Board Minutes – September 13, 2007

Minutes submitted by Lisa Mastny

 

 

 

Jim K. introduced himself, saying he had some interest in passive solar. Mike said he is working on the Lightner Creek Development and is attempting to make it a sustainable community.

 

 

Dick brought up the draft MOU he had sent around for comment and noted that the Board will not vote on the final version until October or November. He said he is still awaiting feedback on the MOU from Michelle Reott and others. He explained that questions remain about the issue of setting aside dues—either for SASCO or for a committee of one’s choice. He noted that Tom is planning to do some accounting of SASCO’s overhead to help us figure out what the level of dues should be, and that this number would then go to the full Board for approval. Tom said he had not had time to run the numbers but will do so soon.

 

Sue asked whether the state CRES body would have any recourse on the matter. Dick said the main issues they may raise would be the SWCRES membership list and funds. He said there may be an issue of how much money SWCRES can keep, though it is unlikely that it will be taken away. He noted that at any rate, SASCO will guarantee that that money will stay under the Smart Energy Committee.

 

Dick said that the SASCO Executive Committee (EC) had discussed the issue of dues and had drawn up the following structure, with the idea that members will be offered the opportunity to earmark a portion of their dues to support specific committees: Member (amount to be determined, subject to Tom's assessment of SASCO’s overhead and opportunity cost expenses, probably $25–$30); Supporter: $50–$99; Donor: $100–$499; Champion: $500–$999; and Angel: $1,000 or more.

 

Julie noted that we might want to add a category for an hourly volunteer, so we can keep track of volunteer hours. Dick agreed it would be worth including this provision. Tom suggested we also have student or senior fees. Dick said this could be two-thirds of the regular dues, or around $20. The board agreed that “senior” would mean members who are 65 and older, while “students” would include high school and other students. Katy observed that currently, a volunteer hour is equal to $10 (the present dues amount). She suggested that alternatively, 5 hours a year of volunteer work could entitle someone to be a member.

 

Dick made a motion that the Board approve the membership scheme suggested by the EC, with 3 amendments: 1) including a student or senior rate, (2) offering an alternative of 5 volunteer hours of work a year, and (3) that the dues levels for seniors and students would be resolved by the EC. All Board members present were in favor.

 

 

Dick said it is time to consider who might seek to serve on the Board for the coming year. He noted that the August Board meeting was “awkward” because Board members had to wait until there was a quorum to begin official business. He said the Board will also be soliciting nominations from SWCRES and asked whether SASCO should seek other nominations as well.  He said the EC had suggested that potential Board members be willing to make the following commitments:

 

 

Katy asked how many seats the Board expects to fill and how many Board members SASCO hopes to have in total. Dick said the positions held by Denise, Rebecca, Roy, and Erick are all up for renewal. He said both Rebecca and Roy have indicated they are interested in continuing to serve. He noted that we will likely wind up with more candidates than seats. He observed that Tim has been on the board before and has been regularly attending Board meetings, and thus represents an example of someone who is active in the organization but doesn’t necessarily have the time to be on the Board and participate in a Committee.

 

Bliss said she would keep coming to meetings regardless of whether she is on the board. Dick said SASCO will be putting out a solicitation for candidates sometime before December (tentatively on November 1) and will also put this notice in the November 15 e-newsletter.

 

Denise asked whether her position would become a three-year term, not one. Dick said yes, unless someone decides to step down. Denise noted that being on the Board for the one-year period has been “handy,” and that it might be good to offer a one-year term for someone else who might want to come in and “test the waters.” Dick said this is something the EC would need to discuss, as this would require a change in the bylaws.

 

Julie suggested that Dick mail around the nominations form, deadlines, etc, so Board members can mail this information around to potential interested candidates. Dick said we need to be clear about what is expected of prospective board members, especially in terms of the time commitment.

 

Rebecca noted that there is a difference in feel between sitting on the San Juan Citizens Alliance Board and the SASCO Board, particularly in the level of active involvement. She said the synthesis of creative energies has really helped with building the strength and reputation of the organization. She said she thinks having Board members provide a financial commitment helps strengthen their overall commitment, and that this would also bring in a good chunk of money per year. She noted that we could even have an installment plan.

 

Katy observed that Board members already give a great deal of their time and energy, so it seems like a lot to ask for a financial commitment as well. She suggested maybe making this a voluntary contribution. Dick noted that since SASCO’s intent is to create a diverse board, and the Board really values the perspectives of its younger members, this is far more valuable than worrying about an extra $50 commitment.

