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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPB meeting summary 09212022 Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board Approved Meeting Summary: September 21st, 2022 ***Bonnie Davis Center*** 6:30 p.m. Members Present: Hooten, Myers, Saiers, Sykes, Woods Members Absent: Finley, Hughes, McAdams, McPherson, Taylor Guests: None Staff: Jessica Perrin, Resource Conservation Coordinator, Soil and Water; Mike Ortosky, Community & Rural Development Agent, Extension, and Peter Sandbeck, Cultural Resources Coordinator, DEAPR 1. Call to order: Vice-chair Woods called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. It was noted that there was not a quorum so it will not be possible to vote or make decisions at this meeting. 2. Chair Comments/Introductions: None 3. Considerations of Additions to Agenda: None 4. Meeting Summary/Minutes: While the minutes for the March and May APB meetings were ready to be approved, members deferred making any motions to approve until the November meeting due to the lack of a quorum. S. Items for Decision: a) Identify and approve two new volunteers to serve on the Ag Economic Development Grant Review Committee: Ortosky provided a brief overview of this very active grant program, housed within the County's Economic Development Department. He noted that they have approximately $100,000 per year to award, primarily for things related to farm and production equipment. He then described the duties of the five committee members who meet quarterly for approximately 1 hour at each meeting. Applications and other meeting materials are provided online in advance so members have time to review ahead of the meetings. Members serve for three year terms. This has been an important program that has moved a significant amount of funding into the hands of active and innovative farmers. Discussion followed. Sykes and Woods volunteered to serve. 6. Discussion Items: a) Farmland Preservation Subcommittee presentation and update: Saiers provided a brief overview of the positive work and progress being made by the subcommittee. There are two main goals: to establish the need for enhanced farmland protection and to provide recommendations to the BOCC and other decision makers for 2 enhanced farmland protection in the county. The team is still gathering data to assess, evaluate and map farmland conversion/loss. This process could lead to a program to develop a regular farmland census in the county as a way to gather and maintain more accurate data. She showed a PowerPoint presentation that provided the preliminary findings to date, with helpful graphics generated by Brian Carson, the GIS expert with the Planning Department, using USDA cropland data from 2017to 2021, broken down by southern and northern portions of the county. As part of the process, she is planning to hold an initial meeting with Cy Stober, the new Planning Director, along with Mike Ortosky. Discussion followed. She noted that there are multiple ways to approach the challenge of farmland loss: farmland protection programs like VAD, EVAD and easements, as well as programs that help enhance farm viability and sustainability. Members agreed that this presentation would be an effective way to communicate the work of the subcommittee with Dave Stancil and perhaps later with the BOCC. Woods and other members complimented Saiers and the subcommittee for their great work. b) VAD Breakfast: Perrin provided an update on the planning for the upcoming VAD Breakfast, scheduled for December 1 and shared a draft agenda. She proposes holding it at the Ruritan Club in Cedar Grove. She has a good line up of speakers and has arranged for the food and beverages. For the main presentation, the group suggested that she invite Evan Davis to speak about farmland preservation if possible. Discussion followed. She will share an updated agenda soon. c) Membership/roster update: Sandbeck reviewed the current roster situation. There are three vacant at-large positions along with tow District Position vacancies, for VAD farm owner in the Cedar Grove and Caldwell districts. Discussion followed with a review of all of the current applications on file with the County Clerk. Given the lack of a quorum, Sandbeck said he will re-send all the applications to all members again, so that members could review them at their leisure and submit their rankings of the applicants to staff, who will then propose the highest ranking applicants to the County Clerk for recommendation to the BOCC. Members agreed that this sounded like a feasible approach. All agreed it would be of great importance to see if there is a way to allow Saiers to remain on the APB given all the progress she has made with the farmland preservation initiative. Woods agreed with the idea of proposing shifting her position so that she could fill the vacant Caldwell District position. Vaughn Compton has indicated that he will apply for the vacant Cedar Grove District position, so that would allow us to fill most of the vacancies when the BOCC makes appointments in November. 7. Informational Items/Future Agenda Items: a. Staff report on VAD program: Perrin provided a brief update. She has six farms now in various stages of the application process, so she expects to have at least several farm applications to present to the group in November. She is having good success with getting applicants to sign their new conservation agreements that she has worked on. The date for 3 the next Ag Summit has been set for Feb. 201h, 2023, to be held at the Cedar Grove Community Center. b. Ag Economic Development Update: Ortosky provided a brief overview of current activities. There is a Tri-COG project looking at food production and distribution in three Council of Government regions. At the Breeze Farm we are woefully underfunded, but there is a remainder trust set up by the Breeze family that is on the order of$800,000 that can now help provide support for the farm operations. They have two growers there doing work right now, along with some incubator activities. We've had several farmers who have graduated from the Breeze farm and purchased farmland and become successful farmers. Our new sustainability coordinator, Amy Eckburg, is working a project to do research on the issue of how to integrate farming activities into solar production facilities, so there is a chance to do something along these lines at Breeze. 8. Time for Information Sharing: Myers shared a matter of a small airstrip on a property adjoining hers where they fly over at very low altitudes near US 86 at Cedar Grove near the county line, and wondered if this was addressed in our existing county zoning. Discussion followed. 9. Adjournment: Saiers moved to adjourn, seconded by Sykes. Meeting adjourned at 8:21 pm.