Pennsylvania Cave Conservancy Meeting Minutes for June 10, 2012 This is a summary of the minutes of the meeting. The meeting was called to order at 10:04 am by President Pat Minnick at the Rupert Cave Preserve, Mcveytown, PA The following officers were present: President P. Minnick Vice President C. Catherman Secretary G. Schock Treasurer G. Dunmire Representation was as follows: Bald Eagle Grotto --- Baltimore Grotto --- Bucks County Grotto Dean Snyder (proxy) Central New Jersey Grotto --- Commander Cody Caving Club --- Franklin County Grotto Pat Minnick Greater Allentown Grotto Dean Snyder Huntingdon Co. Cave Hunters --- Nittany Grotto Gary Dunmire Philadelphia Grotto Amos Mincin Seven Valleys Grotto Gretchen Schock York Grotto --- There were not enough grottos represented for a quorum. An unofficial meeting did take place. The following was discussed: Secretary Report: The minutes from the February 2012 meeting were read and reviewed as published in the April 2012 Breakdown. Treasurer Report: Gary Dunmire reported the three CD’s purchased with PCC funds currently have an approximate value of $1,077 each. The $12 PCC web page fee was paid. Web Page: No report. No known changes. PCC Breakfast: There are plans to have a PCC breakfast at the upcoming Fall MAR. There are several rolls of tickets in the existing PCC supplies that can be used for breakfast sales. The tickets will be provided to Dean Synder so they can be sold during the Fall MAR registration. Pat Minnick agreed to organize the PCC Breakfast. In the event Pat will be unable to attend, Dean will coordinate with Pat to have the supplies dropped off early. PCC Brochure: Anyone interested in obtaining brochures should contact George Bange. Mail: Dean Snyder reported that three CD notifications were received and provided to the PCC treasurer. No other correspondents were received. Greater Allentown Grotto provided funds to pay the cost of the post office box this year. A request for PCC to cover the following year’s cost may be presented at a later time. Christmas Cards: Karen Bange continues to manage the yearly distribution of Christmas cards to cave landowners. Contact Karen if you have a landowner you want added to the Christmas card list. T-shirts: Gary Dunmire continues to have PCC 25th anniversary T-shirts available at $15 each (approximately $17.65 with shipping). Dean Synder also has older PCC shirts available for sale at $5 each. PA Cave Database: Keith Wheeland reported that he received updated Franklin County information that will be provided to Tony Canike. Tony continues to act as the Database Steward and coordinates cave information with the various County Stewards within the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Anyone interested in being a County Steward should contact Tony Canike, the Database Steward. The current list to date is as follows: Berks County Mike Mostardi Blair County Derek Flaig Centre County Paul Winter Clinton County JD Lewis Cumberland County Ken Jones, Pat Minnick, & Don Arrowood Franklin County Ken Jones, Pat Minnick, & Don Arrowood Fulton County Ken Jones, Pat Minnick, & Don Arrowood Huntingdon County Garrett Czmor Lebanon County Brett Johnson Lehigh County Mike Spencer Lycoming County JD Lewis Mifflin County Todd Hancock Northampton County Mike Spencer York County Brett Johnson OLD BUSINESS: Project List: Dragon Cave (Berks County, PA) – Dean Synder stated he has received reports the cave owner is both friendly and unfriendly. Dean expressed an interest in obtaining access to the cave for the upcoming Fall MAR. Red Church Cave (Schuylkill County, PA) – Dean Synder indicated that there have been discussions regarding constructing a retaining wall to prevent dirt from sliding down and covering the entrance. Currently, the entrance must be dug open each time a trip is planned. Dean stated he has plans of constructing the wall this summer then approaching the PCC for reimbursement of the material costs. Merkle Cave (Berks County, PA) – Dean Snyder continues to have access for work at the cave but has not visited recently. Cleversburg Cave (Cumberland County, PA) – The scientific study is ongoing and the water levels are being actively monitored. A geology trip is planned for the 2013 NSS convention. Schofer Cave (Berks County, PA) – Dean Snyder stated there were no known trips recently. Durham Cave (Bucks County, PA) – Dean Snyder reported that the cave is open and available for trips. Corker Hill and Frustration Pit (Franklin County, PA) – Pat Minnick reported the current landowner is using the property for agriculture. No formal agreement has been established with the landowner at this time. It is requested that all cave trips be arranged through Franklin County Grotto via their website. Tippery Cave (Huntingdon County) – No update was given. Peiper Cave (Cumberland County) – No update was given. Dreibilbis Cave (Berks County) – Cave is open and will be available for trips at the Fall MAR. J4 Cave (Centre County) – Gary Dunmire reported Graymont did not reject the adjustments made to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Nittany Grotto plans to make arrangements for a meeting with Graymont in the near future to possibly finalize the contract. The MOU will be between Graymont and Nittany Grotto. Some of the expected costs that will result from the proposed agreement will be the initial cost of a cave gate, annual cost of insurance, and annual survey expenses. Contributions to offset these costs can be routed through the PCC. NEW BUSINESS: Fall MAR: The 2012 Fall MAR will be hosted by Greater Allentown Grotto at Crystal Cave in Berks County, PA on September 28-30, 2012. Primitive camping will be available on site. Event T-shirts will be available for purchase for $8 each. There will be a PCC Breakfast available for purchase on Sunday morning. Additional information about the upcoming MAR field meet can be found on the MAR website: http://www.caves.org/region/mar Next meeting: The next meeting of the PCC will be at the Fall MAR field meet held at Crystal Cave, Berks County on Sunday September 30, 2012. Meeting time 9:30 am. The meeting was adjourned at 10:48 am. Motion made by Paul Winter and seconded by Bryan Crowell. Respectfully submitted, Gretchen Schock, Recording Secretary