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| Apr 07 04 | May 5, 2004 | June 2, 2004 |


CHUGIAK DOG MUSHERS ASSOCIATION
Board Meeting – June 2, 2004
7 pm at the clubhouse, Beach Lake Sled Dog Trails
Hotline: 689-7899

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.
Minutes were read from the May 5th board meeting and approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Checking: $17,571; Gaming: $1,173; Savings: $8,608; Total: $27,352

Miscellaneous Topics

Trophies -The club needs to decide on trophies for the upcoming season to get an order (for pottery) in to Ann Newbury. The group discussed cups and saucers, mugs, dessert plates, and soup bowls. Val and Ron will review the options with Ann, based on the group’s input, and the costs and make a decision.

Race Volunteers and Schedule – Stan Smith may be interested in chairing the mid-distance races. The club needs to determine when the Junior Classic will be held to finalize the race schedule. Ron will be back this weekend.

Maintenance Projects – Ron looked into the cost of a ditchwitch to dig a trench for rewiring the speakers. One would cost $280 for 24 hours or $150 for 4 hours. Bill said he could look into finding something less expensive. Lexi motioned that the club approve paying up to $280 for the service. The motion was seconded and approved.

The club needs to schedule a time to finish the deck and the counter. Bill plans to work with Doug Stenerson to put in the counter before the fall season. With that and the parking lot/driveway project, Bill cannot commit to the deck project. Someone is needed to head up that project. There are deck plans somewhere (Bill and/or Jerry may have them) but no pricing or details have been determined.

Eagle River Parks & Rec has indicated that the club no longer needs to install a bear-proof trash container. All outdoor trash containers should be removed as bears are attracted to them and the bear-proof containers have been failing to keep bears out.

Gaming and Fundraising – The club also needs a gaming person. Colton was suggested but he cannot commit to this. Lexi will act as the gaming alternate and will write up a description of the duties. Gaming brings in about $2,000 to $5,000 for the club each year through Chinese auctions and raffles.

Kourosh Partow suggested a fundraiser idea for the club. In the Lower 48, his previous club sold calendars as a raffle. The club drew names every day from those who purchased a calendar and these people won between $10 and $200 each time. He will get details on the cost, production, and methods. Club events could go on the calendar and photos from club races could be included. The new gaming person would need to investigate whether such an activity falls under our gaming permit.

Race Gates – It was agreed that the gates will stay behind the clubhouse, under a tarp, rather than being transported to Ron’s house for the summer.

Newsletter – With the departure of the previous newsletter editor, the club currently does not have anyone responsible for producing a newsletter. It was agreed that between the website and regular emails, a newsletter was not needed. Periodic mailings for specifics, such as race rule changes and the race season schedule, will be sent out.

Animal Control Advisory Board – Animal Control is looking for representatives for its advisory board. Specifically, the board is looking for a musher, a horse person, and a vet with dog care experience. Carla Kelly volunteered to look into this position.

Political Action

Title 17 – Val reported that the club did get the four 20-minute barking periods (up from three) written into the new Title 17 amendments. If you wish to receive a copy of the amendments via fax, please call 688-8411 or email carlsonje@saic.com. Thank you to everyone who attended assembly meetings and provided written comments.

Title 21 – Module 3 will be out in July for public comment. Debbie Ossiander has volunteered to chair the Title 21 committee. As it stands, there are no provisions for private kennels and a requirement of 5 acres was included for commercial kennels. This most likely will change.

Eagle River Town Meeting – Lexi and Carla both attended the recent Eagle River town meeting. The Mayor listened to issues and concerns. Lexi brought up the need to keep dogs in Eagle River.

Fort Richardson Fence Meeting – Carla and Jerry attended the meeting. Fort Richardson has proposed the installation of pipe rail fencing in many areas along its border instead of chain link fencing. This includes the area along the dog mushing trails in Birchwood. Gaps will be put in for dog mushing trails to pass onto post. Carla suggested that a committee of mushers assist in an onsite assessment of where the gaps should be. Potential problems identified with the current fencing plan include dangers to dogs and mushers if dogs go through the fence and the fact that the proposed gaps are not wide enough for a 4-wheeler and may not be wide enough to safely run a large team through with a sled.

