GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

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Colorado Association of Stormwater & Floodplain Managers

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

Convened at = Sandstone Ranch, Longmont, CO

May 12, 2011=

Meeting Attendees

Officers:

Chair – David Mallory, UDFCD

Vice Chair – David Bennetts, UDFCD<= o:p>

Treasurer – Deb Ohlinger, Olsson Associates

Secretary – Brian Varrella, City of Fort Collins

NE Region Rep. – Basil Hamdan, City= of Fort Collins

Committee Chairs:

Scholarship – Shea Thomas, UDFCD

Stormwater Quality – Holly Piza, UD= FCD

Members:

Brianna Wallace, Belt Collins West

David Hollingsworth, City of Longmont

Ela Nelson, City of Longmont

Jacob James, McLaughlin Water<= /span>

John Pflaum, WH Pacific=

Ken Cecil, J3 Engineering

Kevin Houck, CWCB

Matthew Hickox, Ayres Associates

Nancy Love, J3 Engineering

Thuy Patton, CWCB

The following i= s a summary of the interactions, comments and items discussed. While this summa= ry is not intended to represent a complete or comprehensive account of the meeting, it is intended to reflect the salient points raised and issues for further consideration. Should the attendees believe that anything might be misrepresented or misleading, please bring this to the attention of Brian Varrella, CASFM Secretary.

1) Call to Order

David Mallory called the meeting to order, followed by a roll call. = A quorum of officers and regional representatives was present. = A new visitor to the group was welcomed by the Chair. The Chair also thanked David Hollingsworth and the City of Longmont for hosting the meeting.

2) Secretary’s Report =

Minutes from the March 10, 2011 General Membership meeting at the CH= 2M Hill campus in Englewood were distributed and reviewed. A minor correction was offered by a member. A motion was passed to approve the minutes as corrected and passed unanimously.

3) Treasurer’s Report =

Expense, Inc= ome and Budget Report – the report was distributed to members present. The Treasurer stated the budget is tracking well for the year.

The Vice Chair stated a donation was provided to ASFPM for the silent auction at the National Conference to be held next week. It is not yet shown on the expense report but will be added. Don= ations at the auction were down this year, but CASFM was fiscally able to assist.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

The expense, income and budget reports were unanimously approved wit= h no revisions by a motion and second.

4) Vice Chair’s Report

a)&n= bsp;    Conflict of Interest Policy – minor modifications were made since the last meeting. All officers have signed the polic= y.

b)&n= bsp;    Tax Status – the 30-page application is halfway completed, and 2010 taxes (extended) will be finished soon also. The goal = is to complete the 501(c)(3) tax form before the Annual Conference so the organization can be exempted from state sales tax for an annual savings of approximately $6,000 to $8,000 (mostly for the Conference). ASFPM and other = state chapters have a similar tax status. The Oklahoma chapter application was offered as a guide for CASFM and proved extremely helpful.

c)&n= bsp;    Water Summit= at APWA Conference – the Vice Chair is working on logistics for September conference. There will be thr= ee morning presentations on broad topics, then the group wi= ll be dismissed for lunch. The fiel= d trip will occur in the afternoon. = The number of field trip participants is unknown, but 1,400 attendees are expec= ted at the Conference. Participat= ion in the field trip cannot be gauged at this time.

Field trip participants will gather at Confluence Park in Denver to = take a FasTracks trolley ride. If registered for the APWA Conference, then the field trip activities are paid= in full. It was noted the CASFM = Annual Conference was moved back 1 week on the calendar to accommodate the APWA Conference, and allow members of both organizations to participate in both events, and to prevent potential conflicts with the Labor Day holiday weeke= nd.

More detail will be available in July.

