Approved Meeting Minutes
Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)
Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters
Wellfleet, MA
September 25, 2012
9:30 am-5:00 pm
Members Present: Tim Smith, Eric Derleth, Hunt Durey, Steve Spear, Steve Block, Hillary Greenberg-Lemos
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Don Palladino, JohnPortnoy
The Herring River Restoration Committee held a special meeting on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 to discuss the process for reaching out to low-lying property owners who may be affected by the Restoration Project.
Administration/Coordination:
Schedule of HRRC Meetings: The Committee agreed to the following proposed meeting schedule:
Thursday, October 11, 2012 (regular meeting: 9:30 am-5:00 pm)
Thursday, November 1, 2012 (regular meeting: 9:30 am-5:00 pm)
Thursday, November 8, 2012 (meeting and/or site visit: 12:00 pm-4:00 pm)
Thursday, November 8, 2012 –Public hearing for DEIS/EIR (6:30 pm)
Margo Fenn and Tim Smith agreed to confirm these meeting/hearing dates after consulting with the Cape Cod Commission staff.
The Committee decided to cancel the proposed October 17, 2012 Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting. Margo Fenn agreed to contact TWG members to notify them of the meeting cancelation and to let them know about the upcoming release of the DEIS/EIR.
Discussion:
Outreach Strategy with Low-lying Property (LLP) Owners: The Committee had a lengthy discussion of how to reach out to LLP owners, including edits to the draft outreach letter, a review of the database information for these properties and review and discussion of key talking points to cover in meetings with LLP owners. The group discussed how to make the process manageable, given the large number of property owners who may be affected in some way. While the majority of the potential impacts are minor, the group agreed that all property owners should be notified of the DEIS/EIR process and given the opportunity to contact the HRRC with questions. The group agreed on the following issues:
Outreach Letter:
-The letter should be edited to provide a paragraph with specific information for each property, using the categories defined in Chapter 4 of the DEIS/EIR. For those properties where there are structural impacts, there should be specific information included about the nature of those structures (i.e. is it a building, well, septic system, driveway, etc. that would be affected).
-The letter should also distinguish between the NEPA/MEPA review process and the landowner engagement process. Given that there are over 300 potentially affected properties, it may not be possible to meet with all interested property owners during the public comment period on the DEIS/EIR. The Committee will contact first the property owners where there may be structural impacts. Other requests for further information will be addressed as time allows.
-The letter will include an email address where LLP owners can request further information. Margo Fenn will monitor the emails and assign HRRC members to follow up with specific property owners. HRRC members will provide a brief response to LLP owner requests (by phone or email), explaining the outreach process and encouraging them to also provide comments on the DEIS/EIR. This should include an explanation that there is no detailed information about impacts to individual properties in the DEIS/EIR because of privacy issues. HRRC representatives will set up meetings or phone conferences with interested property owners over the next several months, as time allows. The Regulatory Fact Sheet would be provided in those meetings.
-Given that there are some owners with multiple properties, and some properties with multiple owners, the Committee agreed that a separate letter should be sent for each property and each owner. A mail merge is needed to include names, addresses and pertinent impact information for each letter.
Margo Fenn agreed to edit the LLP letter and provide the revised version to the HRRC. Tim Smith and Hunt Durey agreed to explore methods of doing a mail merge for the letters. Tim Smith will produce a list of mailing labels. Hillary Greenberg and CharleenGreenhalgh will provide Tim Smith will a digital version of their signatures for the letters. Hillary Greenberg will arrange for printing of the letters and will provide envelopes for mailing. CharleenGreenhalgh will provide postage for the mailing. A group of volunteers will be needed to fold, stuff and stamp the letters. This will require careful quality control to ensure that the correct letters are sent to the right parties.
Database of LLPs: The Committee discussed how to track contacts with LLPs. Margo Fenn provided a draft one-page sheet for HRRC members to use for taking notes during meetings/phone calls. However, this information needs to be compiled in a central location and keyed to the existing database of LLP. Tim Smith noted that there are numerous online services that could provide a password-protected site for entering private data. However, most of these sites require monthly subscription fees.
Margo Fenn and Tim Smith agreed to consult with Don Palladino about options for finding and funding an online database system to record contacts and information on LLPs.
LLP Outreach Talking Points: The Committee reviewed a draft outline of information to present in meetings with individual property owners. Tim Smith noted that meetings with LLP owners should be exploratory in nature, i.e. we are seeking information from owners so that we can better understand how their properties might be affected. Detailed information about site topography, location and elevation of structures and cultivated landscaping would help determine the nature of potential impacts.
The Committee discussed how much information to provide about the hydrodynamic model and what maps to use in presenting site-specific data. For each property, we need to make sure that we have the correct location, map and lot number, then we can present the model results for the different tidal benchmarks and explain what they mean.
Steve Block noted that all members of the HRRC would need to get familiar with how to use the LLP database, and to review the specific information for a given property in advance of each meeting with the property owner. Eric Derleth stressed that HRRC need to explain how the restoration process would proceed over time. In other words, LLP owners need to understand that the restoration process will not begin for at least five years, and once the restoration begins, tidal changes will happen incrementally.
The Committee agreed that it would be best to have two or three HRRC members involved in each meeting. Given his knowledge and background with the project and the community, John Portnoy also offered to participate as part of the team.
The Committee agreed that it would be helpful to role-play some likely questions that might arise in the LLP meetings and to get some feedback from LLP owners who are already familiar with the project. This will be an agenda item for the October 11, 2012 HRRC meeting.
Tim Smith agreed to revise the outline of LLP Talking Points based on the Committee’s comments and discussion. Margo Fenn will consult with Don Palladino about inviting some LLP owners to participate in the October 11, 2012 HRRC meeting. MargoFenn alsoagreed to contact Barbara Boone to provide a project status update for the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club.
Documents Referred to in the Meeting:
-Draft letter to LLPs, 8-27-12
Respectfully submitted,
Hillary Greenberg-Lemos
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