I.   Welcome and Introductions
    The meeting was called to order at 3:00 pm.
    Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Glenda Guiton, Norm Getty.  Agency/Organization representatives: Mark Barnett/NRCS; Doug Bird, Nola Engelskirger, Jeff Werst, and Diana Haines/SLO County Public Works; Ron Alsop/SLO County Office of Emergency Services; Julie Thomas/CSLRCD; Bill Bookout/OCSD; Tom Zehnder/South SLO San District. Community members: Charlie Lackie, Hugh Gilson, Tom Bowman.

II.   Public Comment
    There was a question re keys for Sea Breeze for the newly installed/repaired levee gates. Nola said that keys were mailed to levee landowners a week ago, and will check on the keys for Sea Breeze.

V. Announcements
    There were no announcements.

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.
    Lacking a quorum, this item was deferred to the December meeting.

V. Presentation of draft Dam and Levee Failure Evacuation Plan.
    Doug Bird presented drawings of the FEMA 100-year flood are for Zone 1/1A.  He discussed the background for the decision to fold the Zone 1/1A evacuation plan into the evacuation plan for Lopez Dam.  Ron discussed the County’s coordination with agencies throughout the County to be sure that all are on the same page with regard to emergency services.  He said that the State looks at the County as one “operational area” for emergencies.

• The Sheriff Dept watch commander has a list of what to do if Lopez Dam fails: who to notify, early warning, etc.
• Use of the local Emergency Alert System/Emergency Broadcast System will probably be incorporated into the emergency plan.  In a major emergency, the Diablo sirens will be sounded in the Zone 1/1A area.  The County is working on educating people that the sirens are a general “warning” to turn on the radio; they don’t necessarily mean there’s a nuclear power plant-related emergency.
• Doug discussed procedures for road closures, Red Cross, emergency medical services, and special needs evacuation.
• There would be immediate news releases.  In emergencies, KSBY TV goes live, and possibly KVEC
• “Rumor control” phone lines will be active.
• UPRR would be notified.
• The plan establishes procedures for OES to set up a “Disaster Central” operational center.
• In addition, all the various entities/agencies have their own emergency plans.
• The Sheriff’s Dept would be responsible for securing the area against looting, etc.
• In response to a question re stranded campers in the Oceano Dunes, Ron said they need to address that possibility; medical evacuations are possible if needed.
• There was discussion of where the best location would be for an evacuation center, since the Oceano fire station can be isolated during flooding.

VI. Nominees for Vacant Zone 1/1A Member Position.
    Nola reported that she has not yet received any application forms.  Tom Zehnder expressed interest in applying as a representative of the South San Luis Sanitation Plant.  Charlie said that he has an application.  Nola said that the Board of Supervisors will appoint the member, but they will look to Zone 1/1A for a recommendation.

VII.  Bylaws – discussion of possible amendment to Bylaws to designate alternate committee members.
    There was discussion of proposed changes to add positions for alternates for the Advisory Committee.  The consensus was to bring a draft of Bylaw revisions to the January meeting that would amend item 4.b to include “seven members and a maximum of seven Alternates”, and to add some language re dealing with absences.  Julie will bring a draft with the proposed changes to the January meeting.

VIII.  Environmental review and permitting of Zone 1/1A long-term management plan – Update.
    Jeff reported that the Morro Group is working with Swanson Hydrology & Geomorphology on the County’s grant application for the IRWMP Round 2.  The work they do on the application will apply to the long-term maintenance plan as well.  There has been a change in the IRWMP ranking: SLO County is now above the cut-off line; but given the way the funding will be divided up, the chances of SLO County getting funding are still rather low.
    The goal is to have a Scope of Work for development of the long-term maintenance plan by mid-January.
     Jeff reported that he joined a group of other County employees in attending the Riparian Habitat Joint Venture Conference the previous week in Sacramento.  He and John Farhar made good contacts with a number of state agencies that will be involved in permitting for the flood control channel work, and/or have potential grant funds.
     Regarding the Off-Highway Vehicle in-lieu fund: a number of entities are vying for the funding.  County PW has requested $180,000 for Zone 1/1A.

VIII.   Oceano Dunes potential sale by County – update.
     Norm said that there is nothing new to report on this matter.

X. Zone 1/1A Budget Status for Fiscal Year 2007/08.
     Nola distributed the 2007/08 Zone 1/1A budget, showing budgeted and actual amounts expended through the end of November 2007 (budget attached).
     Regarding funding the environmental work to be done by the Morro Group, Jeff said that it would probably be possible to get a County “bridge” loan if the necessary expenditures during the first year exceed Zone 1/1A income for that year.
 Tom asked if it would be possible to develop a 10-year spending plan?  Jeff said that it might be good to get a little further in the planning process first, but that would be a good thing to do.
     Jeff has sent a follow-up letter to Dan Miller of UPRR to let him know the status of planning for Zone 1/1A projects.  The letter indicated that Alternative 3C (raising levees and UPRR bridge) is one of the options that will be considered during the planning and environmental review process, and that the County is looking to UPRR to participate to the extent possible.
     In response to a question about installing another levee gate upstream of the mobile home parks in order to protect the new levee topping, Jeff said he will look into the possibility of doing that this year.

IX. Open Forum.
    There were no comments during this period.

X.  Set Date for Next Meeting.
    The next two meetings were set for January 15 and February 19.

XI. Adjourn.

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/  and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service
OCSD: Ocean Community Services District
 
 

I.   Welcome and Introductions

The meeting was called to order at 3:10 pm.
Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Vicki Cardoza, Will Deschenes, Glenda Guiton, Stan Ikeda, Norm Getty.  Agency/Organization representatives: Mark Barnett/NRCS; Nola Engelskirger, Jeff Werst, and John Farhar/SLO County Public Works; Julie Thomas/CSLRCD; Pamela Dean/OCSD; Tom Zehnder/South SLO San District; Mary Reents and Deborah Hollowell/Morro Group.  Community members: Charlie Lackie, Hugh Gilson, Tom Bowman, Nancy Parker.

II.   Public Comment

There was no public comment.

III. Announcements

Nola announced that the Advisory Committee vacancy, created by the resignation of Mark Overduin, has been posted.  Interested parties should contact her for application forms.

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.

The minutes from the October 23, 2007 meeting were accepted as submitted.

V.   Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance - 2007

Nola  reported the following:

• The inspection report has been completed, and can be viewed on the County Zone 1/1A website (http://www.slocountywater.org/, follow link at bottom of page to Zone 1/1A).
• Three new gates have been installed on the levees: on the north and south levees on the east side of the 22nd Street bridge, and on the north levee on the west side of the 22nd Street bridge.  Keys are being provided to property owners; once property owners have keys, the gates will be locked. (Photos and map of gate locations attached as Figures 1-3.)
• The annual routine maintenance of flap gates has been completed.  Replacement of the Sand Canyon (aka Meadow Creek) flap gate still awaits permitting.

In response to a question about the other 2 gates that need to be installed on the levees east of the mobile home parks, Nola replied that they were working with a budget of $30,000.  She will check the remaining funds to see if there is  money for the other two gates.
At the next Zone 1/1A meeting, Nola will bring a budget update to assist with discussion of priority for flap gates and access gates.  Norm emphasized the need for the gates east of the mobile home parks to protect the levee topping work.

VI.   Draft Emergency Response Plan (DERP) - Update

Nola reported that county review of the draft DERP for a levee overtopping event  has been completed.  The recommendation is that the DERP for Zone 1/1A be combined with the Lopez Lake Emergency Evacuation Plan to create a “San Luis Obispo County Dam and Levee Failure Evacuation Plan,” with an insert for Zone 1/1A.  This combined document will be easier for safety agencies to work with.
Ron Alsop of the County Office of Emergency Services will come to the next Zone 1/1A meeting to discuss the plan, and will try to make the plan available ahead of time for the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee to review, and then the Advisory Committee can consider recommending approval of the plan to the Board of Supervisors.

Nola would like to publicize the discussion at the next Zone 1/1A meeting of the draft DERP.  Pamela Dean suggested that Nola coordinate with the OCSD for insertion of the flier with the monthly OCSD water bill.

Tom Zehnder reported that the South SLO San District just got a new pump that will keep working during flooding for primary treatment before releasing water via the ocean outfall.  The plant can’t do secondary treatment during a bad flood.

Norm said that he is working on a newsletter for the mobile home parks, and the upcoming newsletter can include notice of the DERP meeting.

There was discussion about developing a newsletter with a “synopsis of things accomplished” in Zone 1/1A during 2007, for distribution to Zone 1/1A landowners.

VII. Preliminary Scope for environmental review and permitting of Zone 1/1A long-term management plan.

 John Farhar reported that, because of available grant opportunities, the Morro Group had been hired, under their standing County contract, to assist in grant applications for Zone 1/1A projects, before starting work on the Scope of Work for environmental review and permitting for the Zone 1/1A Waterway Management Plan.  The Morro Group is working on refining the alternatives to be discussed in the environmental documents – CEQA, NEPA, permitting agencies.  The documents need to satisfy both state and federal requirements.

 Earlier today the Zone 1/1A Task Force met to discuss the “purpose and need” for NEPA, and the “objectives” for CEQA.  NEPA requires that all alternatives be evaluated with the same weight, whereas CEQA only requires that mitigateable alternatives be evaluated.
 Jeff Werst discussed the status of current grants that the County is pursuing for Zone 1/1A.

 The County has issued a purchase order to hire Swanson Hydrology & Geomorphology to work with the Morro Group on the technical aspects of grant applications to fund the environmental review work.  The County also worked with Morro Group and SH&G to identify elements of Alternatives 3A and 3C that could be implemented and permitted prior to EIR completion.

