South Mountain Land Association

MINUTES OF THE SOUTH MOUNTAIN LAND ASSC.

November 14, 2010

There were a total of 12 members in attendance including 3 officers.. Don called the meeting to order at 2:07 PM. The minutes from the January meeting were read and ratified. Harry gave the treasurers report.. Harry explained the need for the 2 accounts and why the people who had the debit cards needed to notify him before making any large purchases. He also related some problems he had with the bank when they went to a new system noting a duplicate charge to our account and the problems he had getting it resolved. He then gave a report of expenditures for the last year. A suggestion was made that maybe it would be better to report the expenditures that were made only for the period between meetings vs. an annual report. Harry agreed and said because it was the last meeting of the year is why he gave an annual report. The treasurers' report was then approved.

OLD BUSINESS:
Parking Area:
Concerning the problem trees in the parking area, Don reported that Carl Crispell talked to the property owners and got permission to remove the trees but, Carl had to leave the meeting early and Don wanted to ask him to get the permission in writing to avoid any future problems that could occur. Don stated that he would call Carl that evening. He also stated that we would need to get a work detail to do it probably in the spring.

Jim Skamarakus stated that because of the dead trees and near by power lines that it would be better to hire a professional to do the job. The Secretary agreed stating that a professional is bonded and insured and our insurance probably doesn't cover us for work done on someone else's property. Don stated that if anyone knows of a local company, to let us know and we could get an estimate to drop the trees and then we could cut them upon the ground and remove them. It was also needed to mark the trees to be cut. Another suggestion was made to maybe lease that property so we could make a decent parking area.

Hunter Safety Course:
Don stated that we had an attendance of 43 people at the hunter safety course and that 2 people failed because of safety related questions. Twenty pizzas were picked up by Bill Vivian for lunch. He stated that there was only a few attendants who took any interest in the QDMA display and suggested that maybe next year they could possibly give hand outs to everyone to maybe generate more interest. Bill stated that the instructors stick to a very tight schedule leaving very little time for anything we would like to do.

Harry reported on a CNBC program about the Remington 700 problem of misfires. A discussion followed about some personal experiences with the rifle.

The secretary then read the minutes from the last Board of Directors meeting concerning an issue with a lost ID.

A question was asked if guests were allowed while hunting. Don stated that a member could have a guest as long as the guest was not hunting. It was noted that someone calling turkeys or driving deer is considered as being engaged in hunting.

The meeting was then adjourned at 2:42 PM.

jmg

September 12, 2010

There were a total of 16 members in attendance including 3 officers. The Treasurer was absent due to a medical reason. Don called the meeting to order at 2:07 PM. The minutes from the January meeting were read and ratified. The secretary gave the treasurers report. He noted that because of a concern that we use debit cards, we opened a savings account where the bulk of the money would be kept. This would protect us in the event that one of the cards got lost and any amount needed in the checking account could easily be transferred electronically.

Don asked if we had paid for the QDMA memberships as yet. The Secretary replied that we still had 5 openings and the QDMA applications would not be sent in until the new memberships were filled.

Don reported that we met with our attorney about our concerns of carrying over large balances. He stated that the attorney said we didn't need to worry about carry-overs no matter what the amounts were as long as we were not profiting from the money or using it for salaried employees.

Don asked Bill about plans for the mineral sites. Bill stated that they are planning to increase the number of sites and are going to work on a budget for next year and hopefully will have the result for the November meeting.

A question was asked concerning the conditions of the parking area at the bottom of the mountain citing the need to remove some large dead trees which could possibly cause vehicle damage if they were to fall. It was noted that this was private property owned by the Turrell family or possibly Leslie Bullock. Don suggested that we needed to go to the property owner and get written permission to cut the trees. Carl Crispell said he would talk to Bullock to try to get her permission. It was noted that we needed to proceed with caution on the issue as there is a possibility that because of property owner liability we could lose our privilege to park there.

Don asked about how we went about getting the pizzas for last years hunter safety course. Dorne stated that he went to Bernies Pizza a few weeks before and made the order consisting of around 17 pies and also bought soda and water and used Bill's coolers for the class. Don stated that we had 50 people enrolled in the class and maybe we should increase the amounts for this year. Don asked if there were any volunteers to help with the class. No one volunteered. A discussion followed about how to set up the QDMA display noting that they now had a DVD player showing the food plots and other interesting activities and possibly setting it up on Wednesday night.

A question was asked if there were any openings for the class. Don stated that the class was filled, but they will take walk-ins for anyone who doesn't show up.

Don stated that there will be a Board of Directors meeting following our regular meeting.

The meeting was then adjourned at 2:45 PM.

jmg

July 11, 2010

There were a total of 12 members in attendance including 4 officers. Don called the meeting to order at 200 PM. The minutes from the January meeting were read and ratified. Harry gave the treasurers report and broke down the costs to date.

Harry raised a concern about the large balances we carry over every year. He stated that we are a non-profit Assn and no one seems to know if we are allowed to carry over balances like we have been doing. Don said that it may be necessary to do so as we were planning to plant the areas along the roads when the wind project was completed. Harry then said that there is never any planning done as to where and how much we were going to spend. He stated that we needed to have a committee to come up with a cost of how much it would be to plant these areas. There was then a discussion about what to do to decrease the balance.

Don asked if there was any interest in building a shooting range on the property to use up some of the money. The secretary stated that he didn't think that doing so or doing any new projects before the wind project was completed was a good idea because we didn't know exactly where the wind mills were going to be. It was noted that not having the information on the wind project was a reason that we were not spending the money we did in the past resulting in the large balances. Bill Vivian said that when we started doing food plots, we raised the dues to do so and the deer committee was budgeted $7500. He said that they never had to spend that much in any year. Harry agreed but later showed where we exceeded $7500 for 2 past years where 1 of those years included the cost of a fly-over.

It was then noted that our problem was to determine what we were obligated to do with our finances according to the law governing non-profits. Don said that the officers would meet with our attorney to see what our obligations were.

Harry asked if we were going to do a fly-over this year. A discussion followed noting that last years data was a little suspicious and the feelings were to not do one this year.

The secretary suggested that since we know what it costs to start renewals in January, maybe we could subtract that from the balance and then figure out what we needed for the year and possibly reduce the cost of the dues. A discussion followed about the cost of dues noting that some people did think it was too expensive especially with having to join QDMA. Also having to possibly raise the dues again after the wind project to a higher cost than at present to cover the costs of new food plots.

Don asked how well the mineral sites were being used by the herd. Bill stated that most were used100% and some not quite as much. Don suggested that maybe we could increase the amounts where the sites were being used. Bill stated that probably more sites would be better than increasing the amount of minerals at present sites. He said that QDMA recommended that there be 12 sites per 100 acres and we currently have 22 sites. Bill said the last mineral costs were .27 cents per pound and have about 22 cites. He stated that we would probably use about 1500 Lbs this year. Don asked if it would be possible to increase the amounts and the number of sites. A discussion followed noting that it may not be a good idea to do so during the summer time as there might be some left during the hunting season and also, the minerals leach into the ground from rainfall which causes the deer to paw at the ground looking for more. Don asked if there were any clear cuts or open areas where we could plant. Carl stated that all possible open areas were planted.

The subject of budgeting was brought up and was discussed with the following points being made.
1. We needed to get together and figure out what we needed for the year
2. We needed at least $5000 to start renewals in January.
3. Just because a project is budgeted so much that we didn't need to spend the whole amount if we
didn't need to.
The secretary asked when Harry and Don was available to see the lawyer. It was decided that the best time would be to make the appointment for the following Thursday.

Harry suggested that we do away with the membership cards because the membership tag contained the same information and in doing so we could save some money and some work. The pros and cons of the issue was discussed with the with the result being that it should be decided by the membership committee.

Don stated that when going through the minutes of the last several meetings, he noticed that a member suggested that we sponsor a bow hunters safety course and that the member was supposed to bring the plans for doing so to the next meeting. Since the person did not come to the next meeting, we were unable to follow up, He stated that in cases like this we needed to get the persons name and membership number at the time the proposal was made. He also asked about his idea about giving a 6 month honorary membership to the safety course students and why it was increased to a full 1 year membership. It was noted that when proposed to the membership at the meeting it was discussed and because of the time of year of the class, there would be no chance of getting a doe license. It was then voted on and approved.

Another comment was made that when we had speakers, our meeting attendance was greatly increased and asked why we do not do this any more. Don stated that it is difficult to get someone because we have our meetings on Sunday and most speakers don't want to do it on the weekends or on their own time and most want at least 50 or more people to attend.

The meeting was then adjourned at 2:50 PM.

jmg

MINUTES OF THE SOUTH MOUNTAIN LAND ASSC.

May 2, 2010

There were a total of 16 members in attendance including 4 officers. Don called the meeting to order at 2:15 PM. The minutes from the January meeting were read and ratified.

Don stated that the treasurer was delayed and would be late.

A question was asked about the bridge repair. Bill said that when he talks to Jeff Nichols that he would suggest to him that Deer Park do the repair. It was also noted that Deer Park was going to do repair work in that area.

