May Board Meeting

 

Meeting was held by phone – Board Members Present:

 

Bob caverly

Tom howe

Jeff niner

Steve dontigny

Sean Johnson

Dave Magill

Carl Weaver

 

Steve Dontigny – meeting on laurel hill erosion issue and safety risk, and how MORE can get the word out

Tom Howe – membership renewal emails, spring fling successful, morning and afternoon rides, in between Wakefield and Accotinc a swim club allowed us to use the facility,

Jeff Niner – what made it successful included connector trails to CCT, new pump track, lots of kids showed up with their parents, potential new members, introduced people to Smores rides and vis versa, committee approach worked

Tom Howe – membership is good. 1300 active members.

Steve Dontigny

• Meeting with MTS – Met with user groups, lots of mountain bikers. Pro-mtb, volunteers who work there recognize value of the trails.
• Attending public planning meetings for Lake Accotink. Major project to deal with sedimentation.  Either fill in or dredge.
• Watershed liaison training. Lots of people showed up.  Rock work.  Great volunteer with AT experience helped out.
• Pump track in Baltimore in development – Marla Streb – vacant lot next to handlebar cafe.
• Moco – confirmed a lot of the rentals that will be needed – porta jons, generators, etc . Permit discussion.   Mobile support from vans – but some shops fill in.  Regular meetings.

Dave Magill

• MoCo Connector trail – Will open officially around July 4, but is essentially built now, needs safety features.  MoCo would be happy to see this incorporated into some of the MoCo rides.  Asked Steve Dontigny to ride the trail and think through the logistics.

 

Bob Caverly – option to eliminate the two-way traffic on the SRT?  Maybe.

Jeff Niner – A lot of trail work days.  How do we advertise trail work-days.  Jonathan Kidwell- website  and Brad hawk – Facebook

Steve Dontigny – Cross posting options on FB – need to explore.

Bob Caverly – Plug ins for word press to allow cross posting.

Mark Enberg trail – Jeff.

Steve Harper. – Could we move the reports to the end?  Agreement from the group.  We will do this in the future so we can focus discussions on action items.

Dave Magill  – MDE permitting – trail status.  Tightening restrictions, DNR and MDE. Suggestion was made to have DNR consider challenging MDE interpretation of permit requirements.  Dan Hudson said that there was no interest to challenge MDE, but to pursue simplification.  One of his tasks is to work with MDE.  They made Forestry operations simpler.  MDE  – erosion control – wetlands.  On Erosion control – for trails that don’t cross streams, foresters don’t need to do an MDE review.  Dan will seek the same for trails.  For stream crossing if you build a bridge with footings outside of the floodplain then it’s not regulated.  One other piece of good news – DNR has finalized an erosion control plan form with MDE for patuxent, deep creek and Greenbrier.

• Bacon – Archeological field survey is slowing down phase 3. Dan Hudson – U of M get some college students?  Need to engage with county on that.
• Watershed – the city monitors a mapping software and observed new trails in unauthorized areas. They slowed the process for approval of the downhill trail plan.  Joe Whitehair and his team worked with the city to show that these “new” trails are in fact still closed, so that progress is continuing on the downhill map.
• River’s Edge – working on procurement document for mechanical equipment. Expect to let a contract in the next 30 – 60 days.

Steve Harper  – Chesapeake Church trail has been started.

Dave Magill  – inquiry from Brainy Games – buying 100 acre property.  Cater to developmentally challenged and disabled children.  Would like a program to help the kids ride.  Sean would like to work with them.  Steve will work on the trails aspect, Sean on the programmatic.

Discussion on communications:

Steve Harper  Three buckets – ride, membership, trails.  We should focus communications on things that lead to an increase in those three items.  Communications without pushing one of those will be opportunities that are lost.  We should focus on FB because that’s where most of the members can be found.  The Website should be simpler – easier to read.

Dave Magill – we also need to focus on donations – but that might be a different conversation.

Bob Caverly – current web page is too complicated.  Three main panels.  Left side easily found links.  Join, Board news, — Right side panel  – next ten calendar events.  Center panel – flashy stuff – moco epic registration.  Hashtag videos and link them.  #Ridewithmore.

Dave Magill – need content.

Bob Caverly – if we connect content with FB.  Does FB have a facility to create sub-groups?

Steve Harper  I will bring a proposal for scheduled posts and other uses of FB.

Trail Care App – micro donations based on miles ridden – Donate through them to MORE.  Steve H – We should test it.  Tom Howe said he would do that to make sure it works.

Dave Magill – Bob – You were going to develop a plan that would involve both content and execution.  Ernie is active, Brad is fantastic and turning it into content.  Jonathan is ok at it.  Not instantaneous.  Enhancing our content creation.  Need to focus on Admins and editors for FB.

Bob Caverly  –  Guidelines for what should and should not be on the MORE page.   Dave – agreed.   Bob – A wealth of information and options under the FB hood.

Steve Harper  Action – Ride ten mile creek.  Offered to work with Mike to create a Bacon ride.

Dave Magill – Schaeffer upgrade feedback?   Very happy with the work.

Be careful driving to south Germantown pump track and MORE Shed.  Only builders.  If you drive down there you might get stopped by police – have to explain yourself.