5)         Regional Representatives’ Reports

a)&n= bsp;    Denver Metro= – Deb Ohlinger acted as proxy for Robert Krehbiel. She reported the April 7 Metro Reg= ion social at C.B. & Potts in Westminster was attended by 28 people. Mike Chard discussed the Fourmile = Canyon Fire impact on flooding in and near Boulder. The next social will be held somet= ime in July.

b)&n= bsp;    Northeast Re= gion – Bas= il Hamdan reported the Stormwater Quality Committee was assisting him with a f= ield trip scheduled for June 23 in Denver and Fort Collins. Basil stated that Holly would give details on the field trip later in the meeting, and deferred the topic. There will be a NE Region Social sometime in June.

c)&n= bsp;    Southeast Re= gion – Mich= ael Augenstein had no report.

d)&n= bsp;    Northwest Re= gion – Bet= sy Suerth had no report.

e)     Southwest Re= gion – Vict= oria Schmitt had no report.

6)&n= bsp;        Committee Reports

a)&n= bsp;    Floodplain/C= FM – Kall= ie Bauer had no report.

b)&n= bsp;    Stormwater Q= uality – Hol= ly Piza stated the field trip is ready to be announced to the general membership. Credit card regis= tration will be attempted with Stuart Gardner’s assistance. The group will meet at the UDFCD t= hen travel by bus to the redevelopment project. Attendees will then travel to sites in Fort Collins, starting with lunch and a tour at Odell’s Brewing Compa= ny and LID site. After lunch the= tour will continue at the Udall Natural Area, Mitchell Block monitoring site and= the CTL Thompson pervious concrete installation.

55 people can pre-register for the bus from Den= ver to Fort Collins. The bus leav= es UDFCD at 9:30 AM for the Denver metro site. Members can meet in Fort Collins at 11:30 AM at Odell’s, and the bus will return to Denver at 3:00 PM, arriving at 4:30 PM at UDFCD. Last year the tour bus was full, and this year it is expected to fill up again.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Total cost will be around $35 incl= uding lunch and transportation.

c)&n= bsp;    Outreach – Ken = Cecil said the Outreach Committee has been relatively inactive lately. They are preparing to attend and participate at the Vail CML conference in mid-June. CASFM received a favorable time sl= ot (11:00 AM, +/-) to present at the answers-in-the-room activity. A reasonable turnout is expected.

Topics for discussion may include LID, floodplain preservation, snowpack and runoff response, statewide floodplain regulations, and floodplain regulation impacts on CRS ratings across Colorado. The model floodplain ordinance currently being drafted may also be a = topic of discussion. The Committee = will schedule a huddle with participating members prior to the CML conference.

d)&n= bsp;    Scholarship<= /span> – Shea Thomas received more applications for scholarships this year than in years past. The Ben Urbonas Scholar= ship was granted to a graduate student named Brian Christopher. Brian is studying at CU Denver to = obtain his M.S. in Environmental Sciences. The UWRI Scholarship was granted to an undergraduate named Jordan Larson. Jordan is in his Junior year at Colorado School of Mines and is on the wrestling team.

CASFM bylaws limit applicants for scholarships = to U.S. citizens only. The membe= rs present discussed this applicant requirement, and the general consensus was that a legal resident should also be eligible to apply for these scholarships. A motion was of= fered to drop the citizenship status requirement but to still allow for the quest= ion of citizenship to be asked during candidate interviews as a matter of consideration. The motion wit= h a second was approved unanimously.

Scholarships for next year (2012) will be advertized in September 2011. Notice of award will be provided to the selected candidate in Novemb= er 2011. Shea reminded the group= that all CASFM members are encouraged to apply for scholarships if they are purs= uing degrees and meet the minimum requirements.=

e)&n= bsp;    Membership – Dav= id Mallory acted as proxy for Kevin Gingery, noting CASFM currently has 617 ac= tive members.
f)&n= bsp;     Training – Chri= s Carlson offered no report.

g)&n= bsp;    Website – Stu= art Gardner offered no report.

h)&n= bsp;    Community Ra= ting System – David Mallory acted as proxy for Marsha Hilmes-Robinson. The CRS Committee will be hosting = the field-deployed 4-day EMI course for CRS from October 11^th to the= 14^th. 35 spaces will be reserved in Long= mont, and the material will be tailored to Colorado-specific topics.

The CRS Manual is going through a national overhaul. There was a 3-hour discussion dedicated to this topic at the last Committee meeting. Approximately 400 points may be of= fered to Colorado communities now through the Uniform Minimum Credits (UMCs) available as a result of the CWCB Statewide Floodplain Regulations adopted = in January 2011. That is almost = enough for most communities to reach their 500-point threshold to enter the CRS at= a Class 9 rating. CASFM is tryi= ng to get this news out as quickly as possible.&= nbsp;

The Committee is working to prepare comments to= the new draft Manual as soon as possible. Some of the proposed changes to the Manual will negatively impact communities across the state. There will be a serious need to acquire more points in communities such as Arvada, which is expected to lose as much as 160 points if the draft is adopted in = its current form.

CRS Committee members will explore the proposed changes in detail and offer solutions to the CRS Task Force before the CASFM Annual Conference. As an exam= ple, only one Colorado community currently receives credit for having a hazard mitigation plan. Many Metro a= rea communities have these plans in place and might be eligible for credits that offset lost points from other activities.&= nbsp; A 1-day workshop was offered on the hazard mitigation plan in March 2011, and was well attended. =

Information on these CRS Manual changes will be posted on the CRS Committee page on the CASFM website. When that information is available= , the general membership will be notified by e-mail.

Marsha will be presenting the CRS Committee activities to ASFPM at the Annual Conference in Kentucky this month.

The next CRS Committee meeting will be held in June.

i)&n= bsp;      Annual Confe= rence – Shea Thomas acted as proxy for Robert Krehbiel.= Abstracts for presentations were due in April; 46 were received and = there are 39 vacancies to fill. No = one has been notified yet as to whether their paper was selected, but notificat= ions will occur soon. Project award submittals are due in late June.

Pre-conference activities will include 2 worksh= ops on Tuesday and a social hour Tuesday night. Conference proceedings on Wednesda= y will begin at 9:00 AM with an update on the Fourmile Canyon burn area from Mike Chard. The keynote speaker wi= ll be Jonathan Waterman, author of Runnin= g Dry: A Journey From Source to Sea down the Colorado R= iver. His book is a photographic account= of his journey down the full length of the Colorado River. Lunch on Wednesday will be longer = than last year, followed by a breakout session.=

Thursday will begin with project wards and anot= her keynote discussion will be presented on the mammoth bones archeological site discovered at Snowmass. A bre= akout session will be held concurrently with the archeological discussion. The officer change will occur at t= he lunchtime CASFM board meeting. A final breakout session will be held on Thursday afternoon before dinner. Last year’s casino night was popular with the attendees, but this year karaoke might be attempted. Volunteers from members present we= re already lining up for this activity!

Two field trips will be offered during the conference, including a bicycle tour and a tour of the dig site for the mam= moth bones. Bike rentals are avail= able near the conference venue. Th= e golf tournament is still planned for Friday.&nb= sp;

7)         Other Busine= ss

a)&n= bsp;    Colorado Flo= od Risk Symposium – David Mallory will speak briefly about the Flood Risk Sympo= sium during the conference introduction on Wednesday morning. The Symposium was held on April 14= at the Natural Hazards Center in Boulder.&nbs= p; The goal was to invite 100 people across many disciplines by invitat= ion to discuss flood risk management and how it will be directed in the future across the nation. The final = list of attendees included social scientists, planners, engineers, floodplain managers, emergency managers, insurance industry representatives, and elect= ed officials. CASFM was well-represented within the group.

A snowstorm hit the Front Range the morning of = the Symposium, and Highway 93 was closed. This limited some attendance and many people arrived late. A total of 75 attendees were counted.
Two local speakers opened the Symposium. Tom Browning of the CWCB discussed= the recently-adopted statewide floodplain regulations update, and Paul Hindman = discussed the connection between wildfire and flood threats in our state. This event, also known as the Gilb= ert F. White Flood Policy Forum, was led by ASFPM. The three segments in 2010 included people mostly from Washington D.C. <= /span>Criticism of the 2010 Forum was directed toward a lack of local input and perspective= on land use decisions and floodplain management. The 2011 event attempted to increa= sed local exposure by holding the second day in Indiana (April 12) and the third day in Colorado on April 14. = ASFPM leadership was represented by Doug Plasencia (ASFPM Foundation Events Chair= ), Chad Berginnis (Associate Director), Sam Riley Medlo= ck (Policy Advisor), and Diane Brown (Conference Facilitator). Elected officials were unfortunate= ly unavailable to participate at the Symposium.

