Land Conservation Committee

May 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, Murray, Puttkamer, Wiese and Zowin from the Committee; Krueger-County Board Chair; Brereton-NRCS; Van Berkel and Pohle-LCD; Damos-Baraboo News Republic.

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

Election of officers for 2010-2011 term:

1. Election of Chair: Van Berkel called for nominations for chair position. Nomination by Borleske/Puttkamer for Wiese as chair. No other nominations. Motion to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Wiese by Borleske/Murray. Motion carried, all in favor.
2. Election of Vice Chair: Chair Wiese called for nominations for the position of vice chair. Nomination by Zowin/Puttkamer for Borleske as vice chair. No other nominations. Motion by Murray/Zowin to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Borleske. Motion carried, all in favor.
3. Election of Secretary: Chair Wiese called for nominations for the position of secretary. Nomination by Borleske/Puttkamer for Zowin to serve as secretary. There were no other nominations. Motion by Borleske/Puttkamer to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Zowin. Motion carried, all in favor.
    

Adopt minutes of previous meeting: Motion by Zowin/Borleske to adopt the minutes of the regular LCC meeting on April 15. Motion carried, all in favor.

Communications:

1.  Thursday Note(s)-None.
2. SAA meeting Wednesday, May 26-LCC attendance requires a County Board resolution. Motion by Borleske/Puttkamer to approve resolution authorizing Wiese's attendance. Motion carried, all in favor.
3. Memo from Rick Chamberlin regarding compost bin sales and competition with private businesses. He encouraged us to sell them at a reduced price to spur interest and actually helps the private sector. LCC supported the LCD selling of compost bins, etc.
    

Public comment:

None.

Review and approval of vouchers:

Voucher summaries were distributed to the Committee members. Motion by Borleske/Murray to approve bills in the amount of $19,032.88. Motion carried, all in favor.

Legislative updates:

The Legislature recessed at the end of April. They did not address the three bills related to resource protection: groundwater, KARST topography and Clean Energy.

Review of Program Priorities for 2011:

Van Berkel distributed the program narratives, staff workload history and estimated 2011 staff need for the budgeted programs as ranked at the last meeting. This report shows the need for additional staff in Land Conservation. There was discussion regarding added engineering services that the LCD Conservation Engineer provides in the county. Committee approved the report as developed.

Update on 2011 position request form:

Van Berkel distributed a copy of the "New Position Authorization and Reclassification Form" that needs to be submitted for review by Finance and Personnel committees. He emphasized that it is not a new position request, but a request to refill one of the two positions left vacant due to attrition over the last three years. This position will increase the 2011 budget. At the April LCC meeting, the LCC decided not to initiate a user fee due the present farming economy. LCC members agreed to attend the joint Personnel and Finance Committee meeting in June to support the position and the importance of refilling it.

Review of 2010 Mission, Vision, Goals and draft of 2011 Mission, Vision, Goals:

An copy of the 2010 Mission, Vision and Goals was distributed along with a draft of the same for 2011. Committee members were asked to review and prepare suggestions for approval at the June meeting.

Review and approval of 2010 DATCP Staff and Cost-Sharing grant:

Van Berkel received the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) grant contract that will provide: cost sharing for conservation structures-$62,926; cost sharing for nutrient management plan development -$22,718; and staff-$176,811. Motion by Zowin/Borleske to approve the 2010 DATCP grant. Motion carried, all in favor.

Enforcement of Animal Waste Ordinance in regards to abandon storage facilities:

The new Manure Management Ordinance, adopted in July of 2009, requires abandonment of unused storage facilities. Department staff are aware of several prominent, abandoned facilities. VanBerkel explained the state's requirement to offer cost sharing for the abandonment of animal waste storage facilities and the availability of some county funds to provide this cost share. He then questioned to what extent the Committee would like department staff to enforce these requirements. The LCC recommended addressing abandonment when there is a complaint with visible pollution or there is a land sale. LCD will also send another letter to realtors and bankers explaining the revisions to the ordinance.
 

Update on department interpretations for non-point rule enforcement:

Van Berkel distributed Draft #4 of the Non-point Rule Interpretations which the LCD will use as a standardized guide. The state has not provided detailed evaluation standards for some of these requirements and neither have other counties so the staff has been working on this document to assure the uniform evaluation and treatment of individuals impacted by the rules. Van Berkel has distributed this draft to other counties also in hope of developing somewhat uniform state implementation. Committee indicated they felt the interpretations were clear and understandable.

Consider approval of submittal of Targeted Runoff Management (TRM) Grant applications for 2011:

Van Berkel noted formal committee approval is needed of each of two individual grant applications. Motion by Zowin/Murray to approve the two TRM Grant applications. Motion carried, all in favor. Wiese signed the applications.

Reports:

1. Land Conservation Department (LCD) report-Van Berkel highlighted many of the April activities. It was suggested to attempt to organize the monthly report by priorities.
2. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) report-Brereton reported that Tony Pillow will start June 7 as the new NRCS technician. He worked in Sauk County as an intern with the LCD years ago. Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) finished signup with $218,500 in contracts, received one organic signup, and seven hoop house applications. There were no Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) applications. There is a Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) signup until June 11.
3. Farm Service Agency (FSA) report-Puttkamer noted that FSA is working on the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE) payments. Deadline for Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payments Program/ACRE (DCP) is June 1.
4. Foresters' report-None.
5. Economic Development Committee report- Zowin reported no meeting this past month. The Committee is planning to take a tour of old Health Care Center (HCC) once the buildings are gone and invite the County Board. The LCC should come to a consensus about what should happen in two years to the HCC when the lease expires. The farm includes 576 acres and the restored 80-acre wetland. It provides a good representation of the county's topography and farm lands. Present lease for the farmland brings in about $33,000 in rental income. There are some real advantages of keeping the land - it could be used for demonstration sites, research, etc. The Town of Reedsburg has emphasized they want it to stay in exclusive agriculture.
6. Mirror Lake District report-Zowin reported on progress to repair five severe gullies through the Dell Creek project and LCD engineering assistance. She also reported on status of the bidding to repair the dam. The County has received a check from the Lake Association toward these costs.
7. Lake Virginia Management District report-No meeting. Murray will be the representative on this committee in the future.
8. Lake Redstone Management District report-Borleske noted their next meeting is May 11. They are having difficulty getting rid of Cutrane, a chemical they had previously purchased to use in spraying weeds in the lake.

Motion to adjourn until June 17 at 9:00 a.m. by Zowin/Borleske at 11:18 a.m. Motion carried, all in favor.

Respectfully submitted:
 Linda Borleske, Secretary