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From: the William B. Umstead Park Volunteer Coordinator [today]:

To Friends of William B. Umstead State Park.

Greetings,

We have received a $20,000 grant from REI to fund the Repair and Re-staining of our Group Camp Buildings. There are 104 Buildings in the 4 Group Camps. Joe Lugiano, the Park’s volunteer coordinator has surveyed each of the buildings and identified the repairs that will be required before we can re-stain each building.

These buildings where built from rough cut lumber, that was milled on-site from the Park’s own trees, by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) crews in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Over the years, maintenance has been performed sporadically on these buildings. As a result, you may have noticed the deterioration of these buildings over time. So when the opportunity arose to apply for this grant, Dale Tiska and Jason Flemming, Outreach Coordinators for the Raleigh and Cary REI Stores, assisted us in sponsoring the grant application.

The key element of each REI Grant, is the stipulation that a large part of the work should be performed by volunteers and the grant be used to purchase materials (lumber and stain).

This is where you come in. As a User / Friend of the Park, we are planning to begin this work quickly with an objective of having the majority of the work done in the 3 Group Camps that are currently being used by June 2011 and the remainder of the work (for the 4th Group Camp) by the end of 2011.

Two demonstration Cabins on Wednesday, August 25th, using some key volunteers and Park staff. The purpose of this work was to determine the best approach to take in performing the needed repairs. The primary work will involve removing rotted siding and support columns, replacing them with new siding (Rough Cut Cyprus) and re-staining the whole building.

We will use this core group of experienced volunteers to do the more detailed repair work, prep for Volunteer Groups, and supervise Volunteer Groups during scheduled work days.

As you can imagine, there are a large number of jobs for Volunteers. We will schedule Saturday work days for Volunteers / Groups, as weather permits, throughout the next year.

The key work to be done involves: Removing old siding, salvaging the good portion for use as short replacement boards, removing nails from the old siding, moving siding to the buildings where needed, placing scrap siding in trash tracks, installing the new siding, prepping the buildings for staining (removing cobwebs, mud & dirt, flaking paint, masking surfaces not to be stained), Staining Crews (mixing the stain, moving ladders, staining and clean-up), and general cleanup and ground clearing. In addition, a food and beverage support team will be needed to distribute fluids and preparing lunches (for all day work crews).

While the REI Grant was generous, we know that the work will require additional resources. The Umstead Coalition has offered financial and volunteer support. If you know of additional partnerships that might be available, it would allow the remainder of the work to be completed with all buildings repaired and protected for the next 20 years.

If you are interested in participating in a Volunteer Work Day please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will keep you informed of our work schedule. If you have a group that would like to do a work day, please provide your contact information and dates when you might be available to work. If you can provide additional support in any way for this project, please provide contact information so we can discuss your interests.

We will follow up with each response to identify schedules, equipment that might be needed, number of people available, skill levels of the group, and the possibility of additional work dates.

Thanks for your past interest in William B. Umstead State Park. We know that this work will make a huge impact on the usability of these facilities for many years to come and something that you will be able to say you had a major part in performing.

Jean Spooner, Chair

The Umstead Coalition

Cc:

Scot Letchworth, Superintendent, William B. Umstead State Park

Joe Lugiano, Chairman, William B. Umstead Park Advisory Committee

Jack Singley Park Ranger William B. Umstead State Park 919-571-4170 919-571-4161 (fax)

E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.