Pennsylvania Cave Conservancy Meeting Minutes for May 7, 2006 This is a summary of the minutes of the meeting. The meeting was called to order at 9:30 am by President Pat Minnick at the American Legion Campground in Franklin County. The following officers were present: President P. Minnick Vice President C. Catherman Secretary K. Bange Treasurer G. Bange Representation was as follows: Bald Eagle Grotto JD Lewis Baltimore Grotto --- Bucks County Grotto Pat Richards Buffalo Valley Grotto Matt Neyhart Central New Jersey Grotto --- Commander Cody Caving Club --- Franklin County Grotto Pat Minnick Greater Allentown Grotto Dean Snyder Huntingdon Co. Cave Hunters ---- Nittany Grotto Chris Catherman Philadelphia Grotto Amos Mincin Pennsylvania Inner-Earth Grotto ---- Pittsburgh Grotto ---- Seven Valleys Grotto Gretchen Williams York Grotto Dale Ibberson There were other individuals present Secretary Report: The minutes from the February 2006 meeting were accepted as published in the Breakdown with one correction made. Under New Business the first sentence should read “Dale Ibberson gave a brief history of Stony Valley, a 44,373 acre roadless wilderness area in Central Pennsylvania.” Treasurer Report: George Bange reported on the PCC financial status. PCC has a total of $6,103.46 Web Page: Dave Fricke gave an update on the PCC web site. The site still continues to receive inquires and increase in visibility in the caving community with more listings on caving-related link web sites. The latest feature to the PCC web site is an addition of a page showing submitted T-shirt designs for the 25th PCC anniversary. Submission deadline is February 2008 with T-shirts to be printed in the spring of 2009. T-shirt designs can be submitted to Dave for posting on the PCC web site. Additional items for the PCC web site are welcome. PCC Breakfast: The Cathermans once again coordinated the PCC breakfast. The breakfast brought in $220. The Fall MAR field meet is being at a KOA campground complete with an eatery. After some discussion it was voted to have no PCC breakfast at the fall MAR field meet. PCC Brochure: George Bange reported on the PCC brochure inventory. There are 5 packs of brochures left with the correct contact information. George gave approximately 2,000 brochures, with incomplete contact information, to Mike Spencer who volunteered to put labels on these brochures with the correct contact information. Anyone interested in brochures should contact George Bange. OLD BUSINESS: Project List: Baker Caverns: Franklin County, PA - No change in status or access; the property remains for sale. J-4: Centre County, PA - status quo Red Church Cave: Schuylkill County, PA - No change in status Merkle Cave: Berks County, PA - No change in status Cleversburg Cave: Franklin County, PA - Pat Minnick reported that on June 10th there will be a work day at the cave to work on improving the steps into the cave and adding plexiglass to the kiosk. The cave currently is full of water. FCG will be monitoring the water level monthly and posting the level on the FCG website. There is no change in the key status. Corker Hill: Franklin County, PA - Amos Mincin reported there is no update to the survey. Amos did have an updated map of the cave at the meeting. There has been no contact with the landowners. Schofer Cave: Berks County, PA - no report Durham Cave: Berks County, PA - Nate Hirneisen inquired about the status of this old pulp mill and the possibility of the township making the area into a park. Frank Eckert is the contact person for the cave. Penn Aqua: Mifflin County, PA - George Bange gave an update on the property which remains for sale. George spoke to the owner this past week. The asking price for the house, 8 acres of land and the cave entrance is $165,000. It seems the neighbor is considering purchasing the land. PCC will continue to monitor the situation. Karen Bange will be doing a presentation May 13th for Women Of The Outdoors. The presentation will be on caving and cave conservation. She has put together a PowerPoint presentation which will be added to the PCC library. Dale Ibberson gave an update on Stony Creek. Dale has met with Governor Rendell and other top administration officials regarding the land. It seems all of coalition’s demands are being met except for Fort Indiantown Gap will use 1,400 acres of the land 90 days a year. This area will not be fenced or have signage but the Gap will close road access into the area during these days. Everyone is encouraged to access the Stony Creek website and send emails to the governor in opposition to Fort Indiantown Gap using the land for military maneuvers. Karen Bange distributed forms for grottos to use to update and/or change grotto representative information. Next meeting: The next meeting of the PCC will be on Sunday October 8, 2006 at the Fall MAR Field Meet at 9:30 am. The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 am Respectfully submitted, Karen Bange, Recording Secretary