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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPB Meeting Summary 05202026 Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board Approved Meeting Summary: May 20t", 2026 *** Bonnie Davis Center, 1020 US 70 West, Hillsborough *** 6:30 pm Members Present: Compton, Fabian, Miller, Neff, Ranells, Sykes, Wagger, Woods Members Absent: Hooten, Hughes, Rose, Thompson, Totten, Weitzel Guests: Alex Kissinger and Jonothan Smith, Orange Co. Extension Service Staff: Jessica Perrin, Soil and Water Conservation Manager; Peter Sandbeck, Cult. Resources Coord. 1. Call to order: Vice-Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 6:33 pm. 2. Chair Comments/Introductions: None 3. Considerations of Additions to Agenda: None 4. Meeting Summary/Minutes: Woods moved to approve the meeting summary for March 18th, 2026, seconded by Neff; motion carried. S. Items for Decision: None 6. Discussion Items: a) VAD Updates: Perrin reported on current VAD program activity. The four farms approved by the APB at the March 18t" meeting were presented to the BOCC at their April 215t meeting, at which time all four farms were approved. Work is ongoing on the application by Mary Beth Miller and Brock Phillips for their farm to be enrolled in the VAD program; this will be ready to present to the APB at the September meeting. Perrin noted that she plans to attend a statewide VAD conference coming up in July, hosted by the NC Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. b) Membership: upcoming retirements and new applications: Sandbeck provided a brief update on membership. The APB now has one at-large vacancy, as well as a vacancy coming up soon in the Caldwell district position, with the retirement of Kim Woods at the end of June. Compton wishes to continue to serve, so staff will send a letter of recommendation for his reappointment to the County Clerk's office. The cutoff for making appointments before the BOCC begins its summer schedule was May 15t" so we missed that deadline. As a result, our actions for membership will be considered in September. Members were encouraged to scout around for prospective applicants during the summer. Staff was asked to invite viable current applicants to attend a future meeting as a way for them to become acquainted with the work of the APB. Also, Woods was one of our two APB members serving on the Ag Economic Development Grant review committee, so a volunteer is needed to serve, along with Miller who is the other member. Neff agreed to serve. 7 2 c) Review of new front sections added to draft Farmland Plan: Staff referred members to new front sections that were added to the final version of the plan document that was emailed out with the agenda. These new sections consisted of acknowledgements, a preface, and a "call to action" statement that presents the core issues now facing farming and farmland in the county. Discussion followed. Members were in general agreement that these were an appropriate addition to the overall plan. Now that it has achieved its present completed form, staff will convey the final plan and its illustrations to the county's graphic designer, who will be able to convert our document into a professional-looking web version. Staff thanked those members who have shared photos for possible inclusion. d) Final schedule for presentation of the new plan document to the BOCC on June 2: Staff outlined the process for presenting our new final plan document to the BOCC at the June 2 meeting, at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough. Several members volunteered to reach out to their various farm community friends and associates to encourage them to attend the meeting to provide a strong presence from the farm community. Most members indicated they'd be able to attend. It will also be helpful to have several members of the farm community sign up to speak in favor of the plan, but this needs to be coordinated so we don't have too many people saying essentially the same thing. Staff will follow up with final suggestions and details. 7. Informational Items/Updates: a. Our application to ADFP Trust Fund for a grant to fund a new Cost of Community Services Study: Staff participated in an in-depth interview session with the ADFP staff to review our application and answer their questions; this seemed to go well. Their committee reviews all the applications in June then will notify us later in the summer. The team at NCSU can start working on this in early 2027 for completion in late 2027/early 2028. b. Extension and Ag Economic Development activities: Guests Jonathon Smith and Alex Kissinger provided updates on various Extension activities and upcoming programs of interest to APB members. 8. Time for Information Sharing: Compton shared information about his recent meeting with Steve Brantley, the director of the county's Economic Development Department. 9. Adjournment: Fabian moved to adjourn, seconded by Woods; meeting adjourned at 8:11 pm.