Joseph O'Hara presented a progress report on his Eagle Scout project. His fund-raising has been a tremendous success, with an excess of $6000 raised thus far. This money came from Rosedale residents, eight business sponsors (Upper Crust, Taco Shack, Crenshaws, Book People, Compass Bank, Draft House, Glenda Smith DDS, and Taurus Pet Services), the Allendale Neighborhood Association, and the Austin Parks Foundation. Joseph continues to accept donations. Joseph has selected benches (and will order 2 or 3) and tables (and will order 3, one ADA-approved); the construction will be plastic over a steel frame. On Saturday, November 15, two trees were planted around Ramsey Pool, one a Monterey Oak and the other a Chinquapin Oak. For the folks lucky enough to get their tamale order in before the cut-off date, the tamales will be delivered in early December. Joseph plans to complete the remainder of the work on this project in late March and early April. Please see the RNA website for more details.
Amy Crowell from Austin Tree Folks presented information about their organization. Tree Folks provide trees and the volunteer labor to plant the trees. In the past, they have supported such efforts at schools, parks, even cemeteries. Tree Folks have a variety of programs, including Urban Orchard, City Shade, CommuniTrees, and Neighborwoods. See www.treefolks.org for a complete description.
Asked if TreeFolks could help with the reforestation of Ramsey Park, the answer was YES. However, Tree Folks are unable to provide ongoing support for the trees, which mostly involves ensuring that the trees receive appropriate watering for several years until the trees are established. Currently, the City of Austin does not have the resources to support an effort like this, so the plan is to ask neighborhood residents to commit to a watering plan to ensure the survival of all trees. If there is sufficient interest, the RNA will submit an application to Tree Folks, with the goal of planting 10+ trees per year for the next three or so years. Jeff Archer reported that Ramsey Park has already lost 24 trees in the past few years, with many more trees at the end of their lifespans. This, together with the multi-year requirement for establishing trees, created a sense of urgency for a plan that will allow us to ensure the continuous presence of shade trees for Ramsey Park.
Elections were held to fill RNA officers for the upcoming year. Felicia Adams, Jeff Archer and Mark Brucks were nominated as Co-Presidents. Kim and Richard Relph were nominated as Vice-Presidents. Karen McLinden was nominated as Treasurer (for the umpteenth year). The nominations for Steering Committee members were: Chris and Gina Allen, Vicki Almstrum, Pamela Archer, Mark and Joyce Brown, Tracy Atkins, John Burgess and Sarah Cunningham, Chad Pankratz and Carole Hurst, John and Karen Pozdro, Aletha St. Romain, and Phyllis Warren and Ernest McKenney. The slate was elected without dissent.
Several attendees brought up issues of concern related to traffic in the neighborhood. Some residents volunteered to address these issues, with support of the RNA Steering Committee as needed.