Agriculture Commission Agenda and Minutes November 14 2012Northampton Agricultural Commission
Minutes
4:00 PM Wednesday November 14, 2012
210 Main Street (City Hall) Room 10
Members present: Chair John Omasta, John Bobala, Rich Jaescke, Bob Vollinger, and John Kelly.
Staff present: Wayne Feiden
John Omasta opened the meeting at 4:05 PM.
Minutes of October 24, 2012
Upon motion by Rich Jaescke and second by John Bobala, the Commission voted unanimously to approve the minutes.
Plan for January 19, 2013 Agriculture Forum at Smith Vocational School
The Commission discussed with Pete Westover, consultant for Massachusetts Department of Agriculture and the Massachusetts Association of Agriculture Commissions, the Janauary 19th forum.
The commission planned how to reach out to possible vendors. Commission members will report back at the December meeting.
Follow-up on maintenance of roads in the meadows
The Commission discussed the need for a follow up discussion with the Board of Public Works to ensure that all public roads in the meadows are graded twice a year, spring and fall.
They agreed that of the two, spring grading is most important but that it is important to get roads graded both times.
Priority setting for agriculture preservation restrictions
Feiden reported that $35,000 of CPA funds will be available for the second round of a local APR program. The Commission agreed that no priority setting was needed and we can take requests
up as they come.
Other items not anticipated when the agenda was written
The Commission discussed the new photovoltaic zoning, which allows PV on the roof of any building anywhere in the city and larger PV installations on farmland outside of the meadows,
but not in the meadows, with its prime farmland that the Commission didn’t want to put at risk.
The Commission set December 12, 2012 at 7:00 PM as their next meeting.
The Commission adjourned at 5:05 PM.