Don gave an explanation of his medical condition which caused him to miss the last several meetings. He went on to say that he has kept up with the business of the Association through contact with the officers and others. He stated that we needed to have a BOD meeting after the regular meeting. He also said that we needed to evaluate the membership committee so we could bring it back up to par so we didn’t need to ask for volunteers to do mailings. He then stated that he was somewhat annoyed about some things he had read in the minutes which are as follows. (1) There was a member who suggested we sponsor an archery hunter safety course, but there was no follow up at the next meeting in doing so. It was explained to Don that the member was supposed to bring the details of doing it to the next meeting but never showed up. (2) The hunter safety course was billed as being sponsored by SMLA and co-sponsored by QDMA and the Noxen Monroe Sportsman’s club. The Sportsman’s Club was supposed to provide the lunch but never did. Don stated that it wasn’t fair to QDMA and SMLA that the Sportsman’s club was mentioned as a co-sponsor. He also talked about the membership changing his idea of giving an honorary membership to the people who took the course for the remaining 6 months to giving them the membership instead for a full year starting with the following years renewals. A suggestion was made for a committee to be formed to organize what needs to be done to make this honorary membership idea happen. Don also talked about volunteers to help with the safety course and asked if anyone present would like to help. Bill suggested that we put an announcement on the web site that we are looking for volunteers to form a committee to handle the logistics of the safety course. The secretary said he would do this. Don then asked the secretary to talk about probable changes concerning the wind mill project and South Mtn and Forkston Mtn Assoc..

The Secretary (who had attended the Forkston Mtn Assoc. meeting earlier) reported that the plan was (pending an agreement with Forkston Mtn Assoc) to have a main road starting at the main entrance (at Hettis Hollow side) and linking with the road at South Branch into the Forkston Mtn Assoc. This road would be gated and only vehicles with SMLA and Forkston Mtn stickers would be allowed to travel on it. No Forkston Mtn vehicles would be allowed to access any roads on South Mtn from this road. Any Forkston Atvs would have to be on a trailer. The road would be cleared and maintained year round and there would probably be full time security.

Don asked for any suggestions to get a better attendance at our regular meeting. Chip Sorber stated that the meetings are published and if anyone who wants to come would come and that decisions made here has to be accepted by those who don’t attend. Jim Wall stated that when we had guest speakers there was a significant number of members who came to the meetings. He also said that maybe when the wind project gets going that we could get some personel to come and give us a report and speak as to what was going on. He asked if anyone doing work to get some digital photos to put on the web site.

The secretary reported on the progress of the renewals stating that there were just under 600 memberships returned and that we had about 200 to send out which would be done the following Thursday. He asked that if anyone wanted to volunteer to help, to be at the school at 1 PM. He also noted that there were about 70 people on the waiting list.
The meeting was then adjourned at 2:35 PM
jmg

MARCH 8, 2009
There were a total of 20 members in attendance including 4 officers. Don called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM.
The minutes from the Jan. meeting were read and ratified after which Harry Sweppenheiser gave the treasurers report. He also added that the books had been audited by Carl Shaw and were found to be in order.

Don stated that there was still poaching going on but no one is willing to come forward to support any kind of legal action we could take. He again noted that if anyone sees or knows of poaching taking place, that they should promptly report it to the PGC or any of the Association officers.

Don stated that he would like the Association to sponsor a hunter safety course at the Noxen School. He said at present, there were only 2 organizations in Wyoming County that are doing this. He said that he talked to the PGC about having a class during the beginning of June and said they would be getting back to him during the coming week to let him know if an instructor was available for that time. Don stated that we would be required to offer our assistance in conducting the class. He said that we would need 4 to 6 people to help and the class would be limited to 50 people.
He then said that if anyone was interested in becoming an instructor for teaching the course, they would have to be certified by the PGC. He then read the criteria that a person needs to meet in order to take the training to become certified. He said if anyone was interested in becoming an instructor or helping out during the course to let him know. He also stated that he would like to give out educational materials on hunting to the people who take the course and was currently talking to QDMA to see if they could get some of these materials to us. A discussion followed about other things to do to enhance the course like providing lunch, giving out license holders, door prizes etc. Don said that the head Game Warden met him at the school and was very pleased with the accommodations.

Bill Vivian asked if Don was going to address the sports mans’ coalition meeting concerning the safety course and Don said he plans to do so. He said he wanted to get any and all organizations as possible involved in the project.

It was noted that the proposed date for the course was the same weekend as the Pocono race, and was suggested that a later date should be targeted. It was also stated that we needed to be concerned about when the trout derby and the QDMA field day was scheduled so we didn’t conflict with those events.

A discussion was held about poaching and ways to enhance security on the property but no viable conclusions were reached as to what to do.

Harry asked about the fly-over and when to pay the school. Don stated that there was still no response from the company and that we should pay the school today. Bill suggested that we donate $200 to the QDMA banquet. A vote was taken to make the donation and none were opposed. Bill announced that a seminar was offered on trimming fruit trees and that volunteers were needed for a project to clean clean up Bowmans’ creek on May 2

The meeting was adjourned at 2:55 PM.

Jmg