Minutes of Regular Meeting

Present:                                                                                                         SWCD Personnel:
Lauren Preske, Chairman                                                                                 Norma Duckworth
David Ellison, Vice-Chairman                                                                           Bonnie Bittner
Les Nunn, Secretary (Absent)
Wayne Fehd, Member                                                                                     NRCS Personnel:
Maurice Berendes, Member (Absent)                                                               Darrell Rice
Holly McCutchan, Associate Member                                                               Dan Hovland, AC

                                                                                                                         ISDA Personnel:
                                                                                                                         Ken Eck

Two members were coming in late so we started with agenda items only up for discussion; no motions; I am keeping the minutes according to the agenda.

Chairman Lauren Preske asked members and staff to introduce them to our guest. Mary explained she is here to learn about what we do. The league is planning a meeting in October to learn about Urban Sprawl. She said most people she talked to mentioned the district’s Smart Growth Group and Sustainable Evansville Group. The league is interested in learning about this issue and may be interested in helping.

The minutes of the April meeting were mailed to each member prior to the meeting.

David Ellison made a motion to accept the April minutes,
second by Wayne Fehd, and carried.

Lauren asked the board to refer to the April financial report. The previous balance on 4-1-07 was $35,098.65, Receipts $1,019.59, Debits $731.35 and the balance as of 4-30-07 was $35,386.89

A motion was made by David Ellison, second by Wayne Fehd, and carried,
to approve the treasurer’s report as presented.

The following claims were submitted for Supervisors’ approval
APRIL CLAIMS
W4305 Post Office (April Newsletter Postage) $177.21
W4306 Haley Shea Green (1^st Place Poser Contest) $50.00
W4307 Alexandria Crick (2^nd Place Poster Contest) $30.00
W4308 Stephanie Danielle Luigs (3^rd Place Poster Contest) $20.00
W4309 VOID
W4310 Old National Bank (Replenish Petty Cash) $29.25
W4311 Great Mid-Western Publishing Company, Inc. (49x$7.50 Plat Books) $357.50
W4312 Indiana Department of Revenue (Jan., Feb., Mar., Sales Tax) $57.39
NOTE: the Auditor paid the following claims:
Oaks Printing, Inc. (April Newsletter & Ads) $1,341.86
Vanderburgh County SWCD (Reimbursement for Newsletter Postage) $177.21
Bonnie Bittner (Mileage) $8.10
AmeriStamp Sign-A-Rama (Self Inking Signature Stamp) $29.95
Tri-State Trophies (Name Badges) $146.50
Office Depot (Office Supplies) $84.28
IASWCD (2007 Dues) $2,000.00
Cingular Wireless (Cell Phone) $18.11
Bonnie Bittner (Mileage) $5.70
Vanderburgh County Fair Association (Fair Booth Rental) $150.00

David Ellison made a motion to approve the claims, second by
Wayne Fehd, and carried.

OLD BUSINESS:
Natural Resource Committee – Dave Ellison, Chairperson
Darrell reported Maurice called reporting Mater Dei is concerned if after the project is surveyed and designed should it run over the estimated amount of $8,000 are they obligated to continue? After some discussion consensus was if the project was over the estimated amount of $8,000 the project could be terminated.

Darrell reported he and Norma have two new sites they are looking at for the Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) Locust Creek Grant. One is for a tree planting and the other is stream bank stabilization. Joel Lindley, NRCS Engineer looked at the site. Darrell explained the program to our guest Mary Ruthenberg.

Lauren asked members to refer to copies in their packets for the newspaper article and the TV interview on the monitoring Blair Borries, Big Creek Coordinator and Dave Elgin, Director of Four Rivers RC&D are doing in Big Creek. Bonnie read a report Blair sent saying the third round of monitoring has been completed and they are starting to pull together the data. They are in the process of distributing surveys to get a head start on their tasks for the next steering committee meeting. Bonnie passed the survey to members asking them to fill it out and return it to her when they are completed.

Lauren reported the Builders/Developers Workshop the district is planning for early 2008 is on hold until school is out. Darrell will be contacting the Home Builder’s director to meet and see what areas he thinks they would like to be included in the workshop.

Bonnie reported she sent a letter and the River Friendly forms to Alan Stahl telling him the board feels he is qualified. She asked Wayne Fehd to call and talk to him.

Lauren asked members if they had suggestions for Master and Conservation Farmer. Wayne reported he had some ideas and would talk to Darrell about them.

