VMICC HMRC meeting minutes
September 5, 2003 approved November 7, 2003

Meeting began at 3:20 p.m. at the Vashon Library.
Attending were May Gerstle,  Dan Schueler, Shaheeda Pierce,  Bonnie Meyer from KC Public Health.
Steve Macdonald, Lyman Houghton and Nan Hammet came in as the meeting progressed.

- Welcome

the minutes from the August 1st meeting were approved.
with an addition of adding election to the agenda and a report from Shaheeda, the agenda was accepted.

- Heavy Metal Handbook, a Guide for healthcare practitioners

We discussed the upcoming printing of the handbook, focusing on the two alternative covers.
we will add a key and an explanation of the cover diagram.  we can use language from the area
wide task force for the explanation.  Dan will change the tan color to a shade of yellow and
add a border to the outside of the map.  May asked Bonnie if Public Health has a mailing list
of local health care practitioners.  Bonnie thought that they might not have such a mailing 
list but she will look.  We discussed mailing costs, including the cost of envelopes.  The cost
of printing 100 copies will be approximately $245.  We will plan on having a mailing party at 
our next meeting.  

- Other business

there was discussion of the second dirt symposium's video.  a transcript has been created from the
spoken text of the videotape.  

May gave us a report about the making of clean dirt.  Rita and May have been talking to both
potential businesses that might want to host the production and distribution of the clean dirt.
Dig is the most likely producer that might.  Marion Abbott of the State Department of Ecology 
has committed to fund the testing of the end product for contamination.  

Bonnie Meyer of KC Public Health said the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department in 
conjunction with Bates Technical has created a useful videotape called PULSE. It is their 
Arsenic Project, including coverage of Ruston and the Tacoma Smelter and health concerns.
The grant for citizen soil sampling, an expanded footprint study and child use areas is in 
the works and looks like it will happen soon.  The funding agency is the Department of 
Ecology.  Bonnie has continued to give out nail brushes and posters at all the local childcare 
facilities.

May asked that new people be recruited to be committee members because she doesn't want to 
continue as the committee's chair, once the November election comes up.  

Shaheeda Pierce said that she is at a dead-end on the Dockton Park cleanup issue.  No one at the 
Park district gets back to her when she asks for help.  It was suggested that she get in touch 
with Wendy Braicks at the Vashon Park district.  On the school issue, she has been collecting 
foxglove seeds to distribute at a time in the future.  A composting recipe was developed to try
to save the Madrona trees.  It is a liquid tea mixture and Shaheeda that will happily give out.  
More forays into the madrona forests will be planned, and May will get the press involved.

Steve Macdonald said that IRPPC is in the middle of negotiating the 2003-2005 agreement with
the Department of Ecology.  The amount will be about half the previuous amount.  It is expected
that two consultants will continue, including with Rita Schenck's IERE organization for her soil
amendments work and for working on clean dirt supplies.  She is working on a categorized list
of fertilizer sources for the whole state. The list will be divided into three parts, the "good"
products, the "bad" products, and those in-between.  The other contractor is called 
Earthworks Environment, Inc.  They will be writing articles for IRPPC about soil amendments
and another on soil sources.  In the future they will write an article on soil.  
They are also editing the video from the Second Soil Symposium.  Another Earthworks contract 
covers a summary and general critique of various publications, including the Dept of Ecology's 
Child Use Area Study, most of which is still unavailable to the public. The study will be coming
out in three or possibly four parts.  Only the second part is currently available.  Also at
Earthworks was the contract for evaluation of the Second Symposium, including the newest request
to stratify the previous evaluation based on length of life on Vashon/Maury.  The last EE contract
is one called the Survey Framework, which was a way to determine the best way to create an 
effective survey of the Islands' needs for public participation.   It looks like that last item will not be
used, since the funding isn't available to do the survey anyway.  It is possible that the survey 
might be done by a PhD candidate at KC Dept of Public Health. 

A discussion of changing the meeting time.  In the future the meetings will be held from 3:30 pm
to 5:00PM.  

Meeting was adjourned at 4:55PM
submitted by Dan Schueler