WRIA 56 Hangman (Latah) Creek Watershed Planning Unit Meeting Spokane County Conservation District Chair: Walt Edelen, Spokane County Conservation District Present: Bill Rickard, City of Spokane, Environmental Programs Reanette Boese, Spokane County Dee Bailey, CDA Tribe Gary Ostheller, Fairfield Grange Steve Bortfeld, Hangman Hills Water District Rick Noll, SCCD Peter Grunte, resident AGENDA/Minutes: The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. The August 23, 2006 minutes were approved with the following changes: Clint Koehler should be noted as an employee of the Town of Spangle (Public Works). Public Comments: There was discussion regarding the Town of Spangle and Clint Koehler. A new housing development was potentially being proposed. Walt will call Clint to confirm this. Walt will also check into the dredging proposal of Spangle Creek to reduce flooding issues. The MOA is complete and approved by the City of Spokane, Spokane County, the CDA Tribe, Hangman Hills Water District, and the Conservation District. Ecology was still moving through the signature/approval process with the hopes of having the signed document by the end of September. Walt had contacted the Whitman County Commissioners (Les Wigen) and found that they will support the process, but will not provide funds or commit much meeting attendance time to it. Walt will contact them again to request a support letter for the process. Phase IV Scope of Work and Contract The Scope of Work and contract for the consultant is complete. Walt will work with Susan Gulick from Sound Resolutions to finish up the paperwork to get her started in October. The planning unit discussed the next meeting date and chose October 13th. Walt has been in contact with Susan. They will prepare an agenda for the upcoming meeting. Early Action Items The group discussed some potential early action projects with the remaining $30,000. Walt reported on the status of the Tekoa well development. The project went very well and is currently underbudget. The well drillers hit water at approximately 180 feet and have over 500 gallons/minute. The Tekoa golf course should now contact additional resources to review irrigation efficiency. The Circling Raven in Idaho and the Hangman Valley Golf Courses should provide great examples. Another potential project may be the removal of the asphalt dam in Tekoa. This is located at the foot bridge in town. The asphalt was added to protect the pipes crossing the bed of the stream. The pipes are no longer in use and the dam could possibly be removed. The 3-4 foot dam impedes low flows and causes a back eddy that creates pooling. This causes stagnation and could be improved for flow. Walt and Rick will meet with the mayor of Tekoa to check for benefits relating to the project. The remapping of the 100-year floodplain in Hangman was discussed. Was any of Hangman Cr. remapped with Ecology funding a couple of years ago? Walt will check with Ted Olsen, from Ecology, on the status of the previous work. Chester Creek may have been completed instead of Hangman. The installation of groundwater wells is a good potential project. We need to check with the purveyors to see if they are checking and documenting groundwater levels. If, not, the SCCD could possibly put together a proposal that includes work already being done in the watershed. Water Conservation was also discussed as a potential project. There is a movement by Ecology and other entities to put together a program to help in the region. WaterwiseÒ was discussed as a possible program of interest. Walt will contact them to get more information. We could do a pilot project with a small community and monitor the results. ADDITIONAL TOPICS NEXT MEETING The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for October 13, 2006 from 10:00 to 12:00 pm. The location will be at the SCCD. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 am.September 19, 2006
MOA Status