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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLand & Water 09-06-05 • ST. CROIX COUNTY NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING • TO: Clarence Malick, Chairman St. Croix County Board FROM: Ron Raymond, Chairman COMMITTEE TITLE: Land & Water Conservation DATE: September 6, 2005 TIME: 10:40 a.m. LOCATION: Ag Center, Baldwin CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA DATE OF NEXT MEETING: October 4,2005 ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINUTES PARKS DEPARTMENT NEW BUSINESS: Director's Report Bills /vouchers Capital Outlay plan 2006 budget S.E.H. - Stairway proposal Park fees Fishing pier - Glen Hills UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Outdoor Recreation Plan LAND & WATER CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT Agency Reports FSA NRCS DNR RC &D West Central Area NEW BUSINESS: Subdivision Review - 2:00 p.m. Vouchers Capital Outlay plan 2006 budget Wildlife Damage - Venison Program /Protein Program Ag Bear Trapping agreement • Land Use Development Ordinance - Planning Department - 3:00 p.m. Amended CREP - Agreement • Conservation Aids Project - 2006 • Lake Mallalieu dam UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Staff Reports Priority Watershed Projects ANNOUNCEMENTS & CORRESPONDENCE POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: ADJOURNMENT (Agenda not necessarily presented in this order) SUBMITTED BY: Robert Heise DATE: August 24, 2005; amended August 29, 2005 COPIES TO: COUNTY BOARD OFFICE NEWS MEDIA /NOTICE BOARD COUNTY CLERK COMMITTEE MEMBERS * ADDITIONS /CORRECTIONS /CHANGES Convened: 10.51 a.m. Recessed: 12:25 p.m. Reconvened: 12:35 p.m. Adjourned: 3:17 p.m. ST. CROIX COUNTY LAND 8z WATER CONSERVATION COMMITTEE Agricultural Service & Education Center, Baldwin, WI September 6, 2005 Members Present: Lois Burri, Bill Peavey, Ron Raymond, Gene Ruetz Members Absent: Jan Zoerb (excused) Staff Present: Director -Bob Heise, Operations Manager -Dave Larson, Lakes Cluster Technician -Tammy Wittmer, Administrative Assistant - Arlene Lier Others Present: Julie Speer - County Board Supervisor, Peggy Rode, Donna Seim Adoption of Agenda: Peavey made motion to adopt the agenda, seconded by Burri. Carried. Action on Previous Minutes: Motion by Burri to approve the August 2, August 4, and August 19, 2005 meeting minutes as presented, seconded by Peavey. Carried. Date of Next Meeting: October 4, 2005 PARKS DEPARTMENT NEW BUSINESS Director's Report Heise reported that during the month of August there was an accident that occurred at Glen Hills Park, day -use area. A child broke their arm on the new playground equipment. A report was filed with the Risk Manager. Equipment was not faulty, just an accident occurred. There will be a site showing by Tammy Wittmer and Dave Larson on September 8 at the Apple River property, our conservation aids project for 2005. There will also be a site showing for the fishing pier at Glen Hills Park. Raymond questioned what a "site showing" is. Heise explained that contractors are invited to bid on the project. Also there will be a site showing at the Pine Lake project (rip rap). Bills/Vouchers Bills list was presented. Motion by Peavey, seconded by Ruetz, to approve the Parks account bills ($8,092.08). Carried. Capital Outlay Plan Heise presented the revised capital outlay plan. It is broken down into 3 different categories as recommended by LWCC: safety, maintenance, and improvements. Two changes were made in the "maintenance area ": One item is the Glen Hills fishing pier (priority #7) because we received a grant. The second item is a bicycle plan ($10,000 — past park dedication fee dollars, not tax levied dollars). The Park dedication fees can be used for planning purposes or new amenities, not for maintenance purposes. The bicycle plan is a high priority in the Outdoor Recreation Plan. Raymond questioned the purchase of two new mowers. Heise stated that the decision to purchase mowers will depend on the price of the bids that we receive, depreciating the mowers out this year. 2006 Budget Heise handed out a revised "draft" of the 2006 budget with the balance forward spreadsheet. The budget now reflects the 2006 personnel costs from the Finance Department. Liability insurance costs more than doubled from 2005 for both Land & Water Conservation and Parks. Parks has increased more than $7,000, LWCD increased $3,000. Finance is attempting to build up their i fund. Total cost of administration is $87,500. Heise explained the estimated revenues portion. We are up approximately $50,000 for the total budget (which can be taken out of capital outlay). Discussion on areas to cut. Only the top 11 items of the capital outlay plan are included in the budget. Heise suggested that we take the capital outlay numbers 12 -19 and move them from 2006 to 2007. Gas /fuel prices will affect the budget. Heise estimated that Homestead Parklands would be up $1,000 and Glen Hills about $1,500. Peavey made motion to approve the Parks budget with no items in