Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group/CAG UPDATES!!

Hello from CORD...An Announcement Regarding the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group...aka, THE CAG

As you know, the CAG held its first meeting on October 26th. You may read about the event in the preceeding post here on the blog (Scroll down to reach it).

Furthermore there are both the presentations and the meeting summary at the EPA website at:
http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/gowanus/cag.html

Jeff Edelstein, the CAG's chosen Facilitator, asked CAG members to sign up for the various committees that would be formed:

"Members of the public are welcome to attend any CAG meetings, including committees, unless otherwise indicated. Because space may be limited at committee meetings, please contact Jeff Edelstein at edelstein@psouth.net or 207-632-8440 to register and receive location information."

"The schedule of upcoming CAG meetings is as follows:

Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Real Estate Committee

Nov. 29, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Water Quality Committee

Dec. 6, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Full CAG meeting, Old American Can Factory, 232 3^rd Street.

Dec. 14^th, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Outreach Committee

There will also be committees on 1) technical issues; 2) archeology; 3) jobs/workforce development; and 4) CAG operating procedures. Dates for the first meetings of these committees will be announced once they have been determined.

The agenda for the initial committee meetings will be as follows:

1. Discuss potential functions and goals of the committee.
2. What are the major issues and challenges that the committee should address?
3. Who else should/could be involved with the committee? In what ways?
4. What are the information needs?
5. Develop a workplan and operating procedures for the committee.
6. Next steps.

The draft agenda for the full CAG meeting on Dec. 6 includes: 1) reports from the real estate and water quality committees; 2) updates, if any, from EPA or other relevant agencies; 3) responses from EPA to any questions posed at the 10-26 meeting that have not already been addressed. The EPA Project Manager, Christos Tsiamis, will be in attendance."

Jeff Edelstein, CAG Facilitator

Principal, Edelstein Associates

Senior Consultant, Consensus Building Institute

(207) 247-8024 (office)

(207) 632-8440 (cell)

Additional info at:

www.cbuilding.org

www.jeffedelstein.com

CORD encourages you to do so and to stay as involved as possible in this most important community process. Once again, we encourage you to attend. We also wish to remind you to please keep in touch with us via email CGCORD@gmail.com with your questions, concerns feedback and comments.

Your correspondence with us will not be published unless you wish it so. But your general feedback will be brought back to the CAG group.

The CAG is our community's opportunity to make sure that we are heard--that our questions are answered, our concerns are addressed and our hopes and desires for community's future are presented.

Please take an active role in this process. Even if you cannot attend any of the meetings, please send us your feedback so we can take it back to the CAG. This is our time---let's take advantage of it! Thank you

CORD