Minutes for March 11^th, 1998
(approved April 8, 1998)

Saline County Study Steering Committee in conjunction with the Saline County Study Management Team

Wednesday March 11, 1998 7:00 PM CST
Spainhower Building, Marshall Habilitation Center, Marshall

Vince Buck, Wayne McReynolds, Mark Belwood, Tim Simmons, LeAnn Haling

Corey Lyon, Kathy Borgman, Patti Carr, David Perkins, Richard Clemens, Marc Harris

Russell Dehn, Mike Dillon, Richard Pemberton, Chris Fulcher, Tom Johnson, Cynthia Crawford, Darin Starr

Gerry Snapp, Dennis DiPietre

Chris Barnett, John Lory, Mubarak Hamed, Mary Hendrickson, Vincent Burke, Stan Wood (webmaster for CARES web site)

The reading of the minutes of the previous meeting was dispensed with as everyone had received a printed copy of the minutes prior to the meeting. The word 'connections' in the phrase 'seconded that any connections to study data' in the fourth paragraph from the end of the minutes was changed to the word 'corrections'. The minutes were then approved as corrected.

At Ken Pigg's request Wayne McReynolds, Vince Buck, Patti Carr and Darin Starr were appointed as the members of an advisory team to assist Ken in his evaluation of the Study.

Chairman Simmons then turned the meeting over to Chris Fulcher for a live demonstration of the Saline County Study web site.

Chris pointed out that it is not necessary to have your own Internet connection to make use of the web site. There is a public Internet access site at the Marshall Library. Also, by making arrangements, the Internet can be accessed from the local Extension office. Cynthia Crawford said that the Marshall School District currently is in the process of applying for a grant which, if approved, could allow for public access to the Internet through the school system.

Chris demonstrated how to post messages to the discussion section of the Study's Internet site. He emphasized that it is not necessary to have an e-mail account to post messages. A person simply needs access to the web site.

The interactive GIS maps on the web site were demonstrated, and functions of the various buttons for manipulating the maps were explained and demonstrated.

Due to a software glitch, the recently added Natural Areas GIS data could not be accessed on the Internet. Vincent Burke explained that he was doing his Natural Areas survey based on aerial photos, information that he had obtained from citizens and other sources, and from actual site visits. He is also developing a photo gallery of natural areas.

The photo gallery area of the web site is not limited to natural areas. It was suggested that pictures could be included of members of the Study, and that citizens could be encouraged to submit significant photographs.

Historical sites were not included in the six part priority list, but Vincent Burke asked if the Steering Committee would object if he included them in his Natural Areas survey. In the discussion that followed some concerns were voiced as to whether it would be perceived that the Study was intruding on private property rights where some sites might be on private land. A motion was made and seconded that public historic sites be included in the natural area survey, but that non-public sites be included only with the permission of the owner. The motion passed by a voice vote with no audible dissent.

Progress reports on the data that has been gathered will be presented at the next meeting. The question was asked about how the odor plume model was progressing. It is anticipated that a scaled down version (which primarily takes into account prevailing winds but not topography) will be available by May 1.

It was pointed out that the data by itself (regardless of how accurate and how easily accessed) is of little use. What is needed is a means to analyze the data under various 'what if' scenarios. Decision support will be built into the web site with time.

Chairman Simmons said he will be out of the country at the scheduled time for the next meeting. Since there is no vice-chair, the reporter will assume the chair for the next meeting. That meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, 1998 at 7:00 PM CDT at a location to be announced.