Weed Control District Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
Saturday, September 9, 2006
7:30-9:30 a.m.
Marion County Public Works, Willamette Room
Introductions
Present at meeting: Staff—Tanya Beard, Evie Pech; Committee members—Stan Vistica, Terry Witt, Herb Schunk, Ruth Higgs, John Savage, Robert Dyk, Bob Brown, Kurt Spingath
Absent: Liz Redon, Dan Goffin, Mike Ricks, Jeffrey Morehead, and Ralph Fisher
Minutes—moved and seconded to approve minutes from August 5th 2006 with no changes…passed unanimously with no changes.
Discussion regarding public noticing of meetings. Committee recommended checking to see if Jefferson has any media outlets that could be utilized.
Discussion regarding sharing Committee contact information between the Committee members and staff. All present expressed desire to share this information so contact sheets were distributed. Absentees will receive them at the next meeting or by mail.
Bylaw review. They were approved unanimously for adoption. The Chair signed the bylaws. Committee recommended taking them to the Marion County Board of Commissioners for approval and signature.
Discussion/presentation of Marion County Vegetation Management Program.
Evie Pech presented information regarding the existing roadside program. Previous projects were noted; test sites for biological controls or new chemical applications, and challenges being met were discussed.
-County staff can address weeds “on our side of the fence” but cannot deal with private lands, even if issues straddle the fence line
-The Weed District provides a chance to get after the entire problem rather than just right-of-way issues
Discussion ensued regarding the infrastructure of the District.
Discussion ensued regarding existing finances and equipment.
Discussion ensued regarding “eyes on the roads” (lots of staff on the roads to help identify weeds and their locations), and training staff through a presentation during a Safety Meeting.
Description of biological release projects.
Description of Private Maintenance Agreement process. Copies of PMA and Vegetation Standards were distributed.
Discussion regarding finances.
Current: $5000. from Marion Soil and Water Conservation District for use in creating and compiling education and outreach materials.
Denied on Title II Application from Hood/Willamette RAC. No reason has been given yet.
$25,000 application in with the Oregon State Weed Board for education/outreach, GPS units, inventory, monitoring, and on-the-ground projects.
We need additional funding. Perhaps a contract with Bureau of Land Management to act as manager for hiring applicators to work on/adjacent to the BLM lands. The contract might bring strength to the Weed District. Discussion ensued regarding limitations on chemicals with the federal government. A similar contract might be possible with the Forest Service.
Further discussion regarding the abilities of the County to deal with different aspects of weed dissemination and encroachment, including enforcement abilities.
Discussion ensued regarding Notification Letter(s).
Reviewed two separate notification letters and one follow-up letter.
Side discussion regarding working with cities and getting them “on board” with the Weed Control District ideals.
-Request: could we include the Uniform Fire Code on the notification letters?
-When a letter is sent, how often are follow-up letters needed? Do people usually take care of issues after the first letter or are they confused and don’t even know what’s expected of them?
-With notification letter, include lots of education materials such as: information from the statute, a fact sheet
-Are letters mailed certified or registered? Hand-delivered?
-Be specific regarding time frame for letter: establish a timeline for a response with a plan of action and a final deadline for resolving the problem
-Quote ordinance number in letter—but use it later in the letter to avoid defensiveness
-Include in letter: definition of problem, description of why the plant is a problem, the need for a plan of action by a certain date, the need for completion of the action by a certain date, suggestions for how to address the problem, contact information for various folks who could provide assistance (OSU Extension, ODA, MSWCD, farm stores…), the ordinance number, information regarding landowner recourse, information regarding fines/or other penalty, etc.
“Spread the word, not the weed” could be the District’s motto!
-TANYA: ask Code Enforcement how long is given between initial notification letter and follow-up letter(s); ask Code Enforcement how letters are sent; draft notification letter, fact sheet, control options (as a packet as if it would be mailed), and a follow-up letter.
Future topics: October 14th meeting we’ll have Beth Shenai-Meyers from ODA doing a presentation; review notification letters and packet; review standing with bylaws; review standing with OSWB grant.
Perhaps for November 11th we could invite someone from City of Salem to discuss what he or she does with regard to noxious weed control. Evie will contact Public Works for an appropriate person to invite. (Evie and Kurt will both be absent for that meeting).
Chair adjourned the meeting and thanked the group for a good discussion.
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