Brevard Soil and Water Conservation District

Brevard Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors
Business Meeting Minutes

The Brevard Soil and Water Conservation District met in a regular public session on Wednesday, February 9, 2023, at 4:00 p.m., in the Lecture Room of the UF/IFAS Extension Brevard Co., at 3695 Lake Drive, Cocoa, FL.

Chairman Bud Crisafulli noted there was a quorum and called the meeting to order at 4:03 p.m.

Board members present:
Bud Crisafulli, Chair
Jim Fletcher, Supervisor
Brian Fleming, Supervisor
Staff members present:
Beth Shephard, Brevard County Extension Director
Joe Walter, UF IFAS Ag Agent
Derrick Wyle, USDA NRCS, District Conservationist
Andy Irizarry, USDA NRCS

Guests present: Pete Deal, Local Producer
Chelsea Partridge, Secretary, Former Supervisor via ZOOM
Billy Kempfer, Local Producer
Chris McMaster, Local Producer
Presented Documents.
* Written Minutes for October 2022
* Written Minutes for January 2023
* Letter of non-compliance for State of Florida
Reported for Public Records.
* Appointment of two Board members to fill vacancies
a. Qualifications were presented by each: Billy Kempfer, Pete Deal, and Chris McMaster.
b. Jim Fletcher nominated Bill Kempfer seconded by Brian Fleming, no other nominations for this seat for District 5, Billy Kempfer was appointed by the three members of the Board.
c. Billie Kempfer nominated Chris McMaster seconded by Jim Fletcher, no other nominations for this seat for District 4, Chris McMaster was appointed by the four members of the Board.
d. Bud Crisafulli asked Chelsea Partridge if she would consider representing the Board as Public Relations Representative. Chelsea’s asked that be postponed until the March meeting.
* Election of Officers
a. Jim Fletcher nominated Bud Crisafulli for Chairman, no other nominations, Bud Crisafulli remains Chairman.
b. Jim Fletcher nominated Brian Fleming for Vice-Chair, no other nominations, Brian Fleming becomes Vice-chair
c. Jim Fletcher nominated Billy Kempfer for Secretary, no other nominations, Billy Kempfer elected as Secretary.
d. Jim fletcher nominated Chris McMaster for Treasurer, no other nominations, Chris McMaster is the new Treasurer.
Guest Presentations.
* None
Review and Approval of the Current Treasurer’s Report.

* No new report, the board’s former treasurer, Jonathan Schuman, provided the treasurer’s report for the previous month. The balance was $46,695.30.
* Jonathan Schuman volunteered to perform an Annual Financial Report (AFR) for the 2021/2022 year as his final act as treasurer during January’s meeting but unable to attend February’s meeting.

Review and Approval of Minutes for the prior Board of Supervisors meeting.

* Chelsea Partridge, former secretary, as requested by Bud Crisafulli presented minutes from the October and January meetings. Motion to approve both sets of minutes by Jim Fletcher, seconded by Brian Fleming. Motion carried.

Staff Update

* Beth Shephard, County Extension Director, gave an update on Brevard County’s provided staff to the Board. No staff has been hired but the proposed job description was presented, and comment requested.
* Derrick Wyle, USDA NRCS, District Conservationist, presented a report on the Equip program, and the Hurricane relief programs. District 3 has $3 million available.

Old BSWCD Meeting Business

* Staff received notice that AFCD dues were outstanding, despite former treasurer Jonathan Schuman having a receipt for it. Jonathan to contact AFCD and provide the receipt, dated March 26, 2022. Confirmation by AFCD that the AFCD dues were made. There may have been some confusion as to what was delinquent, it is the Annual Financial Report (AFR) that was missing. Staff will manage.
* Rent Check for the Canaveral Cattle Lease was received and is being held at the Extension office until the new treasurer has the books and signature card.
* Discussion about the agreement for Canaveral Cattle Lease was discussed. There was discussion about the Lease being renegotiated. This discussion resulted in a motion by Billy Kempfer, seconded by Chris McMaster, for Jim Fletcher to contact the SJWMD for clarification and report back at the March meeting, motion passed.

New BSWCD Meeting Business

* Discussion on inviting FDACS representative to present at the March meeting.
* It was suggested that NRCS program notices be posted on the BSWCD website
* Discussion on funding sources for BSWCD projects and the possibility of leveraging funds.
* Discussion of a short term and long plan for the BSWCD

With consensus of the Board, the Chairman then adjourned the meeting at 6:00 PM.

Prepared for board review and approval by,

Joe Walter
Agriculture Agent