July 2002 Meeting Minutes

PACD Executive Council Annual Meeting
Harrisburg, PA
July 23, 2002

Welcome (Rohall)
PACD President Ron Rohall (Westmoreland) welcomed everyone and brought the meeting to order.

Roll Call (Duvall)
PACD Treasurer Porter Duvall (Jefferson) conducted the roll call. There were 27 conservation district delegates present, which constituted a quorum.

Minutes of Previous Meeting (Duvall)
PACD Treasurer Porter Duvall (Jefferson) asked if there were any corrections to the minutes of March 13, 2002. A correction was noted. Pages 2 and 5 should show Malcolm Crooks as being from Bucks county, not Montgomery county.

It was moved by Baker (Mifflin) and seconded by Wedde (Northampton) that the amended minutes be approved. Motion approved.

President's Report (Rohall)
PACD President Ron Rohall (Westmoreland) provided the following report:

• He reminded everyone that raffle tickets were still on sale.
  
• He said that the PACD has had a good year. Most committees have been filled by the required three directors. The committees are not currently working on a lot of issues. He will be soliciting additional committee members.
  
• The task force has looked at some issues to align our activities with our mission.
  
• Districts and the PACD were invited to participate in strategic planning conducted by the SCC for the partnership. Rohall, PACD Executive Director Susan Fox and several districts were involved with the SCC partnership planning activities.
• He and Susan Fox, PACD Executive Director, have been meeting with many groups in an attempt to strengthen our relationships and build appropriate coalitions.
• He announced that PACD will be looking for someone with a strong agricultural background to represent PACD on the Agricultural By-Product Management Technology Board, which deals primarily with manure, but also other agricultural by-products.
  
• He notes that the organization is financially sound.
  
• He said that PACD is fully staffed and able to respond to the district's needs and questions.

NACD Report (Rohall)
NACD Alternate Delegate Ron Rohall (Westmoreland) provided the following report:

• Pennsylvania is in NACD's top 10 districts for paying dues. Please pay your dues if you have not yet done so.
  
• The farm bill has passed, but lots of work remains to be done. NACD will be focusing on Farm Bill issues, funding in particular.

Executive Director's Report (Fox)
PACD Executive Director Susan Fox provided a written report outlining her activities. Cards were passed around for both Larry Martick (Adams) and Harold Kulp (Chester). Highlights of the report included:

• She has been shifting some responsibilities to staff and focusing on legislative and lobbying issues.
  
• She will keep districts apprised and updated and will let districts know when they need to make contact with their legislatures.
  
• She has been meeting with representatives (for example, Representative Argall).
  
• Districts have been able to maintain their funding level in this budget.
  
• Work on funding requests for next fiscal year has begun.
  
• She has met with Ed Rendell's campaign committee regarding districts' interests and activities.
  
• She has spent time representing PACD on a number of issues. For example, districts are supportive of the PEACCE Program. PEACCE is considering establishment of a legal entity.
  
• Fox noted the list of meetings attached to the written report she provided.
  
• She reported that a lot of her meeting planning activities have been handed over to Molly Burns (PACD Administrative Assistant).
  
• Work has already begun for the 2003 JAC meeting. Site visits and dates should be secured within the next few months.
  
• Staff is involved with a large variety of activities that support education and training, including: website updates, special events, and general workshop support (Boot camp, AV Streams, etc.).
  
• PACD is going to begin the process of evaluating its awards program. The Public Relations committee, chaired by Mark Jackson, will conduct the evaluation. Recommendations will come to PACD council in October.
  
• TAG publicity has been a focus. Secretary Hess spoke some encouraging words regarding our TAG grant application.
  
• Administrative work involves tracking millions of dollars.
  
• Chesapeake Bay, 319 grants, CREP Program, and PDIP activities will continue next year.
  
• The TAG program increased PACD personnel by 8 employees.
  
• A new Education Specialist has been hired (formerly worked for the York County conservation district).

A question was posed regarding the technical assistance grant: Do we get reports on the TAG projects? Fox explained that monthly reports are submitted to the PACD and in turn the DEP. Discussions are underway to access 3rd party vendor funds from NRCS. PACD is generating publicity related to TAG activities. Press releases and other information are posted on the website. In addition, performance evaluations are done on each of the TAG employees.

Treasurer's Report and Budget (Duvall)
PACD Treasurer Porter Duvall (Jefferson) provided the report for the period of July 1, 2001 - June 30, 2002. There was some discussion about taking steps to keep postage at a minimum by using electronic means of communication. In addition, Duvall fielded the question: Do farmers apply to PACD for CREP? He explained that farmers do not apply directly to PACD. Rather, CREP farmers continue to apply directly to FSA and PACD issues checks based on FSA authorization.

It was moved by Najaka (Sullivan) and seconded by Kear (Schuylkill) to accept the Treasurer's report for fiscal year 2001-2002 and budget for fiscal year 2002-2003. Motion approved.

Duvall disbursed dues certificates acknowledging those districts who paid their dues in full for the 2001-2002 fiscal year.

PACD Funding Proposals (Fox)
Copies of the funding proposal were sent to each district. Each section of the draft was reviewed during the council meeting.

PACD Executive Director Susan Fox fielded the following questions regarding the proposal to the PA Department of Agriculture:

How receptive is Representative Argall to districts? Fox reported that he is very supportive of the districts.

