1/28/09

CANDIDATES NIGHT, FEB 19, 2009


WARDS 4 & 7 NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING ASSEMBLY

Thursday, Feb 19, 2009
6:45 pm
Heineberg Community Center, 14 Heineberg Road

  • Facilitators: Lea Terhune, Ward 4; Senada Sokocevic, Ward 7; Jon Flint, Ward 4.
  • Note Taker: Linda Deliduka, Ward 7
  • Time-keeper: Greg Jenkins, Ward 7

AGENDA

6:45 Welcome and Sign-In for Residents

7:00 NPA Business -- Jan. meeting notes; Amy Wright's announcement; election, Steve Norman (Ward 4); Leddy Park resolution.

7:10 Ballot Issues:
  • School Board Budget and Bond, Bob Hooper (7).
  • BED bond, Barb Grimes.

7:30 City Council Candidates Forum -Wards 4 and 7 meet separately.
  • Facilitators: Jon Flint, for ward 7. Timekeeper, Greg Jenkins.
  • Senada Sokocevic, for ward 4. Time keeper, Phil LaVigne.
  • Ward 4 - Nancy Kaplan, Ellie Kenworthy
  • Ward 7 - Ellie Blaise, Vince Dober, Eli Lesser-Goldsmith

8:20
Break: Wards merge again.

8:30 Mayoral Candidates Forum - Joint meeting, wards 4 and 7
  • Clockwise: Kurt Wright, Andy Montroll, Bob Kiss, Dan Smith.




MEETING NOTES, January 15, 2009. posted on website: http://wards4and7npa.blogspot.com/

WARDS 4 & 7 NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING ASSEMBLY

Facilitator: Marga Kempner, Ward 4
Note Taker: Lea Terhune, Ward 4


7:00. Meeting called to order. Introductions, Announcements, Ground Rules, Agenda. Business – Minutes from the January meeting were approved. Reports from officials. Mark Larson (state rep), Russ Ellis (City Council), Bob Hooper (School Board), Bernie O’Rourke (School Board), Greg Jenkins (Leddy Park Disc Golf Proposal Working Group), and Phil LaVigne (Community Policing Survey Advisory Group) spoke.


7:30 Open Forum for Residents – A large group of residents came to update us on the status of the disc golf course proposal for Leddy Park. They are quite upset about the process, the project, lack of environmental impact information, and the location of the course. Pat Kearney, a representative on the working group from Ward 4, and Greg Jenkins, a rep from Ward 7, addressed stormwater, setback from property lines, traffic, and safety, and asked for input from residents. Pat and Greg took notes and promised to take our concerns to the next meeting. People wanted to know why the meetings are not open to the public? and asked Councilor Ellis to look into it. Information can be obtained at www.leddypark.org, a website created by Friends of Leddy Park. Phil LaVigne gave an update on the Community Policing Survey, encouraged everyone to attend the Community Policing Survey meeting in their area, and directed us to the on-line survey .

8:00 Program - History of Leddy Park, Search for Felix Powell's Cabin, NPA Retrospective on Neighborhood Activity Center. Muriel More described the legacy of Leddy Park [notes to be added]. Lori Sullivan invited the community to join the search for the cabin of Burlington's first settler, Felix Powell. She asked everyone to search for artifacts, findings, letters and journals that describe the area, maps, anything that might contain a clue. There is a commemorative plaque on Appletree Point and by deductive archaeological reasoning, Dr. Wallace believes the location is near the head of Appletree Point Stream, a perennial spring that would have provided fresh water year round for humans and animals. Lori distributed a quiz about Appletree Point history, and the person who got the highest score won a membership in APHS. The winner was Andy Montroll, who is running for Mayor and had come to listen to the concerns of our residents. The program wrapped up with a retrospective of Ward 4 NPA [ Mar. 19, 1992 NPA mtg. that has been airing on Ch17], and
8:55 Reflections.

