Wednesday, March 09, 2022 1:00pm 200 NW 5th Street Conference Room, Okeechobee, FL  34972

Call to Order
Mariano Corona-Present
Nicki Smith-Present
Donald Sellers, Jr.- Absent
Douglas Burnham- Absent
Glynn Rutledge- Present

I. Motion to approve February 9, 2022, Minutes (Smith/Rutledge). Motion passed.

II. Motion to approve Financial Report as presented (Smith/Rutledge). Motion passed.

III. Staff Program Reports
1. Howard Harrison gave the report NRCS report. There were some EQIP application cancellations due
to operations changing ownership. He and Kierstin McClintock, Soil Conservationist will be
attending an IFAS workshop in LaBelle to network with landowners from Glades/Hendry since he
now covers Glades County.
2. Robbi Sumner and Audrey Kuipers gave the OSWCD program report. Action taken during the report
will be recorded in New Business.
3. Sheila Kitaif updated FDACS BMP progress.
4. FSA-No report

IV. Unfinished Business
1. Audrey Kuipers stated that the House took up the Senate Bill 1078 version and is headed to the
Governor’s office to sign into law. She also explained how the Bill affected other Districts to the
point they will not be able to fill their supervisor seats and not function. The new qualifications are:
582.19 Qualifications and tenure of supervisors. —
(1) The governing body of the district shall consist of five supervisors, elected as provided in s. 582.18
(a) To qualify to serve on the governing body of a district, a supervisor must be an eligible voter
who resides in the district and who:
1. Is actively engaged in, or retired after 10 years of being engaged in, agriculture as defined in
s. 570.02.
2. Is employed by an agricultural producer; or
3. Owns, leases, or is actively employed on land classified as agricultural under s. 193.461.
582.195 Mandatory meeting of supervisors. —All five supervisors of the governing body of each
district shall meet at least once per calendar year in a public meeting pursuant to s. 286.011.

V. New Business
1. Motion to approve shared costs incurred with Natalie Kato, Kato Law for assistance with the Office of Program
Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) report, Representative Keith Truenow is having
completed on Florida Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Shared cost will be with Palm Beach and
Highlands SWCD (Smith/Rutledge). Motion passed.
2. Motion to approve Wicks, Brown, Williams & Co. FY 21 Audit Report (Smith/Rutledge). Motion passed.
3. Motion to approve a 5% merit increase to Robbi Sumner, Program Specialist (Smith/Rutledge). Motion passed.
4. Action taken during OSWCD report: Motion to approve the increase in dollar amount of speech contest
awards this year and for future poster contest to encourage more participation (Smith/Rutledge). Motion
passed.

VI. Upcoming Events
1. Florida Legislative Session ends | January 11-March 11, 2022
2. Okeechobee County Fair | March 15-20 | Soil Trailer & Activities
3. OSWCD Speech Contest | April 12 Deadline-Contest April 26
4. FCDEA Mid-Year Meeting | Ocala |TBD