HomeMy WebLinkAboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 5/8/2024Bayfield County
Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Meeting
Wednesday, May 08, 2024 – 4:00 PM
In-Person at the EOC in the Courthouse Annex
And Remotely via Microsoft Teams meeting
Minutes 1. Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 4:00 pm by Vice-Chair Steve Sandstrom.
Members present: Steve Sandstrom, Jeff Olsen, Fred Strand, and Larry Fickbohm (at 4:15 pm).
Members via Teams: Madelaine Rekemeyer
Others present: Mary Pardee, Theresa LaChappelle, Stephanie Bakker, Tracy Henegar, Ian Meeker, Kellie
Pederson and Kelly Westlund (4:10-4:55 pm).
Others via Teams: Tracy Henegar
2. Welcome New Committee Members
Jeff Olsen was welcomed as the new committee member present.
3. Election of Committee Chair and Vice Chair (action item)
a. Steve Sandstrom, Vice- Chair, opened the floor for nominations for Chair.
Motion (Strand, Rekemeyer) nominated Steve Sandstrom as Committee Chair. Sandstrom asked twice
for any other nominations for Chair. None were received. Nominations were closed.
Motion (Strand, Rekemeyer) To close nominations and cast a unanimous vote for Sandstrom as
Committee Chair. Motion Carried.
b. Sandstrom, Chair, opened the floor for nominations for Vice-Chair.
Motion (Strand, Olsen) nominated Madelaine Rekemeyer as Vice-Chair. Sandstrom asked twice for any
other nominations for Vice-Chair. None were received. Nominations were closed.
Motion (Strand, Olsen) To close nominations and cast a unanimous vote for Rekemeyer as Vice-Chair.
Motion carried.
4. Extension Overview
Pardee gave an overview of the UW-Madison Extension program, with slides highlighting the statewide
connections to local staff and showing the monies from all the sources that support the Bayfield County
Extension Office. She noted that the FoodWIse program is funded totally through Federal dollars.
Pardee also provided a copy of the County Partnership Guidance Report. This report lays out the
expectations and roles for the Counties and Extension. This report is currently being reviewed and updated
by Madison. A copy of the current Bayfield County contract was also included for the Committee Members
to peruse.
5. 2023 Annual Report
LaChappelle included a digital copy of the 2023 Annual Report in the meeting packet and had hard copies on
hand. The Annual Report will be presented by Pardee at an upcoming County Board meeting.
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6. Approval of Minutes of March 13, 2024 Meeting (action item)
Motion (Rekemeyer, Fickbohm) to approve the minutes of the March 13, 2024 minutes. Motion Carried
7. Public Comment
No public comments were given.
8. 2024 UW-Extension Budget Update Report
The year-to-date budget was included in with the materials and was looked over.
9. Area Extension Director Update
a. State and Area Updates
Northwoods Forum – Mary Pardee was part of the planning team for this special 175th UW-
Madison Anniversary Special Northwoods Forum held at Lac du Flambeau. The Northwoods Forum
had 200 registered participants with 170 in attendance. There were three different tracks that
attendees could attend: Community & Infrastructure, Quality-of-Life and Natural Resources. Tracy
Henegar held a session in the Quality-of-Life track. Kellie Pederson and Kelly Westlund did a
presentation on Housing in the Community & Infrastructure tack.
Strand stated that this was a very positive event, but that the amount of information presented was
somewhat overwhelming. Pardee noted that the information presented will be available online at a
future point. It is being discussed in Madison as to whether this type of event will be held again in
the future.
Extension in Other Counties- UW-Madison is closing the 2-year Washington County college
campus. In response to this the Washington County Board has decided to only fund the UW-
Madsion Extension Washington County 4-H program in the future.
b. Staffing
Emerging Crops – Jason Fischbach will be hiring a new part-time research assistant, as his former
assistant has left the position to pursue additional higher education goals. The funding for this
position will be from grants and run through UW-Madison.
FoodWIse – An Ashland, Bayfield & Iron Counties FoodWIse Nutrition Educator position is
currently being advertised. This position is funded through Federal funds.
