Agricultural Commission Minutes
Meeting date:
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
- Town of Bolton Agricultural Commission
- Meeting Minutes
- Date: 26 April 011
- 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
- Eric Schartner 779-0212 schartnerfarm@verizon.net Term Exp 6/30/2013
- A meeting of the Bolton Agricultural Commission was held on 26 April 2011 at Town Hall. The meeting was
- called to order at 7:30 pm. Commission members in attendance: Barbara Parente, Richard Pelletier, and Eric
- Schartner, Sue Storbeck. Absent: Betsy Taylor-Kennedy
- The February 2011 minutes were approved and submitted.
- 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): no report; Rob Held and John Balco from Land Committee will
- be making a presentation tonite in preparation for town meeting Monday, May 2
- § Conservation Trust (Taylor-Kennedy): no report
- Complaints/Requests for Site Visits
- §
- none
- New Business
- ·
- Town Meeting Prep
- o Action: Sue to send FY’12 budget breakout to all as backup information
- · 2011 Budget:
- o Current budget: $1,800
- o Expenses to date: $500
- o Remaining balance to be used by end June: $1,300 will be used for Ag tents/space for Bolton
- Fair (est $575-600) and up to 4 remaining Right to Farm signs (~$700); possible advertising for
- Fair
- o Action: Eric & Betsy to confirm tent size of 20x40 needed and space & tent cost
- · Town Board Liaisons:
- o Decisions made: Eric will be the new liaison for the Planning Board; Barbara will assume role of
- liaison for Board of Selectmen; Rich will now be the liaison for the Conservation Commission.
- No change for Sue and Betsy.
- o Action: all new/changed liaisons to inform their new Boards
- Old Business
- § A Taste of Bolton:
- o Full report to be given at next meeting
- o Rich will recruit farms to sell him local produce for the event
- o Max 60 people
- o Possible Ag Comm member support needed to identify local growers for Rich in addition to the
- large farmers
- o Action: Further discussion in Ag Comm to determine org that proceeds will support: Bolton
- Conservation Trust, Bolton Fair, etc.
- o Project lead: Rich Pelletier
- § Ag Row at the Bolton Fair:
- o Ag Comm to subsidize to further promote active involvement by Bolton farmers of all sizes;
- size of space will be determined by level of interest in participating
- o Note: 2 yrs ago, we had 6 spaces
- o Cost estimate: $50 for 10x20 foot space; tent is additional cost approx $600 for 20x40 with sides
- o Project lead: Betsy Taylor-Kennedy, Eric Schartner to support
- § Community Compost project (Coolidge Farm): decision made to do no further work on this as the
- Conservation Trust is not interested.
- § Minuteman Tech: Action: Barbara to follow up with them and connect them with Kate Hogan who
- expressed interest in it.
- § Events discussion:
- o Farmer meeting/dinner: all agreed it was a good meeting, speaker was good, next time eat first!
- o Spring Ag Sale at Great Brook Farm: was well attended, elicited a lot of interest; no farms
- brought brochures for advertising, JoBarb did not provide meat for sale
- o Consider new venue for Fall Ag Sale: Sept 10 at Schartner Farm fundraiser to support cancer
- patient care; is well attended, broad exposure for ag items.
- Presentation
- ·
- John Balco and Jane Moosbruker gave an update from the Land Committee of the Conservation
- Commission; they sought Ag Comm endorsement of the Wetherbee farm conservation restriction for
- approx 16 acres which they were presenting at town meeting May 2.
- · Ag Comm voted unanimously to support this; Sue agreed to speak at Town Meeting in support on
- behalf of Ag Comm.
- Future Meetings/Events
- Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 7:30 pm at Town Hall.
- The meeting was adjourned at 9:06 pm.