We will be asking the Executive Committee next week for an opinion on when they would like to meet next, which could impact our proposed meeting schedule. The Port could use the former PacTex site as a temporary storage area. We probably will convene an Interim Advisory Group meeting in the next few months to discuss more details of this project. Ralph Appy announced that the 2000 Annual Meeting of the Southern California Academy of Sciences will be held on May 19-20 at the University of Southern California. Several Task Force members attended the Dredged Material Assessment and Management Seminar, sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers, in San Diego on January 11-13, 2000.
Feedback indicates that the conference was extremely informative and useful.
Many of the same issues that we face are being addressed by others around the country, so we should be able to benefit from this. During the Task Force meeting, several Task Force members voiced concern over the manner in which the Marina del Rey issues were handled. The Task Force and its Interim Advisory Group should be used as the forum for discussing problems and trying to resolve issues. It undermines the credibility and cooperative spirit of the group when this process is not used, as was the case recently when Heal the Bay chose to debate this matter at the Coastal Commission meeting without informing or involving several Task Force members. The Task Force will be better served if we can avoid this type of divisive behavior in the future.