St. Lawrence County Soil and Water Conservation District 1942 Old DeKalb Road, Canton, NY 13617 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES For August 17, 2017, 7:30 p.m. Board Members Present: Robert Andrews, Jr. (Chairperson), Ben Stauffer (Vice-Chair), Mark Mathews, Chad Colbert (Treasurer), and Greg Paquin. Board Members Excused: Adam Cook Staff Present: Raeanne Dulanski (District Manager), Matt Brown (Forester), Cheynne Youngs (Technician), and Elizabeth Gallup (Secretary/Assistant Treasurer). Guests Present: Kent Frary NRCS, Becky Allen I. Call to Order II. Minutes of the Previous Meeting: Motion to approve the July 20, 2017 minutes, made by Stauffer, seconded by Colbert approved by all. III. Treasurer s Reports: Gallup discussed items relevant to the financial information provided to the Board. Motion to approve July 2017 Treasurer s reports, made by Paquin, seconded by Stauffer approved by all. IV. Reports A. NRCS Kent Frary 1. Wetland restoration projects in Fowler and Russell are delayed because of how wet the area is. It is unknown when the project will start. 2. The Ag waste storage project in Morley has a number of practices included such as manure storage, and rain run off control. The design is being worked on and will probably start next summer. 3. Project applications for next year cover a wide range such as forestry and high tunnels. The District will assist with these under the contribution agreement. Pre-approval will happen in January with contracts being signed in March or so. There are around a dozen in St. Lawrence County. 4. Frary said Youngs has been assisting on a CRP project in the Norwood area. There should be an official contract by October 1 st. Dulanski took this time to explain to the Board that Parker has decided not to return to the Board due to a promotion that he received at work. Dulanski introduced Becky Allen who she had invited to come to our meeting to see if she would like to be the non ag board member. Introductions were made around the table. Page 1 of 5 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER AND EMPLOYER
B. BOL Chad Colbert and Greg Paquin 1. It is budget season at the County and things are moving along. Colbert said that the District had already met with the budget review committee and asked how it went. Dulanski said that it looked like we will either have flat funding or a modest increase. C. Farm Bureau None at this time D. Grange - Mark Matthews 1. Mathews reported that there was a good turnout for the SLC Fair. The next thing up is a parade and a free will dinner. Legislation is being proposed for the meeting in Auburn, NY. E. AFPB Bob Andrews 1. Andrews said that Matilda Larson continues to work on the guidance counselor project. Ag Districts are in good shape. V. SWCD Reports: Dulanski reported that the summer intern, Logan Adam s last day was Monday. He did a good job with the WRP monitoring and was able to assist Brown on boot brush stations and an inventory of ash trees on County lands. A. Forester Report Matt Brown 1. Brown reported that he and Adams were able to install three boot brush stations with informative posters at different places on County land. They were installed near the busiest trails. 2. Brown assisted Adams with getting set up to do an ash tree inventory on County land with GIS. Adams was able to complete two parcels before he had to leave. 3. Timber sale # 1 is out to bid with a showing to be held tomorrow for any interested bidders. Brown is marking another small sale in case we do not realize enough money from the first sale to make the County s set revenue goal. 4. Brown had some field visits with SLELO staff for invasive species removal. 5. The temporary revocable permit on Lenny Road is almost over. The landing is being cleaned up and once approved, the permit can be discontinued. 6. Brown has not heard anything on the 2016 Urban and Community Forestry Grants Program (Round 13) Educational Orchard grant. B. Technician s Report Cheynne Youngs 1. Youngs said that the WRP monitoring is complete for this year with Adams assistance. 2. Youngs has completed two management grazing plans and then received requests for two new ones. 3. Youngs is working on her CNMP certification and is hoping to build on a plan she worked on last year to help accomplish this goal. Page 2 of 5
C. Secretary/Treasurer Elizabeth Gallup 1. Motion to approve transfer from Money Market to Checking for September 2017 to cover operating costs up to $20,000, made by Mathews, seconded by Stauffer approved by all 2. Gallup has been working on the fish program, updating the budget and policies. She has also been researching possible investment opportunities for District operating funds per Colbert s request. 3. Gallup presented to the Board information on what purchasing a certificate of deposit would do for the District. She explained how the certificate of deposit would have to mature by the end of November to have the monies available for December. A $100,000 certificate of deposit would earn $70 - $80 for three months. Cash flow was reviewed and it was determined that a $100,000 certificate of deposit would work. Discussion was held about what would happen if we needed to break the certificate of deposit and it was explained that we would not earn anything but would not have to pay additional monies so the principal would be safe. Motion to approve the purchase of a $100,000 90 day Certificate of Deposit to mature in November 2017, made by Colbert, seconded by Mathews approved by all D. Manager s Report Raeanne Dulanski (Attachment B) 1. Dulanski reported that she has spoken with the farmer connected to Ag NPS Round 20 Roput. It seems likely that the farmer will not be able to complete the grant. December 2018 is when the grant is done. 2. NYACD conference is in Cazenovia from October 17 19 th. Dulanski said we had it in the budget if one of the Directors wanted to participate. Mathews said he would like to see someone attend but no one was able to. 3. Dulanski indicated that we will be using an internal audit this year. Cook has already indicated he would be willing to do it again this year. Stauffer said he would also. This audit is to be completed by the November board meeting. 