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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutive Committee - Minutes - 2/12/2015Minutes of the Bayfield County Executive Committee Meeting 3:00PM, February 12, 2015 County Board Room, Bayfield County Courthouse, Washburn, WI Members Present: Kenneth Jardine, Dee Kittleson, Brett Rondeau, Shawn Miller, Harold Maki, Beth Meyers (via telephone) Members Excused: None Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison (Bayfield County Administrator), Kristine Kavajecz, William Bussey, Dennis Pocernich, Amber Mullen-Ashland Daily Press, James Crandall, Marco Bichanich, Rob Schierman-Planning & Zoning Administrator, Ben Dufford-County Conservationist, WDIO, Wisconsin Public Radio, Terri Kramolis-Health Director, John Bennett, Members of the Public Rondeau called the meeting to order at 3:04pm. Public Comment: 3 minutes per speaker, total of 30 minutes. Rondeau expressed that any outbursts during the business portion of the meeting would not be tolerated. Those wishing to speak were asked to sign in and state their name. James Zorn: Executive Administrator of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife (GLIFWC) and resident of Colby Road. GLIFWIC supports a moratorium on the CAFO proposal, encouraging the board to research further before making a decision, out of respect to neighbors and Tribes. As resident, concern with groundwater contamination possibility and who is responsible for testing the waters. Encourage taking time to make a decision on this topic. Jack Stewart, Washburn, WI: Thanked the county for having a representative from Reicks View Farm to speak, also thanked the county for allowing those opposed to the CAFO to speak. Edward Korleski: Feels that the CAFO is a gamble. Supports business development, but is not supportive of the CAFO. Read a statement from Leroy Weisner, retired DNR employee, also opposing the CAFO. Reported that the City of Ashland passed a resolution requesting that Bayfield County enact more stringent regulations. Urged a 2-year moratorium. Ted Eastlund: Represented the Eau Claire Lakes Association. Surveyed their membership who were supportive of a 2-year moratorium due to concerns with public health risks and potential contamination to groundwater. Identified additional concerns regarding viruses and infections. Sarah Martines, Mason: Apologized for her outburst at a previous meeting. Requested that someone on the county board ask why Reicks View decided to locate here and if they feed antibiotics for health purposes. Frank Koehn: Supportive of a moratorium to continue research on potential impacts of the CAFO. Pointed out several past contamination sites in the area. L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2015\Executive Committee Minutes 2015-02- 12.doc Page 2 of 5 Jim Radtke, Town of Bayview: Commended the county for visiting Reicks View Farm firsthand. Supportive of 2-year moratorium and encouraged discussion and feedback from neighbors of the farm in Iowa. Jeff Silbert, Barksdale/Washburn: Had emailed data to several county board members concerning potential for groundwater contamination. Hurts to see conflict among community members. Asked Reicks View to go back to Iowa. Ken Raspotnik: Organic farmer located to the northeast of the proposed CAFO location. Concern with location of the proposed farm at the headwaters of Fish Creek. Disgusted with the conditions that CAFO farms raise the animals in. Joe Rose: Bad River tribal member, Ashland County Board Member. Asking for 2-year moratorium to research the CAFO proposal. 30minutes of public comment concluded. Rondeau asked if the committee was interested in extending the time for public comment. Motion Meyers, Kittleson to extend the public comment time by 15 minutes. Roll Call: Jardine-No, Kittleson-Yes, Meyers-Yes, Miller-No, Rondeau-No, Maki-No, Motion Failed Minutes of January 8, 2015: Motion Jardine, Miller to approve minutes of the January 8, 2015 Executive Committee meeting. Motion Carried. Reicks View Farm Presentation on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation: Gene Noem with Reicks View Farms presented information about the proposed operation. This facility is designed to provide replacement animals to their farms in Iowa. Operation to be located at the corner of Franzel and Curry Roads in the Town of Eileen. Total of 24,000 animals maximum, including 7500 sows, 2,200 over 55 lbs. 2,300 15-55 lbs. and 12,000 3-15 lbs. The facility will consist of four interconnected structures including an administration building. 