County Lands, Agriculture and Forestry Committee
Joseph Allen			Bernie Blackmore Chairman	Eugene Dawson
Minutes
February 2, 2004
Members Present:		Bernie Blackmore, Gene Dawson and Joe Allen
Members Absent:		None.
Staff Present:		Howard Yamaguchi, Mike Meriwether and Pete Garwood
Others Present:		Russ Blasdell, Jim Ferguson, Bob Ricksgers, and Bill White
1. Meeting called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Bernie Blackmore.
2. Marcel Dijkstra
	Mr. Dijkstra was not present for the meeting.
3. Conservation District Millage
	Jim Ferguson, Mike Meriwether, Bob Ricksgers, and Bill White addressed the County Lands, Agriculture and Forestry (CLAF) Committee about the need for a county-wide millage to provide financial and program stability for the Antrim Conservation District (ACD). They indicated that at current levels of funding available from the state, from grants, and from the County, the array of the ACD’s conservation programs, and the ability of the ACD to retain qualified staff, are jeopardized. They informed CLAF that a minimal millage, less than a tenth of a mill (0.7 to 0.8 tenths of a mill), might be needed to be considered. At this point, CLAF is not being asked to make any recommendations to the Board of Commissioners (BOC) concerning the proposed ACD millage.
	Responding to questions from Joe Allen and Gene Dawson, Bob Ricksgers and Jim Ferguson noted the array of work and projects the ACD performs for the county. The list includes river restoration, soil conservation and erosion control, public access point maintenance, road crossings, county parks work and grant writing, forestry management and timber harvesting, etc. Mike Meriwether also emphasized the ACD being ideally placed to manage both parks and forestry resources for the county. Currently, the lack of a parks department infrastructure is hurting the county’s ability to maintain and manage, on a continual basis, the recreational lands of the county. Gene Dawson agreed that a millage for county parkland might be an investment for the future. Jim Ferguson added that fisheries management by the county could also be an economic draw for the area. Bob Ricksgers explained some of the details in the financial handout distributed to CLAF. Bernie Blackmore encouraged the ACD to give similar presentations to the Administration and County Services Committee, and the Finance Committee, before giving a presentation to the full BOC.
4. Parks & Recreation Forum
	Mike Meriwether briefed CLAF on the upcoming Parks & Recreation Forum. He noted that he and a DNR representative will be giving talks about county and state forest lands, respectively. Howard briefed CLAF on the aims of the forum, and the estimated cost ($650). Mike suggested to CLAF that dollars from the Forestry Fund be used to finance the forum.
	Motion by Joe Allen, seconded by Gene Dawson, to allocate up to $500 from the Forestry Fund to help defray the cost of the Parks & Recreation Forum to be held on March 12 at Camp Hayo Went Ha. Motion passed – unanimous.
	Bernie Blackmore instructed Mike Meriwether to check whether the funds could be spent without Finance Committee approval. If not, Mike was instructed to meet with the Finance Committee to obtain their approval.
5. Bouwens Property
	Howard introduced the aerial photograph of the Bouwens’ property at the southern tip of Six Mile Lake. Jim Ferguson provided some background on the property. Pete Garwood noted that he had received a call from one of the neighbors, who was concerned that Mr. Bouwens may be building something on county property. Pete noted that when Heidi Lang, Soil Erosion Officer, visited the site, she could not distinguish where Mr. Bouwens’ property ended and where the county’s began. Pete Garwood suggested to CLAF that the county hire a surveyor to perform a definitive survey of the property.
	Bernie Blackmore suggested that Charlie Koop be requested to look into the matter, and make a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners on the next steps to take. Mike Meriwether will go and take a look at the site as well.
6. Jordan River Management Area Drilling
	Howard briefed the CLAF on a letter, by the Friends of the Jordan, requesting support against the proposed oil and gas drilling operations in the management area. Pete Garwood and Bernie Blackmore discussed earlier resolutions, by the BOC, against such drilling activities.
	Motion by Gene Dawson, seconded by Joe Allen, to recommend to the Board of Commissioners that the attached resolution, against drilling in the public lands within the Jordan River Management Area, be adopted. Motion passed – unanimous.
Meeting adjourned at 10:06 a.m.