SORBA Woodstock Chapter Meeting Minutes
1/12/09

Jay Wilkes opened the meeting with an update on the new trails at Rope Mill Park. The City of Woodstock is pursuing a $100,000 Recreational Trails Program (RTP) Grant. The RTP is an assistance program of the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Federal transportation funds benefit recreation by making funds available to the States to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both non motorized and motorized recreational trail uses. The RTP funds come from the Federal Highway Trust Fund, and represent a portion of the motor fuel excise tax collected from non highway recreational fuel use: fuel used for off-highway recreation by snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, off-road motorcycles, and off-road light trucks.

The City has decided to name the trails for Taylor Randahl, an avid rider who was tragically killed when a vehicle struck a deer and threw the deer into Taylor. It is a fitting tribute to a young man who was a very competitive mountain bike racer and close friend of Thomas Turner who was with him that day.

We are moving forward with planning the South Loop Extension, a technical one way run on some very steep terrain on the other side of Blankets Creek from the parking lot and Mosquito Flats. The trail will be accessed from the trailhead of the South Loop.

The Lower Dwelling Loop (LDL) is moving forward very quickly. We are also planning to turn the fire road section of Dwelling into a downhill run with tabletops. And we are moving forward with planning on a new skills yard.

We are in the process of updating our By Laws to include recent changes.

Jeff Murchison will be conducting the annual Bike Patrol classes to recertify existing members and certify new members. Volunteers are welcome as we are trying to grow our Bike Patrol numbers. We will also train Trail Ambassadors, the new IMBA program for volunteers who will have all the training of a Bike Patrol member without the CPR and First Aid.

Trail closures are to be expected in coming weeks with cold weather and freeze/thaw conditions that are very damaging to the trails.

Lisa Randall is doing a fine job with the Dirty Duathlon again this year. The course will be a five mile run on the Dwelling Loop (like last year) and will be about 12 miles of mountain biking on the VMT, the Dwelling Loop and a section of the South Loop. We will shorten the South Loop with a rake and ride connection.

We are still researching the best solution for our donor recognition plaque. We are focused on getting the right combination of affordable cost, durability and attractiveness.

Tom Learman confronted some adjacent property owners to the USACOE Blankets Creek property who were on the dry lake bed firing weapons. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department was called and is investigating. Tom was able to provide a video of the people involved.

Bob Farm requested use of the forest around Mosquito Flats, Mosquito Bite and some of the VMT for Wilderness Search and Rescue training of the Georgia State Defense Force. The training would occur on Saturday, April 11. We agreed to allow the training pending approval from the Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency. Bob was thanked for his service to our country and the feeling was that we would be glad to let them do this as long as the trails are still accessible to riders.

There was some discussion about where we might find dirt for the new skills yard and the downhill section of the old fire road.