Gallatin County Weed District
Regular Monthly Meeting
February 7, 2008
Board members present were Jeff Littlefield (Chair), Bob Urich, Fred Bell, Bob Hofman, Craig Morgan and Commissioner Joe Skinner. Others present were Dennis Hengel (District Coordinator), John Ansley (Enforcement/Education Coordinator), Betty Biggs (Farm Bureau) and Rosemary Perry (Secretary).
Minutes. The Minutes of the January meeting had been mailed to the Board and were approved as read.
Claims/Budget. The Board had reviewed the Claims that were listed on the Monthly Update. Littlefield asked if the payment to the Fairgrounds for rent was an annual payment. Hengel informed him that it was. Littlefield also brought up the purchase of the new spray truck. Hengel informed the Board that the truck is a 1999 one ton dually flatbed with 90,000 miles and is in good condition. This brings the Weed District to three (3) very dependable spray trucks and three (3) high maintenance semi dependable spray trucks.
Hengel stated to the Board that the monies that the Weed District had received in the budget for insulating the shop had been partially expended on the new gas heater and there was a balance left that he would like to put towards a new spray unit for the recently purchased spray truck. Commissioner Skinner thought that this would be O.K. Hengel will need to request a budget reallocation on behalf of the Board to the County Commissioners for approval.
OLD BUSINESS
1. MWCA Annual Meeting Report. Hengel gave a brief synopsis of the meeting that the staff attended as well as Jeff Littlefield. There was a lot of good information presented.
2. Bozeman Home Show. There was a consensus that the Weed Booth was one of the busiest at the Show. The GYCC Weed ID Booklet is very popular but they are hard to find. We have tracked down a couple of boxes that were free, however to obtain more we need to get them from Wyoming and they are 77cents/book. Bob Urich stated that contact had been made with people from the City of Bozeman at this show and they would be attending the Weed Summit. Hengel announced that he had made
contact with a possible candidate for the Big Sky Coordinator position for this year. The person has had experience with the type of work involved in the Smith River area.
3. Sports Show. The Sports Show starts tomorrow. It is usually very well attended and is a good opportunity to “spread the word”. The Board set up a work schedule for the Booth. Littlefield asked Hengel about the status on the new display. Hengel informed him that he has been having trouble finding appropriate background pictures for the display. Hengel has talked to Denise Wiedenheft (NRCS) and may be able to get pictures from her.
4. Weed Summit. Littlefield asked about the status of the Weed Summit preparation. Hengel informed him that the program is on schedule.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Betty Biggs had an article that had been sent to the Farm Bureau from the Weed Science Society of America announcing the launch of a quarterly journal named the Invasive Plant Science and Management. Perry had copied the article to hand out to the Board. Hengel asked Biggs when the next Farm Bureau Weed Committee meeting would be held as he would like to be on the Agenda. Biggs informed him that the meeting is scheduled for March 6th at 7.00PM.
2. Commissioner Report. Commissioner Skinner stated that there was nothing new to report.
3. Chairperson Report. Jeff Littlefield informed the Weed Board of the new Extension Publication, Big Sky Small Acres, for small acreage landowners. This is a quarterly magazine and is modeled on the Wyoming Barnyards and Backyards. Littlefield also discussed procuring permanent name badges for the Board. The cost of the name badges is estimated at $10-$15 each. The Board approved the purchase of the name tags.
4. Enforcement/Education Coordinator Report.
Ø Ansley reported that he continues to drive the county road traces to get mileage measurements and to update the trace maps. Some roads that are listed on the county road department list are not on the Weed District spray trace maps. The trace maps will be revised prior to the upcoming field season.
Ø Ansley attended the MWCA Annual conference in Great Falls.
Ø Ansley assisted with the Weed District booth at the KBOZ Bozeman Home Show and received three (3) complaints about weeds.
Ø He is working on power point presentations for the NWTF grant hearings
Ø He is working on the Farm Fair program that will take place in May
Ø Duane Burkenpas gave Ansley a contact for the Gallatin Realtor’s Association
Ø Ansley has sent out letters to schools offering to do presentations in schools
Ø He has met with Carla Hoopes regarding educational programs
Ø Ansley and Hengel attended an Ed and Awareness meeting addressing the “What’s in Your World” program. The Weed District will be involved in weed pulls and technical assistance at events in connection with this program.