the "improvements category" be included in the capital outlay budget, add $2,500 for fuel cost increases, seconded by Ruetz. Carried. S.E.H. — Stairway proposal Dave Larson reported that he met with S.E.H. (Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.) on the two stairways and the walking trail. The proposed cost estimate came in at $104,000. There is a proposed optional connection going from the midway point of the trail to the beach access trail, additional cost of $18,000. Larson stated that this is the preliminary alignment. The next step would be to do some design work. The engineers need some type of feedback. Larson stated that for construction, we may use white oak in place of treated timbers due to less cost and less maintenance. Park fees Heise stated that at our August 19 budget meeting, Jan Zoerb asked us to look at our fee schedules. Reviewed two spreadsheets: "St. Croix Parks Usage Comparison thru August 29, 2005 Deposit" and "Proposed 2006 Park Fees Area Governmental Park Comparison ". Our current fee rate for an annual is $20.00, daily is $5.00 and our camping site fee is $18.00 (electrical). Staff reviewed rates and decided we could raise our annual to $25.00, keep our daily rate the same, and raise our camping fee to $20.00. Assuming those assumptions would be valid, the estimated increase in revenues would be approximately $9,500. Looking at other parks (Nugget Lake, Willow River State Park and Corp of Engineers), we compared ourselves and felt we are competitive with other parks in the area using our proposed rate increases. We could also raise the camping site (non - electrical) fee from $14.00 to $15.00. We are also going to have a fee safe at our septage dumping area seeking donations. Burri made motion to approve the proposed rates (effective January 1, 2006) by staff, Ruetz seconded. Carried. Fishing pier — Glen Hills Heise reported that County staff has been successful in receiving a grant ($20,117) from the Sport Fish Restoration Program (DNR) to install a fishing pier and a handicap walkway to access the pier at Glen Hills Park. Tammy Wittmer designed the pier and gave an overview of the project. Total estimate of the project is $40,234. Town of Springfield will be donating $9,096 (park dedication fees). Motion was made to approve the grant. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Outdoor Recreation Plan Heise reported on the August 4' committee meeting. Major changes were requested by the LWCC. Heise recommended that this plan take place in 2006, not 2005. The benefit of level of service standards was summarized in a quote by Ron Raymond, County Board Supervisor. Discussion on the quotation. Raymond requested that his name be removed from the quotation. LWCC attempted to define the level of service standards for St. Croix County. Ruetz made motion to approve the Outdoor Recreation Plan, removing Raymond's name after the quotation, change the word "properties" to "resources ", seconded by Bum. Carried. Public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, October 4, 7:00 p.m., at the Ag Center. Newspaper publication of hearing notice would appear in the September 15th and September 22th issues. Recessed: 12:25 p.m. Reconvened: 12:35 p.m. LAND & WATER CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT Members Present: Lois Burn, Jim Cody, Bill Peavey, Ron Raymond, Gene Ruetz Members Absent: Jan Zoerb (excused) Staff Present: Director -Bob Heise, Land Specialist—Pete Kling, Program Assistant -Jonna Fedie, Administrative Assistant - Arlene Lier Others Present: Cindy Blonk- Wildlife Damage; Mark Kubler, Kris Belling -DNR; Bob Hendrickson -FSA; Steve Pernsteiner- NRCS; Jon Sonnentag -S & N Surveying; Craig Lilja, Charles Cook -Troy Development Corporation; Louie Filkins -Ogden Engineering FARM SERVICE AGENCY (FSA) Bob Hendrickson -County Executive Director reported: • CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) - Staff has loaded the accepted contracts (approximately 37) for the 29 sign up. • There will be a one -year extension for the CRP contracts (expiring the end of September). There are 40 contracts (about 957 acres). Most of those contracts have either been re- assigned during the 29 sign up or extended by now. • Compliance —staff is receiving some late filed crop reports. Cost is $25.00 per farm and $10.00 per field. • DCP (Direct and County Cyclical Program) - There was no Final Counter Cyclical payment (CCP) for wheat and oats. However, there was a .045 payment for Barley, which will be issued sometime after October 1 51 along with the final DCP payment. It also looks like there will be a final CCP payment for corn. • We still have a few 2004 Commodity Loans out there that we are working with landowners to get paid off. None of them are delinquent. • The interest rate for September Commodity Loans is 4.845% and for Facility Loans is 4.25 %. • All MILC (Milk Income Loss) payments are out for June. • The LDP'S (Loan Deficiency Payments) for corn today are for .37, for Barley .35, for Soybeans .00, for HRS Wheat .00. • Recons - Staff