TRI-COUNTY CONEWAGO CREEK ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING – APRIL 10, 2002, 7:00 PM MEETING MINUTES I. Welcome and Introduction All Board members were present except for Erick Smith and Tom Murray. Minutes from the March 13th Board meeting and the March 27th General Meeting were reviewed, edited and approved. II. Membership Issues Discussion was held on a due date for membership dues. Various ideas were debated. It has been decided by the Board that membership dues will be due at the end of the membership year. There was also some question on membership privileges and cards. This idea/discussion was tabled until the group has had time to grow. The Articles of Incorporation have been submitted. III. April 24th Membership Meeting Agenda and Ideas There are various options for guest speakers and presentation ideas for the April 24th Membership meeting. A representative from the Game Commission has agreed to do a presentation on streamside land/erodable land issues. There are also educational videos available on other Watershed group and activities. Lindsey Morris has suggested videotaping the "Snapshot" activity on April 20th and having students from the Milton Hershey School edit the video. Other suggestions included representatives from local watershed groups, local citizens who have positively changed their land use, etc.. IV. Liability Protection Various Board members checked into the Insurance/liability issue. The idea was tabled due to lack of funds. For all future "outings" and activities, a basic Waiver form will be used. Matt Royer will draft and will have ready for use at the "Watershed Snapshot" on April 20th. V. Landowner Issues/Liaison It was suggested that a fifth ad-hoc committee be established called "Landowner Liaison". The purpose of this committee would be to work hand-in-hand with the Projects Committee in order to gain a better relationship with local citizens and landowners along the Watershed. Ben Simmons, Hal Royer, and Jack Smith were recommended to make up this committee. Hal Royer and Tom Murray have spent a large amount of time in gathering maps and diagrams of owners along the Watershed. Lancaster County has a GIS system and the Dauphin Count Tax Assessment office was also a big help. Lebanon County still needs to be done. VI. "Streamkeeper" Position Jack Smith has accepted the offer to be the "eyes and ears" of the creek and unofficially serve in the "streamkeeper" position. The name of this position has been changed to "Stream Steward" in order to avoid confusion and copyright issues with the RiverKeepers organization. VII. Group Activities The Board discussed other activities for the group to partake in: 1) "Keep PA Beautiful" – this is a statewide PENNDOT program to be held on April 27th. The Board has agreed to clean up various roads including Hertzler and Deodate. A group-wide invite will be given at the Membership meeting on April 24th. 2) A long-range project was discussed to set up a program with the students from Mill Road Elementary school to have a "field trip" to the stream. 3) Another long-range project was discussed building off the "Snapshot" to start a comprehensive observation/monitoring program of the Conewago and its tributaries. Tim Hoover has volunteered Milton Hershey students to quarterly monitor the stream. Other sources for volunteers would be the Etown, Palmyra, and Mt. Gretna school districts as well as Elizabethtown College. The Doc Fritchie chapter of Trout Unlimited has also volunteered to host a monitoring station. A "status" of the creek would be published every year and sent out to all landowners in the Watershed. VIII. Other Business Discussion was held on the best ways to get involved in land use planning. Lebanon County is starting a County comprehensive update plan and is in the very beginning stages. How will this impact the headwaters of the Watershed? Tom Hoover extended an invitation to a seminar to be held at Millersville University from June 6th-8th entitled "Native Plants and the Landscape". The speaker will be a representative from the RiverKeepers of the Hudson River. Water quantity is a long-term issue that is especially pertinent during the current drought conditions. What can we do to address this issue? IV. Next Meeting The next Board meeting will be held at the Milton Hershey Environmental Center on Wednesday, May 15thth from 7:00-9:00 pm.