Agriculture & Extension

AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE November 2, 2021 Members Present: Ray Soper, Myron Brooks, Catherine Lemke, Jim Metz Others Present: Sandra Stuttgen, Michelle Grimm, Brenda Fierke, Julie Diepenbrock, Art Lersch, Kelly Phillips and Emily Gojmerac (Star News) Minutes by Phillips. Call meeting to order: Ray Soper, Chairman called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. Approve minutes of the September 7, 2021 meeting: Brooks moved to approve the minutes of the September 7, 2021 meeting; Metz seconded. Motion carried. Approve the agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda; Metz seconded the motion. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers – two months’ worth . Metz moved to approve the September and October 2021 bills and vouchers; Brooks seconded. Motion carried. Educator Highlight Reports Michelle Grimm , Community Development : Broadband – PSC grants, not received; WanRack partnering with Lit Communities to solve lack of ISP provider in county. Working on how to apply for PSC grants. Worked with survey and zoning to create a map to identify homes (most residence per mile besides Medford) to understand gaps. High School i s moving forward on 2 grants to fund from School-to-School Forest. More grants keep coming in. AARPA money is muddy – towns interested in using some funds towards fiber, but towers may not be included in those funds. Nter a got a grant to cover fiber in Gilman. Offering Educational Series on Mental Health. Tourism looking at AARPA grants to see what applies. Working with townships/Maplehurst re: topic of spills and what to do. Ray asked about StrongBodies in-person class for Gilman – Michelle working on finding another instructor that will abide by social distancing, masks, etc. Brenda Fierke (FoodWIse): FoodWIse Nutrition education/programming –provided materials for food pantry, drive thru only; approximately 150 people served out of 370 (decrease in seniors). Rib Lake Pantry at Methodist Church serves 10 families (more food oriented); given enough materials for 4 months. (i.e. End of Summer information re: vegies & fruits – how to store.) St. Paul’s Mobile – supplied nutrition education – fruits focused. Head Start Virtual Education for parents – supply monthly fact sheets. Taylor County Food Resource Group is a connector for Brenda – connect food pantries from county, etc. i.e. , Stepping Stones, where they can learn from the agency. Partner ships in Taylor County are strong regarding nutrition. Brenda announced she will be retiring in January. Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4 -H Program Coordinator : October was a month to promote 4-H – several contacts made and families signed up from Meet -n-Greet at Culver’s. 4-H flyers (English & Spanish) were distributed to all the elementary and middle schools in Taylor County. Displays were set up at all the libraries and window displays were done by several clubs around the county all in to promote 4 -H. Club are meeting in person. November 1st is last day to sign up, can enroll up to March 1 st and still be able to exhibit at county fairs, etc. People wait until the last minute to sign up – current count is 99 members, 16 Cloverbuds and 37 volunteer s. Project sign ups went from 540 on October 27 th to 1,014 on November 2 nd! In September, a group of 4 -H Educators checked out a camp in Rhinelander for Summer Camp 2022. Harvest Days weekend was great exposure with 4 -H Discover Day at Huey’s Hideaway with a variety of activities offered; 20 volunteers/members at the parade and youth Trick or Treat for the Hungry where the food is donated to the food pantry. Time has also been spent on uploading 4-H club financials and charter paperwork. Sandy Stutt gen, Agriculture Education/Programming: BQA moves on – Shawano, Stratford 28 people and Abbotsford coming up with over 20 registrants and Merrill in December; 450 since September. Actively planning for upcoming season. February and March are busy for Ag. Cow/Calf in February – reproduction for yearlings, etc. Engaged in Cattle Feeders Program and Beef on Dairy in March – How to handle those calves and marketing decisions. NTC Ag Center had a vet science program and now making it certified. Sandy was invited to sit on the review team for pro gram protocols. New meat scientist in Madison – write a letter of support re: meat butchering facilities, so he can go out and assist with butchering start -ups. NCWCA Feedlot Project is finished – data completed. Will start again in 2022 (protocols of feeding for ideal weight gain, etc.). PELTR – teach First Responders what to do when a livestock trailer tips over in their neighborhood; ½ day in - person training as well as self-pace online training. Art: Extension finished Civil Rights Review – every 4 years. Extension keeps files to make sure we are in compliance – market to the underserved. Feedback was Extension has “good synergy” as a group. Art also reviewed the open positions. Next committee meeting : Tuesday, January 4 , 2022, 9 a .m. in person at the USDA Service Center. Adjournment: Metz moved to adjourn at 10:00 a.m.; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE September 7, 2021 Members Present: Ray Soper, Myron Brooks, Catherine Lemke, Jim Metz Others Present: Sandra Stuttgen, Michelle Grimm, Brenda Fierke, Julie Diepenbrock, Art Lersch, and Kelly Phillips Minutes by Phillips. Call meeting to order: Ray Soper, Chairman called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. Approve minutes of the July 6, 2021 meeting: Metz moved to approve the minutes of the July 6, 2021 meeting; Brooks seconded. Motion carried. Approve the agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda; Brooks seconded the motion. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers – two months’ worth . Brooks moved to approve the July and August 2021 bills and vouchers; Metz seconded. Motion carried. Educator Highlight Reports Sandy Stuttgen, Agriculture Education/Programming: discussed on-farm research activity re: beef growth vs dairy – ongoing data collection for Madison. Offering a n Artificial Insemination course the end of September with Marathon Educator, Heather (9 signed to - date/capacity of 15). Working on 2022 Farm Technology Days which will be in Loyal. BQA Certifications over the next several months, following covid guidelines. Art: mentioned Kelly had assisted Sandy on two farms with calf measurements and became ill and had filed appropriate paperwork with Marie Koerner. Michelle Grimm, Community Development: Clean Sweep results from May. Redistricting – looking for approvals September 21 st to be in place by November 23 rd. Child Care – Build It Strong offered statewide – Michelle running Northern Regional courses in August - September. Edible start up Summit starting next month. Broadband is busy due to AARPA funds and 4 grants applied for to expand network. StrongBodies takes off next week for the Fall – 2 locations postponed due to mask mandate. Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4 -H Program Coordinator : In person Summer Camp (overnight) with 47 in attendance from 5 countie s. 4 Summer Day Camps (Stetsonville, Gilman, Rib Lake, Medford) with 4 -hers and non -4-hers. Taylor County Fair, exhibits were down but per Hobl it was a record money making year. Many connections made for Julie’s first time at the fair. Assisted Huey’s and the Library develop Summer Youth Programs. Currently busy with Charter Applications, 4 -H Enrollment, Record Books and VIP Training. Attended Gilman Open House for school enrollment to inform audience about 4 -H. Pamphlets will be sent to surrounding schools within the next week. Brenda Fierke (FoodWIse): FoodWIse Nutrition education/programming –supplied Summer Food Safety brochures for food pantry’s and continue to provide monthly support and materials. Working with Commission on Aging supplying elderly with shopping recommendations, access to farmer’s markets, recipe’s etc. 100 -200 connections. Reached out to Stepping Stones re: resources and connections for their small food pantry. Worked with Food Resource Group re: Cans for Cause –supplied signage/facts and can display judging. No pantry in Gilman – on-going effort. Reached out to Rib Lake food pantry to provide resources. Indianhead remains a stand-alone entity where as other pantry’s are supported by local churches. 2022 UW Extension Requested Budget: Art handed out a comparison sheet. We were to come in at 0% and came in under at -$27.00. First 16 lines are controlled and given to us by Finance. We reduced some lines in Operation – office supplies, computer supplies and advertising expenses. 3% increase in educator fees minus professional development. Decrease in educator line – i.e. travel expenses. Comments/Questions: Ray asked about the 4H Contracted Services number – which Art repli ed was 50% of Julie’s position. Amannda was under 4H Assistant, which is a carry over budget from 2020 and not a line item in the 2022 proposed budget. Ray, assuming we would like to continue to hire a 4H Summer Intern, suggested we begin to build up the carry over balance for future years. Per Michelle, historically the County did match funds and then a grant provided the remaining balance. Art stated this would be done beginning with subsequent budgets . Metz moved to approve the 2022 Requested Budget; Lemke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Area Extension Director Updates: There is no talk from the University about going back to all virtual programming at this time ; Extension is committed to in -person. Could change if covid worsens, however. Can requests visitors to wear masks but can’t enforce it. Currently there are 17 vacancies throughout the state in Agriculture. Ag is going to move regional – i.e. instead of 1-2 counties, 3, 4 – 5 counties. Next committee meeting: Tuesday, November 2, 2021, 9 a.m. in person at the USDA Service Center. Adjournment: Lemke moved to adjourn at 10:00 a.m.; Brooks seconded. Motion carried. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE July 6, 2021 Members Present: Ray Soper, Myron Brooks, Catherine Lemke, Jim Metz Others Present: Sandra Stuttgen, Michelle Grimm, Brenda Fierke, Amannda Szomi, Kelly Phillips Absent: Art Lersch and Julie Diepenbrock Notes by Phillips. Call meeting to order : Ray Soper, Chairman called the meeting to order at 9 a .m. Pledge of Allegiance recited. Approve minutes of the May 2, 2021 meeting: Metz moved to approve the minutes of the May 2, 2021 meeting; Brooks seconded. Motion carried. Approve the agenda: Brooks moved to approve the agenda; Lemke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers – two months’ worth. Ray asked Sandy if tractor books were paid for by the students and Sandy confirmed that the students paid $35 for the books. Ray also asked if Julie’s mileage was being split between Price County. Michelle answered to her knowledge they should be. Kelly to check with Pr ice County Administrator to discuss invoicing the County. Metz moved to approve the May and June 2021 bills and vouchers; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. Educator Highlight Reports Brenda Fierke (FoodWIse): FoodWIse Nutrition education/programming –20 Head Start students learned about growing foods and MyPlate foods (healthy choices). 150 families participating in the Indianhead Community Action Agency Medford food pantry drive -up distribution received Safe and Heal thy Produce fact sheets. Commission on Aging meal sites are starting to meet in person this month. A series of Safe and Healthy Produce handouts provided for July. Human Services and Housing Authority joined Taylor County Food Resource Group. Meeting in person end -of-July. Signage for the Fair being done by our office. Food Resource Brochure updated. Ray asked if meeting in person, Brenda said when the opportunity is available. Ray asked specifics about the ages at Head Start. Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4-H Program Coordinator: Amannda Szomi, 4-H Summer Intern, introduced herself and noted she was excited to be on the other side of the fence as she’s been a 12 -year 4-H alumni. Her and Julie’s time have been busy p lanning Day Camps (Stetsonville, Gilman, Rib Lake, Medford), and Summer Camps (mentioned Julie was currently at Camp Susan). She referenced one child wanting to attend another day camp after attending Huey’s and how non -4-H children attended which gave more exposure to the program. Ray a sked how many Taylor County 4 -Hers were at Summer Camp, Amannda mentioned the Educator and how due to location change, the numbers for Taylor County weren’t where they wanted them to be. Meeting Guidelines for 4 -H discussed and how clubs, projects and Federation are all meeting in-person. Sandy Stuttgen , Agriculture Education/Programming: discussed how June 19th Stockmanship/Stewardship/BQA Certification kicked off Statewide schedule from now until February 2022. Sandy is attending 2 of the 3 days at Fa rm Tech Days in EC and helping with Livestock and Dairy Program displays. Extension will have a booth at the Taylor County Fair. Ray asked if MASS was happening at the Fair this year. Amannda answered, “yes”. Michelle Grimm , Community Development : Utilize o nline resources to bring in FEED project the month of June. Child Care – Build It Strong offered statewide – Michelle running Northern Regional courses in August-September. Ray asked if certification was needed to run a daycare center. Community Garden - Medford summer school fixed beds and planted a few; Head Start will harvest in September and donate to food pantry . Clean Sweep – chemicals and light bulbs mainly, Sue Noland to have numbers soon. B roadband updates, survey, and middle-mile network all online on Extension’s website. Worked with Andrea to get towns that didn’t apply for AARPA funding by June 18 th. Ray asked how Extension g ot access to information regarding who didn’t apply. Census Redistricting Project (Michelle Grimm): Coming out in August. City has to agree with what is planned. Not making changes to it. Kelly Phillips, Program Assistant : talked about the need to communicate more broadly across many platforms. Creation of Facebook and Instagram page s as well as many ongoing updates to the Extension website. Next committee meeting: Tuesday, September 7, 2021, 9 a.m. in person at the USDA Service Center. May have to meet earlier if budget deadlines are due prior that date. Adjournment: Lemke moved to adjourn at 10:00 a.m.; Brooks seconded. Motion carried. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE May 4, 2021 Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/97092131470?pwd=b2lqS0tiNmxpSFN0L1NVUGhEOEZ6QT09 Members Present: Ray Soper, Myron Brooks, Catherine Lemke, Jim Metz Others Present: Art Lersch, Julie Diepenbrock, Kelly Phillips Remote Attendees: Brenda Fierke, Michelle Grimm, Sandy Stuttgen Notes by Stuttgen. Call meeting to order: Ray Soper, Chairman called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. Approve minutes of the March 2, 2021 meeting: Brooks moved to approve the minutes of the March 2, 2021 meeting; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. Approve the agenda: Metz moved to approve the agenda; Lemke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers – two months’ worth . Art explained portions/answered questions. Ray asked that this summary statement and ancillary explanation, not individual receipts, be provided ahead of the meeting, either in packed or via email. Metz moved t o approve the March and April 2021 bills and vouchers; Brooks seconded. Motion carried. Introduction of Kelly Phillips, new Office Program Assistant, provided by Art and Kelly. Educator Highlight Reports Brenda Fierke (FoodWIse): FoodWIse Nutrition education/programming –still not meeting in person; drive up food pantries, decrease of attendance over last few weeks (275 to 150 at Indianhead, probably due to increased benefits and job availability). Healthy produce factsheets distributed. H eadStart: start it /grow it/like it curriculum distributed. Commission on Aging farmer market voucher distribution. Ray asked about covid guidelines, Brenda responded she works under Extension guidelines. Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4 -H Program Coordin ator: discussed CO VID meeting guidelines, clubs are starting to meet in person, Gilman dairy breakfast is being planned, MASS sheep weigh-in was completed. Julie participated in One School One Book curriculum at Medford and Stetsonville Elementary School t hat included 4H Promotional piece. 4H 2020 summer intern, Amannda, has been helping with program resources, awards, planning; advertising now to hire a 2021 summer intern. 4H virtual events finishing up. Planning Day Camps (Stetsonville, Gilman, Rib Lake, Medford), 4 different days, 3-5 graders. Many state 4H sponsored events kicking off. Sandy Stuttgen , Agriculture Education/Programming: discussed June 19th Stockmanship/Stewardship/BQA programming; beef x dairy phenotype research and 2021-22 program plan of work. Michelle Grimm, Community Development: broadband update and needs survey, middle - mile network, Ntera company to service - received a grant: to service Holcombe/Cornell Gilman area (western Taylor County extends to Aurora Township, exploring if can connect to Taylor’s middle mile). Clean Sweep well attended, lots of appliances, next one June 15th in Medford for chemicals/batteries/light bulbs. Community Garden plots being assigned; Medford summer school is building a square foot garden bed in June, other volunteers growing produce for the food pantry; Statewide programming: 1) value -added farm -food virtual programming: food safety, marketing; 2) childcare profession training; Learning for Life series with DATCP: consumer protection training. Michelle Grimm, Strong B odies: pressure for in -person to not follow covid guidelines, working to build compromise, back to full in-person by Sept., virtual until then. FY 2022 FoodWIse agreement letter (Brenda Fierke)-annual letter describes Fed SNAP Ed program investment within Taylor County: physical space, IT assistance, housekeeping / maintenance for Brenda’s position. Letter was signed. Census Redistricting Project (Michelle Grimm) - last done in Taylor County 10 ye ars ago; county procedure/open meetings protocols to follow -specific timelines to follow. County needs to decide if keep to 17 districts or increase to 21, its based upon population-federal government releasing data in August; County may need to set an ad hoc committee to work on this, more complicated if decide to re-organize districts, would need to evaluate options to re -district, potential changes right around city of Medford. Taylor County population holding steady since last districting. WI keeping the same number of representatives. University related updates from the Area Extension Director: a. 4H intern: hired through University and they will handle payroll, billed through 4H assistant account, upper limit $2,500. Advertising now, through UW website, age 18-college-age person, but does not have to be in college, will soon be interviewing. b. One less furlough day required by University employees; County gets credit for those that were taken, included in the second invoice. c. Fee increase for EXT educators in the next contract (FY2022), approx. $1,600, will not include professional development contribution from the Counties ($500 per year); our budget will come in at zero % change again, the increased fee is absorbable. Fee is increasing to absorb past two 2% each pay plan increases and increases in employee health care premiums. $10,000 discount for the first position remains to help rural counties maintain EXT employees/office. d. COVID guidelines for all EXT programming. e. Educators are transitioning back to the office, full time in the office by July 1 unless there are extenuating circumstances (childcare, health, etc.). Next committee meeting: Tuesday, July 6, 2021, 9 a.m. in person at the USDA Service Center, everyone encouraged to attend in person. Art may have conflict with that date, but materials will be provided as usual. Adjournment: Lemke moved to adjourn at 10:00 a.m.; Brooks seconded. Motion carried. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE (Minutes) Date/Time: March 2, 2021, 9:00 a.m. Location: Taylor County Courthouse, 224 S. Second St., Medford, WI 54451, Third Floo r, County Board Room and by GoToMeeting GoToMeeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/949742317 Members Present: Ray Soper, Myron Brooks, Catherine Lemke, Jim Metz Others Present: Art Lersch Remote Attendees: Sandy Stuttgen, Michelle Grimm, Julie Diepenbrock, Brenda Fierke. Minutes taken by: Sandy Stuttgen, Art Lersch Call meeting to order: Ray Soper, Chairman called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Approve the agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda; Brooks seconded the motion. No corrections requested. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers: Lersch shared the summ arized report, highlighting a few items including gift certificate for 4 -H support (internship). Intern duties include working with social media, the 4 -H horse project, and research w ork. This round of work was for 100 hours. Payment comes from the 4 -H Assistant account. He also mentioned that the advertising bill covered a 4 -5-month period. Committee m embers reviewed the summarized packet. No questions/concerns raised. Metz moved to approve the bills and vouchers; Brooks seconded the motion. Motion carried. Educator Annual Reports Educators shared the 2020 Extension Annual Report and additional prog rams they are currently working on: Brenda Fierke, Foodwise Nutrition education/programming: Metz asked about food pantry participation numbers. Fier ke stated requests for food have increased, new (non -senior) participants have increased as well. She a lso reported that she continues to distribute nutrition information to Commission on Aging and food pantry clients. Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4 -H Program Coordinator : Diepenbrock reported that 43 youth participated in the recent Fun with Forensics pr ogram. The program received excellent feedback and served as a potential career introduction for several youth. All sessions were recorded. She also reported taking part in the statewide Annual Leader Trainer sessions. All Taylor County 4 -H clubs had a t least one representative who participated. 4 -H email ‘blasts’ continued to be well received. Virtual conferences/camps were also well attended leadi ng to additional sessions being offered. She mentioned that the program intern is exploring a career in Extension. Sandy Stuttgen, Agriculture education/programming : In addition to what was included in the annual report, Stuttgen highlighted two upcomin g research projects: North Central WI Cattlemen’s Feeding Project and the UW Beef x Dairy Phenotype Predication Research. Michelle Grimm, Community Development and Strong Bodies : Grimm reported that the Governor’s Broadband Task Force highlighted the Taylor County effort as a model project. Soper asked what are the next steps for funding the ‘last mile’? Grimm responded that a PSC Grant if obtained will help with that. She reminded the committee that the middle mile project will support the effort to bri ng towers to the western part of the county and increase the infrastructure to now build off of that l arger network to bring internet into homes. Soper mentioned user is still at th e mercy of the company that finally decides to offer service to their home. Grimm mentioned that the Broadband Committee continues to monitor grant opportunities. Lersch aske d about PSC Grant announcement. Grimm stated that the application period closed last week, and the county will hear results next month. Grimm also reminded the committee: • Chemical Clean Sweep date set for June; Recycling Committee seeing an increase in recycling • Community garden plans-donating produce to the food pantry • Farmers Market/local food system team -virtual training Edible Start-up-individuals from Taylor County attended and are now forming a network group; potential cross - programming with Stuttgen. • StrongBodies continuing online, 45 participants; Medford hospital has an int erest in promoting the classes. Soper asked about access to weights. Grimm replied people acquire them through the program (they sign them out). She also mentioned that DVDs of the program are available for those who have internet issues. Update on pro gram assistant hiring process: Lersch stated that as of the meeting seven applications had been received. The application period closes tomorrow (March 3). After the period closes, Marie Koerner will conduct an initial review of applicant materials, rank them, and then forward to Lersch for his independent review. They will agree on a ranking and choose which candidates will be interviewed. Interviews will be conducted eithe r the third or fourth week of March. Census Redistricting Project (Michelle Grim m)- Grimm explained that previous redi stricting for 2022 elections maps that Extension’s Community Development Educator helped with should be updated based on the latest censu s information