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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM021903 Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee Minutes VVednesday,February19,2003 Present: David Jenkins, District 2 Anne MUIphy, District 2 Rex Rice, Environment Wendi Wrinkle, Jefferson County Commissioners Judy Damore, District 1 Spike Hall, District 3 (Vice Chair) Pat Pearson, WSU Cooperative Extension Absent: Bill Kalina, ex-officio, U.s. Navy, Indian Island Larry Crockett, ex-officio, Port of Port Townsend Yam Brooks, Marine Science Practitioner Judy Surber, City of Port Townsend Jeff Gallant, District 1 Andrew Palmer, District 3 (Chair) Guests: Joanna Sanders, Secretary OPENING BUSINESS Vice Chair Judy Damore called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the Madrona Room, at the WSU Cooperative Extension, Port Hadlock, Washington. No changes were suggested to the January minutes however, due to the lack of a quorum, approval of the minutes was tabled. The Agenda was revised to include "Member Resignation" under New Business. Members welcomed Commissioner Wrinkle to the meeting. Wrinkle informed the MRC that Commission representation at its meetings might rotate among the Commissioners. She expressed interest in attending a new member orientation if and when one is scheduled. It was noted that Tom Cowan could also provide a detailed orientation to the Commissioners upon request. Commissioner Wrinkle was given some information about the Georgia Basin Puget Sound research conference. OBSERVER COMMENTS - None OLD BUSINESS Year 3 Project Updates - Habitat Stewardship: The Habitat Stewardship Committee met last week and discussed a possible restructuring or revitalization of this committee, which might also be a topic for the MRC retreat. In addition, they reviewed an initial draft report from Barbara Nightingale, which concludes her work on the Year 3 project and summarizes part of the Year 2 Action grant project. When finalized, this report would be distributed to the full MRC membership. The draft report is available upon request for member review/comment. A question was whether grant funds are available for producing full~color copies of the report for distribution beyond the MRC. Pat noted that while several colored reports would be provided, she suggested the possibility of using MRC retreat funds to produce additional black and white copies. Year 3 Project Update - Olympia Oyster: Judy Damore reported that the outstanding project tasks she has been helping complete include the newspaper insert and seeding site signage. The Committee has received text for the newspaper insert, which is a combination of Barbara Nightingale's summary and technical writing on oyster reproduction by Chimacum high school students. Interested members were invited to offer suggestions regarding fine·tuning the newspaper insert, the draft of which should be edited by the first or second week of March. The MRC is likely to receive a grant extension until April 30. Sign text has been edited and will next go to the artists for layout and design work. Two identical signs would be produced for placement at the Trend West Condominium and the Gardiner boat ramps. Sample artwork for the newspaper insert was circulated. There was also interest in including more text and historical photos on the subject of the Olympia Oyster . Spike Hall joined the meeting Marine Resources Committee - February 19, 2003 Page: 2 Year Four Action Grant - Coordinator/Contractor Report: Anne Murphy noted that draft scopes of work for the coordinator positions were included in the agenda packet. In light of the last year's challenges in issuing a Request for Qualifications and hiring a contractor in a timely manner, she has begun discussions with qualified individuals with experience in working with either the County or the MRC and who may be interested in either or both of these positions. There was some discussion about the three possible approaches: request for proposals, small works roster, or contract employee. To expedite the interview process, there was consensus that the hiring committee would select candidates using either the small works roster or contract employee approach, or a combination of both. Joanna Sanders was asked to consult with Dave Christensen and Katherine Baril to obtain more information about the possibilities for hiring of a contract employee through WSU or the County. Year Four Action Grant - TarboolDabob Seining: Anne Murphy reported on the seining that occurred last Wednesday and Thursday. The number of summer chum smolts found indicated that this endangered species is using the bay, which should help further nearshore efforts. Although a contract has yet to be finalized, Peter Bahls has agreed to work with Marine Science Center Staff regarding volunteer coordination for these monthly beach seines. She agreed to send the MRC these dates when available. Year Four Action Grant - Work Plan (handout): Members received copies of the Year 4 Grant for review. Pat Pearson asked that any changes be submitted to her by February 25. She noted a minor change