heart. At least one in- dividual should pose the question, "Do we need a gr eenway ?" Years before the President's Commission on Amer- icans Outdoors identified greenways as desirable, the residents of Stowe, Vermont, decided they needed a safe pedestrian route parallel to the seven-mile road which traveled from the village to the mountain. At summer and winter peak periods, this tourist town's population can soar from 3,300 to 8,000, causing heavy traffic on this main artery. The town of Stowe is fortunate to have a sense of community--a caring shared by locals and visitors Mike. One kind person, Claire Lintilhac, expressed con- Cern about safety, and in 1977 she commissioned the Vermont Highway Department to design a "bike route." Because of the number of driveways to the old inns and .._. shops, a shoulder path could not be considered, so the department designed a separate, but parallel, route. 70/JANUARY 1989/P&R Greenways recreation paths and green linear parks amidst the all-too-prevalent cityscape -- can enhance our quality of life, both physically and mentally. The citizens of Stowe, VI;, decided that a greenway would benefit their town, and so began a three year project to make that greenway a reality. The plans gathered dust until 1981, when the Long- Range Planning Committee (a group formed under Stowe Area Association, our local chamber of com- merce) decided to see if a pathway was feasible. · IF NO ONE HAS VOLUNTEERED TO DO THE JOB, HIRE SOMEONE. An informal nationwide study of typical greenway builders proved there is no such thing as a typical greenway builder-~all ages, in- comes and backgrounds may apply. The Long-Range Planning Committee requested $10,000 to hire a bike/walk administrator for two years. The administrator's responsibilities included designing the path, gaining the deeds of easement, raising funds, and coordinating publicity. · GET STARTED. Getting started can sometimes mean getting educated if you have never built a greenway. The individuals and organizations listed (see box) can provide the needed preliminary information or assistance. I knew nothing about building a greenway, so the first order of business was to educate myself. I had to learn not only what a greenway was, but why we needed one. I wrote for every booklet orpath "how-to" I could find. · EDUCATE OTHERS. Now thatyou are informed, in- form the rest of the town. After I read and studied the material I had received, I rewrote the information as articles for the local paper. These newspaper articles ran for about one year, and became the foundation for working with the communi- ty. · DON'T WORK ALONE. Building a greenway is a collaborative effort. Ask for help. Early on, I enlisted some of the best people in Stowe as my sounding board, my mentors. These people were hand-picked either to represent a broad constituency or because they always had good ideas. Through the newspaper, we always told everyone what we were thinking. I also met with high school classes, the Rotary, the women's club, church groups, and elementary school children. · CHOOSE THE LOCATION AND DESIGN THE PATH. To build a greenway, you need land and money. Getting the land is the toughest part. Since Stowe couldn't afford to buy the land, and eminent domain or condemnation are unspeakable in this small town, I knew I'd have to hope the properly owners would give their land to Stowe. P&IOJANUARY 1989/71 Listed below are some of the organizations ready to assist you in your greenway or trail crea- tion. American Trails American Trails is dedicated to increasing and im- proving information, access, development, mainte- nance, and protection of trails in America. Program Manager American Trails 1400 16 St., NW, Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 797-5418 Greenways for America Greenways for America is a program of the Con- servation Fund, providing an umbrella of services and guidance towards a national greenways net- work by working in partnership with public and private interests. Director Greenways for America 1800 North Kent St. Suite 1120 Arlington, VA 22209 (703) 525-6300 National Park Service To protect the nation's significant river and trail corridors, the National Park Service, through its river and trails conservation assistance program, assists state and local government and private or- ganizations. Recreation Resource Assistance Division National Park Service (765) P.O. Box 37127 Washington, D.C. 20013-7127 (202) 343-3780 RaHs-to-Trails Conservancy The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, established in 1986, provides legal and technical assistance to in- dividuals, private organizations, and state and lo- cal agencies working to convert abandoned rail- road corridors to multi-purpose trails. Director of Programs Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 1400 16th Street NW Washington, DC 20036 (202) 797-5400 The Wallc~ays Center The Walkways Center is a national nonprofit or- ganization formed specifically to promote walk- ing, provide information about walking, represent the needs of walkers, and work with local com- munities to improve walking facilities. Executive Director The Walkways Center Suite 427 733 15th Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 737-9555 Local, State Departments of Forests, Parks and Recreation The address and phone number would be in your phone book listed under the name of your state. The Stou,e Recreation Path donor sign, listing "l;ieces 9f patb" bought Itl, ead~ pc'rso~L and the recreation path k'.first bridge; behind the Stowe CommuniO, Church The path design prepared in 1977 Iw the Vermont Highway Department was a good starting point, but the property, owners needed to be assured their land was their's and that ifa path was to be built, it would be their idea. Rather than showing up with a pre-magic- markered path, I approached the property owners with blank maps and pencils. Either :ts one-on-one or work- ing in groups, we would decide ifa path was a good idea and if so, where it might need to go. Also identified on the map were the schools, Main Street, and the housing areas. Together we would start connecting the dots. This took many meetings and covered a span of about a year, the year after the newspaper articles had started appearing in print. One important note about these meetings with the propertT, owners: in every town there is a room where town busi'nbss is conducted, where a table faces a lot of chairs, where angry voices have been heard. I did not have the meetings in that room. We met in a pleasant setting, sometimes in a home; we sat an,x~vhcre that was comfortable, drank coffee and tea, and ate home-baked cookies. The property owners donated their land to the town of Stowe through a permanent deed of easement (25 feet wide for construction, reduced to 18 feet when the path was completed). They retained ownership of their land which included the density rights (zoning allo- wances for building based on acreage and location). They gave away (inly their right-of-way, similar to a sewer line right-of-way, and the town assumed the liability. In a few cases the property owner had the value of the deeded land appraised and took an income tax deduction from that year's income tax. The land donated was sometimes the least desireable land to the property owner. The path ran akmg the edge of a farm field, in the weeds and underbrush, or it traveled near the tree-lined edge of the properD,, out back and away from view. In tither cases it was the land along the edge of the river, and rather than lose 15 feet of property to erosion each year, the property owner retained his or her land with the assured path rip rap, rock stabilization, that was to be installed along the river bank. Since Stowe is a tourist community, there were prop- erty owners who would benefit from the proximiW to the path. Their donated land was chosen fi)r easy access to the shops, restaurants or inns. An inordinate amount of time was spent securing the necessary deeds of ease- ment from abutting propem., owners so we could get the path to McDonald's. We were less concerned about the profit motive for McDonald's and more concerned about the safety to the kids biking. We knew they would attempt any unsafe cross traffic cuts in order to get a hamburger. Now they just ride Safely on the path. A few property owners had justifiable reasons for not wanting the path on their land. We were fortunate to have an alternate route. We just went on the other side of the river. There were a total of 27 different easements for the 2.7-mile path and just five deeds for the 2.6-mile exten- sion because much of it traveled on one farmer's land. Since banks and others sometimes co-owned the prop- P&ROAN UARY 1989/73 "The people of Stowe were reWarded for their hard work and generosity with a delighOCul path.., two awards.., and an invitation to attend a reception on the south lawn of the White House." erty, I needed a total of 70 signatures for these deeds. I became a notary public and, if necessary, took along a witness when the property, owner was comfortable about signing. The deed signing occurred in houses, offices, and even cow barns. When the deeds were all recorded in the town clerk's office, everyone was pub- licly thanked for the contribution to the town. The resulting location for the path met all the recom- mended requirements. It combines sun and shade, hills and fiat, open fields and arbored canopies, straight stretches and meandering curves, views of a mountain and a companion river with swimming holes. · CHOOSE A NAME. Greenway is the generic term identified by the President's Commission on Amer- icans Outdoors. Its report suggested communities establish greenways, corridors of private and pub- lic recreation lands and waters, to provide people with access to open spaces close to where they live, and to link together the ~ral and urban spaces in the American landscape. In StOwe, the