U of Extension
Bond-Clinton-Jefferson-Marion-Washington Unit
Multi-County Council Minutes
February 8, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m.
Call to Order:
Meeting called to order at 7:07 p.m. by David Ratermann, Vice-chairman.
Roll Call:
Roll call was taken. Council members present as indicated by a checkmark, members absent as
indicated by no checkmark:
Bond Co.
☒ Robert Johnson
☐ Diana Ostrom (Chair)
☒ Jan Woker
☒ Josh St. Peters
Marion Co.
☐ Michelle Hester
☒ Jeff Littrell
☐ Connie Williams
☒ Jay Telford
Extension Staff Present:
Clinton Co
☒ Tracy Grayling (Secretary)
☐ Taylor Zurliene
☒ David Ratermann (Vice)
☒ Deanna Ratermann
Jefferson Co.
☐ Cathy Gajewski
☐ Paula Kiselewski
☐ Steffen Gordon
☐ vacant
Washington Co.
☐ Christine Bevil
☒ Jim Wisely
☒ Kimberly Taylor
☒ Jim Lehde
Lisa Wait – County Director
Jera Sloat – Jefferson County Office Support
Approval of Minutes:
Motion to approve October meeting minutes as submitted made by Josh St. Peters. Motion seconded
by Deanna Ratermann. All in favor, none opposed. Meeting minutes approved as submitted.
Review of Financial Reports:
See Financial Report as provided in council folders and addressed by Lisa Wait.
Notes:
 Halfway through fiscal year, so budget should be at 50% received and 50% remaining. There is
still no state budget and counties have been collecting Fiscal Agreements for FY17.
 Jefferson County Board shows deficit, but received payment in January that had not been
posted to this statement.
 Balance to Date:
o HCE, Federation and Foundations are still in the process of being collected. ($7500.00)
in red. Other Agreements, is monies received for last fiscal year from Bond County Farm
Bureau and Jefferson County Foundation that was processed under this fiscal year.
o 4-H Premium funds reflect $31,152.00 as premiums for 2015 fair has not been paid yet,
due to not being issued by the state yet (and not knowing if will get them). Extension
does not pay them out until we receive them unless the counties come up with an
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alternate way to pay (ex. Foundation/Federation would pay the premiums, then if we
receive funding, we would reimburse them).
o Gifts and Donations at $2851.37 which was specifically allotted for something (awards,
trophies, etc.).
Revenue under Rental/Lease at about 35%, but due to some counties paying annually, monthly,
etc. and should even out in the end. We have received about $10,000.00 in reimbursement in
Smith Lever and SNAP Grant Funds for rent, so far.
Duplicating and Copy services are at 33%, which is a lot of money for copies, particularly for
Jefferson and Washington Counties. This entails copies, repair, etc.
Repair/Maintenance Equipment stands at 95%, new copies were purchased in previous years;
we don’t have to spend as much on repair and maintenance.
Consultant/Honorariums/Judges is at 91%...judges have been paid.
Equipment over/under $500, we have not spent any money. This is an easy line to hold and
reserve funds back until we know we are going to get the state funding.
Discussion regarding budget:
David asked if $31,000 left in a line item, why can’t we pay premiums from that line item. Lisa
explained that it’s a budget, not actual money. When the funding money comes in, then we can pay it
out.
Josh St. Peters asked if campus has provided any guidance on the budget. Lisa answered that it is not
anticipated to have a budget until after the fall elections. Extension throughout the state is looking
fine, and the University is doing okay. The challenge is working on the budget for next year because
usually we’ll have anticipated match percentage, but we can’t anticipate because we don’t even know
this year. For right now, we are going with 40 – 50% match anticipation for FY17.
Motion to approve financial report as presented made by Jim Lehde. Motion seconded by Kim Taylor.
All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried. Financial Report approved as presented.
Correspondence:
No correspondence.
Extension Updates:
Bond County
Steer Weigh-in was this last Saturday. Went well with quite a few animals.
Dairy Judging workshop and contest is scheduled for next weekend.
Washington County
Steer Weigh-In was on Saturday, as well. Council members reported that it went well. Amanda Clark
was there. Lisa gave an update on Amanda who is out on maternity leave.
Jim Wisely spoke of not knowing what to do with Fair. They are moving the general show to a different
date. Before could walk across road to enter in the County Fair.
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Marion County
Jeff Littrell reported they had 33 steer at their weigh-in, which was also this past weekend. Three (3)
leaders went to Champaign to help with award application judging. Three (3) are going to Decatur next
week for Livestock on Ice.
Jeff asked that Lisa pass on to Champaign concerns due to changing how award applications were
turned in (change in the format and had to be done by computer). Jeff wanted to know why did they
change the rules, (heard like November) for this past year, instead of waiting until the start of the next
year? He missed last three (3) meetings (off all of December for medical), but he felt that it just would
have made more sense to wait until the start of the year. Lisa stated that the 4-H year now starts in
October (previously in September), but Conference when staff hear updates is held in November. Jeff
noted that there were kids that couldn’t/didn’t get it in (waited, then emailed, but didn’t show up at
state (Kelsey)). Jeff noted that he thought that a 4-H member got to go to Congress one time but had
found out that there was a kid that went twice. He encouraged that every kid interested should try to
go. Lisa shared that this may have happened because there was not enough interest from first time
attendees, so they invited those interested who have been before. Lisa shared there were more
Award applications submitted from Unit 23 than in previous years. Jeff reported that there was one (1)
from Marion County.
Master Gardener training is being held in Marion County with thirteen (13) new Master Gardeners.
Lisa noted this as a highlight because larger counties are cancelling due to lack of interest and people
are calling us. Deanna Ratermann reported that the last 2 years program has continued to grow in our
area.
