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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 05 20 CFFCOC Special Meeting Final Summary  * Decisions and action items are indicated in bold font. Members Present: Phil Andrus, District 2; Mary Biskup, District 1; Rob Harbour, Interest – Working Lands; Richard Jahnke, Interest – Coastal Areas; Joanne Pontrello, Chair, District 2; Craig Schrader, Interest – Climate Change; Lorna Smith, Interest – Ecotourism; Dave Wilkinson, District 1 Members Absent: Scott Brinton, Interest – Agriculture; Lige Christian, District 3; JD Gallant, District 3; Linda Saunders, Interest – Historical/Cultural; Dave Seabrook, Vice Chair, Interest – Food Security County Staff Present: Tami Pokorny, Environmental Public Health Rebekah Brooks, recorder, Rebekah Brooks Contracting Guests Present: Erik Kingfisher, Jefferson Land Trust (JLT) I. Call to Order: Chair Joanne Pontrello called the meeting to order at 4:02 PM. II. Welcome and Introductions III. Approval of Minutes: Mary Biskup moved to preliminarily approve the March 20, 2020 minutes; Richard Jahnke seconded. The minutes were approved by consensus. The September 9, 2019 minutes were accepted by consensus. IV. Review of Agenda: Tami Pokorny clarified that the April meeting minutes had been completed, but were accidentally not distributed. V. Guest Observer comments: There were no comments. VI. Old Business A. Annual Reports The Committee reviewed the Annual Reports, and made comments regarding the flooding of the Short property and upcoming treatment for reed canary grass. Richard Jahnke moved to accept the Annual Reports as written; Rob Harbour seconded. The motion was accepted with all in favor. B. Long-Term Monitoring Review with Erik Kingfisher, JLT Stewardship Director Richard Jahnke summarized the JCCF Committee’s request for long-term monitoring reports. He explained that as things progress over time, the Committee loses track of old projects. Although there are good relationships with trustworthy sponsors, the Committee wishes for more feedback since the projects are designed to go on in perpetuity. The Committee is looking for a kind of “touching base” on where the projects they have funded are over time, in a way that is not onerous to the sponsors. They would like to work out a simple mechanism for getting feedback on a regular basis that would enable them to better interface with the public and honestly report on the status of project properties. Erik responded that his interpretation was that the JCCF wanted a one-time report on all of the properties. However, he understood that the Committee members were ambassadors of the program and made recommendations for County money, and that they needed to be able to respond with integrity to questions from the public. He emphasized that it is the sponsor’s responsibility to ensure the long-term track record, and reminded the group that the JLT structure is robust and resilient. He expressed his hesitancy to send internal documents in annual reports for every project, and suggested that perhaps the JLT needed a seat on the JCCF Committee to provide updates for any questions. He asked whether the Committee was requesting annual reports beyond the already required three years. David Wilkinson mentioned that the Manual does not require the JCCF Committee to review reports. Tami Pokorny clarified that the argument could be made for the importance of checking in with the County to make sure nothing changes, but that there was no obligation in the County Code. Richard pointed out that, as the program gets older, the long-term reports become more significant, although they would not need to be annual. Sponsors are scored on their long-term stewardship record in the project score sheets, which should provide impetus for updating the Committee on the long-term properties. Tami maintained a spreadsheet that kept very basic records on when properties were visited by sponsors, but it would be nice to have some confirmation from the sponsor on the spreadsheet that acknowledged that there was follow up. Erik agreed that that made sense, and said that was what took place on the JLT level. He asked what the Committee would do with that information. Rob Harbour explained that as the program ambassadors, they would have the information for fine-tuning the JCCF as it evolved, and to hold as the standard that was held in case concern arose with other sponsors. Lorna Smith expressed her intention to use the reports to promote the JCCF. Erik said that he wished to prevent awkward relationships and legal issues. David asked if there was an ongoing contractual affiliation between the County and the JLT after the first three years. Erik confirmed that one did not exist in relation to any projects. Lorna wrapped the discussion up by asking Erik what worked for him and the JLT, now that he knew what the Committee was looking for. Erik responded that the three-year form could be refreshed to better respond to the JCCF Committee’s concerns. He also committed to refreshing his database format to include all of his monitoring dates. He will consider what additional fields might be included, perhaps three categories such as the year inspected, whether the project largely complied with the goals, and whether there was a major violation. *He will send the 2020 monitoring dates, and try to better align the form. Lorna asked Erik to keep the Committee’s two main goals in mind: the Committee’s due diligence, and the promotion of the program. Erik concluded the agenda item by announcing that Clallam County finally instated a Conservation Futures program, after seeing it successfully modelled in Jefferson County for so many years. C. Bylaws Joanne Pontrello suggested that the group move through the nine sections of the Bylaws. Tami Pokorny reminded the Committee that a subcommittee proposed changes to the Bylaws, and that the new Jefferson County attorney Austin Watkins reviewed both the Bylaws and the proposed changes. She gave an explanation and overview of all the changes that were made. Rob Harbour moved to approve the changes as written and discussed in Articles I and II; Phil Andrus seconded. The motion was approved with all in favor. Rob Harbour moved to approve all changes to Section A; Lorna Smith seconded. The motion was approved with all in favor. Phil Andrus moved to approve Article III B through Article IV; Lorna Smith seconded. The motion was approved with all in favor. Mary Biskup moved to approve Article V of the Bylaws as amended; Richard Jahnke seconded. The motion was approved with all in favor. There were no changes to Article VI. Richard Jahnke moved to approve all remaining Articles VII, VIII and IX; Lorna Smith seconded. The motion was approved with all in favor. VII. Subcommittee Reports These were addressed under the items Long-Term Monitoring Review and Bylaws. VIII. New Business 2021 Scoresheet Revisions As the Scoresheet is usually reviewed in the September JCCF Meeting, this item was tabled until then. IX. Announcements/Administrative Staff Update Tami Pokorny announced that a candidate to represent District 3 on the JCCF Committee was needed to complete Lige Christian’s term through the end of 2020. A Zoom meeting to bring forward the Committee’s recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners was scheduled for 6/8/20; *Lorna Smith volunteered to be on the call. Next Meeting Rob Harbour, Craig Schrader, Mary Biskup and Phil Andrus volunteered for a Materials Subcommittee, to go over the Operations and Management projects and changes to any JCCF Materials. The subcommittee will meet on 5/28/20 at 3:00 PM over Zoom connection, and report back to the full Committee at the next JCCF Meeting. *Tami Pokorny will send out the meeting invitation, and *Joanne Pontrello will distribute her ideas for changes to the Scoresheet. The next full JCCF Committee Meeting is scheduled for 9/8/20. Draft CF Calendar 2021 Round Rob Harbour moved to approve the draft JCCF 2021 Calendar as presented; Craig Schrader seconded. The motion passed with all in favor. X. Guest Observer Comments There were no comments. XI. Adjournment Mary Biskup moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:56 PM; Rob Harbour seconded. The motion passed with all in favor. Action Items: *Erik Kingfisher will send the 2020 monitoring dates, and try to better align the three-year monitoring form. *Lorna Smith volunteered to be on the Board of County Commissioners call. *Tami Pokorny will send out the Materials Subcommittee Meeting invitation. *Joanne Pontrello will distribute her ideas for changes to the Scoresheet.