Land Conservation Committee

February LCC 2011 Minutes (27 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, and Wiese from the Committee; Norgard-FSA; Pohle, Bergstrom, and Stanek-LCD; Krueger-County Board. Zowin was absent.

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

Adopt minutes of previous meetings: Motion by Murray/Borleske to adopt the minutes of the LCC meetings on December 16, January 18, and January 20. Motion carried, all in favor.

Public comment: None.

Update on Clark Creek watershed: Bergstrom noted that the Clark Creek draft report should arrive today. DNR, engineers, LCD staff, and others will review the report on February 17. Committee decided to post the report on the LCD website, publish a news release informing the public that the report is available online or from the LCD, and mail copies to the LCC. A deadline for responses will be set. After the deadline, Bergstrom will determine if a public meeting is necessary. Montgomery & Associates will finalize the report with the most recent public comments.

Signature approval for Modification of Farmland Preservation Agreements: Stanek requested approval for a LCD staff person to sign the "Modification of Farmland Preservation Agreements" instead of bringing them to the LCC for signatures. The Agreements will have already been certified in compliance by the LCC. Motion by Borleske/Murray to approve the department head/interim department head to sign the "Modification of Farmland Preservation Agreements." Motion carried, all in favor.

Manure pit inspection process: Bergstrom noted the need to certify manure pits to be in compliance. A letter outlining the process and "Worksheet 4-Waste Storage Facilities" from Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection was shared with the LCC. This will be an issue for landowners who wish to keep their waste storage unit through the Working Lands Initiative (WLI). There are some pits out there that were not built to any standards. They have until December 2015 to be issued a Certificate of Compliance for the Working Lands Initiative/Farmland Preservation Program.

Funding assistance for Bear Creek Habitat Improvement Project: Bergstrom designed a mile of trout stream habitat that has been permitted and is ready for construction. There are additional plans to design an additional mile in the future. There is already a DNR easement on the property, and it will be a great trout stream for the public to have access to. DNR is planning to create parking lots along with the habitat work. Trout Unlimited asked if the county could provide some funding for the project. Bergstrom recommended using the 10 percent county cost sharing in the LCD budget. Motion by Borleske/Murray to approve $10,000 out of the county cost sharing for the Bear Creek Habitat Improvement Project. Motion carried, all in favor.

Consider approval of contract with Veolia Environmental Services for disposal at Clean Sweep: Pohle informed the LCC that the next Clean Sweep will be held on Saturday, June 4, from 8:30-noon at the Sauk County Landfill. Veolia will provide the disposal services for this event as an extension of the state contract rate. No formal contract is necessary. Will run similar to recent Clean Sweep Programs. Motion by Murray/Puttkamer to approve an agreement with Veolia for the Clean Sweep Program. Motion carried, all in favor.

Review and approval of vouchers: Voucher summaries were distributed to the Committee members. Motion by Borleske/Murray to approve 2010 and 2011 bills in the amount of $5,015.98. Motion carried, all in favor.

Communications:

A. Thursday Note(s)-None.

B. Conservation on the Land Intern-Will not be funded in 2011. This covered half of one of the two summer interns. There is money available in the budget to cover this position because of the current vacant positions in the department.

C. Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association and Wisconsin Association of Land Conservation Employees are in the process of considering merging the two associations.

D. Baraboo Range Association-Concerned about American Transmission constructing the Badger Coulee Transmission Line from LaCrosse to Madison and going through the Baraboo Hills. LCD staff will draft a letter for review at the next LCC meeting to encourage the route to go along the freeway versus though the Baraboo Hills if it is necessary.

Reports:

A. Land Conservation Department (LCD) report-Reviewed the monthly report. The LCC approved the letter regarding staffing concerns in the LCD. The letter will be addressed to the Personnel Committee, with copies to the Finance Committee, Executive & Legislative Committee, Kathy Schauf, and Marty Krueger.

B. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) report-None

C. Farm Service Agency (FSA) report-Norgard informed the LCC that signups for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will run from March 14-April 15. This is a nationwide general signup and contracts are offered through a competitive bid.

D. Foresters' report-None.

E. Economic Development Committee report-Krueger updated the LCC on the Nelson Institute Study. There will be three public forums. The Nelson Institute came back with a two-prong approach. Seeks to empower and enlighten the current drainage board. Drainage board is supposed to be meeting with a gentleman from Beaver Dam on the various contributions by the drainage board. Action 2-addressing the perception that Bakken's Pond is the cause of the flooding problem down there. Put that aside so that other solutions can be looked at. It is going to be a two-year process. Will draw down the pond in 2012-13. Some reluctance by DNR to draw down. Additional monitoring wells are being proposed to test for groundwater levels and will be placed to be as helpful as possible. Have citizens help with the monitoring. Try and determine if the pond has any effect.

Murray reported they met on the Rails to Trails issue, two or three issues have been discussed. The resolution to make a trail failed 3-3. County is checking to see if there are any legal restrictions on being able to sell the county forest. There is a map showing different parts of the forest that might be developed. Noted that part of the comprehensive plan is to preserve natural resources.

F. Mirror Lake District report-None.

G. Lake Virginia Management District report-Murray noted that they had asked Planning & Zoning to strengthen the ordinance on junk removal by the end of 2010. This was not done so the town is drafting a resolution.

H. Lake Redstone Management District report-Borleske reported they met on Tuesday night. They have a list projects and there are concerns about the brown plume. Montgomery & Associates will start studying the problem.

Motion to adjourn until March 10 at 9:00 a.m. by Borleske/Puttkamer at 11:00 a.m. Motion carried, all in favor. A tentative date was set for April 14.

Respectfully submitted: Kathy Zowin, Secretary