 

Tim said that he had been on the Board of an organization that had paid staff, and that Board members were required to make a substantially higher contribution. But he noted that in the case of SASCO, the board does most of the work, so it may be best to wait until the organization is more able to depend on staff rather than board members to do the work. He observed that Board members’ current volunteer hours are worth way more than $50.

 

Bliss said that it might be nice to have a social hour where SASCO can talk about what we’ve done and extend out to the public, so potential Board members would know what we really do and get a sense of where they can tap in.

 

Denise said SOS is struggling with the issue of member donations. She asked whether SASCO would solicit dues on some kind of cycle. Dick said the idea is to get on an annual cycle. He noted that since only dues-paying members can vote for the Board, it would make sense that only those who have paid by November would be able to vote for the Board in December. Rebecca added that the EC had decided that dues would need to be paid by December 1 in order to have everything set before the election.

 

On the issue of Board members paying dues, Denise said that one option would be to offer a volunteer donation of a certain amount. She said this shouldn’t be mandatory, but rather “suggested,” and would leave an opening in case someone wants to give more.

 

Sue asked when SASCO anticipates having a membership campaign drive. Dick said that the EC has been discussing the idea of setting up an online donation page on the website. Werner agreed that a membership drive would be a good idea. He also said it may be a good idea to increase the number of Board members, and asked whether this is still going to happen. Dick said it was agreed at the last meeting that this could balkanize the Board, and that SWCRES didn’t have problem with not having a Board representative—they just wanted to be sure there was someone representing their committee on the Board. He added that there is the option for one of them to stand for the Board during the upcoming election, however.

 

Rebecca noted that once membership dues are determined, SASCO would send out a membership solicitation to ask for dues renewals and contributions. Sue said she was thinking more along the lines of a larger membership campaign, knocking on doors, etc. Mike noted that Durango Mountain Resort is looking for someone to sponsor for benefit day, but that they would need clarity about the specific activities SASCO is actually doing. Dick explained that SASCO will be pulling together an Annual Report, gathering information from the various committees about their activities.

 

Dick asked whether there was Board agreement on the time commitments for Board members, and on the idea that SASCO would ask for voluntary Board contributions at the level of Supporter or higher. He then made the following motion: That the board accepts that the expectation for board members will be: (1) attendance at a daylong January retreat, if possible, subject to the difficulty of finding a single date that works for everyone; (2) Commitment to miss no more than two Board meetings, except for extraordinary circumstances, and to inform the Chair of impending absences or inability to attend the entire meeting; (3) Commitment to participate actively in the work of at least one committee; and (4) if possible, supporting the organization at the Supporter level or higher. Sue seconded the motion and all were in favor.

 

Tom said he and Lisa had been exploring the use of PayPal for online donations, but that in the interests of buying local it might be better to go with Mercury Payment Systems. He said he was exploring this option with a contact of his there. He noted that while they have a monthly fee as well, we may be able to have it waived. He said this could be cheaper than PayPal and would also be local. He said there were still some things to explore and iron out. Dick said hopefully we can get this sorted out in time to do member solicitations this year, though we probably don’t need to decide this before the October Board meeting.

 

 

Rebecca said the committee has finally completed the Ambassador’s cards, which give examples of sustainability and stewardship, and that the new version will be printed shortly. She said they have also been working on the PowerPoint presentation, and have been tweaking and paraphrasing some of the language to make it less technical for churches and other audiences.

 

Bliss said the committee’s goal is to talk to the 10 main nonprofits in town to see who is aligned with SASCO’s mission. She said it is important to also reach out to the school districts, and will propose that work to the Education & Outreach Committee. She said that having the cards is good because it serves as a follow-up tool. She said the committee had decided it would be good to develop an education card that would work well for Durango Nature Studies and other groups.

 

Dick said that as things have evolved, it makes sense to merge the Ambassador’s and E&O committees, as the two efforts are closely aligned. He said that since the Board created the Ambassador’s committee, it should also authorize a merger.

 

Dick said that under the MOU with SWCRES, their committees will be either continuing their activities separately or folding them into the parallel committee of SASCO. He noted that the one outstanding committee is the SWCRES policy committee, which comprises Mark Stetz (who will be away) and Dick. He said it might make sense for SASCO to develop a policy committee, though this is also perhaps a role the EC could play. He noted that SWCRES has said that the advocacy role is something they care deeply about.

 

Denise asked what exactly a “policy committee” would cover. Dick said he was thinking of a sustainability policy committee that would deal with renewable energy policy issues but also others. Bliss noted that SASCO had started off with the idea of being a Sustainability Policy Council, and had agreed initially that it would always think about the various policies that affect the issues. She noted that not all of our work is policy work, however—some is education. Denise observed: “but look at all the policy you’ve been able to influence without having a policy committee.”

