Date: Thursday, December 8,
2011
Meeting 12:00 noon
CDC Conference Room, North Fork Mill Site, Road 225, North Fork, CA
1.
1.
Open Meeting
a.
Pledge of Allegiance, roll call and self-introductions
Neil McDougald - CRCD
Christi Hansard - Guest
Don Nielsen - CRCD
Brittany Dyer – Guest/sub-notetaker
Fred Mahoney - CRCD
Dennis Dudley - NRCS
Doug Bowman – CRCD
Allan Rosasco – CRCD
Priscilla Baker – NRCS
Nancy Beaver – CRCD
Diann Miller – Guest
2.
General Business
a.
Approval of Agenda & Minutes
Additions/changes
to Agenda:
Neil M requests to
add discussion about 2011/2012 budget (fiscal year)
Neil M requested
that a motion is needed on item 6.b.i. - Forest and Rangeland Fuels
Management Committee
Don N requested to
change 6.a.i. “hiring a contractor for project” to “general
discussion and vote”
Doug B requested
that 6.d.i. be a discussion about grants in general to bring in funding
Allen R made a motion to accept the agenda with the above changes;
Don N second the motion; all
voted, motion passed.
Additions/changes
to Minutes:
Under General
Business 2.e. “CRCD Facebook” Neil M went to Minarets not Don N
Allen R made a motion to accept the Minutes with the above change;
Doug B second the motion; all voted, motion passed.
b.
Treasurer’s Report
Nancy B
distributed and explained the Treasurer’s Report.
Don N is assisting
Nancy B to work with the County to resolve that account.
Webhosting has
been paid and the Auditor is next to be paid (previously approved)
Nancy B made a
motion to pay the North Fork Chamber dues; Doug B second the motion; all
voted, motion passed.
Nancy B will
address the RWMG dues statement at the December 12 meeting
The Auditor
suggested creating an annual budget. Neil M stated that a budget should be
created, approved, and followed each year.
Doug B made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as
submitted; Fred M second the motion; all voted, motion passed.
c.
2011/2012 Budget
Nancy B will create a draft budget for 2012 to present at the
January Board meeting. This will be added to the January agenda. Doug B
made the motion to add RWMG dues as a line item in the 2012 budget but
will be budgeted at $0.00 until CRCD is more financially secure; Don N
second the motion; all voted, motion passed.
d.
RCD Correspondence
The usual publications from Cal Fire, UC Cooperative
Extension, etc. were received.
e.
Annual Plan/Annual Report (Short Range Plan)
As previously discussed, an Annual Plan and a Long Range Plan
(5-year) needs to be completed. The
directors were assigned to read the current plan on the website.
Don N stated that the posted Long Range Plan appeared current
accept for the section on FSC as there is no longer a JPA with that
organization. The Long Range Plan is current until 2012. Neil M will work
on a draft to update for the next 5- years.
The Annual/Short Term Plan also needs to be updated.
f.
CRCD Facebook Page
Neil M met with Christi (teacher at Minarets HS) to receive
input from the students to assist with this project. This will be
addressed and recognized through the FFA program.
3.
Guests/ Speakers
None
at this meeting
4.
Public Comment (Limited to 3 Minutes)
None
at this meeting
5.
Action Items
a.
Bills for Board Approval
NRCS Agreement invoices
Fred M made the motion to sign the NRCS invoice and pay Chuck
S; Allen R second the motion; Don N abstained and the remainder of the
board voted, motion passed/expenditure approved. The NRCS Cooperative
agreement contract ends December 31, 2011.
b.
Review Membership of the Associate Directors
Neil M
would like this list added to the website to show all Associate Directors.
Doug B is
concerned because they are not/do not attend meetings.
c.
Review & Approve Previous Commitment for Partnership/In-Kind
for
Watershed
Coordinator Grant
Don N stated that CRCD does not have a legal obligation to
supply in-kind to the W/C grant but possibly a moral obligation. Neil M
stated that he does not want to commit in-kind hours to the W/C grant that
they may need to commit to one of their own projects. Fred M made the
motion to write a letter to Jeannie H to state as an organization they
will not support this, but if individual board members would like to they
can. Alan R second the motion; all vote; motion passed.
Neil M will draft a letter.
d.
Auditor Status
Auditor stated
that everything checks out and all is in balance. Nancy B will sit down
with the Auditor to have the report explained and make copies if needed.
Allan R made a motion to accept the Auditor’s Report as
submitted; Don N second the motion; all voted, motion passed.
Letter to County Auditor – 5 year
audit
Nancy B made
a motion ask Jeannie H to write a letter to the county auditor asking for
a five year audit with an annual financial review; Allan R second the
motion; all voted, motion passed.
6.
Informational Items
a.
Current Grant Updates
SNC-Willow Creek Watershed
Restoration
1.
General Discussion and Vote
Don N reported that field reconnaissance was completed on the
project. Board members met with the Forest Service about the project and a
MOU is being developed. The next step is to hire a consultant to complete
the CRCD responsibilities. Jeannie H has agreed to create a contract and
workplan to complete the CRCD portion of the grant.
