GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

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Colorado Association of Stormwater & Floodplain Managers

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

Convened at = Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs, CO

July 15, 201= 1

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

NW Region Rep. – Betsy Suerth, Garf= ield County

Metro Region Rep. – Robert Krehbiel, Matrix Design Group

Committee Chairs:

Scholarship – Shea Thomas, UDFCD

Website – Stuart Gardner, CDOT=

Members:

Kevin Houck, CWCB

Trent Prall, Ci= ty of Grand Jct. / 5-2-= 1 Auth.

Wyatt Popp, Olsson Associates<= /span>

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 beli= eve that anything might be misrepresented or misleading, please bring this to t= he 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 Betsy Suert= h and Garfield County for arranging and hosting the meeting.

2) Secretary’s Report =

Draft minutes from the May 12, 2011 General Membership meeting at the Sandstone Ranch in Longmont were distributed and reviewed. Minor corrections and clarificatio= ns were offered by a member. A m= otion was passed unanimously to approve the minutes as revised.

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. A= ll items shaded in grey are new since the last report. The water quality field trip and conference deposits are reflected in this report. The expense, income and budget rep= orts were unanimously approved with minor revisions by a motion and second.

4) Vice Chair’s Report

a)&n= bsp;    Water Summit= at APWA Conference – the Vice Chair reported CASFM is ready to go to the APWA Wa= ter Summit on September 21, 2011. The draft agenda includes a discussion of a western approach to water managemen= t, and a broad scope of other topics. Bill DeGroot of UDFCD will be talking ab= out the regulatory nature of the District.&nbs= p; The flood warning system at UDFCD will be showcased, and a statewide flooding report will be offered for the 2011 runoff season.

A field trip will be offered by CASFM on the last day of the Confere= nce (Sept. 21). Box lunches will = be available to participants. The trip beg= ins from Confluence Park and includes a trolley ride on FasTracks to discuss the South Platte River floodplain project and a tour of FasTracks itself= . The group will return to Confluenc= e Park around 3:30 – 4:00 PM. = The total number of participants on this tour is unknown but the Vice Chair is preparing for about 50 people. The Colorado APWA section will provide $1,000 for this tour and may request matching funding from CASFM. = It was noted that anyone may attend the APWA Conference for a single day for around $200.

The Chair recognized the Vice Chair for his efforts to organize CASFM participation at the APWA Conference.

b)&n= bsp;    Insurance – the= Vice Chair was recently notified that the organization’s insurance policy = will be cancelled in October. He w= ill follow up with questions and find solutions to this problem immediately.

c)&n= bsp;    Newsletter – hal= f of the requested information for the newsletter has been received to-date. It will be compiled soon and is ex= pected to be released in mid- to late-August.&nbs= p; Another newsletter will be issued after the Annual Conference late i= n 2011.

5)         Regional Representatives’ Reports

a)&n= bsp;    Denver Metro= – Rob= ert Krehbiel reported the last Metro Region social was held in April. The next one will be held August 1= 1 and feature Brian Hyde from 3:30 – 5:00 PM on a walk-through of the proposed West= erly Creek Connection. Following t= he walking tour, the group will convene at the Berkshire Restaurant at Staplet= on for a social hour and PowerPoint presentation.

Future events could include a presentation on hydrology hazard risk analysis and paleo-hydrology (Jeff Cheng), a ph= oto tour of a trip to China or storm centering approach to modeling large watersheds (Dr. Guo), demonstration of FloodMap Mobile (Scott Anderson), and an update on the heavy July 2011 floods (Kevin Stewart). <= /p>
b)&n= bsp;    Northeast Re= gion – Dav= id Mallory acted as proxy for Basil Hamdan.&n= bsp; Most of the news from the NE Region was focused on the water quality field trip, and most of that news would be deferred to later in the meeting= .

c)&n= bsp;    Southeast Re= gion – David Mallory acted as proxy for Michael Augenstein. The SE Region is very worried abou= t the current drought situation.

