210 North Havana, Spokane, WA  99202

Board Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

PRESENT     

Supervisors:                    Gerald Scheele, Randy James, Dixie Riddle, Jaki Shrauger & Mary Sullivan       

Associate Supervisors:  Ed Kuhn   

SCCD Staff:                     Rich Baden, Vicki Carter,  Garth Davis, Jilla

                                          Harmon, Ty Meyer, Rick Noll & Rachel Rooks. 

Guests:                           David Lundgren, Lincoln County Conservation District; Kyle Stephens, NRCS; Ed Adams, WSU County Extension Office

Chair Scheele called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.

PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES

Minutes from the regular June 10, 2008, Board meeting had been previously distributed for review.

Motion RIDDLE/JAMES to approve the June 10, 2008, Board meeting minutes as distributed.  Motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Dixie Riddle presented the Treasurer’s Report for June 2008.

Motion JAMES/SHRAUGER to approve the June Treasurer’s report, payroll checks #1258-1293, claims #27202-27267, voided checks #1279,1287-1290,27261 and 27263, automatic withdrawals #999989 & 999988, and July Account Payables in the amount of $203,256.73. Motion carried.

Public Comments

Chair Scheele introduced David Lundgren, the manager of the Lincoln County Conservation District. David said that his area is contemplating harvesting in 10 days, and they are facing an armyworm infestation that caused a 100% loss on their variety plots.

David thanked the SCCD Board for allowing their staff to be involved in time-consuming, yet beneficial, activities such as Ag Expo, Enduris and for being responsible for various tracks at the WADE conference.

District Financial Report

Rich Baden gave a review of the District’s budget position as of July 2008 (50% of the way through the year) and reported that the District’s cash position at the end of June was $5,082,727.68.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Chair Scheele noted that

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.

Ed Adams~ WSU County Extension

Ed reported that the majority of his time in July would be spent on interviewing candidates for their numerous open positions. He also reported that Diana Roberts has been busy working on various projects.

Kyle Stephens~ NRCS

Kyle said that the soil survey staff is out in the field full-time, including Jason Flowers the new forester, who has been spending time around the Mt. Spokane-area, collecting data. Steve Campbell from the regional office in Portland came up, and approved their work plan and helped the staff with a permeability study.

Garth Davis~ Forestry

Garth said that he has worked on technical assists, and FireWise home and community assessments. He is also working on the street tree replacement project and is contacting the individual landowners.

Ty Meyer~ Production Ag

Ty reported that there has been an increase in inquiries for the SRF program, and he estimated that he’s put out approximately a half of a million dollars in loans for the quarter. We are continuing to advertise in The Grower’s Guide, and the ads are bringing more focus to the fact that we are now able to finance combines.

Rick Noll~ Water Resources

Rick reported that the Elk gage that was installed with USGS is now operational. It can be accessed online on the USGS Web site, and it was recommended to link to that from our site.

Rick said that he has been busy with the phosphate-free dishwashing detergent distribution. He said that he received a good response from the manufacturers: Bio-Kleen, Seventh Generation, and Ecover all donated phosphate-free detergent to the study. 

Jilla Harmon~ District Operations

Jilla is continuing to work on the phosphate-free detergent study; she is working on calling the 76 people who have not yet responded to the survey that was mailed out.

Rachel Rooks~ District Operations

Rachel reported that as of July 1 we are able to process deposits electronically, and the only time a trip to the bank will be required is if we need to deposit cash. Rachel scans the checks at her desk, and submits them; either Vicki or Rich authorizes the deposit as a dual control.

She has been busy putting things together for the planning session banquet and she reminded the Board that they need to RSVP by July 9. She is also preparing to start work on the annual report of accomplishments for the Washington State Conservation Commission (WSCC) and will be working with Jim on the Summer/Fall edition of the newsletter, which she hopes to have out by the end of August.

Vicki Carter~ District Operations

Vicki reported that it is the end of the biennium for the state and the end of the quarter for the District. She has been preparing quarterly taxes and grant payment requests; all of which are due between July 10-July 18.   Vicki has also been working with the Aspen Group and Ray Ledgerwood in the planning and development of material for the upcoming planning session.

Upper Columbia RC&D Report

Chair Scheele said that the RC&D electronically submitted a grant application with the Environmental Protection Agency for over $900,000 that will be used for diesel emission reduction and technology. 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Rich reported that he attended the recent WADE conference, which had almost 200 registered attendees. He put together the financial track, and had several roundtable discussions. The session with our legal counsel, Brian Werst, received good feedback.

He is watching the EQIP signup, and he believes that there is going to be money left on the table in the Spokane area. He said that two-thirds of those signed up for EQIP came from the forestry department.

He is busy getting ready for, and is looking forward to, the planning session next week. He also said that an Ag Expo survey went out to all exhibitors and potential exhibitors.

Correspondence & Announcements

·         Vicki said that we received a letter from Mark Clark at the WSCC with instructions for the annual report of accomplishments that’s due by September 5. Rachel will be working with the staff and will be writing up the report.

·         She passed around a copy of our WSCC directory and asked the Board to make any changes to their addresses and phone numbers.

·         She received a letter that a Dairy Nutrient Plan that Charlie Peterson did last quarter met all criteria; she asked Chair Scheele to sign off on it. She will now send it in to get money back from the WSCC. 

·         Vicki discussed the findings from the 2006 audit exit interview. The only finding was that the auditor’s office recommended we improve our accounts receivable process within the SRF program. Barry Tee will begin running quarterly reports.

·         Vicki told the Board that over the next six months they would begin to notice that the coding number of certain fund accounts would be changed in the financial reports; this is so they can be differentiated from accounts that the state uses with similar descriptors. 

COMMITTEE MEETINGS REPORT

The Finance Committee met and discussed the new coding on the financial reports, and the health insurance premium that the District has been paying. The Board decided that no decision is needed, as the health insurance premium is lower than last year.

PLANNING SESSION: JULY 16-17

Vicki reminded the Board that the planning session is July 16-17 at The Spokane Club. The first day of the planning session begins at 8:30 am, and will be an all-day meeting with the Board, Rich, and Ray Ledgerwood; this will cover the health of the organization and the RCW that governs the District.

On the second day of the planning session the Board will be joined by the department managers, Ray Ledgerwood, and Randy Quinn and Linda Dawson from the Aspen Group. This will be a one-day workshop to define the organizational outcomes, the desired results for the citizens of Spokane County, and to discuss Board governance and operational leadership. This will last from 8:30 am-3:30 pm.

Executive Session

None

READING OF THE MOTIONS

Motion RIDDLE/JAMES to approve the June 10, 2008, Board meeting minutes as distributed.  Motion carried.

Motion JAMES/SHRAUGER to approve the June Treasurer’s report, payroll checks #1258-1293, claims #27202-27267, voided checks #1279,1287-1290,27261 and 27263, automatic withdrawals #999989 & 999988, and July Account Payables in the amount of $203,256.73. Motion carried.

The regular Board meeting adjourned at 6:51 pm.

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.