RRWC Meeting of November 11, 2006

Russian River Watershed Council

Full Council Meeting

Minutes of November 11, 2006

Veteran’s Memorial Hall, Cloverdale, California

MEETING MINUTES

Approve RRWC Meeting Agenda of November 11, 2006 – Action Item

Agenda approval – Ayes: 11, Nays: 0, Abstains: 0

Approve Minutes of July 8, 2006 – Action Item

Comment noted and changes made to July 8 meeting minutes.

Agenda approval – Ayes: 12, Nays: 0, Abstains: 0

Agency Announcements – Discussion

Karen Rippey, USACE, announced WAMP TRC meeting on November 16, 10:30-3:00, Windsor Library.

Graton Community Services District will be planting trees on Dec 2.

Community Announcements – Discussion

Russian River Cleanup next weekend, on the weekend of September 23 collected over 10,000 lbs of trash, including 170 tires, 1-V8 engine, 3 refrigerators. There was less garbage than last year and believe that do to the fencing near Geyserville and Kennedy Lane in Healdsburg. These locations produce the worst trash. Bob thanked everyone involved in the clean-up and appreciate everyone’s effort.

A committee of the Sequoia Paddling Club has been organized to find additional locations for access to the Russian River. There is a 25 to 30 mile reach of the river that is non-accessible. Rick, State Coastal Conservancy, is working with the Club to develop a grant to improve access. Joanna said that the Russian River Property Owners Association would like to meet with Club to resolved the trash problems that public access creates.

Officer Reports – Discussion

Presidents Report: Tim Buckner reported that the SCWA Grant is moving forward. Contract issues for the grant have not been resolve yet.

Secretary Report: Scott spoke with SCWA staff about the non-profit number and RRWC application. The RRWC and the sub-contractor need general liability and car insurance to receive the grant funding. Non-profit number was issued previously that is different from the number Scott received. Scott is straightening out and ensuring the number is correct.

Treasurers Report: Beginning bank balance was $216, expenses of PO Box of $72 and bank fees of $4. Donations of Rusty Klassen of $100 and $24 from Graton Day/Stewardship Forum. End Balance of $164. Grant writing is in process.

Public Outreach

Working with Mendocino Co. RCD to obtain Public Outreach funds. Sonoma County Watershed Stewardship event was complete and thank everyone for their participation.

Mendocino County RRWC Event will be heal on March 10 to correspond with Dan Smith’s availability. Rowland Standford would like to focus on watershed runoff issues.

Colleen has been attending the SCSC meetings.

Meggy put RRW Directory in all Sonoma County libraries. Tim will take a directory to Ukiah Library.

Sub-Watershed Work Plan with SCWA

Colleen was selected by the Steering Committee to be the sub-contractor of the SCWA Grant. Colleen is willing to waive the need for workmans comp. insurance. General liability insurance is required. Colleen is hoping that the RRWC will hire Colleen as an employee to cover Colleen’s general liability. Scott, Jerome and Colleen will meet to determine the best way to resolve issues and move forward.

Rue questioned if it was possible to hire RRWC officers or members. Scott stated that the majority of the officers need to stay disenfranchised. Rue highlighted the importance of appropriate roles and responsibilities to do the project right for the future of the RRWC non-profit status.

At the September RRWC meeting, the RRWC gave the responsibility of the approval and implementation of the grant to the Steering Committee.

Scott will ensure that the non-profit bylaws do not restrict the Steering Committee from hiring Colleen.

Rue suggested that the RRWC set a standard of practice for potential future contracts/grants. A sub-committee was formed (Jerome, Rue, Meggy and Karen) to develop standard of practice and nominate officers for next years.

September RRWC meeting minutes need to be updated to include approval of the Steering Committee to implement SCWA grant.

Ayes: 9 Nays: 1 Abstains: 1

Next Steps & Agenda Items for December 13 Steering Committee Meeting and January 20, 2007 RRWC meeting – Discussion

Potential agenda items for October 4 Steering Committee meeting

Annual Officers Election

Financial Reporting Process

Potential presentation: Jake MacKenzie – NCIRWMP process and future

PRESENTATIONS

Santa Rosa Citywide Creek Master Plan

Colleen Ferguson

Supervising Engineer

City of Santa Rosa Public Works Department

The Santa Rosa Citywide Creek Master Plan (Plan) was based on a City General Plan goal of developing a plan that will identify opportunities for natural habitat restoration, enhancement of fisheries, protection of health and safety along creek channels, open space preservation, multi-use transportation routes, and recreation. All existing creek restoration plans are incorporated into the draft Plan. The Plan focuses on three components: improve creek habitat for fish and wildlife, improve the existing creekside trail system and consolidate creek-related policies. Also, flood protection and capacity will be maintained.

