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CEA 01-23-14 Meeting Agenda CEA Frederick County Conservation Easement Authority C/O Frederick County Planning Department, 107 North Kent Street, Winchester, VA 22601 (540-665-5651) MEMORANDUM TO: Conservation Easement Authority FROM: Eric R. Lawrence, CEA Secretary SUBJECT: January Meeting DATE: January 23, 2014 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Frederick County Conservation Easement Authority will be meeting on Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. in the Executive Session Room in the County Administration Building, 107 North Kent Street, Winchester, Virginia. The Conservation Easement Authority will discuss the following agenda items: AGENDA 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. Annual Organizational Activities a. Election of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary b. Adoption of Bylaws c. Selection of Meeting Dates and Times 3. Adoption of Meeting Minutes: November 21, 2013 and December 20, 2013 4. Update on Recorded Easement Activities 5. Update on Effort to Create Informational Conservation Easement Brochures and Videos a. Discussion video format and topics b. Identify easement holders to interview c. Introduction of video production team 6. Open Discussion 7. Other Please contact the Planning Department (540-665-5651) if you are unable to attend this meeting. ERL/pd Enclosures: draft November 21, 2013 and December 20, 2013 meeting minutes CEA bylaws CEA BYLAWS (Proposed 01/23/2014) CONSERVATION EASEMENT AUTHORITY County of Frederick, Virginia Bylaws Proposed January 23, 2014 ARTICLE I – AUTHORIZATION 1-1 The Frederick County Conservation Easement Authority is established by and in conformance with Chapter 68 of the Code of Frederick County, and under the Public Recreational Facilities Authorities Act, Chapter 56 of Title 15.2 (§15.2-5600, et seq.) Code of Virginia 1-2 The official title of this body shall be the Frederick County Conservation Easement Authority, hereinafter referred to as the “Authority”. ARTICLE II – PURPOSE 2-1 The purposes of the Authority are to acquire and/or receive conservation easements, by purchase, gift, or other conveyance; to hold and enforce conservation easements conveyed to it; to facilitate the acquisition or receipt of conservation easements by other qualified organizations; to disseminate information concerning conservation easements to landowners and other interested parties; to administer the Frederick County Conservation Easement Purchase Program pursuant to the ordinance establishing the Program; and to exercise any powers authorized by the Public Recreational Facilities Authorities Act. ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP 3-1 The membership of the Authority shall be determined by the Frederick County Board of Supervisors, per the Conservation Easement Authority’s Article of Incorporation, adopted August 24, 2005. Methods of appointment and terms of office shall be determined by the Frederick County Board of Supervisors. ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS 4-1 Officers of the Authority shall consist of a chairman, vice-chairman, treasurer and secretary. The chairman, vice-chairman, and treasurer must be voting members of the Authority. The CEA Bylaws Proposed January 23, 2014 - 2 - secretary shall be a member of the Authority or a county employee. 4-2 Selection 4-2-1 The officers shall be elected by the voting members of the Authority at the first meeting of the calendar year. 4-2-2 Nomination of officers shall be made from the floor at the first meeting of the calendar year. Elections of officers shall follow immediately. A candidate receiving a majority vote of the entire voting membership shall be declared elected. 4-3 Duties 4-3-1 The Chairman shall: 4-3-1-1 Preside at meetings. 4-3-1-2 Rule on procedural questions. A ruling on a procedural question by the chairman shall be subject to reversal by a two- thirds majority vote of the members present. 4-3-1-3 Report official communications. 4-3-1-4 Certify official documents involving the authority of the Authority. 4-3-1-5 Certify minutes as true and correct copies. 4-3-1-6 Carry out other duties as assigned by the Board of Supervisors and the Authority. 4-3-2 The Vice-Chairman shall: 4-3-2-1 Assume the full powers of the chairman in the absence or inability of the chairman to act. 4-3-2-2 Carry out other duties as assigned by the Board of Supervisors and the Authority Chairman. CEA Bylaws Proposed January 23, 2014 - 3 - 4-3-3 The Treasurer shall: 4-3-3-1 Be responsible for the safekeeping of all funds of the Authority. 4-3-3-2 Maintain the financial records of the Authority. 4-3-3-3 Pay approved bills. 4-3-4 The Secretary shall: 4-3-4-1 Ensure that attendance is recorded at all meetings. 4-3-4-2 Ensure that the minutes of all Authority meetings are recorded. 4-3-4-3 Notify members of all meetings. 4-3-4-4 Prepare agendas for all meetings. 4-3-4-5 Maintain files of all official Authority records and reports. Official records and reports may be purged in accordance with applicable state codes. 4-3-4-6 Give notice of all Authority meetings, public hearings and public meetings. 4-3-4-7 Provide to the Board of Supervisors reports and recommendations of the Authority. 4-3-4-8 Attend to the correspondence necessary for the execution of the duties and functions of the Authority. 4-4 Term of Office 4-4-1 Officers shall be elected for a one-year term or until a successor takes office. Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term by a majority vote of the Authority. In such cases, the newly elected officer shall serve only until the CEA Bylaws Proposed January 23, 2014 - 4 - end of the calendar year or until a successor takes office. 4-5 Temporary Chairman 4-5-1 In the event of the absence of both the chairman and the vice-chairman from any meeting, the Authority shall designate from among its members a temporary chairman who shall act for that meeting in the absence of the chairman or vice-chairman. ARTICLE V – MEETINGS 5-1 Regular meetings shall be held at the time and place set by the Authority at the first meeting of each calendar year. 5-2 Special meetings may be called by the chairman or by the secretary after due notice and publication by the secretary. 5-3 Notice of all meetings shall be sent by the secretary with an agenda at least five days before the meeting. 5-4 All meetings of the Authority shall be open to the public except for Closed Sessions held in accordance with the provision specified of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. ARTICLE VI – VOTING 6-1 A majority of voting members shall constitute a quorum. No action shall be taken or motion made unless a quorum is present. 6-2 No action of the Authority shall be valid unless authorized by a majority vote of those present and voting. ARTICLE VII – OPERATING RULES 7-1 Order of Business 7-1-1 Call to Order 7-1-2 Consideration of Minutes CEA Bylaws Proposed January 23, 2014 - 5 - 7-1-3 Public Hearings 7-1-4 Public Meetings 7-1-5 Discussions 7-1-6 Citizen Comments on Items not on the Agenda 7-1-7 Other 7-1-8 Adjournment 7-2 Minutes 7-2-1 The Authority shall keep minutes of each meeting. The Chairman and Secretary shall sign all minutes following approval by the Authority certifying that the minutes are true and correct. Minutes made available to the public prior to formal approval by the Authority shall be clearly identified as a draft version of the meeting. 7-3 Procedures 7-3-1 Parliamentary procedure in the Authority meetings shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, except where otherwise specified in these procedures. 7-3-2 Whenever an agenda item involves a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, the Authority shall continue to consider the item until a definite recommendation is made. If a motion has been made and defeated, additional, different motions may be made concerning the item under consideration. 7-3-3 Business items on the agenda shall be considered using the following procedures: 7-3-3-1 Report by County Staff 7-3-3-2 Presentation by Applicant CEA Bylaws Proposed January 23, 2014 - 6 - 7-3-3-3 Citizen Comment 7-3-3-4 Rebuttal by Applicant 7-3-3-5 Discussion by Authority 7-3-3-6 Motion and Action by Authority 7-3-4 Public comment shall be allowed in all cases required by the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, or the Code of Frederick County. In other cases, the Chairman may allow public comment. 7-3-5 The Authority members may ask questions of clarification and information after the staff report, applicant presentation and citizen comment. 7-3-6 Petitions, displays, documents or correspondence presented at a meeting may be made part of the official record of the meeting by motion of the Authority and are to be kept on file by the secretary. Such items need not be made part of the published minutes. 7-3-7 Public Hearings 7-3-7-1 The Authority shall hold public hearings on all items which require a motion to accept a Conservation Easement. 7-3-7-2 The Chairman may establish special rules for any public hearing at the beginning of said hearing. These rules may include limitations on the time of staff report, applicant presentation and citizen comment. 7-3-7-3 The Authority may hold public hearings on any matter which it deems to be in the public interest. In such cases, the public hearings shall follow all procedures described for public hearing in these bylaws. 7-3-8 Tabling 7-3-8-1 The Authority shall have the authority to table agenda items if any one of the following situations occurs: CEA Bylaws Proposed January 23, 2014 - 7 - A) The agenda item does not meet the requirements of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. B) The agenda item does not meet the requirements of the Code of Frederick County. C) Insufficient information has been provided for the agenda item. D) Issues or concerns that arise during formal discussion of the agenda item warrant additional information or study. E) The applicant provides the Authority with a written request to table the agenda item. F) The Authority is advised of an emergency situation that prevents attendance by applicant. G) The applicant fails to appear at the meeting in which the application has been advertised to appear. 7-3-8-2 The applicant shall be permitted to request that an agenda item be tabled from a scheduled Authority meeting. 7-3-8-3 An application that has been tabled for an unspecified period of time shall be re-advertised for consideration by the Authority once the following steps have been completed: A) The applicant has requested in writing that the agenda item be considered by the Authority. B) The applicant has provided all required information to the Authority which addresses all concerns of the Authority. 7-3-8-4 The Authority shall have the authority to act on an agenda item that has been tabled when the agenda item has been re- advertised for a subsequent Authority agenda. CEA Bylaws Proposed January 23, 2014 - 8 - ARTICLE VIII – AMENDMENTS 8-1 These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the entire voting membership after thirty days prior notice. 