MINUTES 04-18-2011
New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District (NHSWCD)
Board Meeting held at Wilmington, NC
Meeting Number 15_ Date: _April 18, 2011
Supervisors Present: Others Present:
Steve Skavroneck Dru Harrison, Interim Director _____
Dave Thomas Amy Long, Education Coordinator _____
Bill Hart __ Jane Wood, NCDENR___________________
Nancy Pritchett______________________
Donna Moffitt_______________________
Was this meeting held during a meal: No _
Mr. Thomas called the meeting to order at 2:43 pm.
Mr. Skavroneck added ‘staff evaluations’ under Staff/Supervisor Reports. Ms. Moffitt moved to
accept the agenda as amended. Mr. Thomas seconded the motion; motion passed
unanimously.
Mr. Skavroneck and Ms. Moffitt submitted corrections to the March 28, 2011 regular Board
Meeting minutes ahead of time. Ms. Pritchett fixed “correction” on first page. Ms. Moffitt asked
for rewording in new business paragraph regarding Brunswick County Board of Commissioners.
Ms. Pritchett asked for edits in New Business, S229 section. Mr. Hart moved to accept the
minutes as amended. Mr. Skavroneck seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously.
Financial Report
Ms. Harrison reported:
A. MONTHLY RECONCILIATION: Area 6 check has not cleared yet. Ms. Harrison will follow
up with Priscilla Pierce to motivate her into clearing the check.
B. FY11 APPROVAL: Ms. Harrison made the corrections and adjustments that were
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requested in the April 14 budget meeting. Mr. Hart wants the budget further broken down
into ‘personnel, travel, capital, and operating’ lines. Mr. Skavroneck moved to accept the
amended FY11 budget. Ms. Moffitt seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously.
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C. FY12: Ms. Harrison handed copies out at the April 14 budget meeting. She pointed out
that there have been no salary increases since 2008 and 2009 for the two staff positions. It
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was agreed that another budget work session would be held on May 16 at 1:30pm prior
to the regularly scheduled board meeting. Ms. Harrison will send revised budget (including
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FY10, FY11 and proposed FY12) by May 9. District is required to have a public budget
review 10 days prior to adopting the FY12 budget (which needs to be voted on in June).
Supervisor & Staff Reports
A. WEB & FACEBOOK: Ms. Long reported that web edits and updates continue to be made
and she has not tried to create the Facebook page yet. Work will continue.
B. OPERATION MEDICINE CABINET: table for June meeting. Mr. Hart will arrange for
speaker to be here in June meeting.
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C. INTERNS: Ms. Harrison has hired one non-traditional student from UNCW. He’s in the
geography department. She is interviewing a second student next week. Staff uses interns
for summer education presentations.
D. STAFF EVALUATIONS: Mr. Skavroneck added this item to the agenda. He wanted to
know if here are job descriptions for the two staff positions and if annual performance
reviews were performed. Ms. Harrison will forward him the job descriptions and informed
him that Supervisors have never conducted evaluations, but stated that staff is very
interested in having them done. Mr. Skavroneck and another board member will conduct
the reviews by the end of June. Ms. Harrison will send him the job descriptions, review
forms, and personnel policy manual.
Project Updates
A. Community Conservation Assistance Program (CCAP): Ms. Harrison reported that the
last best management practice (BMP) at Bradley Creek Elementary School has been
completed. All the storm-water will NOW be treated on site before reaching Hewlett’s
creek. She also reported that the NC Coastal Federation was thankful for NHSWCD
support and would make up difference in final cost of the BMP.
B. EAGLES ISLAND:
a. 319 grant: Ms. Harrison asked the Board how to proceed on the C.L.E.A.N. Water 319
proposal. This proposal is a Cape Fear River Watch (CFRW) and UNCW partnership
regarding a citizen education program, in which NHSWCD has been asked to partner and
help write the proposal, but cannot receive any of the funds. She was advised to draft an
email stating that the District enjoys partnering with the groups, but is not sure if this is in
the best interest of the organization to become involved. Ms. Harrison will send draft email
to Mrs Messrs. Skavroneck and Thomas for input on Wednesday. She meets with Dawn
York at CFRW on Thursday.
b. Fish America Foundation: Ms. Long reported on a grant opportunity that she found and
has discussed with her husband, Zac Long, ecology professor at UNCW. A description of
proposed project and the expectations of each entity would be needed as soon as
possible; deadline for grant receipt of the proposal is May 16, 2011. Ms. Pritchett moved to
authorize staff to move forward with investigation and development of Fish America
Foundation – NOAA grant proposal. Mr. Hart seconded; motion passed unanimously.