The goal of restoring creeks in Santa Rosa was initiated by a community group that inspired public workshops that led to a booklet titled Creek Dreams Revealed, focused on Santa Rosa Creek. This community process led to the Santa Rosa Creek Master Plan adoption and the on-going implementation effort. The draft Plan expands this vision to the rest of the creeks in Santa Rosa. Community input from a series of workshops is summarized in a booklet titled Creek Dreams – Expanding the Vision. The development of the vision document was partly due to a technical assistance grant from the National Park Service. A CalTrans grant is funding development of the recreation, access and transportation components of the Plan. A Technical Advisory Committee provided feedback for the development of the Plan. The components of the Plan include Natural Resources (Preservation, Enhancement, and Restoration), Recreation, Assess and Transportation. Greenways combine all elements to provide public benefit. The Plan’s illustrated maps show the different proposals for each creek reach.

The Draft Plan was released on Thursday, November 9, 2006. Public comments are due by January 9, 2007. A public meeting will be held next week. The final Plan is expected to be proposed for adoption by summer 2007.

Russian River Watershed Adaptive Management Plan (WAMP)

North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (NCIRWMP)

Katherine Gledhill

West Coast Watershed

Russian River WAMP Outreach

West Coast Watershed (WCW) has a contract to provide public outreach support for the WAMP Baseline Assessment, which is administered by the Mendocino RCD with funding provided by the Corps of Engineers. The contract scope of work includes updating RRIIS with WAMP webpage, uploading relevant documents to RRIIS, provide outreach materials and to conduct small group meetings and presentations at conferences. The outreach strategy is two-fold. The first phase involves updating RRIIS and developing outreach materials with summary information about the project. The second phase will include a large public outreach process once the Baseline Assessment is completed by Dan Smith, ERDC, which will include sub-basin rankings within the watershed. RRIIS has been generously hosted and maintained by MIG for free for a couple of years. MIG has recently upgraded the underlying code for RRIIS to the most recent version of TownSquare. This will enable WCW to highlight WAMP. WCW has developed a WAMP webpage and logo.

Draft Russian River WAMP, Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Planning Grant

Another role that WCW will play in relation to the WAMP is the development of the Draft WAMP through a Prop 50, Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Planning grant awarded to Mendocino Co. RCD. The RCD sub-contracted with WCW to complete the draft plan by spring 2008. The Draft WAMP will include recommended management measures or management practices for the sub-basins based on the rankings from the Baseline Assessment, along with cost benefit analysis of those management measures. The Draft WAMP will need to integrate with the other Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Planning projects in the north coast region, and will role up into the North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan. The other Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Planning projects in the north coast region include the Noyo, Mattole and Trinidad watersheds.

North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan

Prop 50 was passed in 2002 and resulted in the creation of the Integrated Regional Water Management Program (IRWMP) which is administered by SWRCB and DWR. The IRWMP provides $380 million for planning and implementation to be awarded over two funding cycles. The North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, Phase I was developed through a collaborative effort with 7 counties that make up the north coast region. The governance of this consortium includes a Policy Review Panel and a Technical Peer Review Committee. The three main themes of the NCIWMP are salmonid recovery; protection and enhancement of the beneficial uses of water; and local autonomy and intra-regional cooperation. During Round 1, the NCIRWMP was awarded a $500,000 Planning Grant to continue this integrated regional planning and we will know by next week if the NCIRWMP was recommended for a $25 million implementation grant by DWR and SWRCB. The WAMP will fit into the process and can be used as a model for other watershed planning efforts and the larger effort. Phase II will include additional regional planning to refine the project selection criteria and integration. The Phase II plan will include a new suite of implementation projects. Groundwater planning is a critical issue in the north coast region and will be addressed in Phase II plan.

One of the next steps in the NCIWMP process is to update the website and to link to other sites to highlight other efforts like the Russian River WAMP. Jake MacKenzie, RRWA representative, is very interested and stated the importance of integrating the WAMP and NCIRWMP. Jake stated the North Coast will receive $35 million from Prop 84 to continue the IRWM Program. Bob Anderson sees the NCIRWMP as the funnel for future funding. From his observations, it does not appear that the WAMP and NCIRWMP can connect. Jake again stated the importance of integration of the WAMP and the NCIRWMP effort. Jake stated that the State sees the seven county NCIRWMP coalition as a model for successful collaborative process.

