Activity Report for the Period 5/2/2016 – 5/13/2016

East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District
Sections:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ACTIVITIES
Jay Udelhoven
Completed:
  • Boards/Committees: Prepared for and attended May board meeting.
  • External Engagement: Attended Columbia Slough Watershed Council meeting; attended Intertwine's East Multnomah County Summit.
  • Planning/Budgeting: Prepared for FY16-17 budget hearing by reviewing the Tax Supervising & Conservation Commission's (TSCC's) summary document and draft questions.
  • Policies: Updated performance review process and form.
  • Program Implementation: Attended Portland Harbor Superfund tour - cleanup plan should be available for comment in May; prepared for meeting with Governor's Office representative to discuss working land easement issues.
Planned:
  • Boards/Committees: Prep for board meeting; attend Land Legacy Committee meeting.
  • External Engagement: Meet with Gerald Deloney from Coalition of Communities of Color and Advancement for Self Enhancement Inc.; prepare final version of Strategic Partnership Agreement with the watershed councils; tour the Multnomah Grange; meet with Sean Gillon from Marylhurst University.
  • Planning/Budgeting: Attend TSCC budget hearing.
  • Policies: Continue revision of personnel policies, review of Urban Lands Plan, and update of performance review process and forms.
  • Program Implementation: Meet with Ben Kaiser from Carbon Twelve to discuss his green development plans.
FINANCE & OPERATIONS
ACTIVITIES
Program Supervision / Finance & Budget Lissa Adams
Completed:
  • Reviewed TSCC budget summary and commissioner questions for hearing next week.
  • Traveled to Vancouver BC to view Molo Designs Softwall product as a possible solution to partitioning the board room into smaller meeting spaces. It is an asthetically pleasing visual barrier, but not particularly effective as a sound dampener.
  • Attended the pre-bid conference for the culvert replacements at the Dianna Pope Natural area and posted an addendum to ORPIN with additional information for prospective bidders.
Planned:
  • Attend TSCC hearing and prepare final budget for adoption at June board meeting.
  • Review Equity Team assessment and work with team to present initial findings.
  • Finish writing up retirement plan research for presentation at June board meeting.
Office Management Jed Arnold
Completed:
  • Filed paperwork to renew employee health benefits for FY16/17 with insurers.
  • Updated Board meeting action items to reflect in-progress items from the last six months. Cleaned up and updated web archive of board minutes to include all minutes from the last three fiscal years.
  • Wrote up a summary of other local organizations' employee benefits.
Planned:
  • Continue working toward finding a video projection solution for the conference room.
  • Research and BOLI tools or trainings on mandated employee notifications.
  • Survey employees about their experience with the proposed new copy machine and work with vendor on final lease quote.
Facilities Management Scot Wood
Completed:
  • Signs for the office grounds have been picked up and attached to posts.
  • Michael, with S L Green, and I have started the planning for the board room floor repair.
  • I have been doing some clean up of piles of wood debris making it easier for Rowan to plow and me to mow.
  • I repaired some irrigation riser leaks and modified on riser to accommodate three farmers.
  • I have been weed whacking several areas to accommodate the new culvert and roadway north of the Hendrix's.
Planned:
  • I will be installing the welcome signage at the front steps, by the bike shed and the two south entrances on either side of the south basement door retaining walls.
  • The board room floor repair is scheduled to start on June 8, 2016 and I will be prepping the board room in anticipation of the repair.
  • I will start the second round of mowing.
  • Rowan I are working on procedure sheets for weekly/monthly/yearly maintenance on tractors, office and barn cleaning, the composting toilet, etc.
  • I will continue to assist Rowan with the new storage building and prop house projects.
Marketing & Media Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Completed final Yard Tour work - finalized and published tour guide, promoted the event, website updates, registration settings, and email list and content assistance. ~29% new attendees signed up this year!
  • Implemented new mobile-responsive "ladder" navigation revision on website, tested and refind code, updated style codes and debugged. Replacing imagery across website, updating and error-checking pages.
  • Designed and published newspaper and social media ads for Yard Tour, workshops, Manure Connection and Conservation Directory.
  • Creating and revising outdoor signage for Conservation Legacy frontage roads, properties and projects.
Planned:
  • Continue working on new material content and drafts.
  • Complete work on Conservation Legacy signage.
  • Review suggested edits and finalize Marketing Plan for program supervisor review. Continue research and work into EMSWCD branding and identity, and into possible marketing frameworks to utilize.
Information Technology Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Ordered, mounted and installed new switch with higher throughput and public/private capabilities for wireless router location change. Tested network speeds and for connection errors.
  • Ordered new stations for Kathy and Jed; worked with Online Support to set up Kathy's new station and migrate files and settings.
  • Worked with staff and Online Support to resolve uptick in phishing with staff emails. Helped staff install new scanning software and take precautionary security measures.
Planned:
  • Reroute wireless router on Monday.
  • Create user profile for new staff Ellen Palmquist; help her get oriented with computer station and network.
  • Assist staff with station, network, software, printing questions as necessary.
RURAL LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Julie DiLeone
Completed:
  • Held an onsite meeting with contractors for the culvert replacement project.
  • Completed hire for part time temporary position - Ellen Palmquist starts May 16th.
  • Met with Multnomah County's lead planner regarding options for holding workshops on agricultural properties.
Planned:
  • Celebrating 15 years with EMSWCD on May 16th!
  • Attending Sandy River Basin Watershed Council meeting May 23rd.
  • Prepare responses to questions from contractors for posting in the Oregon Procurement Information Network (ORPIN).
Rural Water Quality Aaron Guffey
Completed:
  • Aaron is currently on parental leave until Mid-September.
StreamCare Lucas Nipp
Completed:
  • Two week vacation in Jamaica completed.
  • I procured materials for deploying 11 in-stream temperature sensors in all four StreamCare watersheds.
  • I am setting up site visits for landowners who are interested in enrolling in the StreamCare program.
Planned:
  • Chelsea and I will deploy 11 stream temperature sensors in the four StreamCare watersheds.
  • I will conduct site visits with four to six landowners who are interested in enrolling in the StreamCare program.
  • I will be setting up exit site visits with landowners who will be graduating from the StreamCare program this summer.
  • Beaver Creek Partnership meeting.
Technical Assistance Jeremy Baker
Completed:
  • Gave a conservation presentation to an OSU soils class.
  • Conducted 3 site visits - one with new property owners, one pasture, and one nursery.
Planned:
  • Began working with a large nursery on a major conservation project - it should yield big water quantity and quality benefits.
  • Will attend the Johnson Creek Science Symposium.
Weed Management Chris Aldassy
Completed:
  • Chris was out of the office on family leave at the time of this report.
Weed Management Jon Wagner
Completed:
  • Garlic mustard, outreach, control, site visits, crew time, and so forth.
Planned:
  • Water Quality sampling and data entry.
  • Garlic Mustard control.
Outreach & Education Chelsea White-Brainard
Completed:
  • Attended Communicator's Conference, CWMA Ed and Outreach meeting. Completed 6 month review.
  • Completed Part 3 of the Organizational Self-Assessment Related to Racial Equity with the Equity Team. Screened film for potential staff viewing.
  • Installed temperature loggers at 10 sites in Johnson, Beaver, Smith, and Big Creeks with Lucas.
Planned:
  • Distribute Nursery Growers Research Study Report of Findings to partners and staff, respond to questions.
  • Develop messaging and outreach plan for Erosion Prevention Campaign based on results from Nursery Grower Research Study.
  • Planning for Far West Show and Women in Sustainable Agriculture Conference.
URBAN LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Kathy Shearin
Completed:
  • Conference call with Metro about IPM Website.
  • Urban Weeds Workshop at Whitaker Ponds.
  • Adult Conservation Education group meeting.
Planned:
Technical Assistance Erik Carr
Completed:
  • Conducted 6 site visits, including rain garden incentive inquiries and a visit with Reynold Middle school.
  • Provided tour of EMSWCD faciliities to a cohort of Americorp students.
  • Meetings with staff to discuss cost-share program and JCWC.
Planned:
  • Work with urban lands staff to draft outreach flyer content.
