ROARING CREEK VALLEY CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION

Minutes of November 19, 2009 Monthly Meeting

President Wayne Petro called the meeting to order.

For the record, the October 2009 meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather.

The September minutes were read. Minutes stand approved as read.

The Treasurer’s report was given by Vickie Zackowski and showed a balance of $5823.37. Report was filed for audit.

Kristen Vitkauskas gave a report on the Bacterial Monitoring project conducted during the summer of 2009.  The results showed impaired stream segments on both North and South Branches of Roaring Creek near their confluence. These results will be listed on the 2010 report to the EPA. This lead to another discussion on the Susquehanna River and its impact on the Chesapeake Bay.

Old Business:

The first Hellbender Half Marathon & 5K race netted a profit of $2970. The members extended their appreciation to Dan Brassington for taking ownership of this project.

A motion by Ralph Evans to donate $100.00 each to the Susquehanna Ridgerunners, the Roaring Creek Valley Quick Response unit and to the American Hose Company in Mt. Carmel for their assistance to the Association in the success of the Hellbender Half Marathon & 5K race.  This motion was 2^nd by Dan Brassington. The motion passed.

The fall foliage tour was deemed a success with 25 participants. Thanks were extended to Cathy Haffner and Wayne Petro for their efforts.

The initial phase of the watershed signage project has been successfully completed.  The Association wishes to single out the Knoebel’s employee (whose name is unknown at this time) for his assistance in erecting a sign at a particularly difficult location.  Mr. Petro is following up on the placement of one additional sign along the township road on the Beishline property along Old Reading Road.

Following much discussion, Mark Deibler made a motion to purchase 48 shirts and 12 hats bearing the Association logo at cost not to exceed $500.00.  This was 2^nd by Dan Brassington. The motion passed.

New Business:

Nominations for vice president and secretary offices were conducted. Kristen Vitkauskas and Wayne Kashner, respectively, were the only nominees for these offices. Leon Shoup moved the nominations be closed, 2^nd by Joanne Deibler.  The motion passed.  The elections will be formalized at the December 2009 meeting.

The December meeting will be held at the stone house at the McWilliams Reservoir in the Weiser State Forest at 7:00 pm.  Attendees will bring a covered dish, a beverage and their own place setting. Both gates will be utilized for this meeting, opening at 6:00 pm.  The Association will host Dr. Matt McTammany, aquatic ecologist at Bucknell University who will talk on Bucknell University’s field monitoring along the South Branch of Roaring Creek.

Jim and Mary Kirk have agreed to handle the Association’s correspondences for thank you cards, recognition of new members, etc. 

Cathy Haffner noted that possible new construction at the Southern school may provide an opportunity to incorporate and promote creative and innovative ways to control the effects of storm water runoff.  Ideally, the time to address these issues is during the planning phase.

A motion was made by Joanne Deibler to donate $250.00 to be listed as a sponsor for the Susquehanna Valley Envirothon to be held May 4, 2010.  Mary Ellen Beaver provided a second.  The motion passed.  The Envirothon encourages environmental knowledge in areas that include soils, wildlife, forestry and aquatics.

President Petro asked for suggestions for the 2010 meetings in order that an itinerary may be developed. This can include meeting locations of interest as well as speakers.

A motion to amend the bylaw Article IV, Section 1 was discussed to allow some flexibility in scheduling meetings at places of interest that may be located outside of the watershed.  The current bylaw reads: Monthly meetings will be held the 3^rd Thursday of each month, including the annual meeting in December, at a location within the Roaring Creek Watershed as designated by the officers.  The monthly meetings may alternate between business meetings and presentations on a topic of relevance to the objectives of the Association. 

The proposed change would read:  Monthly meetings will be held the 3^rd Thursday of each month, including the annual meeting in December, at a location as designated by the officers.  The monthly meetings may alternate between business meetings and presentations on a topic of relevance to the objectives of the Association. 

The bylaw amendment proposal will be voted at the December meeting.

Motion to adjourn was made by Mark Deibler and 2^nd by Mike Zackowski.

Wayne Kashner

Secretary