Farmland plan seeks approval

NORTH EAST — The Town Board welcomed Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC) member and Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan Committee (AFPPC) Chair Lynn Mordas to its business meeting Thursday, Dec. 10, to get an update on the group’s status.

Following a presentation made by American Farmland Trust (AFT) consultant David Haight on Nov. 16 at the American Legion Hall, Mordas said a new draft of the plan will be provided to key stakeholders and posted on the North East Community Center’s Web site, neccmillerton.org. It is also available in written form at the town and village halls as well as at the NorthEast-Millerton Library. Additionally, copies of the final plan will be provided to the Dutchess County Farmland Protection Board. Due to AFPPC’s progress, Mordas requested the Town Board take action to pass a resolution to adopt a final plan by January.

“I am requesting that you act, as a board, to schedule a public hearing either before the end of this calendar year or at your first meeting in January 2010, at which you can pass a resolution to adopt the final plan,†Mordas said. “We will be providing you with such a resolution prior to the date you set. The Dutchess County Farmland Protection Board has indicated that they plan to vote on approving the plan at their January meeting, subject to your adoption.

“This plan is a roadmap for agriculture and farmland protection,†Mordas added. “It sets forth goals and corresponding recommendations which provide the toolbox for leaders in our town to take action to support farm businesses and protect farmland for future generations.â€

Mordas said some of the recommendations are simple and easily acted upon and will cost the town little to nothing. Others, she said, are less straightforward or could be more costly and require more analysis before taking further action. Some measures, if causing changes or additions to collecting revenue by the town, might call for public referendums. One important step, she said, would be to define the duties of the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC), along with the number of members and their eligibility criteria and tenure, as it’s the AAC which would be in charge of implementing the plan (along with the CAC, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Assessor and Town Board, working with the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development and the Dutchess County Farmland Protection Board).

Another point Mordas made focused on timing. The receipt of funds will be contingent on the adoption of the plan by the Town Board; the deadline for the plan’s completion is Feb. 26, 2010. That’s when it must be on the Patrick Hooker’s desk, commissioner of the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets; it first must be approved by the Town Board and the county’s Farmland Protection Board.

“We will not be able to submit for reimbursements of any expenses related to the grant subsequent to that date,†Mordas said. The town was awarded a $25,000 grant from the state to undertake the project in the first place. “I also wish to indicate that I previously provided Supervisor [Dave] Sherman with a cover letter, narrative, budget form, voucher and required documentation of expenses for use in obtaining reimbursement for all town outlays for the plan from the Department of Agriculture and Markets. I must stress that receipt of funds from the department for this submission and for our anticipated final submission will be contingent upon the plan’s adoption by the Town Board in the case of the former and its approval by the commissioner in the case of the latter.â€

After some discussion among Town Board members as to when and where the next hearing should be held, CAC Chair Dianne Engleke suggested the public hearing be held right at Town Hall.

There was a general consensus to the suggestion, and then a motion was made to hold a public hearing on Jan. 21, at 7:30 p.m., at Town Hall on the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan. There was a second motion made to give the AFPPC permission to present the final report to the Dutchess County Farmland Protection Board for its final approval. Both motions passed unanimously.

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