Forestry & Recreation

Forestry & Recreation Committee December 10th, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 11:01 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles, Gene Knoll, Mike Bub. Members Absent: N/A Other Attendees: Jake Walcisak, Jordan Lutz, Karyn Geber t, Jim Metz, Larry Brandl, Brian Wilson-Star News and Jeff Sorenson (Zoom). Approve Minutes: Bub moved to approve the minutes of the November 5th, 2021, meeting; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Bub moved to approve the agenda of 12 items; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Walcisak presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Knoll moved to app rove the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Bub. Motion carried. Timber Sales Updates: Lutz gave updates on timber sale s. We have one active tim ber sale going on, #671-Gumz Logging, who started last week. They are cutting this sale because of the high composition of saw logs compared to pulp volume. Approve Timber Sale Bids : Lutz presented the fall timber sale bids. There a re three (3) sales with a total minimum bid value of $96,487.50 for 242 acres. • Tract 4-21: There were two (2) qualifying bids. Wilson Forestry LLC had the highest bid of $86,880.00 • Tract 5-21: There was one (1) qualifying bid. Wilson Forestry LLC bid of $43,951.00. • Tract 6-21: There was one (1) qualifying bid. Wilson Forestry LLC bid of $10,710.00. • Brooks moved to approve the highest bidder of the advertised sales ; seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Walcisak provided details on the current timber markets and outlook for the future . Fall 2021 average sold value per acre $600. 5-year average sold value per acre $990 , ranging $750 - $1,220/acre. Many older contracts with a h igher value have been cut the past two years. Due to a depressed market these older/higher value sales are being replaced with lower value sales. Tract 5-21 is a low value sale as expected and reduced the average value per acre for the three falls sales. Recent record high annual revenues, (2020 and 2021) are not sustainable. Anticipate lower revenue in the upcoming years. Contract Extension Timber Sale #661: Lutz presented a o ne (1) year extension request from Steve Dassow for timber sale #661 , due to markets and required frozen ground conditions. This extension will put this sale at 4-years old. Has approximately 10-acres remaining. Brooks moved to approve 1-year request; seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Contract Extension Timber Sale # 668 and #683 : Lutz pres ented a one (1) ye ar extension request f rom Northwest Hardwoods for both sale s, due to limited hardwood quotas, and weather limi tations. This one (1) year extension would put t hese s ales a t 4-years old. Brooks moved to approve 1-year request for both sales; seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Contract Extension Timber Sale #681: Lutz presented a two (2 ) year extension reque st from Czarnezki Forest for timber sale #681, due to markets. This extension will put this sale at 4-years old. Brooks moved to approve 2-year request; seconded by Beadles. Planting Bid Approval for Advertisement: Hand planting of 26,000 red pine and 11,000 white pine containerized seedlings on 43 acres. Trees will be planted at 8 ’ x 6’ spacing. Planting must be completed between April 15 th, 2022 and May 15 th, 2022, when the ground is no longer frozen. Knoll moved approved the Planting Bid. Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Accomplishments Updates: • Snowmobile trail map is being printed and should be done early next wee k. Once done will get them handed out. • Brush Creek ATV Trail rehab completed. Touch up work in the spring of 2022. • Walcisak has been requested to speak on behalf of Wisconsin County Forests before the Legislature’s Committees on Forestry and Finance, Madison, Dec 15th. • Garage improvements. Proposal to heat shared garage (Buildings, Grounds, Parks and Forestry). Walls, ceiling and doors are already insulated. N eeds gas utility to run a line from the Hwy shop to garage. Install two (2) natural gas heaters and trench floor drain. In the near future, Joe Svejda from Buildings and Grounds will be requesting to cost share this project 50/50 . Total projec t expected to be less than $10,000. Walcisak will bring more information to the Committee when it is available. • 76-acre property sold along County D and adjacent to the County Forest last month. We were interested in this parcel, but the sale occurred too quickly for us to act and sold much higher than the asking price. • Trail Farm property is still for sale. They are asking $495,000 for 230 acres. • Installed aerator at Miller Dam gates. • Lutz burnt slash piles at Porky/Trout regeneration site this week. • Pirus Range closes after the 4-day antlerless hunt, December 13th. DNR County Forest Liaison Report: Sorenson gave a brief report. They plan to finish field work for their spring sale before year end. Knusta plans to level burned slash piles next week. Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday, January 7th, 2022, at 10:00 am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Brooks moved to adjourn the meeti ng; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:53 am. Secretary: Karyn Gebert, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee November 5th, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 11:03 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles, Gene Knoll, Mike Bub. Members Absent: N/A Other Attendees: Jake Walcisak, Jordan Lutz, Karyn Geber t, Larry Brandl, Brian Wilson -Star News and Jeff Sorenson (Zoom). Approve Minute s: Knoll moved to a pprove t he minutes of the October 1 st, 2021, meeting; Seconded by Bub. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Brooks moved to approve the agenda of 14 items; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Walcisak presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Bub moved to approve the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. Timber Sales Updates: Lutz gave updates on timber sales. No contractors currently working on TCF. Advertise Timber Sales for Bid : Lutz presented the fall timber sales for bidding. T here are three (3) sales with a total minimum bid value of $96,487.50 for 242-acres. • Sale 4-21 (Longwood): It is a 91 -acre selection/coppice/overstory removal harvest near Emil Drive. Minimum bid value is $45,364.00. • Sale 5 -21 (ASHmageddon): It is a 130 -acre coppice/seed-tree/shelterwood harvest on the south end of the TCF, close to the Lincoln County line. Minimum bid value is $43,951.00 • Sale 6 -21 (Fawn 21): It is a 21 -acre coppice/overstory removal which is near the intersection of Fawn Ave. and New Wood Rd. Minimum bid value is $7,172.50 Bub moved to appr ove advertising timber sales for bidding; Seconded by Be adles. Motion carried. Close-Out Timber Sale #673: This was a 12-acre harvest. Total revenue was $75,891.25, with a 25% volume overrun and 23% value overrun. The difference was about 400 tons of volu me harvested o n the sale. Bub moved to app rove the close out sale #694 ; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Close Out Sale #676: Total revenue was $106,167.78, with a 16% volume overrun and 6% value overrun. The sale was impacted by harvesting fewer higher value saw logs compared to having 700 tons of additional pulp wood. Bub moved to approve the close out sale #694 ; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Close Out Sale #692: Total revenue was $87,252.27, with a 7% volume underrun and 26% value underrun. Volume of saw logs harvested was lo wer than the estimated amount while the amount of pulp logs was higher. Bub moved to approv e the close out sale #694 ; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Sustainable Forestry Grant Application : Walcisak present ed a grant ap plication for improvement of an existing frozen ground logging road to three -season use. This improvement is for Zuther Mill Grade project. This project is 1.1 miles and will provide non -frozen ground access to 257 acres. We would need 6 culverts, 2000 feet geogrid, 1,255 yards of gravel. The cost estimate is $29,725 with a 50% request of $14,860. Knoll moved approved t he Sustainable Forestry Grant application. Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. 2020 Annual Accomplishment Report: • Total timber revenue was $562,492.67. • $56,252.89 was paid to towns in January 2021. • $825 in miscellaneous revenue. • 529 acres sold for $577,816.60 which equals $1,092.28 per acre. • 15 timber sale contracts active. • 8 timber sales closed out for 266 acres. • 26 active grants for $1,013,840.37. • 12 grants closed out for $449,835.16. 2021 Forest Productivity A ward: Walcisak present the Milt Reink Forest Productivity Aw ard from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources . Taylor County is the only four-time winner of the traveling trophy since it began in 1985. (2018-2021) Accomplishments Updates: • Finished proofing the Snowmobile trail maps and they are now ready for printing. • Completed Spirit ATV Trail development and Camp 8 ATV Trail Rehab projects. • Brush Creek ATV Trail will be worked on starting next week. • Miller Dam Sluice Gat e Replacement project has been delayed to gate manufacturing. The grant has been extended to December 31, 2022, and contract extended to June 1, 2022, at the contractors requested. • Pine Line meeting was October 19th. Gran ite was placed for bridge appro aches on October 14th. • Zettler’s Easement was recorded with Register of Deeds and con struction is pending both contractor availability and weather. • Mill Bill Update. Walcisak provided an update for the most recently proposed Wisconsin legislation regarding paper mill financial assistance. Wisconsin DNR Annual Partne rship Meeting: Was 10/08/2021. Walcisak took Sorenson and Emma Doden the new DNR biologist for Taylor and Rusk County out and s howed them the county forest. Sorenson mentioned that Emma will be a good fit for the county. DNR County Forest L iaison Report: Sorenson gave a brief report. They finished fall sal e and started spring sale. Plan to start marking next week. Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday, December 10th, 2021, at 11:00 am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Brooks moved to adjourn the meeti ng; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:24 am. Secretary: Karyn Gebert, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee October 1st, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 11:03 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles, Gene Knoll-(Zoom). Members Absent: Jake Walcisak (excused), Mike Bub (excused). Other Attendees: Jordan Lutz, Karyn Gebert, Larry Brandl, Brian Wilson-Star News. Approve Minutes: Brooks moved to approve the minutes of the September 3rd, 2021, meeting; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Brooks moved to approve the agenda of 12 items; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Lutz presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Brooks moved to approve the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Timber Sales Updates: Lutz gave updates on timber sales. • Sale #665: (Steve Dassow ) Finished summer gr ound a rea, wi ll return to finish remainder of sale this winter • Sale #673: (Wiitala-Vozka) Finished last week. Just final billing and payments remain. Expect to close out next month. • Sale #6 76: (Czarnezki) Harvest and final road work completed. Hauling and final payment(s) remain. Expect to close out next month. • Sale #692: (Twin Forest Products) About 1 load remaining to be hauled. Final billing and invoicing remain. Expect to close out next month. Close Out Sale #694: First sale with Wilson Forestry LLC and very pleased. Total revenue for this sale $105,018.42. Lutz did some tweaks to timber cruising software, Forest Metrix. 8% volume underrun and 5% value overrun. Brooks moved to approve the close out sale #694; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Review an d Approve Truck B ids: There w ere three (3) truck bids that cam e in Medford Motors-2022 Ford F250 Crew Cab 4x4: $36,749.00 ; Wheelers Medf ord-2022 Chevy Silv erado 1500 LTD-Work Truck (2 ” lift): $41,906.00; Wheelers Medford -2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTD - Trail Boss: $44,754.00. Wheelers called on Wednesday to inform us that their truck bids will not be accurate as GM has dr opped their Fleet Pr ogram. This made Medford Motors th e only qualifying bid and the lowest bid. Lutz recommended the Medford Motors bid and mentioned adding on an Off-Road Package for about $700 more; this adds stronger parts designed for rough roads and protective plates around gas tank and transmission . Lutz also mentioned that he is considering adding a snowplow and gooseneck hitch attachm ents. This would allow the most flexibility with vehicles within the Forestry Dep artment. Brooks approved to Medford Motors truck bid. Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. 2022 Annual Work Plan: Lutz passed out the Annual Work Plan. No q uestions or furth er discussion on work plan. Beadles approved the 2022 Annual Work Plan. Seconded by Brooks Motion carried. Work plan will be reviewed by County Board on October 27th. 2020 Annual Accomplishment Report: • Gravel project all this week • Fall TS establishment DNR County Forest L iaison Report: Lutz gave the DNR County Forest Liaison report in Sorenson’s absence. DNR is still limited on in-person attendance to public meeti ngs due to the recent COVID spike . They are working on County Forest fall timber sales. Annual Taylor County/DNR partnership meeting was delayed until October 8 th. Knusta finished up some FRM plot work earlier in t he moth and the DNR established 131-acre swamp hardwood sale is close to completion with only a few days left. DNR is also marking on the Longwood sale next week and the following week. Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday, November 5th, 2021, at 10:00 am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Brooks moved to adjourn the meeti ng; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:24 am. Secretary: Karyn Gebert, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee September 3, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:01 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles, Mike Bub, Gene Knoll. Members Absent: None. Other Attend ees: Jake Walcisak, Jordan Lutz, Karyn Geber t, Jim Metz, Larry Brandl, Jeff Sorenson, Brian Wilson-Star News. Approve Minutes: Brooks moved to approve the minutes of the August 13th, 2021, meeting; Seconded by Bub. Motion carried. Approve A genda: Knoll moved to approve the agenda of 10 items; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Walcisak presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Brooks moved to approve the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Bub. Motion carried. Timber Sales Updates: Lutz gave updates on timber sales. • Sale #665: (Steve Dassow ) Moved back onto the sale this week. Going to cut summer ground about 12 acres. • Sale #673: (Wiitala-Vozka) Started last week and they finished harvest ing yesterday. High value per acre, red pine final harvest. Will require site preparation and planting. • Sale #6 76: (Czarnezki) Harvest and road work completed. Hauling and final payment(s) remain. • Sale #692: (Twin F orest Products) Finished har vesting and forwarding this week. Hauling and final payment(s) remain. 2022 Proposed Department Budget: Walcisak presented the 2022 proposed budget. • Budget instructions of 0% increase to operational expenses was upheld. • Revenue increased by 1% from 2020. • Expenses decreased 5.6% from 2020 . Forestry Department no longer has the administrative support position (Karyn’s position) in our budget. Accomplishment Updates: • Snowmobile trail maps to be printed first part of October. Ordering 5,000 trail maps. • Snowmobile and Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Council grant meetings earlier this week. Taylor County secured an additional $196,000 in funding. • Highway Department Grading. Recent grading bill for 20 miles of County Forest roads was $4,212. This is over 100% higher than the average of the last 10 gradings. D ifferent operator. Took more than twice as l ong. Grading conditions were the same and the result was similar. Forestry Department budgets $8,500 annually to grade four times. Will only be able to grade three times this year. • Zettler’s Easement. Easement area surveyed by Bob Meyer-County Surveyor. Easement signed by all partie s. Construction is scheduled to occur later this m onth or early October. • WCFA Annual meeting in Hayward September 22nd and 23rd. Brooks will attend the Board of Directors meeting. Walcisak will be on vacation and Lutz will attend virtually. • Carbon Credits Presentation. Wa lcisak will distribute when recor ding is ava ilable. Knoll listened in on the presentation and informed the Committee on his opinion. • Sustainable Forestry Grant application unsuccessful. Highly competitive this year with limited funding available. DNR County Forest L iaison Report: Sorenson info rmed us that he is back full time as of Monday. Jonathan Knusta worked on recent sales. Plan on finishing up timber sale marking form late September to year -end. 80% of the annual tim e stand ards remai n or approximately 600 hours of the 773-hour annual commitment to Taylor County. Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday, October 1st, 2021, at 10:00 am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Beadles moved to adjourn the meeti ng; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:10 am. Secretary: Karyn Gebert, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee August 13, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles, Mike Bub, Gene Knoll. Members Absent: None. Other Attendees: Jake Walcisak, Jordan Lutz, Karyn Gebert, Jim Metz, Larry Brandl, Jonathan Knusta, Don Watson-Star News. Approve Minute s: Brooks moved to a pprove the minutes of the July 9 th, 2021, meeting; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Bub moved to approve the agenda of 14 items; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Walcisak presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Brooks moved to approve the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Bub. Motion carried. Timber Sales Updates: Lutz gave updates on timber sales. • Sale #676: (Czarnezki Forest Products) Plan to finish harvesting within a week. • Sale #682: (Gumz Logging) They have moved off the sale, most of the aspen clear- cut area has been harvested. • Sale #683 : (Northwest Hardwoods ) Non-compliance concerns with rutting and timely payments. They are 33 days past due on one payment currently. There have been three finance charges within the last 13 months. Moving forward the following contract enforcements will take place: At 31 days delinquent logging operations will be suspended, Past due amount will be pulled from the performance bond at 60 days delinquent, email MaryBeth (accounts manager) in addition to hard copies of invoices, future delin quency may cause further penalty. A letter has been sent to Northwest Hardwoods explaining these issues. • Sale #691: (Wilson Forestry LLC) Completed 11 acres of summer ground. Moved off the sale but will return once the ground is frozen. • Sale #692: (Twin Forest Products) Approximately 50% complete. • Sale #694: (Wilson Forestry LLC) Only final invoicing and payments remain. • Sale #695: (Wilson Forestry LLC) Moving forward with Wilson Forestry. We received signed contract, waiting on letter of credit. Building, Grounds and Parks Depar tment – Truck Request: Joe S vejda f rom Building s, Grounds and Parks Department reached out to Walcisak regarding purchasing the 2017 Ford F150 truck. Buildings, Grounds and Parks Department have a 2 008 Dodg e Ram w ith 105,000 miles and is in poor condition . They have approx. $18,000 in their vehicle account of w hich approximately $3,000 is needed to finish out the rest of 2021 . Svejda offered the F orestry Department $15,000 for the 2017 Ford F 150. The 2017 Ford F150 has 46,000 miles. Purchase price was $29,500 and the trade in value is $18,400. The Forestry vehicle outlay account has a balance of $23,000. New truck MSRP values $45,000-$49,000. Municipal discounted val ues $33,000-$37,000. Delivery timeline is 4 -5 month s. Bub m oved to fo rward to the Finance committee for approval. Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Request for Truck Bids: Lutz handed out bid specs for a new truck. Bub moved to approve the truck specs pending purchase approval of the finance committee. Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Carbon Project Update : Walcisak has been in t ouch with Blue Source regarding the carbon project. Blue Source has determined the size of our project to not be economically viable for them at this time . The scoped Taylor County project was for 15,400 acres. Blue Source said that they need at l east 400,000 tons of carbon to be a viable project. This woul d be approx imately 20,000 acres at our current composition and stocking. Analysis showed 315,000 tons in 10 years. The c urrent market average carbon p er ton is $9.50 . Project value of $ 3 million with approximately 70% going to County. Taylor County Forestry annual ca rbon growth was calculated by Blue Source to be 3.5% and ra te of harvest is 80% of net growth (2016 -2020). There are l arger C ounty Forest projects which are the lower hanging fruit and right now a 315,000-ton project does not fit into Blue S ource’s business model. Blue Source is wil ling to consider our project in the future and will keep note. An established CFI (Continual Forest Inv entory) program would be very beneficial to a carbon developer, increasing the likelihood of viability. Blue Source is willing to help des ign a CFI protocol with Taylor County Forestry if we wish to do so. A CFI program of 250-300 permanent plots would be necessary for a T aylor County Forestry carbon project . Blue Source has done cooperatives is the past. A cooperative of 2 -3 Counties is possible but not recommended. All owners need to be in lock step and have excellent c ommunication for the duration of the contract, 40 years. There are many unknowns in that time frame. A non-compliance issue on one property would affect all members of th e cooperative. There are 5-6 counties right now that are pursuing a carbon project with Blue Source . The Committee de cided to monitor the carbon market and have Wa lcisak bring back more information when a vailable. Walcisak invited the Committee to a Carbon 101 presentation via zoom on Tuesday August 31 st. The presentation is being offered by Forrest Gibeault from Steigerwaldt Land Services. Sustainable Forestry Grant Applicat ion: Walcisak proposed a Sustainable Forestry Grant application for conversion of an existing froze n ground l ogging road into three-season use . Converting access from frozen ground to non-frozen ground results in about a 20% increase to stumpage re venue. A pproximately 60% of all harvest s of Taylor County Forest are currently restricted to frozen ground. This project is 0.7 miles and will provide non-frozen ground access to 77-acres of productive forest land that are now restricted. Increase in stumpage for 50 acres in the next couple years is estimated to be $9,900. The project cost is estimated to be $10,625. Bub moved to approve the Sustainable Forestry Grant application. Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Park Falls Mill Equity Offering : Walcisak mentioned that WCA has offered a legal opinion Counties can participate in cooperatives and can invest in cooperatives. However, County investments needs to go through Economic Development. The c urrent equ ity offering is for non-voting investment units. Each unit is $10,000 with no limit per investor. This equity offering must reach a minimum of $2,000,000 or the offering must be extended, or the investments are returned in full. Upcoming equity offering for voting membership units at $3,000 ea ch and a limit of one per member. Washburn County has purchased 10 units for $100,000. WCFA has purchased 2 investment units and will acquire a members hip unit when available. ARPA funds received by other Counties are being used to invest in this mill cooperative equity offering. Accomplishment Updates: • Chairman Jeff Peterson and the Westboro Town board took official action to support moving the Forestry and Recreation office and shop t o Rib Lake. A letter to the Fo restry Committee is forthcoming. • Miller Dam pre -construction meeting on July 27 th. Construction will take place after Labor Day and is expected to last two weeks. • WCA has asked the Depar tment of Treasury to consider expanding the scope of the current IFR to include dams along with other items. • CWD positive deer from a 22-acre Taylor County deer farm. • Taylor County to hos t WCFA Summer Tour in 2024. Will need to budget approximately $3,000. • Invasive hemp nettle found. Significant sized infestation. Forestry Department is working with DNR and USFS to determine the forest health threat and treatment need/options. • Box Grader for Skid Steer o Increased work o n Pine Line and ATV trails due to r educed A TV cl ub and contractor availability. Will be used on logging roads and county parks as well. Delivered cost is $4,820. Box blade use can be reimbursed when on grant funded projects. This equipment usage revenue will help offset the cost of purchase over time. • Wolf Advisory Committee recommended a Fall 2021 harve st quota of 130 wolves statewide. This is in addition to the 218 which were harvested February 2021. Natural Resources Board met earlier this week and chan ged it to 300 wolves. This aggressi ve approach and lack of consultation with the tribes jeopardizes the protection status of wolves in the Midwest. • In 2018 the Committee approved up to $15,000 for improvements to Homestead Road. The project is now completed and came in under budget at $12,796.20. DNR County Forest L iaison Report: Walcisak thanked Jonathan Knusta for all he has done in Jeff Sorenson’s absence. Jonathan mentioned his current d ozer hours and cost to the county, which is substantially cheaper than budgeted for site preparation of a reforestation site. Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday, September 3rd, 2021, at 10:00am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Beadles moved to adjourn the meeti ng; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 2:33 pm. Secretary: Karyn Gebert, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee July 9th, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 11:03 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles, Mike Bub, Gene Knoll. Members Absent: None. Other Attendees: Jake Walcisak, Jordan Lutz, Karyn Geber t, Larry Brandl, Brian Wils on-Star News. Approve M inutes: Brooks moved to a pprove t he minutes of the June 4 th, 2021, meeting; Seconded by Bud. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Knoll moved to approve the agenda of 9 items with striking item number 8 (as recommended by Walcisak); Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Walcisak presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Knoll moved to approve the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Timber Sales Updates: Lutz gave updates on timber sales. • Sale #676: (Czarnezki Forest Products) Started back on the sale recently wi th approximately 25% remaining. • Sale #6 82: (Gumz Logging ) Only cut a few days to fill monthly quota s. They are moving off this week. • Sale #683: (Northwest Hardwoods) They moved back onto sale and only c ut a few acres. Noncompliance issues occurred and had to move off sale until ground conditions improve. Repairs to a main skid trail and a culvert crossing of an intermittent stream need to occur. Along with additional gravel added to Emil Dr ive at the contractor’s expense. The County will level the gravel once delivered. • Sale #691: (Wilson Forestry LLC) They moved off sale in early June 2021 due to being too wet. The y made road improveme nts and plan on moving back today to harvest on the high ground. • Sale #692: (Twin Forest Products) They moved onto sale recently, have made road improvements and are working in dry areas. • Sale #694: (Wilson Forestry LLC) Only a few acres remaining on the sale. This is a large crew w ith three (3) processors, one (1) hot saw and three (3) forwarders. The entire sale will be harvested from start to finish within only a few weeks. Timber Sale Contract Aw ard, Tr act 2 -21 Kafka Forestry : Walcisak presente d fin dings regarding this issue since the last Committee meeting on June 4 th, 2021. Walcisak found past non-compliance issues in Taylor and Marathon County from 15 years ago and presented these findings to the com mittee on Jun e 4 th. With these findings the Committee had awarded Kafka Forestry the timber sale to give Kafka a chance since it has been 15 years. On Friday July 2nd Tim Kafka spoke with Lutz on the phone and discussed replacing the company check he issued with his bid for $22,739.81. Kafka provided Lutz with indications the check he issued was no good and would be replaced with cash, cashier ’s check or LOC. Kafka had contact with Walcisak and Lutz on several occasions via phone since June 7 th. The County Forestry timber sale prospectus and contract require a contractor to d eposit a bond equal to 25% of the total sale value at the time of bidding and this