Special Meeting October 21, 2023 - Summary
Somewhere between sixty and seventy people attended, and more than a dozen had indicated that they would have been there but were out of town Saturday.
The first segment of the meeting was about what goes on in the Preserve:
A slide presentation by Judy Huxmannn gave information on controlled burns, garlic mustard pulls, the shadow boxes which Judy has designed and which contain seasonal information about the Preserve, and the new visitors, the river otters. Tom Holmes described the measures that have been put in so that we can live with the beaver residents. This has included the installation of a pipe which allows the water to flow out of the lake and into the creek and the watershed, while allowing the beavers to dam up the top of the culvert that runs under the spillway into the creek. When that culvert is blocked by the beavers, the lake level rises with serious results for the rest of the Preserve. Additionally, the young oak trees have been wrapped with chicken wire to keep the beavers from cutting them down, while the softwood trees which are most of their diet have been left for them to cut down.
The cost of these projects, and of other projects described later, comes not from the WMU budget, but from the Asylum Lake fund that was set up in the 90's at the Kalamazoo Foundation. The interest earned on this fund pays for maintenance of the Preserve.
Mark Hoffman, one of the original founders of ALPA, described the history of how the Preserve was created, the deal that was struck which gave WMU the land south of Parkview Avenue for BTR-I while the current Preserve and the "Orchard" across Drake were created as a green space for passive recreation and research. This involved the efforts of many community members.
A poster and a short video interview with Bill Schneider of Wildtypes described the 12-year relationship that the Preserve has had with this firm, which specializes in eliminating invasive plants and creating native landscapes for parks and campuses all over the state. Bill emphasized the unusual pre-settlement landscape which has emerged as Wildtypes has worked each year, and also complimented the council and ALPA for its willingness to stay with the project as successive growths of invasives have had to be dealt with. Funding for this project also has come out of the Kalamazoo Foundation fund.
The second section of the program was about the "neighbors" and their impact on the Preserve.
David Nesius, a longtime member of ALPA, described the times when he walked through the "orchard" across Drake Road, finding evidence of old Indian trails and the fruit trees that grew there, and then described how the legislature in a late-night, late-year session had transferred the land to WMU for an extension of the BTR-I Park across Parkview Ave. The Cancer Center is now there and in the future there will be a manufacturing plant there.
Amelia Dowswell, a senior at WMU, described the Sustainable Agriculture activities at Gibbs House, across from the Preserve on Parkview Ave. She explained their composting program which is open to anyone in the community who wants to deposit pre-consumer, non-meat items that would otherwise go into the garbage or down the disposal; the "food forest;" and the linkages which Gibbs House has with KVCC and other entities at WMU and in the community. At present there are no residents in Gibbs House because repairs are needed to the house, but there are student interns, like Amelia, who work there.
Josh Kieser gave an excellent description of the "bad runoff" which gets into the lake and thus into other water pathways, from the Stadium Road area and the new filtration system which is being installed now on the north side of the Asylum Lake property. After the filtration system is complete, the site will be restored to its former state. Because the property is a hillside, the runoff goes into the lake and thus the watershed. Any disturbance to it will only add "bad runoff" to the lake and the water table.
As part of the "Maintaining Access to The Preserve" presentation, Mark Hoffman and Lauri Holmes described the two-year effort of ALPA, and a committee of neighborhood residents, to restore parking at the Winchell Ave entrance. After much work by these groups, a petition by residents of the neighborhood, and strong advocacy by residents, parking was restored as Winchell Ave was repaved and restriped this past August.
The final section of the meeting addressed the threats to the Preserve, and concentrated on the current plan of the owner of the property at Stadium and Drake (the )former Vermeulen property) to request that it be zoned commercial and that a car wash permit be issued for it. Sharon Dever described the new zoning category of Commercial and its impact on the property. She also described the impact of community objections to the original Planning Commission staff recommendation that the property be zoned Commercial and that no special use permit be needed for a car wash on Commercially zoned property. Heather Ratliffe described the experience of Stewards of Kleinstuck as they acquired the "little sister" property and what would be required to add the Vermeulen segment to the Preserve or to have it taken on by another entity. This would be an enormous task requiring a great deal of money and time, but perhaps not an impossibility.
Discussion followed about dealing with the request that the current owner would be making to the Planning Commission in December. Suggestions were made about the focus of the testimony from the community. It was the feeling of the group that it should not be simply on "no car wash," but that the whole issue of what impact the development of the property would have on the green space, which the City has pledged to support, and what the impact on the watershed would be.
We promised to inform you about the points which will be important to include in statements, letters, and testimony to the Planning Commission, and to send information about how best to contact the commissioners. At present, the email addresses of the commissioners are not publicly available, so we will be sending out further information when Saturday's speakers and ALPA can gather it.
In the meantime, the community can feel proud of the number of people who came Saturday to the meeting and the warm, sincere support for the Preserve that was expressed by this group. Thanks to everyone who came, and to those who weren't able to be there, for your patience in reading this long account and staying involved with our green treasure!
Lauri Holmes
for the ALPA Board: John Kreuzer, Judy Huxmann, Wendy Denning, Mark Hoffman, David Nesius, Susan Andres
No Annual meetings were held in 2020 or 2021. ALPA hopes to hold a limited public annual meeting in 2022.
Minutes of the 2019 Annual Meeting
Asylum Lake Preservation Association
Annual Meeting, Parkview Hills Clubhouse, Tuesday May 7, 2019
Members Present: Paul Scott, David Nesius, Lauri Holmes, Judy Huxmann, Susan Andress, John Kreuzer, Sherry Sims, Will Hazen, Mark Hoffmann, Donna Tellam. Guests.
Prior Meeting Minutes: Minutes from April 2019 were approved as reported.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer’s report indicated a balance of $971.39. Report was approved.
Old Business: The slate of officers was approved as presented: Chair- John Kreuzer; Co-Chair- Lauri Holmes; Vice-Chair – Paul Scott; Secretary – Sherry Sims; Treasurer – Judy Huxmann; Community Outreach – Susan Andress; ALPMC Representative – Lauri Holmes; Parkview Hills Liaison – vacant.
There was a brief discussion of benefits of ALPA membership.
Paul reminded everyone to meet at the Drake Rd. parking lot on Saturday May 11 for Asylum Clean-up. He also encouraged all present to attend the formal hearing on the NFP (Natural Features Protection) Ordinance on Monday May 20 at the City Commission meeting.
New Business: John suggested renting a table at the Farmer’s Market. Board discussion will continue online.
Paul summarized the recent events regarding the sale and development of the Vermeulen property at the northwest corner of Stadium and Drake roads, over the past year and a half, as well as current plans.
Diana Morton-Thompson, a local registered and licensed professional geologist presented on the topic “Understanding the Geologic Landscape of the Asylum Lake Area”. Her talk included relevant information on slope, groundwater, erosion, water resources and how the NFP and various kinds of development might influence that geology.
Paul McNellis announced that free seeded flats with native plants are available from WMU and would be excellent additions to prairie/savanna areas of The Preserve. Paul will look into this.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:44
Date for next Board meeting not set.
*There was a short meeting after adjournment to schedule an interim Board meeting to create a concise presentation for the City Commission. Available Board members will meet at Lauri’s Thursday May 16 at 7:00 pm. And should bring written ideas with them.
Respectfully submitted,
Sherry Sims
For more information about the work of the ALPA board please email asylum.lake.preservation@gmail.com.