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HomeMy WebLinkAboutForestry & Parks Committee - Minutes - 3/11/2019BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING March 11, 2019 County Board Room Members Present: Fred Strand, Chairperson; Jeffrey Silbert, Vice-Chairperson; Harold Maki, Larry Fickbohm and David Zepczyk Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator; Lindley Mattson, Office Manager Others: Tom Piikkila, WI DNR Liaison; Nikki Marten, Forestry Staff Specialist 1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting. The meeting of the Forestry and Parks Committee was called to order by Chairman F. Strand at 6:00 P.M. 2. Public Comment. Chairperson Strand called for public comment. After repeating the call no one came forward. Closed public comment. 2 3. Approval of the February 18, 2019 Meeting Minutes. MOTION: (Maki, Zepczyk) to approve the minutes as presented. All: Yes. Carried. 4. Monthly Reports. Discussion of general activities, events, issues and accomplishments. Possible action on report(s) only. A. Forestry (all updates) a. 2019 Budget Timber sale revenues were down in February, at just under $200,000. January was above average. Approximate $625,000 to date. Expenses are as expected. b. County/DNR Time Standards Time standards were reassessed for FY 2020-2022 and as expected the total number of hours allocated to our program decreased. Hours decreased from 3,916 in 2019 to 3,640 for FY2020-2022. c. Stewardship Grant Purchase agreement has been finalized between the county and Ceres Timber. The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Grant contract is being developed by the state. The closing date is scheduled for March 27, 2019. The Bibon Swamp has been enrolled in County Forest Law, as one of the contingencies of the grant. B. Parks (all updates) Parks are still closed for the season. Could possibly see some delays in opening parks due to the amount of snow this season. C. Trails and Recreation (all updates) a. Motorized Trials Snowmobile trails are still in good condition. With warmer temperatures in the next weeks we may see a decline in trail conditions. Allocated funds have run out so there will not be much, if any, trail maintenance for the rest of the season. b. Non-Motorized Trails Trails still in good condition. Clubs are still grooming and maintaining these trails. c. Yurts Evergreen and Terra Cotta were 50% booked in February and currently at 55% for March. Cable was 43% in February and is at 40% so far for March. J. Bodine logged into the Airbnb website and gave a brief overview the reservation calendar. Fickbohm asked about the wood supply at the yurts and how we could regulate consumption. J. Bodine stated staff is monitoring the supply and that it is currently the biggest expense for the yurts but we would rather supply the wood than have people transporting firewood to County Forest. d. Events No recurring events for February. So far, no requests have been made for March. e. FEMA Grant/Projects i. Motorized Trails Many conversations with FEMA representatives in the last few weeks. There is a strong push to get these done by the end of the month. ii. Delta Landfill Same as motorized trails. New discussion to change/update the name from “Landfill” MOTION: (Silbert, Fickbohm) Receive the monthly report and place on file. All: Yes. Carried. 5. Town Road Aid Projects. J. Bodine presented a summary of the projects received from each town. A total of $173,000 was requested this year. Bodine presented the 2017 and 2018 funding amounts as well the 2019 requests and what the administrator’s recommendations for 2019. Bodine recommends revising the application process since we are increasing the percentage and removing the cap on the program. Discussion on how funds are distributed to the different projects. J. Bodine states it is loosely based on size of towns as well as the amount of infrastructure used by the county. Reiterating the revision of the application process for the Town Road Aid Projects. MOTION: (Maki, Fickbohm) Approve option 1 funding for the townships for the road aids. All: Yes. Carried. 6. Trespass on County Forest Land. J. Bodine made contact with the landowner. He acknowledged the issue and is agreeable to correcting the issue. Options would include 1) Carve out the parcel that has been encroached upon and and sell it directly to the landowner. 2) Trade the approximate 1.2 acres owned by landowner north of Long Lake Road for the roughly .25-.30 acres that is being encroached upon. 3) Enter into some sort of agreement/permit authorizing the use. The landowner would be responsible for all costs associated with the transaction, including survey fees and legal fees. J. Bodine recommends option 2 but would like to wait until the snow melts so we can adequately assess the issue. Discussion on the options, which is favorable to the county, what would be the fastest/easiest going forward? Consensus from the Committee to pursue option 2, but give administrator the flexibility to alter that if needed. 7. County Forest Law Withdrawal If we sell or trade the parcel to the adjacent landowner, it would first need to be withdrawn from CFL. That requires approval from the Committee, the Board and the DNR. MOTION: (Silbert,Maki). Approve County Forest Law withdrawal for this trespass land for any option that J. Bodine chooses. All: Yes. Carried. 8. Recreational Use Request Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) is requesting permission to use existing trails around Mt. Ashwabay for an Enduro mountain bike race/event. J. Bodine recommends approval. Some discussion on trail maintenance, if there are 200 participants, how may that affect the trail conditions. After further discussion it was determined that the trails are designed to withstand this type of use. There are also Rec Use agreements in place for this purpose. MOTION: (Fickbohm, Maki). Approve the CAMBA event as it is presented. All: Yes. Carried. DNR Representatives, Comments. Nikki Marten: Nikki is a Forestry Staff Specialist at the Brule station, she is heavily involved in CLF withdrawal. Tom Piikila: Tom is a DNR Forester at the Washburn Ranger station. Time standards are on track to satisfy for the year. Anticipate being at 85% by the end of the month. We are currently setting up a sale south of Barnes. Meeting adjourned at 6:47 P.M The next Forestry and Parks Committee meeting will be held Monday, April 8, 2019 at 6:00 P.M. at Bayfield County Courthouse, County Board Room, Second Floor, 117 E. 5th Street, Washburn, Wisconsin. Submitted by, Lindley Mattson