MANSFIELD AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE

Minutes of July 1, 2009 meeting

Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building

Conference Room B, 7:30 p.m.

1.  Acting Chairman, Bill Palmer, called the meeting to order at 7:35.

2. PRESENT:            Bill Palmer, Al Cyr, Charlie Galgowski, Vicky Wetherell, Kathleen Paterson.  Also attending, Jennifer Kaufman.

3. Minutes of the May 6, 2009, meeting were approved.

Old Business

4.  Farm Animal Zoning Regulations

 Jennifer reported that the proposed regulations probably would not be approved and that PZC would decide how to proceed at their July 6 meeting. 

5.  Working Farms Action Plan in the Mansfield 2020 Strategic Plan

The committee completed their comments on the Working Farms Action item, including potential obstacles, partners, etc.  These comments will be forwarded to the Town Manager’s office.  The committee recommended adding an action step to the proposed plan:  the town should apply for a state-sponsored farm viability grant to address the action steps in this plan.  There is a November 13 deadline for this application.

New Business 

6. Working Session

The committee decided to have a working session on August 12 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss a farm viability grant proposal.

7.  Promoting Local Agriculture

The committee decided to have a table at the Storrs Farmer’s Market on July 25 to hand out promotional materials and answer questions.

8.  The meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.