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April 14, 1999

TIME:
9:00am - Noon
Wednesday, April 14, 1999

PLACE:
Great Lakes WATER Institute
600 East Greenfield Avenue
Milwaukee
Host: Jim Lubner

AGENDA:

1. Welcome and Introductions
   Steve Seyfert, Citizen Co-Chair

2. Current Issues & Opportunities
   

3. Partnership Agreement Distribution Work Group Report
   Steve Seyfert, Ozaukee-Washington Land Trust

4. Education and Information Work Group Report
   Carolyn Johnson, UW-Extension

5. Land Protection Plan
   Bob Boucher, Friends of the Menomonee River

6. Integrated Planning
   Marsha Burzynski, Department of Natural Resources

7. Discuss Whether the Partners Will Take positions on Issues

8. Discuss Next Meeting
   Proposed time & place:

   Tuesday, June 15, 1999, 10 am to 1 pm
   Harrington Beach State Park
   531 Highway D
   Belgium
   Host: Frank Trcka

9. Public Comments

10. Tour of Great Lakes Institute
    Jim Lubner, UW-Sea Grant
    
    

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April 14, 1999

Attendance:
Kenneth Albinger-Ozaukee County Farm Bureau
Bob Boucher-Friends of the Menomonee River
Marsha Burzynski - Department of Natural Resources
Buffy Cheek - Schlitz Audubon Center
Kevin Dittmar-Wisconsin Board of Realtors & Milwaukee Builders Assoc.
Bryan Ellefson-Department of Natural Resources
David Fowler-Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Sharon Gayan - Wis. Department of Natural Resources
Andy Holschbach - Ozaukee Co. Land Conservation Department
Carolyn Johnson - U.W. Extension
Marlene Johnson-City of Milwaukee Alderperson - District 6
Jim Lubner - U.W. Sea Grant Institute
Peter McAvoy - 16th Street Community Health Center
Steve Seyfert - Ozaukee - Washington Land Trust
Dave Schlling-Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
Angie Tornes - National Park Service
Frank Trcka - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Claire Vanderslice - Wisconsin Conservation Congress
Don Voith - Mayor, City of Glendale

Absent:
Gary Buntrock - Wisconsin Wastewater Operators Association
Bill Hanbury - Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitor Bureau
Jim Hess - Wisconsin Woodlands Owners Association
Sheldon Myerchin - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Rod Pfeiffer - Wisconsin Well Water Association
Dan Stoffel - Washington County Land Conservation Committee/Farmer
Bill Waldron - Milwaukee County Department of Parks, Recreation & Culture

Guests:
Walter Schmitt - Citizen, Stormwater Interest

1. Welcome and Introductions
   The April 14, 1999 meeting of the Milwaukee River Basin Land & Water Partners was held at the Great Lakes Research Facility in Milwaukee. Jim Lubner served as host. Co-Chair Steve Seyfert welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for coming. Jim then offered some general information regarding the facility and logistics for the meeting.

2. Current Issues and Opportunities

   • Carolyn Johnson informed the members about an upcoming conference on "Managing Stormwater Runoff" to be held on June 8th, 1999 at the State Fair Youth Center, Milwaukee Wisconsin. The guest speaker will be Richard Horner from the University of Washington. Mr. Horner will give a presentation on "Using Filtration". A handout on the conference was distributed.

   • Bob Boucher informed the partners about two newspaper articles on the Menomonee River. The first article was about the Menomonee River Restoration and Watershed Projects. The second article, regarding Underwood Creek, discussed a proposal to modify the stream channel. This modification would change creek flows and potentially increase downstream flooding in the Menomonee River. Both articles were found in the April 14, 1999 edition of the Journal/Sentinel. Bob also indicated that removal of the drop structure on the Menomonee River is scheduled for this summer.

   • Steve Seyfert indicated that "Breakfast on the Farm" will be held on Saturday June 26, 1999 at the B. Roden farm south of Hwy. 33 on Hwy. Y in Ozaukee County. This event is scheduled from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Events include small animal petting zoo, farm tours, wagon rides etc. Steve also informed the team that the Ozaukee-Washington Land Trust is looking into the purchase of development rights as a method of protecting land from development.

   • Dave Fowler informed the partnership on the IJC (International Joint Commission) conference. The conference is being held in Milwaukee on September 24, 25 and 26. Topics for the conference include; watershed and land issues, the Municipal Caucus, growth and smart growth initiatives, financial impacts, stormwater management, brownfields, and water quality issues.

   • Carolyn Johnson discussed the sub committee for redesigning the non-point source program. Partnership members are encouraged to attend the Milwaukee listening session scheduled to take place on Thursday, June 17 from 1:00-4:00 at the Mitchell Park Pavilion, 2200 W. Pierce St. The session will include an overview of the Ag & Non-Ag performance standards and implementation strategy.

   • Claire Vanderslice raised concerns about enforcement of construction erosion sites in Ozaukee County. Sharon Gayan indicated that the Department should be notified of problem areas so that an investigation can be conducted. Currently about 500 active construction erosion control permits exist. Anyone interested in discussing this issue was asked to contact Sharon after the partnership meeting.

3. Partnership Agreement Support Work Group Report
   Steve Seyfert presented an update on progress made by the Partnership Agreement Support Work Group to develop a list of potential signatories to the partnership agreement as well as a strategy to obtain their support. A draft list of prospective partners follows:

   LIST OF PROSPECTIVE PARTNERS (4/14/99, unrevised)

   • Municipalities - townships, cities, villages

   • County Boards

   • Planning Commission (Bay Lakes & SEWRPC)

   • Land Conservation Departments

   • Public and Private schools

   • Chamber of Commerce

   • Historical Societies (local and state)

   • Fishing & sporting groups

   • Environmental education/nature centers (Riverside)

   • State Agencies - Tourism, Commerce, DATCP, Transportation, DNR, etc.

