PALS Board Meeting, April 10, 2008

Notes from the PALS Board Meeting Minutes, April 10, 2008:

Marsha Gavitt, 6501 Meadowcrest Lane, Director of Voters United to Preserve Flower Mound said she and several others over the past year have spent many hours walking, photographing, and proudly displaying the unique attributes that we have including the undeveloped park land Park, Arts and Library Services Board Meeting Minutes and our boundary with Grapevine Lake. She said that several of them shared a birds, wildlife and trails booth at the Environmental Fair last week and found that most visitors to their booth had no idea there were so many hidden treasures in Town. Next year they would like to have a bigger booth and create more interest in the natural outdoors. She brought some of the pictures which were displayed and said that Jan Thompson have some more pictures but she was at another environment event in Denton tonight. In addition to adding a welcome variety of outdoor leisure for our
own residents, she said she believes these areas will bring significant eco tourism dollars especially since we are close to a major airport and between two major cities. She said that bird watching alone in 2003 brought 1.2 billion dollars to Texas and that sport has grown considerably along with nature hike and biking. For almost a decade residents have encouraged the Town to join with the Corps to improve access to and hiking on our lakeshore and for about that same length of time equestrians have also been waiting for their expanded trails. The activities she has
mentioned, requires the least development expense but will serve a wide variety of people and ages, and hopes they receive priority from the Board.

Wayne Farley announced that Alton Bowman was awarded the O.P. Schnabel Award. Keep Flower Mound Beautiful nominated Alton Bowman for this award because his mission most closely matched the mission of Keep Texas Beautiful which is to educate and engage people in the improvement of their community and environment. His years of dedication to the Tree Board, ECC, the Mound Foundation and to the citizens of Flower Mound makes Alton deserving of this award and is to be congratulated.

John Thomas mentioned his trip to Tyler where he came across a park that was awe inspiring, the children’s park. It is about two acres, has no playground, there is a little waterfall running through it and the children loved it. It was on Good Friday, the weather was nice and the water had to be cold but the kids were out there wading. He was thinking, and passed it on to the lady who got the prize, that maybe she may want to go in another direction other than a playground with that money.

Consider approval of two new members to be added to the Undeveloped Park Land Master Planning Subcommittee responsible for master planning undeveloped park properties.
Wayne Farley nominated Norma Krueger and Elizabeth Lumpkins as the two PALS Board members to be added to the Undeveloped Park Land Master Planning Subcommittee and Karl Drescher seconded the nomination. The nominees accepted the nomination and there were no objections so the following motion was made. A motion to approve the following PALS Board members (1) Norma Krueger, (2) Elizabeth Lumpkins, to be added to the Undeveloped Park Land Master Planning Subcommittee responsible for master
planning undeveloped park properties was made by Peggie Kimberlin and seconded by Linda Thiebaud.

The next PALS Board meeting is scheduled for May 8, 2008.

Comments:

I need to contact Marsha Gavitt and Alton Bowman. It sounds like they both have a passion for nature and are familiar with the the birds, trees, and wildflowers that we have in town. I'd like to get their input on suggestions for the educational stations in the playground.

I would like to learn more about the Keep Flower Mound Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful organizations. They might be good resources for the educational piece in the playground.

John Thomas did contact me about the children's park that he saw. It sounds wonderful and I'd love to see that in the playground on WCR tracts. However, the $5,000 award from Pantene is intended to place educational components about nature and the environment in a playground in Flower Mound. I don't have any input on that. I believe that my only input might be regarding which park to place them in and what they might look like.