Sylvan- more to come- want to help?!
I don't think anything I've been involved with in the 12+ years with FORC compares to the success of bringing Sylvan Island back to good. When Becky B.- who had been taking time off work to attend Moline Council and Park Board meetings found out the bridge was coming, She, Jon, Kurt, Meg, Sorya and I (over drinks) decided we couldn't wait for the bridge to open to begin work- we wanted trails open on day one and that meant we had some difficult obstacles to overcome.
As we planned and schemed on how to make that happen, the great people of FORC volunteered so many hours, so much labor. Early on we were hauling all of our tools and a 10' flat bottom to the rivers edge- rowing across, unloading, working, reverse that to get back... it took twice the effort to do the same amount of work- but FORC members came through as you always do. Heck, who new FORC had a NAVY?!! FORC has the best trail builders in hundreds of miles, and when they all show up for trail work you can bet the house things are gonna get done and be awesome!! It has been sincerely amazing and an honor to be a part of this fantastic success.
When we started this, I made it clear to our core group that once Sylvan was back to good- I would want to pass the stewardship over to someone who has a longer attention span than I do, knowing that my attention would be needed elsewhere. Sorya and I bought a house on an acre that hasn't been maintained or updated for many, many years. I have a pile of brush larger than most 2 car garages waiting for Davenport to have a burn day, 300 feet of retaining walls that are failing, peeling paint, fugly soffits, post lights that mismatch, everything is crooked and my OCD goes batcrap crazy every time I pull in the driveway. The list goes on and on!
For these reasons, I would like to pass the torch of Sylvan Island Steward to another- maybe you.
What's involved? Moline has quarterly Sylvan planning meetings you should attend and work towards their goals while sharing/protecting ours. This may include proposing ideas- such as a skills area for striders, placement of more pumps bumps and rollers and maybe an area with progressively larger drops to practice on. As a steward you are a member of the FORC board and would provide trail reports, determine open/closed status as you see fit, schedule maintenance and manage the maintenance budget, arrange clearing of downed trees and weedeating, and most importantly- foster the feeling of ownership among users so that you have help and support from both the Dirt Crew and the public.
Its not a ton of work and you will have a large number of people who want to help continue to develop this truly great urban park. Sorya and I, Bex and Jon, Kurt and Meg- all would like to continue as part of your dirt crew. We just need a fearless leader who likes Dr. Pepper. 
Plus- as an insider- you'll get the inside jokes... like the Dr. Pepper.
I can continue as steward for a bit until we have a volunteer... is that you?
If you are interested- get with me, Forcmeister or Paul Struck and lets chat. If you aren't sure who we are, ask around. One of us is generally everywhere now days.
Thank you to everyone who spent some time helping get Sylvan ready. You made this project an incredible success.
-Vibrato
Believe in yourself? Well sure, of course. But be aware that "believing in myself" has been the root cause of most of my injuries.
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"I feel sorry for people who don't do this." -Badfish41- after bombing the Hermosa's at Levis Trow.
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