UW Extension Arts & Culture Committee Meeting

UW Extension, Arts and Culture Committee

Minutes of the Regular Meeting

July 16, 2014

 

Members present:  Judy Ashford, John Dietz, William Hambrecht, Eric Peterson, Donna Stehling, Marty Krueger

Citizens Present:   Al Anderson, Donna Neuwirth, Bill Stehling, Robin Whyte, Paul Wolter, Kellie Zink, Scott Zirzow

UWEX Staff Present: Susan Nagelkerk, Meg Sage, Lynn Zick

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Call to Order

            The meeting was called to order at 9:00 AM 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 Hambrecht to approve the agenda.  Motion carried.

 

Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting

Motion made by Peterson, second by Stehling to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of June 11, 2014.  Motion carried.

 

Public Comment:

None

 

Communications:

• Chair Ashford read a letter from Craig Braunschweig, President of the Reedsburg Historical Society.

 

Review 2014 Budget and Approval of Vouchers:

UW Extension:    Motion was made by Stehling, second by Peterson to approve the vouchers for the month of June an in the amount of $3,422.80.  Motion carried.

Arts & Culture:  Motion was made by Stehling, second by Hambrecht to approve the vouchers for the month of June an in the amount of $6,000.00.  Motion carried.

 

There were no unusual items to bring to the committee’s attention in the budget line item reports.

 

UW Extension, Arts & Culture Updates/Reports:

UWEX:

• Meg Sage introduced Quincy Kissack to the committee as the AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Intern.
• Meg also gave the committee a recap of the Sauk County Fair.  She reported that she took lots of notes for next year, there was good feedback from livestock superintendents and the 4-H Centennial Celebration was a great success with approximately 200 people in attendance.
• Sue Nagelkerk mentioned that for the first time in her 16 years of living in Wisconsin, she was able to attend the Witwen parade on the 4^th of July and that she finally saw the HCE Living Flag in person.  She said that it was hard to hear the ladies singing and that she has the idea to find sponsors to provide a portable speaker system with over-the-ear microphones to the Living Flag and wanted input from the committee members as to whom they thought she should contact for this.

 

Presentation, Discussion and Possible Action on Sauk County Ag Society’s (Fair Board) Outside Agency Appropriation Request for 2015 Budget Process

Scott Zirzow, Fair Board President, and Kellie Zink, Fair Board Treasurer, appeared before the committee to request $25,000 for their annual appropriation request for 2015.  They reported that the additional money in 2014 was put towards purchasing the Blue Ribbon on-line fair entry program, three tablets for project superintendents to enter judging results and to rent a copy machine for the duration of the fair.  They also reported that there were glitches and bumps that need to be worked out over the course of the next few months for next year’s fair.  They will use this money to hire a Junior Fair Secretary in 2015 and to make other needed improvements on the Junior Fair end of the fairgrounds, i.e. additional electrical outlets, etc.

 

Supervisor Peterson stated that he is glad to see that the fairgrounds is used for other events besides the fair to generate revenue.

 

Motion by Stehling, second by Peterson to approve the Sauk County Ag Society outside agency request for $25,000 for 2015.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

Presentation, Discussion and Possible Action on Sauk County Historical Society’s Outside Agency Appropriation Request for 2015 Budget Process

Paul Wolter, President of the Sauk County Historical Society, gave a Power Point presentation of the projects and programs that that SCHS has worked on in 2014, i.e. moving into their new facility in the old Woolen Mill building, working on archiving and cataloguing their historic collections, providing educational programs, etc.

 

The Historical Society is requesting $11,000 for 2015, an increase of $1,000 from the previous year.  Discussion ensued with the point being made that the Historical Society runs all of these programs on an annual budget of $80,966.

 

Motion by Dietz, second by Hambrecht to approve the Sauk County Historical Society outside request for $11,000 for 2015.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

Presentation, Discussion and Possible Action on the Wormfarm Institute/Fermentation Fest Planning for Fall 2014 and Request for the Remaining $20,000 of Matching Grant Funds

Donna Neuwirth, Executive Director of the Wormfarm Institute, gave an explanation of what Fermentation Fest is and how it started for the benefit of new committee members.  She talked about some of the offshoot programs that have come about from Fermentation Fest and some of the challenges that they have encountered.

 

Donna also reported on the outreach that she has made to make this event a county-wide or regional event, meeting with the Executive Directors from three Chambers of Commerce and Sauk County Development Corporation.  The goal is to garner broader participation in Sauk County in future years.  A new Farm Art DTour route is being developed for 2015 in a different area of the county.  She is also cross marketing with the Circus World Museum and an apple event at the old Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP) property, and promoting/marketing in the Madison and Chicago markets harder.

 

Supervisor Peterson wanted to know if at some point Fermentation Fest could become self-sustaining or do they expect continued funding from Sauk County for years on end.  Donna explained that she envisions that 30% of continued funding would be from government partnerships and grants which they receive due to the fact that the Farm Art DTour is free.

 

Marty Krueger clarified how the county funding for Fermentation Fest was set up in 2014 for the benefit of new committee members, stressing that the event needs to become a county event and not just a Reedsburg event; a goal which he feels Donna is working towards.  The first $20,000 has already been awarded, but the second portion of the grant needs to wait until after the event has taken place and a final report has been given.  No committee action was taken at this time.

 

Discussion and Possible Action on a Resolution Honoring 4-H for 100 Years

Meg Sage explained the 4-H Centennial Planning Committee’s idea of having a resolution honoring 4-H for 100 years to be adopted at the County Board’s September meeting in time for National 4-H Week, October 5-11, 2014.  Lynn will put the resolution in proper format and move it forward to be presented to UW Extension, Arts & Culture Committee in August and the Executive and Legislative Committee in September to move it forward to the County Board on September 16, 2014.

 

Motion by Hambrecht, second by Stehling to postpone action until the properly formatted resolution is presented in August 2014.  Motion carried.

 

Agents Monthly Reports

Sue Nagelkerk, Family Living:  Sue reported on her upcoming meeting with Cindy Bodendein on the Sauk County Health Coalition; her work with developing engaging materials in a marriage “gift pack” to be handed out to couples applying for a marriage license; and a report on Cow-onomics 2014.  The committee watched a four-minute YouTube video that Becca Warwick developed using the pictures from this year’s class.

 

Consideration of Applications for Good Idea Grants:

• Flyways Waterfowl Museum/Mary Klecker:  Submission of a Good Idea Grant in the amount of $500 to take 35 Baraboo High School art students to the Flyways Waterfowl Museum to inspire them to create their own waterfowl art.  Discussion ensued with committee members stating that they felt that the project was worthwhile, innovative and comprehensive in their presentation.  Motion by Peterson, second by Hambrecht to approve $500 for the Flyways Waterfowl Museum/Mary Klecker as the project oversight coordinator.  Motion carried unanimously.
   
• Sauk County Master Gardener Association:  The committee mentioned the forward strides and improvements that have been made at the Reedsburg Log Village Museum by SCMGA and the Reedsburg Historical Society in recent years.  Some committee members remember Victory Gardens from their youth.  Motion by Stehling, second by Hambrecht to approve $500 to the Sauk County Master Gardener Association for their “Victory Gardens” project.  Motion carried unanimously.
   
• Village of Sauk City/Sauk City Preservation Committee:  Donna Stehling recused herself from this discussion due to the fact that she is heavily involved in this project.  The Sauk City Preservation Committee is in the process of republishing the “Sauk City Scenario…Bicentennial Chronicle” originally published by the Farmers’ & Citizens Bank with the addition of eight pages of village history from 1976 to the present.  The original booklet was written by local renowned author August Derleth.  Motion by Peterson, second by Ashford to approve $500 to the Sauk City Preservation Committee to republish “Sauk City Scenario” with updated pages.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

Consideration of Applications for AHHP Grants:

• Al. Ringling Theatre (ART) Friends: The committee reviewed the ART Friends grant submission asking for $5,000 to create a short film documenting the restoration and historical significance of the Al. Ringling Theatre which will then be used at the 2015 centennial of the theatre and is proposed to be broadcast by Wisconsin Public Television.  Discussion ensued; statements were made that the project should help to accomplish the restoration of the theatre; there were great letters of recommendation; the grant application was organized and well-documented; it had a purpose; and the committee liked that it would have a large, three state audience. 
  
  Supervisor Hambrecht stated that if there were any grants that needed to be cut back to save grant funds, this would be one that he would recommend; he felt ART Friends would have access to other funding sources to accomplish their goal.  Supervisor Peterson said he felt this project provided a “bigger bang for the buck” with the larger audience and that it was very important grant request.
   
• Baraboo Public Library:  The Baraboo Public Library submitted a grant request in the amount of $3,830 to digitize historical publications regarding Baraboo and Sauk County.  The committee felt that this was a great project; the statement was made that this project is the one most deserving of the funding of any of the applications received at this time.
   
• City of Baraboo/Baraboo Public Arts Association:  The committee discussed the grant request from the City of Baraboo on behalf of the Baraboo Public Arts Association to paint a wall mural in downtown Baraboo.  The grant request is in the amount of $5,000.  The committee agreed the money is needed and mentioned that this is a group with a first-time request.
  
  Motion by Hambrecht, second by Peterson to approve all three AHHP grant requests for full funding as mentioned above.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

Future Agenda Items

• Discussion and possible action on the 2015 UWEX and AHHP budgets
• Approval of a resolution honoring 4-H for 100 years of existence to be presented to full County Board in September

          

Next Meeting Date:  The next meeting will be on Wednesday, August 13, 2014, in the UW Extension Conference Room at 9:00 AM.

 

Adjournment

Motion was made by Stehling, second by Dietz to adjourn the meeting.   Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 11:26 AM.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

William Hambrecht, UW Arts and Culture Committee Secretary

Lynn Zick, Recording Secretary