Trails Club Board Minutes for February 11, 2026
Meeting call to order - Mary Smith
Roll call - Bobbie Berkman - a quorum was present
I. Review of November 2025 Board meeting minutes.
A. Date for the Chili Fest should have read January 29th. 2026.
B. The November 2025 minutes should have listed the actions approved at our October Annual General Meeting, including the names of the 2026 Board and the amendments to the Bylaws .
Note: We need the new Board’s names in the November minutes so that we have a copy to take to the Bank for our new Certificate of Lodge in January of the New Year.
Note: Traditionally the Club does not require minutes to be taken at our Annual Meeting. If we did we would need to have a quorum of the general membership present or have them submit in an email their proxy vote.
Motion was approved to correct the minutes.
II. Board Reports:
A. List of Club and Board actions taken in 2025 written up by Mary, was sent to all Board and Support people for their reference.
B. Hike sign-up sheets and incident reports for 2025 are tabulated and stored in our locker at Hillside for 3 years.
C. Meeting calendar with dates and locations corrected and sent to all board and support people.
A. Al was advised that permission slips attached to membership checks should be left in the Club box for for pickup and processing.
B. Chili Fest profits will offset some costs for future events.
C. Al will arrange for the Certificates of Lodge paperwork to be done at the bank.
The Treasurer’s report was approved.
D. Anne noted the advantages of using the online app for Poppy Bank to deposit checks for the Club, as it provides the added benefit of images of the front and back of the deposited checks and removes necessity of actually going to the bank.
A. Amblers - none
B. Ramblers - Nancy Verner noted that the hiking calendar has been filled at times by last minute hike leaders. Lori reported that fewer hikers, about 10-15 people, are coming out on the hikes during cooler weather.
C. Trekkers - Adrienne reported that there are only a few hikers on their outings.
D. Scramblers - Sue Margolis reported that planning for the Tucson Safari is going well.
A. Club membership update - Joanie Boyle
328 actual paid memberships to-date.
As of February 1 the membership is as follows:
Amblers - 121 (34%)
Ramblers - 135 (38%)
Trekkers - 40 (11%)
Scramblers - 37 (10%)
Monday Morning Walkers - 17 (5%)
Social - 8 (2%)
Note: Discrepancy in actual membership (328) and group breakouts (358) is due to memberships with multiple group affiliations.
Note: Anne reported unpaid members have been archived. These members can be easily restored if dues are paid.
New members to date this year: 26 people
Amblers - 13
Ramblers - 9
Trekkers - 2
Scramblers - 1
Monday Morning Walkers - 1
B. New membership followup: Lori Miller-Klein
She noted that she routinely leaves text and phone messages welcoming new members. New member orientation on March 11 will be run by Harriet, Lori, Anne and Mary. The event is listed on the website.
C. Trails Steward - Jim Pearson
Reported 5 downed trees on the Rossmoor trails that were taken care of by Rossmoor.
The trails crew has been working on the Rockcrest trail and is about 90% complete. This includes installing about 20 wooden stairs, carving stairs into the soil, and now has much easier to access and navigate.
It has also been renamed and is the first leg (1 1/2 miles) of the West Ridge trail. New signage has been put up and a lot of it is inaccurate. Jim is working on correcting that before the new trail maps come out.
D. Website and tech - Anne Squire
There are no big revisions to the website.
The site is kept up-to-date for event listings by Mollie Clopo, Event Coordinator.
A link to information on the 2026 EBMUD Trail Challenge was added.
Keyword searches have been improved.
She would like to have a committee to help design better ways of getting information out to the members.
Hike photos sent to Mark Forrett last year will be featured in the March slideshow. Photos from 2026 hikes and events should be sent to trailsclubrossmoor@gmail.com.
Carpooling and driver reimbursement can be found via a keyword search.
A link to AllTrails trail maps included in hike descriptions for 2022-2026 will be added for easier access when sharing functionality has been verified.
The Rossmoor Trails System Map posted on rossmoor.com is out -of-date and needs to be updated. Jim is working on an updated version of the Rossmoor trails map that includes entries and street names..
A list of 2025 hikes by date has been added as a resource in hike planning.
