HomeMy WebLinkAboutForestry & Parks Committee - Minutes - 6/8/2020
BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT
COMMITTEE MEETING
June 8, 2020
Remotely held via Microsoft Teams
Members Present: Fred Strand, Chairperson; Jeffrey Silbert, Larry Fickbohm, Steve Sandstrom, David
Zepczyk.
Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator; Lindley Mattson, Office Manager; Steve Probst, Assistant
Administrator
Others in Attendance: Joseph LeBouton, DNR Liaison
1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting.
This meeting was called to order at 6:02pm.
2. Public Comment: None
3. Approval of the May 11, 2020 Meeting Minutes.
MOTION: (Zepczyk, Silbert) to approve the minutes as presented. All: Yes. Carried.
4. Spring Timber Sale Offering
Bids were opened at 11:45am on June 8.
A total of $2.26M in sales for this spring offering. This was a surprisingly successful sale considering the
uncertainty in the coming months. Six sales with no bids. A few of those have been offered 4-5 times,
mostly frozen ground only sales. Some discussion on bid opening procedures and possibility of keeping this
as the new process.
MOTION: (Silbert, Zepczyk) accept the high bids as presented by Jason for the Spring 2020
offering. All: Yes. Carried.
5. COVID-19 Adjustments
a. Office Structure. Lindley is back in the office full time. Bodine is in and out a few days a week.
Some of the foresters may have irregular office hours in the coming months when technology is
needed.
b. Campgrounds. A few upset transients that have camped at the campgrounds for year, that aren’t
allowed this year. Twin Bear is at full capacity for seasonal campers, Delta is almost full. Hand
sanitizer is available in numerus locations at both campgrounds.
c. Yurts. Yurts are open. We have blocked off some days between renters for staff to go up and
clean. We have supplied both sanitizing spray as well as towels and asked renters to sanitize and wipe
down all touched surfaces before they leave.
d. Day-Use Parks. Bathroom remains closed at Atkins but everything else is open.
e. Designated Recreation. Atv trails opened on schedule. All other designated rec sites opened as
per normal.
6. Monthly Reports. Discussion of general activities, events, issues and accomplishments. Possible
action on report(s) only.
a. Forestry (all updates):
a) 2020 Budget. Revenues to date $1.45M. Starting the planning for the 2021 budget.
b) Pratt Rd Land Purchase. Appraisal came back, appraised higher than accepted offer. The grant
should be reviewed by the DNR in August.
c) Carbon Offset/Marketing. Meeting with some consultants this week to talk about their
preliminary findings in our data. Still a work in progress.
d) Xcel temporary Bypass Line. Field staff from Xcel were looking at preliminary placement of
the lines. J. Bodine was sent GPS location points. They are targeting road right of ways, as
indicated. They are exploring options to get the line off of Star Route Rd.
e) Stewardship Land Acquisition Project. Red Cliff had some preliminary approvals on the 210
acres they requested. That would generate $315,000 in value, which we would then be applied
toward a Stewardship grant, doubling that value. If the grant is approved by Red Cliff, the topic
would come back to the committee for approval before the transaction is complete.
b. Parks:
GovPay is set up and ready to go for the 2021 season. No use for it this year with no transient
camping.
c. Trails and Recreation:
a) Motorized Trail Updates: We are working on plans for a covered picnic shelter on an ATV trail
off Flag Rd.
b) Non-Motorized Trail Updates: There is an RFP out for work at Siskiwit Falls. Hopefully out by
end of this month.
c) Yurt Updates: All days that are not blocked for “rest time” are booked.
d) Events. No recurring events approved. Some access permits coming due for renewal soon.
d. Delta Landfill Update: DATCAP has finished preliminary plans for repair. Those plans have
gone out to the DNR for review. If all looks well, they then get sent to WI Emergency
Management for review. If the preferred alternative is approved, we would request a change of
scope that will accommodate for the additional repair.
Some committee discussion about Town of Delta assisting in repair. Where is the county going
to get the 12.5% they are required to pay.
MOTION: (Zepczyk, Silbert) Receive and place on file. All: Yes. Carried.
7. Bayfield County Forest Comprehensive Land Use Plan Revision
a. Chapters 800: Not yet available for review. J. Bodine scrolled through some of the draft chapter 800,
with some discussion. There is a lot of data analysis in this chapter, hence the slow process.
b.Timeline for Remaining Chapters. J. Bodine hopes to have Chapter 800 ready for review in July. As
well as chapter 3000, addressing IRMU’s and Barnes Barrens management. Appendix and minor
chapters to review in August. Assuming all chapters have been approved, the final draft would be
available for public review in August, public comment brought to the committee in September. Once
approved by the committee it would then be sent to the DNR for review, back to the committee, then
to the board.
Chairman Strand cancelled the July meeting. The only contingency for the meeting would be acting on
the Red Cliff Land Acquisition. The above timeline for the Comprehensive Land Use Plan would
change accordingly.
8. Joseph LeBouton, DNR – no comments.
The next Forestry and Parks Committee meeting has been scheduled for Monday, August at 6:00 P.M.
Meeting adjourned at 6:41 PM
Submitted by,
Lindley Mattson