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Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers
GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
January 8, 2009 at UDFCD
Meeting Attendees
Officers:
Chair – Kevin Houck, Colorado Water Conservation Board
Vice Chair – David Mallory, UDFCD
Secretary – Robert Krehbiel, Matrix Design Group
Treasurer – Shea Thomas, Urban Drainage and Flood Control District
Metro Regional Representative – Deb Ohlinger, Olsson Associates
Northeast Representative – Brian Varrella, City of Fort Collins
Committee Chairs:
Chris Carlson, City of Loveland, Training Committee Chair
Dave Bennetts, UDFCD, Conference Program Chair
Michelle Delaria, UDFCD, Stormwater Quality Committee Chair
Members:
Susan Hayes, City of Fort Collins
Shane Boyle, City of Fort Collins
Alejandro Gutierrez, AMEC
Jeff Cheng, AMEC
John Plaum, WH Pacific
Ward Mahanke, City of Lone Tree
Brandon Luster, HDR – Fort Collins
Georgia Simpson, City of Arvada
Cindy Thrush, UDFCD
Chad Kudym, UDFCD
Max Shih, Martin/Martin
Mark Donelson, City of Aurora
Steve Claybrook, City of Aurora
John Perry, City of Aurora
Gary Walter, Douglas County
Brian Murphy, CDM
The following is a summary of the interactions, comments and items discussed. While this summary 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 Robert Krehbiel, CASFM Secretary.
1) Secretary Report
The minutes for the November 13, 2008 general meeting were distributed. With a few typographical corrections, the minutes were approved by a motion and vote. A quorum of officers and regional representatives was present.
2) Treasurer Report
Account balances and expenditures were reviewed. The Treasurer Report was approved by a motion and a vote.
3) Regional Representatives’ Reports
a) Denver Metro – Deb Ohlinger organized a social December 10th to look at porous pavement at the Auraria campus with a social afterward, at Dixons downtown Denver. Angie Hager showed the test site at Auraria. Ken MacKenzie discussed the results of testing. Approximately 30 attended. Next social likely will be in the Tech Center area. There was a suggestion to have a presentation on Chatfield Reservoir, which will occur later in the year.
b) Northeast – Brian Varrella will organize a social in April or May to look at LID sites. They may move the social to Loveland or Greeley this year.
c) Southeast – Danny Elsner is resigning since he is moving to Denver. If anyone else ran against Danny in the election, then they will assume the position. Otherwise, a new representative will be appointed. Danny organized a social December 11th with 11 attendees.
d) Northwest – John Kornfeld organized a social December 5th with a tour of the Ranchmen’s Ditch Flood Control Project in Grand Junction. There were approximately 25 attendees, including non-CASFM members. The 5-2-1 Authority is sponsoring training February 3-6. The next social may include LID training and could be held in Montrose to get attendance from Southwest members also.
e) Southwest – Nothing to report.
4) Committee Reports
a) Floodplain/CFM – UDFCD will be sponsoring training April 1-2 (class day 1, test day 2). Contact Ken MacKenzie for information.
b) Stormwater Quality – The focus of this group is shifting to Volume 3 Technical Advisory Committee. There will be a detention pond beautification committee. A June field trip is proposed to look at source and volume control measures. There will be tab on the CASFM website with a photo database for LID measures.
c) Outreach – No activities to report since last October. The committee is updating the CASFM brochure. ASFPM has a more diverse membership and has contacts in Natural Resources and Parks. This could be a new outreach opportunity for CASFM.
d) Scholarship – Applications have been posted. Anticipate selecting a recipient for the Ben Urbonas (CASFM/UWRI) award in late March.
e) Membership – CASFM has 778 active members. 2009 dues are coming in. A post card reminder will be sent out. Corporate dues will be raised to $200 as approved in November. Training – No new meetings have occurred. There was discussion of a “Twilight Training Series” which is a short course, a couple hours in length,
f) Website – No report.
g) Community Rating System – Marsha Hilmes-Robinson organized a committee meeting held January 22 at SEMSWA with 10-12 attendees. A feedback survey was completed by the national CRS Task Force following comments drafted by the Committee. This is the first time they have received feedback.
5) Newsletter Update
David Mallory is looking for articles within the next 2 weeks. He will be sending out an email reminder for articles. The newsletter should provide an update of all committees and can also include articles of national issues. Pictures are encouraged and can be included with the articles. The newsletter should include a story of the Grand Award winner – Montclair Basin improvements.
6) Conference
The conference will be September 16-18 in Crested Butte. This will be the 20th Anniversary of the Conference. A special CASFM logo will be developed for the conference for the anniversary. The theme this year will be “20 Years of CASFM, Looking Upstream/ Looking Downstream.” Other popular themes were “Familiar Issues, New Partnerships” and “Protecting Watersheds.” For the 20th Anniversary, special gift items could be handed out at the conference. Fees could go up to cover these items, such as a CASFM calendar, coffee mugs or shirts. The general feeling was there already too many coffee mugs given away, and the shirts handed out 4 years ago did not fit the women.
The keynote should address, “Where we have been in stormwater & floodplain management, and where we are going.”
The Plenary Session is popular and could a discussion of watershed protection. The Front Range Watershed Wildfire Protection Group, which includes many sponsors, could help to organize a session. Gary Walter, Douglas County, could help organize this discussion on watershed protection.
There was interest in keeping the same format of field trips on Friday. Last year’s conference technical sessions were too rushed and this year’s should be more selective to limit the number of technical presentations. Technical tracks could include Watershed Protection (particularly wildfire issues after all the recent beetle-kill), Site Planning, and Floodplain Management.
7) National Flood Programs and Policies in Review
CASFM’s role may include influencing national decision-making. Kevin Houck asked members to read ASFPM’s National Flood Programs and Policies in Review, which can be found at http://www.floods.org/Publications/NFPPR_2007.asp. There was an in-depth discussion about CASFM providing support for a technical position. CASFM should consider developing a survey to poll its members to find out what is important to them as an organization. There was a discussion of ‘lobbying’ and whether supporting a position constitutes lobbying since CASFM is prohibited from such activities.
8) Other Business
If an address is needed on CASFM letterhead it will be the current Treasurer’s address.