Board Meeting Minutes July 16, 2008 PESC Board Room 4747 North First Street, Suite 140 Fresno, CA 93726
I.
Welcome & Introductions Rollie Smith called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJVCEO) meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. The following people were in attendance: Board Members: Staff: Ricardo Amon, CEC Jeff Briltz, City of Lemoore Roger Christy, Chevron Phil Erro, Erro Farms Tim Fisher, GVC Devon Jones, Fresno EDC Tom Jordan, SJVAPCD Jeff Manternach, Pacific Ethanol Roger McNeil, CSU Stanislaus Allen Short, Modesto Irrigation District Rollie Smith, HUD Fresno Colby Wells, Southern California Gas Co. Ken Brennan, Pacific Gas and Electric
II.
Paul Johnson, SJVCEO Cindy Ransdell, PESC Cynthia Downing, PESC Matt Haas, PESC Courtney Kalashian, PESC
Affiliates: Drew Cheney, CA PUC William Kidd Thor Bailey, Ag Biomass Coalition Steve Smith, RHA Shawna Laycock, KVPT Katie Stevens, CA Partnership Kif Scheuer, SEI
Approval of Minutes of June 5, 2008 Board Meeting th
Jeff Briltz motioned to approve June 5 Board meeting minutes. Jeff Manternach seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously.
III.
Financial Report by Jeff Manternach, Treasurer Jeff reported that there was a peak in expenses due to increased activities during the period working with the underserved communities. The board was reminded that our seed grant is a “use it or lose it” funding, funds needs to be expended by the end of the calendar year and financially we are right where we want to be. Paul Johnson brought to the board’s attention that part of the reason for the increased expenditures during the period was that we were playing “catch up” in our reporting. In the past there had been a lag in financial reporting from the Kings River Conservation District, but the information presented is currently up to date accurate. Paul reaffirmed that we are where we want to be financially. Jeff Manternach motioned to accept the financial report as submitted. Phil Erro seconded the motion. The financial report was accepted as presented.
SJVCEO Board Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2008
IV.
V.
Actions Coming from SJVCEO Retreat I.
Introduction of New Personnel • Cindy Ransdell, Development Director was introduced to the board. Cindy will work part time on SJVCEO funding efforts. • Courtney Kalashian, SJVCEO staff was introduced to the board as the PESC representative to replace Jeremy Hofer. • Paul noted that we had interviewed candidates for Program Coordinator position. He hopes to have that position filled and the new staff person on board before the next Board meeting. Rollie Smith noted that he was really pleased with that incredible amount of work staff is doing under Paul’s leadership He said that finds PESC is “very cost effective” and it allows SJVCEO to use board resources for other important projects.
II.
Briefing on Priorities and Next Steps from the Planning Session • The Sustainable Communities Committee report was provided by Paul Johnson and Jeff Briltz. There presentation focused on value added services that SJVCEO should provide to help communities be more sustainable. The Board accepted the proposed services identified. Paul and Jeff noted that to be effective we have to reach all of the 62 cities in the Valley communities. We need to establish SJVCEO as the “go to” resource for the Valley cities and counties who want to go forward “green”. The Energy Block Grants are looking more optimistic; once funding options are in place it will define who we are, what we can do. We want to be the first. We need to post success stories to the website of Stockton and Visalia as leading cities. • The Renewable Fuels Committee reported that much of its activity would be carried out through the SJVCEO’s Farming Clean Energy Conference in Tulare in November. • The Education and Workforce Development Committee reported that they would be scheduling a WebEx in the near future to discuss green workforce development activities underway and valueadded activities that the SJVCEO could perform in this area.
SJVCEO Financial | Discussion of Strategy and Next Steps
Paul Johnson reported that the SJVCEO is at a key stage to develop funds in order to become self-sustaining. The next six months are of utmost importance to raise money to keep the SJVCEO going. He introduced Cindy Ransdell to spearhead the efforts of raising funds with the assistance of the Board of Directors and Paul. Cindy Ransdell reported the following to the board: •
The original seed grant expires in six months (December 2008) and that the organization needed to raise $200,000 a year for the next five years to remain in operation. Cindy provided a preliminary development plan proposal for the board’s review. A sign up sheet was passed around asking all present to make a minimum commitment of one referral each. Rollie Smith commented that some board members worked for organizations that could be sponsors, while others have referrals. He said that each board member should easily have one referral, and that they only had to give Cindy a name and she would follow up.
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A draft of the Feasibility Study was presented to the board, in hope that their recommendation would help take the study to the next level. The board was asked to provide feedback to Cindy as soon as possible.
SJVCEO Board Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2008
VI.
Operational Update The following updates were provided: I.
