Andy Black (Our website administrator) has moved to Denver. Kurt Gearhart has been maintaining several sections for many years with Andy's remote help. However, the software Kurt uses has become obsolete. He is now learning to use Webflow (an online website authoring program) to determine the feasibility of converting the entire website. This software is free and has not increased the cost of our website. We are testing it on the landscaping section of our website.
Beginning in late 2013, the landscaping sprinkler water was reduced to minimize water expenses while still maintaining the turf. We also did not over seed in the Winter which further reduced water consumption and the resulting increase in birds. This has been done thru efforts of Jeff Mark and his landscaper Reubin. We know Ron Pratte has also thinned out some of the perimeter landscape, further reducing costs. Our hope is to minimize expenses while we determine the future of our runway landscaping.
Our present landscaping looks fabulous! However, it is expensive to maintain, has historically used expensive water on it's edges, and presents other safety and maintenance issues. Since the turn of the century (14 plus years), most of the landscaping maintenance costs were borne by Jeff Mark and Ron Pratte. In 2014, the SRUA started reimbursing Jeff Mark as a temporary measure until the SRUA determined the direction we were to pursue with our landscaping. We also promised to reimburse Ron Pratte for his expenses in maintaining the perimeter of the runway. Our responsibility (SRUA) to own the landscaping costs brought us to the realization that we should evaluate alternative landscaping ideas for the long term. This doesn't mean the grass must go, it just means we need to see if other forms of landscaping might better serve the needs of the SRUA.
In 2014 the SRUA established a Landscaping Committee to provide research and information necessary for the SRUA Board and it’s membership to make an informed decision on our future landscaping. This website contains much of their efforts as well as additional information. We are trying to provide all the pertinent information, links, and resources we find available in order to educate our membership on the landscaping challenges we face ahead of us. We will do our best to add information to the site as time and resources permit.
Our human resources are spread pretty thin as we try to move forward with activities and airpark issues. Your board would appreciate any volunteers willing to help with website programming, landscape research, as well as the normal activities occurring at Stellar Airpark every year. Contact your Board of Directors using the menu at the top if you would like to volunteer.
The videos below may contain a few inacuracies, but represent the discussion, research and hard work conducted in the past several years. We hope to provide numbers and estimates with greater accuracy in the future.
