UW Extension Arts & Culture Committee Meeting

081413 Minutes (16 KB)

UW Extension, Arts and Culture Committee

Minutes of the Regular Meeting

August 14, 2013

Members present:  Judy Ashford, Joan Smoke, John Dietz, Donna Stehling     

Members absent:   Mark “Smooth” Detter        

Guests Present:      Al Anderson, Marty Krueger, Donna Neuwirth, Paul Wolter, Kellie Zink, Scott Zirzow

UWEX Staff Present:  Jenny Erickson, Danielle Varney, Phyllis Both

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Call to Order

            The meeting was called to order at 9:00AM by Chair Ashford.

Certification of Open Meeting Notice

            Requirements of the Open Meeting Law were met.

Approval of Agenda

Motion made by Dietz, second by Smoke to approve the agenda.  Motion carried.

Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting

Motion made by Stehling, second by Dietz to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of

July 10, 2013.  Motion carried.

Public Comment:  None

Communications:  None

Review 2013 Budget and Approval of Vouchers

UW Extension:    Motion was made by Smoke, second by Dietz to approve the vouchers for the month of July in the amount of $1,382.19.  Motion carried. 

Arts & Culture:   Motion was made by Smoke, second by Stehling to approve the vouchers for the month of July in the amount of $350.00.  Motion carried. 

Presentation and Approval of Outside Agencies Appropriation Requests for 2014

Sauk County Historical Society:  Paul Wolter, SCHS President, presented a Power Point on the work that has been done in the last year on the old Woolen Mill property that has now become archival storage and offices for them. 

The 2014 appropriation request is in the amount of $10,000.  Motion by Stehling, second by Smoke to include the $10,000 Sauk County Historical Society appropriation request in the 2014 Arts & Culture Committee budget.  Motion approved.

Sauk County Agriculture Society (Sauk County Fair Board):  Scott Zirzow, Fair Board President, and Kellie Zink, Fair Board Treasurer, presented their appropriation request and talked about the different events and activities that the fairgrounds plays host to on an annual basis.  They also talked about their added investment of time and expense upon taking on more of the 4-H fair entry duties that they are now responsible for and are requesting an increase in their appropriation of $5,000.  Clarification questions from the committee followed and Judy Gurgel was asked to give further clarification of duties now being done by the Fair Board.

The 2014 appropriation request is in the amount of $25,000.  Motion by Smoke, second by Dietz to include the $25,000 Sauk County Agriculture Society, AKA Sauk County Fair Board, appropriation request in the 2014 UW Extension Department budget.  Motion approved.

Wormfarm Institute:  John Dietz needed to recuse himself from the presentation, discussion and voting on the Wormfarm Institute appropriation request since he is the bookkeeper for Fermentation Fest.

Donna Neuwirth, Executive Director of the Wormfarm Institute, presented the appropriation request for matching funds for a National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) Our Town grant for Fermentation Fest in Reedsburg.  A list of contributors for other matching dollars was part of that presentation.

Discussion ensued as to where is the city of Reedsburg’s commitment and that this is really a community event, not a county event, so what makes it different from the Cow Chip Throw, Eagle Watching Days, or the Fall Art Tour.  Statements were made that the planning needs to expand to other communities, i.e. Chambers of Commerce, to make this a county event to get more buy in and work cooperatively.

The statement was also made that this appropriation request fits better under the auspices of the Sauk County Economic Development Committee budget, however the UW Extension, Arts & Culture Committee does not have the authority to make that decision.

The appropriation request is in the amount of $40,000.  Motion by Smoke, second by Stehling to include the $40,000, one-time cash match appropriation request from the Wormfarm Institute for Fermentation Fest 2014-2015 in the 2014 Arts & Culture Committee budget with the statement that Chambers of Commerce from the other Sauk County communities need to be encouraged to be part of the planning and events moving forward.  Motion approved.

UW Extension, Arts & Culture Updates/Reports

4-H Agent Position:  The position posting for the 4-H Youth Development Agent closes soon and Sue Nagelkerk will be travelling to Madison to help with the first interview process.  Final interviews are scheduled to be held in Sauk County on Wednesday, October 9^th, at an extended meeting of the UW Extension, Arts & Culture Committee.