   • Environmental groups (Parks People)

   • Community organizations

   • Elected Officials

   • Large Businesses

   • Foundations - The Milwaukee Foundation

   • University of Wisconsin - School of Urban Planning

   • Federal - NRCS, HUD, EDA, ACOE, Coast Guard, EPA, US Fish & Wildlife

   • Citizens-at-large

   • Metropolitan Builders Association

   • West Bend Builders Association

   • Milwaukee / Waukesha Realtors Association

   • Wisconsin Builders Association

   Steve distributed ideas from the work group, on how to get individuals, agencies and others to sign the agreement. The goal is to have the partnership agreement signed by mid-summer.

   A number of discussion items relating to this agenda item followed:

   • Andy Holschbach questioned the distribution of the partnership meeting minutes. The point was made that wider distribution of these minutes would benefit parties affected by the partnership's actions. This would include the Land Conservation Department and others. A suggestion was also made to obtain e-mail addresses for those parties that might be interested in reading partner meeting minutes.

   • Kevin Dittmar pointed out that the list of perspective partners contained primarily government agencies. He suggested that there be more participation by contractors, builders and other key parties in industries which might be impacted by the partner team's actions. Dittmar offered to assist in compiling a list of potentially interested parties.

   • A recommendation for involvement by the Farm Bureau was made.

   • Mayor Voith suggested that the Underground Contractors Association be added to the list.

   In closing this item, Steve requested that partner team members submit names of potential partnership agreement participants to Sharon within the next week or so. The Partnership Agreement Support Work Group will meet again in May to continue working on this issue.

4. Education and Information Work Group Report
   Carolyn Johnson provided an update on the activities of the Education & Information Work Group. She passed out a summary of the groups March 29th meeting and asked for input on strategy development to implement the top five partnership goals. The next meeting of the work group will be on May 7, 1999 at Milwaukee County UW-Extension.

   Discussion Item:

   • Kevin Dittmar suggested that the purpose of the work group should be to develop teamwork to implement projects collaboratively. He was invited to attend the next meeting of the work group on May 7.

   The discussion then moved onto the partnership agreement document.

   • Mayor Voith suggested wording changes in the working draft of the partnership agreement. These suggestions included:

     1. Change "restore and sustain" to "preservation, maintenance, restoration and sustainability"

     2. Change "resident drinking water supply" to "drinking water supply" so as not to exclude tourism.

5. Land Protection Plan
   Bob Boucher gave a presentation on "Friends of the Menomonee River" Land Protection Plan for the Menomonee River. This plan calls for the preservation of natural areas, maintenance of waterways and the regeneration of riparian corridors and altered aquatic habitats. The mechanisms to accomplish these objectives are land conservation easements and the purchase of water front property to encourage and maintain existing natural areas.

   Bob indicated that the "Friends of the Menomonee River" are sponsoring a conference on June 23rd 1999 to develop implementation strategies for the Menomonee Watershed Conservation Easement Plan. This will take place at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine.

   Discussion Items:

   • In response to the Land Protection Plan presentation, partnership members raised questions on development pressures along waterways, flood mitigation and possible interference from existing sanitary sewers based on sewer location.

   • The comment was made that the purchase of land or conservation easements is not necessary in floodplains or wetlands because there are already laws in place to protect these areas from development. The concern comes from attempts to regulate or control the development of upland areas.

   • In response to this comment, it was suggested that government is not enforcing these laws or the pace is too slow to be effective.

   • It was suggested that the purchase of conservation easements actually saves money as opposed to mitigating flood damage which is ultimately more expensive.

6. Integrated Planning Approach
   Marsha Burzynski from the Department of Natural Resources gave a presentation on the Integrated Resource Management efforts in the Milwaukee River Basin. The new approach examines the project from a resource base unlike the programmatic perspective used in the past. Over the course of the project, a State of the Environment Report will be developed, and published, for each basin. These reports will present what information and/or data is available regarding the land and water resources, ask what additional information is needed and make recommendations for the future. These reports will be integrated efforts across the Water and Land Divisions of the Department. The Land and Water Partner Team will have a prominent role in development of the plan. During the first year the partners will inventory all known land and water data. This data will then be integrated into a State of the Environment Report in the future.

   The Sheboygan River State of the Environment Report Summary was handed out as an example to demonstrate what has been done elsewhere and to show what can be done here. The plan will stress water quality, aquatic habitat and terrestrial habitat improvement through program integration and ecosystem management.

   Discussion Items:

   • Bob Boucher questioned why SEWRPC has not yet adopted this integrated approach and if there was an anticipated change in SEWRPC's philosophy.

   • Mayor Voith questioned the focus (i.e. would it be quality, quantity or both) of a developed integrated plan and noted the plan should reflect what is occurring in other areas

7. Discuss Whether the Partners Will Take Positions on Issues
   Partnership members decided unanimously to lay this agenda over to the next meeting.

8. Outside Concerns
   Questions regarding construction practices on large tracts of land were raised including the scraping and removal of topsoil for the placement of sewer and water lines and how these relate to the high level of soil erosion and sediment deposition.

9. Discuss Next Meeting Date, Place and Time
   Proposed time and place:
   June 15, 1999, 10 AM to 1:00 PM
   Harrington Beach State Park
   531 Highway D
   Belgium
   (414) 285-3015
   Host: Frank Trcka

   Following Meeting Time and Place:
   August 16, 1999, 9 AM to 12 Noon
   Northern Area Basin (exact location to be announced)
   Host: Steve Seyfert

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