MCM Council Meeting – February 21, 2013

Attendees: Jody Blatt, Peter Johnson, Paul Ives, Gary Reinoehl, Bill Saunders, Reuben Dagold, Diane Mock, Wayne Lipscomb, Rosalind Suit

The meeting was called to order by President Peter Johnson at 6:30 pm.

1. January 17, 2013 Minutes – Jody Blatt ; • Diane motioned to accept; Gary seconded. The minutes were accepted unanimously as presented.

2. Treasurer’s Report – Gary Reinoehl • Gary reviewed the report for January. Total operating fund expenses YTD were $379.83 and income was $1,604.58, leaving an operating fund balance of $23,269.74 as of January 31, 2013. • It was noted that due to the increase in the number of members receiving the schedule and newsletter electronically, there were significant printing and mailing savings.

2. Miles Fund – Paul Ives • As of January 31, 2013 the Miles Fund totaled $249,615.83. As of January 31, 2013 the Fund had $43,015.82 available for grants. • A request from the Catoctin Forest Alliance for $5,000 to support a trail maintenance intern was received and has been recommended for funding. The intern will recruit and manage volunteer groups to work on trail maintenance as well as map a proposed new route linking the to Thurmont. The council discussed the proposal and agreed that while members may not use the new trail, we will benefit from the trail maintenance. Rosie moved to approve the request for funding. Diane seconded. The vote was unanimous in favor of funding the grant.

3. Membership – Wayne Lipscomb • 20 new members joined in January. This is somewhat higher than in previous years. So far February has 15-16 new members. Total membership is now at 605 (est. 765 individuals). • The new directory is expected to be completed by next week. A “mini-directory” is now on the web site.

4. AT Maintenance – Mike Jenkins • Peter reported for Mike who was not present to report. There was nothing significant to report regarding trails. Mike is working on rerouting the trail around High Rock due to the graffiti issues. He will be getting information out about maintenance of camp sections soon.

5. AT Shelters –Bill Saunders • Last Saturday, Bill visited 3 of the 4 shelters. No new damage was noted. Specifically, at Cove Mountain there was no evidence of new porcupine damage. It was noted that if we are successful in deterring the porcupines, other clubs will be interested. • Bill is beginning to plan for spring activities.

6. AT Monitoring –Andy Buttles • Peter reported for Andy who was not present to report. Andy is still short 2 monitors. The work requires 1-2 trips per year. Peter volunteered for one slot and is looking for a volunteer for the other. He will put a notice on the list-serve. Rosie offered to put a note in Hiker High Points. 7. Hiker High Points – Rosie Suit • Rosie is looking for more material for the next issue. If anyone hears of anything while on hikes (e.g. interesting trips members have taken, etc.), please let her know. • Wayne suggested adding a section in the newsletter with names and email addresses of who to contact for changes of address or other membership related questions. Rosie agreed to ask John to add this.

8. Publicity/Events –M. Fortner • Monica was not present to report. • Peter reminded the group that we have a table at REI’s “Club Day” March 16th in Timonium. This event is listed on the schedule.

9. AT Management Committee – Mike Jenkins • Mike was not present to report. • Rosie reported that she did not attend the last meeting but did not believe that there were any new issues. Graffiti and the local farmer’s cow seem to be the main issues of discussion.

10. Old Business a) DNR Trails Committee – Mike O’Connor • Peter reported for Mike who was not present to report. Peter reported that the state has held several public meetings to solicit input on access to state parks. A lot of off-highway vehicle advocates have been attending the meetings. Peter was told by one MCM member (George Alderson) who attended some of these meetings that there is concern that this group is trying to dominate the agenda.

b) 2015 Biennial Conference – Peter Johnson • Peter attended a planning meeting in January. PATC has given MCM the responsibility of managing registration. This involves coordinating volunteers and not necessarily fully staffing it. PATC is now recruiting volunteers on its web site. Peter is seeking someone to assume this responsibility. The next planning meeting is in May. Most of the work will start about 9 months to one year in advance. PATC will do all of the publicity. Peter looked at a document on “2011 Lessons Learned” and has put together a preliminary list of “to dos”. Peter agreed that MCM would pay one person’s PATC membership to facilitate communication. Diane noted that MCM members often attend the meeting and volunteer at registration.