is printing off new maps for producers that are coming in to report crops. • Disaster is slowing down some. The deadline for signing up for this is September 9, 2005. • Livestock Assistance Program (LAP) - St. Croix County did qualify for this program. Signup deadline is September 9, 2005. • We are still looking for people to sign up to e -file their LDP (Loan Deficiency Payments) and DCP (Direct and County Cyclical Program) for the coming year. People need to stop at our office to establish a profile to do it. • The County Office Committee (COC) elections are just around the corner. We now have one nominee (Ken Graf) for Local Administrative Area (LAA) 3 (towns of Hammond, Pleasant Valley, Rush River, Baldwin, Eau Galle, Springfield and Cady). NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS) Steve Pernsteiner - District Conservationist reported: USDA has selected the 2006 watersheds for the Conservation Security Program (CSP). In Wisconsin, the Grant/Maquoketa watershed, mostly in Grant County, and the Lake DuBay watershed, in Marathon/Lincoln Counties, were selected. It is hoped that sign up by producers can start this fall. The State has reviewed the activities in counties previously selected for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Acreage goaled for St. Croix was reduced. Some new counties along Lake Superior were added to the program. NRCS is looking at contracting with Pheasants Forever to develop CREP contracts in St. Croix County. Changes are coming for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). It appears that no -till will not be offered as a cost sharable practice in 2006. Nutrient management planning will need to be Comprehensive Nutrient Management (CLAMP), which includes complete farm walkover, and engineering practices. Local workgroup will need to meet in October. Five St. Croix County landowners were selected for Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP) contracts. These contracts include prairie restoration and invasive species removal. Andrea Crownhart, summer intermittent employee, has returned to school. We have an intermittent student, Kara Nelson, hired to work part time during the school year. Jay Custer is still working half time in Pierce County. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES (DNR) Mark Kubler- Forestry Leader reported: There are some significant changes in the Managed Forest Law program. Information sheets were handed out. This year the Legislature took action. Starting on July 1 all new MFL applications have to come in with an approvable plan attached to it. The new application fee has dropped to $20.00. A fee (approximately $600 per 40 -acre parcel) will have to be paid to a Private Forester for preparing an approved plan. The plan has to be completed before the application is written. The DNR has been relieved of its responsibility to write MFL plans for applications that come in without those plans. Although all plans will be handled by the private sector, it is quite likely that a lot of plans will have to be picked up by the DNR because of the more difficult and complicated ones. To accommodate that, they have been charged with assessing market rates for any they do. How they will be assessed: DNR will look at the year before (average cost per plan plus fee acre basis) and come up with an average cost. DNR will assess the same charge as last year's private sector. A lot of these rules are still being proposed but the law became effective on July 1, so have to come up with administrative rules. The certified plan writers will be trained by the DNR. There will be hearings on the draft rules on September 22th (Phillips) and 23` (Baraboo). The Woodland Tax Program is no longer available. Kris Belling - Wildlife Biologist reported: In the Oakridge Lake area (Town of Stanton), north of New Richmond, there is an odd shaped parcel of county owned land right in the middle of the lake. The water levels in the lake are higher than they have been historically. The water flows out in narrow channels (on county land). Historically, there has been some debris in that channel. They are interested in keeping the water level in Oakridge Lake lower, if possible, to get better vegetation growing for the wildlife. They would like to clear out that old debris on County property. They now have a plan drawn, basically they want to clear out the debris and replace it with a culvert and fill. The culvert would create a crossing for access to their land. They are looking at a total embankment of about 20 feet, 71 cubic yards of fill with a 36 -inch diameter culvert. Chair Raymond made motion that LWCC agrees to allow the DNR to do work that allows water to flow between our two properties with the proviso that any changes in the future, that require removal of that facility, be covered by the DNR, seconded by Cody. Carried. Also reported that it looks like next fall during our regular gun deer season our region is slated to be the area where we will allow the public to participate in the chronic wasting disease