Superior Adventures - Meeker will soon be looking to hire 1 or 2 people to work with the Superior
Adventures through the summer. The 2024 County budget already contains the funding for the
position(s).
Housing LTE – This position will be for a Limited-Term-Employee. The funding for this position will
be sourced from the remaining funds allocated for the Housing 2023 Intern.
10. Staff Reports
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a. FoodWise - Stephanie Bakker:
Three Year Action Plan – The plan has been completed and submitted.
CDC HOP Grant - Marissa Perlberg is the new CDC Hop Grant hire. She was one of the
FoodWIse educators, which is why there is an opening for a new FoodWIse educator.
StrongBodies - StrongBodies virtual strength training is just finishing up. Carrie Linder,
Bayfield County Human Services, has a few community members that have started their
training in how to lead these classes to provide additional in-person classes in our county.
Bayfield School Science Night – Bakker collaborated with garden staff to promote garden
efforts.
Cultural Inclusiveness -Providing leadership for the Tribal Nutrition Educators Group
(TNEG) and the newly formed FoodWIse Tribal Connections Space. Bakker will be hosting a
state-wide TNEG meeting in Red Cliff on June 11th.
Bakker also served on a hiring committee for the Indigenous Health and Well-Being
Specialist position.
Food Educator Resource Network (FERN) – Provided leadership for this newly created
group of local partners.
Turtle Island Tales – Connected the Red Cliff Early Childhood Center (RCECC) with
programming information about the Turtle Island Tales program. RCECC will be piloting
this program in the Fall.
Tribal Public Health Conference – Baker attended the Tribal Public Health
Conference in Tulsa, OK.
b. Youth Development & 4-H - Ian Meeker:
Cultural Arts Festival – Kaylie did a great deal of work coordinating this event that was
held in Drummond.
Air Rifle & 22 Shooting Sports Leader - Meeker attended a shooting sports leader training
this last weekend in Eau Claire. He will be starting up a 6-session shooting sports program.
Summer Camp – Currently there are 17 applicants for teen Camp Counselors. The number
of campers will be capped at 58 campers. Ashland County will not be a part of hosting
summer camp this year.
The Club After School Program – This program for middle schoolers is being held at the
Club in Washburn. The funding is provided by the American Lung Association.
Thrive Survey – Data from the Thrive survey was included in the meeting packet.
Fifth Grade programming – Meeker will be working with Bayfield, South Shore, and
Washburn schools this year on outdoor programming.
The VFW Building – The VFW building is still proving to be a vital resource to the 4-H and
Youth Development programs especially for storing canoes, CANSKI gear, etc.
Superior Adventures – Meeker is exploring hiring possibilities for this summer’s programs.
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c. Community Development - Kellie Pederson:
Organizational Development – As Kellie Pederson’s role in housing is less intensive this
has given her a chance to work more on organizational development issues. Some of the
works she has been focusing on include:
Non-Profit resources – Most resources for non-profit organizations are for large entities. It
is even more difficult to find resources for small non-profits. The Apostle Islands
Foundation is partnering to come up with resource materials for small non-profits.
Chequamegon Bay Area Non-Profit Summit - UW-Madison Extension Bayfield County,
Head of the Lakes United Way, Apostle Islands & Chequamegon Bay Area Community
Funds, and The Washburn Chamber of Commerce will be jointly hosting an event on May
30, 2024 at the Club in Washburn. This event will provide information for non-profit
organizations of funding, volunteer, and educational opportunities.
Fund Development & Donor Relations- This is a five-session online course that will run
every Wednesday June 12 through July 17th from 1:00 – 2:30 pm.
New Non-Profit Board Members – A training series is being planned for the in the fall for
new board members of non-profit organizations.
100 Who Care – Pederson attended the North Lakes Community Clinic event that
Madelaine Rekemeyer coordinated. This is a “giving circle” where donators nominate, vote,
and donate so that collectively, they can make a big difference with the local nonprofits.
Eldercare Coop –There have been some great consultants (including Sue Rosa, a new
County Board member) providing their expertise with CORE.
