Buffalo Trail Board Minutes September 22, 2008
Feb 10, 2009
Author: Bill Cooley

Buffalo Trail Board

Minutes September 22, 2008

A regular meeting of the Buffalo Trails Board (BTB) was held at Buffalo’s City Hall at 7:00am on September 22, 2008.

Board members in attendance were Chairman Mentock, Jerry Gladson, Bill Cooley, Lois Petersen, Dave Palmerlee, city councilman Don Vogle, city planner Colin Betzler, and assistant city planner Alicia Bankston. Absent member was Jack Tarter.

The meeting was called to order at 7:04 am and the first item on the agenda was to approve the minutes from the last meeting. Mr. Cooley mentioned that he had all ready made a change to the minutes reflecting the attendance. That being that Mr. Tarter could not have made a motion at the last meeting as was written in the first version of the minutes, since he was not in attendance. It was decided that Mr. Gladson made the motion to approve the agenda and Councilman Vogle seconded. Mr. Gladson made a motion to approve the minutes for August 13 with the changes noted. Mr. Cooley seconded the motion. All members in attendance voted aye.

The next item on the agenda was to appoint a Vice Chairman. Mr. Gladson asked Ms. Bankston when the current members terms were to end. Ms. Bankston mentioned that she would try to get the dates when member’s terms ended. Discussion then ensued about Mr. Gladson’s interest in becoming Chairman. Mr. Gladson mentioned that he might be interested in becoming Chairman depending on a couple of things in his life outside of the BTB. Mr. Gladson then mentioned that he would not mind being Vice Chairman for the interim until the BTB held the regularly scheduled voting on officers that is to happen at the beginning of the next calendar year. Mr. Cooley made a motion to appoint Mr. Gladson as interim Vice Chairman. Chairman Mentock seconded the motion. All members present voted aye.

The next item was an update on the Master Trail Plan. Chairman Mentock explained that he and Mr. Gladson had made a presentation to the Buffalo City Planning Commission on August 26, 2008. Ms. Bankston then handed out the final Master Trails Plan to the BTB members. Ms. Bankston then explained that the Planning Commission voted to recommend adoption by the City Council. She then explained that the City Council had decided to table the Master Trails Plan in order to have a workshop, which actually did not happen. Ms. Bankston then explained that the City Council at their next meeting adopted the Master Trails Plan. The ordinance that officially adopted the plan was ordinance 1308, which replaces ordinance 1080. Ms. Bankston then explained that one change was to include a county resident to sit on the Buffalo Trail Board. This change has been passed on to the County Commissioners and the County Planning Commission. Ms. Bankston then explained that the County Commissioners were slightly apprehensive in the scence that there is still a misconception amongst county landowners. The misconception lies in the lines that had been drawn on the Master Plan Map indicating where trails would be located. Ms. Bankston then explained that she had a “one on one” workshop with County Commissioner Chairman Fink explaining the map. Ms. Bankston then explained further that after the workshop with Chairman Fink she had a workshop with the full County Commission explaining the Map. Ms. Bankston also explained that a follow-up letter had been sent to all of the county landowners further explaining the map and how the wording had been changed from “proposed” trails to “potential trail corridors”. Ms. Bankston then explained that the Buffalo City Hall and the Library would have copies of the Master Trail Plan for the public to access.

The next item was to discuss the letter sent to the Governor asking to dedicate the 1880 historic bridge. Ms. Bankston then explained that the letter was actually asking that the Governor proclaim the first Saturday in June to be recognized as Trails Day and to invite the governor to a ribbon cutting at the historic bridge. Chairman Mentock then explained the money that has been dedicated to bridge placement and the work that had been completed to date. Chairman Mentock explained that the state of Wyoming and the Wyoming Department of Transportation was very interested in the bridge placement and adoption as there have not been many such adoptions in the past. Ms. Bankston then mentioned that the BTB would probably not want to miss the opportunity to have the Governor come to the dedication ceremony and she also mentioned that it would be a good idea for the BTB to send a reminder letter to the Governor’s office a couple of months prior to the dedication.

The next item was to discuss the Shiloh Trail progress. This trail will connect the Greenbelt Trail to the new Shiloh subdivision. Chairman Mentock mentioned that the trail was in place. He also mentioned that the parking lot has yet to be constructed. There are a couple of items including distance markers that have yet to be installed.

The next item was an update on the 1880 historic bridge. Chairman Mentock reiterated that the project was proceeding on schedule.

The next item was an update on trail maintenance. Chairman Mentock mentioned various maintenance projects including line trimming had been completed. Mr. Palmerlee then mentioned a stand of thistle that he had notice by the wetlands in the Heritage Park area that needed to be removed. Mr. Gladson mentioned that weed control is an ongoing project that County Weed and Pest is aware of and will monitor.

The next agenda item was to discuss the dog waste stations. Ms. Bankston then informed the BTB of the various dog waste stations possibilities. She continued that the BTB had learned through public comment that occurred during the Master Trail Plan development, that more dog waste stations are needed in high use areas including, Mountain Plains Heritage Park, Lobban St. access of the Centennial trail, Mosier Gulch access to the Mentock Trail, Turkey Lane access to the Mentock Trail, and the Shiloh Trail. Ms. Bankston then explained the different types of waste stations available including one that has an incorporated trashcan. She then mentioned that by adding more dog waste stations would result in an increase in the workload of the BTB to stock bags and empty the collection cans. It was finally determined that the BTB would purchase dog waste stations and the bags. BTB members then volunteered to empty the trashcans and re-fill the bags. Ms. Bankston then brought up the idea that had been discussed in previous meetings of having a trail appreciation day, and the possibility of selling caps and t-shirts to help raise funds that could be used to supplement the BTB budget. A lengthy discussion then ensued around how many dog waste stations were needed and the quantity of bags that should be ordered. It is the BTB’s understanding that two of the stations will actually be purchased by other entities. That is, the Mountain Plains Heritage Park Board will purchase one station and the one placed at the Shiloh trail will be purchased by Friends of the Shiloh Trail. In the end, Mr. Gladson made a motion to approve the purchase of five dog waste stations and five cases of bags to refill the stations. Ms. Petersen seconded the motion and all members present voted aye.

Mr. Cooley then described a system of dispensing dog waste bags that he had seen on a trail in the community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The system involves a 2’-3’ PVC pipe that has a cap on the top and bottom and a hole cut into the side to allow grocery bags to be stuffed into it. The pipe was then mounted onto a metal fence post with wire and a trashcan was supplied for disposal of the dog waste. Mr. Cooley brought up the topic as an alternative to purchasing dog waste stations.

Ms. Bankston then updated the BTB on the trail brochure. A new printing is about to happen, and she asked that we review the old brochure to see what updates are needed.

Ms. Bankston then explained the designs that had been presented by Dave Osmundson for trail signage. She explained that the BTB has applied for a grant from Wyoming Travel and Tourism for 20,000. The BTB will be required to donate “in kind” which can include money, or labor. Mr. Palmerlee asked what the purpose of the trail kiosks was. Ms. Bankston explained that the BTB had determined the need for updating the signs while working on the Trails Master Plan. The design that Mr. Osmundson came up with allows the information on the sign to be easily changed while the sign itself to stay unchanged.

Ms. Bankston gave an update on the Eva Knepper trail and a letter that had been sent to Sid Parker (head of Friends of Eva Knepper). The letter explained that there are issues with grade, and drainage, which will need to be addressed. The letter also explains that the BTB would like to walk the Friends of Eva Knepper through the trail approval process.

Ms. Bankston then mentioned that Chairman Mentock is writing a letter of thanks that will be sent to the Buffalo Bulletin to thank the community for their help with the Trail Master Plan and that it has been adopted.

The last item was to discuss if anyone was available to attend a trails workday that the BLM is scheduling.

The permanent meeting date was determined to be the first Monday of each month. The meetings will be held at City Hall at 7:00am.

The next meeting date will be Monday November 3, 2008 7:00am at City Hall.

The meeting adjourned at 8:45am.

Bill Cooley
Secretary