BOD Present: Thurman Korns, Jeff Shaffer, Roger Blough, John Pile, Dave Woy, Bob Bastian, Dennis Aust, Ron Pugh, and Attorney Aaron Pile, WCWA’s Advocate.

Members present: Dante Petrocelli; Guests: Dave Kemp, Somerset County Conservation District

President Korns called the meeting to order. 

President’s Report: Thurman suggested the WCWA brochure should be updated.  Mr. Kemp said he may be able to help out and will report back at a later date.

Thurman has prepared a fact card with membership application on back side.

Thurman showed the Dominion plaque for the grant award.

Web page is up and running.  Web address is wellscreek.pa.-conservation .org.

Malcolm Crittendon has told Thurman that money is available for repair of treatment systems damaged by September 2004 hurricane remnants.  Adams #7 was damaged in that storm and may qualify for assessment.

Thurman wants to check out the Costea discharge.

WCWA display is at the Westsylvania Heritage lobby all month of June.

Thurman and John plan to set up display at the Friedens 4th of July parade.

Thurman asked question regarding the addition of meeting minutes to our web page.  Concern was about outsider misusing or misrepresenting the information.  A motion was made by Jeff to add meeting minutes to the web page.  Bob seconded the motion, and the motion was passed. 

Secretary’s Report: The secretary’s report was previously e-mailed or faxed to all BOD members.  Roger made motion to accept and Dave seconded.  Motion approved.

Treasurer’s Report: The amount in checking account as of June 8, 2006 is $1,882.83.  Bob made motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Dave seconded.  Motion passed.

Report on Treatment Systems: No news or reports after the recent rainstorms. Ron reported flushing the Onstead system on May 22.  Flow was 160 gpm. The treatment systems at Adams were both having high flows.

John sampled at Ritter and Beeghly at the end of May.

Fish Stocking:  The fish stocking went well this year.  The fish were healthy but smaller due to dry weather last year.  Thurman met with George Emerick, Sr., father of landowner, and was given a tour of our facilities.  He seemed to be impressed with WCWA activities.

Old Business: Thurman wanted to know if a solicitation letter should be sent out this year.  The topic will be discussed at the July meeting.

John will contact Eric Ludy about the cost for the land appraisal.  Bob does have a lead on some funding through DCNR that could be used for purchasing property.

Several fund raising possibilities were discussed.

New Business: It was suggested that WCWA give lifetime memberships to landowners at the treatment system.  This would include Bob and Mary Buterbaugh; Dave and Ralph Moore; Jim Onstead; Mr. and Mrs. Skeria; Bridgett Direnzo; Alan Woy; and PBS Coals, Inc.  Roger made the motion to give lifetime memberships to the above landowner, and was seconded by John.  Motion passed.

Next meeting: July 13, 2006 @ 7:30 pm at the Clubhouse (Fitzie’s Pub).

Dave made motion to adjourn and seconded by Bob……Motion passed!!!.
 

BOD Present: Thurman Korns, Jeff Shaffer, Roger Blough, John Pile, Dave Woy, Bob Bastian, Ron Pugh, and Buster Pile.

President Korns called the meeting to order. 

President’s Report: Thurman asked if anyone has material for brochure update. 

Thurman reported that Malcolm Crittendon, PA DEP, Watershed Manager, recommends the submittal of applications for grants that would assess treatment systems for damage from the September 2004 hurricanes.  This should be done whether we use the money or not.  John will complete the Trout Unlimited grant application and then forward to Thurman.

The WCWA display was not taken to the Friedens 4th of July Parade because the display was locked in a building in Johnstown and Thurman was unable to retrieve it in a timely fashion. 

The secretary’s minutes will be forwarded to the web page upon approval by the BOD at monthly meetings.  Correction to web address from last months meeting is wellscreek.pa-conservation .org.

Thurman reported on an oil spill at the Listie Fire Hall.  The source is believed to be a drum of used motor oil at the back of the building.  Thurman checked the site out and did not see any visible evidence of contamination in the creek.  The estimate of oil spilled was approximately 25 gallons.  The spill had been reported to PA DEP.

Secretary’s Report: The secretary’s report was previously e-mailed to all BOD members.  Roger made motion to accept and Bob seconded.  Motion approved.

