DATE: August 14, 2008
UW-Extension ETN West Square Building
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, Posewitz, Puttkamer, Wiese and Zowin from the Committee; Brereton-NRCS; Van Berkel and Pohle-LCD; Judd Maxwell-Town of Greenfield, Steve Bertjens-SW Badger RC&D.
Motion by Borleske/Posewitz to move the Town of Greenfield agenda item to the beginning of the agenda and to adopt the amended agenda. Motion carried, all in favor.
Motion by Borleske/Kriegl to adopt the minutes of the regular LCC meeting on July 10. Motion carried, all in favor.
Kriegl briefed the LCC on the background of flooding on Hwy. 113. The resolution being presented is a formalized conception that there will be public meetings to discuss the water runoff control issue. The Highway Committee passed this resolution yesterday. Town of Greenfield passed a similar resolution. The resolution does not commit the county to any costs just to participate in discussions regarding possible solutions. Motion by Borleske/Kriegl to co-sponsor the resolution from the Highway Committee regarding the study of flooding along Hwy. 113. Motion carried, all in favor.
None.
A. Thursday Note(s) was sent to supervisors at their email addresses. No points to highlight.
B. Notice from Town of Merrimac regarding abandonment of Oak Street-Received notification from Town of Merrimac that they are petitioning to abandon Oak Street in All-Brite subdivision. No action required, just notification for the LCC.
C. Amendment to recent Natural Resources Conservation Service Cooperative Agreement-Last month the LCC approved the Cooperative Agreement with NRCS to pay for half of the costs of LCD staff designing EQIP projects for the remainder of the year. An amended agreement was received to include some projects that we are assisting on in Juneau County through the Dell Creek project. LCC authorized Wiese to sign the amendment.
None.
A. Land Conservation Department report-Van Berkel briefly reviewed the LCC monthly report. Pohle read an email from Rachel Perkins, one of the conservation camp scholarship recipients, stating that she has made a decision to start working toward a future in conservation after attending camp and was looking for degrees and college recommendations. Photos from Ashley Brockman's attendance at camp were distributed.
B. Natural Resources Conservation Service report-Brereton reported there is an Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Agreement with the Village of Lake Delton to provide funds to restore stream to its original channel. It also provided funding for bank stabilization and debris removal. Sauk County also requested EWP assistance for Clark Creek along Hwy. 113. They did withdraw their request because there was a report that DOT would fund this effort. The Town of Honey Creek also requested EWP funds on the Leland Dam. The request is to repair erosion caused by the dam overtopping. This project has not been funded yet.
NRCS was taking application for the EWP Easement Program. They would purchase easements on cropland in floodplains. No cropping would be allowed. Contacts were made but no applications were submitted by the deadline.
Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) signup for 2009 will start October 1. This program can be used to repair or install conservation practices that may be needed because of the flooding.
C. Farm Service Agency report-Puttkamer reported that FSA is taking applications for the Emergency Conservation Program although there is no funding at this time. They expect to work closely with LCD and NRCS and put the conservation practices back into play.
D. Foresters' report - None.
E. Economic Development Committee report-Zowin noted that the first meeting was mainly to discuss the role of this new committee. They spoke about agri-tourism, cottage industries, how the county can be more proactive, and the importance of agriculture to the county. Zowin reported there are two county board supervisors that are talking negatively about the LCD which is very detrimental to the department. The LCC directed Van Berkel to draft a letter to these individuals which the LCC will review at the September meeting. The letter should ask the individuals to appear at the October meeting and discuss their concerns regarding the department. Van Berkel cautioned that this discussion should not veer into a review of an individual's performance and asked permission to consult with Corporation Counsel. Committee members emphasized that the idea was not to evaluate an individual but to demonstrate that the LCC is concerned with the complaints they hear and willing to discuss specifics.
Puttkamer brought up a concern with a manure system that completely washed out in the spring storm and where there may be funding for emergency repairs.
F. Mirror Lake District report-Zowin reported that their annual meeting will be on Saturday. She will encourage the district to assist the county with funding for dam repair. They are still working on dredging at Mirror Lake. There is $200,000 left over in the Mirror Lake dredging account which will be used to work on the area down by the beach.
G. Lake Virginia Management District report-Wiese noted they are in the process of changing leadership. Marilyn Thiede left the area and resigned. They are looking for someone to replace her. The new treasurer is providing good reports. Wiese suggested Van Berkel may need to meet the new board to help them understand their duties.
H. Lake Redstone Management District report-Borleske reported their annual meeting was held on August 2. There is concern about DNR changing the designation of some sensitive areas to critical habitat areas. The district voted to attempt to get an injunction against the DNR due to concerns regarding possible restrictions under this designation. The dam break analysis will be received soon. Dam repair decisions fall under the charge of the Highway and Parks Committee.
I. Southwest Badger Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D)-Steve Bertjens updated the LCC on their current biomass projects, Driftless Area Initiative, and others. He also requested project ideas to take back to the council.
Motion by Borleske/Zowin to approve the list of training events. Motion carried, all in favor.
A. Approval of Wiese's attendance at SAA Meeting and Tour-Motion by Kriegl/Borleske to approve Wiese's attendance on July 30.
Voucher summaries were distributed to the Committee members. Motion by Zowin/Borleske to approve bills in the amount of $31,377.49. Motion carried, all in favor.
There was discussion about bidding out the Health Care Center farmland rental, how long a lease to bid (one to three years), the inclusion of a buyout clause if rented for three years, if it should be rented, etc. Some direction was expected from the Property and Resources Committee but to date they have not done a study of all county properties and their future potential uses. There was discussion about keeping this land and not selling. The rental revenue is much more than the property taxes would generate.
Van Berkel presented the 2009 budget and noted the decrease in department staff over the years. The final requested levy is $550,104 a net increase of $44,549. The majority of this increase is in outlay for a vehicle replacement, $26,000. Grants are down for 2009. Kriegl distributed the a page from the Sauk County 2008 Adopted Budget which ranks departments by levy use and argued regarding the importance of funding smaller departments and the programs and initiatives they support. Motion by Borleske/Posewitz to approve the 2009 proposed budget. Motion carried, all in favor.
Request approval to restore Koenig to full-time status: Van Berkel informed the LCC that no formal approval is necessary to move Serge Koenig to full-time since the decision to go to part-time was by mutual agreement. He will return to full-time status in September.
Van Berkel informed the Committee of the opportunity to hire Richard Albrecht in a limited-term position to help with contour strip cropping this fall. No formal committee action is needed to make the offer,- but the committee agreed that it would be a good opportunity to address some of the contour strip cropping workload.
Van Berkel reported that the LCD is busy working with flood recovery efforts in each of these areas and throughout the county. He briefed committee on the status of these projects and the workload commitment they are generating.
Van Berkel noted that the owners were in the program before and the department had no concerns regarding the conservation plan. Motion by Zowin/Borleske to approve a 10-year contract with Timothy and Kim Schmitz. Motion carried, all in favor
Motion to adjourn until September 11 at 9:00 a.m. by Borleske/Posewitz at 11:45 a.m. Motion carried, all in favor.
Linda Borleske, Secretary