REGULAR MEETING -- Board of Supervisors
Anne Arundel Soil Conservation District
2662 Riva Road, Suite 150
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
September 21, 2016; 9:00 AM
Supervisors Present: Milly B Welsh, Chair 04.12 6/6 Steuart Pittman, Vice-Chair 04.14 5/6
Scott Leis, Treasurer 03.14 4/7 Herb Sachs, Member 04.15 6/6
John Colhoun 04.16 5/6
Associate Supervisors Present:
Mike Superczynski, Associate Supervisor 01.15 8/9
Others Present: John Czajkowski, District Manager, SCD
Melbaliz Santiago, Acting District Conservationist, NRCS
Mike Scheffel, Area Coordinator, MDA
Dave Myers, Secretary, UMD Extension
Lisa Barge, AAEDC
Chris Maex, Senior Urban Soil Conservation Specialist, SCD
Joe Superczynski, Senior Ag. Soil Conservation Specialist, SCD Keli Kirby, Office Manager, SCD
Absent: Dave Wayson, Associate Supervisor 01.15 6/9
The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Chair Milly Welsh.
Minutes: (Sachs, Leis)
The August minutes were accepted.
REPORTS: (Leis, Colhoun)
Financial, K.Kirby:
There was a question about the additional charge to the IRS, which was due to the money being withdrawn from the wrong bank account.
· The District financial reports were accepted.
· The MDA financial report was accepted.
MDA, M. Scheffel
· Governor still has not approved the MACS budget. So there is a stop on capital projects, but cover crop is not affected. The $3 million dollars in pre-existing applications have been approved and cooperators should have received letters.
· Phosphorous Management Tool Advisory Committee is making 3 recommendations to the governor regarding the Nutrient Management Laws that went into effect July 1: statewide uniform stop spreading date, no spreading dates December 15- March 1. No more requirements to incorporate manure once it is spread because they want to encourage no till farming. Formal exemption policy, emergency winter spreading of manure.
· 9/22 Dave Scheler will be leading a tour for a BMP verifying team from MDA
· PMT – State law now requires that phosphorous level must be reported on NMP. Anne Arundel County only has a 68% reporting rate.
· Travis Gorleski will be our contact for Ag. Certainty
Urban, C. Maex
· See attached urban report.
NRCS, M. Santiago
· There should be a permanent District Conservationists starting in October
· FY16 officially ends September 30th. September 23rd will be the last day to submit budgetary modifications.
· Dr. Terron Hillsman will be visiting today to discuss overall operations and improving field office partnerships.
· Patty Engler, member of State Program Resource Team, will attend the October Board Meeting
· CRP deadline was September 9th
· Anne Arundel did good on their PRS report
· FY17 Local Working Group is returning, Anne Arundel will be allocated $100,000 again this year. Deadlines have not yet been determined.
· Client Gateway is an online program that allows you to access information on the conservation practices that a cooperator’s farm is currently involved in. The hope is that each office can sign up 1 customer per month.
· Update Emergency Survival Kit for those offices that have expired
· See attached NRCS report.
Agriculture, J. Superczynski
· See attached agriculture report.
Extension, D. Myers
· Newsletter should be released on September 22nd and should list all the Extension events on calendar for the winter months.
· October 13th and 14th – Dave will traveling to Portland, Maine representing Maryland as Ag. Program leader. Northeast States Convention to discuss regional extension programs.
· October 8 – Dean’s College Open House in Clarksville.
· Dave was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for the National Association of County Agriculture Agents.
· Purple Amaranth discussion on positive identification, spread of the weed, resistance to herbicides, proper removal and disposal.
AAEDC, L. Barge
· Received new baler for equipment rental program that does both net and twine
· Agritourism (see handouts included)
*Eva Kershner, Assistant Director of Inspection and Permits and Robert Winchester, Code Compliance Administrator, Inspection and Permits.
Discussion held on Standard Grading Plan and why the limit is 5000 sq. ft.; what there is for Stormwater Management with ag. Structures, particularly when they are open to the public including safety; draft form of Permitting Guide for Agricultural Structures in Anne Arundel County and National Pollutant Elimination System Permit; exemptions for ag structures over 5000 sq. ft. of disturbance but under 1 acre; and clearing of historic field that has been fallow for many years.
Cooperator Agreements
Shelley Hopkins
Owner/Operator: Christopher and Elizabeth Russell-Wood. Wilson Road, Friendship. 15.86 Acres. Equine and Christmas trees. Two agricultural structures.
SWQPs
David Scheler (Pittman, Sachs)
Owner/Operator: Larry Popejoy. East Bayfront Road. Shady Side. 11 Acres. Brush management and field border.
New Owner/Operator: Joseph Superczynski. College Parkway, Arnold. 10 Acres. Forest management plan, conservation cover.
Eileen Beard (Leis, Sachs)
New (10 + years) Owner/Operator: Susan Chaney – Equine and Wayne O’ Neill – Crop. Greenock Rd., Lothian. 125 Acres. Horses, hay, and crop
Shelley Hopkins (Pittman, Leis)
Owner/Operator: Donald Entzian. Bayard Road, Lothian. 54.9 Acres. Grain crop, corn, soybeans, cover crop. Future cattle. Proposed agricultural structure for straw storage.
Owner/Operator: Christopher and Elizabeth Russell-Wood. Wilson Road, Friendship. 15.86 Acres. Equine and Christmas trees. Two agricultural structures.
Owner/Operator: Dana Sutphin. Governors Bridge Road, Davidsonville. 3.46 Acres. Equine (2). Proposed agricultural structure for hay and equipment.
New Business
· Jamie Tiralla will be contracted as a Public Relations Coordinator per her proposal removing website development. This is based on her unique qualifications based on her experience with the agriculture community and the process and procedures of how soil conservation districts function and furthermore her rates were reasonable and within the acceptable range for the type of work required from her. (Leis, Sachs)
· Site map for website
· Southern Maryland Area Dinner will be October 13th in St. Mary’s. M. Welsh and M. Superczynski to attend.
Old Business
*Standard Agriculture Plan (Eva and Bob)
*Code compliance with grading permit requirements for Ag structures (Eva and Bob)
*Clearing of historic farmland to bring back into production (Eva and Bob)
· 2016 Anne Arundel Soil Conservation District Dinner will be attended by M. Welsh (2), J. Colhoun, S. Pittman, M. Superczynski, S.Leis. Review of invite list.
· Thank You from Dr. Hillsman for our involvement in the USDA NRCS press event for the Secretary of Agriculture.
· District Budget, which was approved in May, was presented in a new format.
SET TIME AND DATE FOR NEXT MEETING
· The meeting adjourned at 11:42 PM. (Sachs, Pittman)
· The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 9:00 AM.