Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 1/8/2020 Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting 1/08/2020 Page 1 of 3 BAYFIELD COUNTY Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Meeting Wednesday, January 8, 2020 4:00 p.m. Minutes 1. Call to Order Fred Strand, Chair, called the meeting to order at 4:04 pm Members Present: Jim Crandall (4:07), Larry Fickbohm, Jeff Silbert & Fred Strand Members Absent: Tom Snilsberg Others Present: Lissa Radke, Extension Educator, Stephanie Bakker, Jason Fischbach, Theresa LaChappelle, Liz Lexau, Ian Meeker and Mary Pardee, 4:27 - Elizabeth Skulan, Human Services Director 2. Approval of Minutes of November 13, 2019 meeting (action item) Motion (Silbert, Fickbohm) to approve the minutes of November 13, 2019. Motion approved. 3. Public Comment There were no public comments 4. Out-of-State Overnight Travel Requests (action item) There were no out-of-state travel requests 5. 2019 UW-Extension Budget Update Report There are still expenses for 2019 that need to be processed. 6. Electric Car Study Project – Lissa Radke, Extension Educator Radke, gave a summary of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Feasibility Study. The draft should be ready in a few weeks. There are seven different findings and recommendations in the report. Radke noted that the EV market has changed rapidly in the last few months. Xcel Energy has shown interest in a program that would set pricing structures for better EV charging prices. Radke recommended that Ashland & Bayfield Counties should be working with Xcel on Electric Vehicles. And communications with our communities about the EV program need to be shared such as through a “Ride & Drive” festival. Radke has received a toolkit. Radke and Fischbach will be meeting with CheqBay Renewables to discuss recommendations, roles, and priorities. A presentation at the Bayfield County Board is expected to take place in February or March. Radke will also investigate potential funding available for the County. Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting 1/08/2020 Page 2 of 3 7. Area Extension Director Report including a discussion on: A. Staffing Updates a. FoodWIse position – Sarah Tarkington has been hired as the 80% FoodWIse Educator. Her start date was January 2, 2020. b. Ag/Hort position – Sarah DeGraff has been hired as the 80% Agriculture Educator. Her start date is January 21, 2020. She will be mostly working with vegetables, fruits, and homeowners. DeGraff will be attending the WI Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Conference in January and the Midwest Organic System (Moses) Conference in February c. CWD Internship – The UW-Madison CWD Internship ends on Friday, January 10, 2020. d. Clerk 1 – Kaylie Lucas has been hired for the 10-hour a week Clerk 1 position. She will be starting on January 14, 2020. B. 4-H & Youth Development programming Donna Ganson, 4-H Coordinator is looking at retiring this year. In this position, Ganson oversees the 4-H programming needs. Ian Meeker is the Youth Development Educator, with his focus being on community youth. Currently, the County & the State are both paying in to cover the 4-H Coordinator salary. Once Ganson retires, the State has indicated that they might not be able to financially support the Bayfield County 4-H Program Coordinator’s 50%. Position. Pardee listed three possible options: 1. Bayfield County 50% Position – Financial commitment would stay the same. State & County would both pay towards the position fee. Bayfield County commitment would stay at the current rate. The State is currently not in favor of this option. 2. Shared 100% position – Bayfield & Ashland Counties would each have their own 50% position. Each county would pay half the fee for this position. Bayfield County’s portion would stay the same. Ashland County would have a new additional fee and the State would pick up the remaining. The State would end up paying a higher fee overall because of the additional position. 3. Bayfield County would pay the entire fee for the 50% position. The consensus of the Committee is supportive in keeping the 50% 4-H Coordinator position. 8. Issues and Program Ideas Discussion FoodWISe - Stephanie Bakker – Bakker has been preparing for Sarah Tarkington to begin. Direct education by Bakker has included the Bayfield Head Start 0-3 Playgroup, the Bayfield High School Wrestling team through March, and the Bayfield Elementary School. She has also met with Northern County Mentors which included Sawyer, Bayfield, Ashland, and Douglas County FoodWIse Coordinators. Bakker will share the Bayfield County FoodWIse annual report for the Fiscal year 0ct 1, 2918 to Sept 30, 2019 at the next meeting. Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting 1/08/2020 Page 3 of 3 Human Development & Relationships - Liz Lexau – Lexau has been involved in a lot of Jail Programming recently. She also has taken the “ACE’s and Trauma Informed Care” Training. This training provided many concrete examples for educators to put into practice in their classrooms when dealing with ACE’s issues. The Literacy Link program received a grant from First Book to purchase additional books. As she partners with other agencies, this will allow them to use some of these services. The Red Cliff Director of Family Services is interested and impressed with these services. Lexau noted that Indigenous related books are being purchased and used in the Literacy Link program. Lexau noted that she has also been teaching financial education too. 4-H & Youth Development - Ian Meeker – The 4-H CANSKI High School & Middle School Racers have between 12 to 20 youth. Washburn High School is providing coaches for the High School program and have voted to add it as a high school sport. Ashland High School has not made their decision on adding the Nordic Skiing as a recognized high school sport. Meeker has been focusing on writing a paper on outdoor adventures in order to obtain his full professorship. Meeker noted that VFW Center in Washburn, near the coal dock, has reverted to Bayfield County. Meeker suggested that the building could be used as a recreational outdoor clubhouse. Agriculture - Jason Fischbach – The hazelnut project has 2,500 samples being processed. There will be two hazelnut growers meeting in January one at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center (NGLVC) and one at the Spooner Ag Station. On February 27th a workshop on growing strawberries will be held at NGLVC. Private Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) will occur at the end of February, beginning of March. Licenses need to be renewed every five years. Discussion on hemp production and sales. 9. Next Meeting Date and Time The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 4:00 pm in Conference Room A of the Courthouse. 10. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 5:42 pm. # # #