Another issue for the club is the fence location around Clunie Lake. Currently, the Army proposes a fence on the public side of the lake, blocking all access across the lake by mushers. They do not want to put the fence on the Army side as it would block military access. Gates were discussed but nothing was agreed upon.

The pipe rail fence is a big improvement over the original plans but several small modifications could be made to truly benefit dog mushing. In Anchorage, a commenter suggested that the Army put in a setback with a strip of cleared land along the public side, allowing a trail essentially from Muldoon all the way to Eagle River. Jerry suggested that the Eagle River folks request a similar action.

The comment period for the fence project ends June 18th and all are encouraged to provide comments. CDMA (Jerry, Val, and Carla) will draft a club letter with suggestions for gaps in the fence, Clunie Lake access, and a cleared setback strip.

Please provide your individual comments to:
Major Dan Hunter
U.S. Army Garrison – Alaska
Public Affairs Office
ATTN: APVR-RPV-O
600 Richardson Avenue
Fort Richardson, Alaska 99505-5900

Include your name, address, email, and date, as well as any organization you are representing. For an official Comment Sheet, please call 688-8411 or carlsonje@saic.com and I can fax one to you. You may also submit comments via fax to 907-384-1035. For online information, go to www.usarak.army.mil/conservation.

Other -- An Animal Control representative suggested that the club create a network of animal groups to help share information. Based on the number of public meetings and hearings that are happening, one group cannot cover them all. The club will contact local rescue groups and ASDRA to discuss a plan to share meeting and reporting responsibilities. A list of additional animal groups and clubs will be compiled in order to disseminate the information gathered during meetings and hearings.

Recent Challenge and Publicity

Carla Kelly attended the meeting to share her and Melinda’s recent experiences with the group. As many have already learned through local media, Carla and Melinda have been facing a legal battle with their neighbor who is unhappy about Carla’s and Melinda’s kennel.

Carla explained that they had been trying very hard to make changes that would appease their neighbor, including building a berm, building a 10-foot fence, using bark collars, moving barkers inside until running is done, moving their offices home to be able to monitor barking during the day, offering to debark and offering to move if the complaints stopped, but nothing seems to be enough. Independent decibel readings were done that showed that the levels were less than conversational level and not nearly as high as what the neighbor claimed to have recorded in her kitchen. Several CDMA representatives have met with the woman along with Carla and Melinda to try to determine what can be done to make the situation better for both parties but the complainant has not offered any suggestions.

Carla and Melinda have received hate mail from an anonymous fellow local musher. Carla expressed her disappointment and explained that the mushing community should support each other when problems arise. She suggested creating a program through CDMA that would provide support for mushers in similar situations.

Carla and Melinda will be participating in an appeal of a Notice of Violation on June 23rd at 1:30pm and all are encouraged to attend to lend support.

Education and Activities

As part of the club’s support of mushers, the club proposes creating a Good Neighbor Program. Such a program would provide information and support on topics such as how to set up a kennel, keeping dogs quiet, and how to get help if neighbors complain. The activities committee will meet within the next month to plan a presentation on this program as well as line up additional programs for the fall.

New Business

A New Race -- Kourosh Partow asked the club if it would be interested in hosting a limited championship race this season. He is willing to raise the money for a large purse of $25,000 - $30,000 for a limited race if the club would put the race on. A championship race would be one that attracted racers from the Lower 48 and Europe, as well as Alaska. Kourosh suggested that it be held within a few weeks of next year’s IFSS championship race in Dawson City, YT, which will be the first and second weekends of March 2005. This would help to entice more global participation in the race.

A championship race was attempted last year through ASDRA but the turnout was disappointing. Kourosh pointed out that races in Europe and even in places like Colorado regularly see 80 to 150 teams for a 4-dog limited race.

Lexi suggested turning the Eagle River Classic into a limited race. The race committee and board will continue discussions about this possibility. The race schedule and volunteers are the biggest barriers to putting on an additional race.

Next Meeting

The next general meeting will be Wednesday, July 7th at 7pm at the clubhouse.