Saratoga County Soil & Water Conservation District



Saratoga County Soil & Water Conservation District

50 West High Street Ballston Spa, NY 12020

Minutes of Regular Meeting 10/17/2018

In Attendance:

District Directors: District Staff:

Allen, Preston – Legislator McCarthy, Shannon – Office Manager

Ropitzky, Steven – Vice Chairman Dustin Lewis – District Manager

Monica, Donald - Chairman Monica, Scott – Senior District Technician

Kinowski, Edward – Legislator Palemire, Dan – District Technician

Garlanda, Victoria – At Large

Matthews, Jay – At Large

Regrets: Kate Teale, Jennifer Koval

Meeting called to order at 3:00pm by Chairman D. Monica

Minutes of September 2018 Meeting: Motion to approve by Kinowski, seconded by Allen, carried unanimously.

September 2018 Financial Reports:

7 Receipts/Disbursements Report, Budget vs Actual Report and Vouchers: (Attachment A, B & C) Motion to approve made by Ropitzky, seconded by Matthews, carried unanimously.

8 Bank Statements and Timesheets for September 2018: were reviewed by Ropitzky who made a motion to approve, seconded by Matthews, carried unanimously.

Field Report: (Attachment D) Ropitzky asked if the District was still sending out newsletters, Lewis replied that we no longer hold a mailing list, we do produce an Annual report that is distributed to the Supervisors and uploaded to the website. Ropitzky pondered if people would read them if send out by mail. Kinowski stated most people read text messages or notices sent to their phone, Kinowksi recommended looking into sending out notices by text. Discussion was held on possibly purchasing a no till drill, Kinowski mentioned that the Board of Supervisors has a Chairman’s Request that can be utilized for special circumstances, possibly put in a request to help purchase a no till drill with those funds as it would benefit the whole County & help get the word out that it would be available for rental.

Cooperating Agency Reports:

11 NRCS: Lewis read a report from Teale in her absence: Certified and paid 1 high tunnel (Schuylerville), Certified and paid cover crops (Stillwater), Held 1 pre-construction meeting for waste transfer (Schuylerville), Submitted grazing plan for concurrence, to be considered for funding (Galway), Reminder: Sign-up deadline for EQIP for Conservation Activity Plans (e.g. forest management plan, energy audit), high tunnels, and energy implementation (e.g. variable speed drives, reverse osmosis units, lighting, fans) is 11/02/18.

12 FSA: Report distributed to all.

13 RC&D: Lewis reported on the following: In process of setting up meeting in November 15th at Noon.

14 NYSSWCC: Report distributed by email.

15 NYACD: No report.

16 CCE: No report.

Old Business:

18 Water Quality Coordinating Committee: Minutes from the 10/11/18 meeting distributed to all.

19 Grants: Lewis reported on the following:

20 AEM – Palemire been working on Tier 1s & rock chutes or gully plug for Welcomestock to stop erosion on edge of fields, S. Monica meeting with NRCS tech on 10/18/18 to review possibilities. Kinowksi asked if a pre-swail could be considered on the property. Lewis advised that the issue is maintenance & farming around it, S. Monica stated it is also an issue with the sand which is why the rock chute failed.

21 Upper Hudson Watershed Coalition

22 RCPP Grant – A good amount of interest in high tunnels (about 6), deadline is 11/02/18, same as EQIP, RCPP has enough to fund at least 1 high tunnel, EQIP may be able to fund some also. Palemire asked how quickly it needs to be put up, Lewis stated was a 3 yr contract but you must do something in the first year, even just purchasing the materials. Ropitzky asked about how the size of the high tunnel is determined, Lewis explained it was up to the farm, pends on the existing vegetation.

23 Watershed Plan – Waiting on hiring of new person at LG/LC Regional Planning. They will be tasked with putting the Plan together.

24 NYG&C: Bids have been received on most grants, Palemire & S. Monica have met with some of the farms, Saratoga Apple has already contacted a contractor, Palmire believes that Ariel will also be contacting a contractor, visiting on 10/18/18. Winney is ill, not sure if the grant will go through. Lewis stated that the grants end in April, but the District can request an extension, will send in request early before the annual “black out”. Lewis explained that he also asked if some RCPP funds can be used to reimburse engineering costs then move current engineering funds on grant into construction. The District will need to send in an amendment for both moving the funds & request for extension in amendment. Vincek is moving along on engineering.