Clinton County
Discussion was held regarding State Fair rule to allow ages 8 – 21, animal leasing options, and the
difference in 4-H and FFA regulations. Some opposition was expressed regarding some of these
guidelines. Kim Taylor explained that in her previous counties, they had an adopt a pet program that
she was much in favor of, as the farmer still holds ownership, but the kids are able to take care of the
animal. Discussion was had regarding when families abuse the system. Lisa stated that it was
important for people to inform staff when/if they see these things happening before the event. Lisa
also stated that the counties have no authority over the state fair, as state fair includes both 4-H and
FFA.
A date has been set for the Rabbit competition (May 14th). Purina’s Workshop on rabbits is coming up
in Clinton County, which is open to everyone. Other events include sewing workshop (began on
Saturday) and Valentine’s babysitting. 4-H is rolling along despite the absence of a program
coordinator, but noted the Liz Miller, the Youth Development Educator has stepped into the roll for
time being.
Jefferson County
No board members present for updates.
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Extension Updates – Lisa Wait, County Director:
Staff Updates
 Clinton County 4-H Program Coordinator resigned unexpectedly right before the holiday break.
Extension had been searching for replacement, with deadline being January 28th. Lisa is now
waiting for the University to release list of eligible interviewees. One internal employee is
interested.
 Marion County Great Garden Detective Community Worker, which was an Extra Help position
during an evaluation period, has been posted as a permanent position. Lacey Waggoner who is
the current Extra Help staff was on the referral list, but has decided to stay home after
maternity leave, so we are looking for a second candidate. Interviews have been held for the
position and now in process of checking references.
 Have a potential retirement coming up, but cannot confirm yet.
Program Reports
 Annual Report was provided in council folders. Lisa reviewed report, and noted that extra
reports are available should any council member want/need to pass them on to others.
 Unit Report, monthly, was also included in the council folders. Lisa noted that they were
contemplating condensing the Unit Report but recieved positive feedback because the report
currently represents something from each of the counties.
Program Updates
 Commercial (ANR) Schools are big right now – Small Fruit and Vegetable, Corn and Soybean
Classics, PSEP Training, Certified Livestock Training, Commercial Tree Fruit School. There is a lot
going on for local farmers, as this is their down time.
 The 4-H staff is working on getting show books ready for distribution and will be planning for
club visits to answer questions and promote upcoming opportunities.
 Pam Schallhorn, Community Economic Development Educator, has been out there in all
communities. She will be going on a tour of Carlyle and surrounding areas working on a
Revitalization Study, and an assessment for a Food Hub. The Food Hub is currently in the
assessment phase, but was a project that really interested the University, so an intern was
provided for the project (paying stipend, tuition and all of her travel expenses). The Food Hub
will cover a 10 county area including Effingham and Madison counties. Jay Telford noted that
IGA is looking for vegetables.
 Mobile Market has been a huge success . Jim noted that it has been a big hit and going well.
The St. Louis Food Pantry contacted Extension to provide distribution sights locally. They have
been working with 8th grade students at St. Ann’s school to distribute food on a monthly basis.
Lisa noted that the first market had about 20 people, but has since doubled on each date.
Leftovers that are not distributed have been going to nursing homes, schools, and food
pantries. They are looking to expand the outreach. The Trenton Methodist Church has been
raising funds for this, and once they get their numbers up, then the Mobile Market will consider
going there.
 Illini Fighter Hunger was a success. Received donations of $750, matched through campus
funds. All the materials to put 12,000 meals together was provided. At the end of the day,
food pantries from all five (5) counties picked up however many cases they had previously
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ordered. SNAP staff will be going into the food pantries with these packages prepared and give
tastings. The Sentinel newspaper provided good coverage.
o Josh suggested that coverage on that program would be wonderful to send to our
legislatures, as a separate piece, to show them what Extension is doing. Lisa noted that
she is working on a piece to tell our story; title may be “Adequate Food to Prevent
Hunger”.
Old Business:
No old business.
New Business:
Efforts to Reach Underserved Population:
Gail is working on a large Hispanic population in Damiansville, working with the local pastor possibly
willing to go on location to talk to the groups. They do have one (1) mass a week in Spanish for the
group.
Lisa noted that they are trying to get as many materials as possible in Spanish, and will be making sure
all flyers and brochures in Spanish are posted in popular Spanish locations such as Mexican
restaurants, grocery stores, nurseries, migrant camps, churches, etc.
Extension Board Meetings:
Council members discussed potential dates for upcoming spring Extension board meetings in
coordination with some Foundation meetings as follows:
Bond County – March 31st (Foundation at 6:30 pm / Council at 7:30 pm)
Clinton County – February 23rd (Council at 6:30 pm / Foundation at 7:30 pm)
Jefferson County – to be determined
Marion County – March 30th at 7:00 pm
Washington County – March 22nd at 7:00 pm
The budget(s) will most likely be about the same as FY16 due to the state budget impasse.
Replacements for those council members rolling off will need to be discussed. Josh has a Clinton
County member who would be interested, Luke McKelvey (will email contact information). Council
members rolling off are Bob Johnson, Tracey Grayling, Cathy Gajewski, Michelle Hester, and Christine
Bevel. The Extension Law encourages two (2) males and two (2) females from each county.
Financial procedures will be reviewed.
General Announcements:
No general announcements.
Next Meeting:
April 11th at Kaskaskia College.
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Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn meeting made by Jim Wisely. Motion seconded by Josh St. Peters. All in favor,
none opposed. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:18 pm.
Extension Finances Training
Council members were invited to stay for a Financial Procedures overview presentation. See attached
outline.
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