Russian River Watershed Council	Full Council Meeting
Minutes of November 11, 2006	Veteran’s Memorial Hall, Cloverdale, California


MEETING MINUTES Approve RRWC Meeting Agenda of November 11, 2006 – Action Item Agenda approval – Ayes: 11, Nays: 0, Abstains: 0 Approve Minutes of July 8, 2006 – Action Item Comment noted and changes made to July 8 meeting minutes. Agenda approval – Ayes: 12, Nays: 0, Abstains: 0 Agency Announcements – Discussion Karen Rippey, USACE, announced WAMP TRC meeting on November 16, 10:30-3:00, Windsor Library. Graton Community Services District will be planting trees on Dec 2. Community Announcements – Discussion Russian River Cleanup next weekend, on the weekend of September 23 collected over 10,000 lbs of trash, including 170 tires, 1-V8 engine, 3 refrigerators. There was less garbage than last year and believe that do to the fencing near Geyserville and Kennedy Lane in Healdsburg. These locations produce the worst trash. Bob thanked everyone involved in the clean-up and appreciate everyone’s effort. A committee of the Sequoia Paddling Club has been organized to find additional locations for access to the Russian River. There is a 25 to 30 mile reach of the river that is non-accessible. Rick, State Coastal Conservancy, is working with the Club to develop a grant to improve access. Joanna said that the Russian River Property Owners Association would like to meet with Club to resolved the trash problems that public access creates. Officer Reports – Discussion Presidents Report: Tim Buckner reported that the SCWA Grant is moving forward. Contract issues for the grant have not been resolve yet. Secretary Report: Scott spoke with SCWA staff about the non-profit number and RRWC application. The RRWC and the sub-contractor need general liability and car insurance to receive the grant funding. Non-profit number was issued previously that is different from the number Scott received. Scott is straightening out and ensuring the number is correct. Treasurers Report: Beginning bank balance was $216, expenses of PO Box of $72 and bank fees of $4. Donations of Rusty Klassen of $100 and $24 from Graton Day/Stewardship Forum. End Balance of $164. Grant writing is in process. Public Outreach Working with Mendocino Co. RCD to obtain Public Outreach funds. Sonoma County Watershed Stewardship event was complete and thank everyone for their participation. Mendocino County RRWC Event will be heal on March 10 to correspond with Dan Smith’s availability. Rowland Standford would like to focus on watershed runoff issues. Colleen has been attending the SCSC meetings. Meggy put RRW Directory in all Sonoma County libraries. Tim will take a directory to Ukiah Library. Sub-Watershed Work Plan with SCWA Colleen was selected by the Steering Committee to be the sub-contractor of the SCWA Grant. Colleen is willing to waive the need for workmans comp. insurance. General liability insurance is required. Colleen is hoping that the RRWC will hire Colleen as an employee to cover Colleen’s general liability. Scott, Jerome and Colleen will meet to determine the best way to resolve issues and move forward. Rue questioned if it was possible to hire RRWC officers or members. Scott stated that the majority of the officers need to stay disenfranchised. Rue highlighted the importance of appropriate roles and responsibilities to do the project right for the future of the RRWC non-profit status. At the September RRWC meeting, the RRWC gave the responsibility of the approval and implementation of the grant to the Steering Committee. Scott will ensure that the non-profit bylaws do not restrict the Steering Committee from hiring Colleen. Rue suggested that the RRWC set a standard of practice for potential future contracts/grants. A sub-committee was formed (Jerome, Rue, Meggy and Karen) to develop standard of practice and nominate officers for next years. September RRWC meeting minutes need to be updated to include approval of the Steering Committee to implement SCWA grant. Ayes: 9 Nays: 1 Abstains: 1 Next Steps & Agenda Items for December 13 Steering Committee Meeting and January 20, 2007 RRWC meeting – Discussion Potential agenda items for October 4 Steering Committee meeting Annual Officers Election Financial Reporting Process Potential presentation: Jake MacKenzie – NCIRWMP process and future PRESENTATIONS Santa Rosa Citywide Creek Master Plan Colleen Ferguson Supervising Engineer City of Santa Rosa Public Works Department The Santa Rosa Citywide Creek Master Plan (Plan) was based on a City General Plan goal of developing a plan that will identify opportunities for natural habitat restoration, enhancement of fisheries, protection of health and safety along creek channels, open space preservation, multi-use transportation routes, and recreation. All existing creek restoration plans are incorporated into the draft Plan. The Plan focuses on three components: improve creek habitat for fish and wildlife, improve the existing creekside trail system and consolidate creek-related policies. Also, flood protection and capacity will be maintained. The goal of restoring creeks in Santa Rosa was initiated by a community group that inspired public workshops that led to a booklet titled Creek Dreams Revealed, focused on Santa Rosa Creek. This community process led to the Santa Rosa Creek Master