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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved MINUTES_July 2_2013GRANT COUNTY LAND & WATER CONSERVATION COMMITTEE MEETING July 2, 2013 9:00 a.m. Ag Services Building Lancaster, Wisconsin The meeting was called to order by Chairman Mark Stead at 9:00 a.m. Present in addition to Chairman Stead were; Dwight Nelson, Lester Jantzen, Dale Hood, and Vince Loeffelholz. Others present were, Larry Wolf, Jared Reuter, Steve Bertjens, Kevin Lange, Joyce Roling, Lynda Schweikert, and Annette Lolwing. Roger Guthrie and Myron Tranel were absent. Certification of Open Meeting Law: Annette Lolwing Annette Lolwing sent the agenda to Karla Schwantes to post in the Administration Building and at the Courthouse, also sent an agenda to Bob Middendorf, WGLR, and was posted in the front of the Ag Service Building. Media notices were sent to Karla Schwantes, Herald Independent, Tri County Press, Platteville Journal, and the Muscoda Progressive. Motion by Lester Jantzen, seconded by Dale Hood to approve the agenda as printed. Motion carried. Motion by Vince Loeffelholz, seconded by Dwight Nelson to approve the June 3, 2013 minutes. Motion carried. Bills: Annette Lolwing Motion by Dwight Nelson, seconded by Dale Hood to approve the bills. Motion carried. Motion by Dwight Nelson, seconded by Lester Jantzen to go into closed session at 9:03 a.m. per state statute 19.85 (1) (c) considering employment, promotion, compensation, or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility as it relates to the job description and wages of the Combined Conservationist and Zoning/Sanitation Administrator. Roll call was taken; 5 were present with Roger Guthrie and Myron Tranel being absent. Motion carried. Motion by Dwight Nelson, seconded by Vince Loeffelholz to reconvene back into Open Session at 9:40 a.m. Motion carried. Conservationist and Zoning/Sanitation Administrator Job Title – Motion by Lester Jantzen, seconded by Dwight Nelson to approve Lynda’s job title of “Administrator”. Motion carried. Job Description – Motion by Dwight Nelson, seconded by Vince Loeffelholz to approve the job description. Motion carried. Wage – Motion by Lester Jantzen, seconded by Dale Hood to approve Lynda’s wage increase to $60,000 as of June 1, 2013, and to increase her wages to $65,000 when she receives her POWTS credentials. The wage increase will now go before the full county board for final approval on July 16, 2013. Motion carried. New Department Name The new name with the combined conservation, zoning and sanitation departments will be “Conservation, Sanitation, and Zoning Department. The abbreviated version will be: Grant County CSZD. County Cost Sharing Requests: Lynda Schweikert Lynda presented a cancellation request of $3,500.00 county cost sharing for Esser Brothers LLC, Waterloo Twp. for a grade stabilization structure. They had enough EQIP & SWRM funds to cover the project. Motion by Vince Loeffelholz, seconded by Dwight Nelson. Motion carried. Lynda presented final approval request for county cost sharing of $350.00 on a well decommissioning for Grant County Boscobel Boat Landing, Boscobel Twp. Motion by Dale Hood, seconded by Lester Jantzen to approve payment. Roll Call: 5 Yes, 0 No, 2 Absent. Motion carried. Lynda presented final approval request for county cost sharing of $243.71 on a well decommissioning for Roger Goke, Smelser Twp. Motion by Vince Loeffelholz, seconded by Dale Hood to approve payment. Roll Call: 5 Yes, 0 No, 2 Absent. Motion carried. Lynda presented final approval request for county cost sharing of $224.19 on a well decommissioning for Jim Ashmore, Lima Twp. Motion by Mark Stead, seconded by Lester Jantzen to approve payment. Roll Call: 5 Yes, 0 No, 2 Absent. Motion carried. Lynda presented final approval request for county cost sharing of $500.00 on a well decommissioning for Patrick Adams, Hazel Green Twp. Motion by Lester Jantzen, seconded by Dwight Nelson to approve payment. Roll Call: 5 Yes, 0 No, 2 Absent. Motion carried. Lynda presented tentative approval request for county cost sharing of $500.00 on a well decommissioning for Thomas Majerus, Paris Twp. Motion by Vince Loeffelholz, seconded by Lester Jantzen to approve Thomas’s request. Motion carried. Lynda presented tentative approval requests for county cost sharing on 2 