2008 Minutes
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PSCLA Minutes
Dates of Minutes included below:
10/26/08 5/24/08
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Meeting Minutes 10/26/08
Castanea Fire Hall
Pres. Martin Salinas – P Director Ron Kephart - P Director Tom Livingston - P
Vice Pres. Doug Sellers- P Director George Conklin - P Director Sid Mentzer - P
Treasurer John Green – P Director June Krumrine - P Director Mike Walker – P
Secretary Chris Fox – A Membership Chair Dick McKinney – P
Treasurer's Report by John Green:
John Green gave the Treasurers report with a balance of $__________. A copy is available to any member upon request. Please contact Treasurer John Green.
Membership Committee Report by Dick McKinney:
Dick McKinney reported that membership is________. A copy is available upon request. Please contact Membership Chair Dick McKinney.
The meeting was called to order by President Salinas at 1:10 PM.
New Business:
1. PSCLA has purchased a list of addresses of camp lessees for $2.00 instead of having to pay $1.00 per seven names.
2. Certain townships across the state are charging lessees a fee for refuse removal regardless if the lessee is using township dumpsters or not.
3. DCNR lease transfers and other documents are not processed uniformly, PSCLA would like to see this changed and is working towards that end.
4. DCNR refuses to notify us of any lease changes whether they are name or address changes, contact person change etc, leading to lost memberships.
5. Buffer zones for oil and gas leases. All locations and details of leases should be available online; there is only a partial listing. PSCLA feels lessees should be notified when oil and gas lease are to be located near their cabin.
6. Legal issues: If a member encounters a legal issue that may be of help to PSCLA’s members in general, we ask that you share this with us. PSCLA’s attorney will verify this information.
7. Advertising camps on the PSCLA website: PSCLA does not wish to do this, possibilities include a taxing body adjusting rates on an advertised price or DCNR could use this as a justification for an attempt to raise our lease fees.
8. When you have any contact with anyone in DCNR, get everything in writing, including refusals and if possible, the reason for the refusal. Include in this list recommendations made by your DF about anything concerning your camp.
9. If your camp is broken into, contact DCNR first, they may do an investigation.
10. A member was upset that he was not receiving newsletter and meeting notices. He was advised to see Dick McKinney, the membership chairman.
11. Grey water: DCNR refers all questions from PSCLA to the local sewage enforcement officer. Rules and regulations differ dependent upon which area of the commonwealth your camp is in. Enforcement is not uniform statewide. DEP’s rules and regulations were recited at this meeting.
12. Transfer of Leases: There are many examples of DCNR requiring work to be performed on a lease before it may be transferred to the new owner. The buyer then needs to make the repairs before the lease is transferred. It places the buyer at risk by requiring him to invest time, effort and money into someone else’s cabin. PSCLA would like DCNR to change their procedure and allow the lease to be transferred, giving the buyer a fixed amount of time to do the repairs. If the repairs are not completed by the date set by DCNR, the lease is in jeopardy.
Election of Officers:
Ron Kephart nominated Greg Churac for Director, seconded by June Krumrine.
Tom Livingston nominated Ron Kephart for Director, seconded my Sid Mentzer.
Ron Kephart nominated John Green for Treasurer, seconded by Tom Livinston.
Doug Sellers nominated Chris Fox for Secretary, seconded by Ron Kephart.
Ron Kephart nominated Doug Sellers for Vice Pres, seconded by Dick McKinney.
Dick McKinney nominated Marty Salinas for President, seconded by Ron Kephart
Aye vote for all nominations, no nays, motion was passed.
The meeting adjourned at 3:15 PM.
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Meeting Minutes 5/24/08
Castanea Fire Hall Picnic Grounds
The following officers were present / absent:
Pres. Martin Salinas – P
Director Ron Kephart - P
Director Tom Livingston - P
Vice Pres. Doug Sellers- P
Director George Conklin - P
Director Sid Mentzer - P
Treasurer John Green – P
Director June Krumrine - P
Director Mike Walker – P
Secretary Chris Fox – P
Membership Chair Dick McKinney – P
Treasurer’s Report by John Green:
John Green gave the Treasurers report with a balance of $__________. A copy is available to any member upon request. Please contact Treasurer John Green.
Membership Committee Report by Dick McKinney:
Dick McKinney reported that membership is________. A copy is available upon request. Please contact Membership Chair Dick McKinney.
PSCLA regrets to announce the loss of our Vice President, Dan Paolini. Dan passed away on March 8, 2008. He was very dedicated to PSCLA.
This was our first Saturday meeting.
Old Business:
1. PSCLA’s attendance at the snowmobile and ATV shows did not provide the results that PSCLA staff was seeking nor did some of the advertisements in various newspapers and magazines.
2. PSCLA will post no more advertisements in our newsletter, they were deemed to be too problematic.
3. Selling of Camp Leases: two instances have occurred where a lease was sold without the consent of all or some members of a camp. PSCLA will be asking DCNR to require a notarized affidavit signed by all members listed on a lease.
4. Articles in District Forest Newsletters: PSCLA sent a request to all District Foresters asking to submit a PSCLA article in their newsletters. All districts responded in the affirmative and invited PSCLA to meetings between the District Foresters and lessees.
5. Political Newsletter: President Salinas will send a newsletter to all Pa legislators. The newsletter is to be a brief summarization of whom and what PSCLA is and asking them to join our organization.
New Business:
1. Water use agreements: A lessee reported that they are still receiving a $25.00 annual notice. This should be a $25.00 fee with every lease renewal (ten years).
2. Dan Devlin has replaced Dr. James Grace as State Forester of DCNR and will serve as director thereof. PSCLA has already contacted Mr. Devlin.
3. Tax assessments: A case occurred in Clinton County where the tax on state camps went up considerably. Counties are being pushed to look for more and more revenue and they believe state leased camps are an overlooked source. If you believe you are being taxed at an unfair rate, PSCLA advises you to pay for your own appraisal and then file an appeal or contact us; we may be able to help.
4. Outdoor Lighting at State Parks: Leased camps that are within the state park system have been advised by DCNR that “all outdoor lighting shall be night sky friendly lighting.” PSCLA will be contacting DCNR.
5. Gypsy Moth: DCNR will be spraying about 65,000 acres.
6. Addition of Names to leases in Wilderness and Natural areas: You can now add names to your lease, please contact us for a copy of correspondence between DCNR and the secretary of PSCLA stating so. PSCLA will provide you with assistance in doing so. Also, lessees in these areas have in the past have been prohibited from making physical additions to their existing structures. PSCLA has reversed that decision, if you so desire to make an addition, please contact PSCLA first.
7. DCNR will be adding 13,000 more acres into wilderness and natural areas. PSCLA would like to know who controls the appointments of these areas.
8. Garbage fees: Problems arose in Cameron County about these fees. If the township charges everyone the same it is very hard to reverse these fees for leased camps.
9. Recreational taxes: Recreational taxes on leased camps are illegal. PSCLA fought this case in Gerard Township until the tax was rescinded and ALL taxed monies were returned.
10. Loss of Leases: PSCLA has asked DCNR to apprise us of any leases that are lost for any reason. We also ask members to contact us when loss of a lease appears imminent. We will strive to prevent this. We have saved one lease.
11. DCNR Management Plan: DCNR recently held 17 meetings across the state concerning forest management and the Pa Wilds program. A big issue for PSCLA is the lack of road maintenance and road closures. Our question is why does DCNR push tourism yet avoid road maintenance and close roads?
The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM. Doug Sellers made the motion, and Mike Walker seconded.
