April 18, 1998

1112 N. Maple

Eldon, MO

presented by Mary Williams

Lather, Peddgie Heinz, Bob Parks, Doug Feakes, Mary Williams, Wayne Burnett,

Terry DeFraties

• Meeting Casually Called to Order by Rick Hines.

• Minutes of the Previous Meeting: Doug motioned we skip reading the minutes

of the previous meeting. Those present seconded and passed his motion.

Treasurer's Report was presented by Wayne Burnett. He announced that CCC had

$100 in its account.

• Report on Liability Release was presented by Rick Hines. He reported that

CCC's attorney, Bill Hayes with Shook, Hardy and Bacon, advised CCC not to

change the release form. CCC can treat minors on a case-by case basis since

only responsible parties of a majority (18) can sign a liability release form

and have it mean anything. Bill Hayes also suggested that we not include an

expiration date on the release form.

• Safety Committee had no report to present.

An update of personal information was made by Rick H. as he passed around a

sign up sheet for the next dig (April 25 & 26. 1998).

• Gate Committee's report was made by Doug Feakes. Doug said that he had the

steel needed to cover the opening to the dig site. He also had plans to

replace the ropes in the pulley system with a steel pipe frame. A possible

source of the steel is from an old Camden county bridge near the junction of

MO hwy 7 and county road # 765. The steel is 6" channel pipe. Martha Hoegler

agreed to talk to the Eastern County Road Commissioner for Camden County to

see if CCC can take some pipe.

• The following committees had no reports to give: Constitution/Bylaws, Fauna

Survey, Hydrology/Dye Tracing, NSS/MSS/MCKC Liaison.

• Landowner Liaison report was given by Greg Buckley. He reported that Greg Fry

currently owned the land that the dig is located. However, he is trading the

acreage with some that his brother inherited. Greg's brother supports the

efforts of CCC but Greg Fry will probably continue to be involved and act as

an intermediary between CCC and his brother.

• Cow Liaison, Doug Feakes, said that the cows are calving now so, please drive

slowly when driving through the pasture to the dig site.

• Newsletter/Webpage report was not given. However, Rick gave out the website

• Conservation/Restoration report was given by Ron Lather. Ron, Peddgie and

others established the campsite on the last dig. A few rosebushes were left

to be removed later. The outhouse site has been selected and we have

landowner permission to cut a few trees for the project. Someone mentioned

that it would be nice to get an old propane stove for the campsite. Terry

said that he could provide a cover for it when the stove wasn't used.

• Fundraising & Expenses were discussed. So far certain individuals have spent

a great deal of money (ex. Rick - $100 for stabilization cloth, Doug - $70 for

propane, and more funds were spent for pulleys, rope, drain pipe and more).

The question was raised, "Where can we get the funds necessary to cover our

material costs?" Most people agreed CCC needed no more than $1,000-$2,000 per

year. Rick got e-mail from a Robert Kramer of the MSS. He expressed some

support for the Carroll Cave dig project. He mentioned that the MSS has some

funds available for cave gating. Wayne referred to some funds that the MVOR

has for various cave related projects. He intended to investigate this avenue

while attending the Spring MVOR. Several corporate sponsors were mentioned as

a possible fund source as well. Ron Lather agreed to review some NSS News

back issues for ideas.

• The possibility of attaining 501-C3 (non-for-profit) status was discussed with

the objective being to give CCC greater credibility with potential corporate

or foundation sponsors. Many were reluctant to follow through with this until

Rick could get more information from Bill Hayes regarding the potential legal

and tax benefits of the non-for-profit status. Besides the benefits Rick was

to find out what was involved in obtaining this status. Members agreed to

discuss this topic once Rick had that information (hopefully by the next

meeting)

• Review and Discussion of Future Digs: In the past few digs CCC participants

removed >13 feet of mud that washed in from the December 14 dig where bats and

air were moving. The hole is now 31 feet deep.

The CCC needs to be sure to reinforce the hole before leaving each dig to

avoid losing ground like we did after the December dig. The hole must be

covered when possible. There is some rock protruding into the hole that needs

to be removed so that another steel pipe can be inserted into the hole and

attached to the surrounding rock with pins. A ring then can be placed around

the pipes at their juncture for additional stability.

Also, the sky crapper must be made as soon as possible.

Future Dig Schedule: May 16, 1998

June 20, 1998

Future Meeting: July 18, 1998 at Doug Feakes

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