4. Dulanski informed the Board that we will have one project under the AG NPS Round 23 grant. It is for a concrete waste storage facility. Motion to authorize Dulanski to sign the landowner s contract and to open a bank account for the grant and to transfer the money from the Money Market fund to the grant account when monies are received from NYS made by Stauffer, seconded by Paquin approved by all. 5. Dulanski presented a PowerPoint presentation on the close out information for the NYS Soil Health Grant #1. The soil testing fees had decreased and one cooperator did not complete a practice which resulted in the grant coming in $4,027.01under budget. Motion to accept grant close-out, authorizing payment to CCE of SLC of $975.00, authorization to transfer SWCD s grant funds from grant account to SWCD s account and to close grant s bank account once all monies have been cleared, made by Paquin, seconded by Stauffer approved by all. 6. Dulanski reported that the Cons Skills class information was received and that she would like staff to attend. Motion to authorize up to three staff members to Page 3 of 5
attend Con Skills in Cortland during the last week of September, made by Mathews, seconded by Stauffer approved by all. 7. Dulanski said that there is a free wetland training in Horseheads, NY that she would like to combine with a conservation tour at neighboring Districts. Motion to authorize three staff members to attend Wetland Training and conservation tour including one night s hotel, made by Paquin, seconded by Mathews approved by all. 8. Dulanski told the Board that the Focus will need repairs to be able to pass inspection. She feels it might be a good idea to sell it and replace it with another car towards the end of the year. This would save repair bills and two or three months of savings on insurance. Motion to approve selling the Focus on Auctions International to end just before the next board meeting made by Paquin, seconded by Stauffer approved by all. 9. Dulanski relayed the information on the No Till contract that our insurance broker had given to us during a recent meeting. The liability amount of $300,000 was low and should be increased to $1,000,000 and modifications should be made to the language to protect the District. Dulanski felt that most of the renters we have would have a hard time complying with these new parameters. The Board did not want to make it difficult to rent the no till and requested that Dulanski contact the County Attorney for his thoughts. 10. Dulanski said that she has been in discussion with different Districts that currently use drones. Drones are helpful with pre & post construction photos, stream bank evaluations and a number of other applications. To fly a drone, it is necessary that a pilot s license be obtained. The drone with all accessories would cost approximately $2,200.00. The Board would like to hear more details and cost amounts for the pilot license to be relayed at the September board meeting. 11. Scott Fickbohm, our new SWCC contact, hopes to be at our September meeting. Most of the Directors that still need training stated they should be available to arrive early for that meeting. Dulanski will see if Fickbohm will be available to complete the required training before the September board meeting. 12. Dulanski informed the Board that she has been approached to be the NYS Conservation District Employee Association Division 3 Representative. It would mean she would be out of the office a couple of days every other month and would require a District vehicle to get to the meetings which are usually held in Central New York. She would help organize the silent auction at WQS, help to organize the trainings along with other support activities. The Board indicated their support of her participation in this role. 13. Dulanski asked the Board if they were ready to accept the new/revised policy and procedures that had been provided to them prior to the meeting. (Attachments C F) a) The Procurement Policy was updated to reflect email as a communication method. Motion to approve the updated Procurement Policy, made by Colbert, seconded by Paquin approved by all. Page 4 of 5
VI. Old and New Business: None b) The Cash Disbursement Policy & Procedures were created to ensure that all monies spent were handled in a safe and consistent manner with the proper authorizations. Discussion was held. Motion to approve the Cash Disbursement Policy & Procedures, made by Colbert, seconded by Mathews approved by all. c) The Cash Receipts Policy & Procedures were created to ensure that all monies received were handled in a safe, documentable and consistent manner. Discussion was held. Motion to approve the Cash Receipt Policy & Procedures, made by Paquin, seconded by Colbert approved by all. d) The District felt that it was important to establish a returned check policy and procedures to ensure best practices were utilized to receive payment. Discussion was held. Motion to approve the new Return Check Policy and Procedures, made by Paquin, seconded by Stauffer approved by all. VII. Correspondence: Mail was available for the Board s review. (List of items in Attachment G) VIII. Announcements: None IX. Time and Date of Next Meeting: September 21, 2017, 7:30 PM at the SWCD Office. X. Meeting Adjourned: Adjournment at 9:15 P.M. Robert Andrews, Jr., Chairperson Date Elizabeth J. Gallup, Secretary/Assistant Treasurer Date Attachments: A-G Page 5 of 5