Pennsylvania Cave Conservancy Meeting Minutes for May 5, 2013 This is a summary of the minutes of the meeting. The meeting was called to order at 10:10 am by President Pat Minnick at the Woodward Cave Campground, Woodward, PA The following officers were present: President P. Minnick Vice President C. Catherman Secretary G. Schock Treasurer G. Dunmire Representation was as follows: (*** Note – 100% Grotto Participation! ***) Bald Eagle Grotto Brian Ulrich Baltimore Grotto Kim Fleischmann Bucks County Grotto Steven Warneck Central New Jersey Grotto Amos Mincin Commander Cody Caving Club Mike Mostardi Franklin County Grotto Pat Minnick Greater Allentown Grotto Dean Snyder Huntingdon Co. Cave Hunters Derek Flaig Nittany Grotto Paul Winter Philadelphia Grotto Amos Mincin Seven Valleys Grotto Gretchen Schock York Grotto Randy Hurst Secretary Report: The minutes from the February 2013 meeting were read and accepted as published in the April 2013 MAR Breakdown. Treasurer Report: Gary Dunmire reported that earned interest was added to the account and a $400.00 fee was paid for the PCC tax exempt status. Web Page: The PCC web page continues to be up and running. The county stewards have been posted as well as the latest PCC meeting minutes. The Restricted Cave Listing has been updated with the PA Longest and Deepest Cave listings from the PA Cave Database provided by Tony Canike. Any comments or corrections should be directed to Dave Fricke and Tony Canike. PCC Breakfast: Despite some temporary equipment malfunctions, the PCC breakfast was a success with 65 people served and $305.00 donated to the PCC. The pancake grill will require some maintenance prior to the PCC breakfast during the upcoming Fall MAR Field Meet. Pat Minnick will transport the equipment and supplies to Gary Dunmire’s home to be stored until the fall. A special thank you goes out to Philadelphia Grotto and Commander Cody Caving Club for donating extra food for the breakfast. PCC Brochure: Anyone interested in obtaining brochures should contact George Bange. Mail: Dean Snyder stated there was nothing new to report. 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: Tony Canike provided information to Dave Fricke which was posted on the PCC web site. Amos Mincin has reviewed the published list and provided corrections to Tony. OLD BUSINESS: Project List: Dragon Cave (Berks County, PA) – Dean Synder stated there is nothing new to report. Relations with the cave owner continue to be good. Red Church Cave (Schuylkill County, PA) – Dean Synder indicated there is nothing new to report. Dean has the key to the cave gate and is available to lead a few trips per year. Interested individuals must be NSS members. Merkle Cave (Berks County, PA) – Dean Snyder reported ongoing attempts are in process to contact the cave owner and gain visitor access to the cave. Cleversburg Cave (Cumberland County, PA) – Pat Minnick reported that Tom Feeney, the lead for ongoing scientific study in Cleversburg cave, will be leading a geology bus tour during the upcoming NSS convention. Schofer Cave (Berks County, PA) – Dean Snyder acquired new contact information from the Game Commission and is attempting to obtain a face to face meeting to discuss gaining access to the cave. Corker Hill and Frustration Pit (Franklin County, PA) – Amos Mincin has recently done some surveying of the cave. He reported that more work is required to complete the survey and he hopes to complete the survey prior to the upcoming convention. Peiper Cave (Cumberland County) – No new issues to report. Joe Schock will be on site to monitor the cave during the upcoming 2013 NSS Convention. Anyone interesting in gaining entry into Peiper Cave should ALWAYS contact the cave owners, Kim and Ed Kehs Sr., for entry permission and to complete the required waivers prior to gaining entry to the cave. Dreibilbis Cave (Berks County) – Owner relations continue to be good and the cave is available for trips. Mike Mostardi or Bill Schultz can be contacted and will act as a trip leader when needed. J4 Cave (Centre County) – Gary Dunmire has requested some information from Graymont and is awaiting a response. PCC Tax Exempt Status: Gary Dunmire has filed the forms to re-establish the PCC’s tax exempt status and is awaiting a reply/confirmation. PCC Grotto membership: Any grotto is welcome to apply to join the PCC. The PCC would like to stress the importance of a grotto representative being present at all meetings in order for the PCC to obtain a quorum and continue to conduct business. NEW BUSINESS: Fall MAR 2013: Nittany Grotto will be hosting the Fall MAR field meet on September 27-29, 2013 at Lincoln Caverns in Huntingdon, PA. Additional information and details can be found on the MAR website. 2013 NSS Convention: Amos Mincin and Kim Metzger are compiling a list of available caves and related information including travel times for the upcoming NSS convention literature. Volunteers are still needed for the convention! Please contact co-chairs Gordon Birkhimer or Craig Hindman (chair@nss2013.com) if you are available to help. Additionally, Matt Saltzer and Gordy Ley are still looking for volunteers to lead caving trips during convention. If you are available to lead a trip, please contact them as soon as possible (cavetrips@nss2013.com). PCC presence at 2013 NSS Convention: Amos Mincin reported that a 29” flat screen television will be set up on the PCC table which will display a continuous loop of PCC related activities. There are also plans to create a large PCC banner for the front of the table. If anyone will be available to man the table during convention please contact Amos. CaveSim: Dave Jackson of CaveSim LLC in Colorado sent a request to local caving organizations requesting donations to offset traveling expenses associated with transporting CaveSim to the upcoming 2013 NSS convention in Shippensburg, PA. Amos Mincin moved and Kim Fleischmann seconded that the PCC donate $100.00 to CaveSim. The motion passed. Gary Dunmire will contact Dave Jackson to obtain information regarding where to send the check. Additional information about CaveSim can be found at www.cavesim.com/news. DCNR Karst Maps: Christopher Catherman reported that DCNR quad karst maps are available to be downloaded from the DCNR website free of charge. Next meeting: The next meeting of the PCC will be held at the Fall MAR field meet at Lincoln Caverns in Huntingdon, PA on Sunday September 29, 2013. Meeting time 9:30 am. Amos Mincin moved and Derek Flaig seconded to conclude the PCC meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 11:04 am. Respectfully submitted, Gretchen (Red) Schock, Recording Secretary