Let your voices be heard

[ChevyKev]

Just received this email about proposed land use and trails systems in Fairbanks area. They have combined Isberg/Cripple Creek with the proposed S. Cushman project. Several of us went to the meeting and spoke up for the land use proposal with Cripple creek even though they were not 4x4 related. Cushman project likely will, and it will be good for us to go and let our voices be heard. This is what was sent to me - mark your calendars now! If we fail to show up and request 4x4 trails be a part of these proposals then we can't complain when we don't have places to wheel.

Greetings,

Great news for supporters of the Isberg/Cripple Creek Recreation Area! It
has been several months since I've had any progress to report, but that has
changed.

The short story is that the Borough Mayor has introduced an Appropriation
Ordinance to the Borough Assembly to provide funds for the completion of a
master plan for the Isberg Recreation Area. This appropriation would provide
$70,000 to complete a master plan and site assessment for the new recreation
area. The Appropriation Ordinance also includes funds ($125,000) for the
completion of a master plan and site assessment for the "Tanana Lakes
Recreation Area" that is proposed south of the levy at the end of Cushman
Street. Both of these recreation projects have garnered substantial
community support and the Mayor has linked the two in this proposed
Appropriation Ordinance.

Development of master plans for these two proposed recreation facilities is
the first step toward developing high quality recreation areas for the
residents of our community. These master plans will serve as a road map for
future development and provide the Department of Parks and Recreation and
our numerous partners with tools to use in acquiring funds to complete the
recreation areas infrastructure and amenities. As is evident by recent
projects (i.e. Allridge Park and South Davis Park), master plans developed
for these sites have helped to provide project funders with verifiable
evidence of community support, project costs, and visual representations of
the final product they are funding. The funding of this request is the
essential first step in developing these recreation areas into valuable
community assets.

The Assembly will accept public testimony on this proposed appropriation
January 26, 2006. The Public Hearing will begin at 7:00 P.M. (I do not know
when this item will appear on the Agenda, but intend to e-mail you an update
a day or two before the meeting). If you wish to speak at the Public Hearing
you can sign up any time from 12:00 Noon until a few minutes before 7:00
P.M. the day of the meeting at the Borough Building. If you arrive after
7:00 and wish to make testimony you must wait until after those signed up
have finished. Of course, you are encouraged to attend and offer your
testimony, comments, concerns, and I hope support for this proposal and
trails in general. Let's have another big turnout and support this new trail
system!

Disclaimer: I created this mailing list in an effort to provide information
to groups and individuals with an interest in this project. AND potentially
as a tool for garnering support for trails, trail uses, and trail users in
general. I hope to use it as a way to gather input from you for our planning
process and keep you up to date on the project. If you do not wish to be
included on this mailing list please let me know and I will remove you
before I send out the next message. If you know anyone that might have
interest in being included send me their e-mail address.

Thanks,

John Haas - Project Coordinator
FNSB - Department of Parks & Recreation
PO Box 71267
Fairbanks, AK 99707
(907) 459 - 1198

[STOMPR]

Several of us went to the meeting and spoke up for the land use proposal with Cripple creek even though they were not 4x4 related. Cushman project likely will, and it will be good for us to go and let our voices be heard.

Not sure why you are thinking that Cushman likely will have 4x4 related designations :-\ If you know something I dont please share. I have saw several of the proposed plans on this and as far as I have ever seen none of them included 4x4 use. Although I agree that this step is critical and we should attend in force, if we dont we will lose a big opportunity to have our voices heard for our sport and the plan will most likely will not include 4x4 uses.

[4x4_MMMH_4x4]

if were thinking about the same cushman im thinking of, lots of people are going to go and ruin it all, IE the people who drag cars around and burn them and trash the place... it would actually be nice to see a part of south cushman cleaned up and made a deisgnated offroad area, just as long as people dont go and mess up hard work on it...

[TJVigilante]

I have a feeling that if they make it a designated area with high traffic flow, it'll curb the volume of asshattery that goes on down there, hopefully. I just don't want to be the person down there cleaning the place up.

[AKLJ8]

I read something in the paper a few months ago about the proposals. All of them include a very large budget to clean up all the abandoned vehicles. I was thinking to myself that that might be something we as a club could offer to help do. We have the rigs to help and a few trailers too. It would save us all tax money and put AO in a good light with the comunity. At least getting them all to a single point where a tow rig can hitch up and drag them to a yard would probably save the city allot of needless expense.

[TJVigilante]

imagine the potential wear and tear on the rigs though....they're made to go up mountains, not drag rusty metal across the ground. We only have so many trailers available so we can wheel stuff, then there's the whole "how do we get the things on the trailer in the first place?" issue. It's a good idea, but really only doable if we have some heavy equipment available to do it.

How much could someone possibly get though for recycling all that scrap metal?

[AKLJ8]

I suppose your right. I didn't think wear and tear would be an issue. It would certainly take a full size rig to drag stuff out of the brush and such. My jeep would have a hell of a time dragging a burned out inverted hulk. As for getting stuff on a trailer I wasn't thinking we would do that. Just getting the stuff out to a spot that a roll back can get to them.

I imagine the plan is to sub all that work out to towing company's and pay a Scrap Yard to take it.

I'm just thinking that it would be good for the club to offer some help in regards to cleaning up south Cushman

[TJVigilante]

yeah i hear you, and I'm sure it would be a great PR thing for the club...we should look into it.