Fred M made
a motion to follow through on the grant as stated by Don N: accept grant;
accept the Forest Service MOU; accept the agreement with Jeannie H and
Brittany D as contractors on the project. Don N second the motion; all
voted, Doug B is opposed; motion is passed.
Don N will send the four signed copies of the grant to Sierra
Nevada Conservancy to begin the process.
RAC Funding
Chuck S not
available at this meeting to report.
NRCS Agreement
1.
Submit monthly logs on NRCS -811 grant
Don N and Neil M will be meeting with Jenny J to reconcile
and complete the reporting on the
agreement as of December 31, 2011.
b.
Project/Committee Updates
Forest and Rangeland Fuels
Management Committee
1.
CalFire – review of fuel break maps
Doug B made a motion to accept the recommendations from the
Forest and Rangeland Fuels Management Committee report; Don N second the
motion; Fred M abstained; remainder of the Board voted and the motion
passed.
·
Oak Woodland Management Plan review
Chuck S not available at this meeting to report.
Noxious Weed Committee
Doug B has scheduled the next workshop for Wednesday,
February 8 at 7:00pm at Spring Valley School. Jeannie H has made the
flyers and will send the information to June for the website.
c.
Workshops/ Events
CARCD Annual Meeting Report –
November 2011
No report – this will be removed for next month
Area IX/San Joaquin Valley –
Spring meeting 2012
CRCD is unable to host this meeting as the Experimental Range
is not available due to construction.
Jenny J was to check with Madera RCD in hosting the event at the
Paleontology Museum. Jenny J is not available to report.
d.
Misc Project updates
Kinsman Flat
Doug B reported that fish and game is still involved in
getting Kinsman burned with CalFire. Plans have been made but not yet
completed. Doug B met with
solar company and found out that the windmill cannot be repaired. To
replace with Solar Array and 5-gallon/minute pump the cost would be
$7,373.25. Doug has two sportsman groups who would be willing to install
the pump/equipment to make this project possible. Neil M stated to be sure
that there is a line-item for this in the 2012 budget. Fred M stated that
he is going to apply to the Madera County RAC for funds to complete the
pathway. Neil M stated that we have a possible income from a completed
study to use on this project.
MOU with Fish and Game
Doug B has the MOU completed and ready for signature but in
completing further research the current MOU is still in effect and this
will not have to be revisited until October 2012.
Remove from agenda until then.
7.
Agency/Partner reports (Limited to 3 Minutes)
a.
Central Sierra Watershed Committee
The group met yesterday and the speaker was Andy Gordus from
the Department of Fish and Game discussing water quality and illegal pot
farms. Jeannie H is getting the green Noxious Weed Field Guides reprinted
by the end of this year with the use of RAC funds and other donations.
b.
Chowchilla/Fresno Watershed
They are completing their Arundo Project funded by NRCS and
will have all of the Arundo in the Madera County valley waterways mapped
and recorded along with an Arundo Plan written. The RCD hired Brittany D
as a part-time assistant Watershed Coordinator beginning on December 1,
2011.
c.
Yosemite/Sequoia RC&D
They
have completed the printing of the revised version of “Welcome to the
Foothills” for all four counties. They printed 10,000 for each county.
(Madera, Fresno, Mariposa, & Tulare) The C.A.R.E. video is finished.
(California Amer-asian Recreation Education) It will be taped in
Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Hmong with English subtitles.
The
Ag Nature Tourism classes have been completed and were successful.
They received the next round of funding for the Chipper 2 project
and the Tribal Liaison 3.
d.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Dennis D reported the historic belief has changed – it
impacts where the money goes and how the applications are ranked because
the funds are now in a cluster from Merced to Kern. Allan R made a motion
to send a letter to NRCS providing feedback regarding the local input
needed for EQIP; second by Doug B; all voted and the motion passed.
e.
Sustainable Forests & Communities Collaborative
The group met at the annual Strategic Planning Meeting on
December 1. In this session, the group identified the key role the SFCC is
playing in terms of communication and coordination between a wide variety
of more specialized collaborative groups in the area, as well as the
challenges we are facing as our members continue to have increased
workloads and demands on their time. The bulk of the time was spent
identifying gaps in our region that are not being fulfilled by other
collaborative efforts, and if and how the SFCC can help meet those needs
and maximize the effectiveness of everyone’s efforts without creating
competition for time and resources in our area.
f.
Regional Water Management Group
The RFP has gone out to receive proposals to write the
Planning Grant to receive funds to update the IRWM Plan for the Madera
Region. Once a group is
chosen for the grant writer the hope is that the same group will be
qualified to update the plan and the contract would then be signed to
complete the whole project. The next meeting is on Monday, December 12,
2011 at the Madera Irrigation District Office.
8.
Next Meeting: Thursday,
January 26, 2012 – CDC Conference Room, North Fork Mill Site
a.
Topics to add to next
agenda:
9.
Adjourn
Motion to adjourn made by Allan R and second by Doug B; all
voted and motion passed.
10. Closed Session – Executive Committee