property owners requested only quiet users, therefore, the deeds excluded use by motorized vehicles. We knew the path would appeal to more than just the bikers, so the "bike route" became the Stowe Recreation Path. Its users include hikers, bikers, wal- kers, joggers, and even cross-country skiers. The design invited the handicapped too. · RAISE MONEY. Remember, compared to obtaining the land, raising the mon~. is easier.., and more fun/ The deeds would not be valid unless the money was raised to actually build the path. The engineers hired to prepare the plans and specs had estimates of $300,000 for the first 2.7-mile stretch of the path and $380,000, five years later, for the remaining 2.6-miles. This cost was based on the path location chosen by the donating land owners and pavement eight feet wide, with six bridges for the first section and four bridges for the second section. This worked out to be a cost of $14 per foot in 1983 and $20 per foot in 1988, with the later requiring more river bank stabilization. Some points to remember about fundraising: · Have a good time; raising money can be grueling, but if everyone in town enjoys the process they will not only contribute, they will help. · Involve the whole community; all ages benefit from the path, and all ages will happily play a part. · Don't try to raise money while other fundraising campaigns are in progress ... it's less rewarding com- peting for center stage. · Come up with creative ways to raise money--this is the best part. · Tryto make I00 percent of each dollar go into path construction; donations which help keep costs down can include brochure photographs, layout and printing, food for events, silent auction items, and private ex- pertise. '. · Use local radio and television, if available. · The fundraising spanned abut six months and fol- lowed the year of newspaper articles. Something to keep in mind is that while raising funds, the project is in the limelight. Fundraising over too long a period be- comes lackluster and an annoyance. Alert readers to the fundraising to come, declare a timetable and goal, raise funds and then finish with a bang and accolades. We sold lengths of the path ($2 per inch, $45 per yard, $250 per rod). These purchases were listed in the local paper every other week and also put on the donor sign at the start of the path. For the $380,000, 2.6-mile path extension, we had a black tie dinner dance with Peter Duchin's Orchestra, free champagne, truffles, and three governors, a state representative,Deborah Raffin, and Dr. Ruth. Coupled with the silent auction, we raised $40,000 in one night. We used banners, posters, and mailers---an appropri- ate fundraising measure. Even cleverlv worded "Bur- ma Shave" signs were stuck in the snow on the cross- country race track which ran from the mountain to the village. Brochures and envelopes on the path urged visitors to Stowe to contribute--they feel a part of this town and want to help. We used revenue-sharing funds, special appropriations, and grants--the town received $118,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for the first $300,000 2.7-mile part of the path, and we will receive $60,000 from LWCF for the $380,000, 2.6-mile extension. 74/JANUARY 1989/P&R ® APPLY FOR PERMITS. Each greenway will require different permits, but the universal recommendation is to start obtaining them early. Stowe needed a wide variety of permits because we were near a river, crossed a road, installed bridges, and covered a lot of ground. The permits have a domino effect, and once you get a certain one you can apply for the next one. Early on we listed all the necessary per- mits we would need and then systematically started fulfilling all of the requirements. · MISCELLANEOUS HINTS. Some of these small-toum tips can apply to a city as well. · Don't put yourself in a position of being told no. In a town where you know everybody, it's uncomfortable for both parties. Just say, "I'll get back to you," or "I'll send you some material." · Keep going into town. A recluse never gets the best suggestions. · Be very well prepared for a meeting. Even in a relaxed small town, preparedness is appreciated. · Don't take on other controversial causes. Your allegiances get confused. · Realize there are no business hours. Accept ideas anywhere and anytime. The people of Stowe were rewarded for their hard work and generosity with a delightful path and two other awards as well. Out of 250 LWCF award applica- tions in a 14-state region, only 18 awarcks were given, and Stowe was one of the winners. The town also was chosen as a finalist in the Take Pride in America awards and received an invitation to attend the reception on the south lawn of the White House. Secretary of the Interior Donald Hodel praised the Stowe Recreation Path as "an excellent example of the type of stewardship activity the Take Pride in America campaign seeks to encourage .... The enthusiasm and cooperative spirit of the citizens