Rivanna River Basin Commission Meeting   8/15/2022

Okay, this meeting is being recorded.

Alrighty, wonderful.

And then back to our agenda, one moment.

Abbey Heflin, Greene.

Wonderful, and has anybody entered the meeting while I was calling attendance that did not say their name?

So do we still have a quorum despite the absences so far?

Okay, fantastic.

Thank you everyone and thank you so much for being here.

Yes.

This meeting of the Rivanna River Basin Commission is being held pursuant of Code of Virginia 2.2 3708.2, which allows a public body to hold electronic meetings when the locality in which it is located has declared a local state of emergency and the catastrophic nature of the emergency makes it impractical

This meeting is being held via electronic video and audio means through Zoom online meetings and is accessible to the public with closed captioning and there will be opportunity for public comment during that portion of the agenda.

Notice has been provided to the public through notice at the TJPDC offices, to the media, the RRBC website, and agenda.

The meeting minutes will reflect the nature of emergency and the meeting by which the meeting was held through electronic means and the type of electronic communication needs through which the meeting was held.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Next on our agenda is to review the agenda.

Are there any additions, corrections, or other things we should add before so that we don't forget before we adjourn today?

I see no hands waving.

Very good.

Then let's see, do we need a motion for the agenda or may we just use it?

I forgot.

I think you can motion to approve the agenda.

All right.

And all in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Aye.

Very good.

Then we have an agenda.

And someone is having a terrible time connecting with audio in a black shirt.

Who is that?

I can't figure out who that is.

But anyway.

Oh, it's Angus.

Hello, Angus.

Very good.

Excellent.

All right.

Comments from the public.

Do we have any members of the public who wish to address us today?

Has anyone signed up with you or do we have

Yeah, nobody else signed up with me.

I just wanted to provide that option.

Well, someday I'm sure we will have some.

So that's all right.

Yes.

Thank you.

Have people had a chance to read the May 6 minutes?

And are there any corrections?

Thank you very much, Dale.

Thank you.

All in favor of approving the minutes from May 6th?

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

We have the minutes approved.

Thank you.

On to election of officers.

Okay, so in your packets, you can find the bylaws about the elections and I will actually review those just so everybody knows right now very quickly.

Just one moment.

Okay, so I have the most important parts highlighted for everybody, but members of the commission who are local elected governing body officials or members of the soil and water conservation districts shall serve terms coincident with their terms in office.

Initial appointments of the four non-legislative citizen at large members shall be staggered as follows.

Two members for a term of two years and two members for a term of four years.

That's just good to know, but we don't really have to worry about the citizen appointees today.

So no non-legislative citizen member shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms on any position of whether it's chair, co-chair, or treasurer.

And today we will be having an election for the chair, the vice chair, and the treasurer.

And just so you all know for the treasurer, I'll be doing most of the financial management and then of course report to you all for approval as we go.

So that'll sort of be in partnership with me.

But it says the commission shall select a chairman and a vice chairman from among its membership.

A majority of the voting members shall constitute a quorum, which we have.

We have eight out of 14.

and then the meetings of the commission.

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

So I don't know if you all would like to start with treasurer and then move up to chair.

I'll let you take it from here, Ann.

Lonnie has been our chair in the past.

So if anybody wants to, I mean, he's been the treasurer in the past.

So if people would like to have someone to ask about how that was, then he would be the one to do it.

If you would like to volunteer to be treasurer,

Madam Chair.

Steve, go ahead.

So that was a mistake.

And that's actually something that I amended in this new packet.

I thought, well, we were exploring the idea of me potentially serving as the treasurer.

But according to the bylaws, I cannot do that.

So it will actually have to be one of you all.

I'm so glad you pointed that out.

Thank you.

Great.

So are there any other volunteers who would like to take on the treasurer role?

Or should we postpone this until next time?

All right, well, I'll work.

Are there anybody?

Well, let's go.

Okay, would it be best to start if anybody had any nominations for who they thought they would like to serve as chair?

Wonderful, how about we do that again with co-chair as well?

Are there any other volunteers?

Well, I'm glad to continue, but I don't want to elbow anybody else out of the way.

That's all.

Thank you.

All right.

Aye.

Aye.

Well, thank you, everyone.

I do hope we will find someone from a different jurisdiction to be vice chair.

Would anyone

Or would anybody like to nominate anybody else?

Excellent.

Thank you.

You've been a loyal attendee here, so that's great.

And I'm glad to have people in Greene jumping in.

That's wonderful.

Thank you.

Any other nominations for vice chair?