7500 initial animals to begin the herd, with no additional animals brought in after the initial herd (animals to be replaced with those born there). Reicks View is in the process of final design for the structures. They anticipate the DNR application to be submitted in the next few days. They have completed the application for the Bayfield County ordinance requirements. Reports will include the operations plan and structure designs, including manure storage, setbacks, drainage etc. They have contracted with a state certified nutrient management planner. The State review will determine the timeline for the next stage of the process. There will be public comment as part of the DNR review. Reicks View stated that they are proud to operate in a professional, safe manner and to be part of Bayfield County. Mr. Noem responded to questions from the committee: Reicks View’s plan at this point is to utilize 900 acres of cropland to apply and estimated 6.5 million gallons of byproduct annually. Jardine shared some data on the depth of wells and soil types in the area of the proposed farm. The cropping plan includes grasses and corn on the fields, some of which will be used as feed for the herd. Bayfield County was chosen after several years of searching for an appropriate location. From a pig health perspective, the location is isolated and will only help the health of the herd. The land proposed for cropping currently has appropriate cropping operations in existence. Reicks View Farms currently operate in a 4-county area in Iowa. JBS, Tyson and L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2015\Executive Committee Minutes 2015-02- 12.doc Page 3 of 5 Hormel are customers of Reicks View Farm. No pigs will be processed locally. Reicks View has secured rental agreements with several existing farms, but has no plan to add additional rental lands at this point. Projected 6.5 million gallons of manure per year maximum could be produced which would require 700 acres of land per year for application, although 900 acres will be available. Manure is applied based on the projected crop yield, which varies annually based on weather and other considerations. Over 14 months of manure storage capacity will be maintained to address winter and weather concerns when manure cannot be applied. The State and the County Ordinance both identify a scoring system that is used to determine what requirements are needed to control odors. In response to road maintenance, 12-14 trucks per week will travel to/from the farm which is an increase of 4-5 trucks per week over the existing traffic. Reicks View has a dedicated veterinarian that oversees their herd health program and administers any medications. It is in the farm’s best interest to have healthy animals. Antibiotics are used sparingly, usually after birth if necessary, but there is no continuous feeding of antibiotics. Pigs are born at approximately 2lbs, after 21 days they increase to 15lbs. At that point 5% are to remain at the facility in Bayfield County while the remaining will be sent to Iowa. On average a sow will produce one litter per 145 days. The proposed manure storage facility is enclosed underground. A question was asked about animal welfare. Mr. Noem reiterated that it is in the best interest of the farm and their customers to provide what is needed for their animals. Primary responsibility for permitting of the CAFO lies with the DNR. Corn feed will be grown locally, however, Reicks View will be looking for a protein source (generally soy). Will employ about 35 people on the farm and cropping operation. Estimated local economic impact is about 3 million dollars annually. Regarding the quantity of antibiotics used, response will be provided by Reicks View Farm veterinarian. Life of an antibiotic once in the manure will also be provided. No growth hormones are used as it is illegal. Comment from Maki that this plan and information should have been brought forward at an earlier date. The committee observed a 5-minute break at this time. 4:12pm Large livestock animal operation moratorium Ordinance recommendation to County Board: County Corporation Counsel, Linda Coleman presented a draft moratorium ordinance and reviewed the contents. Coleman explained that the moratorium would require that actions be taken during the period of moratorium to study the topic. The moratorium would impact any potential future operation of 500 animal units or more. Parameter of a study would need to be determined by the county. Coleman also reported that if Reicks View files their application with the County and State prior to the County Board meeting when final action is planned on this topic, they would likely be “vested” and would not be impacted by the new ordinance, it would only impact potential future applications. Motion Meyer, Kittleson to accept the draft ordinance and recommend the moratorium on to the full county board. Discussion took place. Comment that there are blanks in the draft ordinance and that the County Board would fill in if it is recommended. Comment that the moratorium was voted down at the last County Board meeting, why is it on the agenda again. Bussey stated that he requested that the item be place on the next county board agenda during the last meeting and Pocernich stated that he directed the research be conducted and requested that it be placed on this meeting’s agenda. Meyers request that Corporation Council be present at the County Board meeting. Roll Call Vote: Maki-No, Rondeau-No, Miller-No, Kittleson-Yes, Meyers-Yes, Jardine-No Motion Failed. L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2015\Executive Committee Minutes 2015-02- 12.doc Page 4 of 5 The committee took a 3 minute break at 4:40pm. Meyers exited the meeting at this time. Cable