WNEP Changes:  Danielle Varney, Sauk and Richland County WNEP Coordinator, explained the situation in Richland County regarding their Family Living Educator and her part-time backfill position.  Danielle informed the committee that as of October 1^st she will be taking over the 30% backfill opening along with her WNEP Coordinator position to be 100% time in Richland County.

Jenny Erickson and Sue Nagelkerk met with Bev Phillips, WNEP State Program Coordinator, on Tuesday, August 13^th, and the decision has been made to refill the Sauk County opening with a 100% time Coordinator.  Jenny presented the position description to the committee and stated that it will be posted in September with the hopes that the position will be filled by the end of the year.

Staff Retreat:  The UW Extension staff retreat is scheduled for Tuesday, August 20, 2013, and Shelly Hooper has been contacted to cover the office and phones that day.

Agents Monthly Reports

Phyllis Both, Horticulture Educator

• The Reedsburg Community Garden is up and running
• The Apothecary Garden at the Reedsburg Log Village Museum is almost done and is a wonderful addition to the museum grounds;  it still needs signage
• The Sauk County Master Gardener Association is planning Granny’s Garden Shed to be held October 5^th during Fermentation Fest.  This will feature second-hand tools and garden-related objects for sale and some gardening workshops as well as a question and answer session with Phyllis
• Heritage Days will be held September 7^th at the Log Village Museum; this event would not be possible without the involvement of the Master Gardener Association volunteers and the help of the Huber inmates
• Phyllis’s 2014 goal is to create a prairie on land at the Log Village and to create a seed saving library

Discussion and Possible Action on the 2014 UW Extension Department Preliminary Budget

Jenny Erickson went over the budget line item request form and explained the changes to the 2014 departmental budget.  The changes to the budget without the additional $5,000 appropriation request from the Sauk County Fair Board constitute an increase of less than 1%.  Motion by Stehling, second by Smoke to send the budget forward to Administrative Review with the inclusion of the outside agency’s request.  Motion approved.

Discussion and Possible Action on the 2014 Arts, Humanities & Historic Preservation Preliminary Budget

Judy Ashford presented the AHHP budget with the addition of the Wormfarm Institute’s appropriation request; no other changes were made from 2013.  Motion by Smoke, second by Stehling to send the budget forward to Administrative Review with the inclusion of the outside agencies’ requests.  Motion approved.

Discussion and Possible Action on Approval of Committee Members to Attend and be Reimbursed for Expenses for the WACEC Southwest Region Meeting on September 10, 2013

Sue Nagelkerk announced the details of the WACEC Southwest Region meeting at the Three Bears Conference Center in Warrens, Wisconsin, on September 10^th.  Sue is planning on driving.  Discussion ensued as to which committee members would be attending.  Motion by Ashford, second by Dietz to approve Donna Stehling and Joan Smoke to attend the WACEC Southwest Region Meeting on September 10, 2013, and allow reimbursement of expenses related to their attendance.  Motion approved.

Discussion and Possible Action on Request by Nancy Peidelstein to Display Artwork in the West Square Building

Item removed from the agenda.  Judy Ashford had discussed the process with Kathy Schauf and the request is being forwarded on to Kathy and to Tim Stieve for them to handle.

Public Comment:  Drop public comment item from future agendas per Chair’s discretion.

Upcoming Meeting:  Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 @ 9:00AM – UWEX Conference Room – 3^rd Floor of West Square Building

Future Agenda Items

Paul Wolter extended an invitation to hold a future UW Extension, Arts & Culture Committee meeting at the SCHS Woolen Mill building; will make arrangements for the November committee meeting.

 Adjournment

Motion was made by Stehling, second by Smoke to adjourn the meeting at 11:12 AM.   Motion carried. 

Respectfully Submitted,

Joan Smoke, UW Arts and Culture Committee Secretary

Lynn Zick, Recording Secretary

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