Meeting Information January 2017

AGENDA

Friday, January 17, 2017

10:00am Eastern - Until complete

5275 Leesburg Pike

Falls Church, Virginia

MEETING MINUTES - JANUARY 17, 2017

On January 17, 2017, the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (SFBPC) held a teleconference meeting. Action items are listed below, followed by a summary of the meeting.

Decisional Items

The SFBPC made the following decisions:

• Approved the fiscal year 2017 proposal ranking recommendations of the Council’s Boating Infrastructure Grant Program Tier II Subcommittee and approved providing these recommendations via letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director for consideration of the final selection of fiscal year 2017 Boating Infrastructure Grant Tier II proposals. 
• Reviewed and approved the joint Council/Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies/Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Task Force’s recommendations of performance metrics for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and approved providing these recommendations via letter to these respective organizations for their consideration and approval. 

New Acton Items

The SFBPC assigned the following action items:

• Council members were asked to submit potential representatives to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s Board of Directors and to vote in the near future on potential representatives.  Terms of three of the Council’s representatives on the board will expire in late February 2017.
• Members were reminded to submit possible topics/statements for inclusion in the Council’s transition recommendations document that will be finalized in the future.
• Members were reminded of the Council meeting planned for March 16-17 in the Washington, DC area. 

Teleconference Meeting Summary

Designated Federal Officer (DFO)– Brian Bohnsack

Other attendees: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service- Steve Guertin, Brad Gunn, Cheri Morgan, Lisa VanAlstyne, Christy Vigfusson. BoatUS- David Kennedy

Open Meeting

1. Scott Kovarovics (SFBPC chair) welcomed attendees and thanked them for attending. Council members and call-in participants introduced themselves. Brian Bohnsack confirmed that a quorum of SFBPC members was present and the official meeting began.
2. John Sprague led a discussion of the Council’s Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Tier II Subcommittee’s proposal review process and funding recommendations. Subcommittee members included John Sprague, Janine Belleque, James Adams, Terry Boyd, and Ed Poolos. Council member Chris Edmonston is a subcommittee member but was unable to participate. The subcommittee met jointly with staff of the Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program in early December at the Service’s headquarters to review and rank fiscal year Tier II proposals. The Service received a total of 26 Tier II proposals requesting a total of $20,098,726. There was $9,899,000 of funding available for Tier II proposals in fiscal year 2017. The subcommittee members reviewed all proposals, with specific team members assigned to lead discussions on specific ones. Subcommittee members recused themselves from discussions on any proposed projects that could create a potential for conflict of interest. During his discussion, Mr. Sprague referenced background material provided to the Council in advance of the meeting, including summaries of all proposals etc. Council members had some general questions and expressed appreciation of the efforts of the Service and the Council’s subcommittee for their coordination and efforts. Betty Huskins motioned for the approval of the recommendations and the forwarding of the recommendation to the Service Director, Chris Edmonston seconded the motion. The motion was voted on and approved unanimously.
3. Scott Kovarovics led a discussion on the Council/Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation/Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Performance Metrics Team’s process and recommendations of performance metrics for the RBFF. The multi-organization team consisted of a total of 16 representatives from the various organizational groups. The team was led by Mr. Kovarovics and Betty Huskins served as a facilitator. Mr. Kovarovics shared that the team had met over a series of teleconferences and an in-person meeting to review and refine the existing performance metrics. All of the team members contributed throughout the process and ultimately a set of consensus performance metrics were approved by the team for the Council’s consideration. Mr. Kovarovics then led a discussion of the recommended performance metrics and explained the rationale behind each proposed metric. Council members raised questions regarding some of the specific metrics and Mr. Kovarovics and other Council team representatives answered the questions. Jim Zorn made a motion for the Council to approve the performance metrics as developed and for the Council to forward these on to the other respective organizations for their consideration. Barb Gigar seconded the motion. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously.
4. Scott Kovarovics gave an update on the status of the Council’s transition recommendations efforts for the incoming Secretary. Council members have provided additional information for possible consideration since the November Council meeting. Council members are continuing to compile this information and will present it in final form at a future Council meeting. The Council will try to complete this by the planned March 16-17 Council meeting. Betty Huskins reiterated her desire to have a one page infographic prepared for this purpose.
5. Scott Kovarovics gave an update on the Council’s request for potential representatives on the RBFF Board of Directors. The Council has a total of five representatives on the board. The terms of three of the current members will expire in late February 2017. All of the current representatives are eligible to be reappointed. They were contacted regarding their potential interest in being reappointed. One current Council representative, Jeff Marble, was interested in being reappointed. The other two representatives, Kevin Hunt and Lou Sandoval, had not yet responded. Council members were reminded of the deadline for appointments and that a vote on representatives would occur in the near future. After the meeting, Mr. Sandoval confirmed his interest in being reappointed. Mr. Hunt did not seek reappointment.
6. Brian Bohnsack and Scott Kovarovics gave a brief update on the March 16-17, 2017 Council meeting. The meeting will be held in the Washington DC area. Mr. Bohnsack indicated that the Service was already working on logistics for hosting the meeting.
7. Scott Kovarovics shared the draft meeting minutes from the November 2016 meeting and asked for any clarifications/changes, etc. The meeting minutes were developed in a new format that attempts to make them easier to read and digest. Council members made no recommendations on edits or other clarifications. Betty Huskins motioned for the meeting minutes to be accepted. Nicole Vasilaros seconded the motion.
8. Scott Kovarovics asked for any new business items and/or public comment. None was provided. John Sprague motioned for the meeting to be adjourned. Barb Gigar seconded the motion. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously.