Minutes of Parkwood Park Committee Meeting of 05/17/11

Parkwood Park Committee Meeting Minutes
May 17, 2011

In Attendance:
Sheri Kennedy, Park Committee Chair, Vice President, notetaker
Steve Elmore
Joe Dicks
Karna Candler
Rebecca Kerimbaev
Susan Stewart

1. Invasive Plant Eradication Proposal – Steve
   1. Steve provided an overview of the meeting with Terry Sutton of Cascade Spring Forestry. Terry seemed very knowledgeable about plants and his spraying technique allows him to try and save native plants. Terry has been involved in a number of projects in our area. Steve also checked with Blake Watkins of Trees Atlanta who also recommended Terry. DeKalb County extension agent recommended King Green Lawn services. While the $300 price per acres was attractive, the products and techniques did not meet our requirements.
   2. The committee agreed that while Terry’s prices were higher ($1200 per acre vs King Green at $300), the value added services were worth the additional expense. Terry recommended treatment in the May/June time frame but thought we could spray into July and August and still make a significant impact on the invasive plants including the English Ivy.
   3. After some discussion the current recommendation will be to spray 1/2-1 acre this year with a follow-up plan of 1 acre per year to complete the park.
2. Path Update – Joe and Steve
   1. The paths are marked and about 80% of the paths have been cleared with a string trimmer. The paths help make the park usable-yippee (notetaker comment).
   2. In order to entice people into the park, Rebecca will locate and mark plants of interest along the trail. We can also publish a list on the website. Rebecca’s plant list will make the path even more interesting and help people see the value of the park. (double yippee!!-notetaker comment)
3. DeKalb County Roads and Drainage – Sheri
   1. Sheri reviewed discussion with DeKalb County R&D. Will follow-up this Thursday, May 19 for status.
   2. The committee discussed installing the aluminum pinched spear headed version of the fence. Joe Dicks pointed out a possible safety issue in using the spearheaded fence and voted against using this style fence. We also discussed the need to have the county regrade before the fence is installed.
   3. Sheri has a meeting with a fence contractor on Wed morning for an estimate. Larry Bosarge has also been contacted for an estimate for the rip/rap and grading as well as the fence estimate.
4. Traffic Circle Budget – Sheri
   1. Sheri contacted Camille and confirmed the plan for the traffic circle. Camille will provide a budget.
5. W Ponce Area – Group Discussion
   1. The committee discussed the W Ponce de Leon area plan. NOT SURE WHAT WE DECIDED?? WHAT DO WE NEED TO TELL CAMILLE ABOUT CONTINUING WORK ON PLANTING PLAN?
6. Development of PPC Budget and Timeline – Group Discussion
   1. Sheri provided a proposed budget for the 2011 summer and fall to include the traffic circle plan, invasive plant eradication and W Ponce project rip/rap and grading as well as planting.
   2. We agreed to present to the neighborhood a 2011/2012 proposed project list and budget separately. The list will be provided in the neighborhood presentation to be reviewed at the next meeting.
7. Communication Update
   1. PPC Minutes distribution – Rebecca
      1. The committee decided that minutes would only be distributed among our group and then presented to the PGC officers at the monthly PGC officer meetings. Official notification to the neighborhood would be included in the PGC officer meeting minutes.
      2. PPC neighborhood wide meeting presentations and minutes would be available on the website for everyone to review.
   2. Website Update -Rebecca
      1. Sheri still owes Rebecca the list of businesses and organizations that have supported the park. (NOTE: Sheri sent the list on May 18!–finally)
8. Neighborhood Meeting
   1. After looking at vacations, the following dates were looked at for possible neighborhood wide meeting, Monday, June 6, Thursday, June 9 and Monday, June 13. Sheri will contact Bob Ballou to see if the church is available.
   2. The outline below was reviewed. If your name is beside one of the items below please send me your information for your slide by Saturday, May 21 so I can include it in the review on Tuesday.
   3. Proposed Outline for Neighborhood Meeting
      

      Coyote Presentation Website Overview (Rebecca and Bolot) (no slides but need access to internet) Intro of PPC members Agenda Overview of March meeting (Sheri) Georgia Forestry Commission and DeKalb County Watershed Management guest speakers. Introduced the idea of a path through the park Discussed first project to landscape the traffic circle and the need to remove the tree What is the long term plans for the park? Overview of March work day (Sheri) Cutting of historic hollies to help unblock view of W Ponce Stream cleaners were very successful W Ponce cleaners did the best they could do Ivy pullers worked but didn’t make much progress and all were covered in poison ivy!! Overview of Park Walk with Joe Burgess, Sally Sears and Susan Stainbeck (Sheri) Main points both suggested–create a mulched path through the park near the creek since that is the main focal point Continue to remove invasive plants–especially the ivy, vinca, honeysuckle, Rose of Sharon, Multiflora rose, privet-japanese and chinese, mahonia, elaeagnus, amur honeysuckle, Chinese Holly. Sally and Susan suggested we create a Mission Vision which supported the feedback we received from the March meeting. Review Park Vision (Susan) Review Parkwood Park Committee Mission (Susan) Parkwood Park Proposal (???need to talk how we are going to do this) W Ponce de Leon Project DeKalb Roads and Drainage Rip Rap enhancement project and grading Planting Plan Eradication of Invasive Plant Project (Steve) Park Path (Joe D) Traffic Circle Proposal (Karna??) Overall Neighborhood Green Space Improvement Budget (???) Date Description Expense W Ponce Project Summer 2011 Complete and approve design and planting plan $250 Summer 2011 Rip Rap Enhancement/grading $3,000 Summer 2011 Remove Invasive plants Fall 2011 Implement Fall Planting Plan ??? Traffic Circle Summer 2011 Complete and approve design and planting plan $100 Summer 2011 Rock purchase and placement $600 Fall 2011 Implement Fall Planting Plan (tree, plants and mulch) $800 Total $1,500 Invasive Plant Eradication Summer 2011 $1,200 per acre $1,200 The table is for illustrative purposes and will not be formatted differently in the presentation. Summer 2011 Camille $350 Invasive Plant Treatment $1,200 Rip Rap $3,000 Total $4,500 Fall 2011 Traffic Circle $1,100 W Ponce Planting $ ???