March 25, 2012 Meeting Minutes

WINTONBURY LAND TRUST March 25, 2012, 52 Duncaster Road, Bloomfield

Present:  Kevin Gough, Dale Bertoldi, Vikki Reski, Paula Jones, Tamara Hochman, Vic Herson

1)      Committee Reports –

a.       Acquisitions - Stouts Fields:  Fundraising is going well; the NRCS Grassland Grant exceeded our expectations. We're working on the stewardship fund, which is essential to protect and maintain the property. We expect closing to occur in the next couple of months. The Land Trust will own the land and the DEEP will hold a conservation easement, written by the NRCS, which insures that the fields will stay as grassland in perpetuity.  Lisa Lane:   Closing is expected in June 2012.  An escrow account for the septic systems will be set up as part of the sale of the property.  Sonski Estate:  Work is proceeding on the closing of that property.

b.      Financial – D&O quotes:  We received a revised quote of $1,350 for $1 million coverage from Chubb.  We have a second quote of $900 from Berkshire Hathaway (USLI).  The recommendation was to go with the USLI quote, and the Board approved doing so.  Bank Account:  The Board voted to move its account to Simsbury Bank from TD Bank.  Simsbury Bank has represented that we will receive better interest and that our funds would be invested locally.

c.       Events – Earth Day Hike:  This is scheduled for April 21^st, and will include the La Salette Trail and Hawk Hill.  Highlights will include the 1834 Greek Revival stone Captain Oliver Filley House, Wades’ agricultural fields in spring season, panoramic views of Hartford from Hawk Hill on the La Salette Trail, the conjunction of two sub-watersheds in the North Branch Park River Watershed, and the LaSalette Trail connection through Hawk Hill Farm. This is a family friendly outing and an easy hike lasting about an hour and a half. All ages are welcome. Rain date is April 22^nd.  Trails Day Event:  June 2^nd, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the Bloomfield Ridgeline Trail. The 3.5-mile hike will start in Bloomfield’s Wilcox Park and travel west to the Bloomfield-Simsbury Talcott Mountain ridgeline. We will proceed south through Wilcox Park and Penwood State Park, enjoying the gorgeous views as well as some interesting natural and historic sites on the Metacomet Trail (part of the New England Scenic Trail). Finally, we will drop back down to “civilization” through Wintonbury Land Trust’s new property, Stouts Fields—a wonderful grassland tract. Meet at the Wilcox Park parking lot on Hoskins Road in Bloomfield.  Bike Tour:  The second annual “Tour du Land” will be held on June 10th at 9:30 AM (rain date June 17th). The bike route begins and ends at Farmington River Park and takes riders through northwest Bloomfield on a gentle 18 mile tour. The route highlights important land trust open space properties. More hard core riders may opt for an additional 20 mile route to the Thrall property in Windsor.  GPS Workshop:  Wintonbury Land Trust GPS basics workshop led by Cary Henderson, GPS extraordinaire, will meet at La Salette Open Space, 120 Mountain Ave by the Oliver Filley House on Thursday May 3rd at 6:30 P.M...

d.      Stewardship – Skipped

e.       Marketing – Dale Bertoldi will be doing a presentation to the Rotary Club at Duncaster.

f.       Spring Newsletter – Submit written summaries and pictures to Tami to facilitate her work putting the newsletter together.

2)      Fundraising Projects –

d.      Rain Barrels – We will check with Aimee Petras (Farmington River Watershed Association) on their rain barrel program stats – cost, profit, volume, etc.

3)      Special Projects/Events  –

a.       Duncaster Scenic Road:  The date this is taken up by Planning and Zoning could change (from the 27^th.)  Kevin Gough and David Mann will be working on the designation for Adams Road and possibly Hoskins Road.

Next Meeting:  April 22, 4 – 6 PM, at 52 D

2012 - Trails Day Hike

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Trails Day Hike.  As promised, here are the links:

Hike information document:
http://wintonburylandtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/HikeInfo.doc

Pictures of the hike:
https://picasaweb.google.com/wintonburylandtrust/WLT2012TrailsDay

GPS track of the hike:
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1610531

Original WLT website hike description:
http://wintonburylandtrust.org/trails-day-june-2/

Trails Day event postponed to (rain date) Sunday, June 3rd

Due to the weather forecast for Saturday, June 2nd, we are postponing the hike (from Wilcox Park to Stouts' Fields) to the rain date of Sunday, June 3rd.  All other logistics remain the same.  Preregistration is appreciated; if you have not already contacted us, here is the information:  Kevin Gough or Paula Jones, 860-243-9508.

Hope to see you on the trail!