There was a discussion of how best to format info in the Hiking Calendar to include names of actual trails used.
E. Publicity - Ellen Gilman
Ellen is collecting action pictures for the Rossmoor News and thanks Lori, Jim and Adrienne for submissions. is She is also submits pictures to a new website that advertising the community of Rossmoor to prospective buyers.
F. Events- (Kathy Devine recently underwent a knee replacement and was unable to attend the meeting.) Mary Smith presented.
Past
Notable Volunteers Brunch - November 13. Mary and Anne hosted. 45 invited and was attended by 40. Thank you to everyone honored for all their work in the past year.
Holiday Party - December 11. Organized by Shirley Wiegand and Janet Jolley hosted. Mary reported that it was a truly delightful evening. Many thanks to our organizers and all their helpers. Also thanks to the musicians for the great sound-tracks.
Last Hike Party - December 20. Dave and Gloria Kern hosted. Many thanks!
Chili Fest - January 29. Amy Daniels hosted. Amy reported on a very successful evening, recognizing her use of Kathy’s and Molly’s guidelines. Many thanks to Amy and her crew of helpers for arranging the evening.
Her comprehensive follow-up report will be of great use for future events.
A change in the date from previously being held on New Year’s Day was a concern. Scheduling a suitable room was the reason for the change this year as it depends on the Rossmoor reservation system. There were about 130 people attending.
Upcoming
Orientation for new members, March 11. in the Fairway Room presented by Harriet and Lori Miller-Klein.
Potluck and slide show, March 19 - Idelle Lipman and Molly Clopp
The event will be held in the Event Center. Extensive planning is being accomplished. The slide show will be produced by Carolyn Ciarelli and Anne Squire.
A motion was approved to present a $100 gift certificate as a thank you gift to Mark for his years of hard work for the Club producing annual slide show.
Earth Day, April 17th. 2026. Adrienne reported we have been asked to participate with Sustainable Rossmoor and have a table in Gateway Plaza. Set-up at 9.00 am. Event runs from 10.00 am - 1.00 pm. The focus is sustainability, such as preserving nature and the environment. Motion was approved to have a table to support Earth Day.
Save Mt. Diablo Work/hiking/volunteering Day April 29, 2026. for the Club and Rossmoor residents, proposed by Adrienne.
It will be a day with two sessions, one for restoration of Mt. Diablo in the morning and the second for hiking in the afternoon for Amblers, and Ramblers. Vice-vers sessions will be offered for Trekkers and Scramblers.
Notices to be posted to Club members and put in the Rossmoor News. (Adrienne, Anne and Ellen.)
Potluck Picnic and Ice Cream Social—June 2, 2026 hosted by Kickan Wilson
- New Business - Mary Smith
A. Ros Carol, Outings Chair, has requested a replacement to lead about 6 trips a year which are not part of our hiking schedule, as she recuperates from double knee replacement.
B. The RWC (Rossmoor Walnut Creek) Board has proposed replacement of the gate at the top of Stanley Dollar Drive for security reasons. Issue generated a good deal of discussion.
Club hikes have been able to walk around the gate which separates Rossmoor, PG & E and the Lucas Ranch development, to get to a well used path.
Jim Pearson, Trail Steward attended a planning meeting that emphasized two issues. The first is a security issue for two private properties, PG&E and the planned unit development of houses that lie beyond the gate. It is not an emergency exit for Rossmoor.
Anne noted that there is Rossmoor property that could be used to access the private Lucas Ranch road.
Adrienne requested we need to find out what legal rules might apply to this right-of-way to the path.
Anne reported that PG&E has a group that deals with public access to their property.
It was agreed that investigating this gate issue and path access should be kept on a personal level.
- Meeting close - Motion to adjourn adjourn at 5:30 PM.
Next Board meeting May 13, 2026 in Fairway Room at 4.00 pm
Note - August 12, 2026 will be a Zoom meeting.
[Minutes provided by Bobbie Berkman, Secretary are posted on the website and emailed out to the membership by Anne Squire. Any content and/or technical issues should be reported to trailsclubrossmoor@gmail.com