 Will Deschenes suggested contacting Rep. Lois Capps for funding.

 Julie has contacted the Dept of Water Resources to find out release date for the Local Levee Evaluation Program grant; she will follow up.

VIII.   Oceano Dunes potential sale by County – update.

 Norm said that there is nothing new to report on this matter.

IX.   Open Forum.

 Upper watershed projects in planning/progress:

• Julie described a potential floodplain restoration and sediment detention project on Corbett Creek that the RCD is working on with the City of Arroyo Grande and the Coastal Conservancy.  This project was identified in as site #14 in Table 4.8 of the 2006 “Alternatives Study” as a priority potential site.  The property owners had contacted the City of Arroyo Grande expressing interest in establishing a conservation easement on the property, and are open to including floodplain restoration and sediment detention and management components in the project.

• Norm mentioned that he met recently with AG Mayor Tony Ferrara, who discussed work being done by the City of AG toward addressing creek concerns:

o An invasive ivy removal project in downtown AG.
o Streambank erosion control projects underway.
o The City hired NRCS/RCD engineer Mark Barnett to assist with a stormwater management project that is designed to reduce creek sedimentation.

X.  Set Date for Next Meeting.

 The next two meetings were set for December 11 and January 15.

XI. Adjourn.

I.   Welcome and Introductions
The meeting was called to order at 3:10 pm.
Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Vicki Cardoza, Will Deschenes, Glenda Guiton.  Agency/Organization representatives: Mark Barnett/NRCS; Nola Engelskirger and Jeff Werst/SLO County Public Works, Julie Thomas/CSLRCD, Pamela Dean/OCSD, Teresa McClish/City of AG, Tom Zehnder/South SLO San District.  Community members: Charlie Lackie.

II.   Public Comment

• Gary reported that he had received a letter of resignation from Mark Overduin from his position on the Advisory Committee.  Gary gave the letter to Nola to forward to the Board of Supervisors.
• Following up on September meeting, Julie presented a letter (attached) for Gary Kobara’s signature to Supervisor Katcho Achadjian expressing Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee support of the AG Creek Memorandum of Understanding.  Gary signed the letter, and Nola will forward to Katcho.
• Pamela passed around a photo of the pile of garbage that had been removed from the AG Creek flood control channel by volunteers on the annual Creek Day on September 29.

III. Announcements

There were no announcements

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.

The minutes from the September 18, 2007 meeting were accepted as submitted, with one typo correction.

V.  Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance - 2007

a. Levee maintenance report.

Nola reported that 6-7 flap gates were cleared of vegetation and sedimentation so that they are operable.  Maintenance was delayed on one flap gate due to presence of yellow jackets.  Brezden Pest Control was hired to treat the yellow jackets, and maintenance should be completed during the coming week.  Environmental permits are being sought so that the Meadow Creek flap gates can be replaced.  The cost of new flap gates has increased considerably over the past year.

b. Levee access issues - update on signage, gates and related activity.

Nola reported that Public Works crews will probably be able to begin installation of new gates in November, and completed in December.

VI.   Update on Draft Emergency Response Plan.
 The draft DERP for a levee overtopping event is still being reviewed by the County for consistency with other county emergency response plans, per Nola.

VII. Report on status of contract negotiations with consulting firm for environmental review and permitting of Zone 1/1A long-term management plan.

 Jeff reported that the County has met with the Morro Group to develop a Scope of Work that would be the basis of the contract.  In addition, two grant opportunities have arisen that could potentially provide money for Zone 1/1A channel maintenance activities, and the County has authorized the Morro Group to work on those applications.

One of the grant opportunities is with the State Department of Parks & Recreation - Off Highway Vehicles, which has grant money that is based on vehicle fees.  The required criteria for grant applicants is that there needs to be a nexus to Oceano State Park and/or mitigating vehicle impacts to the park.  County PW submitted a proposal for funds for installation of gates and signs on the levee to limit access.  They will be looking for reimbursement for money already spent on gates and signs, in addition to gates that remain to be installed.  In addition, they will be requesting funds to fill the ruts in the levee between the UPRR bridge and the Sanitation Plant, caused at least in part by OHVs.  Jeff has prepared a project description and a budget.  The total request will be for $82,000.

The other grant is the Integrated Regional Water Management Prop 50 grant – Round 2:  there are Zone 1/1A projects that may qualify.  Nola had included a Zone 1/1A Waterway Management Plan summary in the IRWM Plan (projects must be included in the overall IRWM plan in order to be eligible for the various IRWM grant rounds).  Because there is a limited amount of money available, the County is putting together a suite of projects that include the Zone 1/1A WMP, and asking for a total of $1 million for Zone 1/1A.  The application needs to be submitted by January 14, 2008.

Jeff said that under the planned scope of work, the Morro Group would contract to prepare environmental documents, with Swanson Hydrology & Geomorphology as a subcontractor.  The County also has a standing contract with the Morro Group, and the work on the grant applications is being performed under the standing contract. Morro Group will work with the County select for the IRWM proposal the projects that are most easily permitted, and that are compatible with the WMP, because to be competitive, the projects need “readiness to proceed” by July 2008.

Projects likely to be included in the IRWM grant are:

• Filling the north levees to some extent to above the design height.  This may require retaining walls in some locations.
• Possibly apply for funds to raise the levees to the height described under Alternative 3A in the 2006 AG Creek Alternatives Study.
• Possibly apply for funds to increase the levee height downstream of the UPRR bridge to the height described in Alternative 3C of the Alternatives Study.
• Environmental and geotechnical studies necessary to implement the above and other projects.

The IRWM grant requires a monitoring program for any projects, including goals and the ability to measure whether those goals are being met.  The water quality benefit of the projects for Zone 1/1A would be protection of water quality by decreasing flood risk, thereby protecting creek from exposure to household/garden chemicals, agriculture chemicals, and flooding from the Sanitation Plant.
 Support letters for the grant applications will be needed: OCSD, Zone 1/1A Advisory Comm., City of AG, CCSE, etc.

 The IRWM grant requires a local match of 10%; the Zone 1/1A assessment fees will more than meet that requirement.

On the subject of grants, Julie said that she is checking on the release date of the DWR Local Levee Evaluation grant, which would have funds for geotechnical assessment of the levees.

VIII.  Oceano Dunes potential sale by County – update.

 Julie reported that Norm Getty asked her to relay the message to the group that there was nothing new to report on the potential Oceano Dunes sale.

IX.  Open Forum.

There were no open forum items.

X.  Set Date for Next Meeting.

 The next two meetings were set for November 13 and December 11.

XI. Adjourn.
 
 

October 23, 2007

Supervisor Katcho Achadjian
San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors and
  San Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water
  Conservation District
San Luis Obispo, CA

Dear Supervisor Achadjian:

The San Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee would like to express its support of the “Arroyo Grande Watershed and Creek Memorandum of Understanding”, and urges the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors to join the MOU as a signatory.

 The Arroyo Grande MOU is an important step on the path to improved coordination and communication among the major stakeholders in the Arroyo Grande Creek watershed, and will facilitate actions to effectively address the challenges facing the watershed.  In particular, the MOU can benefit the Zone 1/1A Flood Control District by providing an avenue for organizations and municipalities from throughout the watershed to work together in developing policies and management practices that can decrease flood risk for residents and business owners at the lower end of the watershed.

 Thank you for your support of the Arroyo Grande Creek Watershed and Creek Memorandum of Understanding.

Sincerely,
 

Gary Kobara
Chairman
Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee
 
 

I.   Welcome and Introductions
The meeting was called to order at 3:10 pm.
Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Vicki Cardoza, Will Deschenes, Norm Getty, Glenda Guiton, Stan Ikeda.  Agency/Organization representatives: Mark Barnett/NRCS; Nola Engelskirger and Jeff Werst/SLO County Public Works, Julie Thomas/CSLRCD, Pamela Dean and Patrick O’Reilly/OCSD, Teresa McClish/City of AG.  Community members: Charlie Lackie; Hugh Gilson.

II.   Public Comment

There was no public comment.

III. Announcements

There were no announcements

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.

The minutes from the August 21, 2007 meeting were accepted as submitted.

V.  Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance - 2007

a. Final report on vegetation management work for 2007 season.   Julie reported that all work had been completed on the Arroyo Grande vegetation management project as of September 7, 2007, and provided map showing extent of work.  Vegetation work was performed on all sections of the channel, with the exception of 6 locations where red-legged frogs were observed, and 3 locations with active bird nests.  Invasive non-native species arundo and castor bean were removed.  No arundo spraying was performed because the current CDFG streambed alteration agreement did not authorize treatment with herbicides; a goal is to amend the permit to allow targeted treatment of arundo with herbicides in the future.  Re costs:  not all invoices have been received, so total costs haven’t been calculated yet.

b. RCD/County draft annual maintenance agreement.  Julie reported that there are still discussions going on about the indemnification provisions in the draft agreement.

c. Levee access issues - update on signage, gates and related activity.   Nola reported that Public Works crews have been swamped with other projects, so haven’t been able to install new gates on the levee roads yet.  As crews become available, the highest priority will be to clear the flap gates.

d. Report on August 20, 2007 annual inspection of the flood control channel.  Nola reported that on August 20, the annual inspection was conducted by herself, Julie Thomas, Susan Litteral (NRCS engineer) and Margy Lindquist (NRCS District Conservationist).  Nola has prepared a draft report summarizing the results of the inspection, which is under review.

