Monday, July 20, 2009 7:00 P.M.

MONTHLY BOARD MEETING

5605 U.S. 31 South, South Bend, Indiana 46614
574-291-7444, ext. 3

MINUTES
I. CALL TO ORDER
A meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the St. Joseph County Soil and Water Conservation
District was called to order by John Dooms, Chairman, on Monday, July 20, 2009 at 7:15 p.m. at
5605 U.S. 31 South, South Bend, IN 46614.
PRESENT ABSENT
John Dooms, Chair/Supervisor Jan Ivkovich, Vice Chair/Supervisor
Carole Riewe, Supervisor Chuck Lehman
John Kulwicki, Supervisor Randy Mat thys
Dave Craft, Supervisor Gene Meyers
Brian Cherry Paul Williams, III
Melvin Kulwicki PUBLIC
Dale Stoner Robert Stiffler
Dru Wrasse Deloris Stiffler
Jim LaFre e EX-OFFICIO
Joe Long Dan Fleming, Northwest Territory RC&D
Stacey Silvers
Dave Vandewalle
Richard Schmidt
Rick Glassman. SWCD
Debbie Knepp, NRCS
Katie Kurtz. SW CD
Maria Schaefer. SWCD
Lisa Wynn. SWCD

II. ADDITIONS TO AGENDA

There was no additional agenda proposed. Dale Stoner (Assoc. Sup.) introduced Dan
Fleming, Coordinator to the Northwest Territory RC&D, who was in attendance at the
meeting. Also introduced were Robert and Deloris Stiffler who are possibly
interested in becoming Associate Supervisors.

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III. REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Minutes from June 2009 Meeting
The minutes from the June 2009 Board Meeting of the St. Joseph County Soil &
Water Conservation District were reviewed and approved as presented.

B. Treasurer’s Report and Approval of Claims

The Treasurer's Reported was and approved as presented. The Claims report was
reviewed. A recommendation and motion were made to approve Claim Nos. 9898-
9912 for the amount of $3.096.37. Both carried.

IV. OLD BUSINESS

A. Written Reports
The Field Office Report and Rule 5/13 Reports were presented. Regarding the Field
Office Report, Debbie was specifically asked about the 2009 tillage transect results.
Debbie Knepp (D.C.) pointed out that the meeting materials included a graph that
depicts the results. Debbie also related that she will touch on the survey more later
in the meeting. There were no questions regarding the Rule 5/13 Reports.

B. Committee Reports
1. Annual Meeting
John Dooms (Chairman) announced that the Annual Meeting Committee decided to
propose the date of Date Friday, January 29, 2010 for the District's 50th Annual
Meeting (2 weeks after 2010 IASWCD Annual Conference--Jan 11-13;
http://bit.ly/13B5dE). The committee also decided to propose the venue as St.
Hedwig for sit-down Polish meal. Richard Schmidt asked about whether the
committee had chosen a speaker and John D. replied that the committee is in the
process of looking at options. A recommendation on the date of January 29, 2010
for 50th Annual Meeting at St. Hedwig was made and carried. A motion made to this
effect was made and also carried. John D. proposed that the snow date likely will be
a week later, depending on availability of the hall.

2. Education
Dale Stoner (Associate Supervisor)presented the report on the District's educational
news, including: Mishawaka Summer Fest, Eco Fest, 4H Fair, MS4 Field Day, Family
Swamp Stomp, Compost Seminar(s), Fall Purdue Ag Career Fair, August Leadership
Institute (refer to attached report). A recommendation and motion were made to
approve payment of expenses for sending Stacey Silvers (Associate Supervisor) to
the Leadership Institute on August 7-8 (“Improving Your Communication Skills) in
Columbus, IN (mileage, hotel, registration fees, per diem at an approximate amount
of $200+). Both carried.