All right, we will close the nominations.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Very good.

We have Dale Herring, thank you, as vice chair as well.

So now we'll come back to treasurer.

Is there anyone else who has fallen weakened in their willingness to take on the treasurer role?

Or shall I get after Lonnie in his absence to see if he can take that on?

So please, I'm sure he would be glad to be replaced, but I don't.

I don't want to jump on somebody who really doesn't either have that particular forte, because I do not, or ability to take that on.

All right, I see definitely silence.

Thank you very much.

All right, let's see.

Next on our agenda, let's go back to the agenda.

And it says,

All right, presentation.

This is our contract and review of the strategic plan.

So let's start with the contract, Isabella, and please go over that and explain it because some people may not have been here when we did one last time.

Okay.

No problem at all.

All right.

Is this large enough for everybody?

Yes.

We're not seeing ourselves.

Let me close that for you.

OK.

So this is going to be a 60 month or five year contract.

In the past, RRBC has typically engaged in 10 months to

a year-long contract.

But we just thought for continuity's sake and through transitions, it would make a lot of sense to just have a five-year contract that's based off of the five-year strategic plan that we'll be going over after this.

So really, this is general and the meat of the contract is going to be in the appendices, which is the strategic plan.

But we'll just go over this briefly.

It's an agreement between the chair and then the TJPDC.

So it actually started July 2022 where we've been continuing the work program based on the duties that were assigned in past years.

So starting July 1 of this fiscal year and ending June 30 of 2027.

And we can extend it if agreed upon by both parties within 30 days of the end of the existing contract.

And we're basing the compensation and financial reporting on the past few years of the finances through the TJPDC and RRBC's partnership.

So that will remain the same at $10,500.

No more funds will be requested on then previous to each of your localities.

Yes.

So, and then if there is any exceedance, we will have written consent from both parties to ensure that we're following that.

And then we will develop our five year annual work plan to be approved by the RRBC board of directors at the end of this contract.

So the TJPDC and RRBC may enter either into individual or agreed amendments or amended agreements for services in addition to the organizational management, fiscal services, and approved work plan priorities.

So if anything else comes up, we can make amendments.

And then just our project description is we're gonna provide the general operational management, fiscal services, storage of our past files and assets.

We'll also provide staffing for at least two commission meetings per year.

And this is a new part of the work plan.

At least two stakeholder advisory group meetings or watershed round table meetings per year approved by the work plan.

of reporting.

So this is also something that is an addition this year.

We just want to make sure that there's transparency between the RRBC and the TJPDC.

So this year, I'll show you sort of our template that will follow in the next few years.

for our end of year status report on finances and then our completed activities.

So we will also get to that.

Terminations, again, amendments, and then we're going to be following the work plan, which is coming up next.

Would you like me to present on that now, Ann?

Yes, all I would say before we, that we need to vote on this, so perhaps we should do that.

And I will just say that I'm very appreciative of the work that the TJPDC has provided.

It's been sort of ups and downs over the years, depending on the availability of commission staff, but the improvements already, which have been brought about for the website and the involvement in the corridor plan and other activities has been

Spectacular and very much appreciated.

So I am personally in agreement to go on for another interval.

And are there questions or concerns that anyone has about this issue?

I don't hear anyone or see hands waving.

So moved.

Sorry, who moved that?

Thank you, B.

And who second?

Yeah, wonderful.

Any more discussion about the contract?

All right, then we have a motion and a second.

All in favor for extending the contract with the planning district?

Aye.

Aye.

Very good.

Any opposed?

All right, the contract is approved.

Thank you.

OK, wonderful.

OK, so here we are again.

This is a five year work program.

And I'm going to focus on really the deliverables that are changed.

Just start with a brief overview for you all.

So this is really, of course, the purpose of the RRBC, who's involved, what this strategic workflow program guides, and just where the funds for it came from generally.

And then here, we just go into, again, I think it's important to remind ourselves often of the mission and objectives of the RRBC.

And we're a regional organization tasked with recommending programs for the enhancement of water and natural resources within the Rivanna River Basin.

We were formed in 2007.

And we're a forum for local governments and citizens to discuss issues affecting the basins water quality, quantity and other natural issues.

We promote communication, coordination and education by suggesting appropriate solutions to identify problems.

And then we also promote activities by local state and federal governments and by individuals that foster resource stewardship of the environmental economic health of the basin.

So what came out of our big research project this past year was that these are really the guiding goals of the RRBC.

And over all of it is environmental protection and public health.