VI.  Update on Draft Emergency Response Plan.

Nola reported that:
• The DERP is being circulated for comment.
• Public Works is working on Standard Operating Procedures.
• Carless and homebound people should send in a card to get on the list of people who need assistance during an emergency.  They can get a card by calling 546-5292.  There was a question about how people get deleted from the list, in the event they have moved, etc.
• Emergency evaculation point:  PW is open to suggestions for improved/more accessible locations than the Oceano Fire Department.  Pamela Dean will put this question on the fire department committee agenda, and ask PG&E to do a presentation on the homebound/carless list at an OCSD meeting, so that the presentation is broadcast on TV.

VII. Task Force Reports

a. Update on recent activities of Zone 1/1A Task Force, including status of County RFQ for environmental consultant.  Norm reported that four consulting firms had submitted Statements of Qualifications, and that the Selection Committee (which consisted of Jeff Werst and John Farhar for SLO County, Julie Thomas for the RCD, and Gary and Norm for Zone 1/1A) held interviews with all four firms on September 10 and 11.  The committee selected a top candidate – the Morro Group of San Luis Obispo – and negotiations are being held between the County and Morro Group re Scope of Work and Contract.  The Morro Group has contracted with SLO County for the past 20 years as an environmental consultant.  The Zone 1/1A contract with Morro Group would be a stand-alone contract.  The Morro Group will partner with Swanson Hydrology and Geomorphology on this project.  Timeline:  the goal is to have a contract before the SLO County Board of Supervisors by end of November, if not earlier.
During ensuing discussion re funding for flood control projects, Jeff Werst informed the group that, for inclusion in the SLO County Integrated Regional Water Management grant proposal, project information needed to be provided to the state3 by the beginning of January.  They need scopes of work for projects in the upper AG watershed, and for sediment removal.
Norm acknowledged the great work by the County in organizing the process for selection of an environmental consultant

b. Report on Oceano Dunes potential sale by County.    Norm reported that there was nothing new to report.

VIII.  Arroyo Grande Creek Watershed MOU.

Teresa McClish passed out copies of the Memorandum of Understanding, in which the only revision from the previous version is that the Advisory Committee was not listed as a signatory.  Teresa said that they were asking the Advisory Committee for a vote of endorsement and a letter to the County stating that endorsement.  If the Advisory Committee endorses the MOU, it will then go to the City Council of Arroyo Grande, then the County Board of Supervisors, then everyone else.  Teresa has spoken with most of the signatories, and the response has been “pretty positive”.  Recent changes by the County to some of the MOU text may address prior concerns of potential agency signatories.

 The following motion was made:

MOTION:  The Advisory Committee endorses the Arroyo Grande Watershed and Creek MOU, June 8, 2007 revision, and will send a letter to the County Board of Supervisors encouraging them to sign the MOU.

The motion passed unanimously.

Julie will draft a letter, and email the letter to the Advisory Committee for comment, then get Gary’s signature for submittal to the County Bd of Supervisors.

IX.  Open Forum.

Mark Barnett asked Jeff for an update regarding the proposed stream gages for 22nd Street Bridge and Los Berros Creek.  Jeff said that the goal is to install the gages by January 2008, if not earlier.  The new stream gages will take measurements every 15 minutes.

X.  Set Date for Next Meeting.

 The next two meetings were set for October 23 and November 13.

XI. Adjourn.

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/  and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CCSE:  Central Coast Salmon Enhancement
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service
OCSD: Ocean Community Services District
 
 

I.   Welcome and Introductions

The meeting was called to order at 3:15 pm.

Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Will Deschenes, Glenda Guiton, Norm Getty.  Agency/Organization representatives: Mark Barnett/NRCS; Nola Engelskirger and Doug Bird/SLO Co. Public Works, Julie Thomas/CSLRCD, Pamela Dean and Patrick O’Reilly/OCSD, Shellie Hamilton/CCSE, Tom Zehnder/So. SLO Sanitation District; Community members: Charlie Lackie; Hugh Gilson.

II.   Public Comment

There was no public comment.

III. Announcements

Norm invited the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee members to join the Task Force at the meeting on August 23 to review Statements of Qualifications submitted by applicants in response to the Request for Qualifications for environmental reviewing and permitting of AG Creek projects.  For any who are interested, Norm will meet ½ hour beforehand to provide background.

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.

The minutes from the July 17, 2007 meeting were accepted as submitted.

V.  Draft Emergency Response Plan (DERP).

    Nola said that a DERP was being reviewed by County Operations and Emergency Services and other County offices.  Nola said the DERP is intended to improve alerts and response services in the event of a Zone 1/1A flooding emergency.  Part of the plan is to install stream gages in Zone 1/1A on Arroyo Grande Creek at the 22nd Street Bridge, and on Los Berros Creek at Valley Road.  These gages will provide real time stream stage data to the County to alert them to rising creek levels.  The 22nd St gage will be funded 50% by the Zone 3 (Lopez Dam) Flood Control District and 50% by Zone 1/1A.  The Valley Road gage will be funded by Zone 1/1A.  Once installed, the County would maintain the gages out of general County funds.  Zone 1/1A funds will only be used for initial equipment and installation.
     In response to a question, Nola said she was not sure what the plans were in regards to development of a rating curve for each gage.  A rating curve allows stream stage (i.e., depth of water) to be correlated to volume of flow, which is usually expressed in cubic feet per second (cfs).
     Doug Bird provided an overview of the planned warning system, which would include warning through sirens, radio and television to people with one mile of the flood control channel if there was a potential for the channel to overflow.  The Lopez Dam emergency response plan is being used as the template for the Zone 1/1A plan.  After the County completes its review of the DERP, it will go to the emergency responder agencies, such as police and fire departments, for review and comment.  The next step will be to the County Board of Supervisors for adoption.  The goal is to complete the plan by November 1. Then a mailer will be sent out with an OCSD bill notifying people of a public workshop about the Plan.
     Re evacuation of car-less and homebound people:  the DERP refers back to the SLO County Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Response Plan procedures.  Doug will check on the procedure used to keep the lists of homebound people current.
     In addition to stream gages, the County will be relying on National Weather Service 24-hour precipitation forecasting services to predict heavy rainfall events that might create flood hazards.  Also, the County has internal procedures for physically monitoring levees and dams.
     If there is a flood emergency, the County goes through the Sheriff’s Department for sounding sirens and accessing the Emergency Broadcast System.
     There was discussion about the problem with having the Oceano Fire Department being an evacuation point for car-less people, in that one can’t access the Fire Dept from some areas if there has been flooding.
     Mark B. suggested having redundancy on sensors at each stream gage in the event that one fails.
     Norm said that, per his conversations with Jeff Werst of County PW, the gages were connected to the County by radio telemetry, and were set up to trigger automatic alarms.
     Norm said that the cooperation with Zone 3 in sharing the cost of the 22nd Street stream gage was very encouraging, and was in line with the intent of the proposed Memorandum of Understanding.
     There was further discussion of use of stream gages and technologies throughout the County.
     The point was made that having stream gages in the flood control channel will allow for correlation of management to channel flow capacity; it won’t be necessary to “guess” at what the flows were.
     Nola asked if the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee would be willing to endorse the expenditure of $17,000 to $20,000 for the two stream gages to be installed.  The equipment proposed is the same as that being used by the USGS.
     Gary asked how the expenditure on stream gages using Zone 1/1A funds could be justified, since Zone 1/1A funds were supposed to go to maintenance?
     Julie and Mark both discussed how stream gages enable determination about what management and maintenance measures are effective, i.e., how much additional flow the channel is able to handle because a certain management measure has been implemented, such as vegetation thinning.  This will help with planning and prioritizing future maintenance.  Julie said the stream flow data will help give credibility for seeking grant funding.  Mark and Norm said the gages also provide a valuable tool for providing flood warning for evacuation.

Motion:  The Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee endorses the use of $17,000 to $20,000 of Zone 1/1A funds for the installation of stream gages at 22nd Street bridge and Valley Road bridge.

The motion passed unanimously.

VI.  Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance - 2007

a. 2007 vegetation management – update.
    Julie distributed a map showing the extent of the flood control channel on which the CCCs had so far completed vegetation management work.  There is an estimated 1-2 weeks of work left, all of which is in areas that were thinned last year, so work should proceed very quickly – those areas mostly require “pruning”, and very little “thinning”.
    Julie also summarized a number of phone calls that she has received from community members regarding the vegetation management.  Some of the phone calls expressed the desire for more vegetation to be removed from the channel to improve flood protection, and some expressed concern that too many willows were being cut and damaging the riparian habitat.  The California Department of Fish and Game received one phone call to their hotline reporting that too many willows were being cut, and in response they sent out a CDFG biologist, Dave Highland, to review the work on August 8.  Dave and Julie walked portions of the channel together.  Dave felt that the work being done was in compliance with the CDFG Streambed Alteration Agreement for the project.  Since then, Julie has been in contact with Margaret Paul of CDFG, and Margaret plans to make a site visit in September to determine with improvements could be made to the vegetation thinning protocols outlined in the project permit.
    Nola reported that the Sheriff’s office has made a number of visits to the homeless camp below UPRR bridge, and the camp had been largely disassembled, although a great deal of the camp materials had been left piled next to the levee.  It was necessary for the homeless camp to be removed so that vegetation management could be done.
    Charlie asked whether the CCCs could do trash removal as they were working on the creek.  Julie said that they needed to keep the CCCs focused on vegetation removal because of time and budget limits; doing trash removal would require arranging for dumpsters and hauling.  However, there is a community creek clean-up day scheduled in September.

b. RCD/County draft annual maintenance agreement.  Julie reported that the draft agreement is still undergoing review and revisions, and that she is in the process of researching some budget items.

c. Levee access issues: update on signage, gates and related activity.