of Stowe in building a model greenway are most com- mendable.'' There is a humbling satisfaction in having helped create a greenway in a small town. Every day you see the townspeople who helped make it happen, and you see so many who enjoy the finished path. It took three years from conception to completion of the first part of the path and, billed as "one of the best things to happen to Stowe," the town recommends others create their own paths. Building a greenway is something an American community can actually do and, once completed, use with pride, rn EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information, contact the author at R.D. #2, Box 3780, Stowe, VT 05672. Personal Liability "Business Pursuits" Insurance One of the many advantages of being a member of NRPA is the availability of insurance plans designed exclusively for recreation exposures at very competitive rates. NRPA Membership Advantages and Benefits The Personal Liability "Business Pursuits" plan will begin enrollment on December 1st and coverage is available to recreation personnel who are employees, volunteers and/or board members of NRPA member recreation departments. So, if you are renewing, or are interested in getting more information or a descriptive brochure, please contact NRPA's Insurance Administrators: Frank B. Hall & Company of New York Wall Street Plaza New York, N.Y. 10005 (212) 952-1200 Ask For: Robert Frances,V.P., Jacqulyn McDonald, or Cynthia Kee, Plan Administrators This is another NRPA Member Service -- Call Toll Free 1-800-626-NRPA for Membership Information. P&R/JANUARY 1989/75 .Agency of Natural Resources Parks & Recreation Division 103 South Main Street., Bldg. 8 South Waterbury, VT 05671-0604 RESOURCE SHEET E-34 "HOW TO BUILD A PATH IN YOUR COMMUNITY" by Anne Lusk 1986 Stowe Recreation Path In Cooperation With: The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation Agency of Environmental Conservation This is the story of the Recreation Path. This story is going to be kept simple for a reason. Paths serve everyone, young and old, locals and tourists, the avid recreator, and the quiet bird watcher. These "glorified sidewalks" don't go out of style, provide safety, and can be open all seasons. Relative to some other forms of recreation, they are inexpensive to maintain. If this story is easily understood, then perhaps you will feel encouraged to build a path in your community. First thing for you to do -- pick a spot in your town where you would like to see _ a path. This can be the right spot or the wrong spot; that doesn't matter. This will give you a mental picture to use in going through the checklist. Refer to your imagination often to see how you would get your path built. GETTING STARTED check 1. / / DELEGATE, SELECT, OR HIRE -- Find a person or people to see the process through. You will not get past this first check box without bodies to perform the various functions. I was hired by the Town of Stowe for two years with a salary of $10,000 from Revenue Sharing Funds. Preliminary work had been done by committees, but the actual task of seeing the path built was put on me. I had not built a path before, but I had one quality, stick-to- itiveness. Surely you can find one person with that quality, perhaps yourself. check 2. / / STUDY AND AMASS -- Read how to build a path, view slide shows, take own notes and file them, visit other paths if you can, and send for materials. Having these files and visual references not only taught me how to build a path but assured me that maybe I could. You can start to check this off because you are reading right now. check 3. THINK OF SOME QUESTIONS A. Where might the path go and which property owners would be involved? ~B. Do you need a path? C. Who would use the path, when and how? D. Do you think your town might be behind such an effort? E. How would you incorporate handicapped access? F. Where would the money come from? Remember, you are only thinking of the questions, not answering them since it is too early for that. I never could accurately estimate how many users the Stowe Path would have and, even in my guesses, I underestimated. Stowe's path is really used. - 1 - check / / check / / check / / CONTACT THE PROPERTY OWNERS -- This is one of those tricky cart-before- the horse problems. You hesitate to contact a property owner too early, before you know enough, but then again you don't want to move onto Step 5 without first consulting them...you risk doing some toe stepping. What I have done is tell the property owners in all honesty that I don't know if the idea is a good one, that I need their input. I ask if I may proceed with some information gathering so we all will be better informed to make a decision. Handled correctly, this can work. WRITE -- After you have thought of some of the questions and consulted the property owners, start writing. Write thought provoking, informative articles for your local newspapers. These articles need not answer questions; they can merely raise them. There are two reasons for these articles: A. RESPONSES - When you write, people read. The readers start to think and, if you are lucky, respond. These responses may be anything from letters to the Editor to casual scuttlebut. You will gain invaluable suggestions, more questions, and advice...all helpful in shaping the town path. B. FUND RAISING - If you have to raise some of the money in your own community, allow a year to two years' lead time for community interest and enthusiasm to build. This writing makes fund raising infinitely easier when the time comes. NOTE - Make the articles upbeat and positive, and encourage participation, discussion, and ideas. 