Land Conservation Committee Minutes


DATE: July 10, 2008

Meeting called to order by Vice Chair Zowin at 9:00 a.m. It was certified that the requirements of the open meeting law have been met. Present were Borleske, Kriegl, Posewitz, Puttkamer, and Zowin from the Committee; Van Berkel, Stanek, and Pohle-LCD. Wiese was absent. Persche, Hartup, Bonilla, Perkins, Willcott-Otto - Youth Camp attendees.

Adopt Agenda:

Motion by Borleske/Puttkamer to adopt the agenda. Motion carried, all in favor.

Adopt minutes of previous meeting:

Motion by Posewitz/Borleske to adopt the minutes of the regular LCC meeting on June 12. Motion carried, all in favor.

Public comment:

A. Reports from Youth Conservation Camp attendees-The following students who attended the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Camp near Ladysmith presented on their camping experiences: Maia Persche, Madison Hartup, Haley Bonilla, Rachel Perkins, and Steph Wilcott-Otto. They had each received $100 scholarships from the LCC to attend the camp. The Committee noted they appreciated the reports and would like this to continue in the future.

Communications:

A. Thursday Notes-None.

B. Van Berkel reported that he received verbal notification that the LCD received a $10,000 grant through the Conservation Resource & Development Council. The spending deadline is October 1 for staff time working in Otter Creek.

Legislative updates:

None.

Reports:

A. LCD report-Van Berkel reviewed the LCC Monthly Department Report.

B. NRCS report-None.

C. FSA report-None.

D. Foresters' report-None.

E. Economic Development Committee report-No meeting yet.

F. Lake District reports-For future agendas, each lake district will be listed individually.

Mirror Lake District-Zowin noted that the big thrust at Mirror Lake is getting the trees out of the lake after all the rain. Their annual meeting will be on August 16. They are concerned about the dam's condition and timeline for repair. Van Berkel clarified that the Mirror Lake dam is not under LCC jurisdiction but under the Highway and Parks Committee. The Parks Department is in charge of the Mirror Lake and Redstone dams. The LCD staff will assist Parks with the process but decisions come from the Highway and Parks Committee. Earlier this week, the Highway and Parks Committee discussed budgeting the Mirror Lake dam repairs until 2009 and Redstone dam until 2010. They do not feel there is money to handle these now with all the expenses incurred from the flooding. The county may consider asking the lake districts for monetary assistance for the repairs. There is some money left in the Mirror Lake dredging account, but they may do some additional dredging to use these extra funds.

Lake Redstone Lake District-Borleske reported that Guy Neau is spearheading a meeting on July 16 to communicate about the flood damage done up there. Their annual meeting will be on August 2.

Lake Virginia Lake District-Wiese is on this committee. They have not met recently.

G. Other reports-This agenda item will be removed in the future in order to comply with the Open Meeting Laws. Kriegl expressed his concern that all the county committees need to meet the same guidelines for the Open Meeting Law.

Review and approval of training events and meetings:

Motion by Borleske/Kriegl to approve the list of training events. Motion carried, all in favor.

Review and possible approval of scholarship recipient for youth conservation camp:

Pohle noted that immediately following the June LCC meeting, another person contacted her requesting two more student scholarships for the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Camp. She approved one of the two which used the last scholarship authorized by the LCC. Pohle asked approval for another $100 camp scholarship. Motion by Borleske/Kriegl to approve one more youth camp scholarship. Motion carried, all in favor. The committee felt that it is beneficial to offer more camp scholarships again in the future if there is an interest.

Review and approval of vouchers:

Voucher summaries were distributed to the Committee members. Motion by Borleske/Kriegl to approve bills in the amount of $53,562.76. Motion carried, all in favor.

Consideration of withdrawal penalty waiver on Nash CREP contract:

Van Berkel briefed the LCC on the CREP contract withdrawal situation from Ronald Nash. The county can offer a waiver, but it was felt that the landowner was informed about the penalties if they withdrew from the program. There has been a considerable amount of staff time invested in the project and the proposed payback would not cover our expenses. If we allow participants to withdraw after all the paperwork has been completed without any penalty, it would set a precedent. The $75 fee is set automatically for the state share. Motion by Borleske/Posewitz to have Nash pay the $75 penalty. Motion carried, all in favor.

Approval of Contribution Agreements with NRCS for EQIP assistance:

Van Berkel requested authorization for acting LCC Chair Zowin to sign the NRCS Contribution Agreement in the amount of $3,575. NRCS will pay for half of the costs of LCD staff designing EQIP projects for the remainder of the year. Motion by Kriegl/Posewitz to approve the Contribution Agreement with NRCS for EQIP assistance for $3,575. Motion carried, all in favor.

Consider revisions to Animal Waste Ordinance based on Agricultural Advisory Group sessions:

Van Berkel briefed the LCC on the past history of the revisions proposed for the Animal Waste Ordinance (AWO). There were four basic issues that went beyond the minimum requirements and were discussed in depth at the Agricultural Advisory Committee group discussions held this spring. He asked Committee for direction on each of these items:

Committee requested a clean final copy without strikeouts be provided for them to review and the next public hearing be planned for December or January.

Report on recent rains, flooding and conservation practices:

Stanek presented a powerpoint on the recent flooding and the benefits of conservation practices.

Kriegl updated Committee on the actions of the Greenfield Town Board regarding the flooding along Hwy. 113. They are preparing a resolution regarding the investigation of the options, and he suggested that consideration of their resolution be included in the next agenda.

Motion to adjourn until August 14 at 9:00 a.m. by Borleske/Puttkamer at 11:38 a.m. Motion carried, all in favor.

Linda Borleske, Secretary