c) Environmental Awareness Activities - Diane Mock • April 6th is the Loch Raven “Clean Stream” event. • April 27th is “Prettyboy Day” (9am -1 pm). This is a festival with multiple events and tours of the area. • Later in the summer there will be a similar activity at Liberty Dam and in the fall Cromwell Valley will hold a “Dam Jam” educational fair/festival. • Peter noted that trash at Loch Raven seems worse than it has been in the past • Diane reported that the rangers are now called “Environmental Police”, better reflecting the nature of their work and engendering more respect by park users. • Diane attended the Reservoir Watershed Coalition meeting on 2/20. The group is in the county but actively works with City as well.

d) Keystone Trails Association – Rosie Suit • Peter received a thank you note from KTA for our recent membership renewal. • Rosie reported that she gets their newsletter which covers activities throughout Pennsylvania. KTA wants to improve communication with member entities and requested that we include in our schedule two of their events: an event in the Spring (April 26-28 in the Poconos) and one in the fall. It was also suggested that we could send out information about these events via the list-serve. We also suggested adding the URL links for other hiking groups to the end of the activities calendar and/or add a new page to the web site with other organizations’ activities. .

11. New Business a) Club Watershed Liaison – Peter Johnson • Richard Parenti has resigned this position. Liz Kristofferson has volunteered to be the new liaison

b) AT Silver Service Awards – Peter Johnson • Peter proposed Mike Jenkins and Bob Cave as nominees.

c) Environmental Activities (see also old business)– • Rosie reported that for Earth Day in 2005 the club did an environmental project at Hunters’ Run. Various trees and shrubs were planted. Additional follow up work is now needed if the gains from the earlier work are not to be lost. The ATC is interested in getting MCM involved both through more group efforts as well as individual monitoring of rare/endangered species. Peter suggested using the April 6th date for the Hunter’s Run activity as the group organizing the Gunpowder cleanup is not yet organized enough to allow us to plan that activity. Peter will respond to an e-mail from Michele Miller and Marian Orlousky offering to work with them on April 6th.

d) AT Hall of Fame Nomination – Peter Johnson • Peter distributed his draft nomination for Thurston Griggs. Please get any comments to him this week as he wants to submit the nomination by the end of the week. It is due by the end of the month.

e) AT Work Trip with ATC – Peter Johnson • See Environmental Activities.

f) Baltimore City Trails Summit – Reuben Dagold • Reuben attended this meeting on February 9th. It was sponsored by the Baltimore City Dept. of Recreation and Parks. Their definition of “trails” includes hiking, biking, water, driving and other multi-use trails. It was reported that budget cuts require creative approaches such as seeking volunteers and grants. There were presentations by a staffer from the on the Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail and the Captain John Smith Trail. These trails are not traditional hiking trails, but routings from one historic point to another by auto, bike, and watercraft. However, they allow for hiking at various points. • Various trails within Baltimore City were discussed including the Cylburn trails, the Stony Run Walking Path, the , and the trail. • The meeting was “informational” and there are no follow up activities planned. • Reuben has encouraged the Student Conservation Association to apply for a Miles Fund grant to assist in trail improvements at Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park. He noted that the Maryland Dept of Transportation may also have some money for trail work.

g) Patapsco Trail Maintenance • Tom Watts has resigned his position as the “Adopt a Trail” coordinator. Peter will send out an email looking for volunteers.

h) June Elections • Three councilor and the corresponding secretary positions will be open. • Peter is looking for volunteers to serve as a nominating committee. The job involves asking if the people currently in the positions are willing to serve again and, if not, identifying potential volunteers. A list serve notice in early/mid-March should be sent out seeking volunteers, but sometimes it takes some encouragement to get people to serve. Diane volunteered to help.

The meeting adjourned at 8:01 pm

Minutes completed by Jody Blatt, Recording Secretary