And through that, public education, outdoor recreation and public access, historic sites and cultural features and their preservation, and the preservation of scenery and farmland is all possible.

And so that's really where

The strategic work program grew from.

So some of these tasks are of course going to be very similar to what's been provided in years past and then there's a few additions.

So we have two parts number one is program administration.

And generally we're going to share information with local partners and the public.

You can read a little bit more of the description there, but I'll focus on the deliverables.

So we're going to share information on the website and Facebook page with information on best practices, informational articles about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Department of Environmental Quality, local resources, other reputable sources.

We're going to participate in outreach meetings and provide and review data as needed.

So for example, that looks like me attending the Rivanna Stormwater Education Partnerships, the climate vulnerability assessments that are happening in Charlottesville, and things along those lines, just to make sure that we're working in coordination with the other environmental groups in the area.

And then we're going to attend relevant training sessions and professional development at local watershed meetings to better inform the Basin Commission's efforts on an as-needed basis.

Oh, and I guess I should say for background, this is really going to guide my work as support staff to the RRBC.

This is not something that we're asking of you all.

Provide informational updates through the TJPDC's news distribution channels.

I want to mention here again the words from your Watershed Youth Newsletter, which you can find on the TJPDC's Watershed Implementation Plan webpage.

where you can stay up to date with funding resources, local news, educational opportunities, all really related to water quality and quantity and health.

As well as in our news brief, which is another online source you can find on the TJPDC website, the legislative update with new environmental laws, such as the solar updates that we all saw this year on the Facebook and then the TJPDC's quarterly report.

We're going to staff board meetings and preparing reading materials.

I'll let you all read more if we need to there, but again, more of the same.

For operational and fiscal management, what that will look like is preparing the budget and work program for the commissioner's consideration and approval to maintain the finances in accordance with law, process all payments and deposits for the commission.

This is something that is new.

that we're going to be exploring this year.

But it does look like it will be feasible within the bylaws.

As I was reviewing that this year, I noticed that there was something defined in the powers and duties that allowed for the RRBC to seek and accept gifts, donations, and services and other aids from public and private sources.

So we're going to consider the feasibility of a donation location added to the RRBC Facebook and website for monthly donations and the option for a one-time gift.

We're going to maintain a list of issues and priorities and pipeline projects that occur in each locality to review and update at one meeting per year to help with continuity when board members or staff changes occur.

So that'll be based on the local meetings that I attend, as well as the RRBC meetings that we're in right now.

And then again, develop the work program to justify the request for funding.

And then

The annual conference, we're going to develop the agenda, address topics of priority, encourage public participation and attendance, utilize partnerships with state, federal, and local water resources experts, and share the event and registration information widely across media outlets.

And then this is the last task of program administration.

We're going to promote coordination, communication, education within the basin as it relates

and this will be to, first we have to identify members of the stakeholder advisory group which is pretty much almost complete based on the research of the past year of our right hand stewards as we called it.

And then we're going to host that meeting at least two times per year.

The plan is to have that the month before the commission meeting so that we can address things that come up at that stakeholder advisory meeting.

And then again, to update that running track sheet

Okay, now into part two, local assistance and planning.

So this is really where I would hope that you all would communicate with your boards and your staff to make sure that they recognize the opportunities that lie in partnership with the RRBC.

So a lot of these tasks in section two are as requested.

So I cannot do them unless it is requested of me by local staff and approved by the boards.

So provide technical and planning assistance to local partners as requested.

So here it'll be to support the development as requested of local comprehensive plans, environmental chapters, and recommendations as requested to reference the goals of the Rivanna Basin, provide historical context to the Rivanna and its importance within each locality, and emphasize the implementation of BMPs for solutions to water quality.

We'll develop and provide environmental GIS information as requested and needed, provide support and technical assistance with small area studies, strategic planning efforts, and plans involving the Rivanna River, and then engage in local, regional, and state federal planning processes and efforts that are related or have impacts to the Rivanna River Basin as feasible and requested.

Okay, 2.2.

Prepare and support grant applications that further the goals identified through the comprehensive benchmarking process which occurred last year.

So we're going to pursue basin-wide or cross-jurisdictional grants that further the goals surrounding the Rivanna River as defined in the bylaws.

So that we can support in grants that are based on one locality, but we can provide a lot more technical support if they're basin-wide or cross-jurisdictional that serve multiple goals and multiple localities since we are a basin commission.

We'll assist the regions, counties, cities, and towns with grant applications, improvements, education, water access, water quality,

or to support planning efforts.

And then we'll attend and review grant informational webinars and meetings as needed.

