| RAB MEETING MINUTES NAVAL STATION NEWPORT MINUTES
In attendance were John Vitkevich, Kathy Abbass, Edward Moitoza, David Brown, Susan Hester, Emmet Turley, James Myers, Manuel Marques, Thurston Gray, Thomas Reardon, Claudette Weissinger, Michael Simmons, Paul Shenosky, Theodore Bierwirth, David D. Dorocz (NAVSTA), LCDR Chris Rehkop (NAVSTA), Melissa Griffin (NAVSTA), Cornelia Mueller (NAVSTA), Kathy Marley (NAVSTA), Gregg Kolhweiss (NAVSTA), James Shafer (EFANE), Franco LaGreca (EFANE), Steve Parker (Tetra Tech), Paul Kulpa (RIDEM), and Kymberlee Keckler (USEPA). Mr. David Dorocz announced Ms. Melissa Griffin will soon
transfering from Naval Station Newport to the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, CT. There were no changes to the minutes of the February 2003 meeting. David Dorocz asked for a motion to accept the minutes, which was seconded and then carried.
Mr. Jim Shafer gave a presentation on the current and upcoming projects for Naval Station Newport. Enclosure (1) is a copy of the slide show presented. The enclosure shows the anticipated work at Naval Station Newport during March 2003 through September 2003. Mr. Shafer stated that the Navy is presently meeting with RIDEM and the EPA to develop the site work plans for Tank Farms 4 and 5. He stated that the Tank Farms 1, 2, and 3 site investigations are presently being performed by the Defense Logistics Agency. Mr. Shafer told the RAB there will be weekly meetings with RIDEM and EPA, to address areas of concern during the investigations of the Tank Farms. Jim announced the first meeting is scheduled for March 25, 2003. Jim Shafer added that the Navy plans to respond formally to all comments received on the upcoming site work plans and fact sheets being developed by contractors. Ed Moitoza asked for a clarification on what type of work the Navy contractors perform. Jim Shafer explained that the Navy contractors perform continual investigative work for the development and preparation of Navy IR site plan documents. David Brown asked if the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Assessment of the Tank Farms is essentially part of the clean up project. Mr. Dorocz stated the NEPA Environmental Assessment is a separate process from the clean up process. He further stated the purpose of the NEPA Environmental Assessment is to evaluate any potential environmental impacts. Jim Shafer stated that the weekly site progress meetings to discuss the Tank Farm investigations will continue. He further stated that the goal is to complete the Tank Farm investigations and removal actions by the end of June 03. David Brown asked for additional information on the McAllister habitat survey, anticipated for April and July. Jim Shafer explained that the goal of each habitat survey is to monitor the habitat to investigate improvements or expansions and to see if the eelgrass has been restored. Ed Moitoza asked how the anticipated projects for 2003 will be funded. Mr. Shafer stated all projects for 2003 have been funded. Kymberlee Keckler asked if there are additional Newport projects to be considered for funding in 2003. Franco LaGreca of EFA Northeast stated that potential upcoming projects are normally funded when additional funds become available. David Brown asked how each project is prioritized for funding. Jim Shafer stated some projects are very costly and the projects requiring greater funding may need to be split funded over more than one fiscal year.
The Community Co-chair, Mr. John Vitkevich, introduced and welcomed newcomers Michael Simmons, Paul Shenosky, and Theodore Bierwirth. The prospective community members became aware of the RAB meetings from the advertisement in the newspaper. Their primary interest was the proposed course.
Mr. Thurston Gray told the RAB there are presently 20 community members and one new membership in the works. There were 11 community members present at the meeting with three community members excused. Mr. Gray gave a Membership Committee presentation. The presentation focused on the RAB Mission Statement. The RAB Mission Statement and Operating Procedures are provided as enclosure (2). The RAB members present at the meeting considered specific changes to the Mission Statement. The suggested revisions to the Charter are as follows: Section 2.2 RAB Community Membership and Duties Section 2.2.a. The balance of community members from the local communities and the local counties may need to be further addressed in this section. Section 2.2.c. This section was reviewed during the presentation. It was noted that RAB membership status will be reviewed in accordance with this section and inactive members will be formally contacted. Section 2.2.d. Mr. Gray requested that there be no term-limit for a member to serve on the RAB. At the request of Mr. Gray, the first sentence "RAB members will serve 2-year terms." should be removed from the RAB by-laws. Section 2.2.f. This section talks about formation of a selection panel. It was noted that a selection panel could be considered and utilized to help new members obtain a better understanding of the RAB. Sections 2.2.i. and 2.2.j. The sections reference the duties of the RAB member. No changes were brought forth for this section. Section 2.2.l. and 2.2.k. These two sections may be revised, to be included as part of Section 2.2.c. Section 2.3 RAB Structure Section 2.3.b states that a Community Co-chair will be elected annually by majority vote. The Charter does not state which month the election is to be held. The RAB members agreed to accept Community Co-chair nominations during the month of January each year and to hold the annual election in February. Thurston Gray asked for a motion to revise section 2.3.b, which was seconded and then carried. Additionally, Thurston Gray brought forth the idea that Section 2.3 be revised to include individual RAB committee chair elections. The chair elections would correspond with the annual election for Community Co-chair. Mr. Gray asked for a motion to revise Section 2.3.b. of the RAB mission statement to include an annual committee chair election, which was seconded and then carried. An additional suggestion was made to revise Section 2.3 to
include the name of each committee, and describe the
responsibilities of each committee. Section 2.3.i. Mr. Gray suggested the second sentence of this section on voting be revised to say "A simple majority vote..of those members present.. will carry the issue". Section 2.3.j. Mr. Gray suggested the first sentence of
this section on meetings be revised to say "The RAB will
meet..the third Wednesday evening of each month". Section 2.4 Effective Date and Amendments Section 2.4.b States "This Mission Statement and Operating Procedures may be amended by a majority vote of the RAB members." Mr. Gray stated that revisions to the Mission Statement may be made in accordance with this section.
Dr. David Brown commented on the February 20th Navy Open House meeting. The meeting was held to present plans for possibly developing a new golf course on Navy property. A copy of Dr. Brown's input is provided as enclosure (3). Mr. Brown felt additional participation from related organizations as well as RAB members would be helpful at the next public meeting. David Brown asked for additional feedback on the open house from the RAB members present. Susan Hester remarked that the Navy did an excellent job on the presentation, but she expected more information on the clean up process. David Dorocz clarified the open house meeting was essentially to provide the public with a basic introduction to the Environmental Assessment being performed under NEPA. Kathy Abbass stated a good opportunity for the Membership Committee to accept RAB applications was at an open house public meeting. She also suggested a mailing list be utilized to provide RAB literature to those that are interested. Dr. Brown asked that those interested in learning more about the Public Information Committee, to provide him with their e-mail address.
Mr. Turley discussed the beneficial uses of dredged material. Enclosure (4) is provided as this months Project Committee report.
Dr. Kathy Abbass announced, as per the RAB planning session schedule for 2003, an Education Committee presentation is scheduled for the next meeting in April. Kathy Abbass will provide educational documents for the RAB members to review during the presentation. Ed Moitoza asked that the provided educational materials be credited as annual training.
Mr. Moitoza announced that as per the January RAB Planning Session Schedule for 2003, a Navy IR site inspection tour is suggested for the month of May. Mr. Moitoza stated the idea of scheduling a tour of the sites would be beneficial and educational to new community members. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business to report. NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) will be on April 16, 2003, at 7:00 p.m. at the Officers' Club. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Enclosures: |