Friends of the Chester Valley Trail

November 15, 2011 East Whiteland Township Bldg. 7:00 pm

Presiding: Bob O’Leary Board members present: Mike Broennle, Bob Cochlin, Phil Hoke, Tim Lander and Steve Warren.

Others: Park Superintendent Ian Currie, Ben LeGarde, 7 others

1. Minutes

· Minutes from Sept 20, 2011 are not available today.

2. Financial

· Bob Cochlin reported a current balance of $611.79’

3. President’s Report

· Bob O’Leary relayed trail updates presented by Dave Stauffer, Facilities Management, at the Nov 14, 2011 CC Park and Recreation Board meeting

· Phase II will be advertised for bidding on Nov 16. Construction is projected to take 18 mo. at a projected cost of $14.5 M. A precast concrete culvert will be used at the Warner Rd crossing.

· Phase III, Church Farm Lane to Ironlake Blvd, Exton. Design presentation to the W Whiteland Township Planning Commission on Nov 16. The SR 30 crossing will be similar to the SR 401 crossing. Estimated cost is $1.3M. $500K has been granted from the Wm. Penn Foundation. A grant application for $500K has been made to the PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources. The difference may be financed by county bond funds. Should know by Dec 2011.

· The Exton Park Trailhead construction is underway with completion anticipated in May 2012. There will be 45 parking spaces and a restroom facility.

· Preliminary planning has begun on Phase IV, Exton to Downingtown. West of the SR 30 Bypass CC has no right-of-way.

· Montgomery County as of several months ago was on track to begin construction in 2012.

4. Trail updates

· Superintendent Ian Currie began discussing maintenance issues. There are issues managing water coming from adjacent properties. In Malin Station 6 in pipes are washing water onto the trail. The plan is to clean this out and place heavier riprap to decrease silting.

· Park and Rec has a newly purchased walk behind sweeper.

· Inadequate drainage at Bacton Hill is causing water to back up in the Swedesford Road culvert. A retention basin has been placed west of the Swedesford culvert; we’ll need to see how it works in 2012. Audience comment: Will the water that flows through the culvert be addressed? We’re aware of this issue.

· Recent storms caused some downed trees.

· There has been some vandalism of signs. Plan to place 8 x 8 in posts with international signage every ¼ mi using 6 x 6 in plates [compared to 4 x 4 in on the Struble Trail] with a brown background in the spring, 2012.

· Emergency response plan: Trail maps are in the CC Emergency Response Center. We have meet with East Whiteland emergency responders. Plan to do the same in Tredyferrin Township. Question: Are GPS enabled phones detected in the Emergency Response Center? I believe so.

· Highway crossings: Concern was expressed from the audience that kids do not always know to stop at highway crossings. Many users don’t push the button to activate the flashing crossing signal.

· Ranger presence: With the opening of the Exton Park site there will be an increase in the presence of full time park rangers. Bike and foot patrolling will be promoted.

· A trail ambassador program was discussed in generalities. Ambassadors would have email or phone contact with Superintendent Currie as appropriate. Broennle will abstract characteristics from other programs. Distinctive attire to identify ambassadors was mentioned.

· Volunteer days for trail projects will be scheduled monthly April through October. Vanguard employees will participate.

Next meeting: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 7:00 pm, East Whiteland Twp. Building

Respectfully submitted,

A. Michael Broennle

Secretary draft 1/10/2012