Mendocino Coast Cooperative Weed Management Area

Minutes of the Monthly Planning Committee Meeting

January 23, 2006, 10:00 am - 12 noon, Jackson Demonstration State Forest Learning Center

TASKS SUMMARY:

  1. [Details] Peter will provide Tara with a summary of weed management time in State Parks put in by himself and Aides.
  2. [Details] Lynn and Peter are researching the rules on insurance for volunteers in the State Forest; there may be a uniform policy for California State Department of Resources.
  3. [Details] Tara will contact Mendocino Land Trust and Point Cabrillo Lighthouse Keepers for information on their policies regarding insurance for volunteers.
  4. [Details] Tara will send MCWMA membership invitations to commerical operations who may have weed management problems on their own property (e.g. Bed & Breakfasts, or a stake in weed management on public property.
  5. [Details] Tara will send announcements of all MCWMA meetings to papers, radio and tv and online calendars.
  6. [Details] Tara and Lynn will assist with editing the forms used in the public meetings.
  7. [Details] Peter will check with Mario Abreu about a tour of weed projects at the Mendocino Botanical Gardens.
  8. [Details] Peter, Lynn, and Ray will provide feedback to Tara on Coordinator's priorities.

ACTIONS SUMMARY:

  1. [Details] Agenda approved.
  2. [Details] Minutes of November 30, 2005 reviewed, approved.
  3. [Details] Meetings will be noticed in newspaper, radio, etc. for full disclosure.  However, membership invitations will be sent only to those expected to be positive or neutral towards MCWMA goals
  4. [Details] Portions of the Strategic Plan were edited, and the resulting Draft was posted to the website.
  5. [Details] Field Trip tentative schedule approved.
  6. [Details] Coordinator's priorities for February- tabled to next meeting.
  7. [Detail] Next Planning Committee Meeting set for February 9, 2006, 3:00-5:00 PM, at the Jackson Demonstration State Forest Learning Center.

MEETING DETAILS:

Attending:

Documents distributed electronically by Tara in preparation for this meeting:

  1. Agenda for this meeting,
  2. Minutes of previous Planning Committee meeting
  3. Workgroup brief reports
  4. Strategic Plan Draft
  5. Coordinator's Report (December, 2005)
  6. Coordinator's priorities for February, 2006
Hardcopies of these items were also distributed at the meeting.
The meeting was brought to order at 10:10 pm.

ACTION ITEM: Agenda approved.

ACTION ITEM: Minutes of November 30, 2005 reviewed, approved.

<>Discussion Item: Projects Workgroup , presented by Peter Warner;
Albion, Big River: no workdays were held due to rain
Task: Peter will provide Tara with a summary of weed management time in State Parks put in by himself and Aides.
Albion roadside control group uses liberal interpretation of right-of-way rules, has achieved good success with several 100 volunteer hours- several miles of weed-free roadsides.
Liability- Peter has clarification about State Parks policy on volunteer coverage. State Parks covers worker's comp claims for one-time volunteers.  For regular volunteers, a medical screening may be implemented (we need to verify in volunteer packet).   Authorization is required for use of power tools.  Still unknown- liability policites for Mendocino Land Trust, Point Cabrillo Lighthouse Keepers
Task: Lynn and Peter are researching the rules on insurance for volunteers in the State Forest; there may be a uniform policy for California State Department of Resources.
Task: Tara will contact Mendocino Land Trust and Point Cabrillo Lighthouse Keepers for information on their policies regarding insurance for volunteers.

Discussion Item: Education and Outreach Workgroup , presented by Tara Athan;
Feedback was requested for policy on sending membership invitations to groups that would likely be hostile to MCWMA goals.
ACTION ITEM: Meetings will be noticed in newspaper, radio, etc. for full disclosure.  However, membership invitations will be sent only to those expected to be positive or neutral towards MCWMA goals.
Task (Tara): send send MCWMA membership invitations to commerical operations who may have weed management problems on their own property (e.g. Bed & Breakfasts, or a stake in weed management on public property.
Task (Tara): send announcements of all MCWMA meetings to
        Papers: Beacon, Advocate, ICO, Ukiah Daily Journal, Anderson Valley Advertiser
        Radio: KMFB, KOZT, 
        Television: MCCET, Adelphia
         Online Calendars: MCWMA, NWWG
There is a need to modify the forms used in the public meetings.
Task (Tara, Lynn):  will assist with editing the forms (weed distribution survey and impacts questionnaire) used in the public meetings.

Discussion Item: Information Management Workgroup , presented by Lynn Webb;
The need for CEQA documentation will direct the formal weed surveys to a particular format.
State Parks protocol is consistent with the State Weed Mapping Handbook.
Discussion Item: Financial & Funding Committee, Patty could not attend, this item tabled until the next meeting.

ACTION ITEM: portions of the Strategic Plan were edited, with changes inserted directly into the document during the meeting with a computer projector used to display the edits for verification.   The resulting Draft was posted to the website.
  1. Review mission statement - done;
  2. Review Geographic Scope statement - done;
  3. Review goals statements - done;
  4. Approach section: draft Administration role statements - done;
  5. Overview: review Adminstration objectives - done;
  6. Review Prioritization procedure - tabled to next meeting;
  7. Administration Element: draft goals and principles - tabled to next meeting;
  8. Proposal: move all actions sections to an Annual Operating Plan, replace by detailed description of objectives following summaries from overview section - approved;
ACTION ITEM:  Field Trip tentative schedule approved:
1. Big River
2. MacKerricher (Ward Avenue Access)
3. Botanical Gardens Task (Peter): will check with Mario Abreu about a tour of weed projects at the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. Discussion Item: Coordinator's report- the report was briefly summarized.  No comments were received.

ACTION ITEM: Coordinator's priorities for February- tabled to next meeting.
Task (Peter, Lynn, Ray): Tara requested feedback on priorities

ACTION ITEM: Next Planning Committee Meeting set for February 9, 2006, 3:00-5:00 PM, at the Jackson Demonstration State Forest Learning Center.
The purpose of this meeting is to edit those portions of the Strategic Plan that were not able to be reviewed in today's meeting due to time constraints

The meeting was adjourned at  12:20 pm.

Minutes recorded by Tara Athan.