Spokane County Conservation District 210 North Havana, Spokane, WA 99202 Tuesday, June 10, 2008 PRESENT Supervisors Gerald Scheele, Randy James, Dixie Riddle, and Jaki Shrauger Absent: Mary Sullivan Associate Supervisors: Ed Kuhn SCCD Staff: Rich Baden, Vicki Carter, Eric Choker, Garth Davis, Jilla Harmon, Ty Meyer, Charlie Peterson, Rachel Rooks and Barry Tee. Guests: John Larson, WACD; Gary Mitchell, Upper Columbia RC&D Chair Scheele called the meeting to order at 5:29pm. Minutes from the regular May 13, 2008, Board meeting had been previously distributed for review. Motion JAMES/SHRAUGER to approve the May 13, 2008, Board meeting minutes as distributed. Motion carried. Dixie Riddle presented the Treasurer’s Report for May 2008. Motion RIDDLE/SHRAUGER to approve the May Treasurer’s report, payroll checks #1128-1257, checks #27128-27201, voided checks #27129,27152, 27184-27187, stop payment on check #27078 and automatic withdrawal #999990, and June Account Payables in the amount of $100,192.811. Motion carried. Vicki Carter noted that the approved account payable total included three regular payables that were not on the report. They were $11,000 payable to the Health Care Authority, and $5,000 payable to AmericanWest Bank for the building and vehicle loans. Public Comments Chair Scheele introduced John Larson, WACD Executive Director. John reported that May 30 had been the deadline for all of the Districts to submit their budget requests for their anticipated needs for the next biennium. He said that the initial request from all of the Districts was over $90 million; and since talking to the various Districts the request has gone down substantially. John said that he would like to see the Districts become the locally delivery system for conservation, both locally and statewide. District Financial Report Rich Baden gave a review of the District’s budget position as of June 2008 (41.6% of the way through the year) and reported that the District’s cash position at the end of May was $4,813,890.11. Projected Revenues Projected Expenses General Fund 39.2% 42.7% 301 Building Fund 41.7% 41.2% 401 SRF Fund 43.9% 32.2% 501 SRF Fund 23.5% 6.5% 550 WSDA Bio Energy 35.6% 0.0% All Funds 34.8% 25.5% DEPARTMENT REPORTS Chair Scheele noted that staff reports had been previously received and reviewed by the Board. He asked for any additional comments from staff members. Garth Davis~ Forestry Garth Davis reported that he would be presenting a workshop on Urban Forestry at the upcoming WADE conference in Leavenworth. He will also be attending the Forest Practices Hearing for the Department of Natural Resources on June 26. Eric Choker ~ Soil Survey Eric Choker said that he worked with the 5th graders in the Lind School District for their Ag Day, and with Cheney High School for their Science Career Day. He said that the NRCS would be bringing Chandra Neils in to work full-time on the survey. Ty Meyer~ Production Ag Ty Meyer said that Stevens County is looking to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to operate the SRF program in their area as they have a producer looking for a loan. He received and signed the Ag Pilot’s Program contracts; there will be a meeting in late June or early July to kick off the project. He hopes to have sites selected by the middle of August. He went to the Bio-Ag tour with Jim, and they will be finishing their direct seed survey tomorrow. There will be a caravan tour of Spokane on June 17 to tour the same EQIP fields they toured last year. Charlie Peterson~ Water Resources Charlie Peterson said that he is working on several projects for the Washington State Conservation Commission Implementation Grant. He presented the Memorandum of Agreement for the Detailed Implementation Plan for WRIA 55 & 57 on the Little and Middle Spokane River. Gary Mitchell~ Upper Columbia RC&D Gary Mitchell said that he met with the Upper Scabland Cooperative Weed Board to address weed issues. He said there was good landowner and agency involvement; and he said that they would like the District to become involved when doing restoration work along the stream corridors. Gary said that the diesel emission reduction project is on track again; and that there is more money involved than there was with the last grant. He said that their service area might be expanded to include eastern Oregon as well. Jilla Harmon~ District Operations Jilla Harmon said that she is working on getting the Water Resource display ready for Fairfield’s Flag Day celebration and will be taking the two vans in to get serviced before they are driven to Leavenworth for next week’s WADE conference. Vicki Carter~ District Operations Vicki reported that she & Rachel have been working with AmericanWest Bank on setting up new financial procedures, including remote capture and ACH/direct deposit. Once the contract is signed and returned to the bank, we will begin the process of setting up the accounts and equipment; the new procedures are scheduled to begin July 1. Vicki has been busy working on grant and contract administration. She and Rachel have been working with Water Resources on getting the various RFP’s published in the newspaper. Vicki said that she would be attending additional training from the state auditor’s office on June 25-26. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT Rich Baden reported that the Water Resource field staff has started working four 10-hour days during the week to keep the fuel expenses under control. He also reported that the District sold the house on 208 W. 17th and that the money is in the bank. Rich worked with Garth Davis and Walt Edelen to get the District’s budget request in to WACD, and he is busy preparing for next week’s WADE conference. COMMITTEE MEETINGS Two committee meetings were scheduled for Monday, June 23. The personnel committee will meet at 3:00 pm, and the finance committee will meet at 4:00 pm. PLANNING SESSION: JULY 16-17 Vicki Carter reminded the Board that the annual planning session would be held July 16-17 at The Spokane Club. For those who would like a room, please let Vicki know as soon as possible. Correspondence & Announcements · Vicki Carter read a letter from Bio-Kleen that stated they would be donating 144 units of phosphate-free dishwashing detergent for the Rockford grant. · We received two letters from the Washington State Conservation Commission. One letter formally announced that Dixie Riddle had been appointed to the Board, and the other one certified Randy James’ election. · We received a letter from Craig Nelson that nominations are currently being accepted for the awards distributed at the annual WACD convention. See Vicki Carter if you would like more information or if you would like to nominate someone. · The Friends of the Little Spokane River are holding a get-together on Saturday from 8:30 am- 12:30 pm to help rehabitate the Haynes project area. · A letter from the Washington Conservation Society (WCS) had been included in the Board packets; it discusses the fact that the WCS has received its 501c3 status from the IRS and can now accept tax-deductible donations. Wade- JUNE 16-18 Rachel and Rich reminded the staff that the WADE conference was June 16-18 in Leavenworth; Jaki Shrauger and Jerry Scheele are the only Board members attending and they have been registered. Rich asked all attendees to meet at the District at 7:30 a.m on Monday. Executive Session None READING OF THE MOTIONS Motion JAMES/SHRAUGER to approve the May 13, 2008, Board meeting minutes as distributed. Motion carried. Motion RIDDLE/SHRAUGER to approve the May Treasurer’s report, payroll checks #1128-1257, checks #27128-27201, voided checks #27129,27152, 27184-27187, stop payment on check #27078 and automatic withdrawal #999990, and June Account Payables in the amount of $100,192.811. Motion carried Motion RIDDLE/JAMES to approve an MOA for the Detailed Implementation Plan for WRIA 55&57 for the Little and Middle Spokane Rivers. Motion Carried. The regular Board meeting adjourned at 6:53 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Rachel Rooks _____________________ _________________ Gerald Scheele, Chairman Dixie Riddle, Auditor The Spokane County Conservation District’s Board meeting minutes are intended to be a reasonable summary of the Board’s deliberations and action. The minutes are not a verbatim record of everything said at the meeting. The minutes include all actions taken by the Board. Board Meeting Minutes
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