Treasurer’s Report: The amount in checking account as of July 12, 2006 is $1,929.19.  Thurman’s expenses were $27.64 since the last meeting.  Bob made motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and pay Thurman’s expenses.  The motion was seconded by Ron.  Motion passed.

Report on Treatment Systems: The Adams #6 and #7 treatment systems were flushed the first week of July by John and Dan Petrocelli. 

Dan Petrocelli manufactured and installed a stainless steel grate on the 24 inch by-pass at Adams #6.  The grate was installed on July 6th.

Ron reported the flow at the Onstead system was 100 gpm on July 13.

John sampled at Ritter and Beeghly at the end of June.

Old Business: Bob has been talking with Nancy Metzger regarding fund raising opportunities.  He also had discussions with Larry Williamson, DCNR regarding funding for purchases of property.  Typically, DCNR can provide up to 50% funding for the purchase of property. 

The WCWA needs to send a letter to solicit funds for monitoring treatment systems, stocking trout, and continuing other projects. 

Ron reported the adjoining piece of property at the Beeghly site was recently sold.

New Business: Dave reported that new members, Ryan and Joleen Everett, had not received spring newsletter.

Thurman want to know of any contributions of $20.00 or more, so that he can send a thank-you note.

Next meeting: August 10, 2006 @ 7:30 pm at the Clubhouse (Fitzie’s Pub).

Roger made motion to adjourn and seconded by Buster……Motion passed!!!.
 

Wells Creek Watershed Association
Monthly Meeting
August 10, 2006

BOD Present: Thurman Korns, Jeff Shaffer, Roger Blough, John Pile, Dave Woy, Ron Pugh, Dennis Aust, and solicitor Aaron Pile.

Members Present: Dante Petrocelli

President Korns called the meeting to order. 

President’s Report

Thurman asked if anyone has material for brochure update.  John suggested waiting till winter to work on update of the brochure.

Thurman reported that Malcolm Crittendon, PA DEP, Watershed Manager, recommends getting a contractors estimate for #7 repair and the VFP will need to be drained.  John questioned the validity of needing any repair work.  The quarterly analysis from June shows the system working just fine.  The water quality problem occurs during periods of high flow.  Thurman to talk with Malcolm.

The WCWA web page has had 1497 hits in July.

The web address is wellscreek.pa-conservation.org.

Thurman reported the oil spill at the Listie Firehall appears to have not caused any long-term problem. 

Thurman received a check for $25.00 from Tom Hill for membership renewal.  Thurman has sent a thank-you letter to him.

Thurman will attend Riverfest in Johnstown with our display.  John made motion to pay $25.00 exhibitor fee to Westsylvania Heritage Corporation, Dave seconded, and motion passed.

Riverboat cruise in Pittsburgh is being held on September 21, 2006.  Thurman asked if anyone would like to attend.  He had not made up his mind yet.

Secretary’s Report: The secretary’s report was previously e-mailed to all BOD members.  Jeff made motion to accept and Roger seconded.  Motion approved.

Treasurer’s Report: The amount in checking account as of August 10, 2006 is $1,778.95.  Thurman’s expenses were $60.59 since the last meeting.  Dave made motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and pay Thruman’s expenses.  The motion was seconded by Dennis.  Motion passed.

Report on Treatment Systems:

The flows at Adams #6 and #7 treatment systems are low.

Ron reported the flow at the Onstead system was 30 gpm on August 10.

John sampled at Ritter and Beeghly at the end of July.

Old Business

The fund raising letter to be sent to everyone living in the watershed will cost about $600.00 for postage on 2,400 letters and $350 for printing.  Bob has said he believes we will get a 10% response.  Jeff made motion to pay for mass mailing to all addresses within watershed, members, and previous contributors who live outside of the watershed.  John seconded. Motion passed.  Thurman will talk to Bob and let him handle it.

New Business

Annual general membership meeting will be held on September 23, 2006.  It will be preceded by a stream cleanup in the Friedens area.  Stream Cleanup Chairman, Jeff said he would like to cover the area from Adams through Friedens to possibly Coleman Station.  Everyone is to meet at the Friedens Firehall at 8:00 AM.

Board of Directors up for re-election are Thurman Korns, Dennis Aust, and Dave Woy.  Jeff made motion to nominate all three for election to the WCWA Board of Directors.  Ron seconded and motion passed.

