Highlands Soil and Water Conservation District
4505 George Blvd.
Sebring, FL 33875-5837
Board of Supervisors

Board Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, January 3, 2023 – 3:00 p.m.
HSWCD Conference Room- Bert Harris Agriculture Center

Oaths of Office – Clerk of Court Jerome Kaszubowski
Seat # 1 Supervisor – Robert Douglas Deen
Seat # 2 Supervisor – George Stephen Smith
Seat # 3 Supervisor – Thomas James Wohl
Seat # 4 Supervisor – John H. Causey, DVM
Seat # 5 Supervisor – Sara Lynn Sebring

I. Call To Order, Welcome & Introductions – Chairman Causey

II. Approval of Agenda – Chairman Causey

III. Election of Officers – Supervisors

III. Approval of Meeting Minutes
a. Board of Supervisors Meeting Minutes – December 20, 2022

IV. Financial Activity
a. No Report – due to early meeting date

V. Agency Partner Updates
a. FDACS – S. Bishop
b. MIL – S. Bishop & D. Pitts
c. NRCS Report – C. Torres
d. HCBCC – Scott Kirouac

VI. Old Business
None

VII. New Business
a. Corrected Meeting Schedule for Year 2023 – S. Bishop

VIII. Executive Director’s Report

IX. Citizens Not on the Agenda

X. Supervisor Comments

Next Board Meeting – Tuesday, February 21, 2022 – 3:00 p.m

**Citizens Not on the Agenda requesting to speak will be limited to 3 minutes unless additional time is allotted by the Chairman. The Chairman reserves the right to remove anyone from the meeting who is unruly or displays disruptive behavior.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING MINUTES
MEETING DATE: 1/3/2023

Meeting Location: HSWCD Conf. Room – Bert Harris Center
FINAL – Approved 2/21/2023
Recorded by: Susie Bishop

MEETING SCHEDULED START: 3:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: @ 3:13 P.M.
PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT READ BY CHAIRMAN

I. Welcome & Introductions
Dr. John Causey Chairman Highlands Soil & Water Conservation District
Steve Smith Vice-Chair Highlands Soil & Water Conservation District
Doug Deen Sec./Treas. Highlands Soil & Water Conservation District
Pam Fentress Supervisor Highlands Soil & Water Conservation District
T.J. Wohl Supervisor Highlands Soil & Water Conservation District
Sara Sebring Incoming Supervisor
Susie Bishop Ex. Director Highlands Soil & Water Conservation District
Kayla Nickerson BMP Tech. Highlands Soil & Water Conservation District
Staci Deen Guest
Jerome Kaszubowski Highlands Co. Clerk of The Courts

II. Approval of Agenda 
Motion to approve agenda as presented (Smith/Wohl) Unanimous Approval.

III. Election of Officers 
Smith nominated J. Causey to serve as Chairman with second by Wohl. Smith amended his motion to nominate officers for year 2022 remain in same positions as officers for year 2023. Wohl made second to amended motion. Board Chairman is J. Causey, DVM, Vice-Chair is S. Smith, and Secretary/Treasurer is D. Deen. Unanimous approval.

IV. Approval of Meeting Minutes December 20, 2022 
Motion made to approve the minutes as presented (Smith/Wohll). Unanimous Approval.

V. Financial Activity
a. Overview & Approval of Financial Reports- December 2022 – Due to timing of January meeting no financial reports were presented. No Action

VI. Agency Partner Updates
a. FDACS – Bishop reported Ag Commissioner Wilton Simpson was sworn in this morning. New leadership for OAWP has not been named. Multiple vacant positions with FDACS-OAWP and HSWCD were discussed. No Action
b. MIL –Bishop reported MIL Evaluations are above required amount. The MIL Technician position remains vacant with no applicants. MIL Manager Pitts will be moving to Texas in 2-3 months. No Action.
c. NRCS – Torres gave updates on Emergency Funding for Hurricane Ian damages, reminded that all producers need to keep their owner information current with USDA-FSA office in Okeechobee. Applications are being accepted for NRCS programs. No Action.
d. HCBCC – Kirouac reported County has several open positions. County is conducting drainage studies and clean up from Hurricane Ian is still being completed. No Action.

VII. Old Business
NONE

VIII. New Business
a. Corrected Meeting Schedule for Year 2023– Corrected 2023 Board Meeting Schedule was distributed. No Action.

IX. Executive Director’s Report
Items presented:
-Updated Board of Supervisors Information distributed.
-Follow-up on Lake June Floating Island Project – HSWCD is in no way connected to the project other than the County applying the $25,000 HSWCD contributed to County Natural Resource Dept. to this project.
-Bishop gave dates of State AFCD Annual Meeting, Feb. 6-8 2023 in Gainesville. NRCS will offer funding for Supervisors to attend.
-Bishop will meet with AFCD Board member next week to discuss options for future of SWCDs statewide.
-Bishop & possibly Nickerson will be presenting the Local Working Group meeting priority items to the USDA-NRCS State Technical Committee on Jan. 18 in Gainesville.
-CD Investment Broker, Tim Baker, will be attending the February 21, 2023 meeting.
-Annual Report financials were clarified and distributed.

IX. Citizens Not on the Agenda – None

X. Supervisor Comments
None

Meeting Adjourned at 3:58 p.m.