• Nola reported that “No Dumping, No Parking, No Trespassing” signs have been posted at 10 key locations on the levees, primarily at entrance locations from roads.  These signs will make it easier for the Sheriff’s Dept. to enforce trespassing laws.  The signs are on posts 8’ to 10’ high to discourage vandalism.  Pamela Dean said that she got a phone call from a very angry community member about the signs because the person had been using the levee as a hiking trail for a long time, and did not know it was private property.  The citizen also called the local newspaper.
• Charlie spoke with a Union Pacific Railroad detective regarding trespassing on UPRR bridge.  There was also discussion of the fire ring located directly underneath the bridge.

d. Annual channel inspection.  On August 20, Nola and Julie were joined by Susan Litteral and Margy Lindquist of the NRCS in the annual inspection of the flood control channel.  Nola will write up a report on the inspection.

VII. Task Force Reports

a. Update on recent activities of Zone 1/1A Task Force, including status of County RFQ for environmental consultant.  Norm spoke recently with John Farhar of County Public Works, who said that so far 4 responses to the RFQ had been received, and all seemed well-qualified and familiar with the Arroyo Grande Creek area.  The Task Force planned to review the applications and select those to be interviewed on August 23.

b. Report on Oceano Dunes potential sale by County.    Norm said he had spoken with Linda Van Fleet of County Property Services.  There was nothing new to report in terms of action by the Board of Supervisors on the potential sale of Oceano Dunes property.  Linda told him that if there were additional issues that Zone 1/1A would like for the Bd of Supes to hear on the matter, the Advisory Committee could request a hearing by letter.

VIII.  Arroyo Grande Creek Watershed MOU

On behalf of Teresa McClish, planner with the City of Arroyo Grande, Julie distributed the final MOU, which had been reviewed by both County counsel and counsel for the City of Arroyo Grande.  Nola told the group that County counsel had determined that the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee could endorse the MOU, but could not be a signatory, because only the County Board of Supervisors, sitting as the SLO County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, could sign on behalf of Zone 1/1A.
The Advisory Committee members decided to take the time to review the final MOU, and consider endorsing it at the September meeting.

IX.  Open Forum.

There were no open forum items.

X.  Set Date for Next Meeting.

 The next two meetings were set for September 18 and October 23.

XI. Adjourn.

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/  and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CCSE:  Central Coast Salmon Enhancement
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service
OCSD: Ocean Community Services District
 
 

I.   Welcome and Introductions

The meeting was called to order at 3:15 pm.

Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Will Deschenes, Glenda Guiton, Vicki Cardoza, Norm Getty.  Agency/Organization representatives: Mark Barnett/NRCS; Nola Engelskirger and Jeff Werst/SLO Co. Public Works; Julie Thomas/CSLRCD; Pamela Dean/OCSD; Teresa McClish (City of Arroyo Grande).  Community members: Charlie Lackie; Tom Bowman; Charles Pinkley; Jess and Lola Arney.

II.   Public Comment

There was no public comment.

III. Announcements

There were no announcements.

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.

The minutes from the June 19, 2007 meeting were accepted as submitted.

V.   Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance

 a.   Update on  2007 vegetation management.  Julie provided the following update:

• Beginning on Monday, July 16, the California Conservation Corps provided three crews, consisting of 10-12 members each, for the AG Creek vegetation thinning project.  Crews are from both the Santa Maria and SLO CCCs offices.  The Santa Maria CCCs office has committed to keeping at least 1 crew working on the AG Creek project until the work is completed, although the other crews may be called away for fire duty or other urgent projects.
• The first priority for the crews are the stretches of the flood control channel that have not been thinned at all during the past 3 years, specifically the south levee below Creek Road, and the east levee above the Highway 1 bridge.  Once those sections are completed, the next priority will be the stretch between the 22nd Street bridge and the Highway 1 bridge.  However, the goal is to perform thinning throughout the entire flood control channel.  In those areas that were thinned last year, Julie said they expected the work to proceed fairy quickly, because there probably wouldn’t be most additional thinning required, just mostly pruning of new shoots.
• The training course on red-legged frogs (RLF) has been rescheduled for July 25.  Seven members of the California Conservation Corps are expected to attend.  These members will then be able to serve as RLF monitors during the CCCs vegetation thinning work on AG Creek, which will reduce overall costs: if CCCs biological monitors are present, it won’t be necessary to hire a separate professional monitor to be present on-site throughout the day (professional monitors have charged approx.  $45/hour in the past).  The CDFG Streambed Alteration Agreement for the project requires that a biological monitor be present at all times during the vegetation thinning work.
• Cindy Cleveland, a biological consultant who has performed RLF surveys for AG vegetation thinning over the past 2 years, is going to assist with providing day-to-day oversight of the CCCs work.  Cindy will also be performing pre-work daytime and night-time RLF surveys, and will be doing required nesting bird surveys before August 1.
• AG Creek below the Highway 1 bridge is mostly dry right now, and no RLFs have been observed below Highway 1 during the surveys that Cindy has conducted so far.  The lack of RLFs is not surprising given the dry condition of the creek, and will allow the CCCs to do vegetation thinning in areas they haven’t been able to work for the past few years because of RLF presence.  Above the Highway 1 bridge there are a series of beaver dams with deep pools behind them, and RLFs have been observed in this area.

c. Update on Limiting Access to Levees.

• Nola reported the County Public Works crews tried to repair the existing old levee gates at 22nd Street, but found that the gates were so rusted they were not worth repairing.  So the County plans to construct new gates for those locations.
• Nola distributed the draft text for “No Trespassing” signs to be erected on the levees.
• There was discussion re the squatters camp below the UPRR bridge.  Charlie Lackie said he had reported a fire under the UPRR trestle to the sheriff’s office last week.

a. Update on recent activities of Zone 1/1A Task Force, including status of County RFQ for environmental consultant.

The County’s “Request for Qualifications” for consulting firms to work on environmental review of long-term management projects for the flood control channel was sent out today.  Jeff discussed the timeline and process for review of candidates and selection of a consulting firm.  The goal would be to select a candidate and make an offer by the end of September.  It would then take another month to two months for the contract to be finalized and approved by the Board of Supervisors, so the contract might not be in place until the end of November.  Jeff pointed out that it’s important to have the environmental consulting firm on board in time to do “seasonally critical” environmental studies next spring.

b. Report on Oceano Dunes potential sale by County.

Norm read an email from Linda Van Fleet of SLO County Real Property Services, in which she stated that the Board of Supervisors was still considering the potential sale of Oceano Dunes in closed session.  The 25-year Operating Agreement between the County and the State does not expire until June 20, 2008.

There was discussion about the potential role of the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee in the decision about the Oceano Dunes sale, and how any change in the Dunes management might affect the flood control channel.  Norm said that Zone 1/1A Adv. Comm. representatives participated on the Oceano Dunes Task Force.  There was discussion about whether, if the County sold the property to the state, any proceeds might come to Zone 1/1A.

VII. Arroyo Grande Creek Watershed MOU

Teresa McClish, on behalf of Tony Ferrara, introduced the recently revised MOU, which incorporated edits requested by SLO County attorneys and Natural Resources Conservation Service attorneys.  Teresa said that the wording changes may make it easier for other entities to sign on to the MOU.  She asked if, at the next Zone 1/1A meeting, the Advisory Committee could consider signing the revised MOU and recommending that the Board of Supervisors sign.

 Norm gave a brief summary of the MOU process for the benefit of newcomers attending the Advisory Committee meeting.

VIII. Zone 1/1A Bylaws.

Nola distributed a new draft of Zone 1/1A bylaws that incorporated language recommended by County Public Works, with the goal of improving consistency with the intent of the bylaws to protect large landowners.  Concern was voiced that the proposed new definition of a quorum, i.e., “A quorum shall consist of at least four members of which a majority shall be owners of parcels greater than 5 acres in size”, would make it more difficult to consistently achieve a quorum at each meeting.  After further discussion, Norm made the following motion:

Motion:  A motion was made to table all proposed Bylaw amendments until December 2007, then the Advisory Committee would revisit the issue.  Will seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously.

IX. New Business.

There was no new business.

X. Open Forum.

Nola reported that she is working on a emergency flood response plan for Oceano, and hopes to bring an update on its status to the next meeting.  The goal is to complete the plan by November 2007, and then hold a public meeting to inform the public about the plan.  She said that the plan is based in part on the tsunami evacuation plan, and the Lopez Dam evacuation plan.  A problem with Arroyo Grande Creek is that there is very little lead time for flood warnings because of the nature of the watershed and “flashy” creek flows.  Jeff said that the expectation is that the new NWS forecasting stations for the area will provide 24-hour advance notice of any major precipitation events that might lead to flood hazards for the Zone 1/1A area.

XI.  Set Date for Next Meeting.

The next meeting was set for August 21, 2007, and the following meeting is scheduled for September 18, 2007.

XII. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/  and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service

I.   Welcome and Introductions
The meeting was called to order at 3:15 pm.
Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Will Deschenes, Glenda Guiton, Vicki Cardoza, Norm Getty.  Agency/Organization representatives: Mark Barnett/NRCS; Nola Engelskirger, Jeff Werst, Mark Hutchinson, and John Farhar/SLO Co. Public Works; Julie Thomas/CSLRCD; Pamela Dean/OCSD.  Community members: Charlie Lackie; K.C. Anderson.

