Minutes

Prepared by Dan Pedersen

Apr. 1, 2008

Commissioners' Hearing Room B-102, Island County Annex , Coupeville

PRESENT: Chair Dick Toft , Hi Bronson, Tom Campbell, Ian Jefferds , Phyllis Kind , Matt Kukuk, Don Meehan , Lynae Slinden, Ken Urstad , Benye Weber, Executive Director Rex Porter , Communications Manager Dan Pedersen . ABSENT: Joe Hillers (in Oregon ), Bryan Nichols (unknown), Johnny Palka (hosting Lyceum speaker).

VISITORS:

Graham Johnson , Langley , WSU Beach Watchers.

Jill Hein , Coupeville, WSU Beach Watchers.

Peg Urstad, Greenbank, WSU Beach Watchers.

Kristen Cooley , Langley , Coordinator, WSU Beach Watchers.

Jim Patton, Coupeville, Executive Director, Port of Coupeville .

Sammye Kempbell, Coupeville, WSU Beach Watchers.

Nancy Bartlett , Freeland, WSU Beach Watchers.

Jan Holmes, Coupeville, WSU Beach Watchers.

CALL TO ORDER: 3:33 pm . QUORUM: Declared. AGENDA: Adopted. MINUTES of 3-18-2008 : Adopted. Motion by Kind, second by Weber, no objections. CORRESPONDENCE: None.

Summary of Decisions / Action Items

•  Community outreach expenditures – LID and Lyceum. The MRC will allocate $750 from its community outreach budget to Whidbey Island Conservation District to help pay speakers' fees and costs for their upcoming workshop series on low impact development. The MRC will allocate $400 to the Whidbey Lyceum series to sponsor 300 program booklets for their series on The Life and Health of Puget Sound. Motion by Campbell , second by Kind, carried unanimously.

•  Recommendations for UW Luce Fellow team. The MRC recommends the UW Luce Fellow team develop a social marketing campaign focused on yards, encouraging homeowners to consider a range of salmon-friendly strategies -- minimizing the use of chemicals, minimizing the use of water and shifting toward the use of more native plants in their landscaping.

•  Eelgrass project proposal / funding request. The MRC supports philosophically the proposal from WSU Beach Watchers to allocate MRC funds to purchase carry-on equipment to outfit a small skiff for eelgrass monitoring at a cost of about $11,855. Motion by Urstad, second by Campbell , carried unanimously.

SPEAKER

Coupeville Wharf Marine Education Center Proposal

Graham Johnson , WSU Beach Watchers

Johnson explained that in the last year the Port of Coupeville adopted a 20-year comprehensive plan that lays out several strategic directions. One of these is the gradual transition of Coupeville Wharf to a marine education center. As background to today's discussion Johnson presented a recorded interview with the port's executive director, Jim Patton, in which Patton recapped Coupeville Wharf 's 100-year history, its current role and a vision for the future.

Patton explained that early settlers used the wharf to receive their supplies and to ship their crops to market before there was a bridge or ferry system. In 1911, the state legislature created the state's system of port districts and assigned them the mission of economic development. Currently there are 82 port districts, some of which own marinas, operate container ports or own airports. The Port of Coupeville owns two properties – Coupeville Wharf and Greenbank Farm. The idea was for the port districts to receive a portion of property tax revenue and use it to create economic opportunity in their communities, stimulate jobs and the like.

Patton said the challenge for a small port like Coupeville is to balance the mission of economic development with the absolute necessity of maintaining the natural environment we have here. “It would be very easy to damage this environment by pushing ahead with economic development,” he said.

Patton said the port has made common cause with Washington State University (WSU) Extension to take advantage of the excellent educational resources of Beach Watchers and other environmental education programs such as Waste Wise Volunteers. “Not only are they committed to keeping our beaches free of debris but they also want to protect the marine mammals that surround this island,” he said.

Patton pointed out the waters of Penn Cove are clean enough to support a major aquaculture operation, Penn Cove Shellfish, and no one wants to jeopardize this. “As we look to the future of the wharf, one thing we are certain of is that we want to do nothing to pollute Penn Cove. I'm under a fair amount of pressure to build a modern marina out here and I've resisted that pressure, because if you've looked at the water around modern marinas you don't want to get into it.”

Patton said the port started working with WSU Extension some time ago to improve the displays on Coupeville Wharf . Currently the wharf offers a collection of small marine stores, a restaurant and such, plus a large breezeway where the skeletons of two large marine mammals are displayed. School groups visit the wharf and learn about marine mammals from members of WSU Beach Watchers. “We like that, because we're not only providing a picturesque place for visitors to come to but also telling them something about this environment.”

Patton mentioned that a short time back, WSU Extension acquired some equipment from the Port Townsend Marine Science Center that will enrich the exhibits on the wharf – an underwater camera, video screen and other gear.

Johnson said what's under discussion now is a new vision for what should happen at Coupeville Wharf . Among the possibilities are creating a marine education center but also increasing the awareness of the amenities, shops and restaurants boaters can enjoy when they come here, perhaps a transportation center. The wharf could be a point of embarkation for public transportation once again. Perhaps it could even be a freight link. It could have expanded mooring sites. Right now the wharf is serving as base of operations for a whale watching boat in the spring, The Mystic Sea.

