BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING Attendance: Board of Supervisors: Darris Flanagan, Chairperson; Wayne Maahs, Vice Chairperson; Mark Romey; Mike Justus; Don Crawford; Tom Maffei Absent: Associate Supervisor(s): Kathleen Johnson Advisor(s): District Administrator: Becky Lihme Guest(s): Called to order: 4:00 p.m. by Chairperson Darris Flanagan Public Comment: Darris Flanagan reported he spoke with the mayor of the Town of Rexford. A letter appointing Kathleen Johnson as the Urban Supervisor is forth coming. Minutes: a. April 2018 Motion by Don Crawford to approve the minutes of April 2018 as presented. Second by Mark Romey. Motion passed. Financial Report: a. April 2018 Mike Justus reviewed the financial report. Motion by Mike Justus to approve the April Financial Report as presented. Second by Wayne Maahs Motion passed. NRCS Report Brian Ressel MTFW&P Report Mike Hensler Mike reported he has been offered and accepted the Regional Fisheries Manager position in Kalispell. The position starts July 1 st. District Administrator s Report Volunteer hours were recorded. Newspaper articles are in the Board Packets. We did not receive any entries for the NACD Poster Contest. Mr. and Mrs. Greer who reside on Grave Creek, have requested assistance for stream restoration on their property. They are attempting to coordinate with the adjacent landowner upstream. The stream trailer was used at two youth activities; STEM at the Libby Dam for 8 th graders and the 4 th grade classes at Eureka Elementary School. The Area V Meeting is scheduled for September 25 th in North Powell County.
Page 2 Planning Board Report Mark Romey Mark Romey reported the Planning Board did not meet. SWCDM - Samantha Tappenbeck 310 s Tabled 310 s New Business: a. SWCDM Bridger Plant Materials Center Donation Motion by Mike Justus to not donate to the Bridger Plant Material Center. Second by Wayne Maahs. Motion passed. b. Permissive Medical Mill Levy At the Public Meeting, the Board voted to keep the current FY 2017/18 health benefit payment for the 2018/19 Fiscal Year. c. Staff Salary Increase Darris Flanagan explained the LCD salary for grant implementation is low in comparison with other grant administrators. The Board should discuss a pay increase for staff, not necessarily split wages for grant writing. Don Crawford commented grant programs come and go. The workload will fluctuate with the grants. Mark Romey asked for a proposal for next Board Meeting. Darris Flanagan asked for the item to be tabled to the June Meeting. d. Lincoln Conservation District FY 2018/19 Preliminary Budget Staff reviewed the proposed budget. A more exact budget will be available next month. e. Fiscus, Pipe Creek Don Crawford reported Bob Fiscus asked him to visit his property. Pipe Creek is creating a wash on his property from a dry hydrant on the opposite bank; cottonwood tree(s) have been lost. Mr. Fiscus is planning on doing work at a future date; he wanted to make us (LCD) aware of the situation. Wayne Maahs added the landowner on the opposite bank is getting the worst of the flow/impact. Don Crawford again noted several large cottonwoods are gone and Mr. Fiscus will apply later this summer for a 310 permit. He is considering lowering the streambed and taper the embankment. Don noted he does not know if this will work to resolve the issue. Wayne Maahs asked if Mr. Fiscus still has concrete blocks.
Page 3 Mike Hensler thought he did and added the bridge is also an issue. If Mr. Fiscus has a plan; don t wait. Don Crawford noted Mr. Fiscus does not have a plan Mike Hensler recommended Mr. Fiscus develop a plan now. f. Davis, Lake Creek Staff explained she received a telephone call from Joy Lawson, a landowner downstream of a home that is nearing the embankment of Lake Creek on Chase Cut-off Road. Wayne visited near the site and the photo is in the Board Packet. Staff contacted Don MacIntyre regarding our jurisdiction in the matter. At this time, the option is to declare the home a public nuisance. Don MacIntyre recommended we contact the Lincoln County Attorney, Macia Boris. She would have the authority to declare the home a public nuisance. Wayne Maahs recommended, we (LCD) not advocate the public nuisance; have the public (county attorney) do that. Mark Romey noted the county commissioners have known about the issue with the home and the county road. Mike Hensler asked if it (the home) falls into Lake Creek, would LCD have jurisdiction. Wayne Maahs responded no, this may fall under the DEQ. He (Wayne) is nervous about LCD declaring the home a public nuisance due to our history with the landowner. Mike Hensler added the upstream meander has complicated the issue and is adding to the embankment sloughing off. Wayne Maahs noted the landowner has no access through the neighbor s property. Don Crawford noted there was access from across the creek until the bank began sloughing off. The entire hillside has slumped. Mark Romey asked if DEQ would be involved. Mike Hensler responded he doesn t know which way they (DEQ) would go. The CORP may come involved. The county should be involved. Wayne Maahs noted the home has not washed in and landowner could ford the creek to remove the home. Wayne recommended the LCD make the commissioners aware of the current conditions. Mike Hensler noted the landowner needs to move forward through the county officials. Wayne Maahs stated he is opposed to LCD taking the lead on the issue. Don Crawford recommended LCD write a letter to the commissioners describing the issue. Darris Flanagan added we (LCD) need to come up with a plan.
Page 4 Don Crawford suggested the letter explaining we (LCD) do not have jurisdiction. Mike Hensler recommended to include in the letter LCD would be available to assist the landowner. Motion by Don Crawford to write a letter apprising the county commissioners of the situation and if left untouched could have downstream effects. The issue is not within the LCD jurisdiction as of this time and to keep the LCD notified of any action. Send a copy to Joy Lawson. Second by Mark Romey. Motion passed. g. 2017/18 Tree and Shrub Sales Financial Statement Staff reviewed the financial statement h. Yaak Valley Forest Council Natural Resources Camp Sponsorship Staff reported to the Board we received a request last year to send participants to the Natural Resources Camp and the Board approved up to $650.00 in sponsorships. No participants attended. This year the registration fee is $300.00 per student and Yaak Valley Forest Council is hoping to send four participants. Motion by Wayne Maahs for LCD to sponsor up to $400.00 for the 2018 DNRC Natural Resources Youth Camp. Second by Tom Maffei. Kathleen Johnson asked what is the benefit to Lincoln County. Wayne Maahs explained the program introduces high school students to careers in natural resources. The students participate in resource topics. He (Wayne) worked at the camp for several years; it is a good program. Darris Flanagan amended the motion to include the students are asked to make a presentation to the Board of their experience. Motion passed as amended. i. Envirothon Reimbursement for Meals Staff reported Lincoln County High School had two teams of three students each. Teams have five members but four of our members opted out. We placed 20 th and 30 th out of 31 teams. In previous years, the Envirothon program has provided all the meals for the students, however, this year and last year they are no longer providing two of the meals. Kirk Sullivan requested reimbursement last year. Our chaperone, Derek Deshazer, is asking for reimbursement for two meals. Motion by Mike Justus to reimburse Derek Deshazer $119.39 for two meals during the Envirothon competition. Second by Wayne Maahs. Motion passed. j. U.S.F.S., Canoe Gulch Office, Use of Stream Trailer 1. Rolling Rivers Stream Trailer User Agreement
Page 5 Staff noted the last user of the stream trailer was in 2008. Staff contacted Flathead CD for their agreement and amended the information to suit our needs. Darris Flanagan noted the U.S.F.S. is self insured. Motion by Mike Justus to implement the updated Rolling Rivers Stream Trailer Agreement and attachments. Modify the insurance for the U.S.F.S. as self-insured. Second by Don Crawford. Motion passed. k. Montana State Fund Small Business Group After discussion, it was recommended to not participate in the Montana State Fund Small Business Group program. Motion by Wayne Maahs for Lincoln Conservation District to not participate in the Montana State Fund Small Business Group program. Second by Mark Romey. Motion passed. l. Tobacco River, River Walk, Emergency Action, 124 Permit Mike Hensler reported he is aware of the emergency action taken. Mike was contacted by Commissioner Mike Cole. Mike Justus noted he was contacted as well and recommends the county be pro-active on the embankment along the river walk. Unfinished Business: a. Grant Update i. Tobacco River Kassler 1. Phase I DEQ 319 Grant Interpretive Sign 2. Phase 2 DNRC Reclamation Grant Re-submission o Staff reported the required grant information has been submitted. 3. Watershed Management Grant 4. Sweet Grass CD Watershed Grant 5. DNRC 223 Grant o ii. Mud Creek - Roose 1. DEQ 319 Grant Staff reported we applied for a 223 grant for Mud Creek. A. Project update Final Design Lincoln County MT DOT Lincoln Electric Co-op Staff reported the final design has been sent out for comments. We have received our notice to proceed from DEQ. We are working with Lincoln Electric Co-op for access to the power pole. Staff will send a copy of the final design to Mike Hensler and Jim Dunnigan.
Page 6 B. Riparian Workshop We will pursue this for the Outreach and Education portion of the grant requirement. 2. Watershed Management Grant 3. Clark Fork & Kootenai River Basins Council Grant 4. DNRC 223 Grant Staff reported the grant has been submitted. John Muhlfeld is planning to attend the committee ranking meeting. b. Conservation Districts Environmental Contingency Grant Program Staff reported we have received $22,000 in funding for high intensity fire areas. Those landowners who live within low to moderate intensity were sent letters notifying them we were unable to fund them. c. CD Boundary Signs Wayne Maahs reported he met with officials from DOT for placement of the sign at the Idaho boundary. Our first selected location was denied due to too many signs already in place. The location was relocated further back from the state line. The application form has been submitted. Final Inspection Reports: Li-08-02-17, Stimson Lumber, Fall Creek - No action Li-09-01-17, Stimson Lumber, Smearl Creek No action On Sites Needed: Li-04-03-17, Half Way House Bar and Grill, Payne Creek Item closed Open Mic and Other Business: Wayne Maahs reported he was contacted by Paul Fisher from Bay Horse Ranch. Mr. Fisher needs access to another hay field. Wayne stated he will conduct an onsite when the location is accessible. Mike Justus recommended the LCD send a letter to Brian Ressel s supervisor for his efforts on the fire contingency and EQIP funding programs. The next Conservation District Board Meeting will be held Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at the U.S. Forest Service Office, Eureka, Montana.
Page 6 Meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Darris Flanagan, Chairperson Becky Lihme, District Administrator Date: