UMPQUA SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT APPROVED REGULAR MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2010 7:00 p.m. Directors Present: Staff Present: Agencies Present: Others Present: Chair King Phelps, Vice Chair George Black, Secretary/Treasurer Tom Black, Director Rod Brandon, Director Bob Sharp Conservation Technician/District Manager Rhonda Black, Conservation Technician Assistant Laura Smith NRCS District Conservationist David Chain, Columbia SWCD District Manager/Education Coordinator Kari Hollander, and Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers Fish Biologist Matt Ruwaldt, Smith River Watershed Council Coordinator Brian Swift Past Umpqua SWCD Conservation Technician Dennis Chamberlain, and Isle Hollander MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: Vice Chair G. Black called meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. as the Chair was scheduled to arrive a little later. PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS: None STAFF REPORTS: Conservation Technician/District Manager Rhonda Black and Assistant Conservation Technician Laura Smith gave their reports. APPROVE AGENDA: The agenda was approved by consensus with the addition of item # 11 to decide what to pay boat operators other than Director Brandon who operate the boat for the Bureau of Land Management Tide Gate Inventory Grant as Director Brandon operates under Oregon Revised Statute 198.190 Compensation and expenses of members of certain boards. Page 1
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: Vice Chair G. Black made a motion, 2 nd by Director Brandon to approve the minutes for the March 11, 2010 and April 8, 2010 regular meetings. The motion unanimously passed. For the May 2010 and June 2010 meetings a quorum was not present. Reports were given, but the meeting was not held due to lack of a quorum. APPROVAL OF THE BILLS: Vice G. Black made a motion, 2 nd by Director Brandon to approve the bills. The motion unanimously passed. TREASURER S REPORT: April, May, and June 2010 Treasurer s Reports: Secretary/Treasurer T. Black provided information for the Treasurer s Report: As of April, 2010 the District had $10,383.24 in the checking account and $11,932.05 in the savings account. Vice Chair Black made a motion, 2 nd by Director Brandon to approve the April 2010 Treasurer s Report for audit. The motion unanimously passed. Secretary/Treasurer T. Black provided information for the Treasurer s Report: As of May 2010 the District had $12,786.93 in the checking account and $11,923.01 in the savings account. Vice Chair Black made a motion, 2 nd by Director Brandon to approve the May 2010 Treasurer s Report for audit. The motion unanimously passed. Secretary/Treasurer T. Black provided information for the Treasurer s Report: As of June 2010 the District had $16,545.87 in the checking account and $11,918.40 in the savings account. Vice Chair Black made a motion, 2 nd by Director Brandon to approve the June 2010 Treasurer s Report for audit. The motion unanimously passed. AGENCY REPORTS: Natural Resources Conservation Service: NRCS District Conservationist David Chain presented his report under business item #2 NRCS Strategic Planning Process. Page 2
Smith River Watershed Council: Smith River Watershed Council Coordinator Brian Swift reported the Smith River Watershed Council was approved for one of their BLM Resource Advisory Council projects which will address 2.5 miles of in-stream structures consisting of log and boulder placements on the North Sister of the Smith River with a continuation of work on the South Sister of the Smith River. Coordinator Swift reported work is continuing on preparations for the Smith River Country Fair. Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers: Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers (PURS) Fish Biologist Matt Ruwaldt reported PURS was funded on two of their BLM Resource Advisory Council projects. Four projects were submitted. A project proposed for the West Fork of the Smith River was approved and a technical assistance grant was approved. PURS will be evaluating the work proposed for the Scholfield Creek. DIRECTOR REPORTS: Director Brandon reported on the Oregon Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) Board of Districts meeting reporting on what he learned about navigatable waterways, agriculture versus water foul, and how credit history will no longer be used to not hire an employee. Director Brandon stated how Districts should pay their OACD dues annually. Director Brandon also reported on the Umpqua SWCD farm tour on June 12, 2010 that he organized where Directors, staff, NRCS personnel and others toured operations of Shepherd s Bison Ranch, the Big K Ranch, and Bradley Vineyards. Past Umpqua SWCD Conservation Technician Dennis Chamberlain stated there are a lot of projects in the Elkton and Kellogg area the Umpqua SWCD put in that the Directors have never seen including several spring developments, farm plans, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) projects. NRCS District Conservationist David Chain stated the District should open these tours up to the public with the possibility of carpooling into the locations and felt the public would respond positively to the tours. BUSINESS ITEMS: 1. Tax Base Presentation by Kari Hollander from Columbia Soil & Water Conservation District: Columbia Soil & Water Conservation District Manager/Education Coordinator Kari Hollander presented information on how Columbia SWCD obtained their tax base. Columbia SWCD District Manager Hollander stated how the OACD convention is very informative. She has been with Columbia for four years and stated the staff and Directors could see there was a lot of potential for the District and a lot of projects the District could do if the District had a little bit of money to work with. In 2006 there were ten districts that had funding through tax bases. The Columbia Board of Directors started discussing at the point how a tax base could benefit their district and could see how a small amount of money made a big impact on those districts with tax bases. The Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Service Page 3
collects five cents per thousand which brings in $200,000 for them. Columbia does more on the ground work and we need to be able to afford staff. Columbia has amazing staff that go through the NRCS planning course and then get scooped up by another District that has more money than Columbia does. Every eighteen to twenty months Columbia has to start over with the training, but what it comes down to is the money. The Columbia Directors realized they had good staff and no longer wanted to be a revolving door for employees. Columbia chose to go with ten cents per thousand with 40,000 constituents in the county which is bringing $90,000 a year for Columbia which is a big change as Columbia had no money. Now we can afford our own building and have been able to increase wages for our staff while at the same time being frugal on how we do everything while at the same time providing benefits. Columbia s current budget is 1.3 million. $380,000 is the tax base while the rest is for on the ground projects which are not for staff at all. Having a tax base has made life much easier and took a huge lift off of her shoulders as the District Manager as the money would be there and she didn t have to worry about anyone else sending the money in the form of a grant. The tax base has been in place for one year now. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) informed her that it takes approximately 3-4 years to feel the correct groove for what is needed financially to operate the district. One of the ways Columbia obtained approval of the voters was by becoming the fiscal agent for the watershed council. The watershed council coordinator is on the SWCD staff, but is independent in what she does, and then there is a resource conservationist, office manager and a seasonal sprayer for weeds. To do this the SWCD used BLM RAC funds. All together there are four staff plus one seasonal staff person. With the new staff on bard we can focus our work by taking a strategic approach to how we are covering the district. Some areas are better than others to focus on because of the connections the SWCD has with people in those areas. We took a step back to figure out how to give the smaller watershed areas coverage with outreach using six month chunks of time for outreach and then focused on project development with a year and a half for project monitoring and a year and a half for project implantation. To go forward the SWCD will need to hire another staff person who will probably be a field technician for data collection and field visits. Director Brandon requested how much the SWCD gets for value and Columbia Manager Hollander stated the value was ten cents per thousand. Director Brandon requested how the request for a tax base was received by the public and Columbia Manager Hollander stated the SWCD first approached landowners they and been working with who knew first hand what the SWCD did and how staff was floating through the door. The landowners were the voice for the SWCD. The watershed council was also big for the SWCD and the SWCD has good relationships with them and able to express to the populations that didn t know what the SWCD did in the urban areas to show fiscally how many dollars the SWCD brought into the county over five, ten, and fifteen years. The SWCD used NRCS and EQIP dollars as well as our own funds and at the same time taught people what the relationship is between the organizations. The purpose of the SWCDs was to connect landowners with NRCS. Often there is a match between the watershed councils and the SWCDs and for us the average person in town with a $300,000 house it would cost $20 per year for those homeowner s to support the SWCD. The SWCD compared the cost to the cost of the coffee a homeowner was putting out in a month. It is also a good comparable to show the amount of money the SWCD is bringing into the county as the SWCD is providing a service and has been doing this for a long time historically where the SWCD is part of the community and a non-regulatory organization there to serve the community. The SWCD started with the watershed councils and then went to every local event that existed. The SWCD always tried to have at least one board member with the staff. Then, when people Page 4
ask the staff they can tell what the SWCD does, but the staff cannot tell a voter to vote yes. Only a director or other people can do that as staff are not allowed to promote the tax base. We all put in about 2.5 months of steady presentations and meetings and usually gave presentations on what we were doing. We handled it like, Hey, how are you doing? with no focus on the tax base and then the board member would get up and say, In order to keep this good stuff going we are going to need a tax base. It was definitely a team effort. Chair Phelps requested how long it took to get the tax base presented to the community prior to the election and Columbia Manager Hollander stated the SWCD started really brining the topic up in every meeting from January through May. In July we had our notice into the elections office. The reason for using the general election is that more people are usually voting in the general election and people are in the voters pamphlet. Our county supported us very much and win or lose they did not charge us, but check with Douglas County. The SWCD used all the information that the other SWCD s offered to them. Why reinvent the wheel? NRCS District Conservationist Chain requested what the maximum tax level was and Columbia Manager Hollander stated it was ten cents per thousand. The SWCD asked for full ten cents because the SWCD is putting money into a reserve and once the SWCD has the building the SWCD probably won t continue to collect the entire amount as the SWCD has the grants to keep the cycling going and the SWCD will also keep some of the funds on reserve. In the Columbia SWCD there is one community in the district that is eating up a big chunk of farmland where people don t have any idea about agriculture so the big focus was on education for kids and farms and agriculture. The SWCD also has a lot of small landowners which were city dwells that moved to the country and don t have any idea that they have a issues that will need to be remedied. Chair Phelps asked what the Umpqua SWCD could do and NRCS District Conservationist Chain stated to look at the tide gate on the south end of town where the tide gates have a direct impact on the area that could be positive. Every chance the SWCD could get in the paper where it would be positive could help. When the public sees they aren t getting charged for your services and you can get stuff going that others cannot to help them, then that is good. Columbia SWCD Manager Hollander stated a big thing for the SWCD was the invasive weeds and how people can get bugs to take care of the weeds. Have the newspaper there when the SWCD is releasing the bugs to take photos. SWCDs do things that make a difference, but are quiet, silent people and we had to get people s attention in order to survive. Bring in a person once a moth to teach something special. Columbia brought in ODF&W to teach Firewise to teach people how to protect their homes for people whose property backs up forestland. Having trees not so close together and that s an urban connection. If you have a tax base you need to continue to let people know they are getting a bargain. Umpqua Manager R. Black stated the newspaper is interested in the SWCD. Director Brandon stated it would have been wise to bring the newspaper reporter on the farm tour. Page 5
Columbia Manager Hollander stated to invite mayors, school superintendents, county commissioners on farm tours and put the directors up for re-election in the voters pamphlets. There is also space in the voters pamphlet to tell what the district does. 2. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Strategic Planning Process Presentation by David Chain, NRCS District Conservationist: NRCS District Conservationist David Chain presented information on the strategic planning effort NRCS has going on in the state of Oregon. The critical item is ranking criteria and having local workgroup meetings. District Conservationist Chain encouraged the Directors to attend the meetings and described how the meetings would be facilitated and likely held in August 2010. The meetings are to find out if NRCS is addressing the priority issues, how much money is needed, what the focus area will be and how many acres of land the focus area will encompass along with how much can get treated and who the project partners will be. When it comes to in-stream work the watershed councils and conservation districts are better equipped to handle the issues than NRCS. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may be able to help along with the Nature Conservancy. The questions are who has the plans, what do the plans address and who can the partner bring to the table. When everyone is at the table and aimed in the right direction there will be success. It is important for us to show the taxpayers that we are accomplishing something. 3. Donation to the Smith River Grange for the Smith River Country Fair and Volunteers: Director Sharp made a motion, 2 nd by Secretary/Treasurer T. Black for Umpqua SWCD to provide in-kind services to the Smith River Grange in the form of advertising for the Smith River Country Fair with a cap of $250. Motion passed with 4 ayes (Chair Phelps, Secretary/Treasurer T. Black, Director Sharp, Director Brandon) and 1 abstain (Vice Chair G. Black) due to a conflict of interest as he is a Smith River Grange member and a Smith River Watershed Council member. 4. Reinstatement of Compensatory Time: Vice Chair G. Black made a motion, 2 nd by Director Sharp to limit overtime to eight hours per week with a pay rate of 1.5 hours per hour of overtime worked. The motion unanimously passed. 5. Review of Travel & Reimbursement Procedures for Employees & Directors/Update Policy: Director Sharp made a motion, 2 nd by Vice Chair G. Black to approve updating the Umpqua SWCD Personnel Management Handbook to increase per diem to the current Federal level for reimbursement, changing paragraph B-4 to: Meals are generally paid on a per diem basis, but, may also be paid on the basis of actual expenses. If a per diem rate is used by a District it should also show the breakdown of a meal using the federal standard per diem rate (a $46.00 per diem rate breaks down to: $7.00 for breakfast, $11.00 for lunch, $23.00 for dinner, $5.00 for incidentals) taking into consideration situations where reimbursement rates differ by location using US General Services Administration (GSA) standards. If an employee is at a meeting where a Page 6
meal is supplied as a part of the cost of the meeting (registration), then the per diem should be reduced by the appropriate amount for that meal. Policy 2.10 shall apply to employees as well as District Directors. Motion passed with 4 ayes (Chair Phelps, Vice Chair G. Black, Secretary/Treasurer T. Black, and Director Sharp) and 1 nay (Director Brandon). 6. National Campaign Tour Bee the Change with the Film Documentary Vanishing of the Bees : Chair Phelps stated he would like to see showings of the documentary in both Reedsport and Elkton at the auditoriums and at the schools sometime this fall or winter. Requested staff find out more information. 7. Verizon Internet Hook Up for NRCS Computer: Vice Chair G. Black made a motion, 2 nd by Director Sharp for installation and set up of secure internet service through Verizon for the NRCS computer with a one time fee of $100 for installation, a one time fee of $100 for the modem and a monthly of approximately $70 per month. The motion unanimously passed. 8. Special Districts Association of Oregon Volunteer Resolution for 2010-2011 Resolution 10-01: Vice Chair G. Black made a motion, 2 nd by Secretary/Treasurer T. Black to pass Resolution #10-01 extending Workers Compensation Coverage to volunteers of the. The motion unanimously passed. 9. Conservation Technician/District Manager Draft Job Description Chair Phelps and Director Brandon stated they had not had time to go over the job description as of yet. EXECUTIVE SESSION ORS 192.660 (2) (i) and ORS 192.660 (8) to evaluate the performance of an officer, employee or staff member. Tabled until the next meeting. 10. Annual Review of District Manager/Conservation Technician: Tabled until the next meeting. 11. Bureau of Land Management Tide Gate Monitoring Grant Pay Scale for Outside Boat Operators: PURS Fish Biologist Ruwaldt reported a general contractor rate of $35.00 per hour or somewhere along those lines would be reasonable with no reimbursement for fuel or travel. Columbia SWCD District Manager Hollander stated Columbia SWCD charges $150 per day as a flat rate and does not pay for fuel or mileage. PURS Fish Biologist Ruwaldt stated it was good to go with an hourly rate just in case the boat operator didn t put in very many hours in the day. Page 7
Vice Chair G. Black made a motion, 2 nd by Director Brandon if the Umpqua SWCD needed to hire a boat operator besides Director Brandon the charge would be $35.00 per hour. Motion passed unanimously. ADJOURN MEETING: Meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. NEXT MEETING DATE: The next regular meeting for the will be held August 12, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Elkton Community Education Center, 15850 State Highway 38 West, Elkton, Oregon. Respectfully submitted, Rhonda Black Conservation Technician/District Manager Recorder Chair King Phelps Date Rhonda Black-Conservation Technician/District Manager Date Page 8