Tuesday, February 17, 2009 7:00 P.M.

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

MONTHLY BOARD MEETING
5605 U.S. 31 South, South Bend, Indiana 46614
574-291-7444, ext. 3

MINUTES

I. CALL TO ORDER
A meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the St. Joseph County Soil and Water Conservation
District was called to order by John Dooms, Chairman, at 7:10 p.m. at 5605 U.S. 31 South, South
Bend, IN 46614.
PRESENT ABSENT
John Dooms, Chairman Chuck Lehman
John Kulwicki, Bd. Mem. Joe Long
Jan Ivkovich, Vice Chair Gene Meyers
Carole Riewe, Bd. Mem. Paul Williams, III
Rick Glassman Randy Matthys
Debbie Knepp, NRCS Dave Craft, Bd. Mem.
Melvin Kulwicki
Katie Kurtz
Rafael Vega, NRCS PUBLIC
Lindsay Martinez, NRCS
Dru Wrasse EX-OFFICIO
Dale Stoner
Richard Schmidt
Stacey Silvers
Brian Cherry
Jim LaFree
Lisa W ynn

LEGISLATIVE LETTERS
None

II. ADDITIONS TO AGENDA

 Privilege of Floor: Tech Kids, State Winners, Lego/Environmental Presentation

III. REGULAR BUSINESS

A. MINUTES: The minutes were reviewed from the January 2009 meeting. The minutes were
filed as presented.
B. TREASURERS REPORT: Treasurer’s report was reviewed and filed as presented.
1. Claim Approval: A recommendation and motion were made and seconded to approve
Claim numbers 9520 through 9543, including EFT-01292009 for a total of $6337.19. Both
carried.

IV. OLD BUSINESS

A. Annual Meeting: Carole Riewe reported that, in the election between Paul Williams, III
and John Kulwicki, John K. was ultimately voted in as the new supervisor. Carole, herself, was
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officially reappointed as a supervisor. Carole announced that the Board needed to hold a vote for
the Chair and the Vice Chair for 2009. The nominees were: John Dooms, Dave Craft, John
Kulwicki, Jan Ivkovich, and Carole Riewe. Ballots were passed out for the vote for Chair, Rick
Glassman tallied the results, and announced that John Dooms would be the Board Chair for 2009.
Ballots were passed out for appointment of the Vice Chair, Rick tallied the results, and announced
that Jan Ivkovich would be the Board’s Vice Chair for 2009.

John Dooms asked for opinions regarding January’s 49th Annual Meeting at the Scottish Rite.
Overall, the Scottish Rite was felt to be an esthetically nice facility, however, having 2
entranceways was confusing for office staff taking tickets and money. It was noted that the
catering cost was a lot more, as well, largely due to “service charges”. Dale Stoner mentioned
that some of the older guests had a hard time getting enough food fast enough, for instance, the
caterer had run out chicken breast. Additionally, the stairs were an impediment for some guests. It
was noted that seating of supervisors in front is something we'd done in past, and it really is not
preferred by most. It's nicer to be able to sit with the guests you invited. Several people noted that
the speaker, Tom Turpin, was very good. Carole and others noted that they preferred St. Adelbert’s
over the Scottish Rite overall. Jan liked the smaller round tables and brighter atmosphere, as did
others, as this layout created a more relaxed atmosphere and led to more conversation at the
tables. John D. noted that the table layout is something that we could integrate even at St.
Adelbert’s. Rick pointed out that next year is the 50th Annual Meeting, so we need to make it really
special, and suggestions are welcome. Debbie Knepp and Dale confirmed that the award
recipients were very appreciative and honored to have been recognized.

The Annual Meeting Report was presented, and there were not questions, although it was noted
that there was more attendance this year versus last (115 in 2009 and 106 in 2008), and that the
overall 2008 expenses were actually higher due to speaker charges.

