March 2001 Meeting Minutes

PACD Executive Council Meeting
Holiday Inn, Grantville
March 14, 2001

Welcome (Long)
PACD President Frank Long (Blair) welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for participating in Capitol Day activities.

Roll Call (Hoople)
PACD Secretary Phyllis Hoople (Crawford) called the role. There were 25 counties represented which constituted a quorum.

Minutes of November 1, 2000 (Hoople)
The Secretary asked if there were any corrections to the minutes of the last meeting.

Motion to approve the minutes of November 1, 2000 by Clark (Montgomery) and seconded by Slosky (Washington). Motion approved.

President's Report (Long)
President Frank Long (Blair) stated that the Executive Board is following up on the strategic planning activities that took place last fall. He asked for greater participation in PACD activities. We received a lot of good feedback on the plan at the Region Meetings. Please continue to share your thoughts and concerns. Thank you for participating in Capitol Day and helping us get the word to Legislators. PACD is expecting to continue to take major steps forward and we want you to continue to lend your support and share your ideas along the way.

Executive Director's Report (Fox)
PACD Executive Director Susan Fox presented a written report of her activities for the period November 2, 2000-March 14, 2001 and highlighted some of these including:

• State Legislative and Funding Initiatives;
  
• PACD Representation (state and national);
  
• Meeting Planning;
  
• Region Meetings (The Executive Director attended all of the region meetings and presented a summary of the strategic plan. PACD is setting up a task force to address PACD meetings and other activities. If you have an interest in participating in the task force, please get in touch with Susan Fox or Ron Rohall);
  
• Training/Outreach and Public Relations (Ms. Fox encouraged districts to attend the Local Motion workshops in April. The Local Motion training will help attendees establish a business plan. Districts who send teams of 3 are eligible for travel reimbursement. A new conservation district exhibit and accompanying brochures have been developed. The exhibit is available for loan);
  
• Administration & Management (PACD has submitted a second Growing Greener Grant application for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Cost-Share Program to continue administering the Program).

NACD Report (Fox)
Patricia Sueck, our NACD Director is unable to be with us today due to surgery. We wish her a speedy recovery. PACD is looking for volunteers to work with legislators at the federal level. We would like to have one contact person for each US Congressman and Senator. Please contact the PACD office or Pat Sueck.

Treasurer's Report (Duvall)
PACD Treasurer Porter Duvall (Jefferson) provided a Year-to-Date Report of the PACD operations budget (revenue was $317,259.41 and expenses were $234,353.08).

The PACD Endowment Fund contains $536.96 in interest. PACD will be working to increase the principal amount. The Building Fund account contains $60,252.26 plus $2000 in pledges.

Motion to accept the PACD Treasurer's report by Clark (Montgomery) and seconded by Horn (Sullivan). Motion approved.

Reports from PACD Committees

District Operations Committee (Fox)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

There was a presentation at the meeting on a building project in Harrisburg. Resolutions and Bylaw changes from the committees were presented.

Finance Committee (Duvall)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

There was a discussion related to the mission of the Finance Committee. The Finance Goals were established to coincide with the PACD Bylaws.

The following Bylaw changes were recommended:

• Article II-Organization, Section 4 Duties of Officers: The duties of the PACD Executive Board shall be to develop an annual budget, with the assistance of the staff, for final approval by the Executive Council.
  
• Delete Article 3, Section 8, #5 Finance committee shall oversee the Endowment Fund.

Fundraising was also discussed.

Motion to accept the report of the Finance Committee by Duvall (Jefferson) seconded by Beck (Cambria). Motion approved.

District Employees Committee (Bower)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

No one was present to provide a report of the committee meeting.

Motion to accept the minutes of the District Employees committee by Mankamyer (Somerset) seconded by Marbain (Cumberland). Motion approved.

Education & Youth Committee (Bates)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

A letter was drafted to NACD expressing concern over the new poster contest sizing requirements. The MOU between the PACD and the PA Dept. of Education has been drafted and is being processed. A signing ceremony is anticipated for July. DEP Environmental Education Grants have been revised; it includes a $1000 mini-project allowance for conservation districts. The Education and Youth Committee is willing to provide support to other PACD committees.

Motion to accept the report of the Education and Youth Committee by Rituper (Northampton) seconded by Slosky (Washington). Motion approved.

