Gallatin County Weed Board
Regular Monthly Meeting
July 3, 2008
Board members present were Jeff Littlefield (Chair), Bob Hofman, Bob Urich, Craig Morgan, Fred Bell and Joe Skinner (Commissioner). Others present were Sam Rogers (Property Owner), Keith Mainwaring (Property Owner), Dennis Hengel (District Coordinator), John Ansley (Education/Enforcement Coordinator) and Rosemary Perry (Secretary).
Minutes. The Minutes had been sent to the Board and were approved as submitted.
Claims/Budget. There was discussion regarding the previously awarded UAP Cost Quote. As their cost quote was the lowest UAP was awarded the cost quote. However, when Hengel went to UAP to purchase additional herbicide he was told he would need to order the additional herbicide from Billings.
Littlefield asked about the cost of the Google Earth software license. This is a program that is available to personal computer users at no cost. However, government agencies are required to purchase the software. The GYCC program that the Weed District is participating in covers 3 states and detailed mapping options are required. Ansley also uses Google Earth for his enforcement program as he can draw on the maps and outline infestations for property owners.
OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
1. Public Comment/Other. None
2. Weed District Budget FY’09. Hengel informed the Board that he had attended the Commissioner’s off site budget meetings. As per the Weed Boards direction he requested additional funding for herbicide to support the limited boom spray program. In addition, the Weed District requested expenditure from our Capital Reserves in order to continue the vehicle replacement program. The request for a replacement vehicle was approved by the County Commissioners. The herbicide
request was placed on hold. Approval of the additional herbicide is dependent upon the overall status of the County budget.
3. Commissioner Report. Commissioner Skinner suggested that since the request for extra funding for herbicide is still on the table it would be helpful for the Weed Board members to attend one of the upcoming budget meetings and explain the request to the County Commissioners. He gave tentative dates and Perry will verify them.
4. Chairperson Report. None
5. Enforcement/Education Coordinator Report.
Ø Ansley reported that he has been working on rental repair with Hengel. The rentals are up and running and have been going out.
Ø He attended the National Trails Day event at the Fish Hatchery. The only people that showed up were the presenters.
Ø He has done ten (10) small acreage inspections.
Ø He has been checking out complaint sites. There has been a really good response to his program. Ansley has placed one of the small rental sprayers in the truck he uses for inspections and has been spraying out some “hot” spots on county roads as needed.
Ø There has not been much time to recheck all complaint sites from last year, however, he has looked at some of the larger infestations. One in particular is property that belongs to the Bank of Bozeman in Belgrade. There is a ½ acre infestation of spotted knapweed 3-4´tall. They have been sent a notice of voluntary compliance.
Ø There was a Frog Rock WMA meeting on June 26th that was once again very poorly attended.
Ø Ansley brought up the subject of complaints within subdivisions. Ansley has been receiving numerous calls from individuals within subdivisions complaining that their neighbors have Spotted knapweed or Canada thistle. His inspection involves surveying the entire subdivision and noting that many landowners have small Canada thistle or Spotted knapweed infestations. This issue ties up a lot of time on minor infestations. Most of these subdivisions have covenants that address the
noxious weed issue but the landowners do not want to force control with their noxious weed covenant due to time and cost. Completing the enforcement process all the way to treatment by the Weed District on these small complaints would consume most of his time. After discussion, the Board decided that Ansley needs to respond to all complaints. However, property owners with small infestations should only be sent a survey letter notifying them of the problem. Ansley should prioritize his time depending upon the size and seriousness of the infestations.
Ø Ansley has received about 50 complaints so far this season. A big issue that Ansley brought up concerned several properties within a subdivision on Frank Road East. He showed the Board photos of dense spotted knapweed and leafy spurge infestations located along the roadway (private) and out in fields. He will find out who the property belongs to and follow through. There was discussion about ownerships and Ansley will follow up on suggestions.
6. Coordinator Report.
Ø Hengel reported that the Big Sky program is slow taking off this year in spite of advertising and a meeting at the Gateway Community Center was not well attended.
Ø The GYCC Gravel Pit inspection program has been showing some good results. There has been a positive response from a number of gravel pits. Fifteen (15) gravel pits in Gallatin County have been enrolled in the program.
Ø Hengel has conducted several Upper Madison WMA meetings in West Yellowstone. Residents in the area have been very appreciative of the Weed District establishing the WMA. On a special note Hengel conducted a field inspection on the Madison Fork Ranch with one of the owners. The ranch contains six partners from out-of-state. Due to the establishment of the WMA the ranch will initiate a weed management program.
Ø Hengel informed the Board that with the budget cuts for the temporary employees the Weed District can only hire six 6 to 7 crew members (down from 11 crew members) at a range of $11 to $12 per hour. He asked the Board to consider the option of hiring 4 to 5 crew members but at a higher wage. This may be a way of getting more qualified help. Hengel thought of having one (1) person per truck and have the vehicles set up for boom spraying. Bob Urich also suggested
scheduling all the crews in one area at a time to eliminate travel between spray areas. There was a lot of discussion on this topic. Hengel also mentioned that he has been approached by a commercial applicator about contracting out the county spraying program. If this approach was adopted the contract would have to be put out for bids.
Ø Spray Truck Accident 06/18/08. On Wednesday June 18th a weed crew was involved in a motor vehicle accident. The accident occurred at the intersection of old Highway 2 and Sebena Road west of Three Forks. A Ford Mustang attempted to pass the county spray truck (One-ton Dodge diesel) on the left as the spray truck was attempting to make a left turn. The passenger of the Mustang car was transported to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital by ambulance for complaints of pain in his
back and knees. A Weed District crew member (passenger) complained of shoulder and rib pain several days after the accident. The Mustang car was totaled. The spray truck suffered extensive damage to the frame and the flat bed. The 400 gallon spray tank that was bolted to the flatbed, was launched off the truck. The herbicide (a mixture of Tordon, Escort & 2,4-D) was spilled into the county roadside burrow pit. Hengel contacted Brad Jones with the
Department of Agriculture about the spill. The spill was cleaned up according to the Department of Agriculture requirements.
Hengel provided the Board some repair estimates:
Sprayer repair $2000
Estimate on truck from Auto Body Experience $4659
Christopher Trucking for excavating the spill dirt,
hauling to the County Road Dept lot, refilling the hole
and adding new topsoil $5872.88
Hengel will apply for a beneficial use permit from the Department of Agriculture to dispose of the dirt pile. The Weed District will also have costs involved in hauling the dirt to a spread site.
Hengel asked the Board if any one would be available to attend the County Commissioner FY 09 budget meetings. Bob Urich and Fred Bell will, Jeff Littlefield will if he is in town.
The crews should be in West Yellowstone on July 14th, 15th and 16th.
Hengel will have a booth at the Back Country Horsemen’s Poker Ride at Bridger Bowl on July 12th.
The next meeting will be August 7th. Littlefield will be out of town.
The meeting adjourned at 2.50PM
Respectfully submitted,
Rosemary Perry, Secretary
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