Washington Conservation District

december9, 2015 BOARD MINUTES

pending approval

Call to Order

Meeting called to order at 2:00p.m. by Chair, John Rheinberger.

Members Present:John Rheinberger, Chair

Louise Smallidge, Vice Chair

Jim Levitt, Treasurer

Bob Rosenquist, Secretary

George Weyer, Communications and Outreach

Staff Present:Jay Riggs

Shari Larkin

Tara Kline

Other Agencies:Michelle Wohlers, NRCS

Additions or Deletions to Agenda

Item F under New Business has been deleted from the Agenda. Additional attachments from MCD and BWSR were also made available to Board members. A motion to approve the revised agenda was made by Louise Smallidge and seconded by George Weyer. Motion carried.

APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA

Items on the Consent Agenda this month are the 2016Washington County Core Services Agreement in the amount of $250,000; the 2016Washington County Public Health Technical Services Agreement in the amount of $10,000;the 2016Washington County NRBG WCA Services Agreement in the amount of $59,551; the 2016-2018 EMWREP Agreement for the City of St. Paul Park in the amount of $650/yr; and the 2016-2018 EMWREP Agreement for the Township of West Lakeland in the amount of $650/yr. A motion to approve the Consent Agenda was made by Bob Rosenquist. Seconded by Jim Levitt. Motion carried.

APPROVAL OFnovember10, 2015 BOARD MEETING MINUTES

A motion to approve theNovember10, 2015 minutes was made by Louise Smallidgeand seconded byJim Levitt. Motion carried.

Louise Smallidge raised a question about grants with regards to when payments are received, and when payments are made to cost-share recipients. That developed into a discussion about a line of credit, or other options to level out cash flow between payments from grants.

Treasurer’s Report

Items to note are $6,500.00 payable to Anoka Conservation District for SWA training; $2,097.96 payable to ECM Publishers for AIS grant expenses; $1,500.00 payable to Flat Rock Geographics for the BMP Database; $5,131.60 payable to Metro Conservation Districts for Vectorworks software; $2,800.00 payable to Peterson Company for the 2014 Audit; $1,000.00 payable to the Postmaster to add postage to our bulk meter account; $815.56 payable to Happy’s Stillwater Automotive for vehicle repairs; and $541.96 payable to the United States Treasury for a 941 tax penalty. A motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report, subject to audit, was made by Louise Smallidge. Seconded by Jim Levitt. Motion carried.

Board Committee Reports

Personnel – At this time, Jessica will be unable to return to full-time status. If she is interested in the future, she will let Jay know.

Budget and Finance – Louise Smallidge made a motion to approve a finance subcommittee researching a line of credit. George Weyer seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Cost-Share – The committee met prior to the start of the Board meeting, and ranked three projects.

AGENCY PARTNER REPORTS

Washington County – It appears that we will have a role in the AIS program in 2016 as well.

NRCS –The 2015 payment information needs to be submitted before Monday to be included in 2015. The application deadline for EQIP ended in Mid-December. There are three applications in Washington County for pollinator habitat, and two for grazing projects. Screening will be done in February, and the funding decisions will be made mid-April. CSP is a continuous sign-up. The program will be new in 2016.

BWSR–BWSR has selected Washington County for their verification process for FY14 grants. BWSR staff has made recommendations for the new Clean Water Fund Grant. The recommendations have not been approved yet.

MCD –The next meeting will be December 16th. Jay distributed an amended copy of the 2015-2016 Work Plan and Budget.

EMPLOYEE REPORTS/PRESENTATIONS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

  1. Newspaper Articles and Other WCD Outreach – A 3-ring binder of the past month’s newspaper articles is available for the Board to look through if they wish.
  2. Presentation – None this month

Old Business

  1. Building Operations and Vehicles–A list is being prepared of items that are potential building and vehicle expenses in the near future.
  2. 2016 Medical Insurance – Updated information was included in the packet regarding the 2016 health insurance option of breaking away from the County plan, and going through Bearence. That will require getting ALL benefits on our own. Due to the increased cost for Short Term Disability under the new options, it is requested that we acquire a plan that will be office-wide. We will use the same percentage as the County did for employee contribution amounts for health insurance. The cost savings appear to be around $20,000. A motion to approve switching to the plans offered through Bearence was made by George Weyer and seconded byJim Levitt. Motion carried.
  3. 2016 Workload and Budget –Due to new funding opportunities, the 2016 budget will be updated.