Public Relations and Publicity Committee (Hoople)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

The timing for the PACD awards has changed. The awards program will take place in July this year. Judging took place during this March meeting. PACD welcomes assistance with securing sponsors for the awards program, conferences, breaks, etc.

The USDA photo gallery is available for our use. It contains free images in 16 major categories as JPEG of TIFF files. Districts can also submit their own photos to build a local library (photos are $1.25 each). Contact Stacy Mitchell at NRCS for more information.

The Committee also discussed developing a "Ways of Giving" brochure for the Endowment Fund. Susan Fox, Phyllis Hoople and Stacy Mitchell will work on the copy. Jackson Graphics has volunteered time to develop a 2-color, 3-panel layout.

Motion to accept the report of the Public Relations and Publicity Committee by Hoople (Crawford) seconded by Mankamyer (Somerset). Motion approved.

PACD Award Winners
Secretary Phyllis Hoople read the report of the winners of this year's PACD Conservation Awards:
Ann Rudd Saxman - W. Ray Ketner (Berks)
Conservation Educator - James Edwards (Bucks)
Conservation Farmer - Stan and Cyndi Bucher (Lebanon)
Conservation Organization - Brokenstraw Fish and Game Club (Warren)
County Commissioner/District Director - Randy Degenkolb (Indiana)
E&S Pollution Control - RNS Services Inc. (Cambria)
Legislator of the Year - Representative Gary Haluska (Cambria)
Media Conservation - Grant Heilman Photography Inc. (Lancaster)
Special Conservation Service - Harry Meyer (Washington)
Watershed Protection - Swatara Creek Watershed Association (Lebanon)
William Lange Urban Conservation Award - R. Jeanne Sonntag (Lancaster)

Soil & Water Committee (Rohall)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

The following resolution was presented from the Committee:

Motion by Rohall (Westmoreland) seconded by Marbain (Cumberland) that the PACD members agree that they will vote at the PACD Annual Meeting (Wednesday July 18, 2001) on a resolution that states that conservation districts will discontinue the Chapter 105 Conservation District Delegation Agreement as of December 31, 2001.

There was a discussion of the resolution. Some of the points included:

• Agree with message but very much disagree with the method
  
• Looking at history we have grown with support of partners.
  
• How will this look to DEP on the 16th floor? Will it appear that PACD is fostering a mass walk-out?
  
• Every Board needs to make an individual decision on the program. PACD is sending the wrong message for a mass walk-out.
  
• Maybe they do need a wake-up call. Resolution should not be on the books that PACD has done this.
  
• Westmoreland has experienced the need to drop a program because the district did not have adequate funding. Then they received the funding.

The resolution was defeated.

Motion to accept the report of the Soil and Water Committee by Rohall (Westmoreland) seconded by Lockhart (Indiana). Motion approved.

Rural and Urban Land Use Committee (Marbain)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

Additional information on House Bill 90 & 91 will be provided in July. Jeff Kelly provided information on comprehensive planning. There were questions about how to plan across county lines. Between now and July, please look into Act 67 & 68, it could help urban areas.

Motion to accept the report of the Rural and Urban Land Use Committee by Marbain (Cumberland) seconded by Rituper (Northampton). Motion approved.

Forests, Recreation & Wildlife Committee (Rohall)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

Jefferson Conservation District will present a concise resolution that addresses ATV advertising at the July PACD meeting. ATV activities potentially threaten stream buffers.

The Committee presented the following resolution:

Motion by Rohall (Westmoreland) and seconded by Slosky (Washington) that the PACD encourage the PA Game Commission to take advise from their own staff on white tail deer management and season bag limits for white tail deer. Motion approved.

The Committee presented the following resolution:

Motion by Rohall (Westmoreland) seconded by Clark (Montgomery) that the PACD establish a task force to explore the potential to become an aggregator for a statewide carbon sequestration program and to work in partnership with Pennsylvania's 66 conservation districts to implement the program. Motion approved.

Motion to accept the report of the Forests Recreation and Wildlife Committee by Rohall (Westmoreland) seconded by Beck (Cambria). Motion approved.

Legislation Committee (Fox)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

The committee discussed what legislators told them during visits that morning. Some Senators have agreed to explore increasing the CDFAP. The PACD position paper on Act 217 was sent out to all conservation districts. The Sub-Committee will meet again to go through the comments and make revisions to the paper if necessary.

In the state assembly, water resource management legislation is a hot issue. DEP will conduct forums on this issue. Senate Bill 149 and House Bill 539 are getting a lot of attention. The contents of any proposed bill can be accessed at www.legis.state.pa.us. However, this site does not provide information on the status of the bill.