Leddy Park facts

Did You Know…..


  • Some of the trees in Leddy Park are over 110 years of age.

(1993 Community Forester, Charles Vile, Park Forest Management Plan)



  • Some of the trees in Leddy Park have a diameter of 26 plus inches.

(1993 Community Forester, Charles Vile, Park Forest Management Plan, and recent measurements)


  • Leddy Park’s first name as a city park in 1971 was Wabanaki.

(Abenaki for Thanksgiving. Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods, Vol I by David J.Blow)

1991, page 22


  • A former owner of the land which is now Leddy Park, the Burlington

Rendering Company, cooperated in the Vermont Department of

Forest and Parks’ Vermont Cooperative Forest Management Program

and in 1942 planted 22 acres of red and white pine trees.

(1993 Community Forester, Charles Vile, Park Forest Management Plan)



  • The Burlington 2000 Open Space Protection Plan Land Inventory identified

the following attributes for Leddy Park:


view points

passive recreation value

significant wooded area

shoreline, wetlands, buffers

(Burlington 2000 Open Space Protection Plan Land Inventory Land-Works 1999)



  • Approximately 2 miles of walking, biking and cross country trails cross

Leddy Park.

(Stay “tuned”. In the Spring, we’ll have a more accurate instrument and can measure more

precisely right ON the trails. Would you like to help? )



  • Japanese Knotwood – a non native invasive plant is growing on the

south side of Leddy Park.

(Burlington Dept of Parks and Rec. Land Steward)

(Grows to 10 and 12 feet tall in full sun, partial shade or full shade! It’s very hard to get rid of

once it gets established – Can take 3 years of persistent hard work. It crowds out native

vegetation as it has no local competitors. Can be found in waste places and in utility right of

ways. It’s often transported to new sites as a contaminant in fill dirt seeds and as discarded

cuttings. Source: - Google)



  • Approximately 200 adult softball games were played at Leddy Park in 2008.

(Burlington Dept of Parks and Rec.

Burlington High School also uses the field when school is in session.)

(Stay “tuned” for 2008 statistics on the use of the soccer fields and tennis courts.)




Plants observed in Leddy Park by Friends of Leddy Park:


Trees: White Pine Red Maple Black Birch Quaking Aspen

Red Pine Sugar Maple Paper Birch Big Toothed Aspen

Beech Striped Maple Hemlock

Black Cherry Red Oak


Herbaceous Plants:

Sarsaparilla Bracken Fern

Skunk Cabbage (in some wet areas) Cinnamon Fern

Partridge Berry Christmas Fern

Teaberry Sensitive Fern

Winterberry (near south end of arena parking area) Royal Fern

Red Trillium (north central part of park)

Mammals observed in Leddy Park by Friends of Leddy Park:


Red Squirrels (near the Dale Rd. entrance.)

Gray Squirrels

Raccoons

Skunks

Opossum (2007 – south side of park)

Red Fox

Moles


Birds observed in Leddy Park by Friends of Leddy Park:


Pileated Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker

(a nesting pair – summer 2006, south side of the park)

Barred Owl (winter 2006 and 2008) Downy Woodpecker

Cardinals American Goldfinches

Bluejays House Finches

Crows Bald Eagle

Nesting Wood Ducks (summer 2007) (Leddy Vista View area) – Jan 2009)

Black capped chickadee Snowy Owl

White-Breasted Nuthatches (bluff above the southend beach – Jan 2009)

Red Tailed Hawk


Amphibians and Reptiles observed in Leddy Park:

(Be the first to report a sighting….)


The Friends of Leddy Park are compiling natural and historical information on an on going basis.


Please let us know of the plants and wildlife you see in the park, the date of and the approximate

location of your sighting.

Call or email Nancy: 316-0492 or Joy: 865-4424

Noodlepower@yahoo.com rmcgar864@aol.com


Friends of Leddy Park January 2009 revised