Member Report – April
26, 2007
SMP Update
Since the last SMP public input meeting in Vinita, the
pace has slowed considerably. As I mentioned in my last report, the opposition to
the initial draft was the predominant message to emerge from the five meetings.
The vocal minority that spoke at all five meetings claimed the draft was an incomplete
work. They accused the GRDA of cutting the working group’s time short and not providing
some key information needed to complete their work
They continue to ask for a complete and corrected recreation
management plan authored by Klenschmidt. They also have
complained about the carrying capacity study which they were provided. Since it
didn’t reflect the crowded conditions on Grand
Lake they envisioned, they
have challenged its validity and asked for the opportunity to grill its author from
Kleinschmidt. Since many of their recommendations centered around an overcrowded
lake, a study than indicated only an overcrowded condition on a few summer weekends
and the major holidays was not welcomed with open arms.
Since that last public meeting, the authority has announced
there will be two more meeting of the SMP working groups. The GRDA press release
announcing those meeting is as follows as well as an agenda
prepared by Kleinschmidt for the meetings:
Stakeholder Working Groups
to meet again in May
Vinita
— The Grand
River Dam Authority has scheduled a two-day, joint meeting for all members of the
Grand Lake Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) stakeholder working groups. The meeting
will begin at 1 PM on Tuesday, May 1 at the Royal Bay Yacht
Club in Grove (south end of Sailboat
Bridge on Highway 59) and
will last until 5 PM. The meeting will then continue the
next day (Wednesday, May 2) at the same location, from 9AM
to 5:30 PM.
The first item
on the agenda for May 1 will be a presentation of the Report on Recreational Boating
Carrying Capacity Analysis prepared by Kleinschmidt, the contractor hired by GRDA
to help with development of the SMP. The remainder of the meeting will be dedicated
to discussion of the SMP, including the new public comments gathered by GRDA during
a series of public input meetings in February and March.
The meeting
will be similar in format to previous stakeholder working group meetings and will
be open to the public to observe the discussions. At the end of each day, GRDA will
provide an opportunity for the general public in attendance to make comments.
For more information
on the ongoing process to develop an SMP for Grand
Lake, visit the SMP page on
www.grda.com.
Agenda
Royal
Bay Yacht Club
May
1, 2007 1:00
pm
I.
Introductions
II.
Review SMP Process and Schedule
III.
Recreational Carrying Capacity Study Presentation
Question & Comment Period
IV.
Recreational Management Plan Presentation
Question & Comment Period
V.
Wrap up and Preparation for May
2, 2007
May 2, 2007 9:00
am
I.
Brief Overview of Previous Day & Discussion of Objectives of Meeting
II.
Discussion of Specific Shoreline Management Plan Items
A.
Dredging
1.
Overview of Existing Language in Draft SMP
2.
SWG Question & Comment Period
3.
Audience Question & Comment Period
B.
Vegetation Management
1.
Overview of Existing Language in Draft SMP
2.
SWG Question & Comment Period
3.
Audience Question & Comment Period
C.
Land Management Classifications
1.
Overview of Existing Language in Draft SMP
2.
SWG Question & Comment Period
3.
Audience Question & Comment Period
D.
Management Classification Mapping
1.
Overview of Draft Mapping Effort
2.
SWG Question & Comment Period
3.
Audience Question & Comment Period
This in all likelihood will be our last opportunity
to influence the outcome of a plan which will drastically influence the future of
Grand Lake.
All of you came out in force during the public meeting process, but we can’t relax
just yet. I would highly encourage your participation in these meetings and hope
to see you there.
Lake
Level Update
Since we presented the lake level petition to the GRDA
board calling for an alternative to the millet seeding program and the restoration
of a minimum lake level of 742’, things have moved rather slowly. We were advised
by GRDA that our best bet would be to recruit the support of our petition from the
GRDA Technological Committee. The committee is made up representatives from GRDA,
the wildlife community, the Oklahoma Water Resources
Board and two professors from Oklahoma
State University.
The mission of the committee is somewhat confusing to
an outsider, but would appear to be an advisory group to GRDA to minimize any negative
impact the authority’s operation may have had in the past, currently or in the future
on wildlife. GRDA contributes approximately $125,000 per year to be used towards
that end. As I perceive it, they are the experts when it comes to wildlife mitigation
and view their role as that of directing GRDA what to do with their own money. I
don’t guess I have to tell you GRDA doesn’t necessarily agree with that interpretation.
I was set to go before this group in January before
the greatest ice storm of this century devastated all of northeastern Oklahoma.
The meeting was rescheduled for last Tuesday in Stillwater.
Our presentation was the first item on the agenda.
If you like more detail on my comments, give me a call
at 918-782-7710, but the bottom line was a favorable reaction. The message was clear
that some hurdles would have to be cleared with the people in Miami
with respect to flooding. I pointed out we were only asking for the level to be
raised one foot and that the rule curve had only been adjusted to that dangerously
low level to accommodate the millet seeding of the mud flats not to protect against
flooding. It became clear it was going be very important that the flooding interests
not oppose this plan if it has a chance of being recommended by the committee.
We were able to get a motion passed to continue the
exploration of an alternative plan. I agreed to meet with some of the Miami
people to gauge their attitude about such a change. We’re still alive on this issue,
but there’s still a lot of work to do. Gaining the support of this committee is
going to be very important and will have the best chance for success if we work
each member on an individual basis.
I’ll
issue another report following the SMP committee meetings next week.
See
Ya’ Around the Pond!