El Paso County recently had a Community Assista= nce Visit (CAV) that went well. E= l Paso County’s CRS evaluation is ongoing.&= nbsp; It was noted they have 1,800 flood insurance policies in effect at t= he moment.

d)&n= bsp;    Northwest Re= gion – Bet= sy Suerth reported 2 recent education opportunities were sponsored by Garfield County, including an education session and a PDM grant session. These events offered 5 continuing education credits to CFMs participating.&n= bsp;

Barstool sessions were discussed but it was determined that participation was generally unreliable.&nb= sp; A past panel discussion with Kevin Stewart will be repeated soon for= 1 CEC. The NW Region will conti= nue to offer 2 or 3 training sessions for members on the West Slope each year.

The Chair thanked the NW Region Rep for preparing the venue for the = general membership meeting at Hotel Colorado.

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

6)&n= bsp;        Committee Reports

a)&n= bsp;    Floodplain/C= FM – David Mallory acted as proxy for Kallie Bauer.&n= bsp; He reported the CFM training course and exam will be offered at the CASFM Annual Conference again this year on Tuesday, September 27^{th
(training) and Wednesday morning, September 28^th (exam). Paperwork must be received by ASFP=
M 2
weeks before the exam. This is
critical – members are encouraged to please not forget this
deadline. The CASFM Annual
Conference is pre-approved for 12 CECs, and those who take the exam will
receive the credit if they pass.}

b)&n= bsp;    Stormwater Q= uality – Shea Thomas acted as proxy for Holly Piza. The water quality field trip was held in Denver and Fort Collins on = June 23^rd. 42 people at= tended from Denver and 12 more joined the group in Fort Collins. The group visited 6 sites, includi= ng the Taxi site in Denver (raingarden and bioswale), the ODell Brewing Company in= Fort Collins (porous pavement), the Udall Natural Area (water quality ponds), the Mitchell Block (pervious pavement), the CTL Thompson parking lot (porous concrete), and the City of Fort Collins’ Mulberry Water Reclamation Facility (grass-crete). =

c)&n= bsp;    Outreach – David Mallory acted as proxy for Ken Cecil. The Outreach Committee presented at the CML Conference this year. It was poorly attended; only 4 peo= ple stopped in to discuss various topics. The most popular issues under discussion included EPA regulations ac= ross the State and Poudre River floodplain regulations in Fort Collins. Other sessions focusing on finance issues were heavily attended. Next time CASFM will relate its material back to economic topics like PDM grant programs. <= /p>
d)&n= bsp;    Scholarship<= /span> – She= a Thomas reported this year that scholarship notices were sent out in January and candidate selection was made in April.&nbs= p; Next year (2011-2012 school year) the not= ice will go out sooner and an attempt will be made to award the scholarship bef= ore November 2011. This was based= in large part on input from this year’s interviewees.

Last year’s scholarship recipient, Jason Messemer, presented at the Water Quality Committee field trip. The Scholarship Committee Chair recognized Jason’s contributions and noted that it was nice to see pa= st recipients giving back to the organization.

e)&n= bsp;    Membership – Dav= id Mallory acted as proxy for Kevin Gingery, noting CASFM currently has 638 ac= tive members.
f)&n= bsp;     Training – Chri= s Carlson offered no report.

g)&n= bsp;    Website – Stu= art Gardner reported that people have had trouble getting job opportunities pos= ted recently, but the problem has since been resolved. Alan Turner is developing a form f= or Annual Conference sign-up, and it should be available soon.

There have been problems lately with accepting credit card payments. A new authorization gateway is being prepared and should be ready in time for the Annual Conference.

h)&n= bsp;    Community Ra= ting System – David Mallory acted as proxy for Marsha Hilmes-Robinson. The CRS Committee is hosting a web= inar on Tuesday, July 19^th. The meeting will be held from 12:30 – 4:00 PM at Fort Collins Utilities, and the webinar will occupy the agenda from 1:00 – 3:00 PM.

A letter will be drafted from the CRS Committee= to the national CRS Task Force in August.&nbs= p; The letter will provide feedback on the draft of the new CRS Manual = due out in 2012. The Task Force w= ill consider comments in September.

i)&n= bsp;      Annual Confe= rence – Shea Thomas and Robert Krehbiel provided a report.

