Geauga Soil & Water Conservation District Keeps
County Residents “Well Educated” About Wells
Geauga Soil & Water Conservation (GSWC) District Board Meeting - February 10, 2026
Meeting Details: The Geauga Soil & Water Conservation District (GSWC) met on February 10, 2026 at 7:30 am at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Dr. #240, Chardon, OH.
Board Attendance: Jeff Huntsberger, Board Chair; Robert Lausin, Vice Chair; Tracy Engle, Secretary; Mary Slingluff, Treasurer; Dee Belew, Fiscal Agent.
Staff Attendance: Carmella Shale, District Director/Engineer; Gail Prunty, Education/Communication Specialist; Colleen Lair, Administrative Assistant.
Others in Attendance: Julie Parker, District Conservationist, United States Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Services (USDA/NRCS)
Open Board Meeting at 7:36 am. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
MOTIONS Approved:
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February 10, 2026 Board Meeting Agenda
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January 20, 2026 Board Meeting Minutes
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Accept Treasurer’s Reports from previous month (including all deposits and transfers that occurred in addition to previous approved expenditures)
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Money transfer in the amount of $12,609.72 from Huntington Savings (Electronic/Stripe Payments through end of January 2026) to Huntington Checking
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Payment for expenditures, purchase orders, vouchers and bills as presented including EFT payments and estimates and Sales Tax EFT payment of $746.71 less 3⁄4% discount
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Approve and acknowledge the following refund issued:
1/21/26 Scott Laing $80-Duplicate Charge (pushed button too many times) Stripe
Observer Note: Stripe is the payment system GSWCD uses to refund money.
OPEN PUBLIC DISCUSSION - None
SCHEDULED GUEST: JULIE PARKER, DISTRICT CONSERVATIONIST, United States Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Services (USDA/NRCS)
Ms. Parker discussed the responsibilities to follow the Civil Rights Act. The Board agreed to follow them and signed the form acknowledging responsibilities.
In the 2008 Farm Bill, Section 1619 limits disclosure of personal information. The bill protects participants from having their personal information shared with the public. The Board acknowledged this and agreed not to violate disclosure restrictions.
Ms. Parker advised the Board that the office has not received the MOU yet. She noted the only one she has received is for Astabula. They approved adopting the previous MOU.
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Updates
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Conservation Plan - A Northeast Ohio land owner, currently residing in Texas, has been working with the USDA/NRCS to get a copy of the Conservation Plan for his property. Western Reserve Land Conservancy has an easement on the property, which should also include a conservation plan; however, they were not able to locate the plan, so a new plan was created for him. Ms. Parker reported that it was probably time for an updated plan anyway. The land owner’s plan is to eventually move from Texas to Ohio to retire, where he wants to produce maple syrup and raise sheep. Little Ireland currently farms the property and is doing crop rotation and has a current nutrient plan. The Board signed off on it, and the motion to approve the conservation plan was approved.
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Training rollout on February 20th - There is enough space for any Soil & Water employee to attend.
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Regenerative Pilot Program - Residents can apply for this if they are already doing any of the following: Conservation Crop Rotation, Cover Crop, Drainage Water Management, Irrigation Water Management, Mulching, Pest Management, Nutrient Management, Reduced Till, Strip Cropping, Forest Harvest Management, Grazing Management
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Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) changes - Benchmark payments are changing to a flat $4,000 a year. In the past, Ms. Parker said it was $1,800 per land use and now it is just $4,000 regardless of how many land uses one has. In the past, when one acquired new land, a new application could be submitted, but now they are going to just add the land onto the existing agreement.
GAIL PRUNTY, EDUCATION/COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
This annual program is in collaboration with Geauga Public Health, Department of Water Resources, and Ohio EPA. They give an overview of a well and how to keep water safe. GSWCD has given out free water test kits to participants who are Geauga residents. These kits can also be purchased for $25.
Woodland Wednesdays: Timber Harvest Walk Through & Forestry Pollution Prevention Plan Site Tour will be held in Kirkland on February 25, 2026, 1-3 pm. Sign up here.
Well Educated class will be on March 11, 2026, 6-8 pm. This annual program will give an overview of a well and how to keep water safe. Observer Note: Mark your calendar for this event and check back later on the Geauga Soil & Water Conservation website education page here. As of this writing, this program has not yet been advertised. The application for the Camp Canopy Scholarship was approved today, so keep an eye out on the website for when the application opens.
CARMELLA SHALE, DISTRICT DIRECTOR/ENGINEER
For the past several years, GSWCD has been a paid sponsor for the Farm Bureau. Ms. Shale advised they have done a lot of programs with the Farm Bureau, who has also assisted with funding of some programs. This sponsorship gets GSWCD four memberships and listing on the Farm Bureau’s literature as a sponsor. The Farm Bureau had a pancake breakfast this past week that one of the board members attended.
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ACKNOWLEDGED – 2025 End-of-Year Financial Statement for submission to Auditor of State Ms. Shale reported everything balanced and the statement is ready to send in.
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Geauga SWCD 2025 End-of-Year in Review Summary per OFSWCD (Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts) request - ODA requested that every county fill out a form to pick their biggest accomplishment for 2025 and then all the Area 2 districts were highlighted in a one-page report printed into a magazine that was given out at the Supervisor’s School. Ms. Shale passed around the magazine to the Board to look at. She acknowledged that every district has a different focus and what they want to showcase. Observer Note: Area 2 Counties include: Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga, Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, Portage, Summit, Cuyahoga, Medina, Stark, Wayne, Lorain, Asland, Erie, Huron, Richland.
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Discussion – ODA Agricultural Pollution Abatement Program MOU and SOP Ms. Shale advised there is a lot of discussion about this draft MOU, including an item that the Prosecutor said had to be removed. Ms. Shale has been providing feedback to the written agreement.
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MOTION Approved – Support Letter for Planning Commission application for the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Land Use Planning Grant to update the Geauga County Farmland Preservation Plan Ms. Shale and several board members who are farmland owners are on the Farmland Preservation Task Force and they are currently updating the plan. Ms. Shale put together a letter of support for a plan to ensure agriculture can be sustained into the future and read it out loud to the Board. Of note in the letter, Ms. Shale referenced that they have preserved 452 acres of farmland in the past 21 years and Geauga County has lost 30% of its farmland since 1964.
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MOTION Approved – Support Letter to Burton Village application for the Ohio EPA Chloride Reduction Grant to build a road salt storage facility Burton Village used to get their salt from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) road garage, but the location was purchased by a school (Berkshire Schools) and ODOT doesn’t function there anymore. This has left Burton Village with no place to store their salt. Currently they have only a large pile of salt with a tarp over it, so they need a facility to house the salt. Burton Village has applied for a grant to keep the salt in a dome and Ms. Shale drafted a letter of support that she read aloud to the Board for approval.
NEXT BOARD MEETING: Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 7:30 am.
Meeting Adjourned at 8:40 am
Observer Note: After the meeting, a review of the Geauga Soil & Water Conservation District website showed that the Fish order form is available online, with pickup on May 8, 2026, 9:00-10:30 am. Additionally, the Annual Tree Sale order form is available online with tree pick up on April 16, 2026, 4:00-8:00 pm or April 17, 2026, 9:00 am-4:00 pm.
Meeting Adjourned - 9:03 am
More information available here.
Observer: Wendy Landry
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: February 10, 2026
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