HomeMy WebLinkAboutForestry & Parks Committee - Minutes - 6/20/2011BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT
COMMITTEE MEETING
June 20, 2011
County Board Room
Members Present: Shawn Miller, Chairperson; Marco Bichanich, Bill Kacvinsky, and John Bennett
Members Absent: Vice-Chairperson; Bucky Jardine
Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator; Steve Probst, Asst. Administrator; Pat Bruno, Office
Manager
Others in Attendance: Steve Coffin and Joseph LeBouton, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI
DNR); Scott Williams, representing Bayfield County Snowmobile Alliance & ATV Association and Trails
North ATV Club.
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson S. Miller at 5:15 PM.
Approve Minutes:
MOTION: (Kacvinsky, Bichanich) to approve the May 11, 2011 meeting minutes. Carried.
Monthly Financial Report:
Bodine reported that Forestry revenues are on record pace and expenses are on normal. Park expenses are
normal and revenues appear to be normal.
MOTION: (Bichanich, Bennett) to approve the June 2011 Financial Report. Carried.
Recreational Use Request: Scott Williams, representing the Bayfield County Snowmobile Alliance and ATV
Association, has requested a re-route of Trail 31 through county forest land (2 miles of trail) in the Town of
Tripp. The re-route would serve to meet road setback requirements and property owners’ requests to move the
trail. Also from the county forest standpoint, the re-route would provide easy access to county forest land. Also
included in the proposal is new signage. The funding would be a state grant of which the process begins April
2012. As per other trails, the snowmobile alliance will provide all of the maintenance.
MOTION: (Kacvinsky, Bichanich) to grant the request by the Bayfield County Snowmobile Alliance and ATV
Association to re-route an approximate two mile portion of Trail 31 through county forest land in the Town of
Tripp and work with the Forestry & Parks Department on actual trail locations. Carried.
Land Use Request: Scott Williams, representing Trails North ATV Club, has requested to build a privy and
trailhead parking area at the junction of Battleaxe and Flag Roads in the Town of Port Wing. Per S. Miller, a
privy permit request has to come before the Zoning Department. J.Bodine will consult with Zoning on the
status of the permit request.
MOTION: (Bichanich, Kacvinsky) to table the request until information has been received from the Zoning
Department. Carried.
Barnes Barrens Management Plan: J. Bodine is preparing the plan and will have it ready for the July
meeting.
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June 20, 2011 Meeting Minutes
MOTION: (Kacvinsky, Bichanich) to table the approval of the Barnes Barrens Management Plan until the July
Committee meeting. Carried.
Sand River Pit Material Request: A request has been received from the Town of Bayfield to use
approximately 700 yards of sand for a Town bridge project in the Town of Bayfield.
MOTION: (Bichanich) to approve the request from the Town of Bayfield for 700 yards of sand for a Town
bridge project. No second. Motion died on the floor.
There was a discussion of a proposed price.
MOTION: (Bichanich, Bennett) to approve the request for 700 yards of sand from the Town of Bayfield for this
qualifying project at $.75/yard. Carried.
Sand River Pit Material Request: A request was received from C & W Trucking to use 1,200 yards of sand
for a Red Cliff septic mound project. There was a discussion of a proposed price. J.Bodine will research the
cost.
MOTION: (Bennett, Bichanich) to table the request until the information is received and presented at the July
Committee meeting. Carried.
Green Tree Retention Guidelines: J. Bodine discussed the draft Green Tree Retention Guidelines document
specific to Bayfield County.
MOTION: (Bichanich, Bennett) to approve the Green Tree Retention Guidelines as proposed. Carried.
Recreational Use Request: The Central Cross Country (CXC) organization has requested to use existing trails
located in the Town of Cable for a mountain bike race on July 16, 2011. These trails have previously been used
by the Short N Fat Tire race.
MOTION: (Kacvinsky, Bichanich) to approve the request from Central Cross Country to use existing trails
located in the Town of Cable for the July 16, 2011 race. Carried.
Bayfield County Parks:
a) Updates on Twin Bear campground projects.
Electric: The major electrical upgrade is complete. More pedestals will be added after camping season
is over.
Wheel Chair Accessibility Ramp: There was discussion on whether the wheel chair ramp landing will
satisfy Americans with Disabilities Association (ADA) requirements. Overall, everyone seems to be
happy with the progress at Twin Bear.
b) General discussion on 2012 season.
Power (boat) loading and vehicle/boat trailer parking are issues that will need to be addressed. Also,
building a pavilion at Twin Bear is suggested as a potential project. The Committee recommended
addressing seasonal site selection and processes, as well as other campground policy issues beginning
with the September Committee meeting.
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June 20, 2011 Meeting Minutes
General Discussion Items:
a) Meeting with Red Cliff Tribe.
J. Bodine met with Chad Abel and Jeff Benton of the Red Cliff Tribe to share ideas on forest
management on tribal lands. The Tribe is working on a process for external collaborators and will send
a draft when completed. A check for both access permits was distributed at the meeting.
Also discussed was a future land swap and issues concerning 400 acres of County forest land that is
currently not accessible. The Committee also discussed harvest goals for the land located within Tribal
boundaries. The Committee made a recommendation to harvest stands as scheduled rather than
spreading the goal out over time.
b) DNR Audit.
J. Bodine reported that a draft report had been received with an overall positive audit finding. The final
audit report should be received in July.
c) Department Salary Review.
J. Bodine is reviewing staff salaries and other counties’ for purposes of comparisons.
d) Other Updates.
e) Steve Coffin and Joseph LeBouton, DNR Representatives, Comments.
J. LeBouton and S. Coffin attended the DNR pre-audit meeting.
Mark Abeles-Allison arrived at 6:49 PM.
Jason Bodine, Steve Probst, Pat Bruno, Steve Coffin, and Joseph LeBoutin left the meeting at 6:49 PM.
MOTION: (Kacvinsky, Bichanich) to convene into Executive Session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes
19.85(1)(c) for the purpose of considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation
reasons requiring a closed session and on a roll call vote entered into Executive Session at 6:50 PM. Carried.
Adjourned at 7:22 PM.
Next meeting: Monday, July 11, 2011 at 5:15 P.M.
Submitted by,
Pat Bruno