Three breakout sessions explored a “dashb= oard concept” that encouraged participants to imagine floodplain managemen= t as a car being driven down the highway. The question was; how do you measure your movement or progress? Gages were drawn by participants a= nd the discussion was recorded. A gr= oup report was provided to the entire room after discussions were closed. Many opinions were offered and muc= h data was collected, but it is unknown at this time how ASFPM ultimately used the information.

No budget overruns were experienced during this event. No feedback was receiv= ed from ASFPM on CASFM’s participation and Symposium planning effort. The Chair asked participating memb= ers present to offer their reaction and the general consensus was that the Symposium was well organized and attended.= CASFM members felt the national recognition associated with hosting = the Symposium was generally a good thing, but feedback from ASFPM would be appr= eciated.

The read-ahead packet for the Symposium contain= ed a 5-part collection of professional papers totaling 230 pages of text. Attendees from the 2010 event each contributed a paper on varying topics.&nbs= p; The depth and breadth of material was overwhelming for many people to read despite the fact only a handful were uniquely identified as must-read prior to the Symposium. Next = time the topics will be more focused. CASFM members in attendance noted the packet of materials may have b= een onerous as pre-read material, but still serve as an outstanding desktop resource for floodplain management practice and philosophy.

The packet of read-ahead professional papers fr= om the Symposium will be available from the CASFM website in the near future.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The Dennis Mileti video shown at t= he Symposium and the PowerPoint presentations will also be posted once permiss= ions have been obtained from appropriate parties.

b)&n= bsp;    Other Busine= ss; National Levee Policy – a letter was written to Director Fugate= at the Dept. of Homeland Security from 27 U.S. Senators on the topic of FEMA’= ;s levee policy. The primary top= ic identified by the Senators was the proposed “without-levee” flo= od hazard mapping condition required on flood maps for unaccredited levees. This requirement has since been postponed for further study. Communities across the state potentially impacted by this decision include Boulder, Weld County, El Paso County, Morgan County, and others.

The new regulations will not be applied retroactively once drafted and adopted.&nb= sp; In the interim, if a levee can be certified, then certification may carry under current standards and guidelines. If it is not certifiable, FEMA and= the CWCB will accept a statement from a community agreeing to map the with- and without-levee condition. Communities also have the option to place levee certification and associated remapping projects on hold until further notice.

FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, = and other stakeholders are drafting scenarios and methodology right now, but the politically-sensitive issue of flood insurance has extended the discussion.

c)&n= bsp;    Statewide Sn= owpack Update – the CWCB Flood Task Force met recently to review the high snowpack, and the lack of moisture on the plains.

The drought response plan has been activ= ated for southeast Colorado where conditions are worse than they were in 2002.

Northern basins received an extra 30% to= 50% of annual to-date moisture in the snowpack just this week. Snow-water equivalent (SWE) statew= ide is as follows: Yampa River =3D 183% of normal, Laramie R. and North Platte =3D= 177%, Upper Colorado =3D 173%, South Platte =3D 164%, Gunnison =3D 156%, and the Rio Grande =3D 91%. <= o:p>

The snowiest site (historically) recorde= d in the state is the Tower Site on the Routt County and Jackson County line near Steamboat Springs. The site b= roke the all-state, all-time record for snow with 75 inches of SWE.

The forecast in the near term shows warm weather, but very little snowmelt. <= /span>Another storm is coming soon that may add to the snowpack and delay the runoff until late-May and early-June. Heavy runoff is expected in the Big Thompson River and Poudre River watersheds, potentially affecting foothills and Front Range communities downstream.

d)&n= bsp;    Next General Membership Meeting;

Date + Time:=      Friday, July 15, = 2011, starting at 12:00 PM
Location:           Glen= wood Springs, CO -- Hotel Colorado
Address:           526 = Pine Street, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601

e)&n= bsp;    Move to adjo= urn – mot= ion and second. Meeting adjourned= by the Chair. =