Rick Glassman (SWCD Env. Ed. Coor.) supplemented the information presented by
Dale S. The Family Swamp Stomp is official set for Sunday, September 26, 2009
from 1-3 p.m. at the Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area (http://bit.ly/XNOrb). Rick also
related that the Fall compost seminar is set for October 6, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. at
the St. Joseph County Library Again, Main Library, in the Colfax Auditorium (lower
level). The compost seminar is sponsored by the St. Joseph County Solid Waste
Management District. The August 2009 "Letter from the Mayor"
(http://bit.ly/S0DDd) included with water/recycling bills announces this event as
follows:

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 Composting Workshop
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
A free informational session at the South Bend Library in the
Colfax Room at 6:30. There will be a drawing for backyard
composting bins! Reservations only so call now and reserve a
seat at 574-291-2300 ext. 3. By attending the fall workshop, you
could also be eligible too win a Deluxe Compost Bin, "The Earth
Machine" in a special prize drawing that evening.

Rick also announced that, given the fact that the Board would be considering
whether or not to hire an intern for the summer of 2010, we might also consider
attending the Purdue Agriculture 30th Fall Career Fair on Tuesday, October 6, 2009
from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (http://bit.ly/rgsBN). The deadline for registering is
September 10th. Our booth would be free as a government agency. Rick suggested
this event would be good exposure to pool of appropriate candidates for the
internship. Ultimately, we will need to have a Supervisors meeting to discuss
possible intern for next summer at a pay rate of $5,000.00 for nine weeks of work
during the 2010 summer months.

Regarding the upcoming MS4 Field Day (http://bit.ly/12GO9O) on Friday, August 7th
at Eddy Street Commons in South Bend, Maria Schaefer (MS4 Conservationist) made
a request for approval on payment for related expenses, which will ultimately be
reimbursed to the District. These expenses include chairs, port-a-johns, flyers,
postage, etc. A recommendation and motion for approval of approximately $300.00
for these expenses were made. Both carried.

3. Forestry
Richard Schmidt (Assoc. Sup./Chair of Forestry Committee) gave the Forestry Report
on the species selection for the 2009-2010 tree sales program. He thanked the
Forestry Committee for a great turnout at the selection meeting. Richard explained
that a number of criteria are considered when making decisions on what to order,
including a 500 quantity minimum for a discount, data from years past, and possible
tree diseases. Chairman Schmidt requested payment for the security deposit for the
tree order, amounting to a projected $5,034.08. A recommendation and motion
were made to this effect, and both carried.

4. Conservation Planning
Regarding Conservation Planning activities, Brian Cherry (Assoc. Sup.) gave a report
on an upcoming Manure Management Field Day on July 29, 2009 hosted by
Whiteshire Hamroc Farm in Noble County (attached). Debbie Knepp (NRCS D.C.)
helped supplement Brian's report regarding the background and genesis of this field
day. The deadline for registration is July 22, 2009.

5. Marketing
Dru Wrasse (Assoc. Sup.) gave the report on recent District marketing efforts
(attached). A recommendation and motion for $400 towards ordering 1000 more
logo pens were made, and both carried (the money is to come from the CWI grant).
Also from the CWI grant funds, a recommendation and motion were made to renew
the bulk mailing permit for an annual rate of $185 (our current permit expires July
26th). Both carried. Lastly, Dru requested $20 for making change in the office for
Fat Trapper/refill bag sales. A recommendation and motion were made to this effect.
Both carried.
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6. Finance
Carole Riewe (Supervisor) gave the report regarding a recent notification from the SWCD
Foundation that Board of Directors of the SWCD Foundation recently voted to cease operations
as an active organization (see attached report). Carole provided background information on
original history and mission of SWCD Foundation purpose. The supervisors had met and
considered what to do with the money, and decided to request the SWCD Foundation to write a
check directly to the District to be deposited into our savings account.

C. Transect Survey
Debbie Knepp (DC) again pointed out that a graph regarding the data from 1990-2009
conservation tillage on the land had been included in the meeting folder. Debbie elaborated that
she has been on each survey since the program began. She noted that this year was quite
remarkable especially for soybeans. She speculated that fuel cost has played into the switch to
no till or strip till based on discussions she has had with producers and word-of-mouth. Debbie
also speculated that the trend that we see in St. Joseph County this year is likely similar to what
will be reported state-wide. Dale Stoner (Assoc. Sup.) added that the District has played a part
in this remarkable increase in no-till/reduced-till, a trend that the District started pushing 25
years ago. He related that at one time the District had even hired two more employees to help
manage the seasonal flux of rental equipment. At the point when the District felt we filled our
purpose of introducing the practices, and as producers began buying their own equipment, we
got out of renting the equipment. Dale also recounted that the five supervisors who began the
District's efforts to introduce no-till/reduced-tillage practices even used their own personal credit
to get the project started.

