POTOMAC APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB 118 PARK STREET, SE VIENNA, VA COUNCIL MINUTES Tuesday, 11 December :00 PM

Transcription

1 POTOMAC APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB 118 PARK STREET, SE VIENNA, VA COUNCIL MINUTES Tuesday, 11 December :00 PM The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club s (PATC) regularly scheduled Council Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM on December 11, 2012, at the Club Headquarters building by President John Hedrick. Attendance: Club Officers present: Vice President-Operations, Lee Sheaffer; Vice President- Volunteerism, Rick Canter; Acting Supervisor of Trails, Jon Rindt; Supervisor of Lands, Ric Francke; Supervisor of Marketing, Shirley Schulz; Supervisor of Membership, Alan Day; Treasurer, Jay Jupiter; General Counsel, Charles Sloan; Secretary, Anne Shimko; Committee Chairs: Pete Brown, ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership; Rush Williamson, Alternate ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership; Thomas Lupp, AT Corridor Management / MD AT Management (Co-Chair); Tom Johnson, Bear s Den (Overseer); Justin Lavigne, Bears Den Center (phone); Chris Brunton, Blackburn Trail Center; Mel Merritt, Cabins Operations; Russell Riggs, Conservation; Susan Nelson, Grants and Donations; Chris Firme, Hikes; Bill Downes, Land Management; Brian Goudreau, Maps; Murry Moskowitz, Trail Patrol; Lee Manning, IT Committee; Chapter Representatives: Bob Wise, North Chapter; Section Representatives: Court Zabel, Mountaineering; Staff: Wilson Riley, Staff Director; Other Attendees: Tom Avey, incoming Secretary; Dick Hostelley, incoming Vice President for Volunteerism; Jayne Mayne, 2015 Biennial Hikes Chair (Attachment #1) The Agenda items were addressed but not in the (Attachment #2) order during the meeting. I. Members Comments to Council: There were no members who wanted to speak to the Council. II. General Management A. President s Remarks (John Hedrick) 1. The incoming ExCom members are in attendance tonight. ExCom members stepping down: Catherine Kelleher, Supervisor of Trails; Jack Adams, Supervisor of Facilities; Jim Tomlin, Supervisor of Communications; Anne Shimko, Secretary; and Randy Motz, Supervisor of Activities. Thank you for your service. Thanks to the incoming ExCom members: Dick Hostelley, Vice President of Volunteerism; Mel Merritt, Supervisor of Facilities; Rush Williamson, Supervisor of Activities; Tom Avey, Secretary; Jon Rindt, Supervisor of Trails; and the continuing ExCom members. 2. ACTION ITEM: PATC Agreement with Robert N. Goldberg (Attachment #3). (APPROVED, 1 nay, 0 abstentions). a. Future bequest to PATC. Mr. Goldberg is establishing a bequest to PATC for the preservation of natural space and open lands. B. Administrators Remarks (Wilson Riley) Page 1 of 6

2 1. Upcoming Staff changes: Wilson is attending his last Council Meeting. Wilson will be finalizing the staff evaluations before his departure, so Council Members should be prepared to complete the forms. Wilson is asked to return for the Council Meeting in February to be recognized for his many years of service to PATC. His last day will be identified once a new Staff Director is hired. 2. John indicated that the part-time work on Lands will end at the end of the year and other adjustments are being made to staff due to funding concerns. C. Secretary s Report (Anne Shimko) 1. ACTION ITEM: (APPROVED, 0 nays, 0 abstentions). Minutes from October 9, 2012 Council Meeting approved by Council with the members providing their input via . D. Treasurer s Report (Jay Jupiter) 1. ACTION ITEM: Motion for Revision of Employee Handbook regarding Health Benefits (APPROVED, 0 nays, 0 abstentions) (Attachment #4) a. Previously passed motion regarding the waiting period of service for staff. Need to revise the wait period and shorten it to 3 months (90 days). 2. ACTION ITEM: Motion for Approval of PATC Operating Budget for 2013 (APPROVED, 0 nays, 0 abstentions) (Attachment #5) a. Discussion and Concerns i. Elimination of the funds for the next App. Contractually required to enter negotiations if the App reaches a certain sales number. Budget will start at zero, but Council will be open to amend the budget if necessary for the new App development. ii. Cabin Capital Expense - #13, considerable reduction from last year s allocation. The request for Lambert Cabin was removed. Cabin s is trying to finish the final repairs to Lambert and Little Cove Cabins. The floor in Lambert is rotting and Cabin s will need the funds to repair the floor in End of year donation drive for Capital account is anticipated to cover the costs. 3. The Endowment was drawn down by $250,000 this year. Some of the grant money that has been received will be offsetting the withdrawals. III. Trails and Lands A. Vice President for Operations (Lee Sheaffer) 1. Reminder for those members that work for the U.S. Government: Sign up for the Combined Federal Campaign - PATC s number is ACTION ITEM: Motion to approve the Lease between Trustees of the Margaret M. Vining Trust and PATC. (APPROVED, 0 nays, 0 abstentions.) (Attachment #6) 3. ACTION ITEM: Motion to approve the Lease between Mutton Hollow, Inc. and PATC. (APPROVED, 0 nays, 0 abstentions.) (Attachment #7) B. Supervisor of Lands (Ric Francke) 1. Sale of the Conservation tax credits of the Shaver Hallow property should receive funds December 21 st. Anticipate receiving $88,660 net due to the increased demand for tax credits. Page 2 of 6