manure storage facilities for Dennis Crapp, South Lancaster, Twp., $3,500.00 county cost sharing and $10,000.00 DATCP cost sharing; and Todd Fischer, Marion Twp., $3,500.00 county cost sharing. Motion by Dale Hood, seconded by Lester Jantzen to approve both manure storage requests. Motion carried. Lynda presented tentative approval requests for county cost sharing on 2 grade stabilization structure projects for Carl Abing, Waterloo Twp., $1,586.00 county cost sharing and $3,865.00 DATCP cost sharing; and Tim Clare, Platteville Twp., $3,500.00 county cost sharing and $4,322.00 DATCP cost sharing. Motion by Vince Loeffelholz, seconded by Dwight Nelson to approve both grade stabilization structure requests. Motion carried. Lynda presented tentative approval requests for county cost sharing on 3 streambank protection projects for Larry Lyons, East Beetown Twp., $1,307.00; Al Nieses, Patch Grove Twp., $2,250.00 (repair); and Neises Rentals, Patch Grove Twp., $644.00. Motion by Vince Loeffelholz, seconded by Lester Jantzen to approve the 3 streambank protection requests. Motion carried. SWRM Cost Sharing Lynda presented a cancellation request of $3,111.00, 2012 DATCP cost sharing for Richard Sedbrook, Potosi Twp. for a nutrient management plan. Richard refused to do the NMP, and has also voluntarily opted out of his FPP. These funds will be sent back to the state. Motion by Lester Jantzen, seconded by Dale Hood to approve Richard’s cancellation request. Motion carried. Lynda presented final approval request for 2012 DATCP cost sharing of $6,031.95 on a grade stabilization structure for Esser Brothers, LLC, Waterloo Twp. Motion by Vince Loeffelholz, seconded by Lester Jantzen to approve payment. Roll Call: 5 Yes, 0 No, 2 Absent. Motion carried. Lynda presented tentative approval request for 2013 DATCP cost sharing of $2,051.00 on a grade stabilization project for Ronald Sturdevant, Hickory Grove Twp. Motion by Dwight Nelson, seconded by Vince Loeffelholz to approve Ronald’s request. Motion carried. Lynda presented tentative approval request for DATCP cost sharing of $6,076.00, 217.0 acres x $28.00, for a nutrient management plan for Dennis Crapp, South Lancaster Twp. Motion by Dale Hood, seconded by Lester Jantzen to approve Dennis’s request. Motion carried. Permit Approvals Lynda reported that Richard and Kevin Junk are constructing a concrete transfer facility. Richard and Kevin have paid their $200.00 permit fee. Lynda approved their permit on June 6, 2013. Motion by Lester Jantzen, seconded by Vince Loeffelholz to concur with Lynda’s approval of the construction permit. Motion carried. Lynda reported that Larry and Elaine Mumm, Little Grant Twp., are doing a manure storage closure on a concrete waste impoundment structure. Larry and Elaine have paid their $50.00 permit fee and they also have their closure design. Motion by Dale Hood, seconded by Vince Loeffelholz, to approve the closure permit. Motion carried. Governor Walker Letter of Support Lynda reported that this letter is no longer needed since Walker signed the Budget. Land & Water Conservation Report Lynda commented on the merging of the Zoning and Sanitation Department. The DSL line for their internet and fax capabilities has been installed. The individual lines will be run the week of July 8th. The tentative moving day is July 23rd. Interviews were held for the new Zoning/Sanitation Technician on Friday, June 28th. Jared Reuter and Lynda will try to have option #4 as a selection of incoming calls so those calls can go directly to Janet Graney. Reschedule August LWCC Meeting Lynda will be presenting the Land and Water Resource Management Plan to the Land and Water Conservation Board (LWCB) in Madison. She is requesting for a 5 year extension of our LWRM plan. The LWCC meeting will be on August 7, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. Lynda reported that she and Annette attended the Cultural Awareness Training that was offered by Southwest Tech. It was very interesting, with open discussion among the Amish/Menonites and the Hispanic Cultures. FPP Report: Kevin Lange Kevin reported that the Doctors have released him to work full time again. Kevin thanked everyone on the committee for their understanding and support during his surgery and recovery. Kevin presented 4 Voluntary Notices of Noncompliance for; Al and Christie