Agricultural Commission Minutes
Meeting date:
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
- Town of Bolton Agricultural Commission
- Meeting Minutes
- Date: 19 October 2010
- AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION
- www.boltonag.com
- 63 Main Street 978 779-2297 or 779-3308
- Sue Storbeck 779-6020 slstorbeck@comcast.net Term Exp 6/30/2011
- Barbara Parente 779-6303 bparente@comcast.net Term Exp 6/30/2012
- Betsy Taylor-Kennedy 779-5213 betsy@taylor-kennedy.com Term Exp 6/30/2012
- Richard Pelletier 779-5521 email@nashobawinery.com Term Exp 6/30/2013
- Open Term Exp 6/30/2013
- A meeting of the Bolton Agricultural Commission was held on October 19, 2010 at Town Hall. The meeting
- was called to order at 7:37 pm by chairperson Sue Storbeck. Commission members in attendance: Sue
- Storbeck, Barbara Parente, Rich Pelletier, and Betsy Taylor-Kennedy. The September minutes were read by
- members and approved.
- Reports from liaisons to Town Boards/Commissions
- Board of Health (Storbeck) – No report
- Planning Board (Open) – No report.
- Board of Selectmen (Pelletier) – No report.
- Conservation Commission (Parente) – Discussion of Houghton Farms conservation restriction. Board agreed
- that wording needed to be changed to refer to the Right to Farm Bylaw and preserving a portion of the land for
- agriculture should not be subject to a homeowners association vote. Sue went downstairs to discuss with the
- ConsComm, which had a meeting in progress.
- Conservation Trust (Taylor-Kennedy) – Preservation efforts are ongoing
- Working Session:
- o VISITOR - Tom Moses, Bolton’s Emergency Management Director, met with the Commission to
- discuss the inclusion of animals in the town emergency plan. He noted that risks are graded for various
- disasters. The Emergency Plan does include animals, and the Animal Control Officer has a role in the
- plan, Tom said, to coordinate with public and private agencies and develop teams for non day-to-day
- emergencies. Tom noted that the structure is present, but the details of the plan have not been
- implemented. Tom and the AgComm agreed that developing a directory of resources for animal
- emergencies would be an asset to the plan. AgComm members agreed to create a directory of resources,
- directory of contacts (Lucky Horse, private barns, etc), list of trailers (for use with DPW tow if
- necessary), and to survey Ag Businesses about what they see as risks and what help they would need
- during an emergency.
- Town Planner Jennifer Atwood Burney was unable to attend tonight’s meeting to discuss farm signs and ag
- business and will be rescheduled.
- Current business:
- Ag Sale and Craft Demos at Nashoba Valley Winery – The board agreed to make space available at the
- winery to Bolton agricultural businesses Saturday and Sunday afternoons in November from 1 to 3 p.m.
- Action: Sue and Barbara volunteered to contact businesses that had participated in the past in the November
- Holiday Sales, and to fill in with other businesses if space was available. Rich agreed to meet with
- participating vendors and determine space needs and space availability. Betsy will deliver AgComm signs.
- Fifth Member – Eric Schartner expressed interest in joining the Commission. Sue will follow-up
- concerning his letter of application and next steps.
- Goals and Budget – Postponed for discussion in November as a top priority, along with a fifth member.
- Future Meetings/Events
- Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 16 at 7:30 pm at Town Hall.
- The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 pm.