BUSINESS PLAN
Priority Actions for 2007:
Soil Erosion: Continue developer’s workshop to highlight urban control practices and legislation
(Partnering with other agencies)
Conservation tillage will be increased by 20% over 2002 amounts, with a minimum of 5%
per year on highly erodible land.
Promote No Till Workshop for producers
Locate and promote programs that provide incentives to adopt conservation practices
(Newsletter/ongoing)
Water Quality: Educate public on maintenance of septic related issues by SWCD & Partners with
Newsletter, flyers, fair booth
Nitrates and phosphates levels will be reduced in Locust Creek by 10% over 2002 Levels
Target Locust Creek with Core 4 grant (i.e. soil erosion, nutrient management, pesticide
Management, & buffer strips)
Partner with Health Department to address water quality concerns
Preservation of Natural Areas: Preserve existing wetlands, forests & wildlife areas
create additional wetlands, forest and wildlife areas
Encourage the utilization of "green spaces" in subdivisions & urban
areas
Partner with the city to get rid of kudzu
Preservation of Farmland: Reduce the loss of prime farmland to urban development

Preservation/Creation Natural Areas Committee – Lauren Preske, Chairperson
No Business This Month

Farmland Preservation – Wayne Fehd, Chairperson
Darrell reported the group has not met for a couple of months. He spoke with Donna Bergman who said the mayor is sending a letter requesting the group to be at the table for Air Quality. The mayor signed a National Agreement to reduce carbon emissions. The League of Women Voters is also interested in what the group is doing.

Bonnie reported Kay Hoffherr returned the Farmland Preservation Video and liked it so well she wanted her own copy to use with her Environmental Class next year. Bonnie ordered one and put it in the mail today. Holly asked for several copies to have available at the Science teachers meeting in August. Consensus was to adopt the Farmland Preservation Video for our Business Plan action item (Develop a video for youth on impact of farmland conversion).

Brown Field and Urban Land Use Committee – Les Nunn, Chairperson
Darrell explained Tillage Transects to Mary. He will be doing them in two to three weeks. They are done in one day from about 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and are used to determine trends.

Finance Committee – Holly McCutchan, Chairperson
Holly asked members to refer to copies in their packets of a financial report Bonnie put together to track the CWI Grants, District Operations and Annual Meeting. Previously Lauren asked for a report on the income and expenses of Annual Meeting. Lauren asked Bonnie if any other counties tracked their income and expenses in this way and would she contact them to see what they were doing for their annual meetings.

Bonnie reported on the cost of the recycled pencils Lauren asked about in the April meeting. Consensus was to wait until we had a specific need for them like perhaps Annual Meeting.

District Operation Committee – Wayne Fehd, Chairperson
Norma reported the Earth Day at Evans School went very well. She worked up a new power point presentation and also used the Enviroscape which the teacher and students liked very much. The teacher and Bristol Meyer representative each wanted a copy of the power point presentation. She explained to Mary that the Enviroscape demonstrates how water runs through a watershed. She used the Enviroscape for Earth Day at Howell Wetlands along with handouts. Norma and Lauren both agreed about 600 people were present that day.

Norma had a display on Rain Gardens and answered question at the Master Gardeners Plant Sale on Mother’s Day weekend. She showed the display poster board and smaller version to use on a Velcro display board we had made on the Rain Garden. She passed two newspaper articles on the Plant Sale saying Norma would be there to answer questions on Rain Gardens. Dan Hovland said he had a friend in Grayling, Michigan who did a DVD on storm water management in urban settings using rain gardens as part of the solution.

Norma passed two articles from the Evansville Courier on the Living Land and Waters Garbage Barge that was in Evansville last week. The Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh and Warrick SWCDs and Canoe Evansville combined forces with Mulzer Stone to sponsor the group in Evansville. They worked on cleaning up the Ohio and Pigeon Creek. On Friday and Saturday they had an education workshop for teachers.

Pickin on the Pigeon will be at Garvin Park on June 2^nd. Norma will be on vacation but has three volunteers covering the district presentation; two of which are Master Naturalist. They will be demonstrating the Enviroscape and handouts that Norma will have prepared for the event.

Norma reported she took the winning students their checks for the poster contest and gave each of the 66 participating students a certificate. She also gave a presentation at each school on Bio Fuels and Water Quality. Two of the teachers asked for presentations to their class next year before the contest.

Lauren told members we still need someone to attend County Commissioners meeting in July, September and October. David Ellison signed up for July & September and Lauren for October.

Bonnie reported David Ellison called the Mayor’s office and they told him he had to go online to fill out a speaker’s form. Bonnie filled it out and e-mailed it to the mayor’s office. Yesterday she called the mayor’s office to check if they received it. Ms. Holiday said they did receive it; the mayor has it in his folder. He is out of the country for two weeks and they will let us know on his return.

Lauren reported she met with staff and they reduced the seven committees down to four. They are Natural Resource Committee (Soil Erosion & Water Quality), Land Use Committee (Farmland Preservation, Brownfield’s, Preservation/Creation Natural Areas, and Smart Growth), Education Outreach Committee & District Operations Committee. After some discussion supervisors ask Bonnie to list the duties under each committee and send it to them so they can decide which one they want to be chairperson. They also asked Bonnie to put a short article in the newsletter asking for volunteers to be on the committees.

