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Town of Bolton Agricultural Commission
Meeting Minutes
Date: 20 May 2008
AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION
663 Main Street
978 779-2297 or 779-3308
A meeting of the Bolton Agricultural Commission was held on 20 May 2008 at Town Hall. The meeting was called
to order at 7:40 PM. In attendance were: Storbeck, Kovacs, Ashe.
Administrative Business: minutes approved from prior meeting.
Report out from Board/Commission Liaison:
• Conservation (Martha) – no update
• Planning Board (Nicewicz)) – no update
• Conservation Trust (Held) – no update; Joe will send Rob’s notes from past meeting they attended
• Board of Selectmen (Kovacs) – no update
• Board of Health (Storbeck) – no update
Working Session
• Grant update:
o Action: Joe will schedule a mtg with MDAR to kickoff discussion about reporting, grant process
dates, etc.
o Action: all committee leads will form committee teams, develop plans, and bring plans to next
meeting; grant money will not be confirmed until Joe’s MDAR mtg takes place, however.
o Town entry signs (Sue is the lead, if appropriate): decision to do nothing until MDAR meeting
when we’ll know the state’s intention
o Education brochure (Rob is the lead, Martha will support): Rob will kick off first meeting for
planning purposes; can commit $ until grant received, however.
o Website (Joe is the lead): Joe will get town information and post it to the site; Ken will help solicit
content from farmers; Martha will support as needed.
o Bolton Fair Agricultural Row (Joe is the lead): goal is to create the “feel” and fill the spaces we’ve
been given by the Fair; get tents, banner, tables; advertise to get farmer participation; Ken will
talk to other farmers and businesses in town to generate interest including the Winery, Zayka’s
farm stand, etc.
o Agricultural Holiday Sale (Sue is the lead): line up people to support
• Press release: all agreed to do this;
o Action: Sue to contact Barbara Parente to draft release; will use Bolton Common and the Ag
Comm website as key places for our communication with the town.
• July 4th Parade update:
o Ken will participate with tractor and hay wagon
o Joe will participate with restored tractor; may also provide petting zoo at Memorial Field with
sheep, goats, chickens, rabbits, mini llamas.
o Action: Sue to contact parade organizers re close trailer parking needed by Joe for his animals
o Action: Sue to get quotes on banners and seek potential volume discount for 3 banners for Ag
Comm, Ken’s farm and Joe’s farm.
• Town Meeting Survey results:
o Results from the “agricultural awareness” survey handed out at May town meeting were counted.
Thirty six responses were submitted ( 15% of the 245 voters who attended the mtg)
Question Yes
(#/% of TM
attendees)
No
(#/% of TM
attendees
Blank
(#/% of TM
attendees
1. Are you aware that Bolton recently created an Ag Comm? 34 / 14% 2 / .8% 0
2. Do you see local farms and other agricultural activities as a
positive influence in Bolton?
36 / 15% 0 0
3. Are you a farmer who would like to participate in creating
awareness for your farm in Bolton?
6 / 2.4% 26 / 10.6% 4 / 1.6%
4. Would you like to get involved and help the Bolton Ag
Comm?
11 / 4.5% 16 / 6.5% 9 / 3.7%
• Miscellaneous:
o Action: Joe, Sue, and Martha will call survey respondents who would like to get involved in the
Bolton Ag Comm or who are farmers seeking awareness for their farm (each took 4-6 names).
o Action: Sue will call Sandra Cabral per her letter on behalf of Littlefield Farm.
o Past Actions:
.. Joe will complete uploading meeting minutes on the website; Martha to support
.. Buy local – no update from Ken
.. Conflict resolution process – no update
.. Mass Ag in the Classroom – Sue will contact school district
The meeting was adjourned at 9:06 pm.
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