This month's meeting will be December 15th, at 7:30 p.m., in the Community Room of Phillipsburg Town Hall. This month Tom Nemeth will present a slide show of local interest. Thanks go out to Paul Carpenito for last month's show. Great job Paul, an interesting look a Chicago railroading. BEST WISHES to all this holiday season!

FIREHOUSE REPORT: After months of meetings with Town Council we finally have a lease for the building. Wording of the lease was the last hang-up. The lease is for ten years, five years with an automatic renewal for five more, contingent on getting the miniature railroad running. We will fix the roof and windows and pay the town a dollar a year rent. During debates on the lease, council proposed forming a committee to develop a MASTER PLAN to define the town's ultimate goal, and where we fit into it! To pay for the roof repair we will be getting a loan. Much discussion followed..... A resolution was put before those members attending last month's meeting, in the form of a motion and a second. It asked the members to approve the securing of a loan to repair the roof, a load not to exceed ten thousand dollars. The resolution passed by a majority vote of those members present. The need for the organization to get involved in more fund raising events as well as more member involvement were cited. We need a place to store equipment as well as a place to work out of, once the roof is fixed, we'll have it!

TOWER PROJECT: Rocky reported that a reply to a letter the town sent was received from New Jersey Transit Director Shirley DeLibro. Basically it stated that Conrail had objections to anyone using the tower. We could clean the area only if we hired a flagman to protect the right-of-way. Rocky feels we should not pursue the matter further at this time, as they might decide to demolish the tower to end any further interest. It was decided that next year we will try a political approach to preserving the tower.

MID-ATLANTIC MERGER: Your Board of Directors has decided to file for federal tax-exempt status rather than try to obtain it through merger. We will start the process next week by filling out the necessary forms. An accountant from Phillipsburg has agreed to file them for us gratis.