II.   Public Comment

Mr. Anderson from Cienaga Sea Breeze Mobile Home Park told the group that he has a DVD with video of flooding in AG Creek in 1985, ’86, and other years.  He will provide a copy of the DVD to the group.

III. Announcements

There were no announcements.

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.

The minutes from the May meeting were accepted with corrections to two typos.

V.   Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance

 a.   Planning for 2007 vegetation management.  Julie provided updates:
• CDFG permit:   The CDFG has renewed the Streambed Alteration Agreement for annual vegetation maintenance in AG Creek flood channel through December 2009.
• The Coastal Development Permit Waiver:  The application for the Coastal Commission CDP waiver on May 26, and is expected to go to before the Commission in the second week of July.

b. RCD/County draft annual agreement for assistance with Zone 1/1A activities.  Julie has a meeting scheduled next week with the RCD County Counsel to review the draft agreement.

c. Update on Request to Limit Access to Levees.   Nola distributed information on the type of heavy gates being installed by County Public Works at other locations, and which she recommended for the Zone 1/1A levees because of their resistance to vandalism.   There was discussion about whether to use Zone 1/1A funds to install the gates now, or to wait for potential funding from the Integrated Regional Water Management grant (the County is currently putting together an application for the IRWM grant).  Jeff said that a number of potential projects discussed in the 2006 “AG Creek Erosion, Sedimentation and Flooding Alternatives Study” were being added to the County’s IRWM grant application.  Proposed projects considered “improvement projects” for Zone 1/1A that could be added to the grant application would be new flap gates, raising the levee height, and bank erosion protection.  Projects would need to be permitted (if needed) and ready to go in January.

Nola noted that there is $80,000 left from the 2006-07 budget.

Norm proposed that the Advisory Committee recommend that the County:
• Construct 2 new gates: one on the north levee on the west side of the 22nd St Bridge, and one on the north levee at the east end of the mobile home parks.
• Repair the two existing gates on the east side of 22nd St.
• Repair the Guitons crossing gate on the north levee.
• Install appropriate “no trespassing” signage.
• Develop a gate locking system (following Vicki C’s suggestion that some kind of lock be placed on the existing gate on the south levee near Guitons crossing to discourage traffic from the dunes OHV traffic).

Norm’s motion was seconded, and passed unanimously.

VI. Task Force Reports

a. Update on recent activities of Zone 1/1A Task Force:  Environmental Permitting for Long Term Maintenance Program –  Process and Next Steps
Norm reported that the Task Force had met recently to work further on the Request for Qualification (RFQ) process for a consultant to complete environmental analysis and permitting for long-term management plans for the flood control channel.  Norm expressed appreciation for the work by County Public Works on the Task Force, and for their highly professional and focused approach to moving things forward. He introduced Mark Hutchinson and John Farhar, environmental planners for County Public Works, to provide further information about the RFQ process.
 Mark Hutchinson showed a flow chart of the permitting process anticipated before major channel projects, such as significant sediment removal, could be implemented.  The process includes issuing an RFQ and having a team select the consultant, completion of an EIR to satisfy CEQA/NEPA, hold public hearings, and obtain permits for long-term, ongoing maintenance from many environmental agencies including:
• California Department of Fish & Game 1600 Memorandum of Understanding (5-year renewable)
• Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 Permit
• Regional Water Quality Control Board Section 401 Permit
• Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) Coastal Consistency determination
• County Planning Coastal Development Permit
• California Coastal Commission Coastal Development Permit for work in original jurisdiction zone

Mark estimates that it will take approximately 3-year project, with us currently in the midst of Year 1.
The local lead agency for the environmental review process would be the County, and the federal lead agency would be either the NRCS or the Army Corps of Engineers.
There was a question about what the agency fees would be for the environmental permits?  Mark said that some agencies charge fees, and some don’t.  He estimated that the total sum of all the agencies’ permitting fees would be less than $20,000.
John Farhar passed out handouts on the consultant team selection process for the RFQ, as well as the draft RFQ that the County planned to issue.  He requested comments asap so that the RFQ could be finalized.
Gary asked which Advisory Committee members would like to be on the selection committee.  After some discussion, Gary and Norm volunteered to be the Zone 1/1A representatives, and Glenda will serve as an alternate.

b. Report on Oceano Dunes potential sale by County.
Norm reported that as of this morning, there was nothing new to report on the Oceano Dunes sale, which was being considered by the SLO County Board of Supervisors in closed session.

VII. Arroyo Grande Creek Watershed MOU
Nola said that there have been further comments from the NRCS on the MOU, so the revised MOU was not yet ready for the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee to consider.

VIII. Zone 1/1A Bylaws.  This item was tabled to the next meeting

IX. Open Forum.  There were no comments during the open forum.

X.  Set Date for Next Meeting.  The next meeting was set for July 17.

XI. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/  and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service
 

I.   Welcome and Introductions
The meeting was called to order at 3:15 pm.
Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Will Deschenes, Glenda Guiton, Vicki Cardoza.  Agency/Organization representatives: Mark Barnett/NRCS; Nola Engelskirger and Jeff Werst/SLO Co. Public Works; Julie Thomas/CSLRCD; Tony Ferrara/City of Arroyo Grande.  Community members: Charlie Lackie, Tom Bowman.

II.   Public Comment

There was no public comment.

III. Announcements

• A meeting related to the SLO County Integrated Regional Water Management Plan was planned for May 23.
• Julie Thomas will be on vacation May 28 – June 8.

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.
The minutes from the meeting of April 2007 were accepted as written, with one correction to the date in the header: change “February” to “March”.  (This agenda item was handled later in the meeting when a quorum was present.)

V.   Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance

 a.   Planning for 2007 vegetation management.  Julie provided updates:
• CDFG permit: Julie is working with the Fresno CDFG office on getting a written confirmation of  renewal of the CDFG streambed alteration agreement for vegetation management work in AG Creek.
• The Coastal Development Permit Waiver application will be submitted to the Coastal Commission by the end of the week.
• Julie raised the possibility of emailing landowners adjacent to the creek to notify them of upcoming vegetation work by the CCCs.  Another option might be a “newsletter” to all Zone 1/1A landowners updating them on recent and upcoming activity related to the flood control channel.

b.  RCD/County draft annual maintenance agreement.  Julie reported that the County Counsel’s office has determined that one of its attorneys can review the draft contract on behalf of the RCD, so the contract can move forward.

VI. Task Force Reports

 a.  Update on recent activities of Zone 1/1A Task Force.  Gary provided a brief synopsis of the Task Force’s May meeting, which focused on reviewing a draft “Request for Qualifications” (and discussion of the merits of an RFQ vs a “Request for Proposals”) for consultants to complete environment review of longterm flood channel maintenance project alternatives.  The draft RFQ had been prepared by County Public Works environmental planners.  The estimated cost of the environmental review process may be as high as $400K - $500K.  This is a necessary step in the process before any sediment removal can be done in the creek.  The process would consist of  issuing the RFQ, reviewing applications, interviewing, and selecting the environmental consultant; completion of studies and approval of final report; obtaining “programmatic” type environmental permits.  There is already a lot of information and studies available, so there will be diligence to make sure that money isn’t spent duplicating existing work.

b. Report on Oceano Dunes potential sale by County.  This item was deferred to the June meeting.

VII.  Old Business

 a.  Update on Limiting Access to Levees.  Nola is working on getting a firm estimate on the cost of gates for limiting levee access as discussed in prior meetings.  County Public Works is currently building a gate elsewhere in the County, so they will soon have current costs.

 b.  Update on AG Watershed Memorandum of Understanding.  Tony distributed the new MOU, showing edits by SLO County.  He summarized the changes by saying that the MOU reads better, and that the changes do not materially change what the group is trying to accomplish.  He is going to have AG City Counsel look at the MOU one more time.  Tony reiterated that the MOU is a not a binding agreement, and that there is an escape clause at the end.  The goals of the MOU are the improve coordination and communication between the major stakeholders, and to clarify the responsibilities of the individual groups.  One big change is that the County did remove Oceano Airport as a separate signatory, since the Airport is part of the County.
 Tony still plans to check with the NRCS re any changes to their task paragraph.   Nola will send Mark Barnett the electronic version of the MOU to forward to others at the NRCS.
 Tony asked for feedback on changes re Zone 1/1A and Zone 3 paragraphs.  No changes were presented.
 Tony said that after the MOU is completely finalized, he would first like Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee to vote and sign the revised MOU, and then the MOU will need to be re-circulated to all signatories.
 There was discussion of potential inclusion of state agencies as signatories, e.g., USFWS or RWQCB.  The primary purpose would be to increase the agencies’ awareness of watershed activities.  Tony will approach agencies once the MOU is finalized.

MOTION BY ADVISORY COMMITTEE:  There was a motion to accept the changes to item VI.B. “Zone 1/1A” in the MOU.  The motion passed unanimously.

 The Advisory Committee will review the entire document and vote on approval at the June meeting.

 c.  Continued discussion of recommended revision to Zone 1/1A bylaws (attendance requirement and provision for alternates.  Nola reviewed the previously proposed changes to the bylaws.  The one potential problem was a proposed change from a 5-acre requirement for “large landowners” to 4-acres, as this change did not correspond with any other County land use categories, and could appear arbitrary.  After discussion, the following motion was made:

MOTION BY ADVISORY COMMITTEE:  Rescind the proposed change to the Bylaws from 4 acres to 5 acres, thereby leaving the “large landowner” criteria as 5 acres.  Include a provision for 3 alternates in the bylaws, with no acreage requirement for alternates.  Include the previously proposed terms regarding determining when a position is vacant.

