Land & Water Conservation Committee January 11, 2008

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Ahlborn called to order the regular meeting of the Land & Water Conservation Committee at 9:00 a.m., on January 11, 2008 in Conference Room # 2, at the Vilas County Courthouse, Eagle River, Wisconsin.

Present: The following persons were present: County Board members Charles Ahlborn, Gene
Ciszek, Leon Kukanich, Jay Verhulst, Jim Spring, John Annin, & Craig Weberg;
others Patrick Goggin, Carolyn Scholl, Ted Ritter, Tom Melnarik, Jeremy Irish,
Chuck Thier and Rosemary Leveille.
The following County Board member(s) were absent: None

Approve Agenda and Minutes: Motion made by Verhulst, second by Kukanich to approve the agenda in any order at the chairman’s discretion and to approve the minutes from the November 28, 2007 meeting. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Agenda item # 1: Wildlife Damage Abatement and Claims Program – Irish presented details about the Zeloski Farm claim to the committee and why it was recommended to deny the claim—I.E., shooting permit quotas were not met. Motion by Spring, second by Annin to deny the claim for Zeloski Farms due to them not meeting the requirements. Motion carried, all voting aye. Goggin mentioned that the deer donation total for Vilas County 2007 was currently at 22 deer.

Agenda item # 2: Standing Rules Update – The committee reviewed the standing rules and did not have any changes or updates.

Agenda item #3: Aquatic Invasive Species partnership project final grant report – Ritter stated that he has finalized the concluding report for the Aquatic Invasive Species partnership grant. The final payment to the county will be $115,680.⁸⁵ ($158K minus previous reimbursements). Motion by Spring, second by Ciszek to accept the report as written, by Ritter with the collaboration of Goggin and Scholl, and submit it to the DNR. Motion carried 6 ayes and 1 nay.

Agenda item #4: Goggin resignation – Goggin presented a letter of resignation (on file in the LWCD office) to the committee. Goggins’ last day will be February 1^st, 2008. A motion by Annin, second by Verhulst to accept Goggins’ resignation with regret. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Agenda item #5: County Conservationist position vacancy - A draft resolution to refill the position, a break down of the position salary, and a position description (all on file in the LWCD office) were presented to the committee. The committee discussed filling the position through a county resolution and then talked about promoting a suitable candidate from within the department.

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Scholl indicated her willingness to accept the position of county conservationist should the Personnel Committee make her that offer. Motion by Verhulst, second by Spring to go forward with the resolution to refill the County Conservationist position. Motion carried, all voting aye. Motion by Annin, second by Verhulst to send a recommendation to the Personnel Committee to fill the position from within the department with Scholl. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Agenda item #6: Invasive Species Position Description review – Goggin presented a draft position description for the Invasive Species (IS) Coordinator (on file in the LWCD office) to the committee members. After discussion of the position description a motion by Verhulst, second by Spring to accept the position description with the committee’s edits. Motion carried, all voting aye. Motion to send the approved position description for the IS Coordinator position on to the Personnel Committee so they can proceed with the county hiring process. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Agenda item #7: Agent reports – LWCD, Goggin, Scholl, and Ritter distributed their written reports (on file in the LWCD office). Goggin suggested that at the next North Central Land and Water Conservation Committee (NCLWCA) meeting that Vilas County return the treasurer position back over to that group for reassignment given the Vilas LWCD’s change over. Goggin also relayed a resolution on a Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway compact resolution passed to the committee from the County Board chairman for consideration by the LWCC at a future meeting date. Scholl passed around a list of speakers for the WI Lakes Convention for the committees’ perusal. She also stated that there will be 6 or 7 Found Lake sites for cost share this year and the Unified Lake Commission is reapplying for 2 grants because of the change in venue from 50/50 grants to 75/25 grants. NRCS, Melnarik said that they are finishing up with the EQIP grant applications, and that there will be a cranberry grower’s school in January. RC&D, Verhulst stated that the major impact of the meeting was the development of the Farm Fresh Atlas project. The 5-year Lumberjack plan of work was adopted. There was a discussion about a future project brought forward by Florence County entitled – “Kid in the Woods” looking to bolster educating Northwoods students about conservation. The LWCC will send Florence County a letter of support for that new Lumberjack project. The next meeting for RC&D will be April 16^th.

Agenda item # 8: Lake Groups, Lake Protection Districts, & VCLA – VCLA, Thier stated that the winter newsletter went out. Little St. Germain Lakes Committee, Thier stated that they are applying for a WDNR grant. Nothing from the other districts.

Agenda item #9: Out-of county travel – Motion by Kukanich, second by Annin to approve out of county travel for Goggin, Scholl and Ritter. Motion carried, all voting aye. Motion by Verhulst, second by Spring for any committee member to attend the next North Central Land and Water Conservation Association (NCLWCA) meeting. Motion carried, all voting aye.

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Agenda item #10: Budget/Voucher approval – Leveille presented the following vouchers for approval: Patrick Goggin-$51.⁴²; Ted Ritter-$115.⁸³; and Lumberjack RC&D council, Inc -$200.⁰⁰. Motion by Verhulst, second by Ciszek to approve the vouchers. Motion carried, all voting aye. Motion by Verhulst, second by Annin to approve the line item transfer of $62.³⁴ from the postage line to the telephone line to cover the deficit for the year end. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Agenda item #11: Letters and Communications: WLWCA – Resolutions from the 2007 WLWCA convention; 2007 Annual Report for Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association, Inc.; Thursday Note December 20, 2007; and a 2009 proposed dues restructuring list.

Future Meeting Dates/Items: The next regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 14^th, 2008 in the Vilas County Courthouse, 330 Court St., Eagle River, WI 54521 at 9:00 a.m. It was discussed that this committee will meet every month, instead of bi-monthly.

Adjournment: Motion by Spring, second Kukanich to adjourn at 10:25 a.m. All voting aye, carried.

Minutes reflect the recorders notations and are subject to approval by the appropriate board or committee.

Submitted by: Rosemary Leveille