Phil Erro reported on outreach efforts to growers/processors in the Westside Resource Conservation District (WRCD) area. He has spoken with many processors in the WRCD about the energy projects. The WRCD is seeking funds for a $10,000 budget and has submitted requests to the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and UC Davis in order to keep the project moving until the first finders fess are paid. The WRCD is planning a feasibility study of the applicable use of concentrated solar related to Produce Coolers, Tomato Processers, and Cattle Feeders. These costs of the technology application assessment total $25,000. In addition to the Concentrated Solar study, as feasibility study of Wood Gasification for Almond Hullers is estimated to cost $25,000. The WRCD is seeking funding sources for these studies. Phil asked the board for recommendations of funding sources. Rollie Smith suggested that this funding need be built into the SJVCEO plan and a funding search be conducted.
II.
Paul Johnson provided an update in the Department of Energy’s Energy Block Grant Program. While in Washington DC in June Paul met with Mark Bailey of the DOE who will be heading up this program once funding is appropriated by the Congress. Paul reported that the US House of Representatives is recommending $300 million in funding for this program and the Senate is recommending $50 million for a variation of the program. The House and Senate are set to go to conference on the funding difference. The assumption of the DOE is that this will pass, and funding will become available. The SJVSEO needs to position ourselves properly to receive funding.
III.
Nwamaka Agbo, from Green for All presented to the board via telephone on the potential for a Green Jobs Campaign in the Valley. Highlights included. • The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights focuses on advocacy and the impact at the local, state, and national levels. There are currently four campaigns in progress. • The Oakland Green Jobs Corps has been a great success for the Green Jobs campaign. There is great demand for job training programs, and to make the program competitive. Nwamaka outlined the OGJC training model for the board. Rollie Smith asked what the proposed next steps for the Valley should be. Allysun Williams is in the process of pulling this project together through the following process: 1) determine existing job opportunities 2) address the needs of the San Joaquin Valley and 3) convene a round table of business owners and community organizers. It was suggested that the Valley use the OGJC model, and not reinvent the wheel. Rollie asked that Roger McNeil’s committee follow up with a Web Ex meeting. Paul Johnson wanted to know if there is a Green Jobs provision in the Energy Bill, and Nwamaka confirmed that yes, $125 million will be available nationwide and the money should flow through the pipeline in early 2009. California will legislate to provide future funding in the amount of $125 million with SB 1672.
IV.
Rollie smith noted that a conference call is scheduled for July 18, 2008 to discuss holding a California Economic Strategy Panel meeting in the Valley on September 18. The board was provided with information on the proposed Green Economy forum.
SJVCEO Board Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2008
V.
VII.
The following update was provided on the Fall Ag Conference: • The conference is scheduled for November 5 & 6, 2008 at the AGTAC Center in Tulare, California. • Paul Johnson, Steve Miller, and Ricardo Amon are tackling the major areas. A sterring committee has been developed and will meet late July. Paul reported that during his recent trip to Sacramento he asked CDFA Secretary AG Kawamura to be the keynote speaker. • Currently PG&E and Southern California Gas are on board as sponsors. The USDA grant will provide the base funding for the conference. • Ricardo reported that he would like to form a Biogas group of four to six members to identify goals, objectives, and strategies. Tom Jordan volunteered to play a role. Rollie Smith recommended that other committee members get involved in this group, especially Mark Stout, as this is a great opportunity for economic development. Devon Jones said that the EDC would be interested. Ricardo invited Devon to join the committee officially, Devon agreed. • Phil Erro suggested that concentrated solar needed to be represented, not just photovoltaic as the Ag sector could make great use of this technology. He also said he envisioned gasification being a big part of this. Phil Erro joined the planning committee. • Rollie Smith noted that Kern County, especially the wind people, needed to be invited to be a part of the planning and the conference.
Organizational Update
The following updates were provided: I.
SJVCEO Accounting Policies and Procedures: The board was presented with a draft of the PESC proposed Accounting Pollicies and Procedures. Paul Johnson said that the procedures seemed reasonable. Cynthia Downing informed the board that PESC had tried to keep the procedures flexible, but allow for reasonable control. Jeff Briltz made a motion to accept the PESC Accounting Policies and Procedures. Jeff Manternach seconded the motion. The motion was approved.
II.
VIII.
A discussion of the subcontract with SEI for conference/Visalia work was deferred.
Other Business
I.
2008 Farm Bill: Paul Johnson provided the board with a copy of the 2008 as asked for review and discussion of which components the SJVCEO should focus. Courtney Kalashian was asked to email the document to the board and gather feedback to determine the most important components to the organization.
II.
KVPT “Be More Green” Campaign: Shawna Laycock of KVPT asked if the board was still committed to contributing to the campaign. Paul Johnson said that yes, the SJVCEO is still committed, but the commitment to be a sponsor is on hold until the SJVCEO can develop its own sponsor. Shawna volunteered to assist Cindy Ransdell in developing a plan for funding.
SJVCEO Board Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2008
IX.
Adjourn
A motion to adjourn was made by Colby Wells, and seconded by Ricardo Amon. The Business Meeting adjourned at 1:00pm. The next meeting will be September 4, 2008, in Fresno, California. Meeting minutes were recorded by Courtney Kalashian and submitted by Elizabeth Knudsen, Secretary.
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Elizabeth Knudsen, Secretary, Board of Directors, San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization
Date
SJVCEO Board Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2008