UW Extension Arts & Culture Committee Meeting

Unapproved Minutes from 11-12-2014 UW Extension Arts & Culture Committee Meeting (16 KB)

UW Extension, Arts and Culture Committee

Minutes of the Regular Meeting

November 12, 2014

Members present:  Judy Ashford, John Dietz, William Hambrecht, Eric Peterson, Alan Anderson, Marty Krueger

Members absent:  Donna Stehling

Citizens Present:   Donna Neuwirth

UWEX Staff Present: Jenny Erickson, Meg Sage, Lynn Zick

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Call to Order

           The meeting was called to order at 9:03 AM by Chair Ashford.

Certification of Open Meeting Notice

            Requirements of the Open Meeting Law were met.

Approval of Agenda

Chair Ashford asked to change the order of business to allow Donna Neuwirth to give her presentation when County Board Chair Krueger could be in attendance at the meeting.  Motion made by Peterson, second by Dietz to approve the agenda with that change.  Motion carried.

Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting

Motion made by Hambrecht, second by Peterson to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of October 8, 2014.  Motion carried.

Public Comment:

None

Communications:

None

Review 2014 Budget and Approval of Vouchers:

Motion was made by Hambrecht, second by Peterson to approve the UW Extension vouchers for the month of October an in the amount of $1,358.51.  Motion carried.

Department Updates:

• The first round of interviews for the WNEP Educator were held on Monday, November 10, 2014 via Skype and telephone conference; three candidates were selected for final interviews on November 24, 2014, to be held in person in Sauk County.
• Jenny Erickson reported that she has been asked by Marty Krueger and the Sauk County Development Corporation Board to assist with their strategic planning process.

Agents Monthly Reports

Meg Sage, 4-H Youth Development:  Meg gave an overview of her activities for the last quarter.  She reported that the 4-H program had not been through a visioning process since 2006, therefore, she undertook planning a visioning meeting for August 2014.  The top five themes have been identified and have been sent to 4-H Club Leaders for ranking.  Meg hopes to focus on the top two, possibly three, visions to put them into action.

She also gave the committee a report on the revamped 4-H enrollment process and explained the difference between 4-H projects and 4-H fair exhibits.  She has eliminated some projects that do not provide a curriculum package which should streamline some of the enrollment process.

Supervisor Peterson thanked Meg for her report and the format in which it was presented.

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

Donna Neuwirth reported preliminary numbers from the Fermentation Fest/Farm Art D’Tour event that was held in October.  Intercept evaluations that were obtained from participants at three locations during the event reflect that approximately 60% were first-time attendees and that 25-30% travelled 100 miles or more to attend.  It is guesstimated that there were 15,000-17,000 attendees over the course of the ten days in 2014.

She also talked about the outreach efforts that have been made to make Fermentation Fest/Farm Art D’Tour more of a county-wide event rather than a community festival.  Some of the ideas that occurred in 2014 were: Beth Persche making seed mosaics in four communities which then were erected as an arch at Fermentation Fest; working with Circus World Museum and promoting them as a community partner; and the planned change for the 2015 Farm Art D’Tour to a different segment of the county.

Donna submitted a written request to have the remaining matching grant funds released to Wormfarm Institute.  Motion by Hambrecht, second by Peterson to release the $20,000 in remaining funds to the Wormfarm Institute.  Motion carried.

Discussion regarding how the UW Extension Arts & Culture Committee can take an active role in Sauk County’s Placemaking effort

County Board Marty Krueger addressed the committee regarding the Placemaking initiative and explained the history of how it came about.  This initiative belongs to the Sauk County Economic Development Committee; there is a named representative from the UW Extension Arts & Culture Committee that sits on this committee.  Their charge is to oversee the real and personal assets of Sauk County and the goal is to find a way to make Sauk County a collective destination (much like Door County), rather than the individual communities within the county.

Discussion ensued as to how the AHHP grant program has given businesses and organizations help to start projects/events that have turned into placemaking events, i.e. Fermentation Fest and the Fall Art Tour.

Chair Krueger believes that an eventual meeting between the Economic Development Committee and the UW Extension Arts & Culture Committee will occur.

Future Agenda Items

• Discussion on projects such as the Cultural Resources Directory, Landmarks Registry, Artist’s Registry and a possible inventory of the artwork owned by Sauk County
• Conversation about what is important and the staff requirements to achieve
• Good Idea Grants 2014 final reports          

Next Meeting Date:  The next meeting will be on Wednesday, December 10, 2014, in the UW Extension Conference Room at 9:00 AM.

Adjournment

Motion was made by Dietz, second by Hambrecht to adjourn the meeting.   Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 11:00 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,

William Hambrecht, UW Arts and Culture Committee Secretary

Lynn Zick, Recording Secretary