Voting members of the Keystone Area Council and the York-Adams Area Council have approved the merger of the two councils, in special council meetings held today (February 24) in Mechanicsburg and York.

Chartered organization representatives and council members-at-large of both councils strongly supported the consolidation creating a new council that will serve six counties (Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry and York) in south-central Pennsylvania.  The vote in Keystone Area Council was 67-14 in favor of the consolidation, while the margin in York-Adams Area Council was 63-8 in favor.  The two councils will be combined effective April 1, 2010.  The newly-formed council will be known as the “Keystone York-Adams Council” until a new permanent name is selected.

These votes in both councils were the final step in a process that began in July 2009, when the executive boards of both councils authorized a study process to explore the possibility of combining the two councils.  The joint study committee, after months of in-depth review and planning, unanimously recommended on January 6, 2010 that the two councils consolidate, with both executive boards unanimously affirming that recommendation in mid-January.

At the close of 2009, the Keystone Area Council was serving 6,076 youth members in 230 units while the York-Adams Area Council had 5,378 youth members in 223 units.  The new council will be the fourth-largest (of 23 councils) operating in Pennsylvania, behind only Greater Pittsburgh (22,466 members as of 12/31/09), Cradle of Liberty – Philadelphia (16,969 members), and Minsi Trails – Allentown (11,825 members).

Frontier District’s consolidation information meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 11 has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 18 at King Street United Brethren Church, 162 East King Street, Chambersburg, starting at 6 PM.

The meeting for Adventure and Blue Mountain Districts on Thursday, February 11 is ON!  The meeting will take place at Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church, 300 East Simpson Street, Mechanicsburg, starting at 7 PM

The FAQ section has been updated to reflect that, if the proposed consolidation is approved by both councils on February 24, the two councils will consolidate on April 1, 2010.  Originally, the plan of merger called for the consolidation to be effective on March 1, but the national office determined that the process of combining the information systems currently used by both councils could not be accomplished in time for a March 1 start-up, so if approved, the two councils would consolidate on April 1.

The consolidation information meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 9 at 7 PM at the council service center in York has been postponed as a result of the impending heavy snow that is expected to begin this afternoon.

Tonight’s meeting has been rescheduled for Monday, February 22 at 7 PM at the council service center in York.

For those persons wishing to attend an information meeting prior to this rescheduled date, there are additional meetings taking place.  Please refer to the full meeting schedule by clicking on “info meetings” tab in the menu bar.  For Scouters in York-Adams Area Council, we would like to point out that there is an information meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 18 at 7 PM at McClarin Plastics in Hanover.  You are welcome to attend any of the  meetings that are being held.

Thank you.

The “Frequently Asked Questions” page has been updated as of January 22, 2010, following the decisions by the KAC and YAAC executive boards to approve the recommendation of the joint study committee that the two councils consolidate by merger.

If you have a question that is not answered in the FAQ section or in any of the materials posted on-line under the “Reports” tab, please go to the Forum area of the consolidation study website and post your question for the study committee.  Your question will be forwarded to the study committee and will appear on-line once an answer has been prepared.

On January 19, the executive board in York-Adams Area Council unanimously approved the joint study group’s recommendation that the two councils consolidate by merger.  The next day, January 20, the executive board in Keystone Area Council was also unanimous in its approval of that recommendation.

The next step in the process that could result in the two councils coming together as one will be special council meetings in both councils on Wednesday, February 24.  At these special meetings, voting members (chartered organization representatives and council members-at-large) will be asked to vote to approve or reject the consolidation of the two councils.  In the case of bad weather on February 24, voting will take place on Thursday, February 25.

Packets regarding these special council meetings were mailed to voting members in both councils on Friday, January 22.

A series of information meetings to be held in both councils regarding the proposed consolidation are being scheduled.  These meetings are intended to provide comprehensive information for all Scouting volunteers, as well as the voting members in both councils.  Complete details on these meetings will be available shortly and will be posted on this site.

On January 6, the KAC/YAAC joint consolidation study group completed its work and voted unanimously to recommend that the two councils consolidate by merger.  This recommendation will now be considered by the Executive Boards of both councils.  The YAAC Board will meet on January 19, 2010 and the KAC Board will meet on January 20, 2010.  If both Boards agree with the recommendation, then it will be presented to the memberships of both councils in late February for approval.

The Study Group’s reports and supporting documentation have been provided to the members of the Executive Boards of both councils.  A summary of the findings and reports is posted here on the consolidation website for all persons interested in reviewing it.  In addition, links to each of the subcommittee reports appear below, along with several other documents used in the study process.

If the Executive Boards vote to recommend merger, there will be a number of open meetings in both councils for volunteers to learn more about the process and proposal and to raise questions and/or concerns about the proposal.  We apologize for the delay in publishing materials but were unable to do so until the study group actually finished its work and submitted its reports.  We look forward to everyone’s involvement as we discuss what is best for the youth in our communities.

Below are links to the reports of the various subcommittees that were formed as part of the study process, as well as other supporting documents that were created for use by the various subcommittees.  Each of these documents is in PDF format (requires Adobe Reader, a free download available at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html).

• Final Study Committee Report to Council Executive Boards

Subcommittee Reports

• Camping and Properties
• Finance
• Governance and Legal
• Human Resources and Administration
• Program

Budgets

• 2010 Consolidated Council
  
• Consolidated Council 3 & 5-Year Forecasts
  • Consolidated Council 3 & 5-Year Forecasts Narrative

Other Documents

• New Staff Organization Chart
• Interim Merger Policies
• Plan of Merger

The consolidation study committee has been busy continuing its work in examining all aspects of a potential consolidation of Keystone and York-Adams Area Councils.  Three questions, each submitted through this special website’s forum, have been posted in both the FAQ and forum sections of this site, along with a response to each question from the study group.

The Scouting community in both councils are encouraged to submit their questions to the study group through this website.  Please continue to check back for further updates to this site in the near future.