POTOMAC APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB 118 PARK STREET, SE VIENNA, VA 22180 COUNCIL MINUTES Tuesday, 11 February 2014 7:00 PM The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club s (PATC) regularly scheduled Council Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM on 11 February 2014, at the Club Headquarters building by President John Hedrick. Attendance: Club Officers: John Hedrick, President; Edna Baden, Staff Director; Joe Lombardo, Treasurer; Lee Sheaffer, Vice President-Operations; Dick Hostelley, Vice-President-Volunteerism; Jon Rindt, Supervisor of Trails; Ric Francke, Supervisor of Lands; Mel Merritt, Supervisor of Facilities/Cabin Operations; Rick Canter, Supervisor of Membership; Rush Williamson, Supervisor of Activities, Janis Stone, Supervisor of Marketing Committee Chairs: Pete Brown, ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership; Chris Brunton, Blackburn Trail Center; Chris Firme, Hikes/Ridge Runners; Brian Goudreau, Maps; Lee Manning, IT Committee; Tom Johnson, Archivist; Tom Lupp, A.T. Corridor Chapter Representatives: Brian Heflin, Northern Shenandoah Valley Chapter Section Representatives: Steve Weiss, SMRG Other Attendees: none I. Members Comments to Council: There were no members that expressed an interest to address Council. II. General Management A. President s Remarks (John Hedrick) 1. John recently met with the Superintendent of Shenandoah National Park, who wanted agency partners to meet with his new boss. While there, they went up to the upper old parking lot at Old Rag. We believe the Park is going to move on the initiative to build a parking lot on the PATC land. 2. Recruitment announcement is on the street seeking Steve Baer s replacement. 3. The National Park Service was not hit as bad as expected in the budget negotiations and expects budget cuts since sequestration restored to 2012 levels. Another good sign is that NPS is currently bringing on seasonal workers. B. Staff Director s Remarks (Edna Baden) 1. Headquarters Capital Projects a. Energy efficient Mini-Split system installed to replace the aging HVAC system. b. Currently soliciting bids for film application on windows that do not have any emphasis being place on the nine south windows and one downstairs door. 2. Audit 1
a. Clean up and organization of Finance Office is 90% complete. Will begin preparation for the auditors who are scheduled for April 23; special consideration has been given since the last audit to address issues of Internal Control, including but not limited to, Accounts Reconciliation, Segregation of Duties, Property and Equipment Records, Revenue Recognition, and Bears Den. b. Proposed policies and procedures are being developed for EXCOM and Council consideration to address some of these issues, including Internal Control and Transparency of Finances. 3. New Partnerships a. National Geographic PATC will set up a table at Jennifer Pharr Davis presentation next Thursday. Will also be meeting with Lisa Kopp from Visitor and Volunteer Services this Thursday, weather permitting, to possibly expand the partnership to include, staff volunteering, educational programming and/or hikes at Bears Den and/or Blackburn. b. U.S. Fish and Wildlife is currently developing an e-bird kiosk program along certain trails. More to follow. 4. A Vanguard account has been established at the request of Bob Goldberg to facilitate the transfer of stock shares equal to $100,000. This donation is to improve access to the Tuscarora Trail in the vicinity of Rt. 16 in PA. C. Secretary s Report (Tom Avey) - The December Council meeting minutes were unanimously approved by vote of Council. D. Treasurer s Report (Joe Lombardo) - The FY 2013 Profit and Loss Budget and Actuals was distributed to Council. Joe will develop a cash flow analysis for 2013 to determine actual profits. III. Trails and Lands A. Vice President for Operations (Lee Sheaffer) 1. The 2015 Biennial contract with Shenandoah is ready to present to Shenandoah University. 2. MOU with ATC for the Biennial is still being worked, PATC is going back to ATC with suggested changes. 3. Planning for the Biennial hikes and excursions area 85% complete and need to be finalized by September 2014 for publication and advertising. 4. (Jayne Mayne) Working on the AT Section Hikes. Looking for information on trail head issues, lunch spots, history. GPS Rangers have volunteered to survey hikes. Brian will put together maps and profiles. Also looking for a history expert(s). B. Supervisor of Trails (Jon Rindt) 1. Recently held the annual Trails meeting with SNP. 2. The chainsaw workshop in April will be limited to re-certifications. 2
3. Ice has been a problem, last storm hit MD and PA pretty bad. GPS Rangers visited trails in VA and damage was not as bad as expected. C. Supervisor of Lands (Ric Francke) Ric distributed information to Council regarding the Tuscarora Trail where it crosses the Hawbaker property at the top of Tuscarora Mountain on Route 16 and options being explored for purchase. Phil Paschal is talking with the Thomas family to develop a second option. D. Supervisor of Facilities (Mel Merritt) 1. Shelters (reported by John Hedrick for Henry Horn) a. Replacing logs at the Old Rag Shelter in SNP which will be reimbursed by SNP. b. Also working on Crampton Gap Shelter. c. The new Dicks Dome Shelter has been approved and will be built with funding from a grant from REI. PATC will also need to open up old road and remove the old shelter. It is proposed that the old shelter be moved to Bears Den to support overflow. d. Kennedy Observation Tower Have developed a bill of materials. Currently looking at the NPS for air lift support as well as a mule train. 