Participants in the June 21 meeting were Morgan Rees, Patricia Reese, Larry Keegan, Chris Schuberth, Judy Jennings, Trip Tollison, and Ben Brewton. The group spent most of the meeting reviewing and identifying issues and reached the following conclusions:

1. A draft meeting agenda should be posted approximately 20 days before each SEG meeting. The agenda should include a list of all "deferred items", along with a notation of the meeting date from which they were originally deferred. After receiving comment from the SEG members, a proposed final agenda should be posted no less than one week prior to the meeting, and should clearly note any additions. SEG members could then advise the facilitator of concerns or objections, and approval of the final agenda by the full SEG would the first order of business at the meeting.
2. Alternatives for records of SEG meetings were discussed and various committee members were designated to look into the cost or feasibility of those alternatives.
3. Distribution of email was discussed, along with potential complications with the current distribution method such as delays that might occur if Cathy Vaughn was out sick or on vacation. Larry Keegan was asked to investigate various options for "re-mailer" and "auto-responder" email systems, such that committee chairs and others could distribute email to the SEG membership.
4. After reviewing a number of other topics and options, the committee decided to defer further discussion and decisions on recommendations until its next meeting.

Participants in the August 17 meeting were Morgan Rees, Patricia Reese, Larry Keegan, Chris Schuberth, Judy Jennings, Patty McIntosh, David Kyler, and Ben Brewton. The group made the following decisions on recommendations:

1. AGENDAS - The committee reviewed and confirmed its earlier decision on agenda procedures. Additional recommendations are included under Item 5.
2. EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS - After discussion and review of suggestions received from SEG members, the committee decided that email notification of postings of agendas, meeting records, etc., should continue.
3. MEETING RECORDS/MINUTES - After extensive discussion of various alternatives, the committee unanimously agreed to recommend that the official records of SEG meetings be verbatim transcripts prepared by an independent court recorder, to be accompanied by an "Index of Action Items and Topics of Discussion". The index would list only the action taken or topic discussed, without any commentary, and would provide a quick reference to the meeting. It would contain specific page numbers (and perhaps clickable links for web-posting) that would direct the reader to the relevant part of the verbatim transcript which would be the official record. It was noted that this method offered several advantages over the current system:
1. It would provide a complete and accurate record of SEG proceedings.
2. SEG members and others could access either the brief (index) or very thorough (transcript) record of the meeting, depending on their needs.
3. According to a rough cost estimate by Larry Keegan and quotes obtained by Patricia Reese, the cost of preparation and delivery of verbatim transcripts would be substantially less than that of the current meeting record system.
4. There would be significant time saved at SEG meetings, as approval of the meeting records would become a routine, non-controversial matter.
5. SEPTEMBER MEETING RECORD - In order to immediately expedite the SEG meetings by minimizing the amount of time spent reviewing concerns about meeting summaries, the committee recommended that GPA have a court recorder present at the September meeting, on standby and subject to approval by the full SEG. Patricia Reese will take this recommendation to GPA.
4. DECLARATIVE STATEMENTS ON CONSENSUS ITEMS - The committee recommends that a declarative statement be specifically agreed to for inclusion in the record on any action or other item for which there is deemed to be "consensus."
5. STANDARDIZED FORMAT FOR AGENDAS AND INDEXES
1. The committee discussed the need for a standardized, web-friendly "table-style" form that could be used for the agenda and quickly filled in during meetings to create the index, which could be posted almost immediately after each SEG meeting. Larry Keegan volunteered to prepare a draft.
2. The committee discussed suggestions that the meetings follow a more standardized, more conventional, agenda. The committee recommends the following Order of Business for consistency and clarity:
1. Introductions
2. Approve Agenda
3. Approve Previous Meeting Summary (ies)
4. Old Business