The 20-year comprehensive plan calls for gradual transformation of the wharf from a rental / retail configuration to a marine education center. Toward this end, Johnson and the Beach Watchers are holding a series of meetings with Front Street Merchants, Chamber of Commerce and other groups to get a feel for the community's vision of a marine education center. Johnson invited the MRC members to articulate their vision of what this would be:

Porter: Something well-vetted that is enduring, so that five years from now the focus doesn't have to be changed because it didn't work. “I'm less concerned about what it is, than that it is well grounded and enduring.” Porter said it needs to be owned by the community and needs to pencil-out from a business standpoint, accomplish its mission and bring more people to the town.

Toft: “I've always been a sucker for aquariums. If you have a large saltwater aquarium with typical creatures, I think this would attract people – something other than just pictures.”
Kind : “I would like the goal to be behavior change. If people see something they enjoy, they should understand not to be putting pesticides on their yards and polluting the water. Somehow I think that's the message. Have some attractive things there so people can realize how much they care about it, and then very subtilely teach them how not to destroy it.”

Urstad: “I'd like to see a small net-pen operation so people can see silvers, and see them come back, because they will come back.”

Slinden : “Provide an interface between the land and the water. So the people can become aware of what's underneath that surface of blue out there – perhaps a camera where people could look at what's below the water, the pier or someplace where fish are.”

Bronson: “I would go visit some marine education centers that have been in business for some time, such as Port Townsend. That's pretty impressive. Talk to the people and see what works and what doesn't.” Bronson said he was impressed with the number and range of displays.

Campbell : “How deep are the port's pockets? If you're planning on doing something big, somebody's going to have to pay for all this stuff.”

Meehan: “What I'd like to see is more opportunity to learn. Pick two or three species and for six months dedicate an exhibit to them. And then rotate to something else. Do a very in-depth story that would include the behavior changes we want people to make to protect that species.”

Jefferds : “We can't say money isn't an object and we can't say the building isn't there. You do have a physical constraint there. And we have to keep this in the scope of the discussion. And second, as it relates to the port, if it's to remain a port facility I think it's important they maintain some commercial use of the building so the whole thing doesn't become an educational theatre. I think we need to be able to maintain the café out there – maybe that's a draw where you can tie in… I'm with Dick, I'm sold on aquariums. Maybe you can tie that in with the café and it remains a working port facility and an educational facility.”

Kukuk: “I agree you need something down there that remains an economic benefit or driver. As a marine education center it would be great to get everyone down there just for that. But as someone who works in Coupeville, it would be great to have a café or a coffee shop out there – another good, inexpensive place. Create an incentive for people to go down there.”

Pedersen: “I agree with Phyllis that an important part of the goal should be behavior change. I like the idea of it being not one thing but several – including a transportation link to Camano Island . I like the whale tours that are coming in there now. I really think it ought to have a restaurant. The goal should be to make sure the restaurant is a successful magnet that pulls people there. It should offer a combination of activities that give people a variety of reasons to be out there. I like the rotating exhibits that, every few months, would create an opportunity for a new round of publicity and a new excuse for groups to visit. I also think it should be an information resource offering the most and the best information on conservation you can find.”

Jefferds : “After hours it could be rented out as a place for weddings and meetings – it could become an income generator, a sought-after place.”

Johnson: “We've also heard the suggestion that it should include meeting space for environmental conferences, with food service, beverage service, etc.”

Porter: “Padilla Reserve offers a good model – a mixture of offices, space for training and conferences, a good public engagement space, a place for kids, …you can do lots of things average or do a couple of things really well. That might be a good place to look at.”

NWSC GRANT REPORTS

Shore Stewards. Bronson said membership stands at 485. Chase will be holding several shoreline workshops in the coming weeks and will probably enroll the 500 th member soon.

Cornet Bay . Porter said he talked with Tom Murley of Washington State Parks. The regional office is constructing a combined statement of work, consisting of our Cornet Bay nearshore piece and also some upland work of their own. Combined, the two pieces will be about a $1 million project. They will issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) in the next two or three weeks and then, in a second phase, choose contractors to interview. A representative of the MRC will participate with the interview team. Following these interviews, parks will chose a contractor to perform both the nearshore and upland work. Murley hopes to have the work under contract within about two months. Recently, we received about $4,600+ of additional funds from Island County to help us build capacity for our Cornet Bay work. This is basically seed money distributed to us and 11 other organizations. Our share will help fund pursuit of on-the-ground money for later phases of the work. On an unrelated item, Porter said he and Schmidt will use a portion of the additional $44,000 of Northwest Straits Commission funding to complete several Cornet Bay data sets. This will put us in a better position later to make a more compelling case to funding agencies for the work we propose to do at Cornet Bay .

