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Agricultural Preservation Board Meeting MinutesAGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION BOARD Minutes The regularly scheduled meeting of the Calhoun County Agricultural Preservation Board was held on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 at 8:30 am at Calhoun County Community Development, 13300 Fifteen Mile Road, Marshall, Michigan 49068. Vice-Chair Dietz called the meeting to order at 8:58 am. Roll call was made with the following members present: Greg Moore – Calhoun County Commissioner Judy Mackinder, Pennfield Township Supervisor – Elected Township Official Matt Davis, Rosemary Davis Realtors - Home Builder/Real Estate Interest Nancy Dietz – Farming/Agricultural Interest Wayne Cornell – Farming/Agricultural Interest Ben Lark – Conservation/Natural Resource Interest (entered at 9:30 am) Also present were: Jennifer Bomba, County Planner - Calhoun County Community Development Mary Jo Crumpton, Secretarial Clerk – Calhoun County Community Development Dan Kesselring, Calhoun County Resident PUBLIC COMMENTS Dan Kesselring provided information on the Gorsline Farm property that is being sold off in 2 ½ acre lots. He noted that this is prime farmland property and is an example of how urgent the task of the Agricultural Preservation Board is to preserve farmland such as this. Discussion continued. MINUTES Motion made by Greg Moore to approve the June 23, 2004 Agricultural Preservation Board meeting minutes. Supported by Matt Davis. Motion carried. COMMUNICATIONS Jennifer explained that the following article was included in the agenda packet for information: “The Michigan Farmland Connection” – Jennifer informed the Board that this publication includes information on farmland preservation efforts around the State. Included is a map of the state that shows the status of each county's farmland protection efforts. Jennifer noted that she will provide APB members with a color copy of this map and will also attempt to put APB members on the mailing list for this publication. Matt Davis informed the Board that he receives many emails from individuals with an opposing viewpoint of farmland preservation and asked if the Board would like him to forward these on to them. Members agreed that it is important to see all viewpoints. NEW BUSINESS 2004 Meeting Schedule – Included in the agenda packet was a draft meeting schedule for the remainder of 2004. Jennifer emphasized that the APB has plenty of work to do and should continue to local APB needs to be ready to run an application cycle. Wayne Cornell inquired as to the status of the County Master Plan. Jen responded that the plan would be out for review and comment soon and would be adopted by the County Planning Commission early next year. Discussion continued. It was the consensus of the Board to schedule the following meetings: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 Thursday, November 18, 2004 Thursday, December 16, 2004 All meetings will be held at 8:30 am in the Calhoun County Community Development Board Room. Township Resolutions - Included in the agenda packet was a draft letter and sample resolution that Jennifer will be sending to Calhoun County townships. Townships are required to pass a resolution in order for landowners of that township to apply to the Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program. Jennifer noted that the townships play an important role in the program, as they will have the right to deny an application from going forward if it is not consistent with the township's master plan and zoning regulations. This component recognizes that the townships have the best knowledge of where growth and preservation should occur within their municipality. Jennifer noted that this should not be any surprise to the townships as the work group went to all the townships regarding the PDR program. If necessary, the Ag Preserve Board could do a presentation to the county MTA organization. Judy Mackinder stated that since the program is voluntary, townships should pass the resolution and not shut the door on the PDR program. Jen noted that it doesn't always make sense for some townships to pass the resolution if there is no prime farmland in their township. Discussion continued. Schedule of Program Component Review – Included in the agenda packet was a review checklist of the Purchase of Development Rights Program Components that was put together by the original work group. The Selection Criteria includes preliminary information on how the program will operate, agricultural characteristics including ag productivity, parcel size and additional ag income, PA 116 enrollment, development pressure which is the proximity to existing utilities and development activity, additional ag protection efforts such as proximity to other protected farms and ag district zoning designation, and other criteria including matching funds and unique characteristics. Discussion continued. The APB members agreed to review the first three areas of the program components at the October 27 th meeting. STAFF COMMENTS 1st Annual Pig Roast & Field Tour Follow-Up - Jennifer thanked everyone for attending the event and informed Board members that she has received great feedback on the event. Approximately 92 adults attended. It was a very successful cooperative effort made possible by the Blight Family, MSU Extension, the Conservation District, the County Farm Bureau and CCCD. Most everyone who attended commented that it was a great learning opportunity and thoroughly enjoyable. Letterhead – Jen explained that she included a sample of letterhead that she developed for the Agricultural Preservation Board to identify this group separately. APB members and their area of representation are included. Discussion continued. MEMBER COMMENTS Judy Mackinder extended her thanks to Ken Blight and his family for hosting the 1 st Annual Pig Roast and Field Tour. Ben Lark commented that the field tour had a definite impact on “nonfarmers”. Nancy Dietz noted that many who attended had never been on a farm before. Wayne Cornell agreed that many people had never seen a farming operation up close and lacked a basic knowledge of farming. Matt Davis stated that as a “nonfarmer”, it was a good learning opportunity for him and his family. Greg Moore asked the status of the APB putting together a “toolbox” for educational and promotional purposes. He would like to see it include maps and statistics and data with partners identified. Jennifer responded that many of these items cost money to develop and the APB does not have a budget for this. However, CCCD does have mapping capabilities and we could put together a simple brochure. Discussion continued. PUBLIC COMMENTS APB members were provided with information on the Cool County Compact, a concept developed by David Rusk for collaborative land use planning. Dan Kesselring informed the members that he attended a presentation yesterday morning on this concept. In 1998, Mr. Rusk conducted a land use study in Calhoun County. Commissioner Kesselring added that Mr. Rusk is proposing to the Governor's Office to target Calhoun, Wayne and Washtenaw as pilot programs for the Cool County Compact. Discussion continued. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 27th at 8:30 am. With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:58 am.
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