Island County MRC

Wednesday May 1, 2002 meeting 4 pm - 6 pm
Heller Road Firehall, Oak Harbor

MRC MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Tom Campbell, Dick Toft, Don Meehan, Roger Sherman, Phyllis Kind, Mike Gallion, Sayed El-Sayed and Marty Behr. MRC Executive Director Gary Wood. MRC Technical Advisory Member Julie Buktenica. MRC Admin. Assistant Kate Poss. Absent: Jeff Tate, Hi Bronson, Tom Roehl. Visitors: Mike Sato

A quorum was present. Chair Campbell called the meeting to order at 4:05 pm

Campbell said thank you to all those who wished him condolences in the passing of his mother

Agenda-Today's agenda was approved with the following additions by Meehan:
· June 1 communication workshop
· MRC replacements
· Budgets
· Penn Cover Water Festival
Action: Meehan moved and Toft seconded approval of today's agenda. The motion was carried.

Approval of April 3 and April 17 minutes
· Action: Meehan moved and Behr seconded approval of the April 3 minutes. The motion was carried.
· Action: Behr moved to continue Kate's preparing an expanded version of meeting minutes as well as the MRC's editing them at the following meeting, not over emails. Kind seconded the motion. It was passed with Gallion and Campbell voting no on the motion.
o Discussion-Campbell received complaints about April's changes to the minutes, which took place via email. He said all edits/changes should be made in an open and public meeting. He said it costs to have Kate make changes via email; he would prefer that minutes reflect the bare bones: who attended the meetings and what action was taken. It is Campbell's view that we open ourselves up to complaints and possible litigation with our current detailed minutes. While we have not been threatened with legal action, he said he prefers that minutes only the reflect action taken.
o Gallion said he gets feedback from those who read the minutes on our MRC website and supports the expanded version. He thought it is helpful, given the fact that there might be confusion in what was said at the meeting, that email edits be continued to provide clarity on what was actually said.
o Meehan said he recalled the MRC voted in the past not to edit the minutes prior to the next meeting, which sometimes had up to 6 edits over the email. He wants to encourage input; just that it be once at the next meeting. Previous motions, Meehan said, favored expanded minutes for those who were absent from the MRC meeting.
o Behr said the expanded version helps him to know what was discussed at meetings he is unable to attend.
o Kind added that if the edits are made over the email, other MRC members do not get a chance to agree or disagree with the edit. She prefers open discussion of the minutes at MRC meetings.
o Wood added that the energy used for editing minutes ought to be harnessed for all the projects the MRC is involved in.
· Action: Kind moved and Sherman seconded a motion to approve the April 17 minutes. The motion was carried.

Public Input
· Mike Sato, said the Orca Pass International Stewardship Area Initiative advocates (for more information visit http://www.pugetsound.org/habitat/default.html) are asking the Northwest Straits Commission and its member Marine Resources Committees for resolutions on this proposed Marine Protected Area. These are the "transboundary" waters between British Columbia and Washington State, which advocates say are really a single ecosystem. The area of interest includes and adjoins Boundary Pass (between the Canadian Gulf Islands and the US San Juan Islands), and was named the "Orca Pass International Stewardship Area" (after the orca whales that transit these waters regularly).
· MRCs have two months to comment on the resolution. Sato asked to speak for at least half an hour, in order to present the "Wave of the Future" report and talk about the initiative.
· Our MRC decided that Sato can speak at the June 5 meeting in Oak Harbor.
· Meehan added that our MRC educational agenda is pretty full: Keystone Jetty, science data, tribal aspects, salmon habitat, flatfish, Langley Marina, data sets and GIS, Wash Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and how it manages crab populations; nearshore habitat restoration.
Reports
· Wood handed out copies of : 1) Reporting Northwest Straits Benchmarks; 2) His Exec. Director's report containing updates on Forage fish assessments, eelgrass mapping, shoreline hardening, nearshore project outreach, Northwest Straits' Year III action grant; Derelict gear outreach, collaboration with others to produce brochures and media presentations, MRC Website maintenance and SRFB's funding of a derelict gear grant request in the Hood Canal; 3) SRFB's Nearshore Assessment Strategy; 4) an email from M.Sato on Bottomfish Recovery & Derelict Gear in Skagit County to be discussed May 9 in the Anacortes City Hall. Kate has extra copies of these reports.
· Wood said the forage fish spawn mapping project may expand to Whatcom, Snohomish and Skagit county MRCs, if the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) funds their grant requests. One volunteer coordinator could handle those three counties if the grant funds come through.
· If the funding comes through from SRFB, six North Puget Counties, there will be $215,000 for forage fish mapping. The funds would pay for a second full-time biologist to help Dan Penttila who is heading up our forage fish mapping project.
· Currently the SRFB is re-reviewing our grant requests for about $230,000. A decision is expected May 23.
Reports/Budget:
· Meehan wrote the following formula on the board, regarding our grants; how much was awarded and how much was spent as of Jan. 1:
Grantor $ Awarded $ Spent $Left to Spend
MEHP (UC Davis) $17,000 $17,000 ---
NWSC $25,700 $20,000 $5,700
SRFB $161,000 $41,000 $120,000
Regional Coordinator $28,000 $14,000 $14,000

