February 27, 2025 Meeting Minutes

ERIE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL & FARMLAND PROTECTION BOARD MEETING MINUTES 

 February 27, 2025 | 5:30 PM  Roycroft Power House | 39 South Grove Street | East Aurora, NY 14052 

Board Members in Attendance: Brett Kreher, Bryant Zilke, Diane Held, Dan Castle, Mayda Pozantides, Len Janiga, Mark Gaston

Board Members Excused: Scott Bylewski, Rachel Chrostowski, Dan Henry 

Staff in Attendance: Sarah Gatti, Mark Rountree

Guests in Attendance: Barbara Johnston, Valerie Weisbeck 

1. Consideration of the October 2024 Meeting Minutes: Bryant Zilke made a motion for APPROVAL, seconded by Mark Gaston, and carried by all voting members.
2. Election of Officers: Len Janiga made a motion to ELECT Brett Kreher as Chairperson and Bryant Zilke as Vice-Chairperson of the Erie County Agricultural and Protection Board (AFPB), seconded by Mark Gaston and carried by all voting members (Brett Kreher and Bryant Zilke abstaining).
3. Department of Environment and Planning Updates
   1. Agricultural Districts 303A Public Comment and Discussion: Sarah Gatti stated that the AFPB is an advisory board on agricultural issues to the County Legislature. In this capacity, the AFPB provides a recommendation to the County Legislature on agricultural districts pursuant to Agriculture and Markets Law Sections 303a. The Legislature is the body who votes to modify, continue, and/or consolidate agricultural districts. The County Legislature’s public hearing is the agricultural district law’s forum to provide public input to the County Legislature on this issue. Each applicant or member of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments at the public hearing. Following the public hearing, the County Legislature will examine all the information provided, including the public comments provided at the public hearings and will formally vote on the proposed actions. The resolutions are then sent to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets in Albany, who makes the final determination. No members of the public attended the AFPB meeting and there was no public comment given. Regarding the eight-year review, Ms. Gatti provided a brief overview of each modification request, followed by a Board vote on each application. Application #1: The Board raised concerns regarding removal of this parcel. Mr. Zilke made a motion to recommend DENIAL of the landowner’s request for removal, seconded by Mr. Gaston and carried by all voting members. Application #2: The Board voted to REMOVE these parcels. A detailed voting record is included as Appendix A of these minutes.
   2. Agricultural Districts 303b Certification: Ms. Gatti stated that NYS had certified the 2024 modifications.
   3. November Storm/Tornado Fund: Commissioner Dan Castle and Mr. Gaston provided an update on the November Storm/Tornado fund noting the $2 million fund has mostly been allocated.
   4. Avian Flu Concerns: Diane Held informed the Board the NYS had commenced testing milk silos and would be in touch if any infected milk is traced back to Erie County. Mr. Gaston noted that the Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District had sent an outreach letter to dairy farmers in Erie County providing information on the situation and contact information for the Erie County Department of Health.
4. Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan
   1. Review draft Plan and Maps: Barbara Johnston of LaBella provided an overview of the draft Plan’s topic areas; opportunities and challenges; and goals, policies, and actions. The Board provided comments, including: use the NRCS definition of urban/small-scale farming in the Plan; include best practices for solar siting; ensure the Erie County Community Climate Action Plan and this Plan are consistent; and preliminary priority areas of the Plan should include climate, procurement, and local government education on agriculture. Additional comments from the Board will be accepted until March 14, 2025. The draft will be updated to reflect those comments received and will be recirculated to the project steering committee for approval. From there, the draft Plan will be released for public review.
   2. Open House Location: Ms. Gatti sought recommendations for a public open house in April. The Aurora Town Hall, Roycroft Power House, Rural Outreach Center, Marilla Community Center, and a location in Orchard Park were suggested. A location in Aurora was most preferred due to its central location. Ms. Gatti will explore and finalize a location.
5. Other Business: Commissioner Castle informed the Board that a FAST NY grant for $11 million had been awarded to the County Agribusiness Park. This grant will make the park shovel ready. Commissioner Castle informed the Board of a concept plan for the adaptive reuse of the Gowanda Correctional Facility in Gowanda as a meat processing facility.
6. Adjournment: Mr. Zilke made a motion to ADJOURN at 7:33PM, seconded by Commissioner Castle, and carried by all voting members. 

APPENDIX A - DETAILED VOTING RECORD