Pringle Creek Watershed Council

NOTE LOCATION & TIME

MEETING NOTICE

Pringle Creek Watershed Council
Leslie Middle School
3850 Pringle Rd SE
Salem, OR

May 13, 2008
6:30 PM

AGENDA / NOTES

Welcome & Introductions

Notes from Past Meetings

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About Pringle Creek

Council Core Values:

Stewardship of the Pringle Creek watershed as a natural entity in an urban environment;
Sustaining Pringle and Clark Creeks as naturally occurring watercourses;
Preserving Pringle and Clark Creeks’ riparian corridors to support native plants and wildlife;
Improving water quality; and
Promoting public awareness and education on watershed issues.

Pringle Creek Watershed Council notes:
Pringle Creek Watershed Council Board Meeting
May 13, 2008, Leslie Middle School

Attendees:

Michelle Delepine
Victor Dodier
Ed Emrick
Marcia Kelley
Susan Kephart

Mary Liepins
James Santana
John Savage
Steve Soltesz

Special Guests: Bruce Rodgers and Marie Gravelle

Dodier called the meeting to order at 6:30pm.

City Council Support:
City Councilor Bruce Rodgers expressed eagerness to support PCWC with a letter of support from the Salem City Council, Marion County, and the City of Keizer. He is active on the North Santiam Watershed Council, which has representatives from each sub basin within the watershed. He noted that a similar organizational technique could be employed amongst the local watershed councils. Councilor Tarter and Councilor Tesler are also on board with Councilor Rodgers.

Current & Proposed OW / JGEMS projects
Al White (not present) and Marie Gravelle (information - 15 minutes): Marie Gravelle introduced herself as the successor to Mike Weddle at the Jane Goodall Environmental Magnet School. She is looking for either restoration projects or studies along Pringle Creek that she can do with her students. She recently found Coho salmon and cutthroat trout near the confluence of Clark Creek and Pringle Creek while with her class and an ODFW biologist. They will be holding a work party to remove invasives and plant natives on May 29th. Liepins commented that Tema Abba from McNary High School expressed interest in working with JGEMS.

Review & adoption of April minutes / May 6 special meeting (action - 5 minutes)
Savage moved to adopt the April minutes; this motion was seconded by Emrick. All present at April meeting said Ôaye.Õ Liepins moved to accept the May 6th special meeting minutes; this motion was again seconded by Emrick. All present at the special meeting said Ôaye.Õ

OWEB Coordinator Grant Status - Victor (information - 10 minutes)
Dodier reported that the OWEB coordinator grant agreement was turned in and accepted. DodierÊ commented that he does not have to revise the work plan in order to make changes to the summary budget. Most of the OWEB funds will be allocated to coordinator costs. However, $6,500 has been put into supplies and services. The initial $33,500 can be drawn down now and if progress is made towards reinvigorating CCWC by November, as outlined in the work plan, then the second allotment of $33,500 may be awarded.

Emrick reported that the City of Salem (hereafter referred to as "the City") may possibly allocate more funding to the coordinator.

In response to questions regarding the duties of the coordinator, Kephart suggested that the coordinator would be responsible for keeping the books, grant tracking, and reporting watershed activities.

Next Steps: All (60 minutes)
Agreement with fiscal agent: Dodier reported that progress is underway to draft a fiscal agent agreement with the Salem-Keizer Urban Watershed Council Association. Karen Cromner may help write the agreement. There is a template on OWEBÕs website for such a MOU. However, Jim Castle needs a $500-1000 bond in order for SKUWCA to officially become PCWCÕs fiscal agent. Savage asked if money can be advanced from the OWEB Council Support grant to cover the bond. Dodier will check with OWEB to see if such an advance would be possible.

Soltesz asked if the City could be the fiscal agent. Emrick replied that it was too late for the upcoming fiscal year, but that in the future it may be possible if a line item is put into the budget ahead of time.

Dodier will play as minor a role as possible in the fiscal agent agreement as he has pre-existing obligations to both parties, creating a potential conflict of interest. Liepins will draft the fiscal agent agreement. Kelley offered to help.

Agreement with Marilyn Walster: WalsterÕs asking hourly rate is $75/hr. She requested to "use [her] time only on major issues, not for smaller coordinator tasks." Emrick commented that her primary goal should be to get a new coordinator on board by fall. He continued by indicating that her scope of work agreement would only allow her to bill a certain number of hours per month. Emrick noted that WalsterÕs scope of work agreement with Pudding was project-oriented. He suggested that only pressing tasks be included in her work plan, such as refining by-laws and developing both the Council Work Plan and a Policy & Procedures Manual. Liepens agreed that the by-laws need to be examined, and stated that minor revisions should not be held until the annual meeting. Savage commented that making an orientation packet for new members should be given low priority, and perhaps reserved as a duty for the recruited coordinator. Kephart suggested that WalsterÕs budget be set on an individual project basis. It was generally agreed that stable spending is important in order to keep the recruited coordinator employed on an ongoing basis. Savage stated his top three priorities for Walster to accomplish: writing the Policy & Procedures Manual; recruiting a replacement coordinator; and developing an outreach / Council work plan. Emrick said that he has budgeted 266 hours for Walster. This will break down to sixteen hours per week or sixty-six hours per month. Savage asked if a cap could be set on renumeration, at $20,000. Liepins commented that WalsterÕs experience with OWEB should be considered in assigning her projects. Kephart added that she could be considered an asset to the development of the next OWEB Council Support grant application. Liepins suggested that knowledge of OWEB could be a criterion in the selection of the new coordinator.

Match identification / reporting: OWEB Council Support grant requires a 25% match, however, in-kind support can be used in the form of volunteer hours dating back to July 2007. Kephart offered hours used with her lab classes on Pringle projects. Kelley suggested that other volunteer hours be calculated using the past minutes and work party sign-in sheets. Emrick added that nearly $4,000 was spent by the City for the Fairview project. Kelley offered to be the recipient of the tracked hours and asked that members report their time by the end of May. Kephart added that she easily spent $3,000 in monitoring supplies.

Planning for outreach / assessment of interest meeting: Santana offered to host the interest meeting at Pringle Creek Community, perhaps with a BBQ. He suggested that donations for food could be solicited from companies along the creek. Savage stated that he wants a script written up to know exactly what will be covered at the meeting. It was suggested to open the meeting with an ice breaker that incorporates watershed council goals. Kephart noted that leads of each sub basin, including those without historic watershed councils, should be invited. Emrick suggested that Wendy Hudson and a city councilor be invited to speak. He believes that the interest meeting cannot be delayed for summer, as it serves as a turning point for the direction of the Council. Emrick offered a list of contacts, including Richard Walsh, Dennis Coho (former Keizer mayor), and Mill Creek members. Savage wondered whether it would be beneficial to begin by organizing a small group meeting of leaders. Emrick agreed that it was important to recruit champions, not just those who would show up once and disappear. Dodier suggested identifying and contacting a relative handful of potential leaders to gauge general interest. Kephart listed Karen Ulress, Joe Bowersox, and Nathan Silverports as potential contacts. Liepins suggested getting in touch with the Battle Creek Trail to find leaders for a Battle Creek sub basin. Contacting park foundations and neighborhood associations was also suggested.

The following were ideas for drafting a script:

OWEB would fund a broader combined watershed council

LetÕs get together to explore this possibility and see what direction we want to go

Next regular meeting set for June 10th, 2008.

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