testing. RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT (RC &D) Ruetz reported that he will not be able to attend the RC &D meeting scheduled for September 9. Being on the fund raising committee, he reported that they raised $3,000, short $8,000. WEST CENTRAL AREA Heise reported on the August 18' meeting held at Menomonie, posters were judged and conservation awards were chosen. There was good attendance and discussion of staffing and funding issues. Raymond commented that he attended a WLWCA (8 members) board of directors meeting on August 25. On the West Central front, he commented that the organization identified some issues, which that group is willing to work on. Some conservationists volunteered to sharpen up its focus on those issues and get some ideas on what we can do about them for our next meeting. The steering committee that was formed at the annual meeting did not come out with any recommendations. It was decided to have a special Board of Directors' meeting to (1) ask people who have been dissatisfied to come up with their ideas and invite them to a meeting and (2) take a look at what the Steering Committee did accomplish and try to, as a board, have a discussion formulating issues to be brought to the annual conference. Should the by -laws be changed? NEW BUSINESS Venison Program/Protein Program — Jonna Fedie reported on the 2005 Venison Program to Feed the Hungry. The department works cooperatively with UW- Extension. LWCD receives donations for the Protein Project and then purchases hamburger, tuna, beans, and peanut butter. Ag Bear Trapping Agreement — Cindy Blonk updated LWCC on the Bear Trapping Agreement with APHIS. Motion by Cody, seconded by Ruetz, to approve Chair Raymond's signature on the Cooperative Service Agreement between St. Croix County and USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Carried. Vouchers Reviewed vouchers. Burri made motion, seconded by Peavey, to approve Chair Raymond's signature on the September LWCD voucher list in the total amount of $8,684.15. Carried. Amended CREP — Agreement Heise reported that six additional new CREP counties have been added in Wisconsin. As a result, DATCP has proposed changes to St. Croix County's spending authority (from $750,000 to $640,000) as well as other counties. Heise recommended approving the agreement because St. Croix County has had limited interest in this program. Motion by Ruetz, seconded by Peavey, to approve the amended CREP agreement. Carried. Conservation Aids Proiect — 2006 Heise reported that staff has been working on a grant application for the Oak Savanna Restoration work at Homestead Parklands (recommended by Sportsmen's Alliance and the Friends of Perch Lake). $2,000 is in our budget and $2,000 is in our grant application. Motion by Burri, seconded by Ruetz, to approve Chair Raymond's signature on the 2006 Conservation Aids Project grant application. Carried. Lake Mallalieu dam Heise reported that St. Croix County is in a partnership agreement with the Village of North Hudson, Town of Hudson, and the City of Hudson on the maintenance of the Lake Mallalieu dam. Currently, there is a budget line item in the Planning Department budget to cover the county's responsibilities. Planning staff discussed the best fit for budget, department interests, and administration of the dam and thought it would be best to transfer this responsibility to the LWCC /LWCD. Planning & Zoning Committee will be discussing this item and will bring forth a recommendation to the LWCC. Ruetz made motion, seconded by Cody, that LWCC not get involved with the Lake Mallalieu dam issue. Carried. Burri did not participate in the discussion nor did she vote. Recess (2:00 -2:05 pm) SUBDIVISION REVIEW Kling recommended approval of the following four subdivisions: Hayden's Rolling Acres — (Located within the fractional SW ' / 4 of Sec. 7, T30N -R18W„ Town of Richmond, St. Croix County, Wisconsin) — 40.5 acres, 18 lots total. Richmond Acres — (Located in part of the SW ' / 4 and the SE ' / 4 of Section 28, T30N -R18W, Town of Richmond, St.Croix County, Wisconsin) — 104.6 acres, 47 lots total. Staff recommended approval with condition that developer preserve portions of existing prairie grass on each lot by using deed restrictions, restrictive covenants, or similar recordable documents. Ninety Fifth Street Site — (Located in part of the SW ' / 4 and part of the NW ' / 4 of the SE ' / 4 of Section 7, T30N -R18W, Town of Richmond, St. Croix County, Wisconsin) — 20.3 acres, 9 lots total. Riding Meadows North — (Located in part of the NW ' / 4 of the NW ' / 4 and part of the NE ' / 4 of the NW ' / 4, Section 34, T30N- R18W, Town of Richmond, St. Croix County, Wisconsin) — 65 acres, 20 lots total. Burri made motion to recommend that the plans for these four subdivisions are acceptable and a letter be sent to the Planning & Zoning Committee, seconded by Cody. Carried. Hills of Trov — (Located in the NE ' / 4 of the NE ' / 4 and the SE '% of the NE '% of Section 10, the NW '/ of the NW ' / 4, the NE ' / 4 of the NW ' / 4 , the SE % of the NW '/4, the SW ' / 4 