D. NRCS Talking Points

Refer to the attached report.

E. The Fully Functioning Committee System

John Dooms (Chair) spoke about the committee system and its benefits. To
paraphrase some of his comments, consider the following:

“As long as I've been here, it's been in effect...The committee system has
worked very well for our District. It made us well known and respected in
the state. Committees are comprised of a supervisor and an office advisor,
and board members. The purpose is to discuss matters, hash out details,
and make a recommendation to the board for consideration. This process
makes the board meetings more efficient. You have a list in your folder of
the current committees and members. The intent of the committee system
is to not rely on the office staff to do committee work. Office staff are
available for assisting the committee, though. If your committee does not
have a chair, please decide who you'd like to act as chair. The chair is the
main person responsible for office communication and making reports at
the board meetings. Thank you for all your efforts. We've done a lot, and
will do a lot. It's about working together.”

Dru Wrasse (Assoc. Sup.) added that ours is the most efficient board she's ever
worked on. Debbie Knepp (D.C.) added that other District board meetings last to
10:30 or even midnight.

V. NEW BUSINESS
A. Schedules
Refer to the attached schedule.
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B. County Conservationist Position
John Dooms read a letter from Katie Kurtz (County Conservationist) regarding her
formal resignation. He related that Katie had notified the Supervisors of her
resignation earlier this month. Her last day is July 31, 2009. Katie has decided to
get her teaching credentials. The county commissioners approved our hiring of a
County Conservationist. Friday the 24th is the closing date for applicants. At this
point, there are a few applications downtown. The supervisors will meet after the
closing date to discuss which candidates to call to offer the chance to interview of the
position. Richard Schmidt (Assoc. Sup.) and the rest of the Board thanked Katie for
her great work for the District over the past year.

C. District Support Specialist Changes

Rick Glassman (Env. Ed. Coor./SWCD) related that Jim Lake, our ISDA District
Support Specialist, has been assigned additional counties, further increasing his
workflow. Jim has stated that he is available to provide support as usual, but his
trips to individual board meetings will decrease due to these changes.

VI. PRIVILEGE OF FLOOR

Dale Stoner expanded on Dan Fleming's role at Northwest Territory RC&D. Dan
Fleming remarked that it was remarkable to think that the District's 50th Annual
Meeting was coming up in 2010—Time has flown by! He also related that the Porter
County Fair would be starting on July 23rd, and Lake County's fair was to begin on
August 7th. He also announced that the annual Pinney Purdue Field Day was set for
Wednesday, August 19th. According to Purdue's website (http://bit.ly/14Zptp):

AUG. 19: PINNEY-PURDUE FIELD DAY

The Pinney-Purdue Agricultural Center will host its annual field day beginning at 8:30
a.m. at the center, located five and a half miles east of Valparaiso. Throughout the day
Purdue experts will give presentations on topics, including weed issues in corn and
soybeans, manganese research, fungicide use on corn, disease issues, and on-farm
energy efficiency. In the afternoon featured speaker Chris Hurt will talk about "Crop
Economics in a Recovering Economy." There also will be a twilight program from 6-8
p.m. for those who could not attend the earlier field day.

(See also http://bit.ly/rJQ8R.)

John Dooms added to the earlier discussion on the committee system that there was
a reason for the way our District preceded every motion with a recommendation,
which is not technically required. Since a motion must be made and voted on by the
5 Supervisors per State law, years ago the District began using recommendations to
show that the District values the Associate Supervisors and feels they are just as
important as the body of 5 Supervisors. Recommendations are called for first, and
come from the Associate Supervisors. Without a recommendation, our District does
not start the process of motions. This gives more footing to the opinions of the
Associate Supervisors.

VII. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

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