Ø The Department of Agriculture has sent an email requesting further mitigation in the Fish and Wildlife section of the two (2) grant applications. Ansley revised the information. There was a question as to whether or not there were any other grant applications from Gallatin County. There are others.
5. Proposed North Star Condominiums. This issue addresses the development of three (3) separate lots with three (3) different developers building condominiums in the North Star subdivision. The North Star subdivision has an extensive and serious infestation of spotted knapweed throughout the subdivision. The lots in question are Lots 7, 19 and 26. County Planning has determined that condominium development falls under the County subdivision
regulations. The developers of the above three (3) projects have asked the County Commissioners for a variance from the subdivision regulations of developing a weed management plan. Their reasoning is that there is already an approved weed management plan for the entire North Star subdivision. County Planning has asked for comments from the Weed Board. Hengel inspected the lots and presented photographs of the sites. The buildings on two lots (Lot 7 and
Lot 19) are already constructed and the parking areas are already paved. The buildings on the third lot (Lot 26) are partially constructed but there has been no paving of the lot. During the inspection of the lots Hengel noted spotted knapweed skeletons on the perimeter of Lot 26. There was a long discussion regarding whether or not the weeds are actually on the lots or on the right-of-way. Hengel stated that it was difficult to assess whether or not the weeds were on the subdivision road or on the lot. Hengel stated that he did ask the developers for documentation of any noxious weed control that has occurred in
previous year(s). As of this date, the developers have not provided any documentation that treatment of the noxious weeds on the lots has occurred. There was also discussion regarding the covenants for the condominiums. The covenants are poorly written and do not address control of noxious weeds by the condominium association in the common areas. Following discussion, Fred Bell moved that the Board recommend to the Commissioners not to grant the variance as condo developments are now part of the new subdivision regulations and therefore require a WMP. Craig Morgan seconded the motion and it
carried.
6. Coordinator Report.
Ø Hengel informed the Board that there has been a mix up in the grant budget fund line item and that he is currently trying to get sorted out with the county finance officer. The line item states that there is an excess of $53,000 in the line item. However, this is inaccurate. The amount in the line item should be $10,000.
Ø The Weed Office received a call from Brandy Dalton of West Yellowstone. Dalton has a grazing business with 1000 head of goats. The goats are trained to eat spotted knapweed and leafy spurge. Dalton asked if the Weed District’s cost share would apply to grazing. Hengel informed Dalton that the Weed District does cost shares grazing if the grazing is a component of an approved weed management plan.
Ø Hengel attended a meeting with Gallatin/Big Sky Weed Committee. The committee discussed and strategized for the upcoming 2008 field season. The program will continue as per last year. The committee will provide funding for the Big Sky coordinator position. The coordinator will be hired as a seasonal Weed District employee. The Weed office has also received calls from a realtor in Big Sky. A landscaping company is sending bills
to property owners in the Big Sky area for weed control in 2008 for work not yet completed. The phone number on the invoices belongs to the realtor. The Department of Agriculture and the county Sheriff have been alerted as this has the appearance of a scam. There was concern that a problem such as this could damage the program that the Weed District and Big Sky Weed Committee have worked so hard to put in place. There was discussion regarding placing a notice in the Big Sky papers to alert property owners. Commissioner Skinner and Board member Urich recommended contacting the County Attorney before proceeding.
Ø Strategic Planning. Hengel passed out a suggested Work Strategy paper for the Board to review and comment on at the next meeting. He quickly reviewed a number of points that he had made in the handout, including areas where we would need more budget funding. Two items that came up were discussion regarding the status of the Weed Shop when the Road Department moves this summer, funding (additional herbicide) for the proposed boom spraying, and
also the Board needs to revisit the request for an increase of the subdivision review fee. Hengel also listed programs that he felt would need a budget increase for FY ’09.
Fred Bell asked about the status of the mule deer foundation funds. Hengel informed him that David Rickett will get back to the District on the project. At this time most of the work is proposed to take place in Madison County which is prime mule deer habitat.
The meeting was adjourned at 3.00PM. The next meeting will be held on March 6th. The April meeting will have to be moved to April 10th as both Hengel and Ansley will be attending the MWCA Spring Coordinator training in Choteau on April 2nd.
Respectfully submitted,
Rosemary Perry, Secretary
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