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TOWN OF GRANBY
AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION MEETING
MINUTES
March 10, 2010
PRESENT: Michelle Niedermeyer, Chairman; Kate Bogli, Don Butler, Stanley Hayes, Stephen Hayes, Lois Neuman, Ann Wilhelm
GUESTS: Matt Garrett, Connie Legeyt, Madelyn McCauley, Jennifer Rome, Robert Rome
APPROVE MINUTES
ON A MOTION BY Stanley Hayes, seconded by Stephen Hayes, the Commission voted (7-0-0) to approve the minutes of January 13, 2010 as written.
UPDATE ON WEBSITE:
None
POTENTIAL SITES FOR SALE OF LOCAL GOODS:
- The Romes own a business in town and they are thinking about adding on. They are looking about the possibility of a small "general store" type endeavor and selling local products. The Commission felt they would get support from local farmers. Ann Wilhelm suggested that they may also want to contact the Granby Artists Association to see if they would be interested.
- Madelyn McCauley owns MoJo's Diner on route 10. She approached the Commission regarding the idea of holding a farmer's market in her parking lot on Sundays. Stephen Hayes commented someone would be needed to organize it and many of the markets have a market manager and a committee. Although the Commission felt this would be a great location for a farmer’s market, there are some things to consider, i.e. is Holcomb Farm doing this, are farmers available, etc. Madelyn will contact Fran Armentano to see what she would need to do if she decides to proceed.
- Connie Legeyt attended the meeting for Lori Love, owner of Granby Village Health, who is interested in selling local produce in front of the store. The Commission was in agreement that farmers would support such an endeavor.
- Ms. Neidermeyer stated Holcomb Farm contacted her regarding a proposal. They have offered a rent-free space for a store. Although it was believed the Commission should support Holcomb Farm, they felt they don't have the resources to manage it. The Commission also felt they need more details from Holcomb Farm.
- Ms. Neidermeyer will send out an e-mail to the Commission’s distribution list regarding the above possibilities to see if there is interest.
- Stephen Hayes will look into the regulations regarding these possibilities.
GRANBY SAMPLER:
Ms. Niedermeyer announced that the Commission received the grant for the Granby Sampler. Next steps are finding farms to participate, calculate share cost, etc. Ms. Neidermeyer will send updates via e-mail.
It should be noted that at this point, Don Butler excused himself from the remainder of the meeting.
FARM FORUM:
- Results & Next Steps: Five projects came out of the discussions at the Farm Forum. Ms. Neidermeyer will send the list to the Commission members for their review and updates, if needed. Comments should be returned to her by Friday. Ms. Neidermeyer will then send an e-mail to the distribution list which was created from the forum asking for volunteers to assist with the projects. One project was the creation of a display which could be used at various events. Since the Commission will be creating a display for the library in May, this will be used to create the permanent display. Items included will be the farm map, brochures, details of what's available in Granby, etc.
OTHER NEW BUSINESS:
- The Commission will look into the possibility of getting a regular column in the Drummer and a sandwich board on the green regarding agricultural updates.
- Bill Smith had contacted Ms. Neidermeyer asking the Commission to take part in creating guidelines regarding use of town land for agriculture. Stephen Hayes stated we had begun looking at that in the past and we will find the information so we can continue this discussion.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AT NEXT MEETING:
- Coordination with Holcomb Farm for 2010
ADJOURNMENT:
ON A MOTION BY Stanley Hayes, seconded by Kate Bogli, the Commission voted (6-0-0) to hold the next meeting on Wednesday, April 14, 2009 at 8:00 p.m.
ON A MOTION BY Stanley Hayes, second by Stephen Hayes, the Commission voted (6-0-0) to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Kane
Recording Secretary
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