2. Cabin Operations a. With recent low temperatures there have been reports of frozen pipes. However temperatures have not seemed to affect rentals as cancellations have been typical for the winter season. b. High Acre Cabinets have been installed in the new kitchen, currently working on trim work. The flooring has been donated by A.T. Moore and is antique heart pine from a cordage factory in Plymouth, MA. c. Little Cove Bathroom is currently being renovated. d. Council is invited to visit the Horwitz property (33 acres) on 1 Mar, that PATC is looking into purchasing. Purchase of this property might help with trail access to the Mt Marshall trail and might provide a conservation easement. e. Purchase of the Cunningham Falls cabin has been approved by MD Board of Public Works. A lease arrangement for the cabin will be similar to that of the Catoctin cabin. f. PATC will not be renewing the lease on the Catoctin cabin. g. Blackburn Trail Center (Chris Brunton) (1) Only lost on renter so far this season. (2) Blackburn will host the Cabin Committee and Overseers meeting on 12 April. h. Bears Den (Dick Hostelley) No report. (1) The roof and chimney have been fixed and insulation put in the attic. (2) The Arborist has made one trip up to Bears Den and will visit again next weekend weather permitting. (3) PATC has received approval from ATC to add a generator. Will be meeting with the local Utilities to determine an appropriate size. ATC will be funding this as a capital improvement. E. Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership (MA-RPC) (Pete Brown) 1. The Spring MA-RPC meeting will be 22-23 March at Catoctin Mountain State Park. 3
2. The Waynesboro Trail Town designation ceremony will be 26 April. 3. John Hedrick mentioned that in the 14 States the AT crosses, our portion of the trail crosses two RPCs. The southern portion of Virginia falls into the Southern Virginia RPC. PATC currently has no voice within that partnership. John will be going down to visit the SVa-RPC in April to express a desire to sit at the table and have a say where money is spent. IV. Membership, Volunteerism, Training and Communications A. Vice President of Volunteerism (Dick Hostelley) 1. Beginning 25 February, Pat Fankhauser will be on extended leave into April (approx. 6 weeks). Anne Shimko will be filling in Mon-Tue-Thu-Fri. B. Supervisor of Communications (Alan Day) No report. C. Supervisor of Membership (Rick Canter) 1. Membership dropped down last month below 7000 from 7021 to 6986 with 4116 being dues paying members. 2. Rick petitioned Council to submit material for Volunteer of the Month. D. Supervisor of Marketing (Janis Stone) John Hedrick introduced Janis Stone to Council. Janis is currently the District Manager for Bull Run Mountain and will be filling in as Supervisor of Marketing. E. Supervisor of Activities (Rush Williamson) 1. PATC has supported 3 events so far this year. Next week PATC will be at the Jennifer Pharr Davis presentation at National Geographic. In March there are 6 events planned and 15 others through June. Rush will publish a schedule with week to sign up as Trail Talkers. 2. Rush would like to start a Scouting Trail Talkers group. If interested, contact Rush. V. Other Items A. Publications () No report. B. Trail Land Acquisition (Phil Paschall) No report. C. Conservation (Russell Riggs) No report. D. North Chapter (Bob Wise) No report. E. Land Management (Bill Downes) 1. Piedmont Environmental Council has inspected the stream crossing at John s Rest. There is a major blockage of rainbow trout so new stream crossing will be designed and built. 2. The Annual Lands Committee meeting will be 15 March at Little Cove. 4
F. MD AT Management (Rick Canter) 1. At the 21 January MD AT Management Committee meeting the main topic was the recent shelter fire. 2. ATC is turning over 2 easements along the Thurston Griggs trail 3. Ice damage was reported along the ridgeline around Middleburg but it was not bad. 4. Next meeting of the MD AT Management Committee is 4 March. G. Hikes/Ridge Runners (Chris Firme) 1. There have been 21 hikes this year. 2. Ridge Runner application process has closed for 2014. PATC received 21 applications. H. SMRG (Steve Weiss) 1. Since the last Council meeting, SMRG was requested to provide "remote support" for a search in Halifax Co, VA. This is the first time this service has been requested of SMRG. 2. In January, SMRG held their annual membership meeting and elected new officers. Steve Weiss remains Chair (and thus serves on Council). Trisha FitzGerald remains our Ops Officer and will continue her interactions with staff related to the SMRG trailer and other issues pertaining to PATC facilities. I. Trail Patrol (Murry Moskowitz) No report. J. AT Corridor Management (Tom Lupp) First Saturday in Jun will be new monitor training at Bears Den. There is currently one (1) vacancy for PA north of Big Flats. K. Mountaineering Section (Dave Giacomin) No report. L. Maps (Brian Goudreau) 1. The new editions of Maps 4, G, are missing an insert map, working on this update prior to sending to print. 2. GPS Rangers data is piling up on web site. Working on collecting in a database during the next 1-3 months. M. Grants and Donations (Susan Nelson) no report. N. Information Technology Committee (Lee Manning) 1. Currently planning to replace computers of PATC HQ staff and in process of collecting bids. 2. Coordinating Internet and social media efforts amongst staff and committees. O. Archives (Tom Johnson) Twenty years of records will be retired to Records Archive and placed in storage boxes on 22 March with complete index. 5
P. North Shenandoah Valley Chapter (Brian Heflin) Expecting 20 members to new chapter meeting this month. Meeting will be held on 27 Feb in Front Royal at the Daily Grind. Adjourned: 8:45 pm Respectfully submitted by Tom Avey, Secretary, PATC 6