 Glenda made the above motion, Vicki seconded the motion, it passed unanimously.

 Nola will take the proposed Bylaw provisions to the Bd of Supervisors.

VII. New business: Budget for 2007 and 2008.

 Nola distributed the proposed 2007-08.  She noted that the 3% annual assessment increase is included in the amounts shown.  She said that since Zone 1/1A does not have a reserve, a “bridge loan” is needed, as shown.
 Following discussion about some of the budget items, Vicki made a motion to accept the 2007-08 budget.  The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

VII. Open forum (Questions/Suggestions for next agenda)

• Nola is going to meet Vicki to check out proposed Creek Road location for installation of an additional gate to limit levee access.
• The County encroachment inspector talked to the Zone 1/1A property owner who had fenced in part of the levee bank, and the owner has removed the fence from the levee and filled the holes.
• Julie agreed to put photos of 1950s construction of the AG Creek flood control channel onto the Zone 1/1A website.
• Julie asked whether anyone had information about the status of installation of the stream gage at 22nd Street?  Jeff said that Zone 3 doesn’t have the funding to do that project right now, so if other parties can find funding, that would be good.

XI. Set date for next meeting.
 The next meeting was set for Tuesday, June 19, 3-5 pm.  The following meeting was scheduled for July 17.

XII. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm.
 

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/    and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
RWQCB:  Regional Water Quality Control Board
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service
 

I.   Welcome and Introductions
The meeting was called to order at 3:00 pm.
Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Stan Ikeda, Norm Getty, Vicki Cardoza.  Agency/Organization representatives: Mark Barnett/NRCS; Jeff Werst/SLO Co. Public Works; Julie Thomas/CSLRCD; Tom Zehnder/South San Luis Obispo Sanitation District.  Community members: Charlie Lackie, Tom Beasman.

II.   Public Comment

• There was a report of a fence constructed on the side of the south levee east of the 22nd Street bridge.  County Public Works will look into the matter; the concern is that the fence could interfere with levee maintenance.
• Julie called attention to recent newspaper articles about a Proposition 218 election in the Sacramento area, with a tiered approach to assessments based on the level of flood hazard.

III. Announcements

There were no announcements.

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.
The minutes from the meeting of March 20, 2007, were accepted as written.

V.   Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance

a.  Planning for 2007 vegetation management.

Julie distributed notes from the January 24 planning meeting with the California Conservation Corps, which summarized plans for the CCCs work on 2007 vegetation management in AG flood control channel (attached).

Red-legged frog monitor training.  Julie reviewed plans for a July 23 red-legged frog (RLF) training class.  This class would enable CCCs crew members to be trained to act as biological monitors during AG Creek vegetation work, so that consultant monitors would not need to be hired.  Total cost of the class is $3600; currently $3100 is needed to cover the remaining cost, and the question was raised: does the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee recommend that Zone 1/1A fund this training class?   This approach was contrasted with the cost of hiring professional monitors at an estimated $45/hour; the CCCs will be working an estimated 10 weeks, or 50 days, this summer, so hiring professional monitors for that entire time (400 hours) would total $18,000.

The consensus of the Advisory Committee was that over the coming month the option should be explored of opening the RLF training class to other interested parties for a fee, to cover all or part of the cost.  If that is impractical, then the Advisory Committee will propose to the Bd of Supervisors that Zone 1/1A funds be allocated to cover the cost of the workshop.  Julie will look into inviting additional attendees to the RLF training class.

b.  Proposal to hire CMC/CDF inmate crews to supplement CCCs crews.
 The April 2007 County PW status report (attached) discussed the availability and costs of hiring CMC/CDF inmate crews to supplement CCCs crews for AG Creek vegetation work.  The consensus of the Advisory Committee was that Public Works should pursue this option.

c. RCD/County draft annual maintenance agreement.
Julie reported that the issue of attorney review on behalf of the RCD by County counsel was still being worked on.

VI. Task Force Reports.

a. Update on recent activities of Zone 1/1A Task Force.

Project selected for environmental review and permitting.  Norm reviewed the April 13 meeting of the Zone 1/1A Task Force, which focused on selecting the project, or group of projects, for which environmental review and permitting will be pursued.  The Task Force consensus was to go forward with environmental review for Alternative 3C, from the 2006 “Arroyo Grande Creek Erosion, Sedimentation and Flooding Alternatives Study”.  Alternative 3C involves a combination of channel sediment removal, vegetation management, and levee raise (including UPRR bridge) to accommodate the 20-year flood event.  Even though there currently is no funding identified to cover the cost of raising the UPRR bridge, having the environmental review completed would make Zone 1/1A ready should funding become available.  The County environmental planner, Mark Hutchinson and John Farhar, agreed to draft a Notice of Preparation and Request for Proposal for the next Task Force meeting on May 17.

Walkway design possibility.  Norm also reported that Linda Chipping (CSLRCD) is going to gather information about the possibility of a Cal Poly class doing a study and design for a walkway on the north levee, as this is an option that has been discussed in the past.

b. Report on Oceano Dunes Task Force.
Norm reviewed that Supervisor Katcho Achadjian had called together the Oceano Dunes Task Force (ODTF), which met 5 times, with much public comment.  Norm distributed the 2-page summary of objectives and conditions created by the Task Force.  The fate of the Oceano Dunes impacts Zone 1/1A, in that vehicles on the beach cross the mouth of AG Creek.
 

VII. Old Business

a.  Update on request to limit access to levees (see County PW status report, attached).

• The group reviewed a map identifying proposed gate locations
• Jeff Werst gave an estimated cost of $32,000 to repair two existing gates, and build three new gates.  The gates proposed as very “hefty, beefy” gates to withstand vandalism.  Gary asked about the cost of refurbishing and signing the existing gates?  Jeff said that for the next meeting County PW would provide a cost per gate (including gate proposed by Vicki C. below), and the group can discuss the priority of gates relative to other projects.
• Vicki Cardoza recommended installing a gate on the Creek Road levee access in order to limit use to the western end of the south levee.  It was proposed that Vicki and Nola Engelskirgir (County PW) meet with the owner of that property to discuss further.
• Julie distributed language about “prescriptive easements”.

c. Update on AG Creek Watershed Memorandum of Understanding
Julie reported that the County has finished its comments on the MOU and mailed them to Tony Ferrara (Mayor, City of AG) for review.

d. Status of recommended revision to Zone 1/1A bylaws.
Jeff reported that County PW had drafted a letter to the Bd of Supervisors re the recommended Bylaw revisions passed by the Advisory Committee in the March meeting (draft included in April PW status report).  PW recommends revisiting one aspect of the proposed amendments before going to the Bd of Supervisors for approval, i.e., the recommendation to change the acreage requirement from 5 acres to 4 acres.  As it is, the concern is that the change may appear to be arbitrary.  The group decided to wait until the May 22 Zone 1/1A meeting to discuss further.

VIII. New Business

a.  Budget Status for 2006-07.
The County PW status report (attached) included a spreadsheet on the 2006-07 budget.  Additional detail:  the levee fill for the stretch between the Highway 1 bridge and 22nd Street cost $110,000, and vegetation maintenance for 2006 was approx. $80,000.

b. Discuss priorities for short-term maintenance projects.
The group briefly discussed some of the upcoming projects drawing on the Zone 1/1A budget:  gates, vegetation maintenance, red-legged frog training, environmental review/permitting for long-term projects.  Julie said that a handheld GPS unit should be included in the budget for use during levee inspections, vegetation management (to record invasive species and RLF locations), and to record other features as needed.

IX. Open forum (Questions/Suggestions for next agenda)

There was discussion about the status of Halcyon Road realignment.  Julie agreed to find earlier email on the subject of whether the realignment would be designed to accommodate a potential levee raise, per Alternative 3C.

XI. Set date for next meeting.
 The next meeting was set for Tuesday, May 22, 3-5 pm.  The following meeting was scheduled for June 19.

XII. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm.
 

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/    and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
RWQCB:  Regional Water Quality Control Board
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service

I.   Welcome and Introductions
The meeting was called to order at 3:00 pm.
Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Glenda Guiton, Stan Ikeda, Will Deschenes, Norm Getty.  Agency/Organization representatives: Commander Basti/SLO County Sheriff-Coroner; Pamela Dean/OCSD; Mark Barnett/NRCS; Jeff Werst and Nola Engelskirger/SLO Co. Public Works; Julie Thomas/CSLRCD; Tom Zehnder/South San Luis Obispo Sanitation District.  Community members: Charlie Lackie.

II.   Public Comment

III. Announcements

IV.   Review and approval of minutes.  (This item was addressed after item V).
The minutes from the meeting of February 20, 2007, were accepted as written.

V. Legal issues related to levee access, trespassing, and dumping in AG flood control channel.

Commander Martin Basti (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff-Coroner) attended the meeting to answer questions about this subject.  Of primary concern were motor vehicles using the levee, and dumping.  Cmdr Basti covered the following point:
 

• Trespassing:

1. Motor vehicles.  SLO County Ordinance, Vehicle section:  Prohibits the operation of motor vehicles on private property without the written permission of the owner.  The written permission must be in the driver’s possession while on the private property, and the permission has to be no more than 6 months old.
2. Trespassers on farmland.  State Penal Code section 602.8:   This section pertains to land under cultivation; it was written to help farmers.  It is important to have the levee gates closed and signs posted “No Trespassing”.  Once the levee gates are closed, section 602.8 takes effect.  If the farmers’ land is posted “No Trespassing”, the following penalties apply to trespassers:
a. First citation: $100 fine
b. Second citation: $200 fine
c. Third citation: Misdemeanor offense
- There needs to be a visible barrier that says “No Trespassing”.

