Matt wrote elsewhere:
We caught Zuber after the meeting.
MY COMMENTS: Bruce Bergen wasn’t there Tuesday night, so after the meeting, which had no “public comment” portion, Matt and I went up to the FH seating area and spoke with the Vice Chairman, Sergio Granados (very friendly: “call me Sergio…”) Sergio then saw Ron Zuber leaving the room and called him up to speak with us. I wished them Happy Thanksgiving and thanked them for repairing the erosion damage on the trails in the WR.
Matt: My take on last night is that Ron echoed more of what has been said - basically IF the new map & plan is approved and then IF the trails can be made and IF riding is then allowed on those new trails based on the new plan, only then we will be riding back there.
Ron stated that the FH had asked for more information after the engineering firm prepared revised plans and I had the impression that that would be quickly forthcoming. He indicated that there was one section where the horse trails and the MTB trails “conflicted”.
Matt: No timeline. Even asking for general guidance on a timeline was like I asked him to wire me a few $k.
I asked Ron Zuber: “How about NOW?” Ron said he was getting a lot of feedback from the older hikers, who do not want to share ‘their’ trails. Ron mentioned that there would be plenty of work to do on the new trails and it seemed like he expected the MTB community to follow through on our expressed intention to put in sweat equity.
Matt: He was nice and everything but to me it didn't seem like anything was happening too fast. Supposedly the freeholders are trying to wrap their head around this "new sport" before committing to anything. That's close to a direct quote.
Sergio was quite friendly and said that the FH all supported opening the trails. At that point, I walked 20 feet to the right and pointedly stared at the nameplate of Bette Jane Kowalski, who had skipped the meeting. She had previously expressed opposition to MTB.
I think things are moving forward, but “money talks and…” We should keep making our voices heard at each and every FH meeting until the trails are open.