The first Governing Board meeting of the ACF Stakeholders, Inc. was held in Albany, GA on Thursday, December 10th. Over 60 representatives from diverse water users and interest groups of the ACF watershed were in attendance from Gainesville, GA to Apalachicola, FL. The full 56 member Governing Board was selected by the 94 members of the ACF Stakeholders.
The purpose of the meeting was for the newly elected Governing Board to get acquainted and to express their views on issues that the organization should address and their expectations for the group. Betty Webb, City Administrator for Apalachicola, Fl said “My expectation of the ACF Stakeholders effort is simple: A group of intelligent, hard working, dedicated individuals working in harmony toward a common goal for the betterment of the ACF systems. The members appointed are the "best of the best" that can make this a winning organization with a multitude of positive outcomes.”
The Governing Board agreed that the Governors of Florida, Georgia and Alabama should be notified of the existence of the group as they begin their deliberations on how to resolve the water conflicts.
A significant accomplishment at the meeting was filling the various standing committee positions and electing the Executive Committee for the first year of operation. Governing Board members overwhelming signed up for the following committees:
- Issues – Purpose: To develop a work plan and recommend issues to the Governing Board for consideration by the full organization.
- Inter-governmental Affairs - Purpose: To develop and implement an appropriate strategy to engage the affected state and federal agencies in ACFS affairs and to develop a communication strategy to interact with the appropriate agencies
- Finance - Purpose: To establish the financial requirements and the procedures to secure adequate accounting and/or financing to meet the needs for the ACFS.
- Membership - Purpose: To vet potential members requesting admission to General Membership and the Governing Board of the ACFS; to evaluate balance of the ACFS with respect to geography and interest representation, and to seek to improve the balance if necessary.
- Education/Outreach - Purpose: To educate the General Membership and the public on issues related to the ACFS and to establish the processes and procedures to incorporate the public’s voice on ACFS business.
The Governing Board also established the Executive Committee which will be responsible for the day to day affairs and operation of the ACFS. The Executive Committee is comprised of:
- Chair – Wilton Rooks – Upper Chattahoochee Sub-basin
- Vice Chair – Vince Falcione – Flint Sub-basin
- Treasurer – Billy Turner – Lower/Middle Chattahoochee Sub-basin
- Secretary – Dan Tonsmeire – Apalachicola Sub-basin
Wilton Rooks, Chair of the Executive Committee said “This meeting is the culmination of a lot of difficult organizational work by water users of the ACF watershed. It is no small accomplishment that 94 representatives of major corporations, cities, counties, advocacy groups, power companies, industries, technical consultants and environmentalist have agreed to work together to give guidance to the future operation and management of the ACF watershed. We believe that the group will evolve solutions that will benefit from the very impressive technical and policy level expertise of the members of the Governing Board and the various committees. Many members of the Governing Board have been involved with the water conflict for the past 20 years and bring a wealth of knowledge of the issues. Other members are new to the issues and bring a fresh approach that will benefit the organization.”
Brian Manwaring of the U. S Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution and facilitator of the meeting said “To my knowledge, no other water related stakeholder group in the nation has evolved from grass-roots to address a topic as complex, challenging, and deeply rooted as in the ACF. It is encouraging to observe the diversity of the stakeholders, and the dedication of the people in the ACF basin, to agree to a common goal.”
For additional information visit www.acfstakeholders.org or contact
Wilton Rooks
Chair of the Executive Committee
678 200 8070
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