MBNMS SAC Meeting Minutes October 21st, 2010

MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING

FINAL
October 21st, 2010
Cambria Veteren's Hall
Cambria, CA

The following non-voting members were present as indicated:

• Monterey Bay NMS: Paul Michel

Alternates present in audience:

• At-Large: Nancy Selfridge
• MBNMS: Karen Grimmer

APPROVAL OF 8/19/10 DRAFT MEETING NOTES

The advisory council passed the August 19, 2010 meeting minutes with the following substantive changes:

• add “sanctuary” before “logo” in section XIV

MOTION: (Passed)

Motion introduced by Russ Jeffries, seconded by Jane Parker.
(Vote: 17 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention)

The following members of the public provided public comment for items not on the agenda: Carol Georgi, Carolyn Moffett, and Eric Endersby.

Rich Hughett provided background on the salmon resolution and how the topic came before the advisory council. After some discussion on the wording of the resolution, the advisory council passed the resolution. MBNMS staff will forward the resolution to various local, state, and federal organizations, which were determined at a prior meeting.

MOTION: (Passed)

Approve a resolution that conveys the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council’s concern over salmon declines to the appropriate agencies. The resolution supports continued and effective enforcement of laws critical to healthy ecosystems and supports every opportunity to educate the public of the importance of the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary.

Motion introduced by Steve Scheiblauer, seconded by PJ Web
(Vote: 18 in favor, 0 opposed)

Carolyn Skinder, Southern Region Education and Outreach Specialist, provided an informational presentation on the Coastal Discovery Center and southern region.

MOTION: (Passed)

Approve a draft letter to Dan Basta, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Director, in support of additional resources for the San Simeon office and the Coastal Discovery Center. The letter will be provided in draft form to the advisory council for the December meeting. PJ Webb agreed to draft the letter.

Motion introduced by PJ Webb, seconded by Gary Pezz
(Vote: 16 in favor, 0 opposed)

PJ Webb, Citizen At-large, added to Carolyn’s presentation by highlighting other marine-related organizations in the southern region. She highlighted the Morro Bay Estuary Program, San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance (SLOSEA), Santa Rosa Creek Watershed Implementation Committee, Friends of the Elephant Seal, Piedras Blancas Lightstation, and the Marine Interest Group (MIG).

After some discussion, the advisory council determined a more detailed presentation on the MIG should be given at a future advisory council meeting.

MOTION: (Passed)

Approve a draft a letter in support of the continuation of the MIG. The letter would be given to individuals/entities who could utilize it.

Motion introduced by Steve Scheiblauer, seconded by PJ Webb
(Vote: 17 in favor, 0 opposed)

Karen Grimmer, MBNMS Deputy Superintendent, provided background on the last advisory council work plan and reminded the council that he document is a planning calendar, not a work plan. She reviewed past items covered and items the advisory council still may want to review from the old list. After some discussion, the advisory council developed a list of issues/topics they felt were important to receive presentations on over the next two years. Karen agreed to gather the advisory council’s input and seek approval of the calendar at the December meeting. This will now be referred to as the Sanctuary Advisory Council Calendar, not the work plan.

Setting the Agenda and Member Announcements
Chris Harrold, Sanctuary Advisory Council chair, and Paul Michel, MBNMS Superintendent, described how they set meeting agendas based on guidance from the charter and protocols. Additionally they look to the two-year calendar, current events, advisory council member requests, as well as the past meeting agenda to determine what items need to go on the next agenda.

Paul suggested that member announcements have not been as informative or useful as they could be. He reminded advisory council members that member announcements should be short news items or requests for future agenda items. He also commented that having this item at the end of the day when many advisory council members have left the meeting may not be the best timing. The advisory council chose to move the item to earlier in the day in an effort to improve member announcements.

Public Comment
Chris explained how the advisory council has been conducting the public comment period. There were a few meetings where public comments for items not on the agenda resulted in full discussions (not the intent of this agenda item). The policy is that members of the public have three minutes to provide their comments and there will be no discussion with the speakers. Chris also explained that public comment for items on the agenda is sought as much as possible during the meeting as time allows, however public comment has not occurred at times due to the advisory council discussion taking so long.

After some discussion the advisory council agreed to hear public comment for items on the agenda prior to advisory council member discussion so the advisory council has public input already in mind when they discuss the topic. The advisory council also agreed that presenters would keep track of questions from the public to answer after public comment. Also, the advisory council agreed that, when there are many public comments, then speaker cards should be used.

Motions and Resolutions
Paul and Chris reviewed language in the MBNMS Advisory Council Charter and Protocols regarding motions and resolutions.

After reviewing the Charter and Protocols, advisory council members agreed that potential action items should be noted in advance of the meeting (draft advisory council agenda) with adequate supporting information. The advisory council also agreed there may be a need for emergency actions. Emergency actions can occur if a majority of advisory council members agree to hear the issue and accept an action. There has to be a compelling issue for the item to be discussed. Paul agreed to develop a “cheat sheet” for advisory council members that define motions and resolutions, including language for emergency actions. Many advisory council members also agreed a staff report (brief or lengthy depending on the item) will be helpful to set up the item for the advisory council.

Paul reminded advisory council members of their roles and responsibilities as advisory council members, highlighting particular areas within the Implementation Handbook and the Charter and Protocols. Paul hopes everyone is supporting the sanctuary in a good faith effort. Many advisory council members provided why they joined the advisory council and some of the joys and challenges they have faced as an advisory council member.

Term Limits
Nicole Capps, Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator, briefly explained the new term limit policy per ONMS Headquarters. She explained the policy would be added to the Charter and Protocols during the five-year revision of the document in 2014. The advisory council may choose to amend the Charter and Protocols to add the language sooner. She stated she would send the new policy language to advisory council members after the meeting.

Youth Role
Paul and Nicole explained there is an interest on the part of sanctuary staff to include youth in the advisory council in some way. Nicole described how some of the other advisory councils have included youth as well as additional ideas. Overall the advisory council seemed interested in the idea of youth involvement and suggested this topic be agendized in the future.

Mike Dawson, Citizen At-large, announced a benefit dinner for the R/V Western Flyer on November 11th at Fishermen’s Wharf. The original boat has been found and a group is trying to bring it back to Monterey. Mike has tickets if anyone is interested.

PJ Webb, Citizen At-large, thanked everyone for traveling to Cambria.

Gary Pezzi, Recreation, announce the O’Neill Cold Water Classic will take place in Santa Cruz over the weekend.

Nick Franco, CA State Parks, accounted the State Park Commission designated the first state marine park, the Cambria State Marine Park, in August. He also announced there will be a new boardwalk at the elephant seal rookery north of Hearst Castle.

Dick Ely, Citizen At-large, announced that Assemblymember Bill Monning has made efforts to bring together agencies, conservationists, and fishermen. Dick is participating in a sustainable halibut fishery group in Monterey. He suggested there should be a presentation in the future on this group.

NEXT MEETING: December 9th, 2010 in Pacific Grove
The meeting adjourned at 4:37 p.m.
Items for next meeting:
- Marine Interest Group (MIG) support letter
- Southern Region support letter to Dan Basta

Submitted by
Nicole Capps
Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator