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Meeting Minutes

January 20, 2022 | 6:00 PM | Webex

Board Members in Attendance: Brett Kreher, Dan Castle, Dan Henry, Diane Held, Mark Gaston, Rachel Chrostowski, Bryant Zilke Staff in Attendance: Sarah Gatti

  1. Consideration of the October 21, 2021 Meeting Minutes

    Dan Henry made a motion for APPROVAL, seconded by Bryant Zilke, and carried by all voting members.

  2. Election of Officers

    Mark Gaston made a motion to ELECT Brett Kreher as Chairperson of the Erie County Agricultural and Protection Board (AFPB); seconded by Diane Held and carried by all voting members (Brett Kreher abstaining). Mark Gaston made a motion to ELECT Bryant Zilke as Vice-Chairperson of the Erie County Agricultural and Protection