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Home My WebLink AboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 1/9/2019Bayfield County UW-Extension Committee Meeting January 9, 2019 Page 1 of 3 BAYFIELD COUNTY Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Meeting Wednesday, January 9 – 3:00 p.m. Human Services Conference Room A Bayfield County Courthouse, Washburn, WI Minutes 1. Call to Order The Chair, Fred Strand, called the meeting to order at 3:01 pm. Committee members present: Fred Strand, Jim Crandall, Larry Fickbohm, Jeff Silbert, and Committee members absent: Tom Snilsberg Others Present: Mary Pardee, Jason Fischbach, Donna Ganson, Theresa LaChappelle, Liz Lexau Ian Meeker, and Kellie Pederson. Welcome back Committee member Larry Fickbohm. 2. Approval of Minutes of November 28, 2018 meeting (action item) Motion (Silbert, Crandall) to approve the minutes of November 28, 2018. Motion Carried. 3. Public Comment There were no public comments. 4. Resolution of Appreciation for Matt Cogger and his Horticultural Service to Bayfield County Motion (Crandall, Silbert) to approve the Resolution of Appreciation for Matt Cogger. Motion Carried 5. Out-of-State Overnight Travel Requests (action item) There were no Out-of-State Travel Requests presented. 6. 2018 UW-Extension Budget Update Report The 2018 UW-Extension Budget was included in the UW-Extension Committee members’ packets. The final 2018 expenses have not all been paid. 7. Area Extension Director Report including a discussion on: Staffing and Ag/Hort Education in 2019 Pardee thanked Strand and Silbert for attending the Dean’s Monthly web conference that was held in the Bayfield County Board Room. After the webinar there was a meet and greet with various educators and board members from Area 1. Pardee explained that UW-Extension is now called UW-Madison Division of Extension, or Extension “County Name” County. Pardee noted that she and Fischbach met with the Extension Agriculture Institute Director and the Extension Associate Dean for Agriculture and Natural Resources to discuss the funding and employment options due to grant funding. For 2019, Fischbach will be retained by Bayfield County as a .7 Full Time Employee (FTE) and as a.3 FTE through the Hazelnut Grant. Two Limited Term Employees (LTE) are to be hired through the UW- System. Ariadna Chediack will be retained as an LTE Hazel Nut Research Technician. A second position for an LTE Program Assistant will also be hired. This position would most likely run from March to November and would focus on aspects of forage/grazing, such as; looking at fields, nutrient management implementation, and involvement in the Lake Superior Forage & Grassland Council. This position should be able to focus on whatever Fischbach and the Committee decides are the areas of commercial agriculture that need to be Bayfield County UW-Extension Committee Meeting January 9, 2019 Page 2 of 3 focused on. These changes will allow Bayfield County to see some savings in the salary line item. Since these changes do not affect Fischbach’s Ashland County status, there will not be a salary savings to their county. The Consensus of the Committee is that since there will be a savings for Bayfield County with this arrangement; the Committee would like to keep all these dollars in the Bayfield County UW-Extension budget expenditure funds. Thus, allowing the Agriculture Educator to use these funds for additional projects expansion and support for ongoing projects. Commercial Horticulture will be continued to be handled by Fischbach. Fischbach is meeting with area Master Gardeners to discuss and develop a program for them to take over answering the consumer/homeowner horticulture questions Pardee updated the Committee members on an Internship program through UW-Madison. Mark Abeles- Allison, Bayfield County Administrator, has persuaded the Dean to pilot the Internship program in Bayfield County in 2019.This Summer Internship will consist of one person who will work on a project. The funding for this paid position will be divided; half from Bayfield County and half from the State. 8. Issues and Program Ideas Discussion The Educators included some of their programming information in the Committee members’ packets. • Kellie Pederson – Developing first plan of work with a focus on Housing and Food. Pederson will be hosting a meeting with three local mayors; Beth Meyers, WI State Representative; Janet Bewley WI State Senator; and Mark Abeles-Allison, Bayfield County Administrator where they will be looking at scope of the housing issue, and senior housing alternatives. Transitional type housing has not been Pederson’s focus., but the issue has been discussed. Pederson and Fischbach are working on their second meeting regarding value added foods from the farm to table to restaurants. In March, the Edible Adventures six-class entrepreneurial workshops will be held. Pederson has some Extension trainings coming up. Business on Stage – Deconstructing the Construction Biz will be held on January 24th at the NGLVC. • Jason Fischbach– December was Hazelnut focused. He has been working on writing research reports. Fischbach will be holding an informational meeting in February regarding starting a Lake Superior Forage & Grassland Council. • Ian Meeker – CANSKI has 75 Bayfield County skiers enrolled. Forty-four of the skiers are elementary youth. He also met with eight Washburn school parents regarding CANSKI. Some teachers from Bayfield will also be bringing from skiers from the Bayfield area. Tuesdays & Thursdays are when the Middle School (MS) skiers ski. There are approximately 300 pairs of skis available for skiers. The elementary youth use waxless skis. In the -5th grade, the youth can start transitioning into using skate skis. The MS skiers use skate or classic skis. Meeker pointed out that Doug Liphart, Extension Ashland County 4-H & Youth Development Educator has been instrumental in getting equipment for the CANSKI program. 4-H Winter camp has 41 campers signed up. Ten of these are from Bayfield County. Meeker has also been working on a grant for the Summer 4-H Outdoor Summer Potential Adventures program. • Liz Lexau – Relationships and Parenting Education – The Parents Connect Online parenting group has some challenges but overall is doing well. Being able to offer live online classes has opened a lot of opportunities for parents, grandparents and caregivers to connect. Literacy Link – This program allows the inmates to read a story, have it recorded and then a copy of the recording and the book are given to their child, which then allows them to “read together”. Lexau will be working on enhancing the visitation space. She has a series of projects she will also be implementing to set up off site places for families for video conferencing with the inmates. Bayfield County UW-Extension Committee Meeting January 9, 2019 Page 3 of 3 Financial Education – The Money Matters Online program, has been a success. The online program has allowed more people to access the information and it has taken away the barriers of transportation issues. Silbert mentioned that Captain Hayden & the Sheriff have mentioned how much they appreciate the work that Liz does. . Co-parenting classes are held monthly alternating between Bayfield and Ashland Counties. On average, three to ten people attend. Lexau is in contact with Tribal educators. She has held various classes at tribal locations. Lexau reaches out to include a Native American co-facilitator but isn’t always able to. • Mary Pardee mentioned that Kellie Pederson has been working with Dr. Jen Park-Mrok, Leader of the UW-Extension Opioid team. Dr. Park-Mrok met with many different people in the County who handle different aspects and issues of opioid addiction. Soon, Dr. Park-Mrok will present her assessment report on how Bayfield County is handling the opioid/meth situation. • Donna Ganson – The 4-H Newsletter is coming out soon. 4-H leader orientations have been held for new leaders. Eleven new families have joined Bayfield County 4-H this year. There are currently 261 youth members enrolled, and 75 certified adult leaders. Enrollment is up this year for both youth and leaders. • Theresa LaChappelle – Gave a short demonstration on how to use the bookmarks that are integrated into the Committee Members’ pdf meeting packet. 9. Next Meeting Date and Time The next meetings has been set for the 2nd Wednesday of the odd numbered months. March 13th, 4 pm 10. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 4:24 pm. Minutes submitted by: Theresa LaChappelle, Office Manager Extension Bayfield County