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WCRC Minutes May 4, 2005 Intro of members: Leigh Ann Vradenburg, WCRC Director; Zeke Ward, WCRC Chairman; Jim Mietz, SLV RC&D; Les Dobson, USFS; Mark Walker, CDPHE; Steve Yochum, NRCS; JB Alexander, Creede; Jim Matush, Creede; Kelley Thomson, Agro Engineering; Bill Gallant, The Seacrest Group; Merle Jennings, Creede; Kathy Jennings, Creede; Jerry Rowe, Water Management Consultants; Kate Doyle, CRGRF; Kathleen Reilly, CDPHE Approval of minutes: No revisions to the minutes were proposed. Motion to approve the April minutes made by JB Alexander; second made by Mark Walker. Motion carried. Additions/corrections to the agenda: A discussion of XRF training was added as New Business D. A discussion of follow up reclamation work was added as 5A. In-Kind: Forms were provided in hard copy for volunteers to track time and other expenses. Leigh Ann encouraged monthly submission of these forms so that records could be kept current. Coordinator’s Report: Leigh Ann said that she would be presenting to the Virginia Christensen Trust fund on Thursday evening. She would be requesting $3,000 as decided upon at the WCRC April meeting. She would be showing them her updated poster and brochure, and she would tell them about the national conferences that she and Zeke would be presenting at this year. Leigh Ann said that the water sampling the day before had gone very well. She said that she had run three sampling and flow teams, rather than two as she had done in previous years. She thought that it went smoothly, and the last crew came in at 4:20. She said that she was able to wrap everything up with the River Watch crew by 6:30. She said that several new volunteers had participated, including Kate Doyle, Kelley Thompson, the Jennings, and three representatives from the Mineral County Fairgrounds Association (MCFA). She also acknowledged Ginger Alexander, who provided a delicious brisket lunch. Leigh Ann said that the annual tree planting event would be held on Tuesday May 17. She said that she had talked with Paul Whitmore with the school, and that a couple of classes might be coming out to help. There are 230 trees and shrubs ordered, and Leigh Ann thought that it would be good if we could set aside a few to put up at the Midwest. Zeke said that we should contact Abby Stangle, the student who had done a paper on the WCRC, to let her know of the planting day in case she was interested. Leigh Ann said that she was working with the MCFA to schedule a public meeting for the evening of May 24. She said that the MCFA would talk about some of their upcoming events and she would talk about the Brownfields clean up process. Mark said that it would be good to have a VCUP revision to discuss with the public, so that their input could be incorporated. Leigh Ann said that she had received the purchase order from Brian Hyde for the Windy Gulch flood control project to move forward. Leigh Ann would be working with Kelley to get the culvert ordered now, although construction would not begin until September. Leigh Ann said that she had completed a draft of the Project Implementation Plan for the next 319 projects. Kathleen had suggested putting the Nelson Tunnel pilot dewatering and the Amethyst reclamation project together to reduce paperwork. The EPA must now review the PIP, and then hopefully the money will be available in July or August. The Nelson project will be conducted this fall, and the Amethyst reclamation will be next summer in conjunction with the Forest Service reclamation of the Last Chance dump. Leigh Ann said that the Forest Service was able to schedule an 8-hour refresher HAZWOPER course for June 20. Leigh Ann gave Les a list of probable attendees, and Les said that the class would likely be in Del Norte. Leigh Ann said that she had called Bob Tridle with Hecla to see how the assessment was coming along. She told the committee that the consultants from Spectrum that had been working on the assessment had formed their own company. Hecla was now moving contracts to continue working with them, but it had delayed the finalization of the report. Leigh Ann said that the TAC had gone out with Steve Yochum to learn how to calibrate the probe and to see how the data looked. The data looked fine, except for the dissolved oxygen, which seemed to have a malfunction. There was little iron flocculant buildup on the probe. Leigh Ann said that she would be attending the River Rally this month on the 21st through the 23rd. She said that she would be presenting the current WCRC poster and distributing pamphlets. Leigh Ann said that the fundraising subcommittee had met last month to discuss the duck race and activities of July 4th. Leigh Ann said that they could borrow Alamosa’s ducks. They have 1,000 that are all numbered. Leigh Ann asked for help from the locals to identify some of the businesses that might be willing to donate a prize for the race. Leigh Ann said that the time had come to renew our annual
membership with the Colorado Historic Society.