Pre-conference activities will include 2 worksh= ops on Tuesday and a social hour Tuesday night. The workshops will be 2 to 3 hours= each, and will include a flume demonstration by Ayres Associates and a RiskMAP workshop provided by Baker, FEMA, and the CWCB.

RiskMAP is an emerging topic for Colorado. Three discovery meetings have alre= ady occurred, including 2 in the UDFCD and 1 in Fort Collins. The target audience for the RiskMAP workshop is local government officials and consultants, and the goal is to prepare compelling products to encourage hazard mitigation. FEMA is pushing for a watershed ap= proach on all future projects, which may be easier in the Metro region than in oth= er places across the state because of the population base and the regional agr= eements between communities through the District.&= nbsp;

Conference proceedings on Wednesday will begin = with registration and a welcome from our Chair, followed by an update on the Fourmile Canyon burn area from Mike Chard.= The keynote speaker will be Jonathan Waterman, author of Running Dry: A Journey From Source to Sea down the Colorado River.= His book is a photographic account of his journey down the full leng= th of the Colorado River. <= /o:p>

Lunch on Wednesday will be approximately 2 hours long. Scholarship recipients = will be introduced to the group and a report on the rain garden project will be offered. Basil Hamdan will re= port on his research and progress on the water quality project at Fort Collins Utilities. The afternoon agen= da following lunch will include a technical track session followed by happy hour.

Thursday will begin with three project award presentations. Lunch will follow. A discussion will be = offered on the mammoth bones archeological site discovered at Snowmass. Three breakout sessions will be he= ld concurrently with the archeological discussion. The officer change will occur at t= he lunchtime CASFM board meeting. Dinner a= nd the awards session will be preceded by a happy hour. Karaoke will be offered for entertainment following the awards presentation.

Friday morning will start with closing remarks = at breakfast. Two field trips wi= ll be offered during the conference, including a bicycle tour and a tour of the d= ig site for the mammoth bones. B= ike rentals are available near the conference venue. The golf tournament is also planne= d for Friday.

The platinum sponsor for the Conference is Matr= ix Design Group.   They will= not offer a CD this year, but instead will provide a thumb-drive with all presentation materials. Name = badges will be used this year instead of name tags. The design will be similar to those offered at the ASFPM Annual Conference.&nb= sp;

7)         Other Busine= ss

a)&n= bsp;    Officer Elec= tions – the= Chair noted that elections for new officers will occur soon. An e-mail will be sent to the gene= ral membership in August with instructions.&nb= sp; Anyone can nominate a member for Chair or for Vice Chair. Regional Representatives must be n= ominated by members from their region.

b)&n= bsp;    Tax Status <= /span>– the = 501(c)(3) application is waiting on the tax preparer. The application should be approved= by the time of the Annual Conference, and will exempt the organization from st= ate sales tax.    <= /o:p>

c)&n= bsp;    ASFPM Update= – the = ASFPM representatives for Colorado include Brad Anderson and Jeff Sickles, both C= ASFM members. Brad is our Chapter Representative, and Jeff is the Region Representative. Both will be asked to give a natio= nal report at the Annual Conference.

ASFPM wishes to work more closely with s= tate chapters. They can assist wit= h tax returns, 501(c)(3) applications, insurance and l= egal questions, and newsletters. ASFPM’s desired outcomes for the next year are more members in state chapters, more national involvement in major federal activities, and better alignment with similar groups like NAFSMA. There was a request for state chap= ter committees to seek alignment with their committees.

d)&n= bsp;    2012 CASFM Conference Venue – the Treasurer noted that a contract for = the 2012 Annual Conference is in the works.&nb= sp; It will likely be finalized in late September after negotiations are complete. The venue for 2012 = will be Steamboat Springs. <= /span>

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

Date + Time:=      Thursday, Septemb= er 29, 2011, starting at 7:30 AM
Location:           Annu= al Conference at Snowmass Village, CO
Room:            =    Main Ballroom, Anderson Side

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