November 8, 6:00 p.m. Mounds Meeting!

[TechJeeper]

Hello! My name is Kristin Leach and I am with the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission. I work at the Mounds ORV park and was asked to let everyone know about an upcoming public meeting. If you would like to cut and paste the following message to your board, I would greatly appreciate it! (this will be the actual paperwork available at the meeting) Thank you!
Kristin Leach




Mounds ORV Rock Crawl Project
Public Input Meeting

November 8, 6:00 p.m.
Mill Street Warehouse
Crossroads Village
6140 Bray Rd.
Flint, MI 48505

Welcome! On behalf of the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission, thank you for your participation! We would like your ideas ans suggestions for continued improvement to the Mounds ORV park, as outlined in the approved Mounds ORV Master Plan. Please make sure you sign in. This is an open-house format (stay with us as long as your schedule permits).

Grant funding is being sought for a new event area within the park that will provide opportunities for a technical rock crawl course targeted for 4 wheel drive vehicles. Your input will be used to refine draft concepts for use in submitting a grant application to the State of Michigan for ORV funds. Speak up!
Everyone's questions and thoughts are appreciated.

Staff from ROWE Incorporated will be assisting this process, along with county staff.

Some of the aspects of the design that we seek input on includes:
- How do we create opportunities for various skill levels and/or equipment?
- How do we define circulation patterns?
- What do we need to provide for safety issues?
- How many users should be expected on a daily basis vs. special tournaments?

There are forms for additional written comments, please use these to explain your thoughts.
Constructive solutions are welcomed!

Thanks again for your participation!



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I should be there!

[ouchman]

will minutes be avalable?

[Paul Hittie]

Should be - it's a county meeting.

[Anonymous]

I'll be there.

[NewRide]

Well how did it go

[Anonymous]

Not much got accomplished, in my opinion.

[Paul Hittie]

Hopefully the engineering guys (including the one guy who says he is an avid off roader and couldn't quit telling us about his Jeep) left there with a better understanding of what we need/want/desire.  Jim Mazzola gave them a 30-something page presentation of what GLFWDA would like to see, but I think he is a couple of steps ahead of where they are at conceptually.  Right now all the engineering firm has are some pretty colored lines drawn on an aerial map and a general, broad idea of what they MIGHT do.

The good news is Steve Kubisiak from DNR was there, Dick Ranney from ORV Advisory Board and MMRC was there, GCPR Deputy director was there, and some ATV guys were there - all in support of the plan.  This WILL happen, it's only a matter of how long and to what degree.  Again, hopefully the engineers walked away realizing how important it is that they get the first phase right - otherwise after the excitement of something new wears off, people won't come back unless it is executed well and offers multiple opportunities for enjoyment.  A single rock crawl in one direction will not cut it.  And I really hope they tone down their plans to include a pro-comp level crawl with spectator area.  Just doesn't seem to fit the size and scope of the county park, and the GCPR fols were very clear that expanding the Mounds is not an option.

[Anonymous]

a pro crawl, although would probably be a nice challenge, seems like a waste of space to me.  In all reality, I don't think you are going to pull enough "pros" to use it and I can see a bunch of idiots getting hurt and/or hurting someone else by being somewhere they have no business being.


It's nice to know they had good representation from various organizations and "folks in the know" there.  That is what is needed to do it right.  Chris said there were only about 20 people there so that kind of bummed me out.  Hopefully this will work out well.

[TechJeeper]

The meeting went well. They do however still need public input. They want an opinion on what we are looking for. In the proposed plan, they sectioned about half of the area to Pro-Comp rigs... I dont think this is what we are looking for, and I belive that point got across yesterday.

If someone could provide an email for the guy they said to contact, please do so, I didnt catch it last night...

Thank You,
Cody

[Mudviper]

I do not understand why they continuely ask for more information on what we want there. For the past 3 years members of the offroad community have been sending them stuff. If they have not figured it out now, then what will it take. We keep telling them the same thing, but no one on the committee seems to be getting the point.

[Nosilla]

I don't get it maybe. Why would they want to tak half of the propsed area and make it for pro-comp rigs. Seems to me that this should be built around the majority of the people using it.

I do think it should be built to test people even with built rigs but not to the point of a pro level rig.

That just seems like a waste of money to me.

I really wish i could have made it up there last night, but work sucks.

Is there a place to read the meeting minutes?

[TechJeeper]

Ron Walker is who they want us to address our comments to. His e-mail address is: Ron Walker <rwalker@gcparks.org>

As I stated before the area was just the proposed plan, basicaly it broke down like this...  Inside the old circle track "dust bowl" they proposed the pro-comp area, with seating and the possibilities of events.  Under that would be the Modified, for the people on 33s+ and lockers.  Then south of that was the stock area.  These would include routes of obsticals, that of which you can bail-out, or jump into at any time.  I think last night they got the point across that we want a smaller procomp area.  They also discussed doing it in stages, and not focusing on the procomp till the demand occurs yet still including some things that them guys would enjoy.