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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 04 27 CFFCOC Special Meeting Final Summary  * Decisions and action items are indicated in bold font. Members Present: Phil Andrus, District 2; Mary Biskup, District 1; JD Gallant, District 3; Rob Harbour, Interest – Working Lands; Richard Jahnke, Interest – Coastal Areas; Joanne Pontrello, Chair, District 2; Ron Rempel, Interest – Wildlife Conservation Biology; Craig Schrader, Interest – Climate Change; Dave Seabrook, Vice Chair, Interest – Food Security; Lorna Smith, Interest – Ecotourism; Dave Wilkinson, District 1 Members Absent: Scott Brinton, Interest – Agriculture County Staff Present: Tami Pokorny, Public Health Rebekah Brooks, Recorder (Rebekah Brooks Contracting) Guests Present: Peter Bahls (Northwest Watershed Institute), Heidi Eisenhour (Jefferson County Commissioner) I. Call to Order: Chair Joanne Pontrello called the meeting to order at 2:02 PM. II. Welcome and Introductions III. Approval of Minutes: Dave Seabrook moved to preliminarily approve the April 6, 2021 CFCOC Meeting minutes as written; Rob Harbour seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Dave Seabrook moved to accept the January 11, 2021 CFCOC Meeting minutes; Mary Biskup seconded. The motion passed unanimously. IV. Approval of Draft of Agenda: Joanne Pontrello suggested pushing the Old Business and Subcommittee Reports to the end of the agenda. Rob Harbour moved to push the Old Business and Subcommittee Reports to the end of the agenda; Richard Jahnke seconded. The motion passed by consensus. V. Guest Observer comments: Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour said she had been involved with projects for decades in the County and was interested in watching the recommendation and approval process for the Conservation Futures projects. VI. New Business Conflict of Interest Consideration Tami Pokorny reminded the group that the Jefferson County attorney no longer feels that it’s necessary to use the Appearance of Fairness Forms, and that potential conflicts should interfere with members rating the projects as this body is advisory only. He suggested that members share any involvement they had in any projects for transparency. Rob Harbour and Mary Biskup mentioned their brief associations with the current projects and sponsors, which raised no concerns from the group. Review of Project Selection Process Joanne Pontrello went over the project award process. A motion would be needed for each project to determine whether it was worthy of funding. Following that, decisions would be made to decide funding allocations. Presentation of Composite Scores Tami Pokorny displayed the scores and ranking of each project, which were as follows: Hannan Farm: 256.7 points Camp Discovery Bay Acquisition: 254.8 points Big Quilcene – Moon Valley Acquisitions: 236.6 points Schmidt Farm: 233.5 points Quimper Wildlife Corridor Addition: 209 points Develop Funding Recommendations JD Gallant discussed his concerns with the Big Quilcene – Moon Valley Acquisitions project. He supported the purchase of the land, but he felt that the way the project would be done could hurt Quilcene Bay and the River downriver from the hatchery. Rob Harbour clarified that the Committee would have the opportunity to participate throughout the permitting process. Phil Andrus moved that the Big Quilcene – Moon Valley Acquisitions project was worthy of funding as it scored above the 70% threshold; Ron Rempel seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Phil Andrus moved that the Camp Discovery Bay Acquisition project was worthy of funding as it scored above the 70% threshold; Mary Biskup seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Dave Seabrook asked about the guidelines for a project that the Committee might determine to be not worthy of funding if they were all above the 70% threshold. Discussion followed, and the Committee reviewed the Bylaws. The Committee reserved the right to deem a project worthy of funding regardless of where it scored on the threshold. The Committee could also decide in which order and what amount each project could be awarded funding, irrespective of ranking. Dave Seabrook moved that Hannan Farm and Schmidt Farm projects were worthy of funding because they both scored above the 70% threshold; Ron Rempel seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The Quimper Wildlife Corridor Addition scored below the 70% threshold. The Committee reviewed the scoresheet and corrected some scores that had discrepancies. Phil Andrus requested that the scoresheets be turned in earlier in the future so that the Committee could have the opportunity to review them prior to the Ranking Meeting. Mary Biskup moved that the Quimper Wildlife Corridor Addition still be considered worthy of funding; Richard Jahnke seconded. After discussion, the Committee voted with eight in favor and three opposed. The motion passed. Phil Andrus moved to fully fund Hannan Farm to the request of $25,000; JD Gallant seconds. Mary Biskup expressed concern that purely as a cattle farm, the project offered no climate change benefits. Discussion and agreement followed. The Committee recognized that the point was to preserve the land. The motion passed unanimously. David Wilkinson started the conversation about how to divide the remaining funds by stating that he would be in favor of partially funding rather than fully funding Camp Discovery Bay Acquisition. Discussion followed on the merits and problems of the next three highest ranked projects: Camp Discovery Bay Acquisition, Big Quilcene – Moon Valley Acquisitions, and Schmidt Farm, and various possible funding allocations. Phil Andrus moved to fund Camp Discovery Bay Acquisition at $122,500, and to fully fund Big Quilcene – Moon Valley Acquisition at $89,500; Lorna Smith seconded. The motion passed unanimously. VII. Old Business Bylaws Tami Pokorny will put the Bylaw revision on the next CFCOC meeting agenda. Sub-Committee Reports Rob Harbour reported that he and Tami had been working on a StoryMap of past projects to offer descriptions of the program and the projects to the public. They will continue after this funding cycle and bring an update back to the full Committee. Tami stressed the importance of photos, and asked the group to provide some high-resolution pictures of projects if they were able to do so. IX. Announcements/Administrative Staff Update Tami Pokorny mentioned that the sponsors were concerned that so many extensive questions were asked during the presentations. Phil Andrus requested a meeting to discuss the project questions, times of meetings, and the alignment of the score sheets with the application. The group agreed. Next Meeting The next meeting was scheduled for 6/1/21 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Dave Seabrook requested the attorney’s comments in writing. Tami requested comments from the group for a press release about the projects that were approved for funding. X. Guest Observer Comments There were no comments. XI. Adjournment Rob Harbour moved to adjourn the meeting at 3:34 PM; Lorna Smith seconded. The meeting was adjourned by consensus. Action Items: Tami Pokorny will put the Bylaw revision on the next CFCOC meeting agenda.