Shoreline signage. Pedersen distributed a two-page handout summarizing the status of the signage we are creating for 17 locations on Whidbey and Camano. Last week the Port of South Whidbey installed two local panels at Clinton Beach , completing that installation. In addition last week, rangers at Fort Casey State Park installed the Admiralty Inlet Marine Stewardship Area common panel at Keystone Jetty and also at the Ebey's Landing trailhead. For the last 10 days Pedersen has been working closely with artist Kris Wiltse on three panels to go along a trail in Oak Harbor 's Freund Marsh. Design is now complete and Wiltse will start soon to create the finished art. On the heels of the Oak Harbor project Wiltse will finish a panel for Maxwelton Beach and create two panels for English Boom Historical Park on Camano Island , and another panel for a separate location in Oak Harbor .

OTHER REPORTS

Water's Edge. Pedersen reported WSU Extension now has received the Quark software it needs so Stacey Neumiller can prepare the electronic files to reorder Water's Edge. He said he expects she will place the order shortly and that our current reserve of books should remain adequate until the delivery is received.

Creosote removal. Urstad said the section of beach from Fort Casey to Fort Ebey will be surveyed next week. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) expects to conduct the clean-up in May.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Community outreach -- LID and Lyceum expenditures

Porter reminded members we had talked earlier about allocating $750 of our community outreach budget to support three low impact development workshops being sponsored by Whidbey Island Conservation District (WICD). He suggests we apply this to a portion of the workshops' $1,100 in speaker fees and travel costs. He also reminded members we had talked of helping the Whidbey Lyceum pay for printing 300 program booklets for their series on the Life and Health of Puget Sound. He suggests we allocate $400 to that project. Motion by Campbell , second by Kind, carried unanimously to approve the two expenditures.

Recommendations for UW Luce Fellow team. Porter reported the student team would like to present their project deliverable at our June 3 meeting, before they disperse for the summer. At our last meeting the students described three potential behaviors around which they could construct social marketing campaigns – xeriscaping , natural lawn care and composting . They would like to know on which of these the MRC would like them to focus.

Kind: “I think convincing people to do xeriscaping would be quite difficult, getting them to tear out their landscaping and replace it with drought-tolerant plants. It would be much easier and less expensive for them to do these other two – reducing pesticides and composting.”

Jefferds: “ I disagree. Changing landscape patterns and natural lawn care seem to go hand-in-hand.”

Porter: “You could merge them and say that one is a lower-cost option…”

Bronson: “I'd like to see the focus on using native vegetation. I don't see where it's more expensive. It means you'll use fewer pesticides and such.”

Meehan: “Why don't we just focus on yards and offer a range of strategies for reducing water use and chemicals. Let the native piece be one of them. It's not expensive for people who are installing new yards.”

Cooley: “People want to know what's going to make the biggest difference. What's the most effective thing they could do?”

Kind: “If you can't convince people to do something because it's going to cost too much money, then it's not going to be effective.”

Porter: “If this is the consensus I think I can convey this to the team. Go with a yards campaign -- minimize chemicals, minimize water use and maximize native plants.”

NEW BUSINESS

Eelgrass project proposal / funding request. Jan Holmes, who heads the WSU Beach Watchers' monitoring team, explained that several residents of Holmes Harbor have noticed an apparent sharp decline in the amount of eelgrass present since Jim Norris conducted his video-mapping survey in 2000. One of those sounding the alarm was Beach Watcher Nancy Bartlett , who lives on the west side of the harbor where the disappearance has occurred. As a result the Beach Watchers intend to intensify their eelgrass monitoring in this area. Eelgrass expert, Dr. Sandy Wylie-Echevarria of Friday Harbor Labs, suggested they model their activities on what the San Juan County Beach Watchers are doing. He recommended they follow the protocols of the Department of Natural Resources and outfit a small skiff with carry-on equipment to monitor eelgrass. Holmes said she believes this is very do-able with their group. In Island County some 200 Beach Watchers are active, of whom nearly 100 participate in beach surveying. Holmes shared a budget estimate of $11,855 to outfit a small boat with the necessary equipment with video recorder, depth finder, generator and global positioning equipment. Kind suggested the Beach Watchers contact Joe Gatos, chair of the technical committee of the Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC). The NWSC has a budget available for ecosystem-wide projects and she thinks he would be a potential source of funding for this work. She pointed out eelgrass is one of the projects the NWSC is considering. Holmes pointed out that once the Beach Watchers are equipped, they could use this same equipment to expand their monitoring to other areas throughout the county in addition to Holmes Harbor . Holmes and Meehan both stressed that the details are still being researched and the budget may be adjusted as more information is received.

Holmes said the Beach Watchers would like to begin purchasing some of this equipment during May. Porter pointed out that the requested funds are from a pot of NWSC money that will not become available to spend until July. Meehan suggested the gap might be bridged by using other funds until the new money becomes available. Porter urged the team to consider how the project will support the Island County Salmon Recovery Plan, since it is the key regional link to the importance of eelgrass protection and restoration. He asked them to prepare a more comprehensive proposal and bring it to the MRC for approval in detail. This would include an estimate for such items as spare parts, maintenance, fuel and a more complete explanation of personnel costs.

Motion by Urstad, second by Campbell , carried unanimously, to endorse the request philosophically, pending further details.

ADJOURNMENT. 5:35 pm .