CHEAT LAKE ENVIRONMENT AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
May 15, 2006 Mr. Charles Simons Allegheny Energy Supply Corporation 800 Cabin Hill Drive Greensburg, PA 15601
RE: Cheat Lake Park and Trail--- Management & Budget Plan A Management and Budget Plan has been prepared for the Cheat Lake Park and Trail and is being submitted for consideration by Allegheny Energy as a viable plan for the near-term future. The goal of this plan is to operate, manage, maintain, improve, and promote the Park and Trail so as to achieve a more active recreational facility. The intent is to operate the park and trail more efficiently, to develop and implement short and long range recreational activities and programs, to develop a user friendly relationship between the park patrons and staff, and to continue to develop new relationships with local, state and federal agencies that will better serve the facility. This proposal has been prepared with input from professional recreation planners.
1. Efficiency: It is important to the overall success of the park to hire employees who are experienced or trained in two or more job responsibilities (i.e. programming and maintenance). These employees include a Park Manager, Park Foreman and Seasonal Park Rangers. It is important that the Park Manager is capable of performing security, maintenance, accounting, reporting, programming, etc. The Park Foreman will be capable of maintenance and security and the Seasonal Park Rangers will be capable of security, maintenance and programming.
2. Recreation: The Cheat Lake Park and Trail is under-utilized and offers the public no organized recreational programming. Although the park and trail is a day use facility, it is important to the development and sustainability of the facility to develop and implement organized recreational activities and programs. Initial activities would include monthly nature hikes, kids fishing event, walking clubs and boating safety courses.
3. User Friendly Relationships: User friendly relationships depend significantly on public awareness of the facility, accessibility of the facility, recreational opportunities and availability of the staff. Although the Cheat Lake Park and Trail has unique recreational opportunities for area residents, due to the lack of public awareness, remote location, steep access and current staffing procedures, the park is not very user friendly. In order to create a more friendly relationship with its users, there needs to be an emphasis on promoting the park and its recreational opportunities. And, the staff needs to be more available to the public during patrols, via bike and foot patrols, at various times of the day.
4. Other Agencies: Due to the diverse and extensive potential of the Cheat Lake Park and Trail, many local, state and federal agencies could be used to assist and develop many of the park's facilities and recreational activities and programs.
Proposed Budget (initial draft) * See the description below for each category. * Personnel Salaries $110,000. * Uniforms/equipment $1,000. * Supplies/materials $6,500. * Activities/Programs $7,000. * Professional Services $5,000. * Insurance/Bonds $2,700. * Utilities Charges $500. *Liability – n. a. (add to budget at a later date) * Permits/Dues – n. a. (add to budget at a later date) * Capital Investment (up to $15,000 per year).
Staffing: The proposed plan calls for two full-time employees and four seasonal employees. The full-time workers include a Park Manager and Park Foreman. The seasonal workers include two Park Rangers (summer and winter) and two park maintenance workers (summer). The Park Manager will be responsible for the primary management (staffing, reporting, security, programming, etc.) and budgeting (expenditures, invoices, etc.) In addition to the management tasks, the Park Manager will be required to perform routine maintenance tasks on an as- needed basis. The Park Foreman will be responsible for the routine maintenance of the park (trail maintenance, cleaning, grass cutting, minor facility repairs, etc.) In addition, the Park Foreman will be responsible to patrol on an as-needed basis. The seasonal Park Rangers will be responsible for assisting the Park Manager in patrolling and programming and for assisting the Park Foreman in maintenance. The seasonal maintenance staff will be responsible for assisting the Park Foreman with maintenance.
Uniforms: The Cheat Lake Park and Trail staff will be provided with uniforms in order to be identified by park users. The Park Manager, Park Foreman and Park Rangers will be outfitted with additional security items (i.e. radios, security belts, pepper spray, etc).
Supplies/Materials: Supplies and materials include janitorial, office, landscape and general categories. The items will be used to maintain the grounds and facilities, develop and implement recreational activities and programs and promote the facility. Items include cleaning supplies, trash bags, gasoline, light bulbs, paint, gravel, ink, paper, etc.
Activities/Programs: Initial recreational activities and programs include a variety of nature hikes, fishing programs, boating courses, promotional items, web-site information, flyers, postage, etc.
Professional Services: Professional services include the maintenance of the park's septic system.
Insurance/Bonds: Insurance and bonds include unemployment funds.
Permits/Dues: Small amount, not available at this time.
Utilities: Utilities include additional phone access for the web-site and local and long distance phone calls. All other utilities (water and electricity) are to be covered by Allegheny Energy.
Liability: This item has not been estimated at this time.
Capital Investment: An amount, e.g. $15,000 per year, could be placed into a capital account. This would be a starting point for major improvements. This money would be left in the account if not spent (or the balance left if some of the money is spent). This account would be capped at say $75,000, such that no additional funds would be added above this level. This fund would then be available to provide for special capital upgrades or improvements upon mutual agreement of the parties involved.
We hope to discuss these plans with you as soon as possible. And, it may be possible to make some progress in these matters during the coming few weeks. Sincerely yours, Duane G. Nichols President of CLEAR 330 Dream Catcher Circle Morgantown, WV 26508 cc: FERC