Land Conservation Committee

January LCC Minutes 2010 (28 KB)

Meeting called to order by Chair Wiese at 9:00 a.m. It was certified that the requirements of the open meeting law have been met. Present were Borleske, Kriegl, Posewitz, Puttkamer, Wiese and Zowin from the Committee; Van Berkel and Pohle-LCD; Peterson-WDS.

Adopt agenda: Motion by Borleske/Puttkamer to adopt the agenda. Motion carried, all in favor.

Adopt minutes of previous meeting: Motion by Posewitz/Puttkamer to adopt the minutes of the regular LCC meeting on December 17. Motion carried, all in favor.

Public comment:

None.

Review and approve 2009 wildlife damage claims for crops: Peterson reported there were five claims this year. State changed the deductible from $250 to $500 and set a maximum claim limit. With these changes, this program is fiscally sound for the year. The bulk of the funds come from the sale of anterless tags so there may be shortages in the future. There were no hunting complaints or program problems, and Peterson recommend approval of all claims. Jim Gallagher received assistance but was not eligible to receive a claim because damage was below the $500 deductible. Motion by Borleske/Kriegl to approve payment of the 2009 wildlife damage claims as follows - Doug Faber $8,804.90, Howard Engel $717.64, Lawrence Pawlak $137.11, Dan Licht $1,577.20. Motion carried, all in favor.

Establishment of 90% harvest date for 2009 crop damage claim: Peterson noted that Columbia County has a similar situation as Sauk County, and they set January 11 as the harvest deadline. Motion by Borleske/Puttkamer to set January 11 as the 90% harvest date for 2009 crop damage. Motion carried, all in favor.

Communications:

1. Thursday Note(s)-There was one Thursday Note on December 17 which addressed the WLWCA Conference and an additional assessment which the LCC handled at their December meeting.
2. Joint Allocation Plan from State Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) was received and comments were due before the Committee meeting date - VanBerkel provided copies of his written response regarding staffing grant reductions.
3. NACD dues request-Van Berkel received the 2010 dues request for a basic level of $775 from the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). That amount is budgeted. They work more on federal programs than county programs. Wisconsin is one of the lowest dues paying states. Motion by Borleske/Posewitz to pay the $775 NACD dues. Motion carried, all in favor.
4. Copy of article regarding proposed change to require Department of Natural Resources (DNR) pay property taxes-Kriegl explained the article from "Agr-View" in February 1990 regarding the impact of DNR lands on taxes and proposed legislative changes. He is also working with Department of Revenue to get more information and will present it at a future meeting.

Legislative updates:

None.

Reports:

1. Land Conservation Department (LCD) report-Van Berkel highlighted the Working Lands Initiative meetings with the towns and the final accomplishment numbers from the report.
2. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) report-None.
3. Farm Service Agency (FSA) report-Puttkamer noted that the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) program is kicking off. There will not be any extension on crop signup deadlines.
4. Foresters' report-None.
5. Economic Development Committee report-Zowin was not at their last meeting.
6. Mirror Lake District report-Zowin reported they had their end-of-year meeting and want to find out if the lake would be lowered during dam repairs. Van Berkel will check into this and get back to Zowin. Redstone and Mirror Lake dam repair projects are out for bids. The Lake District does have $3,000 to go toward the dam repair project. Dredging is done, still need to plant the prairie in the spring, working on Lake Planning Grant for repair of five gullies sites where the LCD is helping. Mirror Lake fishery is this Sunday.
7. Lake Virginia Management District report-Wiese noted they had a good quarterly meeting last Saturday.
8. Lake Redstone Management District report-Borleske reported they had a meeting on Tuesday and discussed acquiring some property, possible donation of land, and purchase of a wetland part of a landowner's property. They had an extensive water quality study done that indicated much of the phosphorus in the lake is cycled from the bottom of the lake versus runoff. Representatives of the district will be attending Wisconsin Association of Lakes Conference.

Review and approval of vouchers: Voucher summaries were distributed to the Committee members. Motion by Zowin/Posewtiz to approve 2009 and 2010 bills in the amount of $26,257.71. Motion carried, all in favor.

Discussion of Health Care Center (HCC) rental agreements: Borleske gave an overview of the cattle watering concern at the HCC. The Building Committee had authorized turning the water off in November. David Allen as renter then complained because he had no water for cattle on the property. A large number of County Board Supervisors and county employees became involved. Borleske was concerned with lack of communication between departments. VanBerkel explained the pasture lease agreement says the animals will be removed by October 1 so there would not have been a big problem if the lease was being followed However, in the past animals did remain on this feedlot over winter. He also explained the transition in management and assured Committee that the LCD staff will better monitor operations there. Committee agreed, because of the added expense required to maintain electric and water now that the HCC was closed, that it was better to follow the lease terms as written even if it meant rebidding the pasture. Van Berkel will talk to Corporation Counsel about the issue and follow-up

Required amendment to 2009 department budget for added grants: Clark Creek study, Baraboo River Cleanup, Clean Sweep: Van Berkel reported that after the LCC authorized Wiese to sign the Clark Creek grant last month, the Corporation Counsel informed him that it should go before the County Board for approval. The resolution will be on the February LCC and County Board agendas. Van Berkel also presented a proposed fiscal impact statement that would need to be a part of the resolution outlining use of the grant. Committee agreed with the proposed budget. DNR is coordinating a meeting with partner agencies to discuss the project more.

Baraboo River Cleanup Grant was already approved by County Board as a part of the CDBG-EAP grant. The first phase of this grant would be to contract to perform an inventory of the problem. Van Berkel proposed the use of an airplane or possibly a helicopter for this and then bidding out the cleanup after the scope of the project is better defined.

The Clean Sweep Grant does not need to be approved by the County Board because it is a budgeted initiative and the grant only changes the budget amounts. LaCrosse County is scaling back and will not be able to serve our needs this year. Instead we will work with Veolia through the state bid to service our Clean Sweep. The plan is to do the spring event at the landfill, and if there is money left hold another in the fall.

Motion to adjourn until February 11 at 9:00 a.m. by Borleske/Posewitz at 11:18 a.m. Motion carried, all in favor.

March 11 was tentatively set for a meeting date.

Respectfully submitted: Linda Borleske, Secretary