NEW BUSINESS
Natural Resource Committee – Dave Ellison, Chairperson
Lauren asked members to refer to copies in their packets for the Conservation Implementation Team Workload tracking for Vanderburgh County. Darrell added the different aspects of projects that have been updated or finished since the tech team leader sent this update. He added in spite of all the work the tech team has they are also working on the Lake and River Enhancement Locust Creek grant projects.

Darrell reported he will set up a meeting for David Ellison, Wayne Fehd, Brian Herr, Curt Stahl, Alan Stahl and himself to set down and discuss the future of the Tillage Plot. Daylight Farm Supply has taken on a whole new division, which shortens their time with the plot. Brian (Daylight) has in the past done the planting. It was behind schedule this year which potentially could cause some lost revenue for the Stahl’s. They will all set down and work out a plan that will meet the needs of both groups.

Preservation/Creation Natural Areas Committee – Lauren Preske, Chairperson
No Business This Month

Brown Field and Urban Land Use Committee – Les Nunn, Chairperson
No Business This Month

Finance Committee – Holly McCutchan, Chairperson
The petty cash report was reviewed by Holly McCutchan and passed for supervisors to initial.

                    Wayne Fehd made a motion to replenish Petty Cash for $35.25
                    to bring the total back to $50.00, second by David Ellison and
                    carried.

Lauren passed the budget letter asking the commissioners for a 3% Cost of living increase for our 2008 budget which would increase our budget from $15,820.00 to $16,295.00 for the year 2008. The board agreed by consensus to submit the letter to the commissioners.

Lauren asked for a motion to pay Norma’s 2007 dues ($80.00) in the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS).

David Ellison made a motion to pay Norma’s SWCS dues, seconded
by Wayne Fehd, and carried

District Operation Committee – Wayne Fehd, Chairperson
Lauren passed the invitation sent to the district for "Evening on the River". The event will be held on June 1, 2007.

Bonnie reported she went online to see when the May meeting of the State Soil Conservation Board would be held. They will skip a May meeting and will meet in June. They should process Les Nunn’s resignation and Holly McCutchan’s appointment then.

Norma passed copies of her weekly report for board members to review. She said she will be ordering more water monitoring supplies. Dave Elgin. RC&D director will order a case of the BOD bottles and will share some with her since you cannot order less than a case. Norma reported she has not had time to work on the intern application. Holly volunteered to help.

Norma asked members to let her know when they can work at the fair booth. The fair starts on July 23^rd. She reported David got a folding table for her to use in her presentations.

Norma reported she is adding water monitoring sites and will share the data with the city and the county for their MS4 reports. The sites are on Kleymeyer Ditch behind Popeye’s on lst Avenue, behind Tim Adler’s property on Locust Creek, at Blue Grass and Howell. She reminded members that on June 16^th ORSANCO are having a River Clean Up and want volunteers.

Norma passed River Watch Workshop flyers for the board to hand out advertising the June 21^st workshop at Harmony State Park.

Darrell reported he has 32 out of 37 Status Reviews finished and a lot of them will be out of compliance. He notified each one that they were chosen for review and will send a letter to each one with the results. Dave explained that farm payments are tied to your being in compliance with the rules for residue and erosion. The County Committee decides if they hold payments. Members explained Storm Water rules in general for all areas, rural and urban. Darrell also reported he has 7 new EQIP contracts, 3 new CRP, he is working on an RC&D Brine Site remediation, developing trails in Clem Park in West Terrace Subdivision and will give a final presentation on Kudzu at Fendrich Golf Course to the Parks Department. NACD sent an action alert asking supervisors to contact Congressman Ellsworth asking him to please support the administration of conservation programs as it currently stands. Later in the afternoon we got another e-mails saying it had been amended to the original bill.

Area Conservationist, Dan Hovland talked about the status of the current farm bill. The Conservation Security Program would be put on hold for the next five years, with no new sign-ups until 2012. The Conservation Reserve Program, and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program would be continued at the same level and the Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program would be expanded. The proposal would continue the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Grasslands Reserve Program – but essentially only in name and not provide money to continue the programs in future years. All programs are subject to additional funding, should the $20 billion in reserve funding for the Farm Bill become available in July. Each subcommittee will take similar action on other titles of the bill and then the complete bill will be reviewed by the entire committee. Full committee review is expected toward the end of June. Many conservation amendments were held-off for the full committee. Jane Hardisty, State Conservationist was in Washington updating Congressman Ellsworth. She told him she would put together a tour in Indiana to show him what the federal dollars have accomplished.

County Employee time sheets were passed for review and signatures of supervisors.

Lauren tentatively set the date for the next board meeting on June 27, 2007, 7:00 p.m. in the Vanderburgh County SWCD conference room. She ask Bonnie to check with Maurice Berendes to see if he could meet on the 26^th or 27^th. Bonnie will put the correct date in the letter she sends out day after the board meeting.

David Ellison made a motion to adjourn at 9:30 p.m.
seconded by Wayne Fehd and carried.