Previous Meeting Minutes
| April 03 | May 03 | Sep 03 | Oct 03 | Nov 12 03 | Board Meeting Nov 12, 2003
|   Dec 3 03| Dec 10 03 | | Dec 17 03 | Jan 7 04 | Feb 4 04 | Mar 3 04 |
| Apr 07 04 | May 5, 2004 |


CHUGIAK DOG MUSHERS ASSOCIATION
Board Meeting – May 5, 2004
7 pm at the clubhouse, Beach Lake Sled Dog Trails
Hotline: 689-7899 Website: www.chugiakdogmushers.com

The meeting was called to order at 7:15 pm.

Summer Projects
Several summer projects were discussed, including:
• Redoing all posts in the parking lot. Ron suggested that with the funds we still have available in our account we could pay a professional drilling or fencing company to reset all the poles, replacing the damaged ones.
• Fixing the hairpin turn to the culverts on the 4-mile trail. After discussion, the board decided not to alter the turn, as any changes would cost a lot of money and time without solving the problem. Signage would be the more logical method for improving the turn.
• Finishing the clubhouse parking area. After kids were caught tearing up the lot, Bill gave Parks & Rec an estimate for repairing the damage.
• Outdoor lights – Rich Bosela offered to order photo-control outdoor lights. The board agreed that this would not be good when trying to run dogs at night from the staging area.
• Repairing speakers in the parking lot. Run fresh wire to 2 or 3 of the parking lot speakers.
• Finishing clubhouse work. This involves finishing the deck, the clubhouse parking lot, the indoor counters, outdoor lights, and installing bear-proof trash containers.
• Upgrading the cart trails with gravel or bridges over wet spots.

Bill mentioned that graveling the clubhouse parking lot alone may cost in excess of $20,000 and the remaining summer projects should be prioritized based on the remaining funds. Those projects needed for our occupancy permit should be completed first. The temporary certificate expires August 15th. Dixie suggested applying for a Rasmuson Foundation grant to help finish clubhouse projects. Lexi and Ron will look into the application process for the club.

Committees
Below are the committees as they currently stand. Anyone interested in participating in a committee should contact the club or the specific committee members.

Trail – Jerry Raychel, Bill Waddell, Ed Wood
Race Schedule – Val Jokela, Lexi Hill, Mary Lou Raychel, Dixie Waddell
Race – Lexi Hill (Classic), Jo Wood (Points), Jennifer Payne (March 3-dog, 3-mile)
Businessperson’s Race – Carole Comeau, Jackie Fabrizzio
Volunteer – Julie Capps
Race Poster – Susan Cantor and Carole Comeau
Newsletter – vacant
Political Action – Val Jokela
Activities/Education – Jeanne Carlson, Carole Comeau, Val Jokela, Lexi Hill
Membership – Jo Wood
Gaming – vacant. Ron suggested that Colton would be a logical choice for the gaming committee.

Title 21/Title 17
There is an ordinance proposal amending Title 17 coming up Tuesday, May 11. The amendment would redefine chronic animal noise, limiting a licensed facility to three barking incidents of 20 minutes each per day. Much of the amendment would favor mushers but the club feels that three times is not enough if a musher feeds twice a day, loads, and unloads. The suggestion was made that someone attend the public comment session on Tuesday to express that 4 times per day is needed and show support for the amendment otherwise. Also, testimony should be submitted in writing as well.

Lexi and Val will meet with Debbie Ossiander (Chugiak’s new Assemblyperson) about the Title 17 amendments. Debbie also may be working on Title 21 revisions.

The board discussed the need to deal with nuisance issues as a club. Some ideas included:
• Creating a form letter that members could take to neighbors,
• Using the buddy system to meet new neighbors,
• Tapping into club knowledge about how to train dogs to be quiet, and
• Working with animal control constructively to learn how we can do better.

Miscellaneous
Trophies -The club agreed to move the perpetual trophies, including the trophy for the Eagle River Classic and the Chugiak 50 from Eagle River Parks & Rec to the clubhouse.

Stained Glass - The club received three bids to produce the stained glass replica of the CDMA logo using the funds donated by Myron Gavin’s family to create a memorial to Myron. Linda Vizenor, Denise Saigh, and Linda Knox each submitted a bid. After reviewing the bids, the board voted to award the bid to Linda Vizenor.

Signage and Maps -- The remainder of the Myron Gavin funds will go toward improving signage on the trails. Theresa Daily volunteered to help create signs. Someone will look into where the latest version of the trail map is so it can be updated. Some current signs will be repositioned.

Spring Cleanup -- The Juniors will host a spring cleanup of the trails and surrounding area on Saturday, May 7 at 10am in the parking lot. A BBQ will follow.

Pole Gates -- Linda Vizenor of Eagle River Parks & Rec offered the club two pole gates that are being removed from another park site. After much debate about installation, areas where they could be used etc., the board agreed that we do not need the gates at this time. Ron will let Linda know.

Race Volunteers -- Race volunteer is needed for distance races. Stan Smith’s name was mentioned as a possibility. Dixie will work with Jo to compile information from members who checked the volunteer box on the membership form.

Notice of Violation -- The club received a Notice of Violation from the State of Alaska Department of Revenue regarding gaming activities. The club’s annual Financial Statement for 2003 was not received by the deadline but was sent before we received the notice. Upon receipt of the Statement, the gaming permit is reinstated.

Thank you -- Jo and Ed Wood sent a note to the club thanking the group for continuing to host the Eagle River Classic, which allows local mushers to run in a highly competitive race with professional mushers from across the state. The card is posted in the clubhouse. Thanks Jo and Ed for your continued support of the club!

Next Meeting and Revised Meeting Schedule
A board meeting will be Wednesday, June 2nd at 7pm. The general club membership is welcome to attend the board meeting. Trail maintenance issues will be discussed. A general meeting will be held Wednesday, July 7th at 7pm.

Several more meetings were added to the schedule for the end of the year. A 4th Wednesday meeting will be held in November and December to facilitate race planning.