Gallatin County Weed District
Regular Monthly Meeting
December 7, 2006
Board members present were Linda Vrooman, Chair, Jeff Littlefield, Bob Hofman, Craig Morgan and Fred Bell. Joe Skinner (Commissioner) was excused. Others present were Dennis Hengel (Coordinator), Betty Biggs (Farm Bureau) and Sam Rogers (Property Owner).
Minutes. The Minutes of the November meeting had been mailed to the Board. They were approved as submitted.
Claims. The Claims were reviewed. Hengel remarked that the Murdoch's charge $361.39 was for a kerosene heater that he had bought when the Shop Furnace broke down. The Claims were approved as presented.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Subdivision Review Fees. The cost estimate has not been figured yet as Hengel had a question regarding the monitoring of the developments. There was discussion regarding whether the fees should reflect the monitoring that should be done or just the current response to complaints regarding developers not doing weed control. The consensus was to present figures for both situations.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Public Comment/Other. Betty Biggs (Farm Bureau Weed Committee) informed the Weed Board of an article that she had sent to the Farm Bureau Newsletter regarding noxious weeds. She faxed a copy of the article to the Weed Office; Rosemary Perry will copy it and send it to the Board.
2. Commissioner Report. Commissioner Skinner is out of town.
3. Chairperson Report. Linda Vrooman reported that she and Hengel had met with Commissioner Skinner and Josh Kellar (RC&D) to start planning the Weed Summit. Fred Bell has agreed to be the facilitator. Vrooman brought up the necessity for the Board to get together and set up the Agenda.
Hengel and Vrooman also attended a meeting of the Gallatin/Big Sky WMA group. There are a lot of involved people and the Yellowstone Club may also get involved in the program. One problem that the group is having is getting an applicator to travel to Big Sky and coordinating weed control for out of state landowners.
On November 21st, Vrooman attended a Madison County Weed Board meeting and on the same date she also attended a Gallatin County Fair Board meeting to see how different Boards operate. The Madison County Weed Board was similar to the way the Gallatin County Board used to operate, however, the Fair Board was a very involved active Board. Vrooman has also been meeting with other Gallatin County Weed Board members individually. They have set up a tentative date for a Coordinator performance evaluation review on December 21st.
4. Coordinator Report. Hengel reported that the "Save This Date" notifications for the Weed Summit had gone out. We have had input from two (2) agencies so far. Lynn Burton of the USFS would like to discuss SW Montana seeding guidelines. Craig McClure of YNP would like the subject of new invaders on the Agenda. Hengel would like to set up a work plan and feels that mapping new invaders and designating responsibility for a control program is very important. He would also like to see agencies get together to assist the small acreage landowners. Hengel reported that the MDT is interested in a cooperative program to deal with the Gallatin Canyon and the Bozeman Pass area. Traffic is a big issue in both areas. Linda Vrooman reiterated the necessity of the Board getting
together to set up the Agenda. She will come to the office on January 2nd to start working with Perry on a draft Agenda that the Board can review at the January 4th Board meeting.
Hengel also reported that the furnace at Weed Shop had gone out and upon investigation it was discovered that the faceplate on the gas meter outside had been broken off by ice falling off the roof. Northwestern Energy has rectified the problem and Hengel built a guard around the meter to prevent it from happening again.
The City of Manhattan discussed the annexation of five (5) subdivisions into the City at a series of Town Council Meetings in mid November. Hengel attended these meetings, as two (2) of the subdivisions do not have Weed Management Plans on file. He spoke with the Manhattan City Attorney and a requirement that subdivisions have an approved Weed Management Plan on file will be initiated.
5. Weed Summit Planning. This Agenda item was discussed under the Coordinator Report.
6. Assistant Coordinator Job Description. Jeff Littlefield reported that he and Fred Bell had met and gone over the two (2) job descriptions that Hengel had sent out for the Board to review. The job descriptions were condensed into one document. Littlefield has also spoken to the County HR Department for guidelines regarding advertising and interviewing. Once the Job Description has been set, HR will review and set the salary. Draft copies of the Job Description were given to the Board and if they have any suggestions these will be submitted to Rosemary Perry (Secretary) and she will forward them to Littlefield. The Board will be involved in the interview process. There was discussion on the use of standardized questions during interviews and it was decided that these would
be used. MSU uses standardized questionnaires and Littlefield will check into these.
7. Strategic Thinking/Planning. Hengel requested that the Board start planning the goals and priorities of the Weed District regarding the Enforcement/Education specialist. Hengel will present his ideas regarding strategic planning at the January 07 Board meeting. The February Board meeting could then be dedicated to strategic planning.
8. Trade Shows. Hengel announced to the Board that the Weed District has a chance to attend two (2) trade shows in January, however he has a conflict and can set up but cannot take down booths. The Great Rockies Sports Show is January 12th – 14th, the following week is the MWCA Annual Meeting in Helena, the Weed Summit is January 25th and the Bozeman Home Show starts on January 26th. After discussion it was decided to participate only in the Great Rockies Sports Show this year. The Board will set up a Booth sitting schedule at the January meeting. Bob Hofman moved to spend $278 to have a booth at the Sports Show, Jeff Littlefield seconded and the motion carried.
Hengel brought up discussion regarding Keith Mainwaring's comments at a County Commissioners Public Meeting regarding weed control on trails. Foot trails have been constructed in the areas of Big Sky, Gallatin Gateway, Three Forks, and Manhattan. Construction was completed with the effort of local volunteer groups and grants funds. The grants funds are located and managed by the County Grant Department. After the trails are constructed trail maintenance is to be completed by a local volunteer group. However, no budget is allocated for weed management and the volunteer groups are not controlling weeds in an effective manner. Serious noxious weed infestations are developing. Since 2000 (Big Sky Trail) Hengel has requested that a portion of any grant should include noxious weed management. Hengel was
informed that the grants only pay for construction. Trail maintenance is the responsibility of the volunteer groups.
The meeting adjourned at 2.25PM and the Board went to the Shop for an inspection of the equipment. The next meeting will be January 4, 2007.
Respectfully submitted,
Rosemary Perry, Secretary
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