bond must maintain full value from the time of biddi ng to completion of the contract. Kafka Forestry had 30 days from the time of contract offer by the Committee to deliver a signed con tract and replace t heir bid bond wi th a qualifying performance bond (or their bond check would be deposited). Kafka Forestry was not compliant on these matters by the deadline of July 6th. Walcisak spoke to Tim Kafka on the phone on July 7th. Walcisak read Tim a letter that was sent by certified mail on July 7th indicating suspension of the contract offer and review by the Forestry Committee. Tim said that he was trying to get his insurance and banking up to date. Walcisak explained he had been given 30 days to complete those tasks. Tim asked what would happen to his first bond check since he did not get the signed contract and bond to the Forestry Department by the deadline. Walcisak explained the review may include remedies up to an d including termination of the aw ard and the County will attempt to cash the bond, potentially retaining an amount equal to actual losses while returning the balance to Kafka. Later in the conversation Kafka stated that he does not do business wi th th e People’s S tate Bank anymore because he switched financial institutions. This indicated to Wal cisak the bid bond issued as a company check by Tim Kafka from People’s State Bank had no value. Additionally, Kafka had a harvester and forwarder del ivered to the County Fo rest without notice or permission. Tim said his sub-contractor who owns this equipment is Scott Andres from Conrath, WI. On Thursday July 8th Kafka h and delivered a signed contra ct and certified check for the performance bond. Information provided by Tim Kafka over the previous 30 days suggested he did not maintain a qualifying bond from the time of bidding. Corp Counsel has determined this to render Kafka’s bid as invalid or void. Corp Counsel also recommended attempting to deposit the original bid bond to verify it in fact has no value. The original company check issued by Tim Kafka at the time of bid ding was deposited with the County Tr easurer the morning of July 9 th. If the check clears, policy allows the County to retain only an amount equal to actual damages. In this ex ample it would be the diffe rence b etween Kafka ’s bid and the number two bidder of $7,091.75 (should the number 2 bidder accept the contract offer) . The Forestry Committee took the following actions: 1. Terminate contract award of Tract 2-21 to Kafka Forestry and place Kafka Forestry on a no-bid list immediately, for 2 years, expiring July 9th, 2023. Bub moved, seconded Beadles. Motion carried. 2. Return both bond checks issued by Tim Kafka without penalty or withholdings. Bub moved, seconded Beadles. Motion carried. 3. Require equipment to be moved from County property not later than Wednesday, July 14th, 2021. Failure to do so will be deemed tre spass and referred to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department. Knoll moved, seconded Bub. Motion carried. 4. Move forward with second highest binder. Knoll moved, seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. Discussion to consult with Accomplishment Updates: • Walcisak prov ided recon data to Blue Source for scopi ng o f a potential carbon project. We are waiting on their report. • Wisconsin Counties Association Legal Opinion: Counties can contribute financially to mill cooperatives via Economic Development Corporations. Counties can participate in mill cooperative memberships per State Statute 193. • Consolidated Cooperative (Verso Mill) – Prospectus for initial unit offering will be out soon. Walcisak will provide to Committee for consideration. • AB 367/SB 369 “Mill Bill” – Evers vetoed yesterday. • Governor’s Budget increased State payments to towns known as County Forest Acreage Share Payments from $0.30 to $0.63/acre. o Extra $5,500 to Rib Lake and $350 to Westboro annually. • Walcisak has worked with Corp Counsel (Ruthann) to draft an easement for Zettlers’ Road. – Walcisak will offer draft to Zettler’s. If successful, the County will have the easement area surveyed by Bob Meyer and recorded. If all goes well construction to start late August or September 2021. • DNR Deer Population Status Report 2020 presented to Committee. Walcisak has serious concerns about the Taylor County increasing deer population and a lack of tools to control the population. • Wolf Advisory Committee – Statewide population of approximately 1,136. Harvest quota set for November 2021 harvest season to stabilize the population. Next meeting is July 22nd. • Pine Line Maintenance – Walcisak informed us that he finished recent maintenance yesterday which included tree removal, mowing and grading. The contractors we usually get were unable to do the maintenance this year. It took Walcisak (5) ½ days to get the job done. • Walcisak is researching skid steer attachments – boom mower ($9,500) and grader ($4,500). These attachments would be utilized for maintenance on the Pine Line, County Forest roads, logging roads, ATV trails, campgrounds, boat landings and parks. County and State funding exists for equipment purchases. • Walcisak and Brooks attended the WCFA BOD meeting on June 22nd in Vilas County, Eagle River. Walcisak and Lutz attended the WCFA summer tour on June 23rd. Major discussion points included the Mill Bill and mill cooperatives. Walcisak and Lutz were also able to tour many forest-management sites, off road motorcycle trail/park and Torch Lake campground. • Northern Hardwo od Con ference June 15 th and 16 th. Walcisak and Lutz attended virtually. • Financial Audit – 3rd party county financial audit was the week of June 7th. Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday, August 13th, 2021, at 11:00am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Bub moved to adjourn the meeti ng; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 12:12 pm. Secretary: Karyn Gebert, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee June 4, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles, Mike Bub, Gene Knoll. Members Absent: Jordan Lutz, Jeff Sorenson WI-DNR Other Attendees: Jim Metz, Jake Walcisak, Karyn Gebert, Brian Wilson-Star News. Approve Minute s: Metz moved to a pprove t he minutes of the May 7th , 2021 meeting; Seconded by Bub. Motion carried. Approve A genda: Bub moved to approve the agenda of 10 items; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Walcisak presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Bub moved to app rove the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Timber Sales Updates: Walcisak gave updates on timber sales. • Sale #665: (Steve Dassow) Four corners NE. Small area harvested during spring break up. Hauling continues. Approximately 5 loads remain. Mostly tamarack. • Sale #676: (Czarnezki F orest Products) Survey . 50% o f the job was previous ly completed about one year ago. Contractor looked at job this week with the potential of moving back in soon. • Sale #691: (Wilson Forestry LLC) Camp 8 Aspen. Harvested small area this spring but too wet and had to move out. Will return when it is dry or frozen. They did clean up roads and trails with dozer and four loads of gravel before leaving. Approve Timber Sales Bids: Walcisak presented the spring timber sale bids. There are three (3) sales with a total minimum bid value of $124,061.50 for 248 acres. • Sale #694, Tract 1-21, Little Rib Mountain: There were four (4) qualifying bids. Wilson Forestry LLC had the highest bid of $110,230.00. • Sale #695, Tract 2-21, Funky Chevrons: There were three (3) qu alifying bids. Kafka Forestry had the highest bid of $90,959.25. • Sale #696, Tract 3-21, Mezich: There were two (2) qualif ying bids. Wilson Forestry LLC had the highest bid of $26,240.00. • Total bid value of $227,429.25, which is 83% over the advertised minimum sale value. • Brooks moved to approve the highest bidder of the advertised sales ; seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Accomplishment Updates: • Walcisak p rovided recon data to Blue Source for the potential carbon project scoping. We are waiting on their report. • Walcisak handed out an ariel m ap of Zettler ’s 80 -acres within the County Forest blocking. Looking at getting an easement road to bypass two deep wetland holes in the existing logging road. This would require 400 linear feet of the Zettler property. Corp Counsel wor king on an easement. Lan downer has requested the County to install gates at their pro perty boundaries. County w ould provide landowner with an access permit in return for this easement. This would be for forest m anagement only. This new r oad would access 130 acres for Fall 2021/Spring 2022 timber sale and many more acres in the future. Knoll would like to explor e winter access to avoid the wet holes with snowmobile trail grooming equipment. • Deer Advisory C ommittee- Walcisak sits on this statewide DNR Committee w here they r eviewed a ll CDAC recommendations state wide. Will b e reviewed by DNR administration and presented to Natural Resources Board later this month. • Walcisak is part of the statewide DNR Wolf Advisory Committee. There is a meeting to discuss population objectives/harvest quotas on June 22nd. • Pine Line bridge rehabilitations of bridges #4 and #5 are now completed. • Contract signed with Nordic Group on 5/25 for Miller Dam sluice gate project. Project is looking at starting Sep tember/October as they just ordered the gate, and it will take about three (3) months for it to get in. Grant award received from DNR for 50% of estimated costs plus 10% contingency. • Wisconsin County Forest Assoc iation Board of Dire ctors meeting and summer t our will be held June 22 nd-24th in Vilas County, Eagle River. Walcisak will be attending in person for a ll three (3) day s, Brooks will be atte nding in person on June 22 nd. Lutz will be attending in person o n the 23 rd and Knoll is interested in attending th e 23rd. Walcisak will provide Knoll more information. • Perkinstown ATV Trail Development – Taylor Made A TV Club and forestry department completed trail widening and crowning. Needs to dry up to haul gravel. • The County financial audit will be next week. • Northern Hardwood Conferen ce is June 15th and 16 th in Green Bay. Walcisak is attending virtually. DNR County Forest Liaison Report: Walcisak presented in Jeff Sorenson’s absence. Jonathon Knusta has been conducting forest recon an d will be worki ng on plan tation site scarification with his dozer soon. Sorenson and Knusta are also working on establishment of their fall County Forest timber sale. Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday July 9th, 2021, at 11:00am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Beadles moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:04 am. Secretary: Karyn Gebert, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee May 7th, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:03 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles, Mike Bub, Gene Knoll. Members Absent: N/A Other Attendees: Jim Metz, Jake Walcisak, Jordan Lutz, Karyn Geber t, Larry Brandl , Brian Wilson-Star News, Jeff Sorenson WI-DNR (conference call). Approve Minu tes: Brooks moved to a pprove t he minutes of the April 2 nd, 2021 meeting; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Brooks moved to approve the agenda of 16 items; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Walcisak presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Bub moved to app rove the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Contract Extension Timber Sales #665: Lutz presented a one (1) year extension request from Steve Dassow for timber sale #665. He completed 4 acres this winter. This is his 1st request which will put the sale at 4-years old. Beadles mov ed to approve 1 -year request; seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Contract Extension Timber Sales #673: Lutz presented a one (1) year extension request fro m Wiitala-Vozka Logging fo r timber sale #673. They have not s tarted but sale is only 12 acres in size. This is their 1st request which will put the sale at 3-years old. Knoll moved to approve 1-year request; seconded by Bud. Motion carried. Contract Extension Timber Sales #676: Lutz presented a two (2) year extension request from Czarnezki Forest for timber sale #6 76. Sale is approximately half complete with the re mainder being mostly oak. This is h is 1 st request which will put the sale at 4-years old. Bub moved to approve 2-year request; second by Knoll. Motion carried. Proposed Change to Bid Due Date/Time and Bid Open ing Date/Ti me: Walcisak recommended to cha nge bid due time from 4:30 pm to 3:00 pm . He also recommended to change the bid opening time to 3:00 pm the da y before committee meeting. This will provide more prep time before meetings. Bub moved to approve the time changes as presented; second by Beadles. Motion carried. Proposed Change to Performance Bond Term Requirement: Walcisak presented a change to extend the performance bond term 6 months beyond the contract term to cover potential lapse. Knoll moved to approve the term extension as presented; second by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Timber Sales f or Advertisement: Lutz presented the spring timber sale bids. There are three (3) sales with a total minimum bid value of $124,061.50 on 248 acres. • Tract 1-21 (Little Rib Mountain): 84 Acres, Minimum $48,362.00. • Tract 2-21 (Funky Chevron): 116 Acres, Minimum $51,184.50 • Tract 3-21 (Mezich): 48 Acres, Minimum $24,515.00 Knoll moved to approve advertisement of t he spring timber sales as presented; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. Approve Site Pre paration Bids: Lutz presented that there are no bids at this time. Lutz and Walcisak are considering alternative site preparation options. Forest Carbon Offsets – Potential Project: Walcisak handed out a four -page Wisconsin DNR publication “Carbon in Wisconsin Forest s”. Wood fiber markets have been greatly affe cted by COVID-19 and the closure of local mills. This has encouraged the Forestry Department to pursue alternative sources of susta inable forest revenue. Currently four County Forests are exploring a carbon project. Bayfield County has entered all their productive acres into a 40-year contract on the American Carbon Registry with the assistance of project developer Blue Source. Washburn County has received board approval to proceed while Iron and Price Count y will be presenting their projects to County Board soon. Carbon should be viewed as another for est product that can be produc ed and sold s ustainably like all other resources from the Taylor County Forest. County Forests are desirable as land bases for a carbon project due to the following. • Third party certified by SFI and FSC. o Forest certification is a requirement of carbon projects. o This is a very limited number of acres nationally. • Harvest is well below growth. • Publicly owned. • Great fundamentals for carbon purchasers. The Forestry Department has had one Zoom meeting with Blue Source to discuss the validity of a potential carbon project. T he Forestry Com mittee would like a presentation from Bayfield County at a future meeting. Walcisak wi ll work with Jason Bo dine, Bayfield County For est Administrator, to make that happen. Accomplishment Updates: • CDAC meeting May 5 th. Final recommendation to maintain harvest quota on public land at 300 and increase private land harvest quota from 2,500 in 2020 to 2,800 in 2021. • Ayres contract non -compliance. Zenner requested Corp Counsel Ruthan n Koch contact Ayres Engin eering re garding this is sue. Zenner and Walcisak m et with Koch twi ce to discuss the potential outcome. T aylor County and Ayres President Bruce Ommen exchanged thoughts on how to resolve this pro blem. A clear resolution was not identified. Knoll recommend leaving this issue open a nd verify t hat Ayres has n otified their insurance company. Zenner agreed and will contact Koch for follow up. • Zenner informed the Committee about a complaint from the public. It was received by Jim Metz. The complaint was based on perceived over harvesting of trees on the County Forest. Zenner and Beadles took about a 2-hour drive around the County Forest. Beadles was able to give his perspective as a life -long logger. He thought a couple things could have changed but o ver the last 20 years good job, be autiful northern hardwood, pine, young forest habitat and good growth. Zenner was satisfied on w hat he had s een. Loggers are doing an excellent job. In addition, County Forestry staff discussed further details about sustainable forest management, DNR oversig ht, and third-party international certification audits, all which occur on a r egular basis . The Committee agreed the County Forest is being managed appropriately , following best management practices, and fol lowing proper silviculture guidelines based in res earch and s cience. Sorenson did m ention that Wal cisak and Lutz are by the book a nd is happy to be working with them. • DNR County Forest Liaison Report: Jeff Sorenson reported on WI -DNR forestry work being conducted on the County Forest. Fire season is busy, had a fi re each of the last 2 days. They do have 100 hours left of time standards to be completed prior to the end to the state fiscal year (last state pay period June 19th, 2021). Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday June 4th, 2021 at 10:00am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Bud moved to adjourn the meeti ng; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:42 am. Secretary: Karyn Gebert, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee April 2nd, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles. Members Absent: Excused – Mike Bub and Gene Knoll. Other Attendees: Jim Metz, Jake Walcisak, Jordan Lutz, Larry Brandl, Brian Wilson-Star News, Jeff Sorenson WI-DNR (conference call). Approve Minut es: Brooks moved to a pprove t he minutes of the March 5th, 2021 meeting; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Brooks moved to approve the agenda of 16 items; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Walcisak presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Beadles moved to app rove the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. Timber Sales Updates: Lutz gave an update on timber sales. ▪ Sale #66 5 was able to finish cutting and skidding 4 acres of tamarack/black spruce before break-up. Plan to haul once road restrictions are off. Close-out Timber Sale #6 62: Lutz presented rev enue repo rt for sale #6 62 with Bell Timber. Hauling has been completed. No road work is necessary. Final payment is pending. Total timber sale re venue w as $87,158.33. Brooks moved to close o ut t imber sal e #6 62 pending f inal payment; second by Beadles. Motion carried. Close-out Timber Sale #687: Lutz presented revenue report for sale #687 with Czarnezki Forest Products. This was an 8-acre direct sale of highly inaccessible timber which was made possible with the Forestry Departments skid steer and mulching head. No road work is necessary and final payment has be en r eceived. Tot al timber sale re venue w as $2,979.00. Brooks moved to close out timber sale #687; second by Beadles. Motion carried. Close-out Timber Sale #690: Lutz presented revenue report for sale #690 with Gumz Logging. A small amount of gravel road clean-up is required, and final payment has been received. Total timber sale revenue was $107,671.76. Brooks moved to close out timber sale #690 pending road clean-up: second by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Site Preparation Bid Advertisement: Lutz presented a bid packet for the mechanical and chemical site preparation of a 45-acre