She noted that she would like to set-up a small group of people to work on a realistic budget proposal that involves the legislative staff. As soon as the new administration is identified, PACD will become involved with them and work with them to develop budget proposal.

Do we discuss water issues when we discuss the budget? Fox said yes. With regards to Agriculture, the focus has been on farmers whereas with DEP it is more general.

Is the chart that accompanies the proposals accurate? (It was noted that Washington county is not listed despite it's involvement with Farmland Preservation.) Fox replied that the chart was provided by DEP. Only districts that are administering a program are listed. A county may have a program, but if that program is not administered by a district then it will not be listed.

There were no comments regarding the proposal to the PA Department of Environmental Protection.

It was moved by Baker (Mifflin) and seconded by Book (Dauphin) to accept the drafts as guidance documents. Motion approved.

Discussion: At what point is it no longer a draft? The Funding Proposals will be finalized after approval here by the Executive Council and after final edits are made (i.e. numbers on Ombudsman are needed from Lancaster).

PACD Bylaw Changes (Rohall)
Kear (Schuylkill) suggested that the verbiage in item 2 (Section 5 - Election of Regional Directors) be changed: "Each district in attendance at their it's respective PACD Region Meeting shall have one vote."

It was moved by Hildenbrandt (Centre) and seconded by Duvall (Jefferson) that Centre county be moved from the Central PACD region to the North Central PACD region. Motion approved.

It was moved by Long (Blair) and seconded by Mankamyer (Somerset) to approve the changes to the PACD Bylaws. Motion approved.

PACD Policy Positions (Rohall)
It was moved by Marbain (Cumberland) and seconded by Sagar (Columbia) to accept the 2002 PACD Policy Positions. Motion approved.

Election of PACD Officers (Wagner)
Robert Wagner (Lancaster), Chair of the Nominating Committee, presided over the election.

Slate of Officers Presented:
President: Ronald Rohall (Westmoreland)
First Vice President: C. Jarrett Miller (Erie)
Second Vice President: Victor Cappucci (Wyoming)
Secretary: George Hildenbrandt (Centre)
Treasurer: Porter Duvall (Jefferson)
NACD Director: Patricia Sueck (York)

It was moved by Slosky (Washington) and seconded by Marbain (Cumberland) to close the ballot for PACD President. Motion approved.

It was moved by Book (Dauphin) and seconded by Mankamyer (Somerset) to close the ballot for PACD First Vice President. Motion approved.

It was moved by Smith (Tioga) and seconded by Slosky (Washington) to close the ballot for PACD Second Vice President. Motion approved.

It was moved by Cappucci (Wyoming) and seconded by Baker (Mifflin) to close the ballot for PACD Secretary. Motion approved.

It was moved by Eisenhart (York) and seconded by Slosky (Washington) to close the ballot for PACD Treasurer. Motion approved.

It was moved by Hummel (Snyder) and seconded by Eisenhart (York) to close the ballot for NACD Director. Motion approved.

It was moved by Bob Wagner (Lancaster) and seconded by Kear (Schuylkill) to accept the slate of officers. Motion approved.

SCC Report (Goodlander)
Doug Goodlander opened by wishing everyone hello from the SCC. He encouraged everyone to attend that afternoon's SCC meeting and outlined some of the meeting highlights. These included:

• An Envirothon program presentation.
  
• A Leadership Development presentation.
  
• A Strategic Planning presentation (what is need to strengthen the SCC as well as the districts).
  
• A Dirt & Gravel Roads presentation, including a new and successful initiative.
  
• The conservation district fund allocation program.
  
• A Nutrient Management presentation, including phosphorus management (phosphorus indexing/hot spots).
  
• A revisitation of the Nutrient Management regulations.
  
• A description of the Ombudsman Program.
  
• A panel discussion, chaired by George Wolff, to discuss opportunities and challenges regarding the Farm Bill.

NRCS Report (Mitchell)
Stacy Mitchell presented the NRCS Report. She noted that she was providing highlights only, as details, including pertinent changes, would be discussed during the Farm Bill panel at the SCC meeting. Report highlights included:

• EQIP has been funded at $700 million in 2003, $1 billion in 2004, $1.25 billion in 2005, $1.3 billion in 2006-2007. Rules are expected on August 13 of this year.
  
• WHIP program was re-authorized.
  
• Grassland Preserve Program to begin in 2003. There is no specific information yet.
  
• AMA (Ag Management Assistance Program) was awarded funds.
  
• AG Preservation historic and archeological sites have been awarded funds.
  
• RC&D Program has been permanently authorized.
  
• Small watershed rehabilitation program authorized.
  
• Conservation Security Program is an excellent opportunity to recognize farmers. It is a three tier program that includes base, maintenance and enhancement aspects.
  
• Mitchell encouraged everyone to go to the NRCS website (www.nrcs.usda.gov) to get information on the farm bill. The Farm Bill link will connect you to the most up-to-date information available including news releases, fact sheets, talking points, manuals, and more.

PACD Auxiliary (Long)
No report presented.

Announcements and Adjournment
Ron Rohall, PACD President, won the raffle drawing. No further business was presented.

It was motioned by Robinson (Lancaster) that the meeting adjourn. Motion approved.