Agricultural Commission, August 21, 2018
AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION MEETING
MINUTES
August 21, 2108
Attendance: Steve D’Aquila, Jim Dunn, Maleah Gustafson, Eileen Charbonneau,
Tom O’Shea
Absent: Chris Hugo, Ryan McKay
Others Present: Amy Parker
The meeting was called to order at 7:31 p.m.
On a motion by Eileen, seconded by Steve, the minutes of the July meeting were unanimously approved.
Steve previously sent email to all AgComm members detailing the formation of a Chapter 61 subcommittee as discussed in the June meeting. Jim will be the Chair for this subcommittee. Chris and Tom will serve as the other members of the subcommittee. The subcommittee will meet at 7:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. Steve communicated with Wendy and was assured that the room in the Starbard Building will be reserved for the subcommittee. The subcommittee will present their findings to the full committee when it convenes at 7:30 p.m.
Eileen took over the role of recording the minutes of the Agricultural Commission meeting as of tonight.
Maleah received a request from the Farmers Market this afternoon. In past years, the town has shut off the electrical service at the end of Holden Days without turning it back on in time for the Farmers Market the following Tuesday. There are some vendors that must have electricity for the safety of their products. Maleah was asked to bring this up to the AgComm at tonight’s meeting to see if the electricity that is used by the Farmers Market can be left on after Holden Days, which is this coming Saturday, so that it will be available to the Market vendors who need it. Steve said he will make this request of the Town Manager, Peter Lukes.
Jim reported that he spoke with Town Manager Lukes regarding finalizing the Farmers Market agreement. Mr. Lukes was not in favor of doing so. He made the following two points:
- We have accomplished all that is in the agreement.
- He was not in favor of establishing a precedent or bureaucracy.
Mr. Lukes did say he would continue to think about it. Jim will check in with him in a week or two, but does not expect him to alter his decision.
Maleah suggested talking to Leslie before the end of this year’s Farmers Market to touch base and assess how everything worked out this year and if there were any issues that need to be discussed. Jim will contact Leslie about this.
Steve reported that he brought the $395.00 invoice for the Farmers Market banner to the Town Manager who said the money to pay the invoice will come out of the $1,000 budget. The banner has been brought to the DPW. It was up in July, has been removed for the Holden Days banner, and is expected to go up again after Holden Days.
The Town Manager also told Steve to let him know if any issues arise regarding stipends for guest speakers.
There was discussion regarding a topic for the Autumn edition of the quarterly Educational Series. It was decided that the AgComm will sponsor a talk on How to Preserve Your Land (i.e. Tools of Land Protection). The focus is to be on protecting open space and/or agricultural land for the future, especially in regards to the legal aspects. The presentation will likely be scheduled for late October or early November. The Senior Center was suggested as a possible location. It was surmised that the audience for this topic might be older people given that it entails the intergenerational transfer of land.
Tom knows people who have expertise in this area and will contact them to see if any are available to give such a presentation. Some of these people most likely have presentations on this topic that they currently give and would be ready to go.
Any AgComm members who attend the Sterling or Spencer Fairs were encouraged to speak with Land Trust representatives about this issue. It was also deemed beneficial to contact and/or invite White Oak, Rutland Agricultural Commission, Quabbin, the Farm Bureau, the Audubon Society, and Worcester Magazine. Promotion will be mainly to the towns in the Wachusett Region.
Steve will contact the Agricultural Commissions in the Wachusett Region. Tom will secure a presenter. Eileen will create and distribute flyers and Maleah will write a press release and advertise on social media.
A discussion also ensued regarding possibly making this presentation into a Webinar with a video that can be posted on Face Book and the opportunity for viewers to post comments and questions in real time. This would serve as a pilot program for future Webinars in the educational series. Steve will ask Chris to check with the local television station for assistance.
At the September meeting, the AgComm will settle on the speaker, date, site and arrangements for audio visual.
The winter educational series program will focus on pruning. Jim will contact some orchardists including Carlson Orchard in Harvard, Davidian Orchard in Northborough and Tougas Farm in Northborough to see if any would be willing to present a program on pruning. This will be discussed further at the September meeting.
There was no new or old business to be discussed.
Maleah reported on Central Mass Grown noting that they have held some recent fairs and more will be coming in the near future. She also mentioned that Representative Jim McGovern toured local farms today and will again tomorrow. All but one of the farms are Central Mass Grown members.
Central Mass Grown’s membership update drive begins in September for next year. A new tri-fold brochure is forthcoming.
Guest Amy Parker stated that The Farm at Summitwynds is planning a Lavender Days event on Columbus Day weekend pending approval by the Board of Selectman at their September 10, 2018 meeting. She requested support from the AgComm at the meeting to help get approval and, if approved, assistance with promotion. The event will include workshops, cooking with lavender, wreath-making, pick-your-own lavender and a Farm to Table meal. Steve offered to attend the Board of Selectmen meeting to extend the AgComm’s support.
On a motion by Jim, seconded by Tom, the meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Eileen Charbonneau