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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011/01/10 RCC Minutes • MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE RESOURCE CONSERVATION COMMISSION January 10, 2011 City of Chula Vista, Council Chambers 276 Fourth Avenue MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: By Chair Stillman at 4:05 p.m. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Stillman, Vice Chair Rahimzadeh, Commissioners Coleman, Cory, and Ross MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Davis • STAFF PRESENT: Public Works Director Hopkins, Engineering Assistant Director Quilantan, Project Manager-Land Surveyor Gomez, Environmental Resource Specialist Castagnola, and Sr. Secretary Fields OTHERS PRESENT: None MOTION TO EXCUSE: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of December 13, 2010 were approved. Minutes of November 22, 2010 were carried over to the next meeting for lack of a quorum. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None INFORMATION ITEMS: 1. Pilot Recycled Asphalt Shingles Paving Project Director Hopkins introduced Project Manager-Land Surveyor Gomez who gave the presentation. He discussed the details of the project, which involves adding recycled asphalt shingles to pavement mix for road construction and repair, which in turn places less of this material in landfills. He stated that they will be gauging the performance of the new material. The board discussed the project and Project Manager Gomez and Director Hopkins responded to questions. • 2. Recent Conservation Ads and Articles Environmental Resource Specialist Castagnola discussed the various locations where Conservation ads and announcements are placed. She emphasized the effort the division makes in getting information out to the community, stating that information is provided to residents and businesses on a regular basis. Commissioner Cory RCC Minutes, 1/10/11, Page 1 of 3 • ACTION ITEMS: 1. NatureScape-In-a-Box Grant Application Environmental Resource Specialist Castagnola gave a background on the program and discussed what NatureScapes do. She talked about community certifications, the goals of the program, and details of the grant proposal. Commissioner Cory submitted to Environmental Resource Specialist Castagnola a list of native trees that are fire resistant for consideration in the NatureScape-In-a-Box program. Environmental Resource Specialist Castagnola then responded to questions from the board. Action: Commissioner Coleman made a motion that the Resource Conservation Commission recommend that City Council approve the submission of the NatureScape proposal to the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection's grant program. Commissioner Cory seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES COMMENTS Director Hopkins discussed the following: • The City is not currently pursuing the offer of state-level organizations and partnerships to provide the City with Urban Forestry trees due to the challenges the City is having with staffing and the amount of maintenance required for young trees. Director Hopkins . stated that he looked forward to the day when the City could get back into a robust cycle of planting. The action at the last RCC meeting recommending Commissioner Cory as representative to the Bayfront Wildlife Group and Commissioner Coleman as alternate, will be going to Council tomorrow and is expected to be approved. • Director Hopkins talked about the recent City budget cuts and the resulting impact on the Public Works Department. He stated that much of the Conservation efforts were grant funded and that the grants were continuing. He added that they will continue to pursue the competitive grants available and that he would keep the RCC apprised of any changes in that funding stream. CHAIR COMMENTS Chair Stillman stated that they needed to be very thoughtful when coming up with suggestions and proposals, given the situation with staff shortages. She added that she would also be thinking about creative suggestions for the commission, and she mentioned the possibility of a retreat. The Chair went on to say that with staff now doing the job of three people, she is very concerned that the RCC be used wisely and that they are contributing. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Rahimzadeh stated that he felt projects were being submitted to the commission too near the last stage. He added that he would like to see the RCC receive projects earlier in the process so that there wouldn't be so much time and energy of the staff RCC Minutes, 1/10/11, Page 2 of 3 • already put into a project in case, at the end, there needed to be something held back. Then there wouldn't be so much wasted effort into it, and any directional changes the group might want to see could be done early on. Commissioner Ross echoed Commissioner Rahimzadeh's thoughts and stated that, in viewing RCC meetings prior to his participation on the commission, items were often brought to the RCC with too little time before they were to go to Council. He added that he felt the RCC's input was making very little difference since their review was coming in at the end when they couldn't make any change. Director Hopkins stated that he wanted the RCC to both feel value-added and be value- added. He made a commitment to the group that they would bring projects to them and get their input and engage them. He suggested having a brainstorming session for the RCC to review their commission, purpose, and goals. Commissioner Cory agreed that it would be good to have projects earlier in the process and added that in the past, perhaps staff has felt that it was important to have enough of the project fleshed out so that there would be something to comment on. Commissioner Coleman agreed with Commissioner Cory and also agreed that getting involved earlier would be better. He suggested participating during some of the initial concepts to get a different perspective early on. Director Hopkins suggested possibly setting aside a meeting or two to reflect on what the Council gave them as their original charge, and to brainstorm on what they want to do in the next year. Assistant Director Quilantan mentioned that one of the strategies they could use is the workshop setting, which can help formulate ideas and agendas for topics in the future. She added that it also engages the community, and when we apply for grants, it allows for input from the public in the process. The group continued to discuss this issue further. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 5:41 p.m. to a regular meeting on Monday, January 24, 2011, at 4:00 pm in Council Chambers, 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91910. Prepared by: o--~„li Sheryl Fields Sr. Secretary • RCC Minutes, 1/10/11, Page 3 of 3