when that is available. That information, however, will now not b e available, Grimm explained, until Se pt 2021. Grimm is looking for input from the committee on what the county expects her role to be in the upcoming process. Should an Ad H oc county committee be formed like the last time? If so, who should be on it? etc. Once the project starts at the co unty level, then it needs to filter down to the cities, etc. There is a 60-day timeline to complete the redistricting process, which once completed will also require a County Board vote. Metz and Soper commented that it is likely the county’s Executive Committee will need to discuss this with the county clerk and others to determine what process should be followed and if/how Grimm will be involved. Soper commented that the size of the County Board could also be deter mined as part of this process (stay sa me, decrease, or increase). It was agreed the item will be placed on the May agenda for further discussion. Cathy Mauer retirement resolu tion: The resolution was provided in committee member packets. No corrections were requested. Soper commented that Cathy meant the world to this department, which is hard to capture in a written document. Lemke moved to approve the resolution without modification and send on to the County Board; Brooks seconded the motion. Motion carried. Office coverage update: Lersch noted that there has been one educator in the office every day since Feb 1. Foot traffic is low as building is still closed. Stuttgen c ommented on the ability to enforce mask ordinances, offer those without a mask o ne from the offi ce supply. She rhetorically asked if admittance should be refused if the person declines to wear a mask. Brooks mentioned that the person should show a medic al reason from a doctor’s note if he/she cannot wear the mask. Lersch asked for direction from the committee. Committee members mentioned that soon there will be concise policy that will be communicated to county customers. Stuttgen mentioned that Taylor County government buildings, Colleen Hendrick and Joe are confirming the 25% capacity requirement to make sure we have the USDA Service Center room limits determined and that they will be posted in time for the April 1 building opening. Extra chairs in t he rooms will be moved into another room rather than clogging up a hallway. Signage will be mad e for the larger auditorium style room so the guests know which seats are open and which ones should not be utilized. University related updates from the Area E xtension Director: Lersch reported that the Area 4 position is slated for hiring soon. He continues to have interim responsibilities in the area until a director is hired. Lersch also mentioned that Gov. Evers has proposed a bill for the state to fund Ag Regional Positions that is separate from the larger state budget request. The bill is being discussed in the legislature. Set date for next committee meeting : May 4, 2021 9:00 am - most likely in the Courthouse County Board room. Lersch to ask about ro om availability and request reservation. If not available, he will work with clerk’s office to find another room. Adjournment: Lemke moved to adjourn the meeting; Brooks seconded. Motion carried. Meeting was officially adjourned at 10:07 am. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE (Minutes) Date/Time: February 2, 2021, 7:30 a.m. Location: Taylor County Courthouse, 224 S. Second St., Medford, WI 54451, Third Floor, County Board Room and by GoToMeeting GoToMeeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/112956965 Members Present: Ray Soper, Myron Brooks, Catherine Lemke, Jim Metz Others Present: Art Lersch Remote Attendees: None Minutes taken by: Art Lersch Call meeting to order: Ray Soper, Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. Approve the agenda: Brooks moved to approve the agenda; Lemke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Review and approve Extension Program Assistant position description Discussion took place about the description. Lersch requested that the item “Ability to Post to social media a nd websites” be added under the “Representative Duties” section of the description. Metz moved to approve the amendment. Lemke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Metz mov ed to forward to Personnel Committee position description as amended; Brooks seconded. Motion carried. Discuss and approve hiring Extension Program Assistant Lersch requested that the position be hired as is. Lemke moved to app rove the hiring of the position as is, Metz seconded. Motion carried. Extension office coverage plan in absence of Program Assistant Lersch explained that each educator has volunteered to cover the office in the absence of a program assistant at least one day per week, with Julie Diepenbrock (4-H Educator) covering two days per week. He also explained that t here might be times, particularly for lunch hours, when the office will be closed. Information only. Adjournment: Metz moved to adjourn at approxi mately 7:55 a.m.; Lemke sec onded. Motion carried.