Develop grant working groups as needed to maximize potential for funding within the basin and to support the identification of River Steward slash organizations to administer or apply for available funds.

And I think that will really be served through the stakeholder advisory group mentioned earlier.

Okay, these are the last two tasks and separate from the prior tasks, these will not be occurring every single year.

This first task will occur in the first two years of the five-year plan and then this task will occur in the last three years of the plan.

So I really tried to pull in much of the feedback that we gathered from you all in our May meeting this year.

So you can definitely see some hints of that last meeting here and these last two deliverables.

So we will modernize and add content to the Rivanna River Basin Commission website.

We believe that it should reflect the mission and objectives of the RRBC, should hold information that helps further the goals of the Rivanna as identified by the commission, and increase public education for best practices pertaining to Rivanna stewardship.

All of this will be done in a way that reflects the design of modern websites at this point in time.

Definitely needs an update.

So some of the things, I'll just let you read that there, because we're coming up at the end of time on this one.

But really just sharing links of other plans, sharing links of the historical works that have been done by community members.

And then generally, we're just going to be a warehouse for information regarding access, safety, environmental protection, recreation, education,

the different Rivanna stewards and how the public can interact with them and things along those lines.

And then for the last three years of the plan, we're going to develop that story map, which is an historical timeline of the Rivanna River as it relates to water quality and environmental justice.

So we will work with local historical societies, water quality experts to obtain relevant data to include as part of this timeline and then include perspectives from minority populations, the Native American population,

and then develop an online version to store on the website.

And then also a print version to share at tourist centers, Rivanna River Company and other locations as identified.

And then here's really just the timeline.

So you can see those last two deliverables are broken down.

And then one other thing I'll point out is that this is a nice little schedule.

So the oh,

I might have to remedy that actually, but no, that's right.

Okay.

Yeah.

So this is going to be the stakeholder advisory group meetings right here.

And then this will be our board meetings and then I'll do a report on the financial management, just a short staff update.

And then here is our conference.

So blue is when

active work towards task deliverables, including a meeting conference report happens.

And then of course Greene is active work, but not presentations.

And then here's our budget breakdown based on staff hours and how much time we're going to, we think things will cost.

And so I just wanted to make you all aware that the five-year timeline, the total is right under the total of 10,500 per year.

It should be $52,500, but we have $3 of wiggle room, which is good.

But just so you know, per year, I have it broken down based on fiscal year 23.

And you can see that it slightly goes over that $10,500, but you can expect in the following years for that to decrease and then reflect the five-year total of $10,500.

All right, thank you very much.

Questions, folks?

That was a lot to go over very quickly.

So I hope we made notes.

All right, well, I have a couple that may spur some other people asking things.

When you do, the first thing, when you were presenting about the updates to the WIP and the site on the PDC website, if you could set up some kind of RSS that's easy for you to do so that we get a notice to say, look here, here it is.

Similar to what the state does for the town hall.

I know I am notoriously bad about following up on things that are popping up because I don't find them.

No problem.

So would you like me to just follow up with an email to that link so that you all can join the newsletter?

Well, or however it's best for us to get notified when there's something new to look at.

Okay, absolutely.

That's great.

Thank you.

And I love the fundraising link.

And what is involved in environmental GIS?

Yeah, so the idea is, and this has actually been part of the work program with WIPP in the past and RRBC, but sometimes we'll get requests from local government for like data that the TJPDC houses or the RRBC houses, but then also if a specific type of map needs to be created to support a planning endeavor, that's something that we can support in.

If we have the data available.

And just to make sure this is all clear, because the funds are limited for the RRBC and because there's a lot of as requested, we're going to really have to make that a conversation about if there is staff availability and the resources and flexibility to be able to complete whatever is as requested.

Sounds good.

And the historic timeline when you get to it is really going to be a great resource because the one thing that jumped into my mind when you were describing it was

Carleton Ray, who lives out in Whitehall, talking to me years ago about the fact that, did you know that in the 19th century, absolutely the entire Mormons River Basin and Sugar Hollow Mountains were all deforested because it was all in agriculture?

And so this legacy sediment that we have

Moving from up and down, not up, but down the stream all the time is something that we want to try to slow down and to deal with.

But it's been in the water for a long time.

So we just don't want to make it any worse.

So thank you very much.

Isabella.

Isabella, this is Steve Morris.

Yes.

Do we have or does the commission have like a map or anything that shows the best management projects that have been done through the Soil and Water Districts?

That is not something that we house.

That would be very cool.

