HomeMy WebLinkAboutFAC Minutes 4.26.16Proposed Minutes for April 11, 2016
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Fertilizer Advisory Committee
Special Meeting
Town of Nantucket
16 Broad Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554
www.nantucket-ma.gov
Members: Michael Misurelli (chair), Gregory Raith (Vice chair), Mark Lucas, Cormac Collier, Ben Champoux,
Steven Collette, Frederick McClure
Staff: Jeff Carlson, Roberto Santamaria
~~ MINUTES ~~
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
4 Fairgrounds Road, Training Room – 10:30 pm
Called to order at 10:32 p.m.
Staff in attendance: R. Santamaria, Health Director; Jeff Carlson, Natural Resources Director
Attending Members: Michael Misurelli (chair), Gregory Raith (Vice chair), Mark Lucas, Cormac Collier,
Ben Champoux, Steven Collette
Absent Members: Frederick McClure
Agenda adopted by unanimous consent
I. ANNOUNCEMENTS
II. PUBLIC COMMENTS – ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC MAY ADDRESS MEMBERS AT THIS TIME
1. Lee Saperstein, Lucinda Young, expressed interest in observing the committee
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Approved by consensus.
IV. CHARTER IDEAS
Sitting Misurelli, Raith, Lucas, Collier, Champoux, Collette
Recused None
Documentation None
Discussion Collier – Discussed the general concept that the charter should include outreach, education, and
enforcement.
Misurelli – Liked Collier’s ideas for the charter. Best Management Practices (BMP) education is
important.
Saperstein – A representative from this committee should give an update to the Selectmen on a
regular basis.
Lucas – Hearing of people too afraid to say no to their clients. May not follow BMP to appease
their client. They will not face the homeowner, if it affects their livelihood.
Raith – Spoke representatives from Island Lumber and Valero. Many landscapers on the island
do not have the ability to buy in bulk. As a result, they buy from the products on the shelves. The
retailers should be involved in educating customers at the point of sale. Flyers or brochures to be
handed out at the Point of sale may be effective.
Lucas – Might be worth looking into getting a “BMP Compliant” stamp or sticker to
distribute/mark compliant fertilizers.
Santamaría – Will look at the Article 68 charter to develop some ideas to present at the next
committee meeting
Proposed Minutes for April 11, 2016
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Motion to Adjourn: 11:30 a.m.
Submitted by:
Roberto J. Santamaria
V. 2016 Education Goals
Sitting Misurelli, Raith, Lucas, Collier, Champoux, Collette
Recused None
Documentation None
Discussion
Action
Vote
Lucas – A class on fertilizer labels and how to read them would be helpful. Some people may just
not know what they are looking for.
Collette – The calibration class was successful and the hands on experience helped a lot. That
class should continue to happen.
Collier – As far as the rest of the 2016 season, there are limited opportunities for education, but it
can definitely be held again.
Saperstein – The Shellfish Advisory Board is a good venue to explain fertilizer runoff and its
effects. Green lawns does not necessarily mean that they have been over fertilized.
Collier – There are approximately 400-500 properties along the Nantucket Harbor watershed.
Getting the landscapers that have clients in those areas on board with the BMP should be a major
priority.
Misurelli – Educating the Nantucket Harbor Watershed (NHW) clients should be a major
priority.
Collette – Already speaking to his clients in this area, and they seem amenable to the rules
Misurreli – The classes need to be revamped. Cut it down to 2 hrs, and focus on the soil
properties themselves.
Collier – Bring in an education and outreach person for the Health Department.
Misurelli – Multilingual issues are popping up here. We are having trouble reaching all of the
languages.
Young – Online classes are an excellent avenue
Lucas – Getting an exam written and vetted takes a lot of time and money. It might be too much
of an undertaking.
Collier – There are already reporting requirements in place, we need to start collecting the data in
the NHW for further education.
Lucas – The submittal process must be streamlined if we are to enforce the reporting
requirement.
Champoux – The program outlined by Harrell’s could be used as a backbone for education.
Santamaría – will look into developing an education outline.