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