But I do believe that Charlottesville has something similar to what you're speaking of.

And I can't, maybe I can find it while we're in this meeting.

But they do, they do a map of sort of where those best practices are occurring, just to kind of get the word out to people that like, this is happening here in your backyard.

And it's accessible to you as well.

I mean, that's something that, you know, I don't want to speak for the district without speaking to their manager.

But, you know, that's something that could be supplied, you know, by the solar water districts.

But I'd, you know, I'd be glad to try to work on it for, you know, like in Greene County.

It really wouldn't be that hard to do.

That would be great to house on the Rivanna River Basin Commission website.

That is such a splendid idea, and I expect that Farm Service Agency, Corey Kirkland and gang and Ann Coates's gang also would be able to easily

It would take time, but locate geographically where their cost share programs are.

And you could plug into that later, maybe even show the conservation easement

I mean, that's something that I know it is available.

So it just needs to be plugged into wherever Isabella would like to put it or whatever.

I just found, you can find in the chat now, it's called the City Green Map.

And they report, you can find a link to their website, but they report on green stormwater infrastructure, sustainable buildings and energy, natural resources, sustainable agriculture, sustainable getting around, so bike and pedestrian.

And then sustainable waste management.

So that's really exciting.

Great.

Sounds like a good model to follow.

Other questions?

Comments?

OK. Well, that's terrific.

So let's see, do we?

That's something that would need a movement.

Formally adopt the strategic work plan.

Was that Dale's motion?

Sorry.

Yes.

Thank you.

I will second it.

I think I'm allowed.

Very good.

Any more discussion on this?

All right, thank you.

Hello, Lloyd.

Good to see you.

You got here just in time.

That's great.

Oh, I'm so sorry if you were sitting in the waiting room.

We were having so much a good time.

I'm so sorry.

All right.

We're still seeking a treasurer, so think about that.

That's great.

Thank you.

All right.

Let's see.

We have a motion and a second, and we have asked for discussion.

Aye.

Very good.

And any opposed?

None opposed.

So that carries.

Thank you, Isabella.

Next, staff updates.

Okay, let me pull up my agenda as well.

Okay, okay.

So I'll share my screen again quickly.

And as I had just mentioned, that financial report that is now going to be a part of, it's just gonna be at one meeting per year, probably the second meeting per year, just to report on what's been done and the finances and how they've been utilized.

Sorry, it's going to be a moment.

OK, here we go.

It's just a short two pager.

And what we have, here it is.

So our setups report is today for fiscal year 22.

Typically there's going to be a status summary on how we've utilized the funds and the accomplishments of the year.

And the purpose of this is really to strengthen continuity, foster transparency between the RRBC and TJPDC and to foster growth within and surrounding the commission and its finances.

So this is just the percentages here are general ballpark, but our program administration for fiscal year 2022 is done.

and the strategic work plan was 99% done and now 100% because we have approval.

And then the RRBC conference I have at 95 although we have pretty much all the details nailed down which we'll go over in just a moment here.

We are just waiting for that date which will be September 29th where hopefully everybody will join together.

So that's what that 95% is reflective of.

And then

The budget overview.

So this is a short description of what this portion of the document will include.

Details on how the money was spent based on the five-year strategic work plans defined budget.

While the plan assumes funding will remain constant at $10,500 per year, due to the nature of the contract and the work plan, certain years have a slightly lower or higher budget.

Information will be presented on a yearly basis to reflect the portion of the total five-year funds that was utilized during that year's activities and the activities completed will be expanded upon in the yearly debrief following the section.

Details of the activities are FY 2022 are displayed on the following page.

So this is a general overview of this past year.

So we developed the five-year strategic work plan, compiled and researched information on the various river stewards and their role in the Rivanna or in the community, local comprehensive plans as well, and their relation to water quality in the Rivanna, and small area or statewide plans that either directly informed RRBC's work or are tangentially related.

and used for benchmarking best practices.

We surveyed the river stewards to gain insight into their opinion of the most important issues impacting the basin.

We shared information on applicable funding opportunities, best management practices, local events, water management and planning through the RRBC and TJPDC Facebook page in coordination with the Rivanna Stormwater Education Partnership.

shared information on environmental justice, environmental policy changes and tools for addressing emphasized environmental impacts in disadvantaged or minority communities, maintained the RRBC webpage with up-to-date information on meeting dates and materials for public access, appointed two new citizen appointees and two new board members to the RRBC this year, created an onboarding packet accessible online for the RRBC and board

members, or commissioners, sorry.

And then we met for two board meetings, September 2021 and May 2022.