6. MEET -- Just as in WRITE, you need to get the questions out there so they can be answered. Meet with all the necessary town bodies, clubs, and committees. I even met with all the junior and senior high classes, gave them a slide show, and asked for their ideas. You can also form your own path study committee, for general consen- sus, direction, and a sounding board. We are going to move now into specific steps, but I want you to remember that though you may have done Steps 5 and 6 doesn't mean you are done with them. Continue writing and meeting even after the path is built. check 1. / / NITTY GRITTY CHOOSE A NAME -- This step needs to be done early because, in all your writing and talking, it lessens the confusion if you can name what you are talking about. Your options include Recreation Path, Bike Path, Bike Route, Town Trail; you name it. Stowe opted for Recreation Path because it serves hikers, bikers, joggers, walkers, and cross-country skiers, and saying all those users with a mouthful. - 2 - check Good / / 2. CHOOSE THE LOCATION -- Common sense will guide you in this phase. paths include: A. Sunshine and shade B. Up and down C. Views, rivers, bridges if possible D. Open, mowed fields and dense trees with wildflowers E. Straight lines and curves F. Solitude in some places, and in others - proximity to buildings A path will be far more useful, if it links someplace to someplace. You can also choose between: A. A widened ~houlder on a road B. A separate fenced path beside a road ~' C. A separate path, perhaps in the backyards of businesses and homes (as Stowe did) If you choose "C," you may have to go along the edge of the property line, in the least developable land. This will encourage the property owners to donate the land because he looses a little. check / / Be OBTAIN THE LAND -- This could be a lengthy legal discussion, but I will keep it simple. If you have further questions, I'm sure your town lawyer will advise you. A. If you use the side of the road, you can use the existing right- of-way. B. If you use a separate path, you can: 1. Buy the land 2. Have it donated 3. Lease it 4. Use a railroad right-of-way (one with no more trains, of course) 5. Obtain a right-of-way deed of easement - the property owner continues to own the land and thus retain density rights; you build the path where he says, and promise to maintain it. If you choose B #5, as Stowe did, you can use a deed of easement. Printed below is the language which appeared on the Stowe deeds. "PERMANENT EASEMENT: The right to enter upon the within described land to grade, level, fill, drain, pave, build, maintain, repair and rebuild a recreation path - 3- together with such bridges, culverts, ramps, and cuts as may be necessary, on, over and across the ground embraced within the right-of-way herein described, which is located within the boundaries of the within described parcel of land. Said recreation path when completed will be open to the general public. TEMPORARY EASEMENT: For purposes of construction a temporary easement four feet on each side of the permanent easement is hereby granted. Said temporary easement shall expire once construction is completed and the recreation path is open to the public. The foregoing permanent easement and'rights are hereby granted along a strip of land 18 feet in width, described as follows: See four pages of maps by "Charles GrenieB Consulting Engineer," Box 445, Waterbury, Vermont, for location of easement. The location of said easement and rights to become permanent upon the construction of the recreation path within such easement as may be necessary to properly operate and maintain a recreation path." Liability insurance was covered in the general town policy, and property owners were assured of this coverage. In a very few cases the property owners wanted to get a Federal income tax deduc- tion for donating the right-of-way to the town. A local realtor did the appraisal, which was relatively low because the land was near the flood plain, and that person took that one time deduction. In most cases the property owners had tourist related businesses and were overjoyed to have Stowe's path pass by their back door. Stowe's deed was 26' wide for construction and 18' when built to allow for the 8' wide path and 