St. Lawrence County Soil and Water Conservation District

1942 Old DeKalb Road, Canton, NY 13617

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES

ForNovember 17, 2016, 7:30PM

Board Members Present:Robert Andrews, Jr. (Chairperson), Ben Stauffer (Vice-Chair), Mark Mathews, Chad Colbert, and Daniel Parker.

Board Members Excused:Adam Cook,Greg Paquin

Staff Present:Raeanne Dulanski (Manager), Cheynne Youngs (Technician), Matt Brown (Forester),and Liz Gallup (Secretary/Treasurer).

Guests Present:

I. Call to Order:

II. Minutes of the Previous Meeting: Motion to approve the October 20, 2016,2016 minutes, made by Stauffer, seconded by Parkerapproved by allwith the change of President to State President as referred to in the Farm Bureau Report.

III. Treasurer’s Reports:Gallup discussed items relevant to the financial information provided with the Board. Motion to approve October2016Treasurer’s reports, made byParker, seconded by Mathewsapproved by all.

IV. Reports

  1. NRCS – KentFrary, absent

1.Dulanski read Frary’s report to the Board (Attachment A).

  1. Farm Bureau – Ben Stauffer

1.Stauffer mentioned that the NYS Annual meeting will be held December 6 – 8th in Albany, NY.

  1. NYACD – None at this time.
  2. Grange - Mark Mathews

1.Mathews informed the Board that the Grange is supporting a change in legislation that would allow SWCDto submitWaterfront Revitalization Grants. Dulanski said this is something that has had trouble getting approved in prior years but thinks it would be a good thing. The Grange is also working on getting funding for a number of educational and agricultural initiatives approved.

2.The requirement for slow moving vehicle signs for the Amish is still being worked on.

  1. AFPB – Bob Andrews

1.Andrews said that Matilda Larson from the SLC Planning Office will be presenting the final analysis for the Ag Plan survey to the Board of Legislators in early December.

2.Andrews encouraged everyone to go to a solar discussion to be presented at SLU on December 13thfrom 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m... He requested that any information on this meeting that the District receives be shared with the entire Board. He said this is a significant issue for all of us. Parker mentioned that he will be attending a meeting in Albany that is being held to discuss how to change the net metering for most renewable forms of energy.

3.Andrews mentioned that the AFPB is looking at trying to educate high school guidance counselors about opportunities in agriculture. The Farm Bureau in western New York has already completed a similar program. AFPB is reaching out to see about obtaining their program to replicate it locally.

V. SWCD Reports

  1. Technician Report – Cheynne Youngs

1.Youngs reported that she came in number one on the Technician Civil Service Exam.

2.Youngs said she is all registered for Certified Crop Advisor training, a requirement for NRCS Planner Certification. Youngs continues to work on farm plans and has completedanother one. She has an equine pasture plan that she will be working on.

3.Soil Health #2 iscomplete and Kitty O’Neil fromCCE is working with Youngs to apply for another soil health grant. Motion to authorize the SLC SWCD to submit an application through the NYS Climate Resilient Farming program, made by Stauffer, seconded by Parkerapproved by all.

  1. Forester Report – Matt Brown
  1. Brown said that he has been working on forest management plans for Part B funding. Part B funding for 2017 has been approved by NYS.
  2. No Till has been repaired and has been put up for the season at CCE.
  3. Brown has been looking into SLELO special projects funding.
  1. Secretary/Treasurer – Elizabeth Gallup
  1. Gallup has been busy with a number of year end tasks such as reimbursements for the Board for time and mileage, setting up 2017 Excel files, starting prep work for the Annual Reports and completing the internal audit.
  2. Motion to approve a transfer from Money Market to Checking for December 2016and January 2017, each, to cover operating costs up to $20,000, made by Stauffer, seconded by Mathewsapproved by all.
  3. Motion to approve the payment of the NYS Retirement bill of $23,228.00 from the Money Market Account, made byParker, seconded by Staufferapproved by all.
  4. Motion to approve researching what benefits the District will receive for the Annual NYACD dues and to postpone paying said bill when received until Board discusses the information received, made by Mathews, seconded by Stauffer approved by all.
  5. Motion to approve the payment of reimbursements to the Board, including Nichols, for time and mileage for attending SWCD meetings after review and signature of each member, made by Stauffer, seconded by Parkerapproved by all.
  6. Motion to approve the increase of the Office Supplies line in the SWCD budget in the amount of $300.00 to allow staff to purchase QuickBooks Pro 2017 with Enhanced Payroll which would result in a savings of over $400.00 if done in 2016, made by Parker, seconded by Mathewsapproved by all.
  7. Motion to approve SLC SWCD Budget approved by the County with level funding and to authorize the 3% increasein staff salaries included to be paid effective January 1, 2017, made by Stauffer, seconded by Parkerapproved by all.
  8. Motion to approve the transfer, by December 31, 2016, of all remaining No Till usage earnings from the Checking Account to the Equipment Fund after subtracting the monies for the Waldroff repair bill, made by Stauffer, seconded by Mathewsapproved by all.
  1. Manager’s Report – Raeanne Dulanski (Attachment B)

1.Dulanski informed the Board that the Internal Audit for the District has been completed and signed off by Cook & Parker. The District appreciates the time they spent going over our records. Motion to approve the Internal Audit for fiscal year 2015 performed by Parker & Cook, made byStauffer, seconded by Mathews

8:25 Colbert entered the meeting

2.Andrews asked Colbert about the County’s problems with the audit. Dulanski replied that the County Attorneysaid that there was not a need to audit the District but Dulanski informed the Treasurer that we have been audited by the County’s auditors for as long as she has worked here. They are looking into it.

3.Dulanski informed the Board that she also passed her Civil Service exam and that there was paperwork to move herself and Youngs from Provisional to Probational. Motion to authorize Andrews to sign the personnel paperwork (4 forms) for Dulanski and Youngs, made byStauffer, seconded by Parker.

4.Motion to approve the payment of the five year administration fee of $1,500 from the Greater Adirondack RC&D for the RCPP Grant per MOU and to increase the Payment to Others line in the SWCD budget for that amount, made byStauffer, seconded by Parker.

5.Dulanski informed the Board that the truck has been ordered but probably will not be delivered in 2016. It will be necessary to spend the money in this fiscal year so we qualify to have half of the costs reimbursed by NYS. Dulanski proposed to pay 75% in December with the remaining 25% paid at delivery. The old truck will not be posted for sale until we have a better idea of the delivery date of the new truck.

6.Dulanski presented a power point explanation of the costs and details for one of the Ag NPS Rnd 19 grant participants. She led the Board through a review of the documentation that was submitted for the project. This documentation included bills, receipts, and proof of payment. The Engineer’s certification and as-builts, and a statement from the farm’s planner stating that the practices installed corrected the resource concern identified for the grant was also provided.

  1. Accepting additional costs for the project. Use of Roof Runoff is allowed as L/O match.
  2. Use of the contingency funds.
  3. Make 90% payment utilizing an assignment of payment.
  4. Payment of engineering costs, final payment upon notification from engineering firm that it has been paid for the last bill.

Motion to approve the four items listed above,made by Stauffer, seconded by Mathewsapproved by all.

7.Dulanski informed theBoard that NYS Ag NPS MAP 19may be closed out now that all projects are complete.

  1. Accept payment of contingency funds, as presented.
  2. Payments of Balances owed, upon receipt from NYS.
  3. Transfer funds to SWCD.
  4. Close Bank Account held at Community Bank after all checks have cleared.

Motion to approve the four items listed above, after official closeout of the NYS Ag NPS MAP Round 19grant by NYS and receipt of balance of funds,made by Colbert, seconded by Staufferapproved by all.

8.Dulanski informed the Board that she has received the as builts for the last grant participant for NYS Ag NPS Round 18 ADK. She asked the Board if they wanted a special meeting or email communication so payment may be made after all documentation was provided. The Board wanted to see when the informationwas received to see if it made sense just to discuss it during the January board meeting.

VI. Old and New Business:None

VII. Correspondence:None

VIII. Announcements:None.

IX. Time and Date of Next Meeting:January 19, 2017, 7:00 PM at the SWCD Office.

X. Meeting Adjourned: 9:30 PM

______

Robert Andrews, Jr., ChairpersonDate

______

Elizabeth J. Gallup, Secretary/Treasurer Date

Attachments: A, B

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