 

Rebecca said it might be nice to devote a single committee to policy so that when policy issues come up with the city or county, SASCO would have a team prepared to tackle these. Tim suggested that those who would like to be policy wonks could do the wordsmithing. Sue said such a committee could comprise two things—not just strategy about policy, but also implementation and responding to policy moves. Tim said such a committee could also play a role of trying to keep up with the issues, as with SWCRES—a role of listening and understanding, not just promulgating.
 

 

Katy said there had been an all-staff breakfast for 9-R School District on August 15, and all the food was local food. She said Krista Garand with 9-R was very pleased with the event—the deliveries were on time and everything went well.

 

Katy added that September 12 was “Colorado Proud” day, and that the schools served potatoes from the San Luis Valley and RAS farms. She said they are working with local growers to make more connections. She said there are now funds set up in each of the schools in the 9R district to buy local foods for school meals. She noted that there are also ongoing conversations between La Boca and Southern Ute Academy, which is a private school and has more leeway with its purchasing.

 

Katy said the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition held a meeting about getting local food in area restaurants, but only one person showed up (Alison Dance with Cyprus Cafe), though others had expressed interest. She said the coalition is also doing outreach to CJs, Durango Doughworks, and Fiesta Mexicana. Tom noted that Barbara at Kennebec Café is also interested in carrying local food.

 

Katy said the Tour de Farms is coming up, which will tour six local food production sites and end with a local foods lunch. She said the event is accepting 30 people as well as soliciting the San Juan Basin Health Department to get more diversity, for 40 participants total.

 

Katy said a Slow Foods picnic will be held at James Ranch on September 30 from 3 to 5 PM. She said that Slow Food is changing its face in Durango and is looking for new energy.

 

Denise noted that there is now a farmers market in Pagosa Springs, on Sundays in August and September. She said the group is currently headed by Mary Jo at the Chamber of Commerce, but that from 2008 on, they want SOS to take the ball and run with it. She said they will likely need a lot of help. Katy said the master gardener program may be able to pitch in.

 

Werner said it might useful to let people know when things are up for sale, being harvested, etc. He also noted that Jerry Zink is still running negative with his local slaughterhouse after 5 years, in part because he is not getting his meat into local restaurants—the support is not there. Rebecca observed that the new restaurant Cosmopolitan had noted that “meat that isn’t grain finished isn’t as tender.” She suggested that maybe we could ask them to develop other dishes.

 

 

Julie provided an update on the “buy local” effort. She explained that for a couple of years, there has been a movement to create an organization focused on independent, locally owned business, perhaps along the lines of an Independent Business Association (IBA). She noted that the Chamber of Commerce was also looking into launching a La Plata County campaign to boost local tax revenue. She said there were two tracks going on at once, but that since Michael Rendon directed City staff to look into a buy-local campaign, there has been an effort to try to coordinate these campaigns. Julie noted that the main divergence is over what “buy local” means. She said the two groups determined there was value in both campaigns, though these would target different audiences and use different strategies. She said the County effort would be more of a one-time media push, while the local, independent effort would be a sustained long-term campaign.

 

Julie said the SLED group has met and decided what issues would be “non-negotiable” and where the two groups could potentially partner. At the meeting, the two parties agreed that “buy local” would mean “buy at local, independently owned businesses,” and also agreed on the value of a La Plata Loyalty campaign. She said the two groups would probably fundraise separately, and that the SLED group would use a two-pronged approach, getting money from private sources (business that would join an eventual IBA) and governments. She noted that Marcus Renner at the FLC Environmental Center is in communication with the BALLE network.

 

Julie said there has also been discussion of creating a local coupon book, raising questions about how much to sell coupons for, how much to combine it with a resource guide, etc. She said the group has talked with Neal Hannum at Creative Conspiracy, whom the La Plata Loyalty group (Bob Kunkel and Jack Llewellyn) have hired to do their campaign. The two groups agree that their messages need to be coordinated so people aren’t confused, and will need to meet regularly to communicate.

 

Tim noted that LEAD (Jack Llewellyn) is leading the County aspect of the campaign. He said there was concern among that group that the campaign would feel too exclusive, so that is why there are two parallel tracks. He said the SLED plan revolves around the process of putting together a coupon book. He said SLED will ask the city for funding, but that this shouldn’t be the central funding source.

 

Julie said the “buy local” group would likely ask SASCO to be the keeper of any funds they manage. She also said that SLED hasn’t lost sight of the local multiplier study. She noted that the coupon book would be Phase 1 of the initiative, and they would see how things develop. She said doing the multiplier study would help provide concrete data for later phases.

