WHITE MOUNTAIN LAND TRUST
Minutes of April 3, 2006 meeting
Board members absent: Richard Remmington, Jim Roeder
Also present: Ron Smith (representing 2020) and Barbara Beckler (guest from Show Low interested in Woodland Park situation), John Vuolo ( Pinetop-Lakeside Parks and Recreation Director)
Keith called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. A quorum was present. Norris moved and Dottie seconded that the December minutes be approved. Unanimous. Since a quorum was not present, the notes from the January, February, and March meetings did not need approval.
Norris gave the treasurer’s report and we have $779.91 after dues and contributions and paying public notice charges and preparation and sending of IRS information. Norris spoke with the IRS person handling our 501(c)3 application and the paperwork has all been submitted, but the tax exempt status has not been obtained yet. IRS said we would have an answer last month, but there is still no word. Norris wants to actively pursue this and will have Stephanie Irwin (CPA who filed the papers originally) and/or the Land Trust Alliance and/or Norris write a letter to the IRS person with cc to her supervisor. Sue will contact the Land Trust Alliance for their help in resolving this matter. Also, the Annual report to the Corporation Commission is due April 15th. Norris will prepare, sign and submit this.
Keith announced that the meeting in June will be the Annual Meeting and we will need to have election of officers. He stated that he has been President for the past 2 years and would like to step down and have someone else take the President’s job. He will remain on the Board.
Ginny gave background on the Tejido Group and the project which Pinetop-Lakeside Town Council has contracted with them. Ron discussed 2020’s focus with Tejido which will be to introduce the Tejido Group to the community and vice-versa.
Norris and Sue will make an appointment with Paul Esparza for starting the Open Space Inventory. Norris has compiled a list of criteria for open space considerations and it is time to get moving on this. Paul has hired another development/planner so he will hopefully have time to get started on this and WMLT is prepared to help.
Discussion followed regarding Woodland Park and the length of time the Town has been trying to acquire it. Currently, the Forest Service can not sell it to anyone except the Town unless or until another law is passed to allow them to do so. The legislation in Congress concerning the funding of rural schools may be the legislation which would allow the Forest Service to sell the park to a developer because the park is on the list submitted by the Forest Service as land which they wish to sell because it fits the criteria of excess and difficult to manage land. Norris wrote a letter to the Under-secretary of Agriculture giving the WMLT’s opinion and the specifics of the situation. Ginny stated that a committee has been formed and has met one time. This group of 3 Town Council representatives and 3 Town Staff people will explore options for the acquisition of the park. Ginny is chairperson of the committee so WMLT is represented. The committee intends to meet with Ed Collins of the Forest Service very soon and then to entertain the Albuquerque Forest Service people in Pinetop to explore the options available to the Town so that the park may soon be acquired. There was a motion by Jim, seconded by Lynn, that Norris’s letter regarding Woodland Park and the Rural Schools legislation be sent to the Under-secretary of Agriculture with a copy sent to The Independent as well as the Arizona Congressional delegation. In addition, Sue offered Ginny the help of The Nature Conservancy in the way of ideas and expertise in addressings the concerns regarding Woodland Park.
There is a new MOU being formulated for the Natural Resources Working Group. This is an opportune time for the WMLT to join this group. Dottie moved and Ginny seconded a motion that Sue be authorized to add WMLT to the MOU. This group is an excellent vehicle for information exchange and has members with expertise in many areas.
Allen property: we will have a preliminary title report prepared which serves to check that there are no liens on the property and the title is clear. This will also determine who owns the mineral rights on the property. This appears to be another hoop we must jump through to secure the conservation easement on the property.
Announcements were made of the San Antonio Land Trust Conference May 4-6 which Sue will be attending. John invited WMLT to participate in the opening of the new recreation area called Mountain Meadows which will be April 22nd from 11 AM to 3 PM. Jim and Norris will be there and will take the banner and have a table with brochures. Ron invited us to participate in the Watershed Conference May 20th. There will be more details at the next meeting (May 1).
The meeting was adjourned at 9 PM.
Minutes submitted by Lynn Krigbaum, secretary