Conservation, Planning, and Zoning Committee

January 10, 2013 CPZ Meeting Minutes (37 KB)

Conservation, Planning, and Zoning (CPZ) Committee members present: J. Ashford, J. Dietz, F. Halfen, J. Lehman, D. Nobs, D. Polivka, R. Puttkamer

Others present: B. Bailey, J. Godfriaux-Leystra, K. Felton, R. Livingston, B. Michalek, C. Miller, C. Norgard, P. Pohle, B. Simmert, T. Smelcer, B. Vaillancourt

At 9:02 a.m. Vice Chair Ashford called the Conservation, Planning, and Zoning Committee to order and certified to be in compliance with the Open Meetings Law.

Adopt agenda: Motion by Halfen/Polivka to adopt the agenda. Motion carried, all members in favor.

Lehman arrived at 9:04 a.m.

Adopt minutes of previous meeting-December 13: Motion by Polivka/Halfen to adopt the minutes as presented at the meeting from the December 13 Conservation, Planning, and Zoning Committee meeting. Motion carried, all members in favor. It was noted that future minutes will contain an abbreviation of any public speaker’s comments so as not to misinterpret their statements.

Public comment: None.

Communications:

a. Farmland Preservation Program (FPP) Agreement Application-Matt and Lindy Larsen -Michalek discussed Larsens’ application and presented a map of the area included in the application. Their land is within the Fairfield Agricultural Enterprise Area (AEA). Michalek can sign off on these applications but will bring them forward to the CPZ Committee for informational purposes.

b. Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association Annual Conference will be held at Chula Vista March 11-13. Both CPZ Committee members and CPZ Department staff can attend this conference. Pohle will forward the registration information to the Committee members. Will include possible attendance approval as an action item for the January 22 meeting.

c. Agricultural Community Engagement Workshop will be held on February 20 in Stevens Point. Will include possible attendance approval as an action item for the January 22 meeting.

d. Michalek mentioned that the DNR has not provided in writing their updated position on tiling issues. After this is received, the CPZ Committee will need to discuss if they want to maintain the ordinance the way it is loosely connected to DNR’s position or if we want to shore up our ordinance and enforce wetland areas.

Update regarding the Sauk County Farmland Preservation Planning process: Simmert and Godfriaux-Leystra provided the CPZ Committee names of the discussion group members. The first meeting will be tonight. The CPZ Committee will act on the final language at a public hearing. Simmert mentioned that if a quorum of CPZ Committee members will be present at the discussion group meetings, then the meetings will need to be posted. This will be a four to six month process and will include two open houses. Will be working with each individual town to review their town map to identify that they are amendable to their preservation or development areas or walk through amendments to the maps.

Discussion and possible action on a conditional use permit for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) cluster lot located in S33,T.12N.R.3E, Town of Ironton, Sauk County by Terry Smelcer pursuant to Section 7.12 of the Sauk County Code of Ordinances: Simmert presented the staff report and background information. Smelcer and the landowner who wants to purchase the property are agreeable with the conditions set forth. Motion by Polivka/Nobs to approve the PUD cluster lot with two stipulations (Ironton Town Board approval is required and the remaining land be attached to a contiguous property) and that the Committee answered yes to all the questions on the Conditional Use Permit. Motion carried, all in favor.

Update on “Adopting an Addendum to Ordinance No. 4-2012: The Temporary Moratorium of Development in the Special Flood Hazard Area Identified in the Dam Failure Analysis of the Lake Redstone Dam”: There will be a public hearing on an Addendum to Ordinance 4-2012 at the January 22 meeting. The moratorium approved last year by the County Board is set to expire January 31, 2013. The FEMA maps were to be received by November 2012 but will now be received by November 2013. We need a petition to consider an extension of a temporary moratorium of development in the special flood hazard area identified in the dam failure analysis of the Lake Redstone Dam to expire on November 30, 2013 or with the adoption of Sauk County’s amended Floodplain Zoning Ordinance to include the 2012 FEMA maps and the Dam Breach Analysis, whichever comes first. Lands to be affected are located in the Towns of LaValle, Winfield, and Reedsburg. Can continue as the moratorium is in place between January 22 and the February County Board meeting. If the County Board does not approve moratorium, then DNR will enforce and they may require a drawdown of the lake and take back the $50,000 grant money.

Lake Redstone Report: Dietz, Vaillancourt, and Pohle updated on the Lake Fair scheduled for Saturday, June 22. Recommended to have information about Clean Sweep at the program. Also, information should be posted on the county website.

Land Records Modernization:

a. Department reports and updates: Felton presented the department report.
b. Review and approval of vouchers: Motion by Polivka/Ashford to approve vouchers in the amount of $13,136.00 and $5,120.64. Motion carried, all in favor.