Jeff reported Dave Miller found four bags of garbage at the Fireman’s Pump Hole along Wells Creek.  Mr. Miller called State Police to investigate.  They found a Virginia address.  The actor is believed to have come from a nearby campground.

Next meeting: September 23, 2006 @ 12:00 pm at Bastian’s Barn.  Stream clean-up begins at 8:00 AM and meet at Friedens Firehall.

Dave made motion to adjourn and seconded by Dennis……Motion passed!!!.
 

Wells Creek Watershed Association
Annual General Membership Meeting-Bastian Farm
September 23, 2006

BOD Present: Thurman Korns, Jeff Shaffer, Roger Blough, John Pile, Dave Woy, Ron Pugh, Dennis Aust, Bob Bastian, and solicitor Aaron Pile.

Members Present: Dante Petrocelli, Virginia Malcolm, Luke Pile, Andrew Zambanini

President Korns called the meeting to order and identified that a quorum was present.

President Korns directed Vice President Shaffer to take control of the meeting for the election of members to the Board of Directors.  This was done because President Korns was one of the nominees for re-election to the Board of Directors.  Vice President Shaffer opened the floor for nominations.  Bastian made motion to have the Secretary cast a unanimous ballot for the candidates previously nominated at the August Board of Directors meeting.  These candidates included Thurman Korns, Dennis Aust, and Dave Woy.  Ron seconded the motion and the motion passed. 

Vice President Shaffer returned the control of the meeting back to President Korns.

President’s Report

Thurman reported getting $250.00 for the WCWA display at the Three Rivers Riverboat Cruise.  Our display took second place out of 16 entries. 

Thurman reported on Riverfest in Johnstown.  He was disappointed with the turnout and lack of interest in the WCWA’s activities.

Thurman said he talked with Bruce Golden, Director of WPCAMR.  The conversation focused on WPCAMR’s possible assistance with monitoring of our treatment systems.

Thurman would like to upgrade the display because it is too fragile.  Jeff made motion to allow Thurman to upgrade the display.  Bob seconded and the motion passed.

Thurman informed the group that the fiscal year should be changed from July/June to October/September due to grant requirements and the more availability of accountants.  Fiscal year change was tabled until next meeting so that the change can be advertised for at least five days prior to a vote.

Thurman presented line items for budget.  Item was then tabled until discussion on fund raisers.

Thurman recommended collecting a free will donation and sending it to Zion Hoffman Lutheran Church in memory of Sydney Riggs, who recently passed away.  Mr. Riggs was a gracious donor and member of the WCWA.  Roger will take care of mailing the donation.

Secretary’s Report: The secretary’s report was previously e-mailed to all BOD members and handed out prior to start of the meeting.  Roger made motion to accept and Dave seconded.  Motion approved.

Treasurer’s Report: The amount in checking account as of September 23, 2006 is $1,244.20.  Dave made motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report.  Ron seconded the motion and it passed.  Roger reported receiving $336.00 in response to our recent fund raising letter.

Thurman’s expenses since the last meeting were $154.43.  Jeff made motion to pay Thruman’s expenses.  The motion was seconded by John and the motion passed.

Report on Treatment Systems:

Thurman reported visiting the Adams #7 site with Malcolm Crittendon.  It was reported Malcolm observed no water flowing out of the four smaller discharge pipes.  He wanted to adjust the height of these pipes, but Thurman asked him not disturb the pipes unless he talked to John.  John reported that he currently has all the discharge water coming out of the VFP passing through the lower layer of piping, thus increasing the retention time of the water in contact with the limestone.

John said the treatment at Adams #6 and #7 will be flushed at the end of the month.

Ron reported the flow at the Onstead system was less than 10 gpm on September 22.

John will sample Ritter and Beeghly site this month.

Old Business

Jeff thanked everybody for participating in the stream cleanup.  A total of twelve people participated.  Two crews worked on the stream.  One crew went from the Buterbaugh Bridge to behind the IXL.  The other crew worked off the Coleman Station Road.

Mostoller’s Country Corral donated the sandwiches for the picnic and Bob Bastian donated everything else.  The WCWA Board of Directors appreciates their generosity.

