Full Text
Safe Routes to School Final Draft Minutes April 10, 2014 M I N U T E S Safe Routes to School Committee Meeting April 10, 2014 3:30 P.M. The Safe Routes to School Committee met during a regular meeting on February 13, 2014 at 3:30 p.m. at McKinley Elementary School, 1201 North Butler, Farmington, New Mexico. Present: Coordinator: Anngela Wakan MPO & City of Farmington Staff Steve Krest Ofcr. Michele DeLese June Markle Duane Wakan Attendees: Jeff Treat Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m. by Mrs. Wakan and the following proceedings were duly had and taken. Mr. Wakan moved to approve the minutes from the February 13 and March 20, 2014 meetings. Mr. Krest seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously. EDUCATION & ENCOURAGEMENT Mrs. Wakan reported that the winning design for the walking school bus t-shirt was a combination of ideas from Mykah Garcia and Tatumn Begay in Ms. Eveland’s 4th grade class at Mesa Verde. The top runner-up designers were Marleena, Alexandria Kurt Smith, and Halie Locke. All these winners are students at Mesa Verde Elementary School. A big “thank you” to all the students who submitted their art work and to the student walking leaders who helped vote on the final decision. Mrs. Wakan reported on some of the t-shirt pricing she had gathered and asked the group if they wanted the logo to be “walking school bus” or “be cool, walk to school”. The group agreed that having “be cool, walk to school” would allow the t-shirts to be used for more events. Mrs. Wakan reported that SRTS had received a $200 grant from which will be used to purchase black, nylon backpacks for the walking school bus leaders. The “be cool, walk to school” logo will be used for the backpacks as well as the t-shirts. REPORTS FROM PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS Apache The group discussed holding a bike rodeo at Apache Elementary on May 2 during the school day. Mrs. Wakan said ten volunteers would be needed for the different stations and she would speak with Tim Quakenbush on who at the school might be able to help. ---PAGE BREAK--- Safe Routes to School Final Draft Minutes April 10, 2014 Officer DeLese said she could have an SRO available for the event as well. The group discussed borrowing helmets and bikes from Mesa Verde. Mr. Treat noted that the bikes were larger and would be more suitable for 4th or 5th grade students. Mr. Krest said he would check with the City of Farmington to see what “lost and found” bikes might be available for purchase. The group also discussed the possibility of looking elsewhere to purchase used bikes for the bike rodeo program. Mrs. Wakan later informed the SRTS group that Apache Elementary has already scheduled a bike rodeo with Big Brothers/Big Sisters for May, so SRTS would not need to do a rodeo with them this year. Mrs. Wakan said the school is still planning to do a bike train on May 7 for Bike to School Day. Ladera There was no news to report from Ladera Elementary. McKinley There was no update from McKinley Elementary. Mesa Verde Mr. Treat reported that the walking program was picking up again as the weather warmed up. He said they probably did have some students who had walked 100 miles and thought awarding them a t-shirt would be a great idea if enough t-shirts would be available. UPCOMING EVENTS Report on Meeting for Upcoming SRTS Event at Animas Elementary Mrs. Wakan, Officer DeLese, Mr. Krest, and Mr. Wakan will be meeting with Principal, Emily Foose of Animas Elementary on April 16 to discuss their participation in a SRTS event with Mr. Dan Burden and the WALC Institute on May 12. National Bike/Walk to School Day The National Bike to School Day is May 7, 2014. The group discussed again getting local mascots at each of the schools to help generate interest and participation: Piedra Vista “Panther” at Mesa Verde, “Eddie Eagle” at Ladera, “Juan Heart” at Apache, and FHS “Scorpion” at McKinley. Mrs. Wakan will also check with the San Juan Sheriff’s office to see if “McGruff” would be available to participate maybe at Animas Elementary. Mrs. Wakan also discussed the bike trains she would like to organize for each of the schools: Ladera – from Del Norte Park Mesa Verde – from Beckland Hills Park – take Kingsway down to Buckingham and then west to Victoria Way and cross at crosswalk Apache – from Brookhaven Park east taking the glade trail. Mrs. Davonne John has offered to lead a train. McKinley – from Jaycee Park – take Zuni to Acoma Place and then Butler for 200 feet and cross at crosswalk ---PAGE BREAK--- Safe Routes to School Final Draft Minutes April 10, 2014 The bike trains should have an adult in front and in back of the train. Mr. Treat said he would see if there was anyone who might be interested in leading a bike train for Mesa Verde The group discussed getting the “bike to school day” lawn signs set out. Mr. Krest said he would take care of those for City Hall, the children’s museum, and the library. Mrs. Wakan reported that 50 new lawn signs have been ordered. Mrs. Wakan said the state SRTS organization will be providing flashing reflectors for the bike/walk to school day this year. Last fall over 1,200 prizes were handed out. She said she wants each student who walks or rides their bike on May 7 to receive a prize. The group also thought it was important to notify the Farmington School District Office about these upcoming events. ENGINEERING: Mr. Krest reported that all the construction contracts have been awarded and all the projects would be completed this summer. He stated that after all the bids were received there were sufficient funds left to do the HAWK pedestrian device. The projects include: raised crosswalk on Monterey (McKinley), a sidewalk on Victoria Way (Mesa Verde), and sidewalk improvements on Apache Street (Apache); and the HAWK pedestrian device on College Boulevard for Mesa Verde Elementary. Mrs. Wakan reported that the City of Farmington has decided not to budget for the SRTS coordinator position. The group discussed the future of SRTS without having a paid coordinator position. Mrs. Wakan said she might be able to continue to assist with some of the larger events and maintain the website. Mr. Wakan noted that the SRTS coordinator in Las Cruces is part of the MPO staff there. He said he would research how they were funding that position. ENFORCEMENT: Mr. Krest if Officer DeLese would ask the SROs to focus attention on the red zones at the schools. He stated those zones do not allow for any stopping or parking and he believed these were becoming a problem at the schools. EVALUATION: The group discussed the schedule for the spring student arrival counts: April 15, 16 & 17 McKinley - (Fran Fillerup, Steve Krest, June Markle, and Gary Moore). Mrs. Wakan said that Ms. Nord would be able to assist with counts on Tuesday and Thursday. Mesa Verde – (Jeff Treat, Anngela Wakan, and Duane Wakan) April 22, 23, & 24 Ladera – (June Markle, Gary Moore, Anngela Wakan, Duane Wakan, and the crossing guard at the intersection of 38th Street & Dustin) Apache – (Fran Fillerup and Steve Krest) Mr. Wakan reminded the group about the visit on May 12 & 13 by Mr. Dan Burden and the Walkable & Livable Community (WALC) Institute. There will be several Complete Streets presentations along with the planned SRTS event at Animas Elementary. ---PAGE BREAK--- Safe Routes to School Final Draft Minutes April 10, 2014 Mr. Wakan attended a public meeting at Farmington High School to address concerns and hear ideas about the planned remodel for the school. No plans for the remodel were available, but Mr. Wakan spoke about MPO work on traffic counts, Complete Streets, the information available on the MPO website, and the consideration of buffered sidewalks in the area of the school. The consultants commented on the issues they had noticed along 20th Street. There were no additional concerns or topics for discussion. The next meeting will be on Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 3:30 p.m. at McKinley Elementary. The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.