She said that the membership was $65.
Zeke added that this partnership would be important in the upcoming years
since we will be working toward getting some of the mine sites listed on the
state or national registers. Motion
to approve the $65 membership fee made by Kathleen; second made by JB.
Motion carried. Reclamation follow up: Les said that he would like to see about doing some follow up reclamation work at the Midwest. It became apparent soon after the reclamation that there was still a seep at the lower portion of the Midwest that needed work. He said that he had talked to Jim Herron and Jeff Graves and they had recommended installing an anoxic drain. Les said that there was quite a bit of money left in the cost share agreement, so that should not be a problem. Zeke asked if Les had any specifications for the anoxic drain. Les said that Jim and Jeff would. Zeke asked how the grass was doing on the sites. Les said that it had not done as well as hoped, but that we would see how things looked this spring and reseed if necessary. Zeke asked if funding for follow up work needed to be voted upon or if it was included in the original project plan. Kathleen said that it did not need to be voted upon for the purposes of the grant. Les said that we might need some kind of soil supplement at the Phoenix Park to get the grass growing better. Zeke suggested compost. Leigh Ann said that she thought that the revegetation trials had indicated that very little compost or topsoil was needed to have a big effect. Jim Mietz said that Alamosa County had a hydroseeder that we might use. Mark asked where we would get topsoil. Les said that we might have to bring it in because we had used most of what was at the site. Jim said that the contact for the hydroseeder would be Danny Rios, who is the Supervisor for the Weed District. Kathleen said to make sure that we took photos of whatever we did. Les said that he would also like to do some follow up willow planting at the Outlet. He thought that it would be a good volunteer project to clip some local willow poles and plant them along the banks of the new channel. He hoped to get it done in the next week. Zeke said that he should soak the poles in root hormone, and that he might ask Marvin Reynolds where to get some. Jim said that the Green Spot in Alamosa might have some. Jim said that a new Youth Corps was forming in the Valley, and that they were looking for future projects. They will be charging $5,500 a week for a crew of 10 if we thought that we might have any projects that they could work on in 2006. Kate said that she was representing the Colorado Rio Grande Restoration Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3). She said that they had received Section 319 funding to develop a watershed plan for the Rio Grande from the headwaters to the state line. She said that she wanted to get a list of WCRC projects, including those that were completed, planned, or on our wish list. She also wanted to know of the contact for Wason Ranch. Zeke told her that there was a local manager, but that she might want to talk with Joan Germany. Old Business: Lake City
sampling:
Leigh Ann said that the Lake City group would be conducting their
sampling on Thursday, June 2nd. She
said that she was not sure if she would be able to make it, but she asked if
anyone else would be available. Merle
said that he might be available. New Business: Commodore flume:
Leigh Ann said that Jim Herron had been up to the Commodore in the last
month and he reported that there might be some problems with the West Willow
flume. With the expectation of high
flows this spring, we will have to keep an eye on the debris in that area.
Also, there is a board that has come loose from the flume, and it could
wash out, compromising the integrity of the flume wall.
Leigh Ann went up to the Commodore with Zeke and Danny Rogers from the
County to assess the situation. Zeke
had said that he would talk to the Poxsons about hiring someone to monitor
debris build up this year and clean the grizzly.
Danny had said that there was not much that could be done to repair the
flume since the water was already rising, but if necessary the County could try
to get some of the debris out. Zeke
said that he had not been able to reach Benny Poxson, but that he would try to
follow up. He had told Benny that it
would be an effort in good faith if the Poxsons did some work on this.
He said that Benny was very agreeable and aware of his liability.