New Business

Ron had two ideas for fund raising.  One is a chicken barbecue to be held on Super Bowl Sunday at Mostoller’s Mini-Mart.  350 halfs of chicken can net up to $1,000 to $1,200.  The second idea was to make and sell pot-pie at the Central City Heritage Days on August 11 and 12, 2007.  The activities run from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm on Saturday and 11:00 am to 8:00 pm on Sunday.  If we made 90 pots and sold out you could possibly net $5,400.  The cost to set up would be around $1,026.00.  Ron would like to have 15 people lined up to help with this fund raiser.  Ron knows where he can purchase a stainless steel sink and stove for $100.00.  Bob made motion to purchase stainless steel and propane stove for $100.00.  Dave seconded and motion passed.

Next meeting: October 12, 2006 @ 7:30 pm at the clubhouse (Fitzie’s). 

Dave made motion to adjourn and seconded by Luke Pile……Motion passed. 
 

B:OD Present: Thurman Korns, Jeff Shaffer, Roger Blough, John Pile, Dave Woy, and solicitor Aaron Pile.

President Korns called the meeting to order.

President’s Report

Thurman reported turning in scrap from stream clean-up and getting $14.40.  He also donated a truck cap ($28.60) and a years worth of aluminum cans ($11.00).  This made a total of $54.00 for the WCWA treasury. 

Dominion has contacted WCWA and wants us to apply for grant again in the up coming year.

Thurman talked to Bruce Golden, Director of WPCAMR about assistance with the cost of monitoring our treatment systems.

He was also was contacted by e-mail by an Americorp person working with WPCAMR offering assistance on water sampling.

Thurman has submitted the application for a Baltimore Life grant.

Thurman made an adjustment to the budget by adding $600.00 for the purchase of trout for stocking.  This resulted in a net gain of $226.00.  Jeff made motion to amend the previously approved budget, Dave seconded, and motion passed.

Secretary’s Report: The secretary’s report was previously e-mailed to all BOD members.  Dave made motion to accept and Roger seconded.  Motion approved.

Treasurer’s Report: The amount in checking account as of October 12, 2006 is $1,947.17.  John made motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report.  Dave seconded the motion and it passed.

Thurman’s expenses since the last meeting were $23.80.  John made motion to pay Thurman’s expenses.  Jeff seconded the motion and the motion passed.

Report on Treatment Systems:

John reported that he and Dan Petrocelli had flushed the treatment systems at Adams #6 and #7.  Ron will flush the Onstead system in November. 

John sampled Ritter and Beeghly discharges for September.

The group had a short discussion on the Costea seep and work being conducted by Allegheny Ozone.

Old Business

Fund raising was discussed again.  Ron has obtained a sink and propane stove for use in raising money.  Lynn Baer was supposed to attend the meeting to talk in more detail about the chicken barbeque fund raiser on Super Bowl Sunday.  Ron will provide additional information at November meeting.

Newsletter to come out in December.  Thurman is looking for articles.

New Business

The Somerset County Fly Fishermen donated 83 brown trout to Wells Creek.  The fish were 10 to 15 inches long.  They were stocked between the Listie Bridge and Coleman Station.

A donation of $125 was sent to the Hoffman Lutheran Church in memory of Sydney Riggs from the Board of Directors of WCWA in appreciation of his help in our cause.

Next meeting: November 9, 2006 @ 7:30 pm at the clubhouse (Fitzie’s). 

Dave made motion to adjourn and seconded by Roger……Motion passed.
 

Wells Creek Watershed Association
Regular Monthly Board of Directors Meeting
November 9, 2006

BOD Present: Thurman Korns; Jeff Shaffer; John Pile; Bob Bastian; Ron Pugh; Dave Woy; and solicitor Aaron Pile.

Guests: John Gustkey, Stream Team

President Korns called the meeting to order.

President’s Report

President Korns reported the WCWA grant proposal application to Baltimore Life was rejected. 

Dominion grant application is being prepared and will be submitted in the near future.

WPCAMR is sponsoring a conference on operation, maintenance, and repair of passive treatment systems.  It is being held on November 16 at the Indiana Eat and Park.  Thurman is planning to attend.

Thurman and Bob attended the Somerset County Watershed Summit sponsored by the Somerset County Conservation District.  The Shade Creek Watershed Association hosted this years event.  They gave a tour of a recently completed passive treatment system and Allegheny Ozone provided a demonstration of their treatment methods. 

The Beulah Methodist Church Women have asked Thurman to provide a presentation about WCWA at one of their meetings this winter.  Thurman is planning on taking care of this matter.

