Roll Call

Approval of Minutes - November 14, 2001 Meeting

Business

     A. Discuss next steps on Planning Grant

Other Business

Set Next Meeting Date and Meeting Location

Adjournment

1. Call Meeting to Order:

Chairman Romond called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.

2. Roll Call

Members present: Bill Romond, Don Sargent, Betty Carvellas, John Nichols, Reenie Mraz-Peterson, Karen Bates, Pat Kearney
Members absent: Steve Kruger, Moe Germain

3. Approval of Minutes-November 14, 2001

Mr. Nichols made a motion to approve the minutes of November 14, 2001. Ms. Bates seconded the motion and it passed.

4. Business:

     A. Grant for Strategic Water Quality Plan

Bill Romond informed the committee that Genie Soboslai will write the RFP for the Strategic Water Quality Plan before the end of the year. It will then be forwarded through Bryan Osborne to the Water Quality Committee for comment and approval.

The committee then reviewed the federal grant application and discussed ideas that are important to express in the writing of the RFP. Some ideas identified by the WQC included:
   1. The firm hired should be knowledgeable about innovative wastewater management systems and small community wastewater systems.
   2. The firm hired should have some knowledge of innovative land use practices.
   3. The firm hired should, early in the grant period, review and collate previous water quality studies done in Colchester and elsewhere around the state.
   4. That the firm hired should be required to make several interim reports as to their progress in developing a WQ plan.
   5. It is the committee's hope that the firm hired will maintain a publicly accessible website where the public can follow their progress.
   6. The committee feels that "cost" should not be the #1 priority in choosing a firm; that the quality of the product produced should also be a consideration.
   7. The committee feels very strongly that the public should have input into the WQP prior to and during its development, through a series of public forums.
   8. When these public forums have been finalized, the committee will attempt to increase public awareness of and participation in these forums through the use of local newspapers and radio shows.

5. Other Business:

The committee received a memo from Bryan Osborne, updating the progress of DNA analysis of water samples at the University of New Hampshire. Forty-two percent of the samples tested matched samples included in the Vermont DNA library. These included a wide range of animal species as well as human. UNH will attempt to identify the remaining samples using their own more extensive DNA library.

6. Set Next Meeting Date and Meeting Location:

The next two meetings of the Colchester WQC will be as follows:
January 9, 2002-6:30 pm at the Colchester Meeting House.
January 23, 2002-6:30 pm at the Colchester Meeting House.

7. Adjournment:

Having no further business to discuss, the CWQC adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Deena DeMartino, Administrative Assistant

Approved this ______ day of: ____________, 2001

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Colchester Water Quality Committee