PACD Executive Council Annual Meeting
Seven Springs Resort
November 10, 1999

Welcome

The meeting was called to order by President Patricia Sueck at 8:07 a.m.

Roll Call

The Secretary, Ron Rohall completed the roll call. There were 24 districts in attendance. This constituted a Quorum.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The Secretary asked if there were any questions on the minutes from the previous meeting.

Motion to approve the minutes for the meeting of July 30, 1999 by Laite (Mifflin), seconded by Clark (Montgomery). Motion approved.

PACD Reports

President’s Report (Sueck)

• President Sueck expressed her concern about the future of agriculture. She stated inappropriate messages are being aired on TV and sited other reasons for concern.
• President Sueck reviewed her quarterly schedule of meetings.
• Sueck has been appointed to two NACD Committees: 1) District Outlook Committee—What is the status of districts in the U.S.? 2) Linkage Task Force- NACD’s work with the states.

Executive Director’s Report (Fox)

See written report.

NACD Report (Wagner)

The NACD Annual meeting is Jan 29-Feb 3, 2000 in Colorado Springs. All but one Pennsylvania district paid some dues. President Sueck thanked Bob for his efforts. The Council applauded.

Treasurer’s Report (Brenneman)

The Treasurer reviewed the Profit and Loss statement for the period July 1-November 3, 1999. Gross Revenue was 207,9888.29 and Gross Expense was $135,465.73. Net Income was $72,275.54. The Treasurer told Council that questions from districts regarding specific income and expenses should be directed to Kathleen Banski. The Treasurer reviewed the Balance sheet; there was $566,884.52 in Assets and Equity.

Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report by Brenneman (Mercer), seconded by Laite (Mifflin). Motion approved.

Election of PACD Officers

Robert Wagner, George Hildebrandt and Victor Cappucci were on the nominating committee. The Nominating Committee made the following nominations:

President: Frank Long (Blair)
^1st VP: Ron Rohall (Westmoreland)
2^nd VP: Jarrett Miller (Erie)
Secretary: Phyllis Hoople (Crawford)
Treasurer: Keith Eisenhart (York) and Jay Book (Dauphin)
NACD Director: Pat Sueck (York)

There were no additional nominations from the floor. The Nominating Committee passed out ballots for the election of a Treasurer. As a result of the voting, Keith Eisenhart was elected Treasurer.

Motion to accept the remaining slate of officers by Bowser (Fayette), seconded by Cappucci (Wyoming). Motion approved and new officers elected.

Mr. Long thanked everyone for his or her support. He told the audience he listens and will try to do the best he can.

Conservation District Funding Proposal

Executive Director Susan Fox explained that PACD prepared separate funding proposals for PDA and DEP. However, the two proposals are interrelated and compliment each other. For example, salary cost share amounts in the DEP proposal compliment the PDA proposal amount providing the full amount needed by districts. The Executive Director highlighted the DEP Proposal and then the PDA Proposal. There was a question for clarification. According to Deputy Secretary David Hess, the DEP portion of Growing Greener will be used to help fund conservation district watershed coordinators.

Motion to accept the PACD 2000/2001 funding proposals by Clark (Montgomery), seconded by Miller (Erie). Motion approved.

Approval of 1999 Policy Positions

The 1999 draft policies were distributed 30 days prior to this meeting. Executive Director, Susan Fox reviewed the 1999 additions: Page 7 Comment from the floor to insert the word "Draft" in regards to the Agenda on line 7; Page 10 #7 Concern was raised on the floor with the language "and for any other reason" in the code of ethics. Council determined this code has been adopted, as written, on the national level, no changes were made; Page 13: #3, #4; Page 14: #19; Page 20: #6; Page 24: Typo: Natural [National] Resource; Page 33: Appendix D. (The entire Appendix D is new).

Motion to accept the 1999 PACD Policy Positions by Slosky (Washington), seconded by Dumm (Cambria). Motion approved.