white spruce timber sale area which will be replanted in 2022. This bid packet will be adverti sed w ith the Wisconsin DNR North ern Highlands American Legion State Forest site pr eparation bid packets to solicit more interest. Bids are due back by May 6th. Brooks moved to approve the site preparation bid advertisement as presented; second by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Gr avel Bids: Walcisak presented the bid results of the 2021 County For est Gravel Project. Five bidders participated. Lowest bid was Wisco Materials. However, due to past poor performance and contract non-compliance the Committee chose to not award the c ontract to Wisco Materials. Brooks moved to award the contract to the next lowest bidder, Randy Thu ms Trucking and Excavating; second by Beadles. Motion carried. Forestry Department Reve nues: Brandl an d Ze nner presented information regarding the Forestry Department miscellaneous prior year surplus account. This ac count was ca pped at double the approve d operating budget in April 2018 by recommendation of Brandl. Th e new recommendation presented by Brandl and Zenner is to maintain the miscellaneous prior ye ar surplus account at a level equal to the current operati ng budget. Discussion was also had which indicated $50,000 should be transferred from this account to the dam maintenance account prior to lowering the ca p. Moved by Brooks to transfer $50 ,000 from the miscellaneous prior year surplus account to the dam maintenance accou nt and then c ap th e miscellaneous prior year surplus account at an amount equal to the Forestry Department annual operating budget; second by Zenner. Motion carried. This change is expected to take place within the 2022 budget. Addressing Contract Non-compliance with Ayres Engineering: Corp Counsel, Ruthann Koch, provided Walcisak a draft letter which addressed contract non-compliance with the Municipal Dam Grant applications by Ayr es Engi neering on behalf of Taylor C ounty. I n both instances Ayers Engineering missed the W I-DNR deadline for submitting approvable design plans to WI- DNR. The letter by Koch addresse s both direct and indirect damages realized by Taylor County. The Forestry and Recreation Committee reviewed the letter and asked that Walcisak ha ve Koch move forward with sending this letter to Ayres Engineering. Accomplishment Updates: • County Deer Advisory Coun cil ( CDAC) meeting March 23 rd. Preliminary recommendation to m aintain harvest quota on public land at 300 and increase private land harvest quota from 2,500 to 2,800. o Public comment open April 12th – 25th. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Hunt/cdac o Final recommendations at CDAC meeting on Wednesday May 5th, 7:00 pm, Zoom. • Federal Sustainable Forest Committee (FSFC) meeting. Jake added to committee. • Timber Producers Cooperative (TPC) Request for Financi al Sup port to f und the potential purchasing of the Park Falls and Wisconsin Rapids paper mills. o They ar e developing additional i nformation which will be provi ded to the Committee at a future date for consideration. • Secretary Update: o Karyn Gebert starts Monday April 5th. • March 17th – 19th WCFA Spring Conference, Marshfield. Walcisak attended all three days. Brooks and Beadles attended on the 18th. • Maplehurst ATV route ordinance approved by DNR. • Pirus opens Monday April 5th. • Drone service provided to DNR Law Enforcement. • DNR County Forest Liaison Report: Jeff Sorenson reported on WI -DNR forestry work being conducted on the County Forest. Jeff and Jonathan are very near completing their spring timber sale and have started working on recon updates. Approximately 648 of the 773 annual time standard hours have been completed to date. Jeff is confident that while it is fire season, the rema ining 125 hours will be co mpleted prior to the Jun e 30th, 2021 deadline and end to the state fiscal year. Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday, May 7th, 2021 at 10:00am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Beadles moved to adjourn the mee ting; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 am. Secretary: Jake Walcisak, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee March 5th, 2021 1st Floor Sheriff Office Conference Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Gary Beadles, Mike Bub, Gene Knoll. Members Absent: None. Other Attend ees: Jim Met z, Rollie Thums, Lester Lewis, Jake Walcisak, Jordan L utz, Larry Brandl, Butch “Lee” Clendenning, Robert R usch, Br ian Wils on-Star News and An dria Farrand - conference call. Approve Minutes: Brooks moved to approve the minutes of the February 5th, 2021 meeting; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Brooks moved to approve the agenda of 13 items; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. Approve Bills: Walcisak presented the monthly bill spreadsheet. Bub moved to app rove the bill spreadsheet as presented; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Timber Sales Updates: Lutz gave an update on timber sales. ▪ Sale #661, Porky Aspen East (Steve Dassow): Contractor has about 9 acres remaining to be harvested. Won’t be able to finish this winter due to spring break up. ▪ Sale #66 2, Porky Pine (Bell Timber): Contractor finished harvesting today. Just hauling and payments remain. ▪ Sale #682, Homestead Road (Gumz): No change since last month ▪ Sale #687, Porky Island (Czarnezki): No change since last month. Road restrictions are expected to be posted Monday. Close-out Timber Sale #670: Lutz presented revenue report for sale #670 with Tony Smugala Logging. Hauling has been completed. No road work is necess ary. Final payment is pending . Total timber sale revenue was $106,047.26. Bub moved to close o ut timber sale #6 70 pending final payment; second by Beadles. Motion carried. Close-out Timber Sale #680: Lutz presented revenue report for sale #680 with Bell Timber. No road work is necessary and final pa yment has be en received. Total timber sale re venue w as $59,084.09. Brooks moved to close out timber sale #680; second by Knoll. Motion carried. Potential Forestry Office and Shop Relocation to Rib Lake: Walcisak distributed information to the Committee whether to continue gathering information on a potential relocation of the Forestry Department office and shop to Rib Lake. Formal s upport for an office/shop relocation to Ri b La ke has been prov ided by the following municipalities, clubs, associations, and individuals. Accounting for over 70 unique individuals. a. Town of Rib Lake (contains 94% of the County Forest) b. Town of Westboro (contains 6% of the County Forest) c. (15) Local logging contractors, representing over 62% of all timber sale revenue from 2015-2021 d. Wisconsin County Forest Association (WCFA) 30 member counties e. Great Lakes Timber Profes sionals A ssociation (GLTPA) Over 1,000 forestry professionals f. Snowmobile Grooming Association (9 member clubs) g. Taylor Made ATV Club h. Rib Lake Ski and Snowshoe Club i. Local DNR Conservation Officer j. Ice Age Trail Alliance, High Point Chapter k. Rib Lake Historical Society l. Taylor County Horse Club All but one group contacted offered support for this proposal, they had a neutral opinion. Many individuals are active in more than one stakeholder group. However, each unique individual was counted only once. Walcisak believes thi s large show of support (over 70 individuals) from the community is significant and should be given strong consideration. Walcisak then review ed the same material he di stributed to the committee last month. This included a questionnaire to all other count y forest p rograms, cost savings, increase d revenue, increased productivity, tracking of walk-in traffic to the courthouse office, and most importantly, service benefits to the community. This material is avai lable for revie w within the February 5 th, 2021 Forestry Committee minutes or at the Forestry Department office. Walcisak strongly encourag ed the committee to direct the Forestry Department to continu e gathering information and public/stakeholder input. Bub indicated his supp ort for this re quest. He wishes there was be tter cooperation with the Highway Committee, and he sees this as a mis sed opportunity. B ub also doe s not see the benefit of remaining in the courthou se. Knoll stated that the county hierarchy of committe es supervising departments does n ot lend it self for a move out of the courthouse. Larry Brandl stated that he anticipates budget issues this fall. Citing reduced revenue from several sources. He stated that 2021 would not be a good time for another capital expense. Lewis explained that the County has increas ed the cost of insurance ben efits to employees in the past. He also questioned the long-term maintenance costs of this project. Walcisak explained that he worked closely with Buildings, Grounds and Parks Director Joe S vejda to determine the m aintenance costs represented in the proposal. Beadles articulated his support for this project and preferred that it would have been inco rporated wi th the new highway shop build. Beadles stated that groundbreaking for the new Rib Lake highway shop hasn’t occurred yet and it may not be too late for a co operative project. He is concerned about sustaining timber revenue and keeping loggers working since the closure of the Wisconsin Rapids paper mill. Brooks voiced support for the project but thought that it would be wise to hold off due to the Wisconsin Rapids paper mill closure and other County Forest programs not being able to sell a ll timber sales advertised in 2020. Taylor County sold all timber sales advertised in 202 0. Zenner stated that he doesn’t see the cost savings as a significant benefit and feels the Forestry Department should remain in the courthouse. Bub mo ved to ta ble t he proposa l until Jun e 2022; seconded by Kno ll. Motion carried, unanimous. Resolution