-  It’s important to keep the levee gates closed, and locked, and provide police and Fire Dept. with keys.  Gates on both sides of 22nd Street would be a good start.

- Posting the levees “No Trespassing” and calling the police to report trespassers helps eliminate liability if trespassers are hurt on the property.

• What to do if you see a trespasser:  Call the Sheriff’s office: 781-4550 (non-emergency number)
 

If there are trespassers present, call the Sheriff’s office, and report that there is a trespasser on a private levee, and that Cmdr. Basti instructed you to call to report trespassers.  Be prepared to provide directions on how the Sheriff’s car can access the levee, and to provide a description of the trespasser/vehicle.
Cmdr. Basti said that once word spreads that the levees are private property and that the Sheriff’s office is issuing fines, the trespassing should diminish significantly.

• Dumping:  California Penal Code section 374b forbids “trash dumping”.

• Gates and Signs:  As mentioned above, there need to be “No Trespassing” signs, and gates should be closed.   To minimize vandalism of the signs, signs can be high off the ground (10-12 feet), with skinny poles that are difficult to climb.

• Homeless camps: Call the Sheriff’s office to report the camps, and be prepared to provide directions to the camp.  The sheriff will give notice to the campers that they are trespassing, give them time to collect their property before leaving, and if possible provide a referral to a homeless shelter.  There is a County “no overnight camping” ordinance.

Following Cmdr. Basti’s main presentation, the group discussed the subject further:
 

• It was noted that permission of landowners may need to be obtained to put up new gates.

• A question was raised about whether the fact that the levees have been used for so long for hiking basically granted the public a right of use under the “5 years and notorious” standard.  Commander Basti noted that the Sherriff’s office routinely enforces trespassing issues along the levees and can provide documentation showing that trespassing/hiking/camping, etc. has not historically been allowed and has been enforced.

• Historically, there were gates at several locations on the levees.  All of the gates except for the two at 22nd Street have been removed.  It was Nola’s understanding that the gates were frequently vandalized requiring significant maintenance, so they were eventually removed, rather torn down by vandals and not replaced.

• Work with “Friends of Oceano Dunes” regarding levee use initiating from the ocean end of the levees, where the State was the landowner.  Does there need to be a gate installed at that end of the levee?

• Do a press release when the gates are closed/installed to spread the word that the levees are private property and there should be no trespassing.

• Possible wording for the signs was discussed: “Private property – No Trespassing, No Dumping” and list penal code sections.  Possibly include wording in Spanish.

• The group discussed the need for public education, as most people may not know that the levees are privately owned.

• Possibly install signs in additional places where there are no gates yet, such as west end of levee, to discourage motor vehicle usage moving west on levees toward ocean once the other end is closed.

• Discussed the idea of, at some point, having one of the levee tops become an official public trail for pedestrian use.  However, this would be inconsistent with the goal of limiting access to the levees.  In addition, Gary K. pointed out that having dogs walked on the levee near the farmland (south side) could be a problem because of increasing concerns about E. coli contamination.

Suggested Future Action Items:
 

• Determine property ownership of levee near ocean: Jeff/Nola will do.
• Existing gates to both levees at 22nd Street should be closed.
• New gate should be installed on north levee where old gate posts are at the east end of the mobile home parks and on south levee opposite that location .
Possibly re-install gates at Guiton’s crossing and at beach access points?

Motion passed:  The Advisory Committee passed a motion to request that Public Works move forward on activating the existing gates immediately, and look into installing others at the locations discussed and investigate locations of old gates.

 
• Julie will draft summary of Cmdr. Basti’s information, and the decision of the Adv. Comm. regarding gates and signs.
• Norm volunteered to call Friends of the Oceano Dunes to ask for their help in notifying/educating visitors to the dunes that the levees are private property and to keep their ORVs off  the levees.

VI.   Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance

 a.  Status report on pending Zone 1/1A issues.  Nola distributed the attached status report.

• Re item 1 on the status report, the letter from NRCS to County Public Works re the 1959 Operations and Maintenance Agreement: Julie read portions of the letter to the group, and a copy is attached to these minutes for reference.
• Re item 3 on the status report, the Memorandum of Understanding:  Nola will be meeting soon with Paavo Ogren of County Public Works to discuss.
• Re item 4 on the status report, recent work on north levee: County crews did the work on raising a portion of the north levee, and the work was paid for out of Prop 218 assessment funds.

b.  Planning for 2007 vegetation management.  Julie reported the following:

• A red-legged frog monitor training course has been scheduled for July 23 in order to train more CCCs to act as biological monitors during vegetation thinning in the flood control channel.  Cost of the workshop is $3600.
• The goal is to submit an application in April to the Coastal Commission for another permit waiver to do work in the coastal zone this summer.

c.  RCD/County draft annual maintenance agreement.  No new action.

VII. Continuation of discussion of possible amendments to Zone 1/1A bylaws to include attendance requirement and provision for alternates.

    The Advisory Committee voted in favor of recommending that the Board of Supervisors approve the proposed amendments to the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee Bylaws (attached).  The vote was 4 in favor, and 1 opposed (Stan Ikeda).
Nola will draft a letter to the Board of Supervisors to accompany the proposed amendments, and will let the Advisory Committee know when it is going to the Board.  She also will research the history of the previous Bylaws’ criteria that a majority of the Advisory Committee members own parcels of 5-acres or larger.

VIII. Update on Memorandum of Understanding for AG Creek watershed holders.

 No update at this time.

IX. Open forum.

• There was a question regarding the status of the proposed Halcyon Road overpass, with the answer that County Public Works is investigating other options to improve the intersection that won’t negatively impact agricultural land as much as the option recently being considered.

XI. Set date for next meeting.

 The next meeting was set for Tuesday, April 17, 3-5 pm.  The following meeting was scheduled for May 22.

XII. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm.
 

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/    and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
RWQCB:  Regional Water Quality Control Board
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service
 
 
 

I.  Welcome and Introductions
The meeting was called to order at 3:00 pm.
Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Glenda Guiton, Stan Ikeda, Will Deschenes, Norm Getty, Vicki Cardoza.  Agency/Organization representatives: Vicki Janssen/SLO Co.; Pamela Dean/OCSD; Mark Barnett/NRCS; Jeff Werst and Nola Engelskirger/SLO Co. Public Works; Linda Chipping and Julie Thomas/CSLRCD; Tom Zehnder/South San Luis Obispo Sanitation District.  Community members:  Robin Anderson, Charlie Lackie, Alex and Christina Keith, Hugh Gilson.

II.  Public Comment
Alex Keith, a Duna Vista Mobile Home Park resident, expressed appreciation for the letter sent by County to Zone 1/1A landowners in the area between 22nd Street and Highway 1 bridge alerting them to upcoming agenda item VII.d (attached).  Alex expressed concerns about trash dumping along the flood control channel.

III. Announcements
• Norm Getty received an email response from W. Clemens of County Public Works addressing questions about the reduction in the risk management charge for Zone 1/1A (attached).
• It was announced that, per January 23 resolution of the County Board of Supervisors, Norm Getty has been appointed to fill the vacancy on the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee.

IV.  Review and approval of minutes.
 The Advisory Committee members present unanimously approved the minutes from the November 28, 2006 and January 16, 2007.  Nola provided some suggested corrections and clarifications to the January 16 minutes.

V. Oceano Dunes Task Force – request for appointment of Zone 1/1A representative.
 Vicki Janssen discussed Supervisor Katcho Achadjian’s February 13, 2007 letter to Gary Kobara inviting the Zone 1/1A Advisory Committee to appoint a representative to serve on a task force “with the purpose of developing a strategy and recommendation to the Board of Supervisors in considering options for the future of the Oceano Dunes and County owned property in the Oceano Dunes.”   The Oceano Dunes Task Force will be in place for just 5 weeks.  Meetings will be held every Thursday through the end of March.
The County owns and has had an agreement with the State that allows their use of approximately 600 acres of the dunes in the off-road vehicle recreation area.  This agreement is about to expire.  Under the terms of the old operating agreement, the State paid the County $1.00/year.  There was discussion about the access easement for off-highway vehicles (OHV) across the mouth of AG Creek to the State Park, and the status of that easement should the County decide to sell its property once the lease to the State expires.  It was noted that it is Sup. Achadjian’s goal/intent to place funds as applicable from the sale of the property into a trust and use the interest revenues to help pay for drainage improvements in Oceano.
 Will Deschenes mentioned that OHV traffic has increased over the years.  Both Norm and Will expressed interest in serving on the Oceano Dunes task force.  Following discussion, Gary recommended appointing Norm Getty as representative to the Oceano Dunes task force, with Will Deschenes as alternate.  The Zone 1/1A representatives will provide input to the Oceano Dunes Task Force on Zone 1/1A issues and will be interested in how funds from the property sale could help pay for drainage improvements in Oceano that would benefit Zone 1/1A.

VI. Review and vote on recommended amendment to Zone 1/1A bylaws to include attendance requirement and provision for alternates.

