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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPB minutes 111815 Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board Approved Meeting Summary: Nov. 18, 2015 Environmental & Agricultural Center—Conference Room 306 Revere Rd., Hillsborough, NC 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Renee McPherson (Chair), Renee Parker, Ashley Parker, Vaughn Compton, Ken Dawson, Howard McAdams, Noah Ranells, Jane Saiers, Kathy Shambley, Shelia Thomas-Ambat Members Absent/Excused: Kim Woods (Vice-Chair), Amanda Scherle, Gordon Neville, Richal Vanhook Guests: none Staff: Gail Hughes, Resource Conservation Coordinator-DEAPR-Orange Soil and Water Conservation District; David Stancil, Director, Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation, and Mike Ortosky, Agriculture Economic Developer. 1. Call to order: Chair McPherson called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. 2. Chair Comments/Introductions: Chair McPherson welcomed all members present, and acknowledged those excused/absent, and declared that a quorum was present. 3. Considerations of Additions to Agenda: None 4. Meeting Summary/Minutes: --Nov. 18th, 2015 (Attachment 1): McAdams moved to accept the minutes/summary; seconded by Compton; motion carried. 5. Items for Decision: a) New VAD/EVAD Applications (Attachment 2): Hughes presented an overview of the seven current applications before the members for enrollment in the VAD program. All farms meet the minimum requirements/criteria for VAD/EVAD enrollment. She noted that with these farms enrolled, the new total will be 10,395 acres enrolled. Of that number, 8,536 are in VAD and 1,859 are in EVAD. She is working on getting additional signs installed over the winter and hopes to get caught up.  Spring Crest Farm—Chad and Kim Woods: VAD: updating ownership on all the acreage of the farm in the program: 83.56 acres and adding two new parcels totaling 15.06 acres, for a total of 98.62 acres in the Caldwell District. The farm produces hay and 2 managed woodland. A. Parker moved to approve the additional parcels for Spring Crest Farm for VAD, seconded by McAdams; motion carried.  Parker Farm—Carlton Parker and Family Farm: VAD: Five parcels of land totaling 298.24 acres in the Caldwell District. The farm produces beef cattle, pasture, hay and managed woodland. Compton moved to approve the Parker farm for VAD, seconded by A. Parker; motion carried.  Susan Gray and Tommy Warren: VAD: One parcel totaling 53.01 acres in the Caldwell District. The farm produces beef cattle, pasture, hay, and managed woodland. Compton moved to approve the Gray-Warren farm for VAD, seconded by A. Parker; motion carried.  Milton A. Latta & Sons Dairy Farms, Inc. –William and Tate Latta: EVAD and VAD: five parcels in the Schley/Eno District, totaling 622.30 acres, of which 258.71 acres is proposed for EVAD. The farm includes a traditional dairy operation, plus pasture, hay, grain and corn. McAdams moved to approve the Latta farm for VAD and EVAD, seconded by Compton; motion carried.  Irvin Farm Nature Preserve—Triangle Land Conservancy (non-profit ownership): EVAD: three parcels totaling 261.27 acres in the White Cross District. The farm produces fruits and vegetable crops, wildlife habitat and managed woodland. A. Parker moved to approve the Irvin Farm Nature Preserve for EVAD, seconded by Thomas- Ambat; motion carried.  Atwater Farm—Donald and Warren Atwater: VAD: Four parcels in the White Cross District, totaling 116.25 acres. This is a former dairy farm that produces hay and managed woodland. Shambley moved to approve the Atwater Farm for VAD, seconded by Compton; motion carried.  Durham Farm—Gerry and Milton Durham: VAD: Five parcels in the White Cross District, totaling 197.56 acres. Farm now includes beef cattle, pasture, hay and managed woodland. McAdams moved to approve the Durham farm, seconded by A. Parker; motion carried. b) Review and Approval of meeting calendar for 2016 (Attachment 3): Members reviewed the proposed 2016 calendar. McAdams moved to approve the calendar for 2016; seconded by Ranells; motion carried. 6. Items for Discussion: a) Update on VAD/EVAD Landowners breakfast: Hughes provided an update on the idea of a proposed breakfast meeting. Discussion followed, including the cost of food and potential providers. Hughes and members will report back at the January meeting. b) Membership: With Ken Dawson now appointed and seated, the group is nearly at full membership level with all at-large seats filled. There is still one remaining vacancy, in the Schley/Eno District. Hughes might know of a few potential farmers in that District. 3 c) Annual Report and Work Plan: Staff compiled the new updated draft report that was handed out at the last meeting. This captured the various accomplishments and preliminary comments made by members over this past year. This is our last chance to review and update this draft before it must be submitted on Dec. 18. Members made suggestions for two emerging issues: transition of farms to new owners and the problems with maintaining present use valuation, and nuisance suits. These will be added. Staff will send the new updated draft out by email, with a request t hat members review this and return any comments no later than about Dec. 12, to allow for incorporation into the final report. This will be presented to the BOCC for their review, then will be discussed at their Feb. 8th work session, with board chairs and staff present to answer questions. Staff will email this to all members again for a final review. 7. Informational Items/Future Agenda Items: None 8. Time for Information Sharing: a) Upcoming Ag Summit: Ortosky gave a brief overview of the next Ag Summit, to be held on either Feb. 29 or Mar. 7. The date should be confirmed soon. The focus will be on the “food economy.” It will be held at the Whitted Center. b) Architect selection for new EAC Building: Stancil reported that the County Asset Management Services (facilities) team is coordinating architect interviews for the new facility; DEAPR staff members are included in the interview and review team. They should be making a final decision by the end of the year, with the architectural planning work to proceed in 2016. 9. Adjournment: McAdams moved to adjourn; seconded by Compton. Meeting adjourned at 8:45.