PACD Committee Reports

Finance (Brenneman)

PACD Treasurer Gene Brenneman reminded the audience that the PACD fiscal year begins on July 1. Counties are on a calendar year. In years past this created some confusion for districts. District dues notice is being sent out earlier so districts can budget and plan. The Committee is pleased with the accounting methods but made some suggestions for improvement. Staff has met with the auditor. PACD expects to work with auditor later this month to complete the audit. The Treasurer complimented the Expo efforts.

There was a suggestion from floor from Dr. Clark that the PACD financial reports for the meetings should be generated on a cash basis (i.e. Committee meetings and Executive Council). Miller explained that the accrual system includes accounts receivable. This can be misleading.

It was moved by Clark (Montgomery), seconded by Miller (Erie) that for the purposes of the PACD meetings, the financial reports be on a cash basis and all official reports will remain on an accrual basis. Motion approved.

It was moved by Long (Blair), seconded by Laite (Mifflin) to strike PLIGIT from the recommendation reflected in the minutes. Motion approved.

Motion to accept the report of the Finance Committee by Brenneman (Mercer), seconded by Javornik (Indiana) Motion approved.

The Treasurer gave a Building Fund update. The value of the account is $15,162.30 (including pledges and donations). Securing a building may help to improve the PACD image. David Mankamyer from Somerset Conservation District announced the intent to pledge $1000 in memory of Joseph Johns who has recently passed away. Gene Brenneman thanks the council for allowing him to serve as Treasurer and expressed his enjoyment while serving over the past couple years.

President Sueck announced the following additional Building Fund income generated during the annual meeting: $1,017 from the Silent Auction; approximately $340 from the raffle; and $1240 from pledges and donations.

Education & Youth

No report given. Council was asked to review committee minutes.

Motion to accept the report by Fitz (Franklin), seconded by Dewing (Bradford). Motion approved.

Public Relations & Publicity (Stouffer)

Lorrie Stouffer gave a report of the meeting.

Motion to accept the report by Javornik (Indiana), seconded by Kulp (Chester). Motion approved.

Soil & Water (Wedde)

Ken Wedde gave a report of the Soil and Water Committee. The Non-Coal Mining MOU discussed in the report expired in 1992.

Motion to approve the report by Wedde (Northampton), seconded by Clark (Montgomery). Motion approved

Rural and Urban Land Use (Marbain)

Ms. Marbain thanked everyone for coming. She pointed out the many materials that are available regarding Brownfields. Ms. Marbain attended several conferences recently. Please contact her if you have an interest in Land Use materials or information.

Motion to accept the report by Marbain (Cumberland), seconded by Kulp (Chester). Motion approved.

Forestry, Recreation & Wildlife (Rohall)

Ron Rohall invited anyone interested in helping to develop a deer management resolution to participate. (Please note: Request from Rob Piper to remove his name from the Committee attendance list. He did not attend this meeting).

Motion to accept the report of the Forestry Committee by Rohall (Westmoreland), seconded by Slosky (Washington). Motion approved

Legislative (Olson)

Jim Olson reflected back on his early days working with districts. He pointed out only one district had a district manager and the state Association’s Treasurer could carry PACD’s finances in his pocket. The committee had a resolution to make recommendations to SCC on how audits are conducted. The resolution was that PACD supports annual audits to be conducted in a timely manner and be completed by October.

We think that there will not be any action during this legislative session on Growing Greener. We need to be sure that you are conversing with your legislators so they know what your position is on Growing Greener. See the PACD resolution for its Growing Greener position. Keep the concepts in mind; don’t get bogged down with specific details and bills. Make sure the concepts get into the legislation.

Motion to accept the report of the Legislative Committee by Slosky (Washington), seconded by Kulp (Chester). Motion approved

Legislative Information is available electronically at: www.legis.state.pa.us

Mankamyer made comments regarding Growing Greener and pointed out that there are only 3 days left in this session. Directors need to make sure staff understands their position.