  • Attend Intertwine's Greening of School Yards meeting.
  • Assist with day-of logistics for Naturescaped Yard Tour.
Outreach & Education Angela Previdelli
Completed:
  • Yard Tour - Final Coordination of 8 hosts and 40 volunteers.
  • Attended the East County Intertwine Summit.
  • Part 3 Equity Assessment and screening of equity video.
Planned:
  • Yard Tour Day!
  • Table at East Portland Parkways at the Foster Floodplain Natural Area.
Outreach & Education Katie Meckes
Completed:
  • Workshop Admin: Met with Celeste for brief orientation, discussed handouts and other material needs for new workshops. Created special mini flier for yard tour to promote final 3 workshops.
  • Yard Tour: Dropped event boxes and signage at host yards. Reminder and detail email announcement out to 466 registrants. Several website outreach messages to ensure all participants get the information they need.
  • General: Attended Greening Schoolyards Taskforce meeting, attended safety committee meeting, working on Keynote outline and presentation for SOLVE Green Team Summit.
Planned:
  • Updating field trip location sheet for presenters.
  • Recruiting fall workshop hosts next week.
CONSERVATION LEGACY
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Andrew Brown
Completed:
  • Most time in this reporting period has gone into pursuing various due diligence activities related to the ag property acquisition project.
  • Added information to GIS geodatabases and layer files, and researched GIS hardware and software specifications as options for improving GIS functionality and reducing cost.
  • Attended training seminar on Easements and CC&R's.
Planned:
  • Pursue due dilligence activities on agricultural property acquisition.
  • Work on the Headwaters 5 year plan, and Headwaters related GIS data.
  • Start reseach into online grant management software solutions for possible use by the Grants Program.
Land Legacy Rick McMonagle
Completed:
  • Continued due diligence activities for farm acquisition project.
  • Attended all day easement class.
  • Vacation: May 2nd through May 6th.
  • Reviewed appraisal for potential Access to Nature project.
  • Planned with partners re: Natural Lands project.
Planned:
  • Continuing due diligence for farm acquisition project.
  • Strategizing with partners on potential Access to Nature project.
  • Touring farm acquisition project with staff.
Grants Suzanne Easton
Completed:
  • Sent out Scopes of Work templates to all PIC grantees, individual discussion with those needing modifications in work plan and/or budget. 2 PIC contracts completed, documents submitted for signing with 3 more.
  • Drafted PIC 2016 Press Release.
  • Met with SPACE grantee, Kairos PDX to discuss future opportunities for garden, field trip projects.
  • Processed 3 new SPACE grants approved by the Board in May.
  • Met with Equity Team for final piece of organization equity assessment, drafted report on assessment process and results, and organized equity team preview of video on race issues in Oregon.
  • Met with staff from El Programa Hispano Catolico about environmental education initiatives in East County.
  • Conducted site visit: Ecology in Classrooms and Outdoors - Corbett Elementary School.
Planned:
  • Continue contracting process with new PIC grantees.
  • Prepare survey for PIC 2016 applicants to gain information and opinions on experience with our grant-making process and ways it can be improved.
  • Meeting with Equity Grantmakers Group.
  • Vacation May 25th - June 1st.
  • Plan reception for PIC 2016 grantees - "Meet your co-PIC grant recipients!"
Headwaters Farm Rowan Steele
Completed:
  • Met with Tanya Murry of Oregon Tilth and OSU Extension to design a record keeping program for incubator farmers.
  • Met with Woodlawn Farmers Market group to discuss their PIC grant and partnership with the Headwaters Incubator Program (HIP).
  • On farm: limed fields, sowed summer cover crop, coordinated with contractors for upcoming farm improvements, mowed, pollinator strip weed control, re-mulched the beetle bank, adjusted time-lapse camera settings, and met with HIP Tool and Equipment Committee.
Planned:
  • Meeting with PGE to explore options for moving two power poles to align main driveways squarely onto EMSWCD property.
  • Meeting with Grow Portland to circle back on discussions about using space at Headwaters Farm for market garden scale production.targeted at low income or socially disadvantaged growers.
  • Facilitating site improvements.