25 CAFO: Welcomestock is putting in transfer without District funds as they do not want to do bidding process, but the transfer will be done to NRCS standards. District funds will cover construction costs. Teale checking on geological report. Koval on hold as they are applying to EQIP for additional funding. Costs will be close to $500k, grant will cover about $250k. Currently they are out of compliance as they do not have the 6 months of storage. DEC inspection at Kovals on 10/18/18, Lewis believes they will be in compliance prior to the following inspection.

26 Septic system: Construction should start on 2 septic systems in the next few weeks. The District has also received additional applications that need site visits.

27 Annual Plan of Work 2019: The Annual Plan of Work was distributed to all. Matthews asked about adding No Till Drill if we purchase one, Lewis advised we could add if it was purchased. Matthews made a motion to approve the Annual Plan of Work as presented, to include a line on Page 4 to include the Hydroseeding Program, Kinowksi seconded, all in favor.

28 T&S 2019: McCarthy reported that all plants have been ordered & was able to order Canadian Hemlock.

29 Part C Performance Measures 2018: Lewis reported on the following: need someone to call in for RC&D meeting to complete this year’s Performance Measures for Part C.

New Business:

31 Upper Hudson Watershed Coalition Payment: Lewis stated that the Upper Hudson Watershed Coalition has prepared the paperwork for the 501c3, but would need to send in with a payment of $75.00. The District is currently holding funds for the Upper Hudson Watershed Coalition that was raised from the Septic Training last Spring. Lewis is looking to utilize some of those funds to cover the cost of the fees. A motion was made by Garland to pay $75.00 to send in the 501c3 paperwork for Upper Hudson Watershed Coalition, Ropitzky seconded the motion, all in favor.

a. Storage: Lewis mentioned that there is a lack of storage for the District to store equipment and that it may be possible to use Part C money next year to construct a pole barn. Kinowksi asked where the District would be putting the storage. Lewis stated that was the issue, the District doesn’t currently have land to put a pole barn on. Kinowksi advised that if any farmer has land not used for production they may be able to donate the land for use by the District for a tax deduction. This is something to keep in mind when looking for someone to construct the pole barn.

b. Mini Grant: Information was distributed to all for further discussion at next meeting. Kinowksi advised putting something on the introduction letter stating that the funds being offered were not tax payer funds.

c. Tire Recycling: The next Tire Recycling Program will be held on 10/23/18 from 4-6pm at the Town of Ballston Town Hall.

Other: None

Other Business:

Correspondence: (Attachment E)

Next Meeting Date and Adjournment: The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 3:00pm. Meeting adjourned by Chairman Monica at 4:14pm.

Respectfully submitted:

Shannon J. McCarthy, Secretary Donald Monica – Chairman

Attachment A:

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Attachment B:

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Attachment C:

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Attachment D:

October 2018 Field Report

● Hydro seeding Town of Charlton (Charlton)

● Hydro seeding Town of Ballston (Ballston)

● Hydro seeding Town of Wilton (Wilton)

● No till drill setup for Ropitzky (Stillwater)

● No till drill delivery and setup for Smith Bros. (Charlton)

● Scott & Dan attended training annual Conservation Skills Workshop Training (Cortland)

● AEM Tier 4 - Continued design work on rock chutes for Welcome Stock Farm (Northumberland, Stillwater)

● NYGC - Dan P. met with Bud Carpenter (Contractor for Building projects)

● AEM Scott & Dan - RCPP High tunnel grant Jason Heitman , Bill & Autumn Carpenter

● NYGC – Contractor bids, Jon Ariel, Byron Winney, Saratoga Apple

● New Truck Bid revisions

● RCPP- Quarterly reports

● AEM tier 1 - Hietman and Carpenters

Attachment E:

CORRESPONDENCE - Saratoga County SWCD

October 17, 2018

In Folder:

• NYACD letter dated 09/30/18

• NACD renewal invoice

Emailed:

• Registration information for Hoboken Green Infrastructure Tour

• NYACD registration deadline reminder

• Food Bank Harvest Event

• NY agriculture report

Statewide Manager's Meeting

Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District September Newsletter

Composting Workshop Information

Cover Crop and Soil Health Workshop and Tour Information

USDA NRCS Big Flats Plant Materials Center

Oct 2018 SWCC Report

State Soil & Water Conservation Committee Meeting & Tour

Statewide RRAMP meeting Agenda and Location

SWCC Meeting and Conservation Project Tour

NY Chapter Farmer Veteran Coalition

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