Surveyor:

a. Department reports and updates: Dederich was unable to attend and will present at the January 22 meeting.
b. Review and approval of vouchers: Dederich was unable to attend and will present at the January 22 meeting.

Register of Deeds:

a. Department reports and updates: Bailey presented the department report.
b. Review and approval of vouchers: Motion by Halfen/Polivka to approve the vouchers in the amount of $4,812.98. Motion carried, all in favor.

Conservation, Planning, and Zoning Department

a. Department reports and updates: Michalek noted that Corporation Counsel is reviewing Chapter 7 and will discuss at February 14 CPZ Committee meeting. Committee requested that Corporation Counsel be present at February 14 meeting and that the changes should be highlighted/shown and sent to the Committee before the meeting for their review.

Simmert was reclassified to a Senior Planner effective January 1.

Reported that Dane County agreed to allow participants to pay $75/person and not charge the $3,000 administration fee to Sauk County. Still clarifying what they will accept, their hours, etc. Will report back with information as it becomes available.

Pohle mentioned that she is working with the Natural Beauty Council on organizing a program at Badger Ammunition for the 2013 County Board picnic. The CPZ Committee supports this educational effort.

Confirmed that the water turbidity and stream reports Dietz inquired about at the last meeting were received by the CPZ Department.

i. Farm Drainage Regulation Information Sheet-The information sheet was presented to the Committee. Sorenson and Miller from NRCS worked together to draft the form. Recommended to include the information in the next Conservation Chronicle.

ii. Resource Conservationist position-Will present to the Personnel Committee that the Resource Conservationist replacement position be set at a pay grade 11. The previous position was at pay grade 13. Michalek mentioned that the new employee Skog is working out very well.

b. Review and approval of vouchers: Motion by Halfen/Ashford to approve 2012 and 2013 vouchers in the total amount of $63,189.55. Motion carried, all in favor.

Reports

a. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) report: Miller reported they are accepting applications for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) through January 18. The funds allocated are about the same as last year and expect around 30 applications. All Conservation Security Program (CSP) payments have been made for fiscal year 2012. All wetland delineations and walkovers are done.

b. Farm Service Agency (FSA) report: Norgard noted that the 2008 Farm Bill was extended and about half the programs were reauthorized and funded until September 30. The 2012 Crop Disaster Program was not reauthorized. Milk prices have not been set; they are looking at the feed cost factor.

c. Foresters’ report: Livingston noted that the DNR Forestry Program is going through a reorganization/strategic direction where there will be more equitable distribution of workload around the state. This will affect Sauk County as Kloppenburg will be working more with the fire control in the Dells. The Forestry Technician position we shared in Poynette is sunsetting. The Poynette Forester/Ranger position is vacant but will be refilled. Livingston/Kloppenburg position descriptions/duties have changed. Either this spring or next, Livington’s forestry truck will become an emergency response vehicle for fire suppression. Livingston will carry more of the private forest workload; Kloppenburg will carry more of the state forest land workload. Livingston picked up the refurbished tree planter with a sprayer for $3,500. He thanked the CPZ Committee, Michalek, and Pohle for their cooperation and support of the tree planting program. We are able to keep our old planter that we can use for parts. Livingston provided the state nursery tree order forms to the Committee. Approximately 48,000 DNR tree/shrub stock has been ordered by landowners in Sauk County. It is anticipated that number will double by spring, although overall orders are down from 2011 and 2012. Noted there are around 1,100 landowners in the Managed Forest Law (MFL) Program covering about 46,000 acres. About 2,000 of those acres are “open” to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking, sightseeing, and x-country skiing. Promotion of lands in the MFL Program that are “open” has been promoted by DNR via mass/social media, and we provided maps to 20-30 people upon request as a result. There was an upsurge of people harvesting timber in lands without notifying the County Clerk 14 days prior to cutting. Some harvesting was found to be occurring on tax delinquent lands. Livingston said that it is a state law that a notification of intent to harvest timber must be filed with the county clerk prior to harvesting timber either by the landowner, their hired forester/buyer, or logger.
d. Economic Development Committee report: Polivka noted that there was nothing to report since the previous meeting. There will be a meeting on January 28 with the Excelsior Town Board at the landfill.

e. Mirror Lake District report: Nobs stated they are in the process of purchasing a weed cutter from Lake Delton. Applying for the grant to help cover the cost. The association will buy the cutter while the management district applies for the grant. After the grant is received, then the association will sell the cutter to the management district.

f. Lake Virginia Management District report: Nothing to report.

Next meeting of the Conservation, Planning, and Zoning Committee will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 22, and Thursday, February 14.

Motion by Ashford/Nobs to adjourn at 11:25 a.m. Motion carried, all members in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Don Nobs, Secretary