And then the RRBC conference was held last year in September.

And then we developed the conference agenda and event planning in 2021 and planned for the September 2022 RRBC conference, which is focused on solar initiatives and environmental justice.

And then I will pull in

My intern now who has been working with me this past summer, he's a student at the University of Virginia's Batten School of Public Policy and has a lot of interest in environmental planning and policy and has really been instrumental and pivotal in helping me plan and gather all the resources that are needed for the conference this year.

And I'm very, very excited to kind of take you guys through what we have planned and get your feedback and get you excited about it as well.

Yeah.

Can everybody hear me?

Excuse me.

I'm having a little bit of problems with my voice today, but I will definitely work through it.

Give me one second.

Let me go ahead and hold this up for y'all.

We can go over kind of like our agenda here that we have planned for how the conference is going to really look.

If it's easier for me, Brandon, I can just pull up the packet and you can present from it.

Yeah.

Sure.

You're feeling under the weather.

I will share your screen.

Thank you.

All right.

So yeah, so a lot, especially based on a lot of the solar policies that recently been passed inside of Virginia,

We decided to really shift the Rivanna River Basin Conference this year from normally dealing with water quality and stormwater issues, and now focusing on how our localities can really get more involved inside of implementing solar facilities and policies within our area.

Of some of the speakers that we have coming in, we have Elizabeth Marshall, who is with the Weldon Cooper Center at UVA.

She's actually going to be talking directly on

some of these solar initiatives that her organization is responsible for and really sharing as well any potential possibility for participation in these types of initiatives within our localities.

Encore Renewable Energy is a Vermont-based solar facility company that is actually planning on coming out to speak as well.

They're actually making a really big shift or kind of push to get more solar facilities out in Virginia active

They actually specify or specialize in agrivoltaics and really working to make sure these solar facilities work with the land themselves.

They also have a pretty big emphasis on using brownfields and abandoned fields and places where farmers are able to use this type of land for solar facilities without taking away any of their potential income from crops or for whatever else they might be using that land for.

So we're really excited to see that.

Really cool as well is that when they come, they're asking anybody that is going to be attending the conference to also bring in any potential lands that they think any farmer or landowner might have that might be interested in turning into a solar facility.

And they actually have a system that they will bring on their persons that will be able to type in, look up, and give a good estimate whether or not that is something that they might be able to work with.

They also are bringing in some additional organizations resources.

So in case they are not able to help out with the solar facility, they can still sort of recommend where maybe the best place to go to then instead.

Moving on down to DEQ, we have Chad Martin coming in.

And he's actually one of the lead in environmental justice within the region, especially with Virginia taking a big shift and placing more emphasis on environmental justice issues.

Sorry, Brandon, just a note.

So Chad Martin serves our region.

Specifically, there are a few different environmental justice coordinators for the state.

And so this is really an introduction for you all to understand how you can work with him and how he can help you in furthering environmental justice because I know that some people don't actually even really know exactly what that means.

And so this is really to give more context into that.

All right, go ahead, Brandon.

Yes.

Perfectly done.

And so that'll kind of help wrap up most of our speakers.

However, before and after our speakers, we're also gonna be offering a tabling events for different organizations, including the organizations that our speakers are coming from.

And those tabling events will usually be held by certain localities within our area, and we'll provide additional information and opportunities for the public and other localities to share information

and ask questions about whatever they might be presenting at.

And those tabling events will be available for about 30 to 45 minutes or so before and after our speakers.

At the end of our entire event, we will also actually be offering a quick little river walk that potentially might be hosted by Dan Mahone.

I'll actually be speaking to him a little bit later on today.

to see if you would like to actually help us out with that.

But this will be something completely optional that will allow any of the participants to really learn a bit more about the Rivanna as well as hear some really interesting stories that Dan has to offer.

He's been very highly requested and so we're very excited to finally get in contact with him.

Yes, and he'll probably be leading the Riverwalk alongside Alexandria, who is one of the staff members for the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center, which will be where we're hosting the event.

So it will be in person this year.

And the purpose of tabling before and after is, well, first to just let everybody settle in, get acquainted, get to know each other and network, see how we can work together better.

and then following so that if there's any follow-up questions those can be answered and then additionally in conjunction with the Riverwalk we're really trying to promote participation from not only like board members and locality staff but also the public so that they can realize their role in this as well and just so you all know as you get the word out about this event

The purpose here is of course to talk about solar policy and how it relates to land use, but we'll also be talking about the differences in solar policy and just the different implications that need to be considered in rural areas versus urban, as well as large scale solar.

