CALL TO ORDER:  

A meeting of the Fremont Soil & Water Conservation District Commissioners was called to order by Chairperson Phil Wing at 7:00 p.m. on February 3, 2009 at the USDA Building, Sidney, Iowa.

 

PRESENT:   

Commissioners:  Mark Kilpatrick, Maurice King, Harold Mitchell, Sheryl Sanders, Phil Wing

 

Staff:                     Kevin Brannen, Lucas Forney, Tammy Grebert, and Brian Gross

 

Guest:                   Cathie Graves

 

ADOPT AGENDA:  

The agenda for the February 3, 2009 meeting was approved removing Mark Kilpatrick from the Cost-share Certification list and the Maintenance Agreement list.

 

APPROVAL OF JANUARY 2, 2009 MINUTES:

                The minutes of the January 2, 2009 meeting of the Fremont Soil & Water Conservation District Commissioners were approved as presented.

 

APPROVAL OF TREASURER’S REPORT:

09-09     It was moved by Sanders and seconded by Mitchell to approve the Treasurer’s report of the Fremont Soil and Water Conservation District. Motion carried unanimously.

 

Cathie Graves gave an update on the current DSC-IDALS budget. She also encouraged the board and staff to promote the Low Interest Loan program.

 

BUSINESS:

Ø       National Watershed Coalition Membership

10-09     Mitchell made a motion, seconded by Sanders to renew the membership to National Watershed Coalition for 2009 in the amount of $75.00. Motion showed all in favor.

 

Ø       Watershed Inspections

11-09     King made a motion to hire Brian Laughlin to complete watershed inspections again for 2009. The motion was seconded by Sanders and passed unanimously.

 

Ø       Application for Impoundment Structure Tax Exempt

                Notification was given to two applicants (Dennis Shull and Harold Shull) indicating that after talking with the Auditor’s office, applications for impoundment structure tax exempt would not be accepted after February 1, 2009 and that the next SWCD Commissioners’ meeting would not be until February 3, 2009, after the deadline.  

 

Ø       Quail Buffer Meeting

12-09     A motion was made by King, seconded by Mitchell to give $60.00 ($50.00 building rental and $10.00 refreshments) to help sponsor the Quail Buffer Meeting to be held on February 20, 2009. Motion carried with all in favor.   

 

Ø       Locally Led Discussion

                Gross requested a sub-committee be formed to review the results from the locally led group.


 

Ø       Lane Real Estate/ Terry Lewis Cost-share Project

13-09     With the change in location of this project, (See Motion 57-08, November, 2008) the cost to install the project will increase the cost to $1.38 per cubic yard. Mitchell made a motion to increase the cost for this project to $1.38 per cubic yard. King seconded the motion that passed unanimously.

 

Ø       Contractor Meeting – March 5, 2009

14-09     Fremont and Mills SWCD offices will have a contractor meeting on March 5, 2009 in Malvern at the Community Center. Sanders made a motion, seconded by Kilpatrick to contribute $30.00 to the expenses of the meeting. The motion carried with all in favor.

 

Ø       Simpson Watershed Maintenance

15-09     An invoice in the amount of $5,940.00 was received from Brian Ettleman for maintenance work done to the Simpson Watershed sites. A motion was made by Kilpatrick, seconded by Sanders to inspect the maintenance work done on the sites and if satisfactory, pay $3,690.00, the bid amount approved (Motion 56-08) for the project. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Ø       Watershed Maintenance Deadline Extension

16-09     On November 5, 2008, bids for watershed maintenance from Brian Ettleman were accepted. The maintenance work was to be completed by March 1, 2009. A letter from Ettleman was presented requesting to extend the complete date from March 1, 2009 to April 15, 2009. After discussion, Sanders made a motion to extend the watershed maintenance completion date to April 15, 2009. Mitchell seconded the motion that carried unanimously.

 

Ø       Hunter Branch Watershed Sponsor  

17-09     A motion was made by King, seconded by Sanders to sponsor the application for WSPF funding for projects along the Hunter Branch Watershed. The motion showed all in favor.

 

Ø       Farm Bill VIII Agreement

18-09     Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI), NRCS and IDALS-DSC are requesting Farm Bill VIII applications for work products completed January 1, 2009 through September 30, 2009. Applications will be accepted until February 23, 2009. A motion was made by Mitchell, seconded by King to apply for funding if Brian Laughlin is able to complete work products in the allowable time frame. The motion passed unanimously. Gross will contact Laughlin.

 

Ø       Wallace Foundation Donation 

19-09     Mitchell made a motion to pay regular membership dues in the amount $30.00 to Wallace Foundation. The motion was seconded by King and showed all in favor.

 

Ø       Board Development 

                The Commissioner Development Plan received from Jeff Zimprich and Cathie Graves was reviewed. After review, Grebert volunteered to give a presentation on Open Meeting Laws at the March 3, 2009 meeting.  

 

SIGNED APPROVALS

        Conservation Plans

Marlene Swisher

Gregory Family Farms LLC

 

Contracts/Contract Modifications          

Cornauflage, LLC

               


 

        Cost-share Certification

                Dwight Smith

                B. Clifford Cheney

                Thomas Skahill

                Larry Mount

                Mark Laughlin

                Dean Maher

                Larry Head

                Byron Inman

                Gregory Family Farms LLC

               

 

        Maintenance Agreements

                Dwight Smith

                B. Clifford Cheney

                Thomas Skahill

                Larry Mount

                Mark Laughlin

                Dean Maher

                Larry Head

                Byron Inman

                Gregory Family Farms LLC

 

        LWPP Application/Amendment

                Larry Mount

 

        Buffer Initiative

                                               

        Stewardship Initiative

               

        Cooperator Agreement

 

        Statement as to Soil Conservation Refund

                Alexander & Lindsey LLC

 

        Application for Impoundment Structure Property Tax Exemption

               

        Information Items

  • March meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5 3, 2009
  • Spring Regional – Thursday, March 12, 2009 Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, Osceola 9:00 a.m.

 

MEETING ADJOURNED:  9:10 p.m.

 

 

 

                /s/                                                                                                                           /s/                                                          

Secretary                                                                                                               Chairperson

 

Date Approved    03/03/2009