 

Tim added that when the communication process first started, the Chamber and LEAD weren’t aware of SASCO or SLED. But by the last meeting, there was recognition of who we are, and how well organized we are with the IBA track, and they had agreed that we could go directly to the city for funding. He noted that SLED isn’t anticipating being the IBA, but is interested in helping it get up to speed. He said the IBA really needs to be a push by business owners, and that it should be a private sector initiative.

 

Katy asked whether a local food logo could be part of the effort. Julie said yes, this would be a subsection. Tim agreed that being a local producer could be a subset of this effort. Julie said the goal is to get local producers to see themselves as independent businesses. She said there is also talk of working with the La Plata Loyalty campaign to develop a logo for local supermarkets.

 

Julie said that the idea of combining the resource guide and coupon book has both pros and cons. She said that if combined, this becomes more of a sustainability book, and might have more limited appeal. She said we will need to talk further about what the relationship will be.

 

 

Werner said the “Heart and Soil” movie event was a big success, and that Mara sold or gave out 560 tickets (the room held 650 people).

 

Werner said the John Gitchell presentation is coming up on October 10. He explained that John has worked on environmental planning issues on the Front Range and is presenting at the October Green Business Roundtable. He said Kent Ford asked SASCO whether we could organize a day of meetings between John and local folks, as well as an evening event. He said he and Lisa would be working on this.

 

Werner noted that the networking meeting is still on, but that we only have two months to go to organize it, holding it either November 3 or 10. He said we will need more help and more dedicated people. He said that ideally, someone from every committee, including SWCRES, should be involved. He said the proposed format would be to start with an intro/getting to know you session, followed by the SASCO PowerPoint presentation (Paul Sheldon will help with this), and then go into discussion of a handful of subtopics (stewardship, what does sustainability mean to different stakeholders, how does sustainability differ from global warming, etc). He said we still need to figure out the structure, and which stakeholders to invite. He said he would like to have NGOs, churches, and people from government attend. He suggested holding weekly meetings until the event, scheduling them for a specific time and day.

 

Werner said the E&O Committee meets on the first Thursday of the month, and the next meeting is scheduled for October 4 at 4 PM. Tim offered the Durango Coffee Company meeting room as a meeting space—it an hold 12 people. Julie said her office in the Crossroads building also has meeting rooms.

 

Lisa said she would add an appeal to help with the networking meeting to the next e-newsletter, and asked Werner to come up with language for this. Werner said Lisa Dent and Diane Mee from SWCRES are also interested in joining our outreach effort.

 

Rebecca said one of her goals with the churches is for them to organize among themselves, to get them to work together to help folks with the psycho-spiritual impacts of change. She said maybe it would be good to have one of the sessions at the networking event be about that. She said she would be willing to help, and would be available on November 10 but not the 3rd.

 

Werner said one possibility would be to have rotating tables, with one facilitator but rotating participants. Dick noted that the Step it Up campaign has events on November 3, though it is not clear there will be an event in Durango. He asked whether Alan Rolston’s global warming discussion group would be willing to pursue this, or perhaps those who have done it before at the college. He said the last Step It Up event was only 30–40 people but it was covered in the Durango Herald. Alan said the study group would be meeting the following week and would discuss doing something.

 

Dick said the Northwest Earth Institute had just sent around their e-mail update and asked whether we’d be interested in doing more discussion groups. He said he forwarded the message to Werner and Alan. Werner said that maybe at the networking meeting, we can identify specific action items. Dick noted that our long-term goal should be to draw in energy from the larger community.

 

Tim said thanks for the help that Lisa and SASCO gave at the Eco-Eve event at the Abbey, especially in developing the energy cards.

 

 

Julie explained that the Regional Housing Authority was created in 2004 as a multi-jurisdictional entity, and it is not affiliated with the federal government. Because housing is a regional issue, she said it was important to share resources and staff and come up with a regional approach. She explained that Colorado has passed enabling legislation that allows for such a multi-jurisdictional approach, and that the head of the RHA is Jennifer Lopez, who is known as a guru nationwide on affordable housing issues.

 

Julie distributed a resolution from the RHA asking for SASCO’s signature. She noted that area home prices have increased 104 percent, but that median income has increased only 20 percent. While this is a fabulous rise, she said, it is not enough to keep up with the rise in the cost of living. She explained that the RHA did an extensive needs study and determined that affordable housing would be defined as houses that cost $275 or less, for families of 4 making $75,000 a year or less. She said there are some 3,500 families in the county in this category. She said “affordable” means that families should be spending no more than about 30–33 percent of their income on housing.

