Caspar Village Plan archives

previous meetings

    On Sunday evening, 10 August 1997 a dozen Caspar residents gathered at Jim & Judy Tarbell's discussed their visions, and agreed that by consensus and inclusiveness, a reasonable plan could be made. What we need now: a meeting where the interested residents of Caspar can work to align their visions. Please think about Caspar, and plan to attend.

    On Sunday afternoon, 7 September, 1997 35 Caspar residents and friends met at the Caspar Jewish Community Center -- Thank You, neighbors! -- and agreed that we should work toward consensus. We identified three general areas of concern, and set dates and times (above) to meet and discuss them specifically.

    Sunday afternoon, October 5th, 1997 3:00pm a third scoping session took place at the Caspar Jewish Community Center. Reports were heard. We managed to stay within consensus. Many people realized it made good sense to think hard about what could be done with Caspar. Judy Tarbell volunteered to invite the internationally known community design team of Randy Hester and Marcia McNally to help us deliberate on this.

    Saturday, February 21st, at the invitation of some of Caspar's residents, our village has been adopted by eight Landscape Architecture graduate students from U. C. Berkeley. Two dozen Casparadoes, the hardy students, and their professor, Randy Hester, walked the town in the rain and discussed possibilities.

    On Sunday afternoon, February 22nd, we met again with Randy, and his students, filled out lengthy questionnaires, brainstormed maps in small groups about 'sacred places' and design possibilities, then shared our findings. Our work was wonderfully recorded on large paper by an outside facilitator, and our maps were taken back to Berkeley for study.

    On Thursday evening, April 2nd, a standing-room-only crowd attended the presentation of Eight Possibilities for Caspar by UC Berkeley Professor Hester's Environmental Design class. The quality and comprehensive thought represented by their work was awesome and inspirational, but so is the continuing response of the community: 60 people on a drizzly Thursday night, with scarcely a dissonant word. This is an incredible process.

    The presentations remained on view, thanks to the graciousness of Joe Smith and Dr. Harold Ginsberg, through the weekend. Casparites were invited to come, look, and help refine the next step in the design process by filling out critique forms for the class. They will return at a future date to be announced to present their final synthesis.
    At this meeting Vince Taylor suggested we needed a Finance Working Group, and asked for volunteers. After the meeting several people volunteered, and a date was set for the first meeting. (Minutes for these meetings are available online.

    The preliminary results from our two-day charrette with the Berkeley graduate students and their professor, Randy Hester were on display over the weekend in What's Afoot, across the street from the Caspar Shul.
    We met informally over the weekend to discuss the plans and suggestions, seeking to evaluate and combine attractive features to help the class refine their presentation.

    On Sunday afternoon, April 26th, a group of about 30 Caspar residents met to discuss where we stood under the able moderation of Jerry Juhl, who said "We're a community, and we'll all need to do what we can. I'm moderating because it's my turn." We discussed the difficult issues of making group decisions, and came within an inch of actually making one ...but agreed we needed one more meeting, to consider the 8 plans and any other which might surface, and agree on a way to handle our money. Peter Wells said "bring your check books." The unofficial minutes of this meeting are available online.

    On Sunday afternoon, May 10th, a small group gathered to discover that the plans had not been returned by the photo processing company, but we found plenty to discuss. We selected a steering committee, consisting of Patty Madigan, Meridian Green, Judy Tarbell, Vince Taylor, Ken Clark, Michael Potts, Peter Wells, and Mike Dell'Ara, who will meet several times before the next general gathering on June 14th. unofficial Minutes of this meeting.

    On Sunday afternoon, June 14th, Caspar residents met at the Shul to hear the report of their Steering Committee, which explained the need for an aggressive $100,000 budget for the next year. Those at the meeting enthusiastically endorsed the plans. For more about this meeting, read Vince Taylor's article.

    On a brilliantly sunny Sunday afternoon, July 12th, in the spirit of summer and community, the monthly meeting convened at Caspar Beach. After harvesting several garbage-bag-fulls of human trash, we cooked weenies, drank beer, and watched the ocean.

    On another perfect Caspar Sunday afternoon, August 9th, 32 community members gathered to review progress and plans. Minutes are online. Afterwards we had a potluck and played volleyball.

    At 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, September 13th, more than 80 members of the Caspar Community convened to view the three plans and hear the presentation of University of California (Berkeley) Professor Randy Hester explain the plans. The principal plan image and the meeting's minutes are online. Explanatory text from the plans will be on line as soon as it is received from UC in electronic form.

    The Gorse Festival weekend, 9 - 12 October, was so much fun that nobody took any notes. There were about 50 people at the Sunday afternoon meeting. An article about the weekend is available online

    On Sunday, 8 November, a sizable gathering at the monthly Community Meeting heard UC Berkeley's Susana Morais present the "final version" of their preliminary plan. Detailed notes of the meeting are available online.

    On 1 December, five members of the Steering Committee and Pat Ackley presented the plan and answered questions in a 45-minute appearance before the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. On 3 December, the same group made a longer presentation of the same materials to the County Planning Commission. Both presentations were well received.

    In a rainstorm on 13 December 1998, 21 hardy souls gathered to review the Steering Committee's presentation to County government. Notes from the meeting are available online.

    On a beautifully sunny Sunday, 10 January 1999, 42 Caspar residents and friends heard Roger Sternberg of the Mendocino Land Trust present the concerns of his organization with regard to their impending management of the Caspar Beach and southern Caspar Company lands. Detailed notes are available online.
    After the meeting, despite the summery fog, many of those who met migrated to the Caspar Inn to enjoy the tunes of several Caspar musicians, including Meridian Green, John Chamberlin, Lennie Lax, Antonia Lamb, and Judy Mahan. This after-meeting gathering promises to be a monthly event.

    The weather cleared miraculously in time for our meeting on Sunday, 14 February 1999. 25 Caspar residents and friends introduced themselves, heard about upcoming events, discussed traffic in the village, completed a questionnaire. Notes are available online.
    After the meeting, the Caspar Inn being in the throes of preparation for its Valentines Extravaganza, several folks gathered with their instruments at the home of Ken and Shirley Clark for a musical interlude that lasted into the evening.

    On the drizzly second Sunday in March, 35 Caspar folks and guests gathered to discuss the transition from a landscape plan to a land use plan, and to hear a representative from the Trust for Public Land offer to enter into negotiations with the Caspar Cattle Company. Minutes are available on line.
    Afterwards, many of us moved south to the Caspar Inn, where Meridian Green, Gene Parsons, John Chamberlin, Lennie Lax, Antonia Lamb, Tommy Brown, and number of others played music until after sundown.

    On Friday, 19 March, the Trust for Public Land made its involvement in the Caspar project public. The press release is online.

    On a perfect Friday morning, 2 April, a group of legislators and their aides toured the coast, stopping at Caspar Beach for a presentation by the Caspar Community Board. A version of the presentation is online.

    On the first perfect sunny day in a long time, second Sunday in April, the 11th, 30 Caspar folks gathered to discuss the way the headlands should be used. The meeting was short, about 25 of us then walked the headlands -- amazingly wet still, and every imaginable shade of green. Minutes are available on line.
    Afterwards, many of us moved south to the Caspar Inn, where Meridian Green, John Chamberlin, Lennie Lax, Antonia Lamb, Judy Mayhan, David Alden, and many others played and sang until sundown.

    On a bright windy May Sunday, the 9th, 30 people sat in a circle, heard from three working committees, and watched the 1903 and 1939 (?) footage of the Caspar mill in action. Minutes are available on line.
    The Sunday afternoon musical circle swelled even more with good songs and goodwill.

Visions Needed

    If you have thoughts or images that can contribute to our formation of a vision for Caspar, please provide them in electronic format for posting here. The sooner, the more useful.