Coordinating Group: Meetings & Calls

Group Conference Call Minutes
June 5, 2000

PRESENT: Barry Aarons, Shawn Kendall, Dan Olson, Kevin Golden, Tom Webb, Dan Johnson, Rose Lee, Jan Miller, Bill Grantham, Patrick Cummins.

The purpose of the call was to discuss how to cut the WRAP budget for 2000 which was adopted last month in Tempe, to match the money EPA has designated for us. The WRAP should adopt a new budget at their August 11 meeting so that we can submit a grant application to receive the money.

Pat Cummins summarized the situation. We will receive $2.84 million from EPA and have an approved budget of $3,783,500. Fixed costs for project managers, overhead, facilitators, committee meetings and travel total about $715,000, meaning that we have $2.1 million for projects currently budgeted at $3.2 million. We need to cut or postpone $1.1 million in spending.

There was discussion of whether any work such as modeling, be undertaken jointly with the other 4 regional planning organizations? Pat Cummins noted that they are just getting underway. We need to ensure that we coordinate with them and with EPA so that the other RPOs can make use of our work plan and results.

After considerable discussion, the following decisions were made:

• WRAP usually gets $150,000 from the State Air grants; we have already received the FY00 money and should not budget FY01 until we are sure we have it.
• The following budgets will be protected:
  • Supplemental Contractor Support for Tribes
  • Northern Air Managers
  • Communications Committee
  • Facilitation Services
  • Ambient Monitoring and Reporting Forum
  • Research and Development Forum
  • Market Trading Forum (In fact, they probably need another $25,000 to complete their work.)
• All other forums will be asked to make across-the-board percentage reductions or postponements to bring the budget into balance. Forums should be especially careful to make sure that technical work needed for the Section 309 SIPs due in 2003 is done in a timely way; this may include some work done by IOC and joint forums.
• Forums will need to re-write their work plans to match the new budget, and to be sure the nature and format of their deliverables is clear.
• Time line
  • As soon as possible Pat Cummins will notify forum co-chairs.
  • July 11 - Draft revised budgets and revised work plans are due at WGA.
  • July 18, 11 am - 5 pm - Co-Chairs meet at Denver Airport to make any necessary adjustments. Come prepared to detail how and when they are spending their FY99 money and what they need for FY00.
  • July 28 - WGA mails packet (including revised budget and work plan) for Aug 11 WRAP meeting
  • August 11, Seattle WRAP adopts revised work plan and budget.
  • As soon as possible WRAP submits grant application to EPA for FY00 money.