February 7, 2006

Dear Friends:

On Tuesday, February 28th, I met with Gary Hamm about Rotary Park. We discussed some issues over lunch and then toured the park to review the damage. I must say that the damage is even more extensive than I once realized. Gary and I examined the park both on and off the trials. It was very helpful to go to the park with Gary and look at it from his perspective. I originally thought that we could just go in and clear the trails and worry about the damage away from the trials later. However, Gary brought up a very good point: due to the park's small size, a lot of people don't remain only on the trails; they venture through the woods (seriously, we all do it). With this in mind, I had to take off my biker/hiker hat and put on my lawyer's hat. With so many "dead men" and "widow makers" throughout the park, the park is still very, very dangerous. Even if the trials were cleared, the park remains a dangerous place. With these facts known to the county, they are subject to substantial liability should someone get hurt. The park simply cannot reopen until all of the damage is done.

According to Gary, several experienced loggers have examined the park. All have explained that the park is just simply too dangerous for them to log. After our tour, I agree; it is still very dangerous.

At this point, the county still has some other options, but they are beginning to get more expensive. Also, regardless of the type of clean up that takes place, there is no doubt that some smaller trees are going to have to be lost in order to get the park cleaned up. It has been brought to my attention that some people have been complaining to the county about this point. I know that this group is made up of some very intelligent and trail savvy folks so I doubt that it is anyone in our group. However, if you are complaining to the county about this, please stop. This is an inevitable fact with which we all must live. The park has to be cleaned up because of the substantial danger that it presents. It cannot be cleaned up without some damage to other trees. This is a fact of life and nature. Your complaints do nothing but slow the process and jeopardize the relationship between the county and the park's users. Please discontinue these types of complaints if you are making them.

I will be attending another meeting tonight regarding the park and I should be able to let you all know what happens soon. There is a slim possibility that volunteers will be allowed into a small section of the park to work. The area being discussed was not affected by the tornado (and it was only a very small area that wasn't). It is also the area where most of the new trail work has occurred. If we are given the go ahead to get into that area, I will call a meeting so that we can discuss what we can and can't do.

I want to reiterate that Gary, Stacy, and our group are all singing from the same sheet of music. We had some communication problems but all seems to be fixed, now. Should this change, I will certainly let you know.

Thanks for the responses and comments that I got from everyone. I look forward to us getting some work done in the park.

Chris