The new PACD resolution on Growing Greener proposed to be adopted today is the following:

PACD supports the concept of Growing Greener that contains the following principles.

1. A non-lapsing fund directed toward the environment that can be used for local conservation activities.
2. Funds for grants to conservation districts for local conservation efforts and for conservation district watershed coordinators.
3. The ability of conservation districts to sub-grant.
4. The flexibility of conservation districts to utilize grants for projects that address local priorities.

Motion to adopt the PACD Resolution on Growing Greener by Mankamyer (Somerset), seconded by Dumm (Cambria). Motion approved.

Technology (Moulton)

Jack Moulton showed a power point presentation of pictures from the joint annual conference.

Motion to accept the report of the Technology Committee by Long (Blair), seconded by Mankamyer (Somerset). Motion approved.

District Operations (Fox)

Four districts in the southeast will host the 2000 annual conference. PACD will have a major role in planning this event, including negotiating contracts.

Motion to accept the report of the District Operations by Dumm (Cambria), seconded by Wedde (Northampton). Motion approved.

SCC Report

Congratulations to staff for the meeting and a successful Expo. Karl Brown emphasized the importance of financial accountability. He pointed out that at least one legislator in the Senate is concerned about financial accountability of districts. District program and records have grown.

The SCC will send letters to districts regarding their audit status. It is important that districts submit their audits to SCC.

Dirt & Gravel Roads program is on a learning curve. Lots of activity is going on. 42 districts have come forward to do mapping. Many have received GIS assessment training at Penn State.

Yesterday the Secretary of Agriculture emphasized the importance of the $1 million from Department of Agriculture being used for conservation related to production agriculture.

The SCC is pleased with outreach and planned review process for Nutrient Management. Compliance strategy includes enforcement. Nutrient Management allocations have been increased.

A lot of training has been done with Dirt & Gravel Roads, Leadership Development, GIS and other opportunities. We need to make sure Directors and staff have the tools they need.

Go back and encourage district directors to attend the PACD meetings. Keep up the good work.

Special thanks to Pat Sueck, outgoing President, for all her efforts over the past two years.

NRCS (Robin Heard)

Ag Appropriation Bill has been passed. Prohibition to combine NRCS staff with FSC or similar organizations. Allocation analysis is still being done. We continue to hope for a supplemental provision dealing with Hurricanes Floyd and Dennis. Much dissatisfaction has been expressed regarding disaster assistance.

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program will be administered by FSA. Governor has come to an agreement and is ready to sign. Looking for a place to have a signing ceremony.

NRCS will take care of the technical assistance part.

Thanks to the directors, managers and other staff with the workload analysis effort. The information has many important uses. Capital area RC&D application has been submitted. If approved, all areas of Pennsylvania have a RC&D. Ms. Heard thanked everyone for all the work. She thanked President Sueck for her work and also thanked the committee chairs that are leaving.

PACD Auxiliary Report (Olson)

The Auxiliary has decided to continue to sell the soil kits at Penn State Ag in the Classroom. For more information contact Sara Long. The dues were increased from $3 to $5. They selected 5 poster winners and gave the winners $50 each. Cumberland CD provided $250 and Indiana CD gave $50. The Books were audited.

The following officers were elected: Sara Long, President, Marge Koon, Secretary, and Helen McMillan, Treasurer.

There was an auction during the meeting. President Sueck served as auctioneer. A beautiful hand-painted sweatshirt donated by Jan Hampton (Cameron CD) brought in $70. It was purchased by Keith Eisenhart.

Other

President Pat Sueck thanked Murray Laite for his service. He will no longer be serving as County Commissioner Director on the Mifflin County Conservation District Board.

Bernie Hoffnar thanked President Sueck for all her efforts on behalf of the DEP.

Susan Fox thanked the entire Board for all their work and in particular Pat Sueck.

Motion to adjourn the meeting.