Eastern Coal Region Roundtable
Board Meeting Minutes 10-25-07
Twin Falls State Park Resort
Meeting was called to order by Board President Craig Hartsock at 7:10pm. Attending were: board members Craig Hartsock, Bruce Golden, Mike Steinmaus, Keith Pitzer, Dewey Houck, ACCWT Director Allan Comp, OSM/ACCWT intern Seth Livingston, OSM/VISTA ECRR Coordinator Sarah Walters, and prospective board members Dvon Duncan, Kristyn Robinson, Alice Jones and Laura Haines.
Previous minutes were verbally reviewed. Dewey Houck motioned to accept previous minutes. Bruce Golden seconded. Motion carried.
Sarah Walters gave the coordinators report on her activities since beginning the position on September 1st. This period has been very busy with becoming familiar with ECRR background and mission, beginning implementation of a Project Flow educational grant,
working with EPA on finishing qualifications for the Capacity Building Grant and most significantly, preparing for this convened Roundtable and fall watershed team training.
Finances were reviewed by Sarah, reporting 1033.88 in the checking account at this time. Hanna worked several hours after her internship on the Capacity Building Grant, the Project Flow grant and training Sarah on the ECRR website procedures, office procedures, etc. Dewey motioned that Hanna be paid for her hours. Mike seconded and the motion carried. Dewey motioned to accept the financial report. Keith seconded and the motion carried.
Administrative protocols submitted to EPA for qualifications of the Capacity Building grant were reviewed verbally by Keith. These were modeled after Friends of the Cheat’s protocols submitted to EPA for their Targeted Watershed grant. Dewey motioned to accept the protocols, Mike seconded and the motion carried.
The status of the Capacity Building Grant was reported. The work plan was accepted by EPA some weeks ago. Confusion between Region III and headquarters about the roles of Friend of the Cheat and ECRR has caused a delay in issuing a signed agreement.
Thus, no funds can be drawn. Sarah and Keith are communicating closely with the project manager at Region III about this problem.
As soon as an agreement is signed, the placement of a paid executive director for ECRR could proceed. In the meantime, Sarah and Keith will draft a position announcement and
circulate this to the board for approval by Wednesday, October 31st. The board will review and a final version will be ready to circulate on line by Friday, Nov. 2nd. There will be a three week posting period. Upon receipt of applicants, the interview process will be developed by appropriate board members. It is hoped to have a Director in position by early January.
Board recruitment efforts were reflected by the presence of four prospective members.
These are: Dvon Duncan, Mullens, WV; Kristyn Robinson, Marietta, OH; Alice Jones, Richmond, KY; and Laura Haines, Cumberland, MD.
Board structure was reviewed for accuracy in reflecting state representation. It was agreed to change bylaws to allow board to include up to 2 members from each of eight Appalachian states and 2 at large members. The states that can be represented on the board are: PA, MD, VA, WV, OH, KY, TN, and AL.
After this discussion, the prospective board members each spoke about their backgrounds and interest in serving on the ECRR Board. After the candidates left the room, a short discussion on the merits and future needs of the board followed. Mike motioned to accept all four candidates as new members of the board. Bruce seconded and the motion passed.
Membership was discussed. No new action had occurred. Specifically, the ideas of corporate membership, watershed group membership and the need for a membership development grant were listed as desired developments in the future.
The next meeting of the ECRR Board will be in conjunction with the spring ACCWT Training, date and place yet to be determined. A board conference call was scheduled for
January 10th at 9am. Sarah will email the dial-in number.
At the end of the meeting, Dewey formally announced his retirement from the Board of Directors. His input and contributions to the organization will be missed and best wishes for him in future endeavors are wished by all.
Meeting adjourned at 8:25pm.