NEW BUSINESS

  1. 2016 BWSR Buffer Law and MAWQCP Funding Agreement – Approval was requested to enter into these two new agreements with BWSR. The amount for the Buffer Law Grant is $10,000, and the MAWQCP Grant is $6,000. A motion to approve entering into the BWSR agreements was made by Louise Smallidge and seconded by George Weyer. Motion carried.
  2. FY16SWCD Local Capacity Grant Workplan Guidance – We have received notification from BWSR that eLink will be updated so we can update our workplan for the Enhanced Technical Assistance Funding. There has been talk among a few of the SWCDs to hire a Grant Administrator, so there is potential that we could share that position.
  3. 2016 Blue Thumb Partner Agreement–The 2016 Blue Thumb Partner Agreement was included in the packet. The funds to participate will come out of the EMWREP budget. A motion to approve entering into the agreement was made by George Weyer. Seconded by Bob Rosenquist. Motion carried.
  4. Peterson Companies CPA Proposal–An agreement letter was included in the packet, to hire Peterson Company Ltd. to prepare our year-end reports to BWSR, as they have in previous years. The fee is $1,000.00. Jim Levitt made a motion to approve the agreement. Bob Rosenquist seconded the motion. Motion carried.
  5. Peterson Brothers Roofing Maintenance Proposal–This company was recommended by the Washington County Facilities department. Upon inspection of the roof, they found some maintenance issues. A copy of the Scope of Work and Inspection Report were included in the packet. The cost to complete those items is quoted as not to exceed $3,200.00. Board approval is requested, to hire Peterson Brothers to complete those repairs.Louise Smallidge made a motion to approve the maintenance work. Jim Levitt seconded the motion. Motion carried.
  6. FY14 CWF Green Communities – Encumbrance Request – Lakeridge Condos –The WCD Staff request the encumbrance of up to $550.00 for installation to install two raingardens at Lakeridge Condominiums, 6090 & 6101 Courtly Alcove, Woodbury, MN. This project meets the grant requirements as the project area reduces 0.11 lbyr of TP. The total estimated cost for this project is $12,368.71 in material and installation cost. The landowner is contributing $2,542.18. The RWMWD will likely partner on this project to provide $9,276.53, in cost share funding. The landowner is responsible for maintaining the practice for a total of 20 years for RWMWD and 10 years for CWF grant. A motion was made by Louise Smallidge, seconded by Jim Levitt, to approve an encumbrance of up to $550.00 for State cost-share contract 14-01_GC. The district technical representative (Tara Kline) has performed a site inspection, reviewed the concept plans, and cost estimate. Applicant will be notified of Board’s decision within 15 days. All members voting yes. Motion carried.
  7. FY14CWF St. Croix Project – Final Payment Request – Behrends Waterway–In October, 2015, the Washington Conservation District Board approved $10,179 project costs to install a grassed waterway on the Tim Behrends property at 11340 Oakgreen Ave S, Hastings, MN. The BWSR Gully model shows a phosphorus reduction of 18.28 lbs. The project has been installed and eligible costs total $11,800. The Lake St. Croix Rural Subwatershed grant covers 75% of project costs. A final payment is requested for $8,850. SWWD is covering the remaining 25% of the installation cost. A motion was made by George Weyer, seconded by Louise Smallidge, to approve a final payment of $8,850 for contract 14-07 CWF_LSC. The district technical representative (James Landini) has performed a site inspection, survey, designed the concept and cost estimate. The district technical representative (Tara Kelly) has performed a final site inspection and reviewed the invoice. Applicant will be notified of Board’s decision within 15 days. All members voting yes. Motion carried.
  8. FY12CWF Green Marinas – FINAL Payment Request - Kiwanis–In December 2014, the WCD Board of Supervisors encumbered $42,655 for materials costs in BWSR CWF Partner’s Grant funds from the FY2012 Clean Water Legacy Grant Green Marinas for the Kiwanis raingarden & shoreline restoration. Carnelian Marine St Croix Watershed District agreed to match with up to $14,218 for an estimated project cost of $56,873. Installation started in September 2015 and the raingarden and shoreline were complete per the installation schedule. The district technical representative has reviewed the project and certified its completion. The FINAL Project Invoice is $33,927.75. The CWF encumbrance will only need to cover 75% of this total, which is $25,000. The remaining $8,927.75 is being paid by CMSCWD (26.3%); where they will pay $6,927.75 this year and will pay the remaining $2,000 worth of shoreline planting to occur in Spring 2016, once the flood waters have receded. It is requested that the WCD Board of Supervisors approve the final payment for $25,000 to Northern Star Council BSA (Kiwanis Camp). All requirements of the program, including documenting functionality and an O&M agreement, have been met for this project. A motion was made by George Weyer, seconded by Jim Levitt, to approve a FINAL payment of $25,000.00 for CWF contract 14-01 CWF_GM located in Marine on St Croix, MN. The district technical representative (James Andrew Landini) has performed a site inspection, reviewed the land occupier’s receipts/invoices, and certified by signature that the work performed was completed according to standards and specifications for this project. Applicant will be notified of Board’s decision within 15 days. All members voting yes. Motion carried.

AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING

Louise Smallidge recommended that all employees attend a meeting, to ensure that Board members know all of the newer employees.

Louise Smallidge moved to adjourn the public meeting. Jim Levittseconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 2:55p.m. The next scheduled meeting is January 13, 2016at 2:00p.m.

SecretaryApproved Date

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December9, 2015 Minutes