ESCAMBIA SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' MINUTES

December 17, 2014
Board Members in Attendance
Mr. Lynn Laird, Chair; Mrs. Anne Bennett, Treasurer; Mr. Jeff DeWeese, Secretary;
Mr. Jacob Gilmore, Member; Mr. Steve Jones, Member.
Attendees
Mr. Steve Barry, County Commissioner; Mr. Jeff Norville, Area Conservationist;
USDA/NRCS; Mr. Joshua McElhaney, District Conservationist, USDA/NRCS;
Mr. Ed Sorrell, ECUA; Mr. Larry Walker, ECUA; Ms. Kathy Hardin, County Forester;
Mr. Eric Kohen, Guest; Mr. Maynard Koehn, Guest; Mr. James Mininger, Guest;
Mrs. Jackie Freisinger, Guest; Mr. Richard Freisinger, Guest; Mr. Charlie Bennett, Guest;
Mr. Eddie Cooper, Escambia County NRC; Mrs. Debbie Williams, Escambia County NRC.
Call to Order
Mr. Lynn Laird called the meeting to order at 8:13am and thanked everyone for attending.
Guests were introduced.
Those present stated the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag in unison.
Mr. Eddie Cooper gave the Innovation.
Minutes of the Last Meeting
With all in favor, the November 2014 Board minutes was approved.
Acknowledgement of Public Notice
The meeting advertisement was noted.
Treasurer's Report
Mrs. Bennett gave the treasurers report. The account is in balance.
With all in favor, the Treasurers report was approved.
Public Forum
Mrs. Bennett thanked everyone for attending the Board breakfast.
Mr. Steven Barry thanked the Board for the invitation. Mr. Barry stated he has enjoyed and
appreciated the opportunity to represent District 5 as a Commissioner. Brief discussion was
held on the Escambia river log jam, and improvements to couple of road corridors.
Reports

Joshua McElhaney gave the District Conservationists Report.

Mr. McEhaney thanked everyone for attending the meeting and gave a brief update
regarding the office workload and program sign-ups. The EQIP Initiative signup deadline
is March 20, 2015.

New Business
The Board presented the Conservation of Year Award to Mr. Eric Kohen.

Old Business
Mr. Jeff DeWeese discussed the Restore Act funds and the possibility of the Board being
able to work with the County on projects and receive some funding for those projects with
the Restore money.
Mr. DeWeese stated International Paper (IP) will be conducting an internal audit and
looking how they can improve their environment protection. IP will continue to review
ways to work with partners on their mission.
With no further business coming before the Board, the Chairman called for a motion to adjourn.
Mr. DeWeese made the motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Mr. Jacob Gilmore.
The meeting adjourned at 9:04a.m.

_____________________
Mr. Jeff DeWeese, Secretary