Agriculture Commission Agenda and Minutes March 6 2013Northampton Agricultural Commission
Agenda and Minutes
7:00 PM Wednesday March 6, 2013
210 Main Street (City Hall) Room 10, Northampton
Members present: Chair John Omasta, Vice Chair Rich Jaescke, John Bobala, Bob Vollinger, and Chip Parsons.
John Omasta opened the meeting at 7:00 PM.
Approval of minutes of February 6, 2013
Upon motion of Rich Jaescke and second by Chip Parsons, the Commission voted unanimously to approve the minutes
Discussion on possible December 2013 or January 2014 Agricultural Forum
Pete Westover, consultant to the MACC and MDAR, reported that the MACC is happy to co-sponsor the 2014 meeting as one of their regional meetings, perhaps with Deerfield as a cosponsor
as well. Pete Westover suggested a roundtable discussion for local farmers and agriculture commissions.
The Commission focused on having the meeting in Northampton at Smith Vocational School.
Rich Jaeske reported that he spoke to Dick Ward at the MAAC annual conference and wanted to keep some of the vendors but shorter formal presentations.
There was a consensus
9:00 to 3:00 time schedule, including coffee and Danish and a full lunch
Primary goals: Engage agriculture commissions and the local farming community.
Limit agencies to ten very brief presentations.
Include a theme presentation or two to kick off round table discussions
Break into round table discussions
Pete Westover will be the liaison with MDAR and MAAC.
The Commission tentatively set 9:00 to 3:00 on Saturday January 11th, with a snow date of Saturday January 18th, if space is available at Smith Vocational School.
Discussion of approaches to address vandalism issues
Ben Perrault, Mountain View Farm, summarized the vandalism (vehicles driving through the fields) that he experienced. (Also discussed at the Commission’s February meeting).
Sergeant Victor Caputo, Northampton Police Department attended and participated in the discussions. He discussed the work he and others have done on addressing vandalism:
Increased police patrol requests for problem areas
Police outreach to high clearance vehicles to warn them that they can’t trespass.
Create an association for the meadows (Old Springfield Road/Pynchon Meadows/Manhan Meadows) not covered by the existing Northampton Agricultural Association (Hockanum Meadows) and agree
not to allow vehicles on their property.
Post property against trespassing
Police non-criminal disposition (fines) for vehicles driving on private land.
Follow up on debris dumped on the side of the road and in fields.
Sergeant Caputo is happy to share contact information with farmers and property owners.
If property owners install their own surveillance cameras the Police are happy to review relevant footage.
Potentially install markers to help identify areas for easy identification (as was done for the Hockanum Meadows).
Two meadows users expressed support for addressing vandalism but expressed concern that public rights to public roads, even if not city accepted streets, are going to be compromised.
BPW meeting on Meadows roads maintenance
The meeting will be held on Wednesday March 13th at 5:30 PM.
Set April meeting
The Commission set their next meeting for Wednesday April 3rd at 7:00 PM.
Other issues not anticipated when agenda written
Rich Jaeske reported on attending the annual Massachusetts Association of Agriculture Commission Commissions (MAAC) annual meeting in Sturbridge. Two items of interest:
Conflict resolution: There is an Agriculture Mediation program if conflicts arise.
Farming in wetlands: There is a lot of information on and support for agriculture efforts that might have conflicts with wetlands regulations.
Develop a strong liaison with the Conservation Commission and invite the chair and vice chair to the next commission meeting (invite emailed on 3/6/13).
Develop a strong liaison with the Board of Health and invite a member to their October meeting.
Upon motion by Rich Jaescke and second by John Babala the Commission voted unanimously to adjourn at 8:00 PM.