So those large scale farms or facilities versus household solar as well.

So it really is targeted for solar

both for policy and locality staff and electeds as well as the public.

Yes, that's generally the synopsis.

We're really excited for this event.

That's pretty much it.

So if there's any questions right here, you can see who we have gotten word back from on tabling and then more details on the speakers and then

Links to their websites are available in the packet as well.

And then just a general synopsis of what we found to be applicable to each county based on solar and the news that's related to it.

But as we're planning for this and we are going to have one meeting prior to the event with all of our speakers just to make sure that the message is pretty comprehensive and flows, but that will also be an opportunity for us to bring up any questions that are from our localities on really what they would like to be covered.

So I'd just like to hear any feedback from you all here.

or in the next few days, really any time up until the conference, a week prior probably, on any questions that you have related to solar so that we can make sure that those are addressed because this is a course for you all and I see a raised hand.

Yes, thank you.

Angus Murdock coming in from the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District and the solar issue has been something that's getting more and more concerned

On our end, particularly with the water quality impacts from, you know, if we're getting into thousands of acres under utility scale solar, what the water quality impacts of that are.

Exactly.

And that's actually going to be...

Sorry, go ahead.

Didn't mean to cut you off there.

Well, just that every locality shouldn't have to reinvent that wheel on its own trying to figure out how to deal with that.

And I gather DEQ's got a fair bit to say on that.

Right.

And Encore, I'll say, Encore, if you want to check out their website, they're really on the cutting edge of solar and bringing in those best management practices with it.

So if you aren't familiar with the term agrivoltaics, it's agri, agriculture, voltaics, light.

and so it's about having that agriculture in conjunction with the solar panels that can help absorb some of that runoff that's coming from that impervious surface and talking about land use so that we're not clear-cutting trees but we're using areas that maybe are brownfields or superfund sites and can't be utilized for anything else so that we're considering water quality with it and that's really why we're having the solar panel talk at the RRBC conference

is because there are many water quality implications with this huge expansion of solar across the state.

So thank you for reiterating that.

Thank you.

I'm very grateful that DEQ is coming out with a discontinued impervious designation for these things because calling on pervious surfaces over 1000 acres is completely insane.

And so back to the location, what is the capacity if it's raining?

Yeah, so we've definitely been planning for that.

There's about 75 people that can be inside at any given time.

But then also, we're going to have a tent outside so that people can be outside.

There's also a bit of covered area at the center.

So yeah, that's all up for it.

And then the Riverwalk, all of it's free.

So if we have to cancel that, we cancel it.

But we'll have people register in advance, I hope, so that we have an idea.

Yeah, we're actually making a registration that's going to be sent out following this meeting.

We just wanted to talk about all the details with you all first.

It's going to be capped so that we don't have too many people show up and that it's at capacity.

And then one other thing we forgot to mention is that we're hoping that it's within the budget to get a food truck.

We're still talking with a few people that will have local options and vegetarian options.

as well as compost and sustainability considerations.

But if that's not available, then we'll definitely just have some refreshments available for folks.

It's going to be about three hours.

I mean, like 10 to two or?

One.

One, I believe, for 1230.

We're nailing that little piece down.

Once we finalize everything with the speakers, we'll know.

But it's definitely going to be an afternoon.

OK, great.

And if the last time we had it in person, one at the county office building, which was several years ago,

We did have a food truck and it was fabulously successful.

People bought their own lunch.

It was no finance involved and far better on everybody's nerves than trying to do box lunches, which we had done for the very first one years.

Yeah.

I didn't really know about this prior to this, but typically when a food truck's coming out to an area that they don't typically sit at, you have to provide funds to ensure that their baseline is met.

to rent them, rent the space, I guess.

But yeah, people will pay for their own lunches.

We're not going to have everything catered because we don't know how many people are going to come out or if they've had lunch or not yet.

We'll figure that out.

Great.

Thank you.

Other questions for any of the presentation here about the conference?

And will there be a digital listen-in capability?

Yes.

OK, good.

OK.

Hybrid, that's wonderful.

Last time we were on Zoom, we had people from all over the country, which we would never have had if it had been in person only.

So that was really spectacular.

Thank you for making sure that that hybrid is available.

Yes, indeed.

All right, other items for discussion?

Other questions?

Free for all?

It's on people's minds here.

All right.

Well, this has been a rather overwhelming amount of information, but wonderful.

And thank you for providing it in advance.

And feel free to reach out with any questions that may come up.

I'm always available.

Very good.

All right.