5' shoulders. Each deed referenced the master map for location so each property didn't have to be surveyed. The final deeds were obtained at the end, just prior to construction, though owners had agreed in principal ahead. It would have been unfair to lock up property's land in a deed, then find I was unable to raise the money, obtain the permits, or get full town approval. In Stowe's case the path crossed 26 properties, and those deeds needed a total of 60 signatures. I will warn you. This was harder than the fund raising, but the anticipation of this effort should never deter you. The completed and used path is worth it. check 4. / / DESIGN THE PATH -- You need to make some choices about your path: A. Surface - asphalt, sta-mat (1/3 clay, 1/3 sand, 1/3 fine crushed stone), or dirt (Stowe had 1' of gravel subbase under 2" bituminous concrete pavement) B. Width - 6', 8', and 10' (Stowe's is 8', and it could have been 10') C. Shoulders - how wide for maintenance, depends on width to be mowed (2'-3') and width beyond to sickle (otherwise weeds just fall over the mowed section) D. Bridges - if you need them, you could choose: 1. Steel cable suspension bridges as in the snowmobile trails 2. Short wooden bridges -- 4 -- check / / check / / Be Concrete or wood deck on I beam bridges Prefabricated metal bridges (Stowe chose from Continental, Custom Bridge Company, Route 5, Box 178, Alexandria, Min- nesota 56300, ph. (612) 852-7500. These are prefabricated, weathering steel bridges with 2" x 10" pressure treated fir decking, which rested on concrete abutments. The cost in 1984 of a 6' wide, 120' long bridge was about $30,000.) HIRE AN ENGINEER, LAND PLANNER, AND A LAWYER --Unless you plan to do all the construction with volunteer help and never go out to bid, you need an engineer, a land planner, and a lawyer. The engineer will prepare all your estimates and put together plans and specs so you can go out to bid. The land planner will assist in the permit and application process. The lawyer will prepare the deeds of easement and help in other legal matters. Stowe chose Charlie Grenier for the engineer; Charlie Burnham for the land planner; and Dick Sargent, the Town Lawyer, for the deeds.. They all were extremely qualified and because they lived nearby, they had a "sense of the neighborhood." If you apply for Land and Water Conservation Funds, remember you can later include this preliminary engineering work in your funding request. You must, though, get proposals from three engineers. 6. DO THE FUND RAISING -- sources for funds include: A. Local fund raising B. Local taxes C. Revenue Sharing (history now) D. Land and Water Conservation Fund E. Grants from Foundations or Corporations F. Donated labor, materials, or machines Since an explanation of D and E could increase this writing (and your reading) 20 fold, it's best to leave those particulars to the specific application forms. Also, since you probably already under- stood B, C, and F, what will be addressed here will just be A, local fund raising. Stowe's path cost: $118,000 Land and Water Conservation Funds 42,000 Revenue Sharing Funds 84,000 Private Donor 53,000 Local Fund Raising $297,000 With Interest Added - 5- Inch Foot Yard 1/2 Rod Rod check / / check / / The cost per foot of the path was about $14. The total path with 6 bridges was 2.7 miles long. The fund raising campaign took place over about a 4-month period and included newspaper articles, radio announcements, meetings, mail- ings, personal solicitations, dinners, a donation thermometer bill- board, and even Burma Shave signs on the Stowe Derby cross country race course. People bought pieces of the path, and weekly their names and their appropriate path pieces were published in the paper. Cost Breakdowns 2.00 1/2 Chain $ 500.00 1/2 Furlong $ 5,000,00 15.00 Chain 1,000.00 Furlong 10,000.00 45.00 1/8 Furlong 1,250.00 1/2 Mile 40,000.00 125.00 1/4 Furlong 2,500.00 Mile 80,000.00 250.00 A simple mailing indicated that this money was going directly towards construction, not the high cost of glossy mailings or promotions. The goal was $42,000, and the final total was $53,000. SECURE THE PERMITS -- Stowe's path needed a fair number of permits because of the location and because it crossed the river. (At one point we were told we might need a permit from the Coast Guard because of the water?) Stowe's permits included: 1. Stream Alteration Permit 2. Army Corps of Engineers 3. A-95 4. Historic Preservation letter (to assure we weren't destroying an historic site) 5. Department of Transportation (to cross the road) 6. Lamoille County Development Council letter (path abides by county plan) 7. Act 250 release - less than 10 acres 8. Local permits Your path might need different or perhaps fewer permits depending on location. BUILD THE PATH -- Now is the time...before, during and after, TAKE PICTURES (colored slides are best). -6- check / / e Stowe's path had the following stages of construction: A. Final survey