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BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY & PARKS DEPARTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING July 13, 2026 County Board Room Members Present: Fred Strand; Steve Sandstrom; Larry Fickbohm; Jeff Olsen; Sue Rosa Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator; Deanna Regan, Office Manager Others in Attendance: Joseph LeBouton, WI DNR 1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting. This meeting was called to order at 6:01 PM. 2. Public Comment: None. Public comment closed at 6:01 PM. 3. Approval of the June 8th Meeting Minutes. MOTION: (Olsen, Fickbohm) Approve minutes and place on file. All: Yes. Carried. 4. Presentation: Internal Wage Analysis and Recommendations. Discussion regarding presentation. Committee recommends making this an action item for next month’s meeting and presenting to personnel committee and subsequently the executive committee. 5. 2027 Forestry and Parks Department Budget. Discussion regarding the draft budget. Two major impacts to the 2027 budget will be addressing the shortfall in 2026 timber sale returns and kickstarting various initiatives in the Carbon account (FCOR). Will be action item for next month. Committee recommends making this an action item for next month’s meeting. 6. Ten-Year Temporary Access Permit Renewal Requests. Both Sullivan and Wick requests are renewals, though the permit for Sullivan is for land recently purchased that was previously permitted and up for renewal. Standard rates apply: $60/quarter mile of county land crossed, plus our time and mileage to inspect. Bodine recommends approval. MOTION: (Fickbohm, Olsen) Approve both access permit renewals. All: Yes. Carried. 7. Monthly Reports. a) Forestry: a. 2026 Budget. Stumpage revenue continues to limp along this year. A total of just over $270k was received in June; about 40% lower than June’s 3-year average, but in line with the amount received last year. To date, roughly $1.2 million has been received. This is also about 40% below the 3-year average for this time of year and about 35% under budget. I’m estimating a $1.0 million deficit in stumpage revenue this year. Some of the deficit will be offset by increases in revenue elsewhere, as well as a decrease in some spending. b. Carbon Project. Nothing new to report. c. Land Acquisition Projects. i. Big Rock. Closing date is still October 30. Still anticipating a Coastal grant award that will cover about 50% of the total costs. Hoping to know the status of that grant in September. ii. Maxwell. The budget amendment was approved during the last board meeting. Closing is expected to occur on July 30. iii. Stewardship. Nothing new to report. Still need to close-out this grant. d. Certification Audit. The audit is about a month away (Aug 6). The route has been selected. Anticipating a short time in the office and then the rest of that day will be in the field. A total of 7 field stops will be included in the audit. A pre-audit meeting will be held the week before, up in the boardroom. Kudos to the entire team for putting together everything needed to conduct this audit. e. WCFA Board Member Update. WCFA is working on strategic planning and fall elections. b) Parks and Recreation. There were 2 contractors at the mandatory pre-bid meetings for the trestle repair project, and we received bids from both. After a preliminary review of each bid, the lowest bidder is about $40k over budget (over the awarded DNR grant). We’ll need to explore options Bayfield County Forestry & Parks Committee July 13, 2026 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 2 before officially awarding a contract, which will include asking the DNR for more grant funds to complete the project. c) Yurts. Average yurt occupancy looks to be slightly lower in July than in June. d) Events. Numerous regularly occurring events have been approved over the last month. Receive reports as presented and place on file. 8. Committee Members Discussion. Brief discussion ensued. 9. Joseph LeBouton, DNR Representative, Comments: Construction project is active with a crew tearing down old buildings, clearing the site but keeping the original ranger station footprint. The next Forestry and Parks Committee meeting has been scheduled for Monday, August 10th, at 6:00 PM. Meeting adjourned at 7:11 PM. Submitted by, Deanna Regan