B. WRITTEN REPORTS:
1. Field Office Report: The Field Office Report was distributed. Jan Ivkovich asked Debbie to
explain further about the “watershed information to Michigan Association of SWCD’s for a
regional grant for the St. Joseph River Watershed.”
2. Rule 5/Rule 13 Report: The Rule5/Rule 13 Report was distributed. There were no
questions about the Report.

C. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
1. Education:
-- Science Alive: Dale Stoner reported that we had extra help from Patrick Glassman
(Rick’s son) and Brian Cherry coming to assist. Dale relayed that he feels it is an honor
to help families experience such an event. Rick reported he did performed the very last
presentation of the day to a full house, and that it went over very well—naturally, there
was a long line of people waiting to hold the snakes. Rick noted that Patrick was filmed
by WNDU and that the news anchor even wore a snake around his neck for a few
moments. To see the clip, go to http://tinyurl.com/patrick-snake.

Composting Seminar: Rick reported that on Saturday, March 28th from 10-11:30 a.m.
he would be presenting a compositing seminar in partnership with Solid Waste
Management. The seminar will be held in the Colfax Auditorium at the main branch of
the St. Joseph County Public Library in order to accommodate more people. 108 people
have pre-registered and it still a month away. Lisa Wynn will call check into the capacity
for the room tomorrow to see how many more people we can allow to pre-register. Solid
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 Waste provides reimbursement for printing costs, $150 for meeting, and they buy the
complimentary bins, as well as a few bigger ones to be awarded by a drawing. The
SWCD started these compositing seminars in 1992 or 1994, and we do two of them
each year.

2. Forestry: Richard Schmidt reported there are only 2 weeks left before the cut-off date for
pre-orders on trees. As of today (2/17/09), the sales figures are: 1345 deciduous trees,
1905 evergreens, and 605 flowering trees, for a total of 3855 trees ordered so far. Also,
1400 ground cover plants and 22 wildflower seed packets have been ordered. Last year
total sales, at this time, were $9580.55. This year we have sold $6325.40 up to this point.
Richard reminded the Board that the last 2 weeks are always a stressful time, and things
typically end up working out just fine.

Katie reported that on the evening of February 3rd, she facilitated our Tree Planting Seminar
in the Farm Bureau meeting room. 20 participants were in attendance. The speaker was
John Sheets from Hensler Nursery.

Katie requested a recommendation for the requisite $300.00 (50% of grand total) deposit to
be paid to the St. Joseph County 4-H Fairgrounds. A recommendation and motion to this
effect were made and seconded. Both carried.

D. NRCS TALKING POINTS:

 Attached.

E. WINTER CWI MEETING: Rick Glassman noted that our winter Clean Water Indiana
(CWI) meeting, “Smart Farming for the Future” is set to take place on Friday, February 27th. Rick
added that the office staff would need Board Members to be present throughout the day to act as
moderators for the speakers to assist in the day’s proceedings. In addition, Board Members who
help to get the word out would be performing a very valuable service. Unfortunately, in designing
the brochures that were mailed out, we did not highlight the important need to RSVP for an
accurate lunch count. At this point, we have given the caterers, Dal-Mar in Nappanee, a count of
70 and hope this will be pretty close to reality. In addition, no Continuing Education Credits can be
offered due to an area meeting for Extension Educators that is on the same day. In order to have
credits available, an Extension Educator would have to be present at the meeting. Rick asked for a
recommendation for permission to pay any immediate expenses related to this meeting. A
recommendation and motion to this effect were made and seconded. Both carried. Lastly, Rick
asked the meeting attendees whether they were planning on coming to the winter meeting. Jan,
Dru, Carole, Dale, Stacey, and John D. confirmed that they were going to be there.

F. OFFICE STAFF UPDATES:

1. MS4: John Dooms reported that, just prior to the Board Meeting, the supervisors
interviewed a young lady from Walkerton, Maria Schaefer. They will be extending a job offer
to Ms. Schaefer for the MS4 Conservationist position, and if she accepts, we will proceed
with background check, and hope to have the position filled by the next Board Meeting.
2. Summer Intern: John D. reported that we have several applications and will consider
having interviews within the near future.