8-2 Authority shall conduct an annual review of these bylaws to ensure their accuracy. All amendments to these bylaws shall be considered by the Authority in November of each calendar year. The Authority shall adopt their bylaws during the first meeting of each calendar year. MINUTES FOR THE NOVEMBER 21, 2013 AND DECEMBER 20, 2013 CEA MEETINGS Draft Conservation Easement Authority November 21, 2013 Page -189- MEETING MINUTES OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY CONSERVATION EASEMENT AUTHORITY Held in the Executive Session Room of the Frederick County Administration Building at 107 North Kent Street, in Winchester, Virginia on November 21, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. PRESENT: Diane Kearns, Chairman; Todd Lodge; Bryan Jeff Green; Ron Clevenger; Charlie Triplett Planning Commissioner Liaison; Gene Fisher; Board of Supervisors Liaison STAFF PRESENT: Eric R. Lawrence, CEA Secretary; and Pam Deeter, Secretary II ABSENT: Elaine Cain; John Marker; Robert Solenberger OTHER: Patrick Felling, Shenandoah County; and Jed Rau and Tracy Lind, Potomac Conservancy PUBLIC MEETING: 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. August 22,2013 Meeting Minutes A motion made by Mr. Clevenger and seconded by Mr. Lodge, the August 22, 2013 minutes were approved. 3. Update on Potomac Conservancy. Jed introduced Tracy Lind who is a stewardship specialist working at Potomac Conservancy. Tracy will be monitoring all the easements in West Virginia, D.C., and Virginia. The Potomac Conservancy and Diane Kearns and Robert Solenberger closed on October 28, 2013, an easement which is called Half Moon Property. The property has 288 acres of which 188 acres are in forest. This property is in the Star Tannery area. The Sunny Acres easement just closed between The Potomac Conservancy and John Venskoske on October 31, 2013. The property has 183 acres and is located off of Chestnut Grove Road. The Potomac Conservancy now holds four easements on Chestnut Grove Road and totals over 600 acres. Draft Conservation Easement Authority November 21, 2013 Page -190- 4. Update on Shenandoah County Progress. Shenandoah County closed on a one acre easement located on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River which is owned by the Vance brothers. The County is working with the Virginia Outdoor Foundation on 300 acres which is owned by the Hawkin’s family. There is another state agency Virginia Land Conservation Fund (VLCF) which purchases easements and the individual localities do not have to match the funds. This money will be available for the localities in late 2014 or 2015. Chairman Kearns asks Mr. Felling if Shenandoah County co-holds or facilitates easements. Mr. Felling said that the Vance Property is the first one that the CEA will co-hold. 5. Update on Effort to Create Informational Conservation Easement Brochures and Videos Mr. Lawrence and Chairman Kearns met with Josh Kinkaid of Shenandoah University Environmental Studies and he supports the educational video and brochure. Chairman Kearns posed a question to the CEA Members, how could we use this educational video? Chairman Kearns presented some of her ideas for the video which would be to get the facts out to the landowners as to what is conserved in Frederick County. Mr. Rau spoke up and said the landowners that have gone through the process of an easement would be a great testimony on video. Mr. Rau thinks the video should not be on the official, it should be on the landowner since it is their land going into the easement. Ms. Lind said she helped make an educational video. Ms. Lind’s idea was a 15 minute testimony of an older person. Ms. Lind was asked what was on video. She said it was based on a story and not the process of an easement. Chairman Kearns asked how you utilized this video. Ms. Lind said it was played at the library. Chairman Kearns asks who would watch the video. Ms. Lind suggested that the video be put on social media. Mr. Fisher suggested playing it for the Lions Club, Kiwians and Civic groups. Mr. Fisher liked the idea of the landowner on the video because he would be more emotional because it is his land and he is trying to preserve it. Mr. Felling suggested that we could make 2 or 3 short videos with difference emphasis on each video. One could be a testimony from a landowner; another could be the process, and so on. Mr. Green wants to make sure that we extend the invitation to the surrounding Counties to see if there is any interest in making the video. Draft Conservation Easement Authority November 21, 2013 Page -191- Mr. Lawrence has contacted the surrounding localities. Shenandoah University Environmental Studies has been contacted but a meeting with Kelley Crowley, Mass Media Communication at Shenandoah has not materialized. Every year Mr. Lawrence’s, department is contacted by the Frederick County AP Government class to do a project within the County and this project is presented at a Board of Supervisor meeting. Mr. Lawrence would like to get the high school students involved in the CEA project. By the end of Spring, hopefully we would have two approaches to the CEA project. We also need to prepare a list of property owners that have participated in the easement program. CEA needs to contact the property owners before giving out their information to the students. This list could be shared with the college students or high school students for their research. At the meeting in December, we need to have contacted the organizations that want to partner with the project and a list of property owners that would be willing to share their experience with the process of the easement. Mr. Lawrence will be compiling the list so you can contact him with the information. Mr. Rau for Potomac Conservancy suggested we also have a list of questions to ask the landowners. 