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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-10Agricultural Advisory Committee April 10, 2019 Page 1 of 2 Agricultural Advisory Committee April 10, 2019 Members Present: Evan Carpenter (Chair), Kim LaMotte, Marie McRae, Steve Foote Absent: Brian Magee, Erin Bieber Liaisons: Craig Schutt, Conservation Board Jason Leifer, Town Board Guests: None The meeting was called to order at 7:38 pm. Review and approval of minutes dated March 13, 2019 S. Foote made a motion to approve the minutes as written, seconded by M. McRae, minutes unanimously approved. Old business Virtual Farmer’s Market/Website K. LaMotte discussed her attempt to register on the buylocalfoodny.org site that is managed by Cornell Cooperative Extension (“CCE”). She got an error message that the user name was already in use. She then found that Fall Creek Farms was already on this website, however, much of the information posted was incorrect. She left a message for Matt at CCE to call her back but has had no response, at this point she is not very happy. Since E. Bieber was unable to come to tonight’s meeting, we do not know what her experience with the virtual website was. Comprehensive Plan Guidance Document C. Schutt advised he has discussed with the Conservation Board and presented ideas from this board that should be included in a guidance document. C. Anderson talked about coming up with some maps prior to the next Conservation Board meeting on April 30th to show what it would look like if a development was going in next to a farm and there were buffer areas. It would just show a sample of a generic farm layout with buffers and housing next to the farm land. Maybe use some ideas from the Residential Development Design Guidelines (“RDDG”) to assist in coming up with a sample map for the guidance document. Also need to refine the definitions. New business S. Foote mentioned they are having an open house at the store (Empire Tractor) on May 18, 2019 and wondered who would be a good contact at CCE, as they would like to reach out to vendors of anything agricultural based to have a spot at the open house. All proceeds will benefit Cortland County 4-H. M. McRae advised she was contacted by a reporter from the Cortland Standard a few weeks ago who wanted to know about the virtual farmer’s market. M. McRae spoke from the minutes of the last meeting regarding people trying to sign up and we would go from there. She advised the reporter that we didn’t want this article out there, as we are in the very early stages. The reporter published an article that appears in the March 30, 2019 paper. Agricultural Advisory Committee April 10, 2019 Page 2 of 2 Dryden Rail Trail M. McRae advised the Rail Trail is having an opening celebration on May 11th at the property next to the trail at George Road. George Junior is allowing use of that section of their property and the equipment shed for this celebration. There will be all sorts of activities for children and adults, food, and speeches. The event is from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. They are hoping people will park in Dryden and walk or ride the trail to the event. M. McRae made a request that she be removed as liaison to the Rail Trail. She has attended every single meeting and feels it has been a total waste of time, as she has not been able to add anything at all. She is resigning effective the end of May 2019. E. Carpenter thanked her for her time as liaison to the Rail Trail. There was a discussion regarding the remaining section of the trail that they need to get easements for and the parcel of approximately a mile that the owner has flatly refused from day one to allow any kind of easement or use of her property. Comprehensive Plan Guidance Document – discussion continued… K. LaMotte inquired of C. Schutt as to what the steps are going to be to put this together. Is the Conservation Board going to go through what is already existing and put their thoughts in certain parts? C. Schutt said that C. Anderson’s theory is that it will be a new document which will be like the RDDG but will not be as long as that. It will be an actual Natural Resources/Agriculture Guidance Document. C. Anderson is going to put some ideas together prior to the next Conservation Board meeting. C. Anderson is the liaison to the Conservation Board from the Planning Board. It has been explained that the concept is that this document is not just for the Planning Board, but is something that developers should be able to look at and get some ideas as to how the town is feeling about some of these things. C. Schutt brought up the proposed 900-acre development over between Caswell and Wood Roads. He explained the proposed lot sizes and possible land to be given to the Town. Discussion ensued regarding single-family residences locations, Mill Creek, road access, and a small amount of land donated to the Town for recreational use. There being no further business, K. LaMotte made a motion to adjourn, seconded by S. Foote and unanimously approved. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm. Respectfully submitted, Chrystle Terwilliger Deputy Town Clerk