Bob Lutz Fieldstation Management Plan

(as of February 1, 2004)

Management

• 1. The fieldstation will be managed by the fieldstation committee chairman, a.k.a. the fieldstation manager. The current fieldstation committee chairman is Pete Penczer (703-527-4812).

• 2. The fieldstation manager will maintain accurate records of income and expenses. The fieldstation will not have a separate bank account, and any bills will be paid directly by the PSC treasurer. Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the fieldstation manager, or by anyone acting under his authority, will be reimbursed by the PSC treasurer.

Rules for visitors

• 1. You must be a PSC member or a guest of a PSC member (who must be present) to spend the night at the fieldstation. There is no limit on the number of guests a PSC member may have, but please make prior arrangements with the fieldstation manager for large groups.

• 2. Sign-in when you arrive, and pay a fee, which is $2 a night for PSC members, and $4 for others. Small amounts for brief visits by one or two people can be left in a box at the fieldstation, but larger amounts should be paid directly to the fieldstation manager or the PSC treasurer.

• 3. When you arrive, you can access the inside of the trailer via the "side door" with the combination lock. The combination will be changed on a regular basis and the new combination will be e-mailed to interested PSC members. As a practical matter, you can use the porch door to access the trailer during your visit. While sleeping in the trailer, the side door should be left unlocked in case of a fire emergency. The structure of the trailer is wood and this door might be the only practical exit during a fire. When you leave, draw the curtain on the sliding door and put a stick in the track.

• 4. Preserve the lawn by keeping traffic on the grass to an absolute minimum, and completely avoid driving on the lowest areas.

• 5. Don't do anything to annoy the neighbors.

• 6. Because the condition of the gas lines is questionable, do not use the gas stove. Propane is heavier than air and, in the case of a leak, could cause an explosion in the trailer.

• 7. Visitors should not walk on the roof of the trailer, since it could be damaged.

• 8. When leaving the fieldstation after a visit, clean it up and take the trash with you.

• 9. Do not use the toilet in the trailer or pour anything down the drains. It is planned to connect the kitchen sink to a dry well so that visitors will be able to wash dishes.

• 10. Until toilet facilities are installed, visitors will have to go "primitive." Go in the woods in the state forest, i.e., the hillside across the creek, adjacent to the fieldstation property, and on the same side of the road. Bring sufficient tools that you can bury waste at least six inches deep. There are also vault toilets at the Seneca State Forest, about two miles from the fieldstation.

• 11. Sleeping space in the trailer is available on a first come, first-served basis.

• 12. Do not open the ceiling vents in the trailer.

• 13. Do not leave personal items in the trailer between visits. In particular, do not leave rodent-edible food.

• 14. The fieldstation is still not "ready for prime time." Without toilet facilities or electricity [Ed. Electricity was available to the site (but not the trailer) as of May 2004], which would allow the trailer to be heated, the fieldstation is not ready for use by large groups of people. Visits by small groups are neither encouraged nor discouraged.

Additional Points

• 1. There are three keys to the fieldstation's front door, currently held by Pete Penczer, Lewis Carroll, and Jerry Nettles.

• 2. Current plans call for:
  
  • a. heating the trailer in cold weather with electric heaters.
    
  • c. converting the septic tank to a vault toilet and installing a combination toilet and tool shed over the septic tank.
    
  • d. running the kitchen sink drain into a dry well behind the trailer.
    
  • e. disconnecting the water system in the trailer from the septic tank and removing the toilet from the trailer.
    
  • f. having no running water in the trailer for the time being, although it is possible to have gravity-feed system providing water to the kitchen tap.

Last updated: May 25, 2004
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