of location B. Marking of trees and cutting C. Tree and brush burning D. Removal of top soil E. Placing of culverts F. Installation of 1 foot of gravel subbase G. Construction of concrete abutments for bridges H. Installation of bridges I. Rip rap placement on river banks or near bridges J. Laying of asphalt K. Buildup of shoulders, then seeded and mulched L. Landscaping INSTALL THE SIGNS -- The deeds of easement included only those users listed (hikers, bikers, joggers, walkers, and cross-country skiers). Some of the deeded property owners didn't want motorized vehicles near their home or back door of their business so cars, motorcycles, snow- mobiles, etc., were prohibited with a $500 fine. Locally made wooden signs: A. Showed a picture of the users B. Mentioned the $500 fine C. Identified the path or gave directions to get to it D. Cautioned about crossing a road E. Indicated how to get to path parking F. Said slow - to go around a blind corner Regulation highway signs: A. B. Co Indicated bike crossing ahead Had stencils on the road sho~ing a dotted line for crossing area and BIKE XING written before it Required that STOP was on each side of the path at the road crossing - 7 - check / / 10. The only problem to date, the local wooden signs were so attractive they are being stolen. Measures had been taken to make theft difficult but there are those who persist against all odds.,.and walk away with a sign. New measures are being taken to make it doubly difficult. MAINTAIN THE PATH -- Compared to some recreation facilities, the maintenance of a path is relatively low because, as someone was quoted as saying, "The path has no moving parts". A Stowe path part, which was not expected to move but did, was a bank or two by the river. Due to "uncalled for" flooding, some of the banks not previously rip rapped have been. Stowe's general maintenance includes the following: A. Mowing the shoulders - depends on how fast the grass grows B. Cutting the weeds beyond the mowed shoulder (the weeds were falling over and onto the mowed shoulders) C. Mowing the parking areas, bench and picnic spots D. Garbage pick up E. Occasional tree pruning or tree removal F. Plowing the parking lots in the winter Ge Track setting - it was done the first winter but now with so much "skating" cross country skiing, people make their own course and no track is set Extras which make the Stowe path special: A. Benches B. Mowed scenic spots C. Wildflowers, flowers and bulbs D. Local maps showing path location, vis a vis roads and businesses Still to come in Stowe: A. Distance painted on the edge, 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile (people advised to walk for their health have requested this) B. Line painted down the path center and an arrow signaling to step to the right (just for the distance around a blind corner) C. STOP painted on the path at road crossings (for kids who may not look up and see the sign) D. More benches and picnic tables E. A 3-mile extension to the present 2.7 mile path, completing the parallel path which runs along side the Mountain Road - 8- If you have questions about building your path, you can contact George Plumb, Recreation Director, Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation, Agency of Environ- mental Conservation, Montpelier, Vermont 05602, phone (802)828-3375; or Anne Lusk, R.D. 1, Box 3780, Stowe, Vermont 05672, phone (802) 253-7758. An accompanying slide presentation on Stowe's path can be obtained by calling George Plumb. In planning and building your path, take these aforementioned steps one at a time. Congratulate yourself when each phase is done. When you get blue working with the paper and people, just go for a walk where the path might be. If the weather is in your favor, the path will inspire you to proceed. -9- Dorrell C. Larsen '¢~'~'~~'Y~; 630 Ruby Street General Delivery McCall, Idaho 83638 McCall City Council P.O. Box 1065 McCall, Idaho 83638 Attn: Arthur Schmidt, Mayor Dear Mr. Schmidt: The Garnett Beach Homeowners Association requests permission to place a dock on the Garnett Street Right-of-Way and Payette Lake beach front in accordance to the regulations of the City of McCall and the State of Idaho with reference to Resolution No. 6-85 entitled "A Resolution Regarding Docks on Payette Lake Attached to Davis Beach and Other City-owned or Controlled Property." Please find attached the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of the Garnett Beach Homeowners Association, Inc. Objectives of the association are: a. To fulfill the needs of the Garnett Beach Street neighborhood. To organize, clean and maintain the beach area ,within the Garnett StFeet right-of-way in accordance with McCall city policies. To obtain and maintain a boat dock on the Garnett Street right-of-way to be used by the neighborhood, specifically the Corporation in accordance with the McCall and State of Idaho policies. Yours Truly, Dorrel l C. Larsen Garnett Beach Homeowners Association