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HomeMy WebLinkAboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 1/10/2024Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting January 10, 2024 Page 1 of 5 BAYFIELD COUNTY Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Meeting Wednesday, January 10, 2024 – 4:00 PM In-Person at the EOC in the Courthouse Annex And Remotely via Microsoft Teams meeting Agenda 1. Call to Order Meeting called to order by Vice Chair Steve Sandstrom. Members present: Steve Sandstrom, Larry Fickbohm, Madelaine Rekemeyer, and Fred Strand. Members via Teams: Jeff Silbert Others present: Mary Pardee, Theresa LaChappelle, Stephanie Bakker, Tracy Henegar, Ian Meeker, Kellie Pederson, Heidi Ungrodt, and Kelly Westlund. Others via Teams: Jason Fischbach 2. Approval of Minutes of November 08, 2023 Meeting (action item) (Silbert, Strand) Motion to approve the November 8, 2023 minutes. Motion approved. 3. Public Comment No Comments 4. Discussion on updated Bayfield County Grant policy The new updated Bayfield County Grant policy was approved by the County Board on October 31, 2023. A copy of the policy was included in the committee packet. Pardee asked for clarification from Mark Abeles-Allison on the impact this could have on the office staff as they apply for smaller dollar amount awards and grants from local organizations. The Administrator clarified that this policy is for State and Federal grants and that we may continue to forward budget amendments to the County Board for the smaller dollar amount awards and grants from local organizations. 5. Approval of American Lung Association Grant (action item) Meeker has been involved with setting up an Afterschool Pilot program in conjunction with the Washburn Club and the Washburn Chapter of the American Lung Association. This is an after- school pilot program for middle school youth, that is set to provide activities, especially outdoor activities, that will keep The monies provided are provided by the Washburn American Lung Association Chapter through the Wisconsin Juul settlement. (Rekemeyer, Fickbohm) Motion to accept the Juul settlement funds for the Afterschool Program and to forward the budget amendments onto the County Board. Motion approved. 6. 2023 Budget Amendments (action item) LaChappelle noted that she did not include any budget amendments for this meeting, as there are still expenses coming in to be paid out of the 2023 budget. It has been approved by the Administrator’s office to turn in these budget amendments at the February County Board meeting to be approved. Consensus of the Committee is to have LaChappelle provide the budget amendments to the County Board at their February meeting without prior approval from the Committee. 7. 2023 UW-Extension Budget Update Report The 2023 year-to-date budget was included in the Committee packets. Pardee noted that there are still expenses that will be paid from the 2023 budget. A more comprehensive update will be available at the next meeting. Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting January 10, 2024 Page 2 of 5 8. Out-Of-State Travel Requests (action item) A copy of Kellie Pederson’s Out-of-State Travel Request to the National Council of Older Adults Care Cooperatives seminar in Washington DC was included in the Committee packet. (Strand, Rekemeyer) Motion to approve Kellie Pederson’s Out-of-State Travel request. Motion approved. 9. Area Extension Director Update a. Staffing Healthy Communities Coordinator - Marissa Perlberg, FoodWIse Educator has taken the position of Healthy Communities Coordinator, through a CDC High Obesity Grant. This is a 5- year grant with a focus on the Bad River Reservation and also by bringing Bad River, Red Cliff & other tribes the Harvest of the Moon, cultural nutrition program. This does mean that there will be a vacancy for a nutrition education position. Housing Educator - Kelly Westlund’s Housing Educator position is a 2-year temporary position. UW-Madison Extension has extended her position for another two years, as long as the County continues to fund the position. Assistant Area Director - Tracy Henegar has accepted the position as Area 1 Assistant Director. This is a part-time, short-term, administrative role within the Division. This opportunity is supported as a strategy to invest in future leadership and administrative capacity, to work closely with an AED to learn, practice and participate in the major aspects of the Area Extension Director Role, including partnership management, staff development and leadership, program coordination and financial and risk management. It also allows the person to try the position to determine if it’s a role they might want to further explore