C. Education updates: Ms. Long gave the education report, highlighting staff activities from
February to April.
Partner Reports
A. NCASWCD Area 6 Division Report – report sent out over email and in folder.
B. NRCS REPORT - Jane Wood reported that there was nothing happening in New Hanover
County at the moment.
Old Business
A. S229. Ms. Harrison reported that Lumina News called and interviewed her about the
Senate proposed budget cuts and move to the Department of Agriculture. She explained
to the reporter that there is no official Association position, but the concern was that CCAP
would be cut. She gave the reporter examples of BMPs that CCAP funded and a
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photographer will go out to Bradley Creek for pictures. Ms. Harrison asked if any
Supervisor would offer their email if the reporter wants a quote; Mr. Hart offered
B. Non-profit status. Ms. Harrison reported that she spoke with Jim at Friends of Airlie and
Lauren Dula and was told that the Board would need to hire one full-time person to be in
charge of fund-raising in order to gain and maintain non-profit status. Ms. Dula is willing to
talk to the Board. Mr. Skavroneck doesn’t disagree with concerns but cautioned that the
Board shouldn’t stop considering non-profit status without further investigation. Ms. Moffitt
will talk with Dick Fowler about this. Ms. Harrison will talk to Wake District about their non-
profit Friends of Wake.
New Business
Resolution – this action item is listed as a resolution on the tick list, but in the minutes it is an
email task. Mr. Hart sent an email to Rep. Carolyn Justice already (neither Harrison nor Long
were cc’d) and consensus is that he modifies that letter and sends on to the remaining three
state legislators. The other Supervisors are encouraged to send their own emails as well. Mr.
Hart is talking with Rep. Susi Hamilton tomorrow about a bill to exempt NHSWCD from fire tax
for the Eagles Island property.
Mr. Hart asked what happened with the STAN letter that was drawn up by Supervisors. Mr.
Thomas reported that it was sent to Kemp at Cape Fear River Watch only to avoid any negative
attention it might receive from Commissioners during their budget talks.
Upcoming events
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CCAP Advisory committee: Tuesday April 19 – Harrison & Hart will attend.
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State Envirothon: April 29-30 – Cedarock Park, Alamance County
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Earth Day: April 30 – Amy, Dru, Donna, Nancy, Bill
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Paw Jam: May 7 – Battleship Park - promoting fecal coliform city ordinance – Amy & Dru
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Boy Scout Merit Badge Day: May 14– CFCC North Campus – 8am to 5pm – Amy & Dru
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Greenfield Lake Day: May 22 – Amy & interns
Adjourn ~ Set Next Meeting Date
Next budget meeting: May 16, 2011, 1:30pm
Next board meeting: May 16, 2011, 2:30pm
Mr. Thomas moved to adjourn. Ms. Pritchett seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 4:54pm.
Recorded By: _________Amy Long______________________________________________
Approved By: _________Dave Thomas ___________________________________________
Please see list (on next page) of action items and assignments generated from meeting discussion:
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Action Items
New Hanover SWCD Board Meeting
April 18, 2011
1. Revise initial draft for FY 12 budget to be consistent with the FY 11 modifications we
approved today and email to supervisors by May 9 – Dru
2. Line up hospital rep to discuss Operation Medicine Cabinet for the June board meeting – Bill
3. Send performance review and procedures to Steve before next meeting – Dru
4. Find guidance manual for supervisors and email to all supervisors – Dru
5. Send draft response to CFRW re participation in 319 grant to Dave and Steve by
Wednesday – Dru
6. Send link for Fish America grant program to Supervisors by tomorrow – Amy
7. Send description of project that we would be developing a grant for with agency roles ASAP
-- Amy
8. Send copy of any grant proposal developed with University staff to all supervisors to review
ASAP – Amy
9. Contact Dick Fowler about state association thinking and support for creating nonprofit arms
for SWCDs – Donna
10. Continue to research info relating to the potential for creating a nonprofit arm and report
back at next SWCD meeting – Dru
11. Send specific questions re: creating a nonprofit to Dru so she can focus her research – all
supervisors
12. Send a slightly revised version of the email re CCAP sent to Carolyn Justice to the rest of
our state legislation – Bill and other supervisors
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