Madison County SWCD
February 11, 2014 Minutes
The Madison County SWCD Board of Supervisors held a meeting on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 at the USDA Service Center in Anderson, Indiana. Vaughn Bracken, Mike Lawyer, Rick Autrey and Chad Bouslog were the supervisors who attended. Garland Antrim & Chanda Hiatt (SWCD) attended the meeting.
Vaughn called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m.
Rick made a motion to approve the minutes from the December meeting. Chad seconded. Motion carries.
Treasurer’s Report:
Checking Account Balance as of February 10, 2014: $824.20
Money Market Account Balance as of February 10, 2014: $121,665.70
Total of all Funds: $122,489.90
Voucher Approvals:
1) NACD Dues-$775.00
2) Athentic, Inc. (plat books)-$613.00
3) Postage-$6.60
4) Stamps-5 books
5) Master Gardener’s Booth-$25.00
6) Steve Schmidt (gas on his credit card)-$130.12
7) Gas Card Fillup-$300.00
8) Print Cartridges-$208.26
9) Hotel Bill from Annual Conference
10) Newsletter printing and mailing costs
11) Annual Meeting gifts-$100.00
Rick made a motion to accept the Treasurers’ Report and pay the Vouchers. Mike seconded. Motion carries.
SWCD Business
The Board discussed the Fall Creek Watershed Partnership (FCWP). The FCWP received the District Showcase Award at the Annual Conference. Due to weather, Steve and Chanda couldn’t make it, but Glenn Lange, Marion County SWCD, was in attendance and accepted the award on the Partnership’s behalf.
Chanda received the IDEA Star Award at the Annual Conference. This award was nominated by other district employees for outstanding leadership in conservation.
Steve is working with Dave Myers for a follow-up meeting this spring for the cover crops users or anyone else interested. Dave has KB Seed Solutions coming in from Oregon to attend the meeting. The meeting will be at 2:00 pm, on February 25th at the Farm Bureau Building.
Steve and Chanda were going to give a report on the Annual Conference in Indianapolis; however, neither was able to make it due to the weather. Steve talked with IASWCD, and about half of the registrants were unable to make it downtown.
The Board discussed plans for our Annual Meeting, which is on March 18th at 6:00 pm. Chanda has lined up Jonathan Ferris, Wayne County Purdue Extension Agent, to speak on “The Life of an Extension Agent and Landowner.” His talk will be a mixture of things including, humorous stories, conservation for wild game, habitat improvement on his farm, 100 years of Purdue Extension offices and the wild game processing workshops he provides. Rick has volunteered to lead the invocation before the meal. The local Boy Scouts will do the flag ceremony and help out with the raffle again. The SWCD will cover the costs for their meal. Chanda will get with Ousley’s for a floral arrangement and a gift for Jonathan’s wife. Rick made a motion to spend $25.00 on an arrangement for Mrs. Ferris. Chad seconded. Motion carries. Chanda has already reserved the 4H Building for the first Thursday of March 2015.
Chanda gave an update on the newsletter. We plan to have most our year’s announcements in this newsletter due to the fact we’re limited on newsletters with the costs.
There was discussion on Rule 5. Steve provided the Board a spreadsheet of the activities for 2013. In total, the program brought in $19,870.00 in 2013. We benefitted from our agreement with the City of Anderson to do their reviews and inspections and are coming in pretty even with previous year’s numbers. There was discussion on a possible increase in prices for the projects that fall in our fee schedule. The cold temperatures have helped with erosion, as ground hasn’t been freezing and thawing like normal years.
The Board was provided with information on the CRP re-enrollments and status reviews. There are four expiring contracts for 2014, along with the status reviews chosen. Our office will receive $1,541.70 this year. The agreement needs a signature.
The Board reviewed the Annual Financial Report. Chanda had Rick, Treasurer, sign the report, as well as Mike and Chad.
Chanda provided the Board copies of the Farm Bill Initiatives.
There was discussion on possible donations for the Annual Meeting. The Board mentioned Poet, Farm Bureau and Farm Credit.
Other Agency Updates
Sarah Clark’s last day was Friday, January 10, 2014. She was able to relocate to her fiance’s home county in Illinois.
Stacy Helbert’s transferred to Tippecanoe County at the beginning of January.
Jason Kishton, formerly in the Madison County USDA Service Center, was promoted to the USDA CRP Specialist and will be working directly under Susan Allen at the state office.
Meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m. Next meeting is scheduled for March 11, 2014.
SWCD Board of Supervisor’s Approval:
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