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Minutes
January 5, 2005
Minutes
4:03 6:24 pm , Heller Road Firehall, Oak Harbor
www.islandcountymrc.org
PRESENT: Chair Roger Sherman , Hi Bronson, Tom Campbell , Ian Jefferds, Phyllis Kind , Don Meehan , Rolf Seitle, Jeff Tate, Dick Toft , Ken Urstad, Benye Weber, Exec. Director Gary Wood, Admin. Ass't. Dan Pedersen . ALTERNATES: None. ABSENT: Sayed El-Sayed , Bruce Wood.
VISITORS:
Joe Hillers, Coupeville .
Rex Porter , Coupeville, Whidbey Watershed Project Manager, Island County Public Works.
Tony Frantz , Freeland, Puget Sound Creosote Awareness.
Linda Lyshall , Edmonds , Puget Sound Action Team.
Joe Burcar , Island County Shoreline Planner.
CALL TO ORDER: 4:03 pm , Sherman called the meeting to order. QUORUM: Declared. AGENDA: Adopted with the addition of time for Linda Lyshall to speak briefly. MINUTES of 12-08-2004 : Adopted. Motion by Bronson, second by Kind, carried unanimously. CORRESPONDENCE. Wood reported he has received a seventh letter regarding the Nichols expansion proposal and will respond that the MRC is following the matter and its interests are limited to the marine resource, not to size of the labor force, light pollution or other non-marine issues. Sherman read a letter he had received from El Sayed, who is currently receiving care for an extended illness. El Sayed said a recent note from the MRC had raised his spirits. He misses the MRC and hopes to be back soon.
Summary of Decisions
Officers elected: Phyllis Kind, chair. Ian Jefferds, vice-chair. Kind to become MRC representative to Northwest Straits Commission. Campbell to remain as past chair.
Resolution honoring Sherman . Motion carried . Copy attached.
By-Laws amended to create Designated Alternates. Motion carried.
Joe Burcar approved as Designated Alternate for Tate, subject to appointment by Island County Commissioners. Motion carried.
MRC Five-Year Plan. Adopted -- m otion carried .
NOMINATING COMMITTEE TOFT
The Nominating Committee recommends Kind as chair and Jefferds as vice-chair. Because Sherman is leaving the MRC today upon completion of his term as chair, the committee recommends Campbell remain in his post as past chair. The committee recommends the new chair, Kind, replace Executive Director Wood as the MRC's representative to the Northwest Straits Commission. Motion by Meehan to close nominations for chair, second by Urstad, carried unanimously. Kind elected unanimously. Motion by Meehan to close nominations for vice chair, second by Urstad, carried unanimously. Jefferds elected unanimously. Motion by Weber to recommend to the BICC that Kind be appointed to represent the MRC on the NWSC, second by Meehan, carried unanimously. During the discussion, Executive Director Wood explained this solves a conflict for him, because he has been engaged to do some grant writing under contract for the NWSC Foundation and would have asked to be relieved of his NWSC representative role in any event. Motion by Weber to recommend to the BICC that Jefferds be appointed alternate representative to the NWSC, seconded by Campbell , carried unanimously.
Resolution honoring The Sherman Legacy . Motion by Meehan, seconded by Kind, carried unanimously, honoring Sherman for his leadership as chair during 2004. Copy attached to these minutes.
Toft resignation. Sherman read a letter of resignation from Toft, who has been a member of the committee for five years, since its beginning. Meehan presented Toft a certificate of appreciation, remarking that it is a blow to lose two long-time members and he will miss Toft and Sherman immensely. The committee gave Toft a round of applause. Toft remarked that Bruce Wood is well qualified to replace him as a representative of Navy and sports fishing interests and Wood has agreed to do so.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT -- WOOD
NWSC budget increase. Wood reported our NWSC monies will increase significantly this year. In fiscal year 2004 the MRC budget received $10,000 from NWSC for administrative purposes and $50,000 for the action grant, totaling $60,000. In fiscal year 2005 this becomes $10,000 for administrative purposes and $80,000 in the action grant, totaling $90,000.
In addition, $150,000 will be available in a regional project, which may be used for creosote removal.
Congress took this year's $750,000 budget and increased it to $1.23 million. About $630,000 of the budget will go to MRCs.
Grant applications . Wood reported our application for hotel-motel funds was not approved, nor were we invited to submit a full proposal for the Palladin data processing project. Wood said other fund-raising opportunities have just been announced and we will pursue them.
COUNTY LEAD 'S REPORT -- MEEHAN
Pedersen contract. Meehan reported Pedersen's contract has been approved by the county commissioners, so he is no longer a county employee but an outside contractor, and is now communications manager.
Website and projects . Meehan has updated the MRC website with all the 2004 minutes and is endeavoring to wrap up loose ends to complete all our projects. The forage fish work is complete and all the databases have been submitted. Eelgrass is incomplete Doug Kelly is doing some post-processing of it. The final feeder bluff work is being completed by Jim Johannessen. Doug Kelly is cleaning up the shoreline hardening datasets.
Sound Waters University . This year 50-60 classes will be offered, up from 40-some last year. The event will be held Feb. 5 and registration is now available online on the Beach Watchers' website. Keynoter is
Curt Ebbesmeyer, who has done extensive research on worldwide currents and drift patterns affecting oil spills and flotsam. Sen. Patty Murray will receive special recognition for her support in regionalizing Beach Watchers.
SCIENCE COMMITTEE KIND
Kind reported the Science Committee is awaiting completion of the data projects and cleanup of the files before they can approach the university community to work with our data. Meehan said the Science Committee's meeting was an excellent one and he especially appreciated the involvement of Kim Bredensteiner , who brings skills and resources that will be a real asset.
CHAIR'S REPORT -- SHERMAN
Sherman said that, in leaving the MRC, he apologizes for walking away from a challenge. He said there is much more for the MRC to do -- more than he's willing to accept but he values the friendships and hopes they will continue. He added he has assured Kind he is prepared to help the MRC in the future if the opportunity arises.
PUBLIC INPUT
Linda Lyshall introduced herself as the new liaison to our committee from the Puget Sound Action Team, responsible for Island and Snohomish counties. She already has some experience with our MRC, having served with the Policy Consensus Committee that conducted the evaluation of the Northwest Straits Commission prior to congressional reauthorization.
Tony Frantz said he's been told that funding has been approved for creosote removal at Double Bluff and Parego's Lagoon, and notice should be received within a few days. He said he worked with Wood and Meehan to identify a third site, which will be Fort Casey where he catalogued 500 pieces.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Policy on alternate members. Sherman called the group's attention to a proposed new policy on alternate members Pedersen had drafted. The change would allow members to designate an alternate, subject to committee approval, to represent them in their absence. Such alternates could be counted toward a quorum and would be allowed to vote. Tate had expressed the view by e-mail that if alternates are allowed to vote, they must be appointed by the Board of Island County Commissioners. Pedersen subsequently revised the proposal to state that members could be represented by a Designated Alternate subject to committee approval and appointment by the Board of Island County Commissioners. Motion by Meehan, second by Campbell, carried unanimously, to amend the By-Laws and Rules of Procedure, adding a sixth paragraph to Section I, following paragraph 5, as follows:
(Paragraph 5 remains in effect without change)
ALTERNATES: Each member may from time to time designate an Alternate to attend and participate in the Committee's meetings, functions, or activities so that the member is kept informed. Alternates may participate in an ex-officio non-voting capacity. The presence of an Alternate at any meeting may be counted by the Chair for purposes of establishing a quorum.
(Paragraph 6 added)
DESIGNATED ALTERNATES: Upon approval by the committee and appointment by the Board of Island County Commissioners, a member may appoint a Designated Alternate to attend, participate and vote in the member's absence so that the member is represented and kept informed.
Motion by Tate, seconded by Meehan, carried unanimously, that the MRC approve Joe Burcar as Designated Alternate for Tate and ask the Island County Commissioners to so appoint him.
The group also discussed creating a pool of ad hoc alternates from which the chair could draw as needed for purposes of establishing a quorum. Individuals who frequently attend MRC meetings, who have been mentioned as candidates for this pool, are Kim Bredensteiner , Rex Porter and Nancy Waddell . Bronson said he did not see the necessity of authorizing ad hoc alternates to vote. The group agreed and concluded the existing language of paragraph 5 in the By-Laws is sufficient and no new action is needed by the committee to authorize ad hoc alternates.
Five-Year Plan. Sherman shared copies of a draft Five-Year Plan prepared by Pedersen that incorporates new NWSC benchmarks and input from the MRC's retreat. Motion by Meehan, second by Urstad, to adopt the Five-Year Plan, carried unanimously, with the understanding that as we go along we will tweak and update the plan. Rex Porter suggested that since funding has now been authorized for our Centennial process, we add the word monitor for each year from 2006 on, under Benchmark 3 on the draft plan, Marine Water Quality.
Environmental Report on Nichols' Proposal. On behalf of the MRC, Jefferds reported he had reviewed the environmental material on file with the County Planning Department for the proposed, 15-year phased expansion of Nichols Brothers Boat Builders. He said it appears to him that when Nichols replaces the existing launch ramp with the proposed new rail launch system, it will result in a net increase of area for eelgrass. He said the study addresses several issues that would otherwise have been of concern to him, such as additional storm water runoff into Holmes Harbor from the new paved parking area and buildings. He said they have designed and tried to eliminate any problems that would occur from storm water. In terms of fish species migration, the launch rail system does create a three-foot barrier for the first 175 feet but this has been assessed and determined not to be a significant problem. Beyond 175 feet, the rail is elevated and allows passage.
Joe Burcar commented that when Nichols encountered difficulty launching the Empress a few years ago, the incident opened the door for a number of different regulatory agencies to require development of an alternative launch system. The proposed new system offers some real pluses for marine life, including more than 24,000 square feet of potential forage fish habitat.
Tate commented also that Nichols has been required to perform some environmental mitigation as part of the enforcement action resulting from the Empress incident. He said he feels it is appropriate for the MRC to be keeping itself informed on the environmental aspects of the proposal, but that to take a side in the public controversy would only seem divisive.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Sherman declared the meeting adjourned at 6:24 pm .
Resolution attached see page 5.
Coming Events
Feb. 2, Wednesday, 4-6 pm: MRC meeting at Heller Road Firehall, Oak Harbor .
Feb. 5, Saturday, 8:30 4:30 : Sound Waters University , Coupeville Middle School .
Feb. 16, Wednesday, 4-6 pm: MRC meeting at Trinity Lutheran Church, Freeland.
 a resolution honoring
The Sherman Legacy
On the Island County
Marine Resources Committee
Be it hereby resolved, the Island County Marine Resources Committee thanks Captain Roger M. Sherman for his steady hand at the helm of island county mrc throughout 2004. We salute him for:
1. His crucial personal leadership in building MRC consensus to create the Saratoga Passage and Admiralty Inlet marine stewardship areas.
2. Launching the Island County marine stewardship areas with a magnificent cruise of Saratoga Passage that delighted hundreds of attendees. He made an enormous personal effort to anticipate and plan every detail of this crowning achievement of the MRC's first five years.
3. Strengthening the MRC's leadership by convening an Executive Committee to meet monthly and drive the MRC's agenda.
4. Organizing an annual retreat at which the committee's challenges and goals were examined and clarified as never before.
5. Engaging the membership's talents in new ways by establishing a Science Committee to manage and publicize our data.
6. Leading the drive to develop a Five-Year-Plan and a new policy on alternate members, which are now ready in draft form for the members to consider.
for his dedicated service and good counsel we thank him and wish him calm seas . well done!
Adopted uanimously, Jan. 5, 2005
Island County marine resources committee
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