6. Open Discussion Mr. Lawrence gave an update on the Transfer Development Rights program. The Planning Department has several in the process. Mr. Lawrence believes that the County will see more TDR’s because this will allow higher density in certain designated areas without a traditional rezoning. 7. Other The next meeting will be Friday, December 20, at 8:00 a.m. in the 1st Floor Conference Room (Purple Room). Mr. Lawrence will invite Kelly Watkinson, chair of Shenandoah County CEA to attend the meeting. Chairman Kearns also wanted CEA members to think about changing the date and time that the CEA meets. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 a.m. Draft Conservation Easement Authority November 21, 2013 Page -192- Respectfully submitted, __________________________________ Diane Kearns, Chairman ___________________________________ Eric R. Lawrence, CEA Secretary DRAFT Conservation Easement Authority Page193 December 20, 2013 MEETING MINUTES OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY CONSERVATION EASEMENT AUTHORITY Held in the First Floor Conference Room of the Frederick County Administration Building at 107 North Kent Street, in Winchester, Virginia on December 20, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. PRESENT: Diane Kearns, Chairman; Todd Lodge; Ron Clevenger; Charlie Triplett, Planning Commissioner Liaison STAFF PRESENT: Eric R. Lawrence, CEA Secretary; and Pam Deeter, Secretary II ABSENT: Elaine Cain; John Marker; Robert Solenberger; Bryan Green; Gene Fisher OTHER: Tracy Lind, Potomac Conservancy; Patrick Felling, Shenandoah County; Ellen Murphy, Commissioner of Revenue PUBLIC MEETING: 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. November 21, 2013 Meeting Minutes The minutes for November 21, 2013 meeting were not approved because there was not a quorum. 3. Update on Recorded Easement Activity The Potomac Conservancy, Shenandoah County and Frederick County have had no new inquiries for easements. Chairman Kearns says that Mr. Lawrence will give an update on student participation later. 4. Update on Effort to Create Information Conservation Easement Brochures and Videos Chairman Kearns received a flyer from the Downstream project which the Ohrstrom Foundation helps to fund the project. In the flyer, Ohrstrom Foundation was working with Clarke Easement Authority and Valley Conservation Council. The Foundation helps other Easement Authority's with their marketing skills. The Foundation will help produce video, web sites and so on. This might be a possibility for the CEA to get some assistance in production for our videos or funding. The Foundation might want to partner with CEA. Mr. Lawrence originally said that his department gets a group of seniors every year from the County schools wanting to do a County project. The intent was to let the group help produce DRAFT Conservation Easement Authority Page194 December 20, 2013 the video and contact the individuals that have had an easement on their property. Mr. Lawrence spoke up and said that his department is not going to have a group of seniors this year for a project. We now have more time to get a list of individuals who would be willing to talk about their easement experience and to find some help to produce the videos. Mr. Lawrence suggested that we look for grant money with the assistance of Mr. Felling and Ms. Lind who have experience in that field. CEA wants to produce a video of Northern Shenandoah Valley which consists of the process, benefits and what we are doing to preserve the Counties. CEA members then watched three videos, Lower Shore Land Trust, Glenowen Farms Round Hill, Virginia, and Farm & Natural Lands, Trust of York County. Chairman Kearns received feedback from each member. Each video had a different approach. Mr. Lawrence pointed out that Clemenson University has an assortment of videos with different topics. We could use this website as a resource. Ms. Lind has spoken to John Gavitt and Sally Myer and both are willing to talk about easements. 5. Open Discussion Mr. Triplett had an article from Valley Farm Credit Magazine. The article was about Ron Clouse and in the article Mr. Clouse was talking about putting his property into an easement for the next generation of his family. Chairman Kearns said she will try to contact him. Mr. Lawrence updated the committee about a gentleman who comes in each year to make a donation in memory of his grandmother. Mr. Felling said that the Piedmont Environmental Council just published a book on easements in Virginia. One of the stories, in that book is about an easement from Frederick County, the Snapp Farm. The book can be downloaded or a hard copy can be purchased off of the website. Mr. Lawrence suggested that we put links on the CEA website to these videos. Next meeting will be January 23, 2014, at 8:00 a.m. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m. Respectfully submitted, _______________________ Diane Kearns, Chairman ________________________ Eric Lawrence, CEA Secretary