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Home My WebLink AboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 5/11/2022Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting – May 11, 2022 Page 1 BAYFIELD COUNTY Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Meeting Wednesday, May 11, 2022 – 4:00 PM Bayfield County Board Room, Courthouse, Washburn, WI 54891 Minutes 1. Call to Order 4:00 pm Members present: Madelaine Rekemeyer, Steve Sandstrom, Jeff Silbert Members absent: Fred Strand, and Larry Fickbohm Others present: Stephanie Bakker, Jason Fischbach, Mary Johnson, Theresa LaChappelle, Liz Lexau, Kaylie Lukas, and Mary Pardee. 2. Welcome New Committee Members Madeline Rekemeyer is a new committee member present. Larry Fickbohm, a previous committee member, was absent. 3. Election of Committee Chair and Vice Chair (action item) a. Jeff Silbert, Chair, opened the floor for nominations for Chair. Motion (Sandstrom) nominated Jeff Silbert, for Chair. Rekemeyer seconded the motion for Silbert as Chair. Silbert asked twice for any other nominations for Chair. None were received. Nominations were closed. Motion carried. b. Jeff Silbert, Chair, opened the floor for nominations for Vice-Chair. Motion (Rekemeyer) nominated Steve Sandstrom as Vice-Chair. Silbert seconded the motion for Sandstrom as Vice-Chair. Silbert asked twice for any other nominations for Chair. None were received. Nominations were closed. Motion carried. 4. Approval of Minutes of March 09, 2022 Meeting (action item) Motion (Sandstrom, Rekemeyer) to approve the minutes of the March 09, 2022 minutes. 5. 2022 UW-Extension Budget Update Report The year-to-date budget was looked at. 6. Out-Of-State Travel (action item) Kellie Pederson went to the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) conference in Bentonville, Arkansas at the end of April. This conference centered on mountain bike trails and economic development. Conference fees and lodging were covered by scholarships and partnering entity. Meals and mileage are being asked to be reimbursed. Motion (Rekemeyer, Sandstrom) to approve of Pederson attending the meeting and for reimbursement of mileage and meal expenses incurred by Pederson for this conference. Motion carried. Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting – May 11, 2022 Page 2 7. Public Comment No public comments were given. 8. Extension Overview – Pardee Pardee gave an overview of the UW-Madison Extension program, with slides highlighting statewide connections to local staff, and budgeting. 9. Area Extension Director Update a. State and Area Updates Strategic Planning Team - The Strategic Planning team has been chosen from Extension Educators from across the State. Neil Klemme, Iron County, is a representative from the North. Extension faculty have an option to remain as faculty members or change to an academic staff position with no research expectation. This affects Jason Fischbach and Ian Meeker. Their choice will not affect the county programming which they provide. b. Staffing Cole Schinstock started at the end of April as the Superior Adventures Program Coordinator. 10. 2021 Annual Report – LaChappelle presented the 2021 annual report. It will be presented to the full County Board at a later meeting. 11. WEXA Update Silbert reported that WEXA (Wisconsin Extension Association) has been dissolved. Only 21 counties signed up to belong to the association. Any remaining funds left will go to WI Counties Association. 12. VFW Building: Funding for new door & window Discussion included the uses of the building by the Youth Development & 4-H programs, and the minimal fixes that are needed. Consensus of the Committee is that the VFW Building should be repaired. 13. Experiences with Alternative Delivery Methods of Services During Covid-19. – Discussion on what worked, what didn’t work, what has been learned. Comments included: • Some programs have a better turnout with in-person contact; other programs an online program works better • Demographics of consumers plays into the turnout • Zoom options have made programming more accessible to parents • Offering classes online allows for a wider consumer base, if offered as an in-person option the program may have had to have been cancelled due to a low number of registrations. Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting – May 11, 2022 Page 3 • Hybrid meetings/classes work well with the right equipment • Hybrid meetings have not been easy to make sure that everyone is heard • Having tech support during online classes is important to stop Zoom bombing and inappropriate commenting. • The Strong Bodies class will continue to be offered virtually. The Strong Bodies program being offered through the Ashland, Bayfield & Iron Counties FoodWIse programs is now also working with Douglas, Sawyer, Burnett, and Washburn counties. This has been a great opportunity to learn from the other FoodWIse teams, and the best opportunity to meet additional colleagues • There has been some burnout from youth regarding virtual meetings • It is harder to establish a relationship with just being virtual. • Innovative ideas to keep youth involved in 4-H. 14. Staff Reports a. Theresa LaChappelle –Office Manager Continue to receive Ag related questions that a county-based Ag or Hort educator would normally handle. Iron County Ag Educator, Darrin Kimbler, has taken on a few of the calls. LaChappelle has passed on other questions to the “Ask a Gardening Question” website and/or has passed on the DNR contact information for tree/forest health questions. Some questions are tough to know who to pass them on to. b. Liz Lexau – Interim Statewide Director of Literacy Link Ashland and Bayfield County were the pilot counties for the program. Lexau has been working on expanding the program into other counties. She has been having meeting with jails and community partners, such as: libraries, family services, tribal agencies. She has also been working on streamlining strategies and processes for the Making Reading Memories program, which is a video recording of the incarcerated parent reading a book, and then the recording and book are sent to the caregiver of the child. Lexau has been working with the Polk County jail via zoom, a Madison group to help expand the program there, and a caregiver support group with classes via zoom, as well as creating handouts for caregivers, and working on text messages with resources to assist the caregivers. c. Mary Johnson – Financial Education Financial classes for Red Cliff have been rescheduled. In-person Planning Ahead classes in Bayfield and Iron River Gave input to the Administrator for the WI Innovation grant The Health Academy was cancelled for in-person d. Kaylie Lucas – 4-H Assistant Assisting with logistics for the Ashland & Bayfield County Summer Camp – Grades 3-8, at Camp Crosswoods Planning for the Cloverbud Day Camp to be held in June Planning for the Foods & Clothing Revue. Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting – May 11, 2022 Page 4 Scheduling a Topside Property cleanup day in Mid-May Putting together a showmanship clinic for rabbit showmanship at the Fair Grounds. Cultural Arts Festival was held at the Drummond School. There were about 100 people in attendance. There were 19 performances and about 80 art projects. 4-H Annual Awards banquet is in the works. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds have been sent out for the pumpkin and sunflower competition. e. Ian Meeker – Youth Development & 4-H Meeker has been working with the Washburn Middle Schools on a youth initiative. Cole Schinstock – Superior Adventures Schinstock started earlier this year so he can work on planning for the summer. He will also be working with the school districts on programming with their summer schools. f. Stephanie Bakker /Marisa Perlberg Strong bodies, the virtual strength-building program, now has seven counties that are collaborating with this program. They are in the second week of this program For the Harvest of the Month (HOM) program, Bayfield school had a visit from the Spudmobile. Students also made cards to thank the custodial and cafeteria staff for Lunch Hero Day. School Garden Day is next week with activities planned. Finished the FoodWIse grant and submitted it The Native American Nutrition Conference is coming up at Mystic Lake in Pryor Lake. The entire team will be attending. 15. Next Meeting Date Wednesday, July 13th 4pm 16. Adjourn – Meeting adjourned at 5:38 am # # #