Julie distributed wording from the Zone 9 Advisory Committee bylaws regarding attendance requirements for members and provision for alternates.  In discussion, there was general support for the concept of having attendance requirements for members, and appointing alternates so that there would be assurance of having a quorum.
 There was discussion about the rationale in the original bylaws for requiring that the majority of Advisory Committee members be landowners with more than 5 acres in Zone 1/1A.  Gary said that it had been included as a protective measure for farmers.  A disadvantage of the 5 acre criteria is that there are so few people who own that acreage that it makes for a very small pool of potential representatives.  Julie agreed to research the number of landowners with parcels totaling more than 5 acres, compared to the number of landowners if that acreage requirement were lowered somewhat, e.g., to 3 or 4 acres.
 There was further discussion about exactly how alternates would be chosen.  For example, would a majority of alternates have to be large parcel owners, to reflect the overall advisory committee membership?  Would there be designated alternates for specific advisory committee members?  Or designated alternates for “large” landowners, and other alternates for “small” landowners?
 The group consensus was to have a total of 3 alternates, with 2 being large property owners, and 1 being a small parcel owner, and that any of the alternates could be called on to fill in for any of the vacant advisory committee members, so long as the result was that the majority at the meeting would be large landowners. It would be the responsibility of the Advisory Committee member who would be absent to contact an alternate to stand in for them. There was also discussion about whether to limit alternates to property owners, or if non-landowner Zone 1/1A residents could be alternates.
 It was agreed that Julie would draft proposed language for an amendment to the bylaws, specifying that this recommended language must be confirmed by the Board of Supervisors.

VI.  Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance

 a.  Status report on pending Zone 1/1A issues.  Nola passed out a status report for February (attached).
Julie announced that a UPRR representative would make a site visit to the AG Creek railroad bridge on February 27 to discuss concerns about the bridge’s role as a constriction point in high flows, and sediment build-up.

b.  Planning for 2007 vegetation management.  Julie discussed the January 24 meeting between representatives of the CSLRCD, County Public Works, Zone 1/1A and the California Conservation Corps to plan vegetation management work for AG Creek flood control channel in 2007.  The CCCs will schedule crews to begin work in the channel in July through the end of August, for a total of 10 “crew weeks”.

c.  RCD/County draft annual maintenance agreement.  The agreement is awaiting review by legal counsel.

 d.  Discussion of possible gate locations on levees to control vehicle use.  Nola sent a letter prior to the meeting to landowners adjacent to the creek between 22nd Street and Highway 1 bridge alerting them to this agenda item.  She distributed photos of existing gates on the levees, and discussed the “operability” of the gates: some are in good condition, some need repair.
 The question arose, “who is allowed to drive on the levees?”  Vicki J. said that only the County is authorized to drive on the levee, with the exception that south of the Guiton property, State Parks has access permission.
 Public Works is in the process of gathering information from the Forest Service about good, strong gates.
 The suggestion was made to ask State Parks to assist with controlling access to the levee.
 Norm said he has requested information from the County about existing legal language re levee access.
 There was discussion about the need to post signs informing people that the levees were private property and no vehicles were allowed.  There is concern about homeless camps in the creek channel, and implications re sanitation.
 Charlie has spoken with the Sheriff about the problems with trespassing and vandalism of his property adjacent to the creek.  He was told to post “No trespassing signs”, which he has done, but the signs were torn down, post pulled out of the ground, etc.
 Vicki J. recommended that the group invite Commander Basti of the Sheriff’s office to the next meeting to discuss the legal issues related to preventing trespassing and dumping in the channel.  Norm will follow up on this invitation.
 There was discussion about the difficulty of installing gates that would keep out motorbikes.  Also, there was concern that gates be put up on all portions of the levees; if gates were only functioning on a portion of levees, motorbikes and other trespassers might preferentially use those areas without gates.  The consensus was that a coordinated approach would be best, developing a comprehensive plan, working with the sheriff, posting signs, etc.

VII. Update on Memorandum of Understanding for AG Creek watershed holders.

 No update at this time.

X. Open forum.

 No comments during open forum.

XI. Set date for next meeting.

 The next meeting was set for Tuesday, March 20, 3-5 pm.  The following meeting will be April 17.

XII. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm.
 

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/    and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
RWQCB:  Regional Water Quality Control Board
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service
 
 

I.  Welcome and Introductions

The meeting was called to order at 3:00 pm.

Committee members present: Gary Kobara (Chair), Glenda Guiton, Stan Ikeda.  Agency/Organization representatives: Pamela Dean/OCSD; Mark Barnett/NRCS; Jeff Werst and Nola Engelskirger/SLO Co. Public Works; Linda Chipping and Julie Thomas/CSLRCD; Tom Zehnder/South San Luis Obispo Sanitation District.  Community members:  Norm Getty, Gail Lightfoot.

II.  Public Comment

There were no public comments.

III. Announcements

There were no announcements.

IV.  Review and approval of minutes.

Since there wasn’t a quorum of Adv. Comm. members, approval of minutes was tabled to February meeting.

V.  Status report on pending Zone 1/1A issues.

Nola Engelskirger distributed a status report on actions being taken by County Public Works (attached).   Regarding item #4, the Flood Emergency Response Plan being drafted, the suggestion was made that the Fire Dept should have a list of people with mobility challenges who might need assistance evacuating.  Nola mentioned that there were already evacuation plans in place for Lopez Dam and tsunami warnings.  Tom Z. said that the Sanitation Plant would incorporate the final emergency response plan into the San. Plant’s plan.
 Re item #5, the Annual Inspection Report for AG Creek flood channel: the report has not yet been circulated, and needs review by NRCS and RCD.  As follow-up to issues noted during the inspection conducted in November 2006, Public Works crews have removed debris left on channel banks, cleared some vegetation cuttings left by CCCs crews, and cleared vegetation and sediment that was blocking some of the flap gates.

 There was some discussion about potential sources of information about stormwater drainage affecting the flood control channel; one possible source was Caltrans.  The suggestion was made that Caltrans could contribute funds to channel maintenance, since runoff from Caltrans facilities flows into AG Creek.

 Regarding the Meadow Creek flap gates: Nola planned to check on whether they had been opened.  The point was made that the source of water/flow to Meadow Creek flap gates isn’t in the Zone 1/1A area of benefit, but Zone 1/1A is paying for work to maintain the gates.

 Julie agreed to distribute the Annual Inspection Report drafted by Nola.

 There was discussion about the possible use of access gates to control vehicle and motorbike use of the levees, and dumping of garbage in the channel, especially large items like beds, stoves, etc.  In the past, there has been vandalism of the existing gates when they were closed. Gary noted that some of the farmers use the levee roads for access to fields, so would need keys to any gates.  Glenda said that the airport gate has really helped with dumping near Guiton crossing.
 Jeff said that the County could get cost estimates for gates/fences.  “No trespassing” signs could be put on gates.

 It was mentioned that local residents could possibly act as “levee watch”.  Gary noted that the Sheriff’s Dept has an assigned officer for agricultural people to call about illegal dumping on their property.  Pamela said that the Department of Water Resourc gates up on northern California levees to protect areas.

 Linda suggested to putting an item on the next meeting agenda to discuss gates further, bring a map, and create a plan for gate locations, and invite local residents.

VI.  Arroyo Grande Creek flood channel maintenance

 a.  Plans for increasing height of north levee near mobile home parks to original design elevation (also item #7 on the County status report, above).

The County Public Works crews are planning work on the north levee between 22nd St and the Highway 1 bridge, especially near the mobile home parks.  The work would consist of adding fill to raise the levee top back up to design height for a stretch of 3500 feet.  This work could fall under a CEQA categorical exemption and hence can be done without permits, since it’s maintenance, rather than changes/improvements.  Currently that section of the levee averages 1 foot below design.  It will cost about $65,000 to raise the levee 1 foot.  It would cost $120,000 to raise the levee 2 feet, plus require permits.  It may be possible to do this levee work this season.  There was discussion about the importance of letting local landowners know that work was being done on the levee; the public meeting that will be held to discuss the emergency plan will provide an opportunity to publicize the work being done by Public Works.

b.  Planning for 2007 vegetation management.

 Julie reported that the RCD, County Public Works and Gary Kobara will be meeting with the CCCs supervisors on January 24 to do advance planning for the 2007 vegetation management.

c. RCD/County draft annual maintenance agreement.

The RCD has provided a revised draft to the County; the agreement is close to final, but still needs review by RCD counsel.

VII. Update on Memorandum of Understanding for AG Creek watershed holders.

 As Tony Ferrara was not able to make this meeting, this item was tabled to the next meeting.

VIII. Update on Zone 1/1A risk management charge.

 Norm recently met with Paavo Ogren of County Public works to discuss the annual risk management  charge for Zone 1/1A, following up on the Advisory Committee’s November 28, 2006 letter to the County.  Norm reported that Paavo informed him that, following further review, the County was planning to reduce the annual risk management charge for Zone 1/1A to an amount not to exceed $70,000/year, with a likely figure of $59,000/year.   (This is a reduction from previous plans to charge at least $135,500/year, and potentially more.)

IX.   Discussion of possible recommendation to Bd of Supervisors to amend Bylaws, adding a meeting attendance clause for Advisory Committee members.

 Language will be drafted, using the Flood Control Zone 9 bylaws as an example, to incorporate an attendance requirement and appointment of alternates into the Zone 1/1A bylaws.  This will be put on the February meeting agenda.

X. Open forum.

 Linda announced that Norm Getty will be taking over as coordinator of the Zone 1/1A Task Force.

XI. Set date for next meeting.

 The next meeting was set for Tuesday, February 20, 3-5 pm.

XII. The meeting adjourned at 4:50 pm.
 

Zone 1/1A website:  http://www.coastalrcd.org/Zone1-1A.html or go to http://www.coastalrcd.org/    and follow links to Zone 1/1A.
CSLRCD:  Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
RWQCB:  Regional Water Quality Control Board
NRCS:  Natural Resources Conservation Service