And we then will not be having another sort of pre-conference meeting.

You've got it pretty well nailed out at this point.

So

Yes.

And the registration link will go right out to you all.

So please do register.

Well, hopefully the weather will cooperate.

And in past years, as of the next day activity, we had planned multiple years for boat trips and all that kind of thing.

And one year the water was too high and it was unsafe.

And the next year the water was too low and there wasn't any floating.

So I'm glad that we're staying on land at least.

It's a little more predictable.

There's certainly a lot of wonderful trails around there to be able to see what there is up close.

Yes, Bea, please.

Yes, you mentioned about the trails and everything.

Not specifically.

Well, I mean, it's a wonderful trail along the river.

And I was just wondering, because I've heard from people about, you know,

How are we doing?

Are we connecting on that?

And I didn't know if this was the organization that would do something like that because I mean, I read the agenda, I read everything, but I didn't see any, frankly, actionable plans for anything.

That's what I was concerned about.

As mentioned for the local assistance and technical planning assistance, that second portion of the program, that's going to be on an as-requested basis.

We really are looking to you all to

Reach out to local staff here, TJPDC staff to support you all and coordinate with you.

And then the last two items in the technical planning assistance are really like are actionable items.

I really think that the website is due for an update.

In my opinion, my humble opinion, I think it looks like it was built in the 90s or so.

We really can be a warehouse for all of the local river plans as well as access points and the ways that the public can interact with the different river stewards like RCA, RSAP, the soil and water conservation districts, house funding, house a calendar of local events and I can see our role now is starting off as the environmental conversation really kicks off in our region and across the globe

that we're an information sharing body.

And when those requests come in, we're happy to help.

But I really, I mean, that's where I'll leave it.

We're an information sharing body.

Well, we can, based on our bylaws, we recommend solutions to water quality and resource things that come up within the basin.

And so as those things come up,

As a follow-up to that, because I think it's such a great idea, under your education sharing or outreach or whatever, perhaps a spring and fall walk.

And the spring walk would be absolutely ideal for the old Mills Trail, which is the south of Free Bridge, right along the river, because the ephemerals, the flowers there are unreal.

I mean, there are thousands of different things that you can see.

And you need a guide like Lonnie Murray or Devin Floyd to identify them all.

So I love the idea of a couple of times a year, we offer one of these and get somebody to lead it and see if we can draw in some people who might want to be on land as opposed to being paddling.

And maybe there's a same day paddle.

I don't know.

I think there's definitely a way to merge the information sharing with some in-person events for sure.

Well, and I'm looking forward to closing Free Bridge Lane and being able to, yeah, I know, Ann and I both, being able to have events there, whether they're art fairs or small music festivals, just, you know, cause it's right next to the river, right next to the river.

On the day of the fair, we should have a kayaking, you know, jump the pipe because of the sewer pipe that runs under the river right there by the put in.

See how many people can do some wild stuff with the kayakers there.

Exactly.

That's grand.

OK. Super.

Well, thank you.

So Isabella, are we ready to adjourn or did you have more for us?

No, I don't think so.

I think we mentioned it previously and it was just one more plug because I think you're totally correct that there really is a big emphasis of this event is making these connections for us to provide that information with potentially organizations or companies that would also be able to do more actionable actual items.

And I believe that it was mentioned previously, but just one more time to plug that if there are different staff members from different localities that just have even the most general idea about whether solar facilities would be interested or possible on a specific land area, just coming with like a list of some, just the addresses would be incredibly helpful for Encore who would literally be able to kind of take that information and directly look into see if that's a possibility and account for

This is no promise to say that you're going to work with them.

This is to say that there is light available at this location where you could implement a solar facility, basically.

I think that some landowners have complained to me that they have received color glossy mailings, anybody over a certain acreage all over the state basically to say, you know, we guarantee you gobs of money and all this stuff.

And I'm just I worry about those kinds of things being fly by night and we're going to have have a heap of trouble.

Yeah, thanks.

That's helpful to keep in mind.

And then I was just going to say that I really want to just thank Bella for the work that she's put into sort of identifying opportunities for this group.

And I think we're all going to benefit from the work and her passion for the environment at the TJPDC.

So thanks, Bella.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

All right.

Well everyone, I hope that you all have a great rest of August and fall and we will see everyone at the conference.

Oh yes, absolutely.

Thank you, thank you so much.

Yeah, he's sleeping through the night so hopefully you guys will start seeing me regularly again at the meeting.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Well, take care, everyone.

And we will see you all again soon.

Yes.

Thank you.