3 C. Supervisor of Facilities (Mel Merritt for Jack Adams) 1. SHELTERS a. Charlie Irving Shelter working on getting helicopter shuttle to take materials to site. b. Dick s Dome New shelter possible. 2. CABINS OPERATIONS (Mel Merritt) a. Blackburn Trail Center (Chris Brunton) i. Will need to repaint the roof of the trail center. Tin roof has rust spots. ii. Center is very busy. Renters scheduled every week. The Caretakers are remaining to keep an eye on things. iii. Access road - long-term contractor decided to retire but not alert anyone. Increased funds have been included in next year s budget to fix the road. b. Bear s Den (Justin Lavigne) i. The number of guests for the past couple of months on par in comparison to last year or better Calendar is filling up for both the Lodge and the campground. ii. Bear s Den website is updated and a Facebook page started. iii. Hosted long-distance Hiker workshop with ATC. There are 25 people already on a waitlist. Planning a 2 to 2 ½ day workshop for next year. iv. Received new signs for the facility and will be hanging them soon. v. New pay for parking system keeping people accountable. Cars need to have a ticket in the car window and turn in an envelope. vi. Engaging with the local community. Free parking passes were issued to the local community to park. Several members declined and agreed to support Bear s Den. vii. Next Bear s Den committee meeting scheduled for January 12th. c. Old Rag (Tom Avey) i. Foundation footings installed in November. Mel recommended putting straw in place. ii. December work trip to be held December 15th. iii. Mel presented Tom with gifts (old tools) to prepare logs. d. Highacre i. Cadillac Crew s annual December work trip put in over 240 hours clearing the yard and doing repairs in the house. e. Michner Cabin car damaged at cabin. Hopefully an isolated incident. f. Michaux State Forest Michaux is offering PATC an old house that served as a hunting lodge. Includes a barn and lake. Holding initial discussions with the Forest. One item on the table is the leaky roof, which the Forest said it would fix. D. Acting Supervisor of Trails (Jon Rindt) 1. For the most part, the trails have been cleared since Hurricane Sandy. The Tuscarora still has a lot of work to recover. 2. Meeting to be held next week with the C&O Canal about the use of chainsaws in the park. 3. Upcoming meeting with representatives of George Washington and Jefferson National Forests to be held in Roanoke, VA. Page 3 of 6

4 IV. Membership, Volunteerism, Training and Communications A. Vice President of Volunteerism (Rick Canter) 1. Need volunteer of the month submissions! Need submissions for March Volunteer of the Month, going forward. 2. ACTION ITEM: Motion for Holiday bonus pay for our Headquarters employees. (APPROVED, 0 nays, 0 abstentions) (Attachment #8) a. The 2012 bonuses are budgeted for. b. A bonus pool will be established for next year and bonuses will be based on performance. B. Supervisor of Membership (Alan Day) members up from 6498 from last report. 2. The Annual dinner was a success. 3. Alan transitioning from Membership to Communications. C. Supervisor of Marketing (Shirley Schulz) 1. New membership brochure is available. Please take some to pass out. 2. Members should have received Holiday Greetings from PATC. Shirley has received responses from the greeting Holiday gift special for a $20 purchase at the PATC store, the buyer receives a free lanyard. 4. REI a. Rockville REI Customer Appreciation Days. PATC was present. b. Last REI presentation for 2012 will be at Bailey s Crossroads. c. The REI events in 2012 have been successful, reaching over 600 people and handing out about 300 information packets. d. Thirteen REI events are already scheduled from January to July. 5. Circuit Hikes in Shenandoah is ready for print and will be available soon. 6. Tuscarora South is being revised. Tentatively scheduled for the printer before the end of the year. V. Other Items A. Russell Riggs, Conservation Keeping an eye on the fiscal cliff and sequestration process and how it will impact federal agencies, such as the Forest Service and Dept. of Interior. If budgets are cut, the ability to maintain parks, etc. will be significantly reduced. B. Jay Jupiter, Treasurer PATC trademark has been approved. C. Tom Avey, Lincoln Loggers - National Trust for Historic Preservation article on the move of the Hancock, Maryland cabin to the Old Rag site. The article was posted on the National Trust s website and had a malware attached to it. Text version of the article available and will be sent to Council. Article will be sent to Lee Manning so he can post it on the PATC website. D. Alan Day, Supervisor of Membership Wolf Trap Trail Crew. Blazing was done last month. Last item to finish is a boardwalk. The crew will be taking a break for the winter. Wolf Trap will do an article and post on its website. Page 4 of 6

