AGENDA forFRIENDS OF THE NORTH FORK OF THE SHENANDOAH RIVERBOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday June 12, 2008
6:30 pm Call to Order – Ron
Approve Minutes from April Board Meeting -
Strategic plan discussion: plan review and approval
Next steps - implementation/work plan development - Planning committee?
Business/Governance:Financial report - Gary
Status of Quick Books effort - Kim and Gary
- committee will establish bookkeeping policies and procedures
Insurance Update - Kim
New Board Members
- discussion - any updates?
Discussion of standard for estimating membership numbers
Grants:Chesapeake Bay Funders Grant - year 2 - $20,000 approved - Leslie
- approval of action plan - Ron needs to sign the agreement
- report on year one due July 1
- meeting with Jamie Baxter on June 18
Monitoring proposal to VEE and Oakhill on Friday, June 13, 2008
MARPAT proposal submitted - Kim Uhl submitted in late May
Agua Fund Capacity building proposal submitted for $15,000 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Committee Updates and Action Items:Science Committee - Status and outlook for the lab...
- Next steps on reporting on Broadway and Woodstock STP
- Proposed investigation of drinking water organics
- Smith Creek Partnership - TMDL meeting, May 27 - Leslie
Legislative Committee - commendation letter to DEQ for their action against the City of Winchester?
Education and Outreach Committee - Herald Articles committee
- committee update, strategy
- Radio updates for the River - John Holmes
- Honoring Farmers - Jack Lorenz
- MARPAT update - Cindy Frenzel
- Recycling at the Shenandoah County Fair
- share ad space at Rain barrel workshop?
Fundraising Committee- Endowment update - Margaret Loren
- Potential Summer/Fall event in North Fork watershed - potential dates - September 20, September 27, October 5 (weekend of Ches. Bay Watershed Forum in Shepherdstown), October 11, November 1 (weekend before election day).
- Potential Fall/Spring D.C. fundraiser - John Holmes
- Potential "Stonewall Jackson" event - Jack Lorenz
Miscellaneous
New Business:
Calendar:- July 14 - Rain barrel workshop in Strasburg
- July 19 - Riverkeeper Rodeo
- September 6 - Volunteer monitor appreciation day
MINUTES for FRIENDS OF THE NORTH FORK OF THE SHENANDOAH RIVERBOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday June 12, 2008
6:30 pm Call to Order – Ron
Approve Minutes from May Board Meeting -
- approved
Strategic plan discussion: plan review and approval - John moved to approve plan and Mary seconded.
- 50% on Objective 3.3, measurable results - raise 20% to 50%
Next steps - implementation/work plan development.
- Leslie will assign goals and objectives to working committees and determine if there are any gaps that are not filled by existing committees - then work forward
Business/Governance:Financial report - Gary
Status of Quick Books effort - Kim and Gary
- committee will establish bookkeeping policies and procedures
Insurance Update - Kim
New Board Members
- Cindy - Bryce/Basye Lions club potential board members - Dick Perry may be
interested and there may be others that would be interested.
- re-evaluate list, Board will try some more and then Leslie will follow up with asks
of the membership.
- also, start recruiting for committees from list of volunteers that Leslie sent around.
Discussion of standard for estimating membership numbers - one membership will = 2 people.
Grants:Chesapeake Bay Funders Grant - year 2 - $20,000 approved - Leslie
- approval of action plan - Ron signed the agreement.
- report on year one due July 1
- meeting with Jamie Baxter on June 18 - Leslie
Monitoring proposal to VEE and Oakhill on Friday, June 13, 2008
MARPAT proposal submitted - Kim Uhl submitted in late May
Agua Fund Capacity building proposal submitted for $15,000 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Committee Updates and Action Items:Science Committee - Status and outlook for the lab...
- is there some way to honor and recognize Ken AND Diane - picture of First Spring trip.
- Leslie will follow up on this.
- need inventory equipment and see if there are other uses for equipment - Ken is
working on this
- Next steps on reporting on Broadway and Woodstock STP
- John went to look at files on Broadway and talked with Broadway town planner-
- continuing problems - already used their permitted phosphate levels for the year. Can treat phosphate - but what they're doing is making sludge that will have to be removed.
- self evident problem is phosphate permit overrun but consent order trumps
the permit making it not relevant.
- there is no incentive in the consent for poultry factories to reduce the chemicals in their effluent
- town wants to design plant that will take care of factory effluent regardless of
whether the factories remove more components, or not.
- Broadway has replaced a lot of equipment.
- Cargill and Pilgrims Pride are contributing funding to Broadway plant
- Herald Article - good things - bad things
- Newspaper writes the article - interviews us and then interviews
Broadway and the chicken factories - are they reducing their effluent
components or not?
- Good news is that things are on track to be upgraded sufficiently by
2011. Broadway has an open door policy.
- Will be interesting to see water quality change (or not) after improvements
- John will talk with Susan Thompson about the news article
- Write an article on Woodstock STP? -
- state inspection occurred Jan. 07 found lab problems - not surprising as
protocols significantly changed.
- next state inspection will not be until September. - we will wait until State inspects in September and then will write article - hopefully it can be positive article.
- Proposed investigation of drinking water organics - Phase I approved!
- Kim suggested teaming with University to find a chemistry department -
intern to do chemistry work. Grant money potentially from Oak Hill.
- Question - what would proper protocol be - intern would figure out what would be the proper way to test drinking water and then approach state or local govnt. to do this testing. If they won't we will. John would rather have a certified private lab to do the testing rather than a college.
- pressing the issue with the State is a high priority
- then pursuing our own monitoring if they will not get on board.
- Mary raised question about Riverkeeper's role in the study - they have a highly adversarial role - do we need to partner with anyone?
- Margaret - John could begin investigating and then determine whether the potential is there to effectively test drinking water - then come back to the Board with potentials for testing. This is what he will do = a second proposal.
- Cindy's comments - people are "freaked out" about the drinking water issue.
- Ron - big picture comment - what do we do with data once we get it. Give people the data - we don't necessarily need to interpret but just get info. out there and let people use it as they will.
- Smith Creek Partnership - TMDL meeting, May 27 - Leslie
- benthic and E. coli stations on Smith Creek - related to the VEE grant if that is successful.
- Holmans Creek TMDL grant has been terminated
- ongoing interest in Holmans Creek citizen's committee in putting an E. coli and benthic location in this watershed - VEE grant.
Advocacy/Policy Committee - commendation letter to DEQ for their action against the City of Winchester?
- should we compliment DEQ for taking action.
- people who violate the law should be held accountable and we are impressed that DEQ followed through - but this needs to happen on a reliable, regular basis.
- BUT - DEQ also found out that treatment plant had not been submitting monthly reports - why didn't DEQ know this before reports of the illegal release.
- Margaret will write letter to the editor or letter to DEQ - pleased to see they levied fines at least once.
Education and Outreach Committee - Herald Articles committee
- committee update, strategy
- post articles on the website
- make scrap book
- fish articles - local fisherman tell their story - John Coleman (works with Harry Murray)
- Radio updates for the River - John Holmes
- one minute spot every week and invited John to come back in August
- should be a major sponsor.
- Honoring Farmers - Jack Lorenz
- Annual Founders (in honor of Kranich and Hudgins) and award that awards a farmer in the watershed that does the most to help water quality - annual meeting, announce to media, etc. - recognition only. Work with Farm Bureau to develop a selection process - criteria, with nominations (Lord FX Soil and Water Dist. Does something like this already). Mary will find someone on Farm Bureau to help.
- MARPAT update - Cindy Frenzel
- slowing for the summer but Fall is beginning to fill up.
- vacation Bible School in August.
- bags are very popular - giving them away right now
- possibly could do more and sell more for maybe $2 or $3
- will be sending out more letters - also to Churches - target 4 o 5 Churches and get a since of their interest or ones that you are familiar with. Find way to work a donation into the picture.
- Recycling at the Shenandoah County Fair
- share ad space at Rain barrel workshop?
- Leslie will get more information
- Cindy wants a watershed model and wants to make a floor cloth.
Fundraising Committee- Endowment update - Margaret Lorenz will meet with Elizabeth before next meeting.
- Mary and Margaret need to get together to talk with Strasburg Park - where to plant trees.
- Potential Summer/Fall event in North Fork watershed - potential dates - September 20, September 27, October 5 (weekend of Ches. Bay Watershed Forum in Shepherdstown), October 11, November 1 (weekend before election day).
- have a location in Toms Brook for fish Fry
- October 11 - tentative,
- meals,
-
- Potential Winter/Early Spring D.C. fundraiser - John Holmes
- Potential "Stonewall Jackson" event - Jack Lorenz
Miscellaneous
New Business:
Calendar:- July 14 - Rain barrel workshop in Strasburg
- July 19 - Riverkeeper Rodeo
- September 6 - Volunteer monitor appreciation day
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