Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Conservation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Blue Ridge Soil and Water director objects to proposed new MOU requiring quarterly reporting
Summary
Freda Cathcart, Roanoke City's director representative to the Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation District, told council a proposed MOU change would impose inappropriate reporting and seminar requirements on the independent district and asked the city to consult the attorney general and the state association before altering terms.
Freda Cathcart, who serves as Roanoke City’s district director to the Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation District, asked council to pause changes to an existing MOU that would require the district’s small staff to attend a funding seminar and submit quarterly reports to the city. She said the district is an independent government body defined by state code, performs audits and annual reports, and that Roanoke paid the district $3,000 last year which produced more than $7,000 of projects in the city.
Cathcart said the district currently has four staff members handling more than $20 million in grants this year and asked that any change to reporting duties be cleared with the attorney general and the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts to avoid creating new precedent. She asked for a planning meeting between the district and city staff to clarify roles and improve coordination so more funding can be directed to projects in Roanoke.