It was suggested that PACD develop a position on large livestock operations.

Motion to accept the report of the Legislation Committee by Rohall (Westmoreland) seconded by Bowser (Fayette). Motion approved.

Technology Committee (Magargee)
For a detailed report of the committee meeting, please see the minutes.

Computing access reporting forms: CTC looked into automating reporting to help streamline reporting requirements. Anti-virus software has been provided to all districts through Fred Fiscus at DEP. The NRCS photo gallery was also discussed at this committee. Districts should provide Fred Fiscus with e-mail changes and he will update the global e-mail list. The PACD web page can be used to access various forms. The forms have been converted for easy downloading. Net meeting software can be used on a small scale for teleconferencing.

Motion to accept the report of the Technology Committee by Bates (Delaware) seconded by Rituper (Northampton). Motion approved.

Nominating Committee
The President appointed the following nominating committee: Dave Mankamyer (Somerset), Bob Wagner (Lancaster), and Patricia Sueck (York).

Reports from Conservation Partners

NRCS (Smith)

1. CREP is operating in 20 counties. Currently there are 12,000 acres going into contract. Over 30,000 acres in the pipeline. Goal is 100,000 acres by September 2002.
2. US Farm Bill will be written next year. Make your wishes known now.
3. NRCS is updating its policy on October 1, 2001 for nutrient management planning. Phosphorus will be the new basis for planning in addition to nitrogen. NRCS in PA has requested an extension to January 1, 2003.
4. NRCS 2002 budget details will not be available until April. It will be difficult to tell how Farm Bill will shake out.
5. Keep up the local contacts, especially since PA is not going to NACD Legislative meeting in Washington DC this year.
6. Agriculture Management Assistance Program (AMA) is a pilot program in 12 states in the northeast to supplement crop insurance. Program will be active within six months.

State Conservation Commission (Goodlander)
These topics will be on this afternoon's agenda:

1. Reallocation of $136K of PDA funding for districts for ACT technicians and Farmland Preservation
2. 1999 Audit update (all but one district has submitted their audit)
3. Leadership Development and Growing Greener
4. Reorganization of the DEP Water Management Deputate
5. Chesapeake Bay Advisory Committee update (roles) Over 1300 Nutrient Management plans have been submitted.

Over 800 of these are CAOs. Districts continue to participate in the Nutrient Management mini-grant program. 14 low interest loans have been provided to farmers to help install best management practices. SCC has paid over $150,000 in incentives to develop nutrient management plans. Grants are being provided to farmers statewide. The Commission is continuing its efforts with PSU related to research on phosphorus-based nutrient management plans. They are working on a new Nutrient Management Delegation Agreement for next year. The areas related to duties and reimbursements in the Agreement will be evaluated. Major effort and progress is underway with the districts' help in the Dirt and Gravel Roads program.

PACD Auxiliary (Long)
The poster contest was discussed this morning. Cash prizes and certificates will be awarded. The scholarship deadline is June 15. Information concerning the bakeless bake sale will go out within the next week or so. PACD auxiliary needs more members-Directors please bring your spouses.

Building Project Discussion (Miller)
The Executive Board has reviewed the mission of the organization, the strategic plan, and developed a list of criteria related to the building including square foot needs, location, etc. There are four options:

1) Stay where we are and rent;
2) Secure a building lot within 2-5 miles of downtown and build our own building;
3) Move downtown to the Furlow Building; or
4) Purchase our own building and renovate.

A cost analysis was done for each of the four options. We calculated the average annual cost over a 20-year period. The most expensive option was the Furlow Building rental project at $70,625; our present rental would be $66,979; building a new building would be $66,457 (although this depends on lot availability); and purchasing a building $32,308.

Recap on the building we are interested in: within two blocks of the capitol, 12,500 square feet. PACD will use 2,500 square feet with the remaining space available for rental income.

Motion by Miller (Erie) seconded by Clark (Montgomery) that the body authorizes the PACD Executive Board to continue the feasibility study on the building at 319 Market Street in Harrisburg, PA and if all figures remain feasible then the Executive Board may finalize negotiations. Motion approved.

If items do not come through, or if sellers are not agreeable to tax write-off, or if there are additional unforeseen expenses, etc., then the Executive Board would not move forward.

Motion to adjourn the meeting at 11:10 am.