of the NW '/4, the NW '/a of the NE '/4, the NE '/a of the NE '/ , the SE '% of the NE '/4 , and the SW '/4 of the NE ' / 4 of Section 11, T28N -R19W, Town of Troy, St. Croix County, Wisconsin) — 286.7 acres, 133 lots total. Kling referred to the preliminary plat. The project is scheduled to be constructed in multiple phases. The first phase is scheduled to begin this fall. A portion of the land has a Farmland Preservation contract on it. As part of that contract, the land cannot be disturbed until the state relinquishes that contract. The developer is working on getting that relinquished. Kling informed the LWCC of all of the issues on this plat. Peavey made motion to recommend that the plans for this subdivision are acceptable as presented and a letter be sent to the Planning & Zoning Committee, seconded by Burn. Carried. Hawks Landing — (Located in the SW ` / 4 of the NW '/4 and in the SE ' / 4 of the NW '/4 of Section 15, T29N -R17W, Town of Hammond, St. Croix County, Wisconsin) — 72.4 acres, 32 lots total. Kling presented the concerns (groundwater issues) involved with this subdivision. Staff recommended conditional approval: (1) Developer responsible for geophysical survey to include ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity and seismic surveys. (2) Developer responsible for geophysically logging each of the existing three wells. (3) Final plat is not approved until data for items 1 and 2 is obtained and analyzed by professional geologists and the linearity of existing sinkholes and risk of additional sinkhole formation is found to be low. Cody made motion to recommend conditionally approving this subdivision with the three recommended items and a letter be sent to the Planning & Zoning Committee, seconded by Ruetz. Carried. Northeast Angle - (Located in outlot 1 of CSM, Vol. 17, P. 4607 and part of the SE ' / 4 of the NE '/a and in the SW '/4 of the NE ' / 4, and in the NE '/4 of the SE ' / 4 and the NW '/a of the SE ' / 4 of Sec. 2, T31N -R19W, Town of Somerset, St. Croix County, Wisconsin) — 66.3 acres, 20 lots total. All stormwater and erosion control plans are acceptable for this subdivision. Road construction should not begin until after the entire project is approved. Ruetz made motion to recommend that the plans for this subdivision are acceptable and a letter be sent to the Planning & Zoning Committee, seconded by Peavey. Carried. Bristol Farms - (Located in part of the SW ' /4 of the SE '/ and the SE '/ of the SE '/4 of Section 19, T31N -R18W, Town of Star Prairie, St. Croix County, Wisconsin) — 86.1 acres, 37 lots total. All storm water and erosion control issues have been resolved and the plans conform to the St. Croix County Subdivision Ordinance. The storm water and erosion control plans are acceptable for this subdivision. Cody made motion to recommend that the plans for this subdivision are acceptable and a letter be sent to the Planning & Zoning Committee, seconded by Ruetz. Carried. Seven Oaks - (Located in part of the NE '/4 of the SW ' /4, part of the NW ' /4 of the SE 1/4, part of the SE ' /4 of the SW ' /4, and part of the SW '/4 of the SE ' /4 , Section 36, Town of St. Joseph, T30N -R20W, St. Croix County, Wisconsin) — 49.5 acres, 15 lots total. All storm water and erosion control issues have been resolved and the plans conform to the St. Croix County Subdivision Ordinance. The storm water and erosion control plans are acceptable for this subdivision. Peavey made motion to recommend that the plans for this subdivision are acceptable and a letter be sent to the Planning & Zoning Committee, seconded by Ruetz. Carried. Roettger's Ridge - (Located in the West ' /z of the SE' /4 of Section 24, T30N -R20W, Town of St. Joseph, St. Croix County, Wisconsin) — 78.6 acres, 20 lots total. Staff recommends denial: 1) Missing stormwater pond inlet protection, 2) Missing erosion mat installation detail drawing, 3) Missing additional erosion control items for driveway construction, 4) Construction plans are missing information from the erosion and sediment control plans. Ruetz made motion to not approve this subdivision per staff's recommendation, seconded by Raymond. Carried. Capital Outlay Plan Heise presented the revised capital outlay plan. The revisions reflect committee recommendations of August 19�'. 2006 Budget Heise handed out the revised "draft" of the 2006 budget with the balance forward spreadsheet. The budgets now reflect the 2006 personnel costs from the Finance Department. Liability insurance costs more than doubled from 2005. The total budget is up $15,000 (6% over last year). Heise suggested adding $500.00 for added fuel costs. Bum made motion, seconded by Ruetz, to approve the 2006 budget as amended with an increase of $500.00 for fuel. Carried. CORRESPONDENCE Heise reported that he received a letter from the Town of Troy regarding a resolution to vacate portions of East Cove Road. Public hearing will be held on September 8' at the Troy Town Hall. Also discussed the resolution on fly ash. Chair Raymond adjourned meeting at 3:17 p.m. Arlene Lier Recording Secretary