in the future. Iron County Half-Time Horticulture Educator -Bruce Spangenberg has been hired as the Iron County Half-Time Horticulture Educator. This position is totally funded by Iron County. b. Northwoods Extension Showcase – Northwoods Extension Showcase will be held on May 7, 2024 at the Lake of the Torches Resort Casino in Lac du Flambeau. Kellie Pederson and Kelly Westlund have both been asked to speak at this meeting. c. Annual Reviews - Extension staff annual reviews are due. Pardee noted that committee members can give their input about the staffs’ performances to her. 10. Staff Reports a. FoodWIse-Stephanie Bakker/Marisa Perlberg. • FoodWIse Educator- Bakker noted that the FoodWIse program will be looking at hiring a new educator in the future as Marisa Perlberg steps into her new role. • Moving through the Seasons - The Red Cliff Boys and Girls Club have completed the first year of the “Moving Through the Seasons” program. • Chefs in Training – Bakker has started the Chefs In Training classes with some of the Bayfield High School students. These classes will take place at the Red Cliff Farm. • Strong Bodies – A new online “Strong Bodies” class will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 am – 10:15 am, January 16th to March 28th. • Tribal Nutrition Educators Meeting - Bakker will be joining in the next meeting. • FoodWIse Nutrition Newsletter – The January Newsletter was included in the committee packet. Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting January 10, 2024 Page 3 of 5 b. Emerging Crops-Jason Fischbach • Food Producer Grants - The DATCP will be accepting applications for two Wisconsin Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Program grants. The two RFSI grants, the Infrastructure Grant, and the Equipment-Only Grant, are funded through a cooperative agreement between DATCP and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). A total of $27 million is available in grant funding. Value Added Food Processing meat producers are excluded from these grants, as there are other specific grants open to them. • Woody Biomass Carbon Project – The grant for starting a pilot project for carbon sequestering with woody crops, did not receive the grant that Fischbach had applied for. However, representatives from the USDA – NRCS contacted him and would like to come up to meet to discuss the project. • Hazelnuts –Jana Rose Schleis’ article “Wisconsin’s first nut crop fights climate change, farmers say” in the January 7th issue of the Madison newspaper The Cap Times highlighted the progress of the Midwest Hazelnut and Fischbach’s journey. Fischbach noted that this article has generated a great deal of interest. Fischbach left the Teams meeting at (4:29) c. Human Development & Relationships -Tracy Henegar • Planning AHEAD - Henegar included a copy of the Planning Ahead impact statement in the committee packet. Mary Johnson, former Interim Bayfield County HDR Educator, invested into this program while she was at Bayfield County. The program is still running virtually throughout the state. • Youth Wellness Leadership Summit – This was a brand-new program, in which substance abuse funds and health clinics provided funding. This workshop encompassed many area schools, including those from Bayfield County. The schools chose their youth “leaders” to attend, with the hopes that these students would then bring back what they learned to the school setting. There was a broad set of topics to choose from for the full-day session day, the youth helped to choose the different topics presented. Henegar noted that they received great feedback, and the Summit surpassed their expectations. Henegar stated that they will look at offering a Youth Wellness Leadership Summit again with the possibilities of moving it to different counties. d. Human Development & Relationships – Heidi Ungrodt • Aging Mastery Program (AMP) – The AMP program that was held last year was a 10-week blended program of both in-person and virtual components. This year’s program will be an in- person only 8-week class. There is no age limit for those who can attend. • Trauma Informed Caregiver Class – Ungrodt and Henegar are the only two educators in the State that offer this class. There are now three new UW-Extension educators training with this class. • Financial Education – Ungrodt will be offering Money Management classes in February, in cooperation with the Red Cliff Housing Department and the Red Cliff Library. • Youth Forward Wisconsin Program – Ungrodt noted that she has had an initial meeting with a representative from EdVest. She will continue to look into this program. Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting January 10, 2024 Page 4 of 5 e. Housing Outreach – Kelly Westlund • Workshops – Westlund reported that she attended the Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation's annual conference, where she made some useful contacts and learned about new housing resources. • Community Land Trust (CLT)- Westlund noted that the CheqBUILT Community CLT has been incorporated. She and Kellie P. will be meeting with personnel from a successful CLT in Duluth to discuss the challenges and successes that they have faced. Westlund also stated that CheqBUILT has been approved for a technical assistance grant through Minnesota Housing Partnership. Westlund has delivered several "CLTs 101" presentations for other interested parties around the state. • Housing Workgroup – Westlund is participating in the UW-Madison Extension housing workshop group that includes participants from throughout the state. She is working with the group to compile information for a multi-state housing research project. • Other Communities – There is progress being made in Iron River. Westlund reported that the Thrive Rural grant she has been working on with the Town of Bell to develop a Senior Housing development has been awarded. The grant will be run through the Housing Authority. • Short Term Rental policies (STR) – Westlund has been sharing Zoning policies resources related to STRs with the Administrator and the Zoning Office as she comes across them. • Additional resources through Extension – Westlund has been participating in the Train-the-Trainer certification for the Rent Smart program. She will also assist with hosting regional Housing Forums around the state. f. Community Development -Kelly Pederson • Community Resilience and Aging Demographics – Pederson noted that the county needs to look at adapting to a future workforce. She shared the Bayfield County Population Pyramid, which is mushroom shaped. That is the widest part of the demographic in Bayfield County is the average age of retirement of 64. Bayfield County has also become the place of second home tourism and the place to retire to. Current demographics show that the workforce will not be able to be replaced on a 1- on-1 basis with the current population figures. What do we need to do to change this? Some ideas that we need to start working on right now are the need to bring in technology, better transportation, collaborations between and merging of organizations, outsourcing, letting go of some things, and hiring remote workers. • Cinnaire/Washburn Housing Development – The 2024 LIHTC application will be submitted at the end of January. We should hear back sometime in May. • Other Grants - Still in the running for a congressionally directed spending request allocation of $1M for the Cinnaire project. Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting January 10, 2024 Page 5 of 5 e. 4-H & Youth Development - Ian Meeker and Kaylie Lukas • 4-H Awards Banquet – The 4-H Awards Banquet was held in the EOC. This worked out well. Fred Strand was honored as the current 4-H Hall of Fame member. Jeff Silbert also attended the Awards Banquet and noted that it was impressive. • 4-H Enrollment – The enrollment numbers before the CANSKI enrollments came in showed a downward trend in both youth and leaders. • Youth Wellness Leadership Summit – Meeker provided content on outdoor activities for one of the sessions at the Summit. • State 4-H Team – Meeker has been involved with the Statewide 4-H Thriving Team. A survey went out to current 4-Her’s. The survey had a 21% return rate, when the statistics are available, they will be shared. • After School at The Club– The After School at the Club for Middle Schoolers has met already for two Fridays. These After School events are a collaboration between the American Lung Association, the Bayfield County Youth Development Educator, and the Washburn Club, with the funding coming from the American Lung Association grant. • CANSKI- CANSKI is going well. Once again, the VFW building has been vital for gear check out. f. Office Manager-Theresa LaChappelle • Woody Biomass Carbon Project – Fischbach let LaChappelle know that the USDA – NRCS personnel have scheduled a meeting on January 30th at 9 am. LaChappelle has reserved the EOC for this discussion on Woody Biomass Carbon Sequestering. She will send out a meeting invitation to all of the committee members. g. Committee Members • Steve Sandstrom – Sandstrom noted that he will be attending the Red Cliff Council meeting on Jan 18th and would like to present a bullet point on Extension programming at the meeting. Pardee urged all educators to get her a list of their items. 11. Next Meeting Date Tentative date set for March 13, 2024 at 4: pm – EOC and on Teams. 12. Adjourn Meeting was adjourned at 5:23 pm