Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 5/16/2018 BAYFIELD COUNTY Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Meeting Wednesday, May 16, 2018– 9:00 AM Human Services Conference Room A Bayfield County Courthouse, Washburn, WI Minutes 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Fred Strand at 9:03 am. Committee members present: Jim Crandall, Jeff Silbert, Tom Snilsberg, and Fred Strand. Committee members not present: George Newago Others present: Mary Pardee, Matt Cogger, Jason Fischbach, Donna Ganson, Theresa LaChappelle, Liz Lexau, Ian Meeker, and Gina Monroe 2. Welcome New Committee Members Fred Strand welcomed new Committee Members Tom Snilsberg & George Newago in absentia. 3. Election of Committee Chair and Vice Chair (action item) Strand noted that the floor was open for nominations of Committee Chair. Jim Crandall nominated Fred Strand. Strand asked if there were any other nominations. Jeff Silbert moved that nominations be closed and a unanimous ballot be cast for Fred Strand. Second by Jim Crandall. Motion carried. Strand opened the floor for nominations of Committee Vice-Chair. Tom Snilsberg nominated Jeff Silbert. Strand asked if there were any other nominations. Jim Crandall moved that nominations be closed and a unanimous ballot be cast for Jeff Silbert. Second by Fred Strand. Motion carried. 4. Approval of Minutes of January 17, 2018 Meeting (action item) Motion by Silbert to approve the minutes of January 17, 2018. Crandall second the motion with the request to a change in the wording of the out of order motion request by Silbert, from “and” to an. Motion Carried. 5. Public Comment There were no public comments. 6. Out-of-State Overnight Travel Requests There were no overnight travel requests. 7. Staffing Updates a. Community Development Extension Educator starting May 21 Kellie Pederson has been hired to be the new Community Development Extension Educator. She will be starting on May 21st. Strand, Pardee, Fischbach, Meeker & Abeles-Allison served on the hiring committee. b. Summer Youth Program Leader (action item) UW-Extension, in consultation with Mark Abeles-Allison, is designing a new county position for a summer youth program leader. Considered a pilot project, this position may continue in future years with additional county funding. This position will involve getting middle school aged youth interested in outdoor adventures-canoeing, hiking, biking, etc. For this pilot year, we propose using $8500 of unused funding that is currently in the UW-Extension budget. The time between the retirement of Tim Kane and the start date of the new hire is providing an approximate $11,000 savings in the UW-Extension budget. If the budget amendment is approved, the funds will be moved from the Contractual Services line into applicable disbursement accounts. Discussion. Motion (Snilsberg, Silbert) to support the Summer Youth Program. Motion Carried. 8. 2018 UW-Extension Budget Update Report The year-to-date budget report had been included in the Committee member’s packets. Discussion. 9. 2018 UW-Extension Budget Amendments a. Vegetable Processing SARE grant revenue and expenses Discussion. Motion (Snilsberg, Silbert) to approve the budget amendment, move it forward to the County Board for approval and to recommend the passage of this budget amendment b. Summer Youth Program Leader revenue and expenses (action item) Further discussion on the Outdoor Summer Youth Program. Motion (Silbert, Crandall) to approve the moving of the funds from the UW-Extension contractual budget line-item into the applicable UW-Extension disbursement accounts to support the Summer Youth Program. Motion Carried. 10. National Extension Leadership Development (NELD) – Liz Lexau Liz Lexau has been participating this year in the NELD program. The NELD mission is to build leaders in Cooperative Extension at all levels and provide them with the vision, courage, and tools to lead in a changing world. Lexau recently participated in a workshop that was held in Costa Rica (famous for Happiness!). There were 32 participants from 10 Midwest states at the workshop. Lexau shared some photos and information from the workshop. 11. 2017 Annual Report Discussion on the viability of continuing with the Annual Report in its present form -hard copy & digital versions. The Committee and educators find value in keeping the hard copy, and it should be continued to be sent out to the towns, schools, libraries, etc. Fischbach mentioned the possibility of promoting an Extension Outreach Week the first week of October. The Committee members are in favor of this. 12. Issues and Program Ideas Discussion Ian Meeker, 4-H & Youth Development Educator, presented a copy of the Duluth Children’s Outdoor Charter. Meeker is interested to know the Extension Committee’s opinion on whether if a committee was created to do something similar in Bayfield County, would the County get behind this? Strand stated that he thought the County would get behind something like this as there is an educational need in our communities for recreational, especially outdoor, experiences. Currently the Bayfield County Health Department has a grant for promoting physical & mental health. Matt Cogger, Agriculture & Horticulture Educator, noted that gardening and farming questions are starting to come in. He stated that he would like to work on changing the Fruit Growers Clinic model of presentation to reach and make it more relevant to younger farmers. Cogger has been involved with an Academic Staff group to assist with the UW-Madison transitions. Cogger also presented and answered gardening questions at a recent Bayfield County Health & Wellness Brown Bag lunch. Liz Lexau, family Living Educator, discussed the Just In Time Parenting newsletters that are sent out to 120 families in Bayfield County each month. She also discussed the Relationships Matter workshops that she has been holding. Lexau and Heidi Ungrodt, Ashland County Family Living Educator have been holding a pilot Online Parenting Program that has been going well. Gina Monroe, FoodWIse Nutrition Coordinator, provided her January – May Educator’s Report. She also included Federal Fiscal Year 2019 – FoodWIse Programming Needs Assessment Report for Bayfield County. Monroe also presented Smarter Lunch Rooms handout. She discussed the Healthy Retail program, and FoodWIse has been working with as many Farmer’s markets as they can. Donna Ganson, 4-H Program Assistant, presented photos from recently held 4-H activities; Sewing Camp, The Dairy Breakfast and Cultural Arts Festival. Ganson has been working on various projects for Summer Camp, The Bayfield County Fair, and the clothing & foods revue (held this weekend). Theresa LaChappelle, Office Manager, along with general office duties she has finished compiling the data for the Barnes survey, and has been working on the 2019 Budget Survey. Jason Fischbach, Ag Educator & Woody Crops Specialist, mentioned that the solar- group buy discount can be obtained if an order is placed before June 1st. So far 150 have contracted for the group buy. A field day for those who are doing self-installation is being held at Toby Griggs’ place. Current dairy farm numbers in Bayfield County are down to 21 dairy farms. Fischbach also reported that he has been working with Nutrient Management Planning for farmers. He is also working with an Ashland grower to do a grass trial. Fischbach has been working on a Hazelnut-licensed processor plant at Northland College. It is a shell to kernel processor plant. This is a 3-year project that will be paid for with a new grant. He also noted that there have been some issues with the growing process of hazelnut seedlings, so there will be a wait for the improved seedlings, 13. Set Future Meeting Dates and Times The third Wednesday, of the odd numbered months at 9:00 am in Conference Room A has been chosen for future meeting dates. One exception will be the July 18, 2018 meeting, which will start at 912:30 pm. 14. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at10:37 am. Minutes submitted by: Theresa LaChappelle, UW-Extension Office Manager