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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-07-15Dryden Rail Trail Friends and Task Force Minutes of the Meeting Monday, July 15, 2019 Dryden Town DPW Minutes by Diane Tessaglia-Hymes Previous minutes Approved Project LEAD Update Started this morning. Bob and Milo attended. This is a cooperative extension project that uses teens ages 11-14. Dave Panek worked with kids, teaching tool use. Worked along part of trail west of 366 in Etna for a few hours, then returned to Houtz Hall for an afternoon session teaching kids about job applications, resume’s, etc. Will meet again tomorrow and Wednesday AM to do more trail clearing. On Thursday, same group will go to Jim Schug trail to install a story board system developed by Family Reading Partnership. (Alice involved in setting up project.) Yesterday, Bob, Alice, and her husband removed a few fallen trees in section that was cleared last year, but that section was fairly clear, requiring only some weed-whacking. Trail and crossing sign quotes and orders Rick Young helped with ordering flashing crossing signs. A previous set that had been ordered and arrived was missing the push button, so those were sent back, and we are awaiting the new ones. Signs will go on George Rd., and likely Springhouse Rd. Eventually signs will go at Game Farm Rd. and Rt. 366, and Main St. in Dryden. Other, slower roads will have static signs that do not flash. Diane provided quotes from Dataflow. Questions about whether signs will be printed directly on Aluminum or on vinyl. Plan is to order 2 of each sign. We may need to get three quotes. Check town purchasing guidelines to determine if more quotes needed. Check state park grant requirements also. Discussion about whether there should be back-to-back signs, or on separate posts. Disadvantages of both signs on one post: desirable that stop sign close to road, but if you put it there, welcome sign will be too close to road. Separating them will allow the welcome sign to be farther in, and easier to read. Bruno: there will be less “visual pollution” if back-to-back, but we should just figure it out as we go. Different requirements might be needed for different areas. Stop signs will be standard traffic stop signs (reflective), except 12.” These have been ordered. Question about replenishing mutt mitt bags in the stations. DPW will do this. These will not have disposal stations. DPW will order dog waste bag dispensers and install. Unclear if these have been ordered. Bruno volunteered to install stakes, signs, etc. Posts have been ordered. Signs will be 2-part poles. shorter 2’ section pounded in, longer section inserted into shorter one, and bolted). Game Farm Trestle Renovation Plan Gary Bush stamped and approved Bruno’s plan for the two bridges at Game Farm. Established tonnage limit of 10,000 lbs each axel. Bruno updated and submitted a clean version for approval on Friday. Waiting to hear back. Then it must go to Game Farm. Plan is to organize work in September. Goal would be to do reinforcements on each end of both bridges in one day using 6-8 professional builders, plus some volunteers. Additional work of cleaning trestle deck. Perfect time to deal with washout on side of trail east of Fox Bridge. Bruno has access to fill that he will try to obtain for this project. Also will talk to Cornelius about getting fill from a project he is doing at Cornell. Filling this area must be done when it is dry, so it is desirable to do this by end of August. TAP grant John Keifer, Bruno, Todd are primary people working on $$ analysis of the grant. Another meeting next Thursday to discuss how to proceed. There is a balancing act between being able to keep up momentum of doing trail work and meeting requirements of grant. TAP grant requires using professional labor. Question is, if we need to hire contractors, vs Dryden Highway/DPW staff, vs volunteer labor (doing it ourselves) for trail surface work, how does this affect estimate of project and speed of work? Bruno recalculated his estimates. This may increase estimate to complete trail by 83% because of the way TAP grants wants work to be done, it is often more cost-efficient for us to do the work ourselves. Therefore, may be best to shrink the TAP grant work down to the one piece we can’t do ourselves, i.e., the bridge and approaches to bridge. Chuck White, B&L engineer who did preliminary study, told Bob that, if we have full width on the east side as well as the west side (wide earth berms can be used on both sides), it could save us $50K. Currently working on easement for additional 33’ on east side. Dryden Lake Festival Planning July 27. Susan Ashdown and Mary Millick volunteered to help. Alice coordinating. We can have a raffle. More planning required. Alice will request volunteers on listserv for specific shifts. Susan volunteered to make a dozen pencil pouches with a logo patch on each. August Meeting August meeting cancelled. Next meeting 16 September, tentatively at Houtz Hall, Etna.