to Define F orestry Department Reve nues: Walcisak presented the following information to the Committee. • 7 of 30 county forest programs operate similar to Taylor County. o General misc. surplus or carry-over account generated from timber revenue. • Timber is a highly variable revenue source for Taylor County. o -53% to + 27%, 2015-2020 average timber revenue. • Forestry Committ ee capped thi s account at 2x annual ope rating expenses in April 2018. This was a recommen dation by Finance Director Larry Brandl. All re venue exceeding this annual cap is moved into the County General fund during year -end carryover. • This account structure b uffers the tax levy and gen eral fund reserves from highly variable timber revenue. • High variability of the timber market is expected to worsen with closure of WI Rapids paper mill. • Inaccuracies of the proposed resolution were explained by Walcisak and discussed by the Committee. The resolution was distributed to the Committee with the agenda approximately one week prior to the m eeting. Much discussion revolved around the origin of the resol ution. The resolution was drafted with signature locations for all the Forestry Committee members, but the resolution was not dr afted by an y of the Forest ry Committee members. Larry Brandl expl ained that he received a previous version of this resolution from C ounty Clerk Andria Farrand but was not aware of its original author. Brandl stated that Fa rrand requested him to review and edit the resolution. Several members from the Committee asked Brandl what the resolution was trying to solve/address. Brandl explained that employees and County Board members have come to him with complaints. He further explained that the Forestry Department is spend ing m ore money than ever before. Walcisak stated that while we are spending more than ever before we are also producing a higher revenue than ever before. Additionally, the ratio of revenue to ex penses has increased over time. Brandl then explained that th ere is a percep tion this account is “Forestry Money”. Walcisak stated that in the 8 years he has been with Taylor County he has never heard a Forestry Committee member or department staff member claim these fund s as “Forestry Money” or bel onging to the For estry Department. Walc isak e xplained that while these funds reside within the Forestry Department budget, he believes ther e is a clear understan ding by Forestry Committee members and department staff that these funds are County assets and do not belong to the Forestry De partment. An ex ample of this understa nding is th e many non- forestry pro jects which have been funded from th is ac count in the past. Walcisak shared financial information regarding this account including the following. • There was a total of $7,064 of unplanned expenses to the account 2018-2020. o Included: $798 of tire disposal from illegal trash dumping, $2,856 of reimbursable grant expenses and $790 of safety expenses required by the Department of Safety and Professional Services inspection in August 2020. • Total operation budget 2018-2020 was $484,776. o $7,064 in unplanned expenses account for 1.46% of the operating budget. • Planned exp enses from this account 2018-2020 address ed by the Forestry Comm ittee budget include: o $305,000 to the Dam Maintenance Account o $75,000 to the Road Maintenance Plan o $20,000 to Vehicle Outlay o $3,250 to ATV Outlay • Walcisak explained that the Road Maintenance P lan, Vehicle Outlay and ATV Outlay accounts were developed over the years through recommendations by Finance Director Larry Brandl. Walcisak suggested that the Roa d Maintenance P lan, Vehicle Outlay and ATV Outlay items could be bro ught to the front of the budget instead of being funded during year -end c arry-over as the y are currently. The Dam Maintenance Account is completely funded for the Miller Dam sluice gate replacement, Chelsea Lake Dam replacement and Camp 8 Dam replacement , assuming the C ounty is successful in its 2022 application t o the Wisconsi n DNR Municipal Dam Grant Program for Chelsea and Camp 8 projects. No additional funds would be needed if successful. Walcisak believes this is a unique situation because the Forestry Department operation budget is funded by timber r evenue. Timber commodities are a high ly volatile asset with a wide-ranging annual revenue stream. Members of the Forestry Committee expressed concern f or this seemingly anonymous resolution presented to them on their own behalf. The Committee would like to know who the author was so that they can work with them to address this person(s) concerns. Bub moved to reject the Resolution to D efine Forestry Depa rtment Re venues; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried, unanimous. Zenner and Brand l will work together to develop a plan. This plan may include a modified resolution, Forestry Committee budget policy to the Forest Administrator, etc. Accomplishment Updates: • Timber Producers Cooperative (TPC) Request for Financial Support to fund the potential purchasing of the Park Falls and Wisconsin Rapids paper mills. o 2015-2020 we have shipped approximately $16,000 annually to Verso-WI Rapids. This is 5.3% of total revenue annually. o Committee reviewed the request from TPC. The Committee required answer s to expense allocation and earnings potential. The Committee will address this as an agenda item next meeting. • Secretary Update: o Walcisak and Lutz have been tracking dut ies since December 21 st, 11 weeks. Averaging 7.05 hours/week. o Position has been accepted. First day is Monday April 5th. • County Snowmobile Council met last night, Thursday March 4th. o Trails west of STH 73 and south of County Trail M closed Thursday at 8:00 am. All other trails will close Sunday at 8:00 am. o Price-Taylor Connector Trail Grand Opening media event has been cancelled due to poor conditions. • Miller Dam Sluice Gate Project. o 6 Bids received and opened 2:00 pm March 2nd. o Nordic Group $83,000. $43,000 under budget for the items bid. • March 18th – 19th WCFA Spring Conference, Marshfield. o Walcisak will be att ending in per son and Lutz wil l be atten ding virtually. Committee members have been invited and are encouraged to attend. • February 12th WCFA Board of Directors meeting. o Walcisak and Brooks attended virtually. Brooks provided an update. • DNR County Forest Liaison Report: Jeff is at a training in Eagle River. Near completion of spring timber sale. Only mapping and p aperwork remains. J onathan will be work ing on cruising timber for Recon updates. Je ff hopes to put in a lot of hours, on his fall County Forest sale, the last two weeks of March before fire season starts. Additional Items: No additional items. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday, April 2nd, 2021 at 10:00am in the County Board Room, third floor. Adjournment: With no further business, Knoll moved to adjourn the meeti ng; Seconded by Beadles. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:29 am. Secretary: Jake Walcisak, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Joint Zoning & Forestry Committees February 2, 2021 County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: Chairman Lester Lewis called the meeting to order at 8:15 AM. Members Present: Lester Lewis, Jim Gebauer, Myron Brooks, Chuck Zenner, Mike Bub, Gene Knoll Members Absent: Gary Beadles Other Attendees: Jim Metz, Kyle Noonan, Jake Walcisak Approve Agenda: Zenner moved to approve the agenda with 5 items; Seconded by Gebauer. Motion carried. Administrative Support po sition department authorizations: The departmental authorization change for the administrative support position was discussed. Bub opposed the proposed change with 25% allocated to the Forestry Department. He felt it would be difficult to find a 25% employee in the future. Knoll disagreed and felt nothing would change for time or money. At a prior Personnel meeting, Forestry Dept. agreed with this change an d felt h e used support staff approx. 8-9 hours/week. Lewis moved to approve increasing the Zoning Department authorizations from 2.5 to 3 .0 positions and decreasing the Forestry & Recreation Department from 2.5 to 2.0 positions with the Administrative Support position supervised by the Zoning Administrator w ith the i ndividual doing work for the Zoning Departme nt and any forestry an d recreation work will be direct billed to the Fore stry & Recreation Departme nt, seconded by Zenner. Bub voting no. Motion carried. Any Other Business: None Adjournment: With no further business, Knoll moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:24 AM. Secretary: Kyle Noonan Forestry & Recreation Committee February 2nd, 2021 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m. by Charles Zenner. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Myron Brooks, Mike Bub and Gene Knoll. Members Absent: Excused – Gary Beadles. Other Attendees: Jake Walcisak, Jordan Lutz, Jim Metz, Kat hy Lemke and Brian Wilson (Star News). Approve Minut es: Bub moved to a pprove the minutes of the January 8th , 202 1 meeting; Seconded by Knoll. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Brooks moved to approve the agenda of 6 items; Seconded by Bub. Motion carried. Resolution Approving Taylor County Forestry Comp rehensive Land Use Plan 20 21-2035: Walcisak pr esented the amended resolution as requested by the Wi sconsin D epartment of Natural Resources. Bub moved to approve the re solution as presented a nd send onto County Board; Second by Knoll. Motion carried. Additional Items: None Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be Friday, February 5th, 2021 at 10:00am in the 3rd Floor County Board Room. Adjournment: With no further business, Knoll moved to adjourn the meet ing; Seconded by Brooks. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 am. Secretary: Jake Walcisak, Taylor County Forestry Dept. Forestry & Recreation Committee January 8, 2021 Sheriff’s Department Training Room, Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Charles Zenner called the meeting to order at 10:01 a.m. Members Present: Charles Zenner, Gene Knoll, Myron Brooks, Michael Bub, Gary Beadles Members Absent: none Other Attendees: Linda Daniels, Jim Metz, Larry Brandl, Jake Walcisak Other Attendees by video: Brian Wilson, Star News Approve Minutes. A motion was made by Beadles, seconded by Knoll, to approve the minutes of the December 4, 2020, Forestry & Recreation Committee meeting. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Approve Agenda. A motion was made by Brooks, seconded by Bub, to approve the agenda with thirteen items. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Approve Bills. Jake Walcisak, Forestry & Recreation Administrator, presented and explained the monthly bill spreadsheet. A motion was made by Bub, seconded by Beadles, to approve the Forestry & Recreati on Department bills as p resented. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Timber Sales Update. Mr. Walcisak gave an update on timber sales. [provided by Lutz] • Sale #65 7 (Olah Lane, Wojcik ): Hauling completed. Job was closed out in No vember pending final hauling. • Sale #661 (Porky Asp en East, Steve Das sow): Partially harvested in winter of 2020. Moved back into sale at end of December. P lans to stay there until finished. Approximately 40% remains. • Sale #662 (Porky Pine, Bell Timber): Started harvesting end of December. Plans to finish this winter. • Sale #670 (Trout Aspen East, Smugala): Cut about 60% last winter. Moved out due to soft ground. Moved back in at the end of December. Less than 30 acres remains. Plans to stay until finished. • Sale # 680 ( Trout Sp ruce, Bell Timber): Started harvesting on De cember 7. Completed harvesting and skidding. Only one load of hauling remains. No road work necessary. Completed sale in one month. 45-acre spruce clear cut. Sold value of $101,459.50. First invoice due on January 29, 2021. • Sale #68 2 ( Homestead Road, Gumz): Started harvesting in aspen unit at end of December. • Sale #684 ( Emil’s Web, Czarnezki): H arvesting and skidding complete. Final billing pending one mill slip. Road work completed. • Sale #69 0 ( Sasquatch, Gumz): Moved to adjacent sale, #682, approx imately 25% remaining. • Sale #691 (Camp 8 Aspen, Wilson Forestry): Passed reference checks for award of tract 5- 20. Walcisak stated five sales are using same thre e roads [Fawn, C amp 8 and Trout] which are also snowmobile trails. Taylor County Forestry dep artment is working on a trail rerout e for saf ety reasons. Walcisak stated that Taylor Co unty Forestry has been very busy but had a great year. Cold temps and little snow, dry summer, great road infrastructure, diversity in sales offered over time [aspen, NH, pine, spruce ]. Mixed bag of co mments from contractors about ma rket conditions. This agenda item was for informational purposes only, no action was taken by the committee. Close Out Timber Sales #655 and #689 Pending Final Payment. On Timber Sale #655 [Steve Dassow], this was the oldest sale on the books [12/31/2017]. Total revenue was $89,668.04, with a 54% volume overrun and 47% value overrun and excellent utilization. A motion was made by Beadles, seconded by Knoll, to close Timber Sale #655 pend ing final payment. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. On Timber Sale #689 [C zarnezki Forest Prod ucts, LLC] . This is a spring of 2020 sale. Total revenue was $99,886.88, with a 13% volume underrun and 18% value underrun. Large diameter logs did not cut out as cruised and this was the first sale completed using new cruising software. A motion was made by Brooks, seconded by Beadles, to close Timber Sale #689 pending final payment. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Potential Land Acqui sition – Trail Farm . Walcisak expla ined to t he committee statistics regarding the potent ial land acquisition of Trail Farm. The 2020 taxes were $454.09, County portion being $9 0.82 and T own portion being $363.27. The pos t-purchase revenue would be $6,256.03 and Walcisak explained the breakdown. There are 230 acres for sale, contained within county forest blocking boundary and is listed as a priority acquisition in the 15-year plan. It has several small ponds and one str eam, well-built road network that already connects to County forest roads, increasing access to county forest blocking. It is a high value property in regard to recreation, wildlife and timber pr oductions with 1 31 acres n orthern har dwood, 31 acr es of forested w etlands, e ight acres of aspe n and red pine and 53 acres that are non-productive. Timber harvest immediately availabl e would be 63 acres northern hardwood, 20 acres SH, T , 8 acres red pine totaling 91 acres at $51,500.00. The asking price is $499,999.00 with the Forestry Department assessment of $303,000.00 . Knowles -Nelson fu nds are plentiful and available. Walcisak had previewed the project with the DNR and funding is likely. The land acq uisition fund ba lance of $ 301,000.00 with approxim ately $117, 000.00 to be de posited from timbe r revenue at end of year 2020 for a total of $418,000.00. It was moved by Bub, seconded by Brooks, to authorize Walcisak to negotiate a price for the land acquis ition of Trail F arm. The price negotiated would c ome back to the Forestry Department and then the County Board for approvals. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Administrative Support Position . Walcisak and Supervisor Zenn er explained the action that was approved by the Personnel Committee at a meeting held on December 18, 2020, regarding the Administrative Support posi tion. At that meeting, the decision was made to have the position be 100% under the Zoning Department and Forestry may utilize the position by paying their hourly rate back to Zoning, which will reduce the Forestry expe nse budget because they will be paying less than the 50% Forestry paid in the past. This arrangement would have a six- month trial basis. Walcisak expressed his concerns regarding employee retention and the history of the p osition and how it worked between the two department s. No action was taken by the committee on this agenda item. Department Safety Policy Approvals. Walcisak distributed and explained the policies created that were specific to the Forestry & Recreation Department the Lockout/Tagout Program Policy and Lockout/Tagout Inve ntory form. A motion was made by Knoll, seconded by Beadles, to approve the Lockout/Tagout Program Policy and Lockout/Tagout Inventory form, as presented. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Walcisak explaine d the Confined Space Entry Program P olicy, stating that zero entry will be allowed. Chel sea Lake Dam and Perch Pond contain fall hazards into a confined space an d operation of t hese struc tures will not be allowe d until pro per t raining is received and administrative controls are implemented/ installed. The training will be offered through Nicol et College and is approximately ten hours and costs $195.00 per student. A motion was mad e by Bub, seconded by Knoll, to approve the Confined Space Entry Program Policy, as presented, and training costs at $195.00 per person for Walcisak and Lutz . A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. After the training is complete, the staff will come back to th e Forestry & Recreation Committee with recommendations. Accomplishment Updates. • The Highway Department has been approved for the requested variance and setback on the Rib Lake shop location. Closing on the land purchase is J anuary 15, 2020. Larry Brandl, Finan ce Director, requested t o see the finan cial paperwork rel ating to the possible move of the Fo restry & Recreation Department to the Rib Lake Highwa y Shop location. Walcisak will meet with Brandl. Walcisak stated that his department documented walk-ins from January to Ap ril of 2020 with an average of 1.3 visitors per week. Walcisak would bring info rmation back to the committee regarding the possible move to the Rib Lake location. • Taylor County Snowmobile Council met on Thursday, January 7, 2021. • Public comment period ope n January 3 to 13, 2021, f or County Deer Adv isory Council [CDAC] preliminary population o bjective recommendations. He also stated th at there was a website to go on to complete a survey regarding these reco mmendations on population. • The next CDAC meeting is January 21, 2021, which is a virtual meeting where population objectives for the next t hree years will be discussed . Preliminary m eeting in December was to increase the deer population. • The Price-Taylor Connector trail is ready t o open. Th ere is dozer work next summer to complete. Price County is nearing completion and should be done before the January 31, 2021, deadline. • Received grant payment for Mezich land acquisition in the amount of $31,433.31. • Ordered 37,000 see dlings for trees for the 2022 spri ng planting in t he amount of $8,663.10. Thi s includes sourcing and purchasing o f seed, s owing, growing, lifting and boxing of the se edlings, delivery to cold storage, storing over winter, thawing in the spring and then delivery to the field. • An Aerator was installed at Miller Dam to keep ice off the gates. • The WCFA BOD meeting is scheduled on February 12, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. in Merrill. DNR County Forest Liaison Report. • The DNR has completed approximately 73% of their time standards commitment to date. Additional Items needed to be presented to t he committee [no action to be taken at this time]. No additional items were given. Adjournment. A motion was made by Bub, seconded by Beadles, to adjourn at 11:43 a.m. The next meeting of the Forestry & Recreation Committee will be February 5, 2021. Secretary: Linda Daniels, acting secretary