V. NEW BUSINESS
A. Schedules: Reviewed handout.
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B. Trainings/Conferences: Katie requested a recommendation be made to approve
the $20 registration fee for the February 25th Tri State Conservation Farming Expo in Auburn,
Indiana. Katie would be going with Debbie, who reported that this event typically has hundreds of
attendees and features the latest technologies and innovations in agriculture. A recommendation
and motion to this effect were made and seconded. Both carried.

C. Office Matters: Letterhead Proposals: Reviewed handout with propels from 3 vendors
for letterhead and envelopes due to the fact that our current vendor, Stoll’s Printing, has ceased to
exist. However, due to our office moving in the future due to the US 31 expansion project,

VI. PRIVILEGE OF FLOOR

The Board Meeting attendees had the pleasure of a presentation by the "Tech Kids." This group of
homeschooled youngsters competed last December in the 2008 FIRST¤ LEGO® League
Championship Tournament. The won 1st place in the Robotics Performance and took home the
Indiana Championship Award. In order to prepare for the next level of the competition, the Tech
Kids have been presenting their conservation-themed skit/presentation (Climate change in the
Great Lakes Region, Wetlands specifically) in front of various groups. The Tech Kids did an
excellent job.

VII. ADJOURNMENT
The February 17, 2009 Board Meeting of the St. Joseph County Soil & Water Conservation District
was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Alisa R. Wynn,
Treasurer
Approved by:

___________________________________ (Supervisor)

___________________________________ (Supervisor)

___________________________________ (Supervisor)

___________________________________ (Supervisor)

___________________________________ (Supervisor)

____________________________________
¤ “FIRST” is an acronym for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology” and is an
organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 in order to develop ways to inspire students in
engineering and technology fields. The organization is the foundation for the FIRST Robotics Competition,
FIRST LEGO League, and other competitions.

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 DC Talking Points

January/February 2009

Farm Bill Update

USDA released several conservation program regulations that reflect changes made in the 2008
Farm Bill (The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008). The regulations are effective
immediately, and NRCS is soliciting comments and recommended changes over the next few
weeks. Regulations are available for review and comment for the following programs:

• State Technical Committees, comments by 1126

• Healthy Forests Reserve Program, comments by 2113
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), comments by 3116
• Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), comments by 3/16
• Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), comments by 3/17
• Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP), comments by 3117
• Technical Service Provider (TSP), comments by 3117
• Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP), comments by 3/23

To access the regulations, visit the Federal Register at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/ and

type the program name in the search box.

NRCS has issued a Request for Proposals for the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program
(AWEP). A WEP was established in the new farm bill to promote ground and surface water
conservation and water quality improvement. NRCS has announced that up to $58.4 million in
financial assistance is available for AWEP nationally. Proposals must be submitted by March 2,
2009. The AWEP Request for Proposals can also be viewed at the Federal Register Web site.

NRCS has issued an Announcement for Program Funding for the FY2009 Conservation
Innovation Grants (CIG) Program. The purpose of these grants is to stimulate the
development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies, and $20
million is available for nationwide competition. The CIG program does not fund research
projects, and requires a 50 percent match. Proposals must be received by March 2,2009.
Additional information on the program is available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/cigl.

SWCDs are encouraged to bring their Local Working Groups together in preparation for
including local resource concerns in Farm Bill program rankings. In addition, as NRCS
provides news releases on individual programs, we appreciate SWCD assistance in getting
the word out to local media and landowners.

NRCS Excellence in Conservation Award

NRCS has achieved many conservation successes through the work of its partners. In order to
acknowledge their good work, the annual NRCS Excellence in Conservation Award was
developed to recognize the valuable contributions that non-federal government individuals or
groups make to conserve natural resources on private land. Any non-federal individual, group,
tribe or organization is eligible for nomination by a NRCS employee, and this year's applications
must be submitted by February 23, 2009. Anyone interested in SUbmitting an application
should contact Jill Reinhart, ASTC for Outreach & Communications, at
jill.reinhart@in.usda.gov.