CheqBUILT- Chequamegon Bay Community Land Trust recently received $100,000 from
WHEDA with additional conversations on debt structures ongoing. The full board has been
seated including Kellie Pederson as Chair. CheqBuilt is in the process of applying for non-
profit status.
Workforce Group – Pederson has been working with Kris Kavajecz, Bayfield County
Human Relations Director, and some of the Bayfield County Department Heads in this
group.
Community Value and Place making – Kellie Pederson has been involved in the Washburn
Bike Park Coalition. The Bike Park coalition is merging into the North Coast Cycling
Association.
Ashwabay Alliance – In April, Pederson completed five years of service with this board.
d. Housing - Kelly Westlund – Westlund had to leave earlier for another meeting,
her report is included in the meeting packet. Kellie Pederson highlighted a few of the items
included in Westlund’s report.
Specialists pulled in to give additional insight.
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Regional Housing Forums – Westlund will be hosting regional housing forums around the
state in the coming year. There are grants provided to assist with the funding for these
forums.
Ondossagon School – Westlund has been working with Abeles-Allison in pointing the new
owners towards potential grants to proceed with turning the school into apartments.
Pigeon Lake – There are now two potential entities interested in the Pigeon Lake property.
The US Forest Service for employee housing and the Red Cliff Tribe as a treatment-
recovery center for Indigenous youth.
Washburn Development – The Congressional Directed Funding has been awarded for this
project. Just waiting on the status of the LIDAC tax credits. Once these have all been
awarded, it should take about a year to figure out the financials, potentially could have start
on construction by May of 2025.
e. Human Development & Relationships - Tracy Henegar: Parent Education & Behavioral
Health; Heidi Ungrodt– Parent & Financial Education and Literacy Link
Triple P-Teens – This is a five-week course with different topics offered each week. There
were between 13 to 30 registered for each session. The parents that had attended wanted
additional classes. Tracy Henegar will be offering a few more classes in the summer.
Mental Health First Aid training – There will be two sessions for the Adult Mental Health
First Aid training in Superior. One a blended online/in-person class was held May 6th at the
Superior Library. The June class will be a fully in0person class held at the Essentia Superior-
Community Room on June 1st. Youth Mental Health First Aid training will be offered
virtually in September and also in-person at UW-Superior in November.
Question, Persuade & Refer-QPR Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention workshops -
Facilitated and in-person QPR suicide prevention workshop for the Twin Ports
Construction Alliance – 26 participants.
WeCope- A six-week statewide virtual interactive program that helps adults cope with life
stress and improve positive health behaviors. There were 24 participants. There is enough
interest and a waiting list that Henegar may offer again in Summer.
Co-Parenting- This court mandated program for divorcing and/or separating parents
meets about once a month.
Resilient Co-Parenting – These once monthly statewide workshops give parents another
resource and allow other Extension professionals to teach the classes, instead of having
Henegar and Ungrodt teach all of them.
WECope for Trauma Informed Caregivers –This is an eight-week class for birth, foster &
adoptive parents, grandparents, relatives, caregivers and other child professionals and
community members to share information about trauma and the effects on children to
strengthen positive relationships and work in a way to build resilience.
Triple P – Fearless training –Henegar will be attending training for this new Triple P
program which will be offered to parents of children 6-14 years old with significant anxiety.
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UW-Madison Extension Bayfield County Committee Minutes-5/08/24
Coalition Building regarding Substance Abuse training – Henegar will be attending
training for this program.
Literacy Link/Jail Education – Ungrodt continues to facilitate workshops in the Bayfield
County Jail.
Financial Education - Youth Forward Wisconsin - Ungrodt continues to meet with
colleagues and organizations to discuss the Youth Forward Wisconsin program.
f. Office Manager - Theresa LaChappelle
Annual report – LaChappelle reported and presented the Annual Report earlier in the
meeting.
Living Well in our Best Years Newsletter – The newest edition of the Living Well
newsletter has been sent out.
11. Next Meeting Date – The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for July 10, 2024 at 4 pm. It may be
held in the County Board Room if the EOC is closed due to construction.
12. Adjourn – Meeting was adjourned at 4:12 pm.