Friends of Daley Ranch Board Meeting

July 18, 2013

Minutes & Treasurer’s Report: Fred opened the meeting at 7 pm at the home of Jerry Harmon. Minutes for the previous two meetings have been approved and sent out. Rick M will contact Don P about posting minutes on the new website. Rick P presented his treasurer’s report in hard copy and it will be emailed tomorrow. We have $8346 in the checking account, $21,335 in the Ivy fund, and Mike handed over $49 cash from the iron ranger. Fred said that the Charitable Foundation indicated that the remaining money from the grant, approximately $1400, might possibly be kept for us to use this coming year. That is good news.

Ranch House: Fred recently met with Tony Smock, who said that the artificial turf has now been installed. The FODR Board approves of this decision by the City, as it saves water, mowing, and it helps protect the oak trees. There is no word on plans to build the restroom facility, nor has a date yet been set for an open house/grand opening event for the ranch house. Mike said he met Dan Hippert of the City who is replacing Barbara Lockwood. Mike is very impressed with Dan.

Utility Buildings: Dick said that EDCO graciously continues to provide dumpsters for the rotten wood and other debris from the demo of the foreman’s quarters. A group of Board members helped Dick with the demo a couple weeks ago, and another work visit is set for Saturday morning. Mike took great photos of the site.

Sally and Irene: Jerry would like to install the memorial benches after the heat of the season, probably in October. Jerry will contact Sally and Irene’s family representatives to keep them in the loop for that upcoming celebration. Jerry and Jim will also begin making plans for the low rock wall that will complement the benches.

Newsletter: The Board agreed to publish a newsletter in August. Fred will write a president’s message that includes information about the ranch house. Dick will write an article on the utility buildings. Rick M will write an article on raising money for the school visits. Wendy can also feature a seasonal native plant from the guide. Fred and Mike can supply applicable photos.

ECWA: Fred and Jerry recently attended a meeting of the Escondido Creek Watershed Alliance. FODR has now officially been added to the list of stakeholders, who include cities, water districts and even the San Dieguito River group. Jim will be our representative, but Fred and Jerry hope to attend also. ECWA may want to use our plant guide, and the county may have a relatively inexpensive option for printing new guides. We will try to obtain the needed “blueprint” to give to the county. Fred noted that the ECWA has an outstanding educational outreach program in the community.

School Visits: Fred indicated that we need to look for new funding for next year’s school visits. The Board agreed that FODR has the resources to fund the trips from our own account, but that we want to obtain as much outside funding as possible. Fred and Rick M will plan strategies, which will include meeting with the EUSD superintendent to persuade individual schools to help with financing their own trips. Other service groups may be targeted. Rick P and Jerry suggested networking with our new county supervisor, Dave Roberts, whose office may be able to help us.

El Caballo Park: Rick P said that the park was denied a grant from the County’s Community Enhancement Program for 2013-14. Apparently requested funds amounted to $8 million more than available funds, so most groups were turned away. However, there is now a new “pot of money” for grants. The City is still in negotiations for the park’s architectural services. The other big issue is the size of the new park, which could be as small as 8 acres even though the open space zoning is 80 acres. The City will probably be making some decisions by early August.

Website & Social Media: We need to streamline our process of posting items on the website and social media sites. Linda Shipman is unable to access the website, and we all need some training in order to help with this vital function. Fred will discuss this with Dave Woods, and Rick M will try to contact Don P about this. Also, Rick M will try to re-establish contact with the various user groups to solicit items and articles.

Next Meetings: Wendy indicates that the train depot will not be available for our next regularly scheduled meeting on August 15. Therefore we will either have to find a new location or change the date. We will be looking for a home to host the September meeting.