to page 3, Task 2.4, which now says the MRC would participate in follow up monitoring. This should be changed to might. This change reflects the expectation that tribes would monitor during their surveying. The MRC then received copies of the Year 3 Work Plan, in order to begin in March to draft a Year 4 Work Plan for each of the grant tasks. Spike Hall and Pat Pearson agreed to meet for three hours on Wednesday, February 26 to draft this work plan. NEW BUSINESS Member Resignation: There was recognition and discussion of Larry Lawson's letter of resignation. Anne Murphy, John Cambalik, Spike Hall and Rex Rice expressed interest in meeting with Larry to better understand his concerns. There was some discussion about his dissatisfaction with the MRC's process and the perception of the conflict of interest in hiring a contractor. It was suggested that the issues raised might be brought to the retreat for further discussion. Recommendations were solicited for another representative for either the commercial fishers or shellfish growers. There was support for contacting those who participated in the focus groups to encourage them to apply. Anne Murphy agreed to make some contacts. Northwest Straits Commission Report: Anne Murphy reported that there are two new alternates on the Commission: Scott McCreery of British Petroleum (alternate for Mike Stoner of Port of Bellingham) and Harlan James ttom the Lummi tribe (alternate for Terry Williams of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission). Interest was expressed in hearing the outcome of the recent tribal discussions of MP As. Doug Dobyns suggested that rather than spending funds on his current liaison position, the MRCs should begin direct conversations with the tribes and consider offering them funding for specific projects. A review of the five- year Northwest Straits Conservation Initiative would be conducted by a national research council afa March 2004 conference. Part of helping these scientists do their homework for this conference would involve updating the MRC web sites to include information about who we are and how we have addressed or made progress toward addressing the benchmarks. Andrea Coping is organizing a session at the upcoming Georgia Basin conference in which MRCs (including Jefferson County's) would present. OTHER/ADMINISTRATIVE AND AGENDA PLANNING Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference (handout): Pat Pearson reported on her efforts to gain approval of a revision to the Northwest Straits Year 3 Action Grant to cover conference registràtion and travel expenses. She explained that this would be done by combining the just over $4.8K remaining ttom Tasks I and 2 into a new Task 6 for training. These funds could cover not only registration and travel expenses for Marine Resources Committee - February 19,2003 Page: 3 the Puget Sound Conference, but MRC retreat expenses, and a Blackboard program. Those who had expressed interest in attending at a previous meeting were Anne Murphy, Pat Pearson, Judy Damore, Andy Palmer. Rex Rice and Spike Hall also may be interested. Joanna Sanders agreed to send another announcement to members. Sharing registration and expenses is also a possibility. BOCC Presentation: Pat Pearson reported that the MRC is scheduled to present at the April 28th meeting of the BOCC at 10:15 AM. She also scheduled a similar presentation for their Monday, September 22 meeting.. There was agreement to table further discussion of this item until the March meeting. MRC Retreat: The date of Thursday, April 10, 2003 was confirmed. Rex Rice will check on catering pricing for 10-15 individuals. Joanna Sanders will try to reserve a meeting room at Ft. Worden or elsewhere and contact Susan Latham for facilitation services. There was a brief discussion of agenda topics mentioned at previous meetings, with a desire to limit the number attempted. It was thought that a separate discussion of Year 5 projects might occur in May. Blackboard Training: Pat Pearson and Spike Hall agreed to prepare some schedule options for MRC training on this system. It was thought that once trained, the MRC could make an informed decision about purchasing Blackboard. Discovery Bay Tour: David Jenkins reported on his conversation with Dennis Willows and David Duggins about a Discovery Bay tour in the University of Washington's new research vessel, the RV Centennial, sometime during the last week of March. Willows and Duggins were interested in the artificial reef on the east side of Discovery Bay because of the rocky reef fish population there and in doing transects and using the ROV to examine the bottom. The tour may include a concurrent University project. Some students and Bay Watch members might be interested in joining the MRC members. Passengers would need to cover the fuel costs, which, at $101hr, would be roughly $100. More infonnation would be forthcoming. OBSERVER COMMENT - None PREP ARE AGENDA I ADJOURN The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19, 2003 at 7:00 PM in the Madrona Room, Port Hadlock, Washington. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM.