Wisconsin Association of Land Conservation Employees

  Shawn Stocks                                       Pepin County LCD, 740 th Ave. W.,                                (715)672-8665

WALCE Secretary                           P.O. Box 39 Durand, WI  54736-0039              FAX:      (715)672-824                                                                      sstocks@co.pepin.wi.us                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

WALCE BOARD MEETING MINUTES

January 15, 2004

Stevens Point, WI

Board Members Present:  Dale Olson, Tom Sweeney, Shawn Stocks, Rick Mechelke, Greg Cleereman, Mark Jenks, Dan O’Connell, Brad Robole, Penny Pohle, and Bryce Richardson – absent Greg Baneck.

Others Present:  Don Houtman, Rebecca Baumann, Pat Murphy

Call to Order:  Dale Olson welcomed everyone to the WALCE Meeting. 

Approval of December 4, 2003 Minutes: Motion made by Rick Mechelke to accept the edited minutes.  Motion seconded by Tom Sweeney.  Motion carried by voice vote.

Treasurer’s Report:   Tom Sweeney reviewed the treasurer’s report dated January 15, 2004.  Motion made by Shawn Stocks to accept the Treasurer’s Report.  Motion seconded by Dan O’Connell.  Motion carried by voice vote.

2004 Proposed Budget:  Tom Sweeney reviewed the proposed 2004-2005 budget with the board.  See attached.  Motion made by Rick Mechelke to approve the proposed budget and bring it forward to the Annual WALCE Meeting for membership approval.  Motion seconded by Greg Cleereman.  Motion carried by voice vote.

Planning Committee Update:  Mark Jenks discussed the breakout session arrangements at the Milwaukee Hilton and how the brochure is completely put together and ready for printing.  Tom Sweeney brought it to our attention that it is WALCE’s 25^th year.  An article should be put into the Thursday Note.  Shawn Stocks said the meal arrangements are going great and we will just need a final count.  Rooms are available for reservations and we have enough for carryover also.  Complimentary rooms will be filled when needed.  AV equipment will be requested from various counties to help fill the breakout session rooms being the cost at the hotel is quite steep. Raffle items are looking great and we have additional items for door prizes.

Re-organizational Update:  Rick Mechelke is working on the re-organizational process, any comments will be appreciated.  An e-mail will be sent out soliciting interest for serving on committees.  Voting on the new map for different areas will be at the annual meeting. 

Business Meeting Preparation:  The board worked on the agenda for the Annual WALCE Business Meeting.  Shawn will send out a notice to have the committee reports sent to her and then forwarded it to Mark Jenks for the conference folders.  Agency reports will be given at the business meeting. 

WALCE Comment and Response Guiding Principles:  Dale reviewed the draft of guiding principles.  Dale will include recommendations of these principles with his president’s report at the conference.

Review Election Procedures:  The board reviewed the procedures for voting purposes and Tom Sweeney will have a new membership spreadsheet available so paid members will receive a voting ticket at registration. 

WALCE Employees of the Year Nominations:  All categories were voted upon and award plaques will be made up by Sauk County.  They will then be presented at the WALCE Banquet on Wednesday evening.

Agency Reports: 

• DATCP – Don Houtman handed out a spreadsheet for CREP for an update to the board.  Engineering highlights were handed out with various updates.  SITCOM will be assessed and DATCP engineering staff will reconvene the SITCOM to determine if the committee should be revitalized and what mission it should pursue. 
• WLWCA – Rebecca Baumann reported on the White Paper she has been working with the attorney working within the state budgets – goals.  Rebecca touched on the State Farm Bureau and communication from local Farm Bureaus.  The WLWCA resolution for “2005-The Year of Land and Water Conservation” has passed the local and state and now all George Bush needs to name it nationally.  WLWCA will work with ideas from counties to deal with staff funding for 2006 once the dollars with the watersheds end.  Newcomer to NACD is Krista Jones for North Central Region.  The NACD meeting turned out very successful with around 55 people attending.
• NRCS – SITCOM – Pat Murphy told the board that Dale Konkel is no longer on SITCOM.  Pat is going to keep up on the local training site and post them on the website.  Kevin Erb is taking over the training aspect and reaching counties in the state for conservation planning certification.  2005 is the biggest year for funding through the farm bill.  Next farm bill will be 2007 with commodity price support.  Technical Service Provider is up and running.  Engineering by state engineers is a separate process for the TSP.   NRCS will rank them and negotiate with them.  The budget should be in place March 2004.  RUSLE II is moving along and corrections are being made when something arises.  Changes have been made but training and updating this haven’t been readily available.  It was determined that WCA can invite someone in regard to RUSLE II, but WALCE will not appoint anyone as it is not a WALCE Issue.  ATCP-50 is clear for the Farm Bill and RUSLE II will be enforced if RUSLE II is not run on a farm they will not be allowed to have benefits.

NACD Update from Greg Baneck:  Rebecca Baumann reported for Greg on the NACD Meeting during her WLWCA Report.

Any Other Business:  None

Next Meeting Date:  February 18, 2004 Annual Business Meeting – Conference – Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 3:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. 

Adjourn:  Motion made by Dan O’Connell to adjourn.   Motion seconded by Rick Mechelke.  Motion carried by voice vote.

Submitted by:  Shawn Stocks, WALCE Secretary – 2-04-04.