Zeke showed the Committee some of the County’s pictures from when the
grizzly plugged and the lower area by Nelson Tunnel flooded.
Zeke said that Benny is planning to hire either John Wardell or Ken
Wyley. Leigh Ann said that we needed
to act within the next month because high water was upon us.
Zeke said that he should know something by next week. Watershed plan
outreach meeting:
Leigh Ann said that she was trying to organize public meetings to discuss
the watershed plan development and the fairgrounds clean up.
She said that these meetings were part of the grants.
Mark asked what the purpose would be.
Leigh Ann said that the watershed plan meeting would be held to get input
on the prioritization of projects in the watershed.
The fairgrounds clean up discussions would be held to basically cover the
clean up plan and allow the public to ask questions or voice concerns.
Mark asked if they could be held in conjunction with a regular WCRC
meeting. Kathleen said that it would
be better to have a separate meeting. Zeke
said that we could have a potluck. Merle
said that it might be beneficial to wait until June so that some of the summer
residents could participate. Leigh
Ann asked if it would be better to have it in the day or evening.
The Committee said that it would be better to have it in the evening so
that the working people could come. Leigh
Ann said that she would like to put a PowerPoint together to show pictures of
some of the WCRC projects. Kathleen
suggested that Marcella Hutchison, the new Nonpoint Source person, could come.
Leigh Ann suggested June 16th.
A subcommittee was formed to work on outreach for the meeting.
Leigh Ann will pass out information at a booth at the Taste of Creede.
Leigh Ann suggested that since Steve Yochum would be in town, then maybe
he could present at the meeting. Seacrest Group:
Bill Gallant was present as a representative of the Seacreast Group, a
woman-owned small business. They
have done some work with the Lefthand Watershed Group by doing in-kind
toxicological sampling. They are
also getting involved in restoration/reclamation activities.
Bill said that they are interested in the activities of the WCRC and
would like to offer their services on any upcoming activities. Director
recruitment:
Leigh Ann said that she would be moving to Socorro, New Mexico, at the
end of June due to a new job for her husband.
She said that she had already discussed this with several of the
committee members, including Zeke, and had reassured everyone that she would do
whatever she could to make the transition easier.
She said that she knew it would not be possible for Zeke to step in as he
had done before because of his extensive duties as Commissioner.
She said that she planned on working full time until the end of June, and
could be available part time after that to train the new person and to continue
management of some projects. Leigh
Ann said that because she was certified to be on site and to run the XRF
machine, she would continue on with the Brownfields project management.
Jim Mietz suggested that we form a hiring subcommittee.
Zeke said that Leigh Ann would have to create a job description and
advertise the position. He suggested
that we have July 1 as the new person’s start date.
He said that the project is changing, and that the new director would be
more of a project manager, but that they would also have to have grant writing
and interpersonal skills. Zeke asked
Leigh Ann if she could get a draft job description within a week.
Volunteers for the subcommittee were Zeke, Leigh Ann, Jim Mietz, and Mark
Walker. Kathleen said that she would
not be on the subcommittee, but that she could provide input on the job
description and any other questions that might come about.
Kathleen said that we should look to the Colorado Watershed Assembly as a
recruiter. Zeke said that we should
look to advertise starting on May 21, with resumes due by June 13.
It was suggested that resumes be submitted electronically so that it
would be easier to distribute them to the subcommittee. XRF:
JB asked if some of the Committee members could get trained on the XRF,
since Leigh Ann would be leaving. Leigh
Ann asked Mark if persons generating XRF data for the clean ups needed to be
certified. He said that they did
need to be certified. Zeke said that
we need to find out how to get other people certified.
Leigh Ann said that Niton had offered a training in Denver in April, but
they probably would not be training again in the area until next year.
Zeke asked if there might be internet training.
It was also suggested that Leigh Ann see if she could certify others. Other: The next meeting will be June 1, 2005. Meeting Adjourned 3:53 PM Respectfully Submitted, Leigh Ann Vradenburg |