Plan adoption and the on-going implementation effort. The draft Plan expands this vision to the rest of the creeks in Santa Rosa. Community input from a series of workshops is summarized in a booklet titled Creek Dreams – Expanding the Vision. The development of the vision document was partly due to a technical assistance grant from the National Park Service. A CalTrans grant is funding development of the recreation, access and transportation components of the Plan. A Technical Advisory Committee provided feedback for the development of the Plan. The components of the Plan include Natural Resources (Preservation, Enhancement, and Restoration), Recreation, Assess and Transportation. Greenways combine all elements to provide public benefit. The Plan’s illustrated maps show the different proposals for each creek reach. The Draft Plan was released on Thursday, November 9, 2006. Public comments are due by January 9, 2007. A public meeting will be held next week. The final Plan is expected to be proposed for adoption by summer 2007. Russian River Watershed Adaptive Management Plan (WAMP) North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (NCIRWMP) Katherine Gledhill West Coast Watershed Russian River WAMP Outreach West Coast Watershed (WCW) has a contract to provide public outreach support for the WAMP Baseline Assessment, which is administered by the Mendocino RCD with funding provided by the Corps of Engineers. The contract scope of work includes updating RRIIS with WAMP webpage, uploading relevant documents to RRIIS, provide outreach materials and to conduct small group meetings and presentations at conferences. The outreach strategy is two-fold. The first phase involves updating RRIIS and developing outreach materials with summary information about the project. The second phase will include a large public outreach process once the Baseline Assessment is completed by Dan Smith, ERDC, which will include sub-basin rankings within the watershed. RRIIS has been generously hosted and maintained by MIG for free for a couple of years. MIG has recently upgraded the underlying code for RRIIS to the most recent version of TownSquare. This will enable WCW to highlight WAMP. WCW has developed a WAMP webpage and logo. Draft Russian River WAMP, Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Planning Grant Another role that WCW will play in relation to the WAMP is the development of the Draft WAMP through a Prop 50, Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Planning grant awarded to Mendocino Co. RCD. The RCD sub-contracted with WCW to complete the draft plan by spring 2008. The Draft WAMP will include recommended management measures or management practices for the sub-basins based on the rankings from the Baseline Assessment, along with cost benefit analysis of those management measures. The Draft WAMP will need to integrate with the other Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Planning projects in the north coast region, and will role up into the North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan. The other Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Planning projects in the north coast region include the Noyo, Mattole and Trinidad watersheds. North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan Prop 50 was passed in 2002 and resulted in the creation of the Integrated Regional Water Management Program (IRWMP) which is administered by SWRCB and DWR. The IRWMP provides $380 million for planning and implementation to be awarded over two funding cycles. The North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, Phase I was developed through a collaborative effort with 7 counties that make up the north coast region. The governance of this consortium includes a Policy Review Panel and a Technical Peer Review Committee. The three main themes of the NCIWMP are salmonid recovery; protection and enhancement of the beneficial uses of water; and local autonomy and intra-regional cooperation. During Round 1, the NCIRWMP was awarded a $500,000 Planning Grant to continue this integrated regional planning and we will know by next week if the NCIRWMP was recommended for a $25 million implementation grant by DWR and SWRCB. The WAMP will fit into the process and can be used as a model for other watershed planning efforts and the larger effort. Phase II will include additional regional planning to refine the project selection criteria and integration. The Phase II plan will include a new suite of implementation projects. Groundwater planning is a critical issue in the north coast region and will be addressed in Phase II plan. One of the next steps in the NCIWMP process is to update the website and to link to other sites to highlight other efforts like the Russian River WAMP. Jake MacKenzie, RRWA representative, is very interested and stated the importance of integrating the WAMP and NCIRWMP. Jake stated the North Coast will receive $35 million from Prop 84 to continue the IRWM Program. Bob Anderson sees the NCIRWMP as the funnel for future funding. From his observations, it does not appear that the WAMP and NCIRWMP can connect. Jake again stated the importance of integration of the WAMP and the NCIRWMP effort. Jake stated that the State sees the seven county NCIRWMP coalition as a model for successful collaborative process.