 

Julie explained that RHA has a five-pronged approach, including:

(1) A fair share policy—i.e., for every development, a certain share has to meet RHA price guidelines for affordable housing ($104 to $274 K). Ignacio is ready to get going on this;

(2) A La Plata County homes fund—a $10 million trust fund, $8 million of which is for mortgage/down-payment assistance, with the rest going to land development/acquisition and public-private partnerships for vertical development; RHA estimates that the average gap that needs to be filled is $50 K, so this fund helps buyers with second mortgages. It also avoids having to do a “deed restriction,” or a cap on how much owners can sells their units for;

(3) Land banking—to help fill the need for permanent affordability (rentals for very low-income residents);

(4) Home-buyer services—an eight-hour training class on home buying, one-on-one counseling;

(5) Public education and policy work—such as green affordable housing, a smart growth policy agenda, design requirements, etc.

 

Dick said he was glad to see that the policy section has a green design component. He noted that it was really important to get these lifecycle issues into the Durango Comprehensive Plan—since these issues all factor into the affordability of a home.

 

Julie noted that that Tuesday’s City Council study session had focused mainly on the fair share policy. But she said the RHA has a great relationship with funders, and that there is a shared understanding of the need for green elements.

 

Rebecca asked how housing developers work to meet the requirements. Julie said one aspect is the manual, which includes design requirements—for instance, the house has to blend in with neighborhood, so ideally people won’t be able to tell which are the affordable units and which are market value. She explained that for the developer to make up the money, the exteriors will have to match, but the interiors won’t (i.e., no granite countertops in the lower-income units). She said home sizes have to be comparable.

 

Sue said it is likely that most of the affordable units will be attached housing (condos, multi-family). Julie noted that Three Springs has opted to do a 25-percent affordable housing plan, so it is meeting all of the RHA pricing standards. She said the RHA doesn’t do a sweat equity program, but is working with Habitat for Humanity and others in the county.

 

Dick proposed that the Board move to endorse the RHA resolution. Werner said he abstained, because he believes a fair-share housing plan loads the burden on other buyers. He said he feels that the market should bear the coverage of affordable units, and that there should be a transfer tax. He said it is a tricky balance—in Santa Fe, there was a 30-percent fair-share plan, and the price of housing went up 50 percent. So now no one’s building affordable housing there.

 

Julie said transfer taxes are illegal in Colorado, but that the RHA is looking into an impact fee on the County. She agreed that if the fair share plan goes too high, this would shut down development. Werner noted that this still transfers part of the cost to others. Julie said that when plans require developers to provide below-market units, they try to make it up in other ways, including by raising the price of other units. Alan observed that if a buyer is able to pay $1 million for a house, they can afford to pay a little back to society. He said one way to solve this would be by putting a tax on houses over a certain size. Dick noted that this is a weighty issue and may require more discussion

 

Werner said he wished the housing community would have land trusts—this would separate the vertical structure from the land. He said he felt that there were missed opportunities with the RHA plan. He said he agreed with every item on the resolution except for the last one, so would abstain from the vote.

 

Rebecca asked Werner whether his concerns are enough that he thinks the RHA shouldn’t go ahead with what it’s doing. Werner replied that no, we have to keep moving—it’s been two years now. He noted that on the Front Range, which used similar approaches, an “affordable” house is now $400 K or more. He reiterated his view that a land trust is a missed opportunity.

 

Julie said the RHA is about private ownership, but that it may take up the issue of land trusts at some point. She noted that the RHA is also the first CO group to do shared appreciation, whereas many groups have done deed restrictions and seen the negative effects.

 

Bliss asked Julie what the timeframe for all this is. Julie said the initial grant is up this year, so the RHA is bringing the resolution to community organizations to solicit buy in and support for grant renewals.

 

Rebecca asked Werner whether he thinks the positives outweigh the negatives. Werner replied yes, they do. Rebecca said that maybe SASCO needs to at least support RHA’s efforts to go forward, then can work to address what needs to be changed. Werner agreed, and the Board voted unanimously to support the resolution.

 

Sue asked what the latest is on the Sustainability Plan, and SASCO’s work on this. Dick said he thought the proposal would go to the City Council the following Tuesday. He said the catch is that city staff are trying to bargain down the cost, and SASCO didn’t want to do this. The Council had been told in July it would be 30–50 K, but the proposal ended up being $55 K. Meanwhile, the Durango sidewalk study is $146 K. Dick said that because there is now lots of money on the table, the sustainability study appears to be becoming a lesser priority. He said there is also the issue of the county greenhouse gas emissions proposal, due the following day. He observed that people appear to not be on the same page.