Secretary’s Report

The Secretary’s Report from the prior meeting was previously distributed to all members of the BOD.  Dave made motion to accept and Bob seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report

Roger was not present, but had forwarded information.  The amount in the checking account as of November 9, 2006 is $1,862.37.  Jeff made motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report.  Dave seconded the motion and it passed. 

Report on Treatment Systems

Ron reported flushing the Onstead system on October 30.  The flow was 30 gpm.

John sampled at Ritter and Beeghly in October and will be doing so again in November.

Water levels at Adams #6 and #7 were elevated due to recent rains in comparison to September flows.  Everything was working appropriately.  John adjusted small discharge pipes to even flow at Adams #7.

Aaron reported the Josh Gibson property was sold to a Cook for $25,000.00.  The property consists of 12.38 acres and adjoins the Beeghly property.  The Gibson/Cook property is more pristine than the Beeghly property, which has coal waste piles and discharges upon it.

Old Business

The Board addressed the by-law amendment to change the fiscal year from July 1 to June 30 to October 1 to September 30.  A notice to amend the by-laws had previously been sent to all board members at least 

five days in advance of the meeting.  The resolution to amend the by-laws regarding fiscal year is hereby incorporated by this reference.  The resolution was passed unanimously by the six board members present.

The chicken barbeque fund-raiser was discussed.  Jeff said he would contact Lynn Baer to schedule a meeting.

New Business

John reported talking with Bob Fitzgerald, Jr. about having the Marine Reserve Unit he is assigned to participate in an activity assisting the WCWA.  He said they could help out on a steam clean-up or some sort of project.  John suggested that Thurman talk with Bobby.

Next Meeting: December 14, 2006, 7:30 pm at the Clubhouse (Fitzie’s)

Dave made motion to adjourn.
Jeff seconded and motion was passed.

Wells Creek Watershed Association
Regular Monthly Board of Directors Meeting
December 14, 2006

BOD Present: Thurman Korns; John Pile; Roger Blough; Ron Pugh; Dave Woy; Dennis Aust, and solicitor Aaron Pile.

Members Present: Dan Petrocelli

Guests: Dave Kemp, Somerset County Conservation District

President Korns called the meeting to order.

President’s Report

President Korns reported the winter newsletter has been prepared and is ready for distribution. 

The Dominion grant application has been prepared and will be mailed on Friday morning. 

Thurman heard from Bob Bastian, that the tickets for the Super Bowl Sunday (February 4th) Chicken Barbeque are ready for pick-up at the printers.  The cost for printing the tickets was donated by Bob.  The cost per half of chicken is $5.00.  It will be the responsibility of each Board member to sell 40 tickets.  Ron talked to Barry Baer and reported each rack will contain 180 halves of chicken and it will take 1.5 hours cooking time per rack. 

Ron talked to Gary Ankney who has charcoal available.  Barry Baer says the Lions have coolers available for storage.  If bad weather, the chicken will be cooked at the Lion’s Bridge in Stoystown.  Otherwise, the chicken will be cooked at Mostoller’s Convenience Store/Car Wash.  Estimated profit from this project will be $900 to $1,000.

Thurman said there will no Earth Day activities at the Quemahoning Dam in 2007.

Secretary’s Report

The Secretary’s Report from the prior meeting was previously distributed to all members of the BOD.  Dave made motion to accept and Ron seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report

The amount in the checking account as of December 14, 2006 is $1,862.37.  There has been no activity by the Treasurer, therefore no motion needed to approve report. 

Thurmans’s expenses for the last two months were $203.82.  A motion to approve and pay these expenses was made by Dennis and seconded by John.  Motion passed. 

Report on Treatment Systems

John will flush #6 and #7 on Friday.  John completed monitoring sampling at #6 and #7 on previous Monday.  John will also complete sampling for monitoring at the Onstead site in December.  John will sample at Ritter and Beeghly next week.

Thurman reported not hearing anything additional from Hedin Environmental regarding evaluation of the existing treatment systems. 

Thurman also reported the AML fund was re-authorized by Congress.

Old Business

None

New Business

None

Next Meeting: January 11, 2007, 7:30 pm at the Clubhouse (Fitzie’s)

Dennis made motion to adjourn.
Dave seconded and motion was passed.