February 2021 Meeting Minutes

The Sierra Club - Lehigh Valley Group Executive Committee
Monday February 8, 2021 7:00 PM
Virtual meeting using Zoom

MINUTES

Executive Committee Members: Matthew MacConnell, Nanci McGonigal, Marilyn Jordan, Don Miles, Al Wurth, David  Reber.

Guests:  Beth Ritter-Guth, Rebekah Messinger, Lee __?, Bill Eggbert

Welcome visitors and introductions:

Guests introduced themselves, their background and their interests. The executive committee introduced themselves and identified their positions on the ExComm.  Matt talked about the American Zinc Recycling Corp which releases zinc and thermal pollution into the Aquashicola Creek in Palmerton.

Approval of Minutes: No minutes were taken at our January 12, 2021 meeting in Marilyn’s absence.

Chapter ExCom (Don Miles): The Pennsylvania Sierra Club Chapter had its quarterly ExCom meeting on January 23, 2021.

  • The proposed 2021 Chapter budget report was discussed The Chapter Treasurer will comprise a 6-month 2021 Budget to report to the next Chapter ExCom meeting.
  • The new digital-focused Chapter ExCom elections were done by four Groups and all Groups were able to complete their 2021 elections. At this meeting, Jim Wylie (SE PA Group) was elected Chapter Chair, I was elected Chapter ViceChair, Tracey Ash was elected Treasurer, Laura Williams was elected Secretary, and Jeff Smith was elected PA Chapter delegate to the Sierra Club National Council (CCL). A new officer position, "Group Advocate Officer", was created to focus on assisting (not supervising) Groups with their activities and Tracy Daniels (Lancaster Group) was elected to that role.
  • Matt MacConnell remains the Lehigh Valley Group delegate to the Pennsylvania Chapter ExCom. We need to re-elect an alternate delegate or two at tonight's meeting.
  • Chapter Director Tom Torres gave a lengthy report on the challenges and successes of the Chapter in recent months amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. I can provide it digitally to those interested.
  • Jim Wylie went over the new Conservation Teams (groups of members state-wide interested in working on particular conservation issues, like water quality or dirty fuels) and noted the upcoming Zoom workshops for each Team to get acquainted.
  • Outings will remain digital-only until at least the Fall, per national Sierra Club.
  • Chapter Political Chair Dave Hemberger (Kittatinny Group) will be hosting a Zoom political workshop regarding the 2021 state elections this month; look for his email.
  • There is a new Digital Tools Team website, with help for all Sierra Club digital tools, the subject of an email already sent to you.
  • Jeff Smith (Lackawanna County) is re-organizing a Northeast Pennsylvania Group, and will work with Director Torres to get paperwork done to submit to national Sierra Club for approval of the renewed Group.
  • The remaining 2021 Pennsylvania Chapter ExCom meetings (Zoom until in-person meetings are allowed will be: Saturday April 17, Saturday August 14, and Saturday November 13.

** Action Item: We need to elect an alternate delegate or two.

Conservation Report (Matt MacConnell)

  1. Observation Hive– The observation hive LV Group purchased has been installed at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center and we are collaborating with Lehigh Valley Beekeepers Assoc for introduction of bees this spring and care throughout the year.
  2. Four Particulate Monitors deployed continue to record data.  Matt briefly displayed the web page to show each sensor.  Thanks to Jonathan Schreiter for his assistance in compiling the data from 2020 in the report presented last month. 
  3. Tree Planning Project Proposal –Trexler Nature Preserve. We have coordinated with Lehigh Parks Manager Robert Schiller to get permission to plant along a Riparian area of Jordan Creek adjacent to the southern end of the Trexler Nature Preserve.  The list of approved tree species we need to select from are: river birch, swamp white oak, redbud, sycamore, serviceberry, smooth alder, silky dogwood, winterberry, and elderberry.  Next step is cost estimate, project funding request and planning planting per Covid requirements. 
  4. Planning installation of aluminum particulate filter Planning installation of aluminum particulate filter this spring at the AMD Remediation at Buck Mountain 2.   Issue with access to site, plan for filter installation, pool level test to check leak repair, water quality testing at site and in outflows across 5 miles to Lehigh confluence in Rockport.  Also planning to do water quality testing in the receiving streams.
  5. Ricky Park Wetland site Park Bench. Ricky Park Wetland site Park Bench with Sierra Club placard installation project proposal, at last meeting agreed to seeking co-chairing of funding between Chapter, Group and Township.  Native plant inventory project for the wetland.  A sign is desired to be made and posted with native plant listings.
  6. Plan to test the two water quality monitors.  Plan to test the two water quality monitors and determine if they should be sent to factory for service.  Need to have them ready for deployment in March

Treasurer Report (Dave Reber):  A year-end report from Group was requested by the PSA Chapter, and is due in February.

Political Report (Al Wurth): Elections occur every six months in Pennsylvania. The next primary election is on May 18, 2021 for municipal, State and Federal  offices.

Pedestrian Bridge Project update (Matt MacConnell for Doug Roysden) Matt explained the bridge project and answered questions from our guests. The bridge is likely to be between the Hill-to-Hill Bridge and the Fahy/New Street Bridge.

Webpage development update (Nanci McGonigal) Nanci explained that we publish submissions on our website, including calendar events. Blog posts, and Conservation projects. Beth Ritter-Guth volunteered to submit on hikes. Nanci said that the PA Sierra Club wants people to sign up through our webpage, NOT through Meetup. Our group’s home page is: https://www.sierraclub.org/pennsylvania/lehigh-valley

Our next meeting will be on March 8, 2021
Minutes by Marilyn Jordan