January 21, 2010




	ROARING CREEK VALLEY CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION Minutes of January 21, 2010 Monthly Meeting The meeting was called to order by President Wayne Petro at the Southern High School in Room 102. President Petro reviewed the Association’s accomplishments in 2009 that included the watershed tour, Hellbender Half Marathon, watershed boundary signage and clothing with the Association’s logo. Also noted were projects for 2010 such as the rain-garden, stream monitoring and the bank erosion project. The December minutes were read and accepted. The treasurer’s report was given by Vickie Zackowski. A balance of $5048.47 is on hand. Old Business: Following Mike Zackowski’s suggestion that the group begin to plan for the 2010 Hellbender Half Marathon, the race committee will meet in Room 102 at the Southern High School at 6:30 pm for a race committee meeting prior to the February monthly meeting. All interested parties are welcome to attend. Dan Brassington will chair this project. A check will be sent to the American Hose & Chemical Company in Mt. Carmel for their assistance in the 2009 Hellbender race. Mike Zackowski noted that he had created some order forms to track the Association’s clothing sales. President Petro provided pricing for polo shirts with the Association’s logo. The prices are $11.20, $12.90 and $20.95 depending on the type of material. He will verify whether these are long or short sleeve shirts for the next meeting. Mary and Jim Kirk will attend a meeting regarding stream bank erosion on the South Branch of Roaring Creek on February 16. Following discussion of paying a stipend to speakers who give presentations to the Association, Mike Zackowski made a motion to pay a flat rate of $25 to said speakers. The motion passed. This motion is intended to supersede Dave Prescott’s motion which passed at the March 19, 2009 meeting; Association speakers would be paid a stipend based on the IRS reimbursement rate with the maximum set at $25. New Business: 2010 Association membership renewals can be paid. Leon Shoup questioned whether the Association would consider 7½ consecutive years of individual membership to be converted to a Lifetime membership. General discussion on the topic followed. As the dues and membership structure are governed in the bylaws, any changes would have to be proposed and voted upon in accordance with the bylaws. Water quality monitoring in the watershed was discussed. It was noted that the group last performed the stream monitoring 2+ years ago [Fall of 2007]. Discussion included the increased housing construction within the watershed should move the Association to perform annual monitoring. Drawbacks to monitoring include training of the group so the testing would be standardized, the expense of quality monitoring equipment and accurate documentation of the testing process when many different participants would be involved. If the group would decide to perform monitoring, a long term plan will need to be established. The group has contacts at both Bucknell University and Bloomsburg University. Bucknell is performing monitoring and research within the Weiser State Forest and members of the Bloomsburg faculty have been involved in past monitoring within the watershed. Other discussion included a water budget which relates water flow and precipitation [Secretary Note: water budget reflects the relationship between input and output of water through a region]. An example of the use of water budget studies could relate to drilling for gas. How much water would be used for drilling and could the stream’s flow support the drilling? Mary Ann Haladay Bierly noted that she would be willing to offer workshops on activities such as snowshoeing and use of GPS (Global Positioning System). In addition, Mary Ann offered to host the May 20 Association meeting on wildlife gardening at her home in Fisherdale. Her home is located next to the Methodist Church and the meeting will begin at 6:30 pm. Motion to adjourn was made by Mike Zackowski. Motion passed by concensus. Wayne Kashner Secretary