ITS Trail Committee Board Meeting

February 6^th, 2007

Present: Poonam Jain, Bryan Siegfried, Nelson Grman, Bill Napper, John Fritsche

Absent: Phyllis Spurney, Larry Leone, Josh Ross

Also present: Jarid Ott, Conrad Kee

The meeting was called to Order 7:30 PM at the Staunton Public Works Building.

A moment of silence was held in memory of Patrick Heise.

The minutes of the last meeting were read aloud. Rus Masinelli moved to approve the minutes, Nelson Grman seconded and the minuted were approved by a voice vote.

A reporter from Carlinville asked to speak with the board and we will arrange a time in the future to meet with the reporter in Carlinville.

Report of Activities: Several of us met with Senator Demuzio. She was supportive of the trail concept and will provide some support. The ruler for schoolchildren was shown to Senator Demuzio. She liked the concept and will talk to the Secretary of State's office about whether they could help produce these.

After discussion with Jerry Kane, we have decided to hold off on the engineering study. However, we continue to have difficulties with concrete commitments from the railroad. Nelson Grman knows some people in the railroad from contacts developed when the City of Staunton was talking with them regarding railroad crossings. He will call a few of his contacts. An environmental study has been mooted, but may depend on our success with a Right of Entry agreement.

Bookkeeping: Susan McBride reported that she will develop the bookkeeping plan with a comprehensive ledger. She had been uncertain regarding her role at first, as it was previously not clearly defined. Four checks for safety vests are still pending.

The next monthly meeting will be the first Tuesday of March. This will be our yearly election. Three board members will need to put their positions up for elections. Since it had never been decided when terms would come up, we decided on:

Term ending in 2007: Josh Ross, Phyllis Spurney, Bill Napper

Term ending in 2008: Russ Masinelli, Poonam Jain, Nelson Grman

Term ending in 2009: Bryan Siegfried, Larry Leone, John Fritsche

Nelson Grman updated us regarding Route 66 Committee activities. June 2^nd will be a Route 66 trail ride. We will be a bicycle hub. This is also the date of the Leroy Duda park commemoration. Senator Demuzio will attend the park commemoration.

A discussion of meeting attendance was held. An amendment to the board rules is needed to delineate rules regarding attendance. Tentatively, we have decided to consider attendance at monthly meetings. Missing more than 25% of the meetings for unexcused absences or 50% of total meeting would be grounds for dismissal and holding a by-election.

Rus Masinelli announced a tentative meeting with Gary Hannig on February 20^th, 2007. We may also arrange a meeting with Andy Manar. A letter will be sent to Senator Demuzio thanking her for her time and the support shown during our meeting. We will also send a letter to Senator Durbin updating him on the ITS Trail Committee's progress.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:57 PM.

Respectfully submitted by Bryan Siegfried, secretary.