There were 6 people at the meeting in the small meeting room of the Parkwood Library.
Publicity
Michael Pollock has an article in the current issue of the Durham Skywriter about Northeast Creek Streamwatch and some of the development projects we are watching. An article on our preliminary water quality results should be in the next Waterways newsletter, which most folks get with their Durham water bills. Watch for this.
Girls Scouts Presentation March 6th
The Girl Scout troop at Parkwood United Methodist Church has invited a representative of Northeast Creek Streamwatch to tell about how we test the water.
Development Projects
The following development projects are
Jordan at Southpointe
Since our last meeting, the City Council has agreed to annex this property, which is a step toward extending water and sewer services. On February 18, there will be a pro forma vote transferring the rezoning process from the county to the city.
751 Project
This large project is not in the Northeast Creek watershed but will have a large impact on New Hope Creek and Jordan Lake. On the west side of NC 751 south of Stagecoach Road and north of Colvard Farms Road is property proposed for rezoning as a mixed use development. So far the only action has been a neighborhood meeting at which there were maybe 100 people in attendance. Plans are for several hundred thousand feet of retail space and 1500 housing units, most of which will be multifamily housing.
Coldwell Banker
Coldwell Banker invited representatives of Northeast Creek Streamwatch to a meeting concerning a rezoning for a small site on Miami Boulevard near T. W. Alexander Drive. We will watch the progress of this request.
Washington Terrace
The City Council approved the rezoning of wooded land on the east side of NC 55 south of Riddle Road. The Herald-Sun covered this and said the community was not opposed. Although this property is at the headwaters of Northeast Creek, Northeast Creek Streamwatch did not express an opinion on this rezoning. The consensus of opinion when this came up was that the UDO required sufficient buffering for this site.
Joven Northeast Creek Apartments
Joven Northeast Creek Apartments is a large multifamily request as part of a large project on Ellis Road near the Durham Freeway (NC 147). It will impact the headwaters of one of the branches that feeds the eastern part of Northeast Creek. The area is currently lightly built-up and in rural fields and woods. Earlier condominium construction has degraded that branch of the Northeast Creek somewhat already.
Burden Creek Office Building
There are concerns about the upcoming site preparation for this office building with an estimated 700 parking spaces that will be between T. W. Alexander Drive and South Alston Avenue.
Listserver
We discussed a cleanup of IDs and messages on this server to remove some spam and to prevent spam in the future.
Open House, February 23, 2:00-5:30 PM, Large Meeting Room, Parkwood Library
The group reviewed preparations for this event. There will be a presentation of slides of a tour of Northeast Creek, the wildflowers along the creek, and sedimentation issues on the creek. A representative of Kayak Adventures will have pictures of wildlife on the lower reaches of the creek near Lake Jordan that include a heron rookery, beaverdams, and wildflowers on that end of the creek. Kayak Adventures is planning kayak trips up Northeast Creek from Lake Jordan.
The group discussed capturing the talks from the Open House as a podcast.
There was a report about the publicity for this event.
Parkwood Elementary School Open House
Cathy Starkweather, an environmental educator, has been working with Parkwood Elementary School to get rain barrels so that every class can have a garden and Northeast Creek Streamwatch members have been helping her on this project.
The principal of Parkwood Elementary School has invited Northeast Creek Streamwatch to participate in an Open House at the school on February 27, 9 AM–12, on February 28, 6–8 PM, and February 29, 12–3:30 PM.
Earth Day 2008
Earth Day 2008 will be on Saturday, April 19 from 9:00 AM–12. Plans are underway. Start gathering volunteers and volunteer cleanup group leaders.
Calendar
The next business meetings are March 26 and April 16, both at 7:00 PM in the small meeting room at the Parkwood Library.
On Sunday, February 19, at 3:00 PM, we will hike along Burdens Creek. This is the time of year to see spring flowers and amphibians. This hike will also feature some cliffs along Burdens Creek.
We will monitor the Grandale site, the Sedwick site, and the Sohi site in March, starting on the second and third weekends of March. We will hold a training session for volunteers March 1, 3:00 PM, in the small meeting room at the Parkwood Library.
Some time in April, probably after Earth Day, we are planning to to hold a gathering of a number of volunteer groups that monitor the streams of Durham County.
Nonprofit
There was an update of progress in moving toward incorporating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
Monitoring Report
A new member reported lots of floating red algae in the swamp south of Elmset in Parkwood.