Action Items

Discussion Items

5. Committee Reports
6. New Business

Action Items

Discussion Items

7. Adjourn
6. CLEAR LABELING OF UNAPPROVED MINUTES - The committee recommends that any current or future meeting records be conspicuously labeled by the preparer as follows:
1. "DRAFT - NOT YET REVIEWED BY THE SEG", for minutes that have been prepared but not yet acted upon.
2. "UNAPPROVED - PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED TO THE SEG BUT NOT APPROVED", for minutes that were not approved at the first SEG meeting after submittal.
3. "APPROVED BY THE SEG AT THE __(date) MEETING", for minutes that have received final approval from the SEG.
7. RESOLUTION OF BACKLOG OF DEFERRED OR REJECTED MEETING RECORDS/MINUTES, WHICH REMAIN UNAPPROVED - In order to minimize the time needed for the full SEG to review and approve the four months of minutes that have not been approved, the Communications Committee recommends (and volunteers the committee to implement) the following procedure:
1. A meeting of the Communications Committee would be set for the specific purpose of resolving any remaining problems with the four unapproved months. All SEG members would be invited to participate or to submit corrections or additions by email, etc.
2. The Committee would compile all suggestions and have a "final" draft prepared and posted or distributed for each unapproved month and receive any additional comments.
3. Upon completion of this process, the Committee would present recommended final versions to the full SEG for approval.
8. NEED FOR MASTER PROJECT FILE - The committee discussed a suggestion that GPA maintain a complete "master" project file with copies of all GPA records, contractor and consultant records, and SEG records. The committee decided to continue the discussion on this topic after receiving responses regarding committee records, as discussed in Item 9.
9. RECORD KEEPING AND INFORMATION ACCESS NEEDS FOR SEG COMMITTEES AND SEG-SANCTIONED SCIENTIFIC TASKS - The committee makes the following recommendations:
1. Each committee should have a designated "Point of Contact", which would normally be the committee chair. If there is no chair, then a POC should be designated.
2. When establishing future committees, the SEG should state its expectations regarding record-keeping at the time the committee is created.
3. The Communications Committee was in agreement that there should be convenient and economical local access that will not inconvenience either the provider or the party seeking the information. Current committees, working groups, etc., should meet and provide a report as to how they will address record-keeping and access to those records. Georgia Ports Authority should provide a similar report. The Communications Committee would review the reports, then formulate and recommend record-keeping and information access policies for approval by the SEG.
4. Since no "official" custodian of SEG records has been designated, Larry Keegan of Lockwood Greene has been performing this task. The committee recommends that this be formalized as follows:
1. There should be an official designation made by the SEG regarding responsibility for official SEG records.
2. Committee Chairs and others need to be aware that notices, reports, and other information must be copied to the custodian so that the SEG records will be complete.
3. When possible, documents should be transmitted in electronic form to facilitate further handling and web-posting. (Brief guidelines should be developed by the custodian.)
10. WEB SITE - The committee discussed various issues related to the SEG web site and recommends the following:
1. The web site should be a location for posting of official SEG records, but should also be a means to facilitate communication between and among SEG members and should allow the posting of information deemed important by any SEG member. SEG member submissions would be governed by the following guidelines:
1. Any member can submit material for web-posting.
2. Materials would be submitted to the site custodian/webmaster (currently Larry Keegan), and would be posted as submitted.
3. Web site would have appropriate disclaimers.
4. All postings would include the name of the SEG member submitting the document and the date of original posting.
5. All postings would be submitted with an expiration date or request to post "until further notice" by the submitter.
2. All information on the web site will be posted in standard HTML format when possible to provide for the widest accessibility. (This will be dependent on the submitter providing the document in a compatible format according to guidelines established by the webmaster.) When posting a graphical document is the only alternative, Adobe Acrobat will be the preferred format. Other formats may be used, when necessary at the discretion of the webmaster, to provide for best and most efficient access and reproduction.
3. A searchable archive, with index, of all meeting notices, agendas, reports, submissions, etc. should be maintained for the life of the Harbor Expansion project.
11. NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS - General notice for all committee meetings should be provided on the web site, in addition to email or other methods as selected by the committee or its chair. Specific notice to committee members would be the responsibility of each committee chair or POC.
12. MAINTENANCE OF SEG EMAIL LIST CONTACT LIST - These lists should be maintained by the SEG records custodian and be available on request in hard copy or electronic form. Additionally, the committee recommends that an automated email filter/remailer system be set up so that committee chairs and others can send general mailings to a complete and current SEG email list without requiring the multiple steps presently needed. Larry Keegan has indicated that Lockwood Greene has the technology available and will discuss this with GPA.
13. OTHER ITEMS DISCUSSED
1. AUDIO TAPES & COPIES - An efficient, economical method of providing copies is needed.
2. VIDEOTAPES OF MEETINGS - A suggestion was made that videotaping be considered, since sometimes the speaker cannot be identified on audio tapes.
3. SEG REPRESENTATION - A question has arisen as to how the SEG could (or should) be appropriately represented, if needed, at a public meeting or other situation where, for example, a report about the SEG, its progress, actions, positions, etc. was requested.