Airport and Hangar Project Presentation, Bill DeVries: Thanked the county for the financial assistance over the years for maintenance costs. Cable airport is owned by three towns (Cable, Drummond, Namakagon). Large improvement including construction of hangars was completed this past summer. Main runway was resurfaced and lighting installed. Looking to the future, the airport will address safety obstructions (overgrown trees for example). Hangars are built at the expense of the tenant with a 25-year lease. Yearly maintenance costs are about $36,000 per year. $2239 is being requested as the county’s portion of the cost overrun for grant projects that were recently completed for runway improvements. Budget Amendment, Cable Airport, $2239.07. Hangar Project, 95% grant. Transfer from Contingency: Motion Kittleson, Miller to approve the expense of $2,239.07 in contingency funds for the Cable Airport to cover the county’s share of cost overrun for improvements. Motion Carried. Iron River Veterans Memorial Proposal, Ray Kangas: Motion Miller, Kittleson to table this topic at the request of Mr Kangas. Motion Carried. The topic will be brought back to the committee at the next meeting. Property taken through tax deed, with balance owed to Housing Rehabilitation Program. File 01-B-006: Abeles-Allison reviewed the information provided by County Clerk Scott Fibert regarding this parcel. The Housing Rehabilitation Committee has requested that the monies received for the sale of the property be returned to the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund after expenses and delinquent taxes are deducted. Motion Kittleson, Jardine to approve the request from the Housing Rehabilitation Committee to return the funds for the sale of the property to the Housing Rehabilitation Fund after costs are paid for the tax delinquency and related processing fees. Motion Carried. 2014 Budget Amendments: Abeles-Allison displayed and reviewed a year-end financial report for the General Fund as of that point in time (more expenses for 2014 still coming in). Several departments experienced expense and offsetting revenue overruns. There are sufficient contingency funds to cover expenses in those departments that did not have offsetting revenues. Motion Jardine, Kittleson to recommend this resolution to the full board for approval. Motion Carried. Energy Audit: $15,000 is budgeted in 2015 for an energy audit. The committee reviewed a proposal to conduct this audit. Abeles-Allison reviewed the proposal and explained the purpose of the audit is to construct an overall plan and prioritization (5-10 year plan) to address energy issues in county buildings. The committee discussed maintenance of the heating systems and contractual costs. Motion Miller, Maki to have the Administrator talk further with Focus on Energy if this is a service they could provide at no cost or a lower cost. Motion Carries 3-2. L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2015\Executive Committee Minutes 2015-02- 12.doc Page 5 of 5 Business Park Utility Cost Exploration: Abeles-Allison asked for authorization to explore further utility expansion to the Business Park. Motion Maki, Jardine to authorize Abeles-Allison to explore further utility expansion to the Business Park. Motion Carried 4-1 Reports: 1. End of January financial report: Reviewed earlier in the meeting. 2. Treasurer’s Report: Balances are up over this period last year. Miller exited the meeting at 5:25pm 3. Northern Lights bond refinance: Northern Lights is not interested in refinance at this time. Waiting to see if rates decline further. 4. Governor’s Budget Review: A summary of the governor’s budget proposal provided by WCA was reviewed. A note was made that under the governor’s proposal, the UW Stevens Point Northern Aquiculture facility would be forced to be closed due to elimination of Tribal Gaming funding. A handout from the facility was provided. The committee discuss a resolution supporting the facility from the board. 5. 2014 Capital Project Accomplishments: Abeles-Allison reviewed a list of projects and purchases that occurred in 2014 as budgeted. 6. 2015 Highway Project Discussion: Abeles-Allison explained that the County Board has established a goal of 6 miles of highway reconstruction yearly. There has been discussion regarding potential cost overruns due to extensive rut paving. Abeles-Allison wanted the committee to be aware of this situation anticipating further discussion/direction from the Highway Committee. Motion Jardine, Kittleson to enter in and out of closed session pursuant to Wis. Statutes §19.85 (1)(c) for the purpose of approving closed session minutes of January 8, 2015 and to conduct the County Administrator Performance Evaluation. Motion Carried. Entered closed session at 5:37 pm. Abeles-Allison and Kavajecz exited the meeting at this time, with Abeles-Allison to return when prompted by the committee for purposes of conducting his performance evaluation. Motion Jardine, Maki to return to open session. Motion Carried. Returned to open session at 6:00pm Meeting adjourned at 6:00pm. Respectfully Submitted by Kristine Kavajecz, Assistant to the County Administrator