Town of Bolton Agricultural Commission
Meeting Minutes
Date: 17 November 2009
AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION
63 Main Street
978 779-2297 or 779-3308
A meeting of the Bolton Agricultural Commission was held on 17 November 2009 at Town Hall. The meeting was called to
order at 7:36 pm. All commission members were in attendance: Joe Kovacs, Ken Nicewicz, Sue Storbeck, Barbara
Parente, Betsy Taylor-Kennedy.
Reports from liaisons to Town Boards/Commissions:
Conservation Trust – Betsy – The trust has hired a liaison/advocate who will work with large farms with a goal of
preservation.
Conservation Commission – Barbara – Met with Carol Gumbart, Cons. Comm administrator, who suggested the AgComm
continue to voice their opinions about the preservation of fields on the Toth property. Ken will try to attend November 18
Planning Board meeting with developer and speak for the AgComm. AgComm has concern that only wetlands are being
preserved and there is no connection to trails in town.
-- CC will update the open space and recreation plan soon and seeks our input.
Working Session:
o Action: Joe will send all previous 2009 minutes to Barbara in PDF format and Barbara will see that they are posted
on the town website.
Current business:
1. November 15 Second Annual Holiday Sale – Discussion of Commission-sponsored sale at Great Brook Farms.
Vendors appreciated the opportunity to display and sell products (wool and felted items, fall vegetables, daylily gift
certificates, spinning demo) and GBF’s Bruce Slater is supportive of future events. Joe will submit invoices for fees
previously approved by the board: $75 from Josh Noone for music and $150 from Bruce Slater for space rental. The board
discussed problems and opportunities of having a sale in another season or at another venue, or pairing it with another
event. Publicity included posters, press releases and promotional photos in the newspaper. For future sales, we will add
cableTV and church bulletins, and hand out farm maps to visitors to further promote local farm sales.
o Action: Sue and Barbara will design a survey for all agricultural businesses to obtain opinions and preferences for
future sales. Sue will write thank-you cards to 2009 participants. Ken will talk to the winery about possibly pairing a
summer sale with a winery festival.
o Action: Sue will make up a planning checklist for the event manager
2. Right to Farm signs – Joe brought Rutland’s sign that we could use as a template. Cost - $164 per sign for an 18x24
size. We have funds allocated for two signs at this price. Members discussed whether the artwork was appropriate for
Bolton; Ken noted orchards should be prominent.
o Action: Joe will look at his clipart on CD. Ken will talk to an artist who has worked on state projects.
3. Directional farm stand signs at Rte 495 exit ramps:
o Action: Joe will sketch ideas and bring to the next meeting.
4. Conflict of Interest Law Training – All members need to complete online training by December 28.
5. Open Meeting Law session in Stow Nov. 18 – Betsy and Joe will attend.
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New Business:
1. Potential activities for FY 2010 – Joe distributed a page-long list of goals and suggested activities that was
previously made and asked members to discuss and prioritize items and bring their top five next time, including
any new ones.
o Joe suggested an annual farmers dinner, or a farmers town meeting, perhaps a potluck with local
politicians. Some ideas were to start a farm tour with politicians, hold an early summer event, reaching out
to farmers to make it successful, and creating a media event to positively influence public opinion. The
group decided to invite large farms to meet with the AgComm over the winter to talk about their issues and
concerns. We will make plans at the December meeting to meet with farmers. Suggestion that Ken talk to
officials, farmers, because of his farm connections.
2. Using the library to promote farmers and agricultural businesses – Hold meetings at the library, work with the
library to have posters of Bolton farms and agricultural scenes as part of the new library.
o Action: Sue and Barbara will pursue this
3. Members set the agenda for the next meeting, which will be on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 7:30 pm.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm.
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