5 E. Chris Brunton, Blackburn Trail Center - Article in the October 2012 Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. Headline article on surviving the roller coaster, part of Chris section of the AT. F. Lee Sheaffer, Vice President, Operations Biennial a. Met with Shenandoah University. Draft contract should be available in January. Signed contract should be completed by March. Contract needs to be shared with ATC. b. Forming a Steering Committee. c. Lee introduced Jayne Mayne who has volunteered to be the Hikes Chair. G. Chris Firme, Hikes 2013 Ridgerunner Application is available on-line. Deadline for submission is January 31, H. Pete Brown, Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership 1. Signed on for Luray Page to be designated an Appalachian Trail Community. 2. The idea of installing emergency posts was flatly rejected. 3. The National Park Service has approved a power line through the Delaware Water Gap. ATC is fighting it. 4. Rush Williamson has volunteered as an alternative representative to the MA-RPC. I. Tom Lupp, Corridor Management 1. Pam Underhill has retired. 2. Filled a new monitor position for the Park Service for a section of land the Park inherited from the Nature Conservancy, east of Hightop Mountain. The 800 acre parcel was just surveyed during the summer. 3. John Hedrick went out and surveyed with two paid Corridor Monitors, Joel Baker and Nicole Wooten. Found hidden deer stands which are now being addressed. 4. Corridor Managers are working on GPS locations for monuments. J. Susan Nelson, Donations 1. End of year fundraiser. Letter sent out to members. 2. A second letter was sent to non-members that rent PATC cabins addressed as Dear Friend. K. Court Zabel, Mountaineering Section 1. With the winter, members are climbing weekly in gyms. Ice climbing trips are scheduled. 2. Over 100 people attended the holiday party. Conducted a photo contest and gave out the first Annual Awards for Service. Received a donation of golden Carabineers to give out as awards. L. Tom Johnson, Archives 1. One wall of the library is full of old shelter and cabin log books. Tom shared story of a member who was looking for references of an AT through hiker who disappeared. The member was able to find entries and put together memories for the disappeared hiker s family. 2. Identify a grant to see about scanning the shelter and cabin logs to preserve them. M. Chuck Sloan, General Counsel PATC re-domestication done. Page 5 of 6

6 N. Brian Goudreau, Maps 1. Map 10 update, scheduled to go to printer in January. 2. Maryland, Northern VA iphone App should be available soon. Map G is being digitized, North Massanutten. 3. New measuring wheel is available. Need to sign out. GPS is okay for putting a line on a map, but not for getting an accurate distance. The measuring wheel works best. O. Shirley Shultz, Supervisor of Marketing - Physical inventory will be held December 22nd at 9:00am. Come on out to help. P. Dick Hostelley, incoming Vice President of Volunteerism Luray-Page Appalachian Trail Community Designation Day. Possibly scheduled for the same day as the Spring Festival Weekend. Typically draw crowds of 7,500 people, with about 100 vendors and 5 to 6 bands. PATC can set-up a booth in front of the outfitter shop. Q. Rick Canter, MD Trail Management Sub-Committee 1. November meeting held. An item of discussion was the problem of long-horn steers getting out of their pen and surprising hikers south of MD 77. The land owners have been contacted. 2. Fox Gap a. Two phase plan to eliminate the current parking lot. Create a fence. Plan is to eventually move current parking lot and reforest area. b. MD sign is now officially approved in its new location. Adjourned: 8:48pm Anne Shimko Secretary Page 6 of 6