DRAFT MINUTES

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

Frank W. Bratt Ag Center, Jamestown, NY 14701

District Board of Directors' Regular Meeting

November 19, 1999

 

I.  MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: 1:00 P.M.

    A.  Present:

         David Sturges - Chairman     Rob Halbohm - NRCS DC

         Bob Thompson - Director     Debra Kelley - Secretary

         Lewis Rice - Director        David Wilson - Manager

         Leon Beightol - Director

 

II. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING:

MOTION by Thompson seconded by Rice to approve the minutes of the October meeting.Carried.

 

III.TREASURER'S REPORT:

    MOTION by Thompson seconded by Beightol to accept the Treasurer's report     and pay current bills for October. Carried.

 

    A.  The following bills were approved for payment:

              SEE ATTACHED

 

IV. CORRESPONDENCE

    A.  A thank you letter from Jamestown Community College and The Chautauqua County Counselors Association to David Wilson for his participation in their College Career Program.

    B.  Thank you letters to David Wilson for donating some brochures and pamphlets to their class.

 

V.  REPORTS:

    A.  Other Agencies

    B.  Committees

C.State Committee

    D.  District Conservationist - Rob Halbohm, DC

1.Introductions - Dave Wilson introduced Rob (New District Conservationist) to the board members. Rob stated that he had arrived on the job November 8, 1999 and was getting settled in. Rob is looking forward to getting out and meeting with people.

    EB. District Field Manager - David Wilson

         1.  Ag Land Assessment - Dave Spann started working on this program. We have sent out a press release to the newspapers and the Ag News. We have started making appointments and the program will run until March.

         2.  Trees & Shrubs - We have added a couple new species to our list this year. The booklets are almost ready to go to the printers. This program will start right after the first of the year.

District Minutes                                                   Page 2.

District Field Manager (cont.)

 

         3.  Member Item Request - Pat McGee - I have submitted two requests to Pat McGee for funding. One for the Fire Chiefs Association requesting funding for dry hydrants. I also included a letter of support from the District and the request is only for Chautauqua County. The second request is for the District, we are asking for funding to purchase some new computer equipment. We would like to get more involved with GIS, ArcView and Auto Cad systems.

         4.  Jay Gould - His time and money is almost up we still have a lot of work to do if the weather stays nice. MOTION by Beightol seconded by Thompson to extend Jay for another 60 days if needed. Carried!

         5.  Heather Raymond -MOTION by Beightol seconded by Thompson to award Heather a $1,000 Scholarship to be used to continue her education. This amount will be taken from the general savings account. Carried!

    F.  District Secretary

         1.  Directors Expenses - I would like to remind the Directors if they have any outstanding bills for meals, tolls or mileage to get them to me as soon as posible.

 

VI. OLD BUSINESS

    A.  Joint Annual Banquet - MOTION by Beightol seconded by Rice to pay for meals for the Directors and their wives, staff and their spouses and our invited guests. Carried!

    B.  District Budget - We received an official letter from Chautauqua County Department of Economic Development stating that our year 2000 Budget has been approved for the amount of $125,460.

    C.  Contract to Sign - French Creek Water Quality Improvements, these funds are from the Environmental Protection Fund Grant that we applied for last year. This is the contract so we can ask for part of the funding to get started. MOTION by Beightol seconded by Thompson to authorize David Sturges to sign the contract on behalf of Chautauqua County Soil & Water Conservation District. Carried!

 

VII.NEW BUSINESS

    A.  Appointments to the Board. MOTION by Thompson seconded by Beightol to write the letters to the County Executive asking for appointments to the SWCD Board, and recommend the appointments of Fred Croscut and Fran Lus. Carried!


VIII. RC&D

    A.  There is a Meeting scheduled for November 29, 1999. The District has written a letter asking for an appointment to the RC&D Board. The recommendation was made to appoint Howard Cornell a retired Ag Teacher from Clymer School.



District Minutes                                                   Page 3.


IX. WATER QUALITY

    A.  Brocton Reservoir - Bids for dredging the reservoir have been sent out. We hope to start the project before the end of the year.

    B.  Mini-Grants - The Chautauqua County Water Quality Task Force has been approved for Tier I, Tier II and Tier III Mini-Grants in the amount of $750.00, $250.00 and $5,000 respectively.

 

X.  COOPERATORS

    A.  Raymond Achilles, South Dayton - formerly owned by Eugene Williams. MOTION by Rice seconded by Beightol to accept Raymond Achilles as a District Cooperator. Carried!

 

XI. NEXT MEETING - Thursday, December 16, 1999, 1:00 P.M. at the Frank W. Bratt Ag Center.

 

XII.Meeting Adjourned

MOTION by Thompson seconded by Beightol to adjourn at 2:00 P.M. Carried!



Respectfully Submitted,



 

Debra A. Kelley 

Secretary 

David J. Sturges

Chairman