Cushman, Lima and Clifton Twp., Joe and Mary Zenz, Jamestown Twp., Jerry and Sandra Waldman, Liberty Twp., and Robert C. Melssen, Paris Twp. Motion by Lester Jantzen , seconded by Dwight Nelson to approve the 4 Voluntary Notices of NonCompliance. Motion carried. Kevin reported that he will be working on the expiring continuous CRP contracts and rolling them over into new CREP contracts. Kevin reported that it is Grant County’s turn to host the Tri-County, Southwest Wisconsin Soil Judging Contest. The site has been selected and is planning the 2nd week of October for the soil judging contest. FSA Report: Jared Reuter Jared reported that they have finished the general CRP Sign Up and had 18 offers submitted. There is another program that is ongoing called the “HELI” Highly Erodible Land Initiative. The benefits from this program are that you are in it right away. Must still meet some criteria such as: crop history, must meet an erodible index of 20, and no food plots are allowed in HELI. Had 64 HELI offers. There are 30+ Continuous CRP sign ups that have been given to Kevin to see if they are eligible to turn them over into a CREP contract.  The crop reporting is going pretty well. Got started certifying late, therefore they have an appointment register started, and are scheduling appointments so they are still certifying in a timely manner.  With the flooding in the Northern part of Grant County, the FSA office has a program that can help with debris removal, grading, shaping of cropland fields and pasture as long as it is not deemed to be in a frequent flooding area. This is subjected to the FSA county committee decision. The program pays 75% cost sharing and for a Limited Resource Produce, they may be cost shared up to 90% cost sharing to fix something. The key rule is that you don’t have the financial resources available to be able to do the repair work yourself. It is not an entitlement program; just because you had flood damage doesn’t mean that FSA will pay you any money. The damage must be so severe that without financial assistance the project won’t be fixed. The FSA County Committee may decide to not implement this Emergency Conservation Program because of the strict financial requirements. The funds may not be allocated to us in a timely manner; it may be a year from now. If you fix the damage, you are not eligible for any cost sharing. Conservation structures can be covered under other conservation programs. Emergency funding is not for roads, outlet pipes, culverts, streams, streambanks, forests and forest roads. If the FSA committee so desires to offer the emergency conservation program, it will be a short sign up period. If the farmer has his family and friends help clean up the flood debris, the farmer is not eligible for the ECP because he has the resources to do the clean-up.  FSA and NRCS have a new lease extension for the building that runs through July 2015. NRCS Report: Steve Bertjens – Acting DC Steve reported that he has returned to Grant County as the Acting DC. Steve had worked in this office for 5 years for the Lower Grant River Watershed back in 1993; he then worked for the SW RC&D coordinator for 5 years. He has been working for the last couple of years as the State Biologist in Madison.  Joe Schmelz will be the new DC and will start in Grant County on August 15, 2013.  NRCS was told that they may be receiving more EQIP money through the DALCI program. They may be able to fund and additional 4 contracts. Almost $1 million has been spent this year in the EQIP.  There were only 3 CSP (Conservation Security Contracts) that need to be completed in the next week to meet the July 15th deadline.  Conservation status reviews will be completed by; Steve Bertjens, Brian Hillers, and Carlton Peterson. They will be doing Grant County’s status reviews and Marlene Sorenson will be doing the Crawford County status reviews.  There are some 569’s that will get variances this year due to the weather.  Trying to get a head start on CRP field reviews for those who are considering re-enrolling. Checking the cover crop to see if there is woody vegetation and weeds invading the grass cover. Motion by Dwight Nelson, seconded by Vince Loeffelholz to adjourn until, Wednesday, August 7, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted by Annette Lolwing for Lester Jantzen