· Wood said $5,000 of the NWSC funds left will go to paying Dan Penttila, plus $46,000 of the SRFB funds will go to him to extend his contract to the end of the year. About $80,000 will be spent for Norris' eelgrass study.
· Meehan said he will amend Wood's contract to pay $5,000 to Doug Kelly, Island County hydrologist, for data entry.
· Wood said he has the completed grants budget through March. Gallion requested that Wood post it via email to the MRC members.
Reports/Projects
· Our Eelgrass mapping project will be complete if we receive 2002/2003 SRFB funding
o Norris will map this summer, also revisiting some of the sites he has mapped previously to see if there is a difference between winter (when he mapped last time) and summer eelgrass bed locations
· Shoreline Hardening.
o Meehan said we have savvy, gung-ho volunteers on Camano Island; recommended hiring one savvy guy to get the work done. He doesn't want to spend a lot, but wants the job done
· Outreach-a brochure?-Best Management Practices for Shoreline Owners-a SRFB grant requirement
o Commissioner Mike Shelton wants county shoreline regulations included
o Jeff Tate can help coordinate; Julie Buktenica will coordinate with Public Works and Gary Wood-she said the Public Works brochure is drier than what our MRC wants to use for its outreach project.
o Puget Sound Action Team has $1 million for this project
o Wood is looking for volunteers in our Shoreline Steward's Certification Program. Meehan volunteered Hi Bronson to head this up; Campbell said South Island's Russel Link, who works for the Wash. State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and who runs the state's Backyard Wildlife Program, is the man to ask to come aboard. The Backyard Wildlife Program is a similar concept of Shoreline Steward's Certification Program.
· Feeder Bluffs and Accretion
o SRFB may grant us $60,000 for this project
o Tom Roehl as lead with Jeff Tate's input was suggested to track this project
· Public Outreach
o Wood and Toft have talked at various venues such as the Puget Sound Anglers, Sound Waters regarding our MRC. MRC will have a display table at Penn Cove Water Festival.
o Meehan suggested that our outreach efforts be included within the appropriate benchmarks.
o Meehan announced there will be a public relations skills class June 1 at Garrison Hall, Ft. Casey in Coupeville from 9:30 am to 3 pm. Lunch is included.
§ The workshop is open to MRC members; is designed to teach strategies for public speaking and learn how to write press releases. Derelict gear outreach will be the focus.
§ NWSC's Sasha Horst will send out announcements on how to register for this.
§ Sherman suggested that we hire someone to do our outreach as Skagit Co. MRC has done. Wood told him that our SRFB has funding for this.
· Penn Cove Water Festival May 11 from 11 am to 6 pm in Coupeville
o Our MRC was asked to contribute $500 to cover costs; we are a co-sponsor of this event. The brochure contains good educational info. about Island County's marine and freshwater resources.
o Action: Sherman moved to give $500 to the Lighthouse Environmental Programs to cover production costs of the Penn Cove Water Festival and its brochure. El-Sayed seconded the motion, which carried.
· Replacing MRC members Matt Klope and Sharon Hart
o Coupeville Pt. Commissioner Benye Weber will join our MRC to replace Sharon Hart.
o Matt Klope's position is still open.
· MRC Logo
o Action: Campbell moved to authorize up to $200 to pay Phil Williamson, a Coupeville graphic arts designer, to create an Island Co. MRC logo. El-Sayed seconded the motion, which was carried.
New/Old Business
· Buktenica said volunteers are needed to help about 100 4th graders count, measure and weigh fish at Crescent Harbor Beach in Oak Harbor on May 28th.
· MRC will meet once a month, the first Wednesday, in July and August. The July meeting is scheduled for July 10 instead of July 3. MRC will meet August 7th.
· Wood will write a letter in support of Island County's continued use of LiDAR technology to the BOCC (Board of County Commissioners). It will be addressed to Island County's Matt Nash. See the 4/3/02 minutes for information about this new technology.
The meeting was adjourned at 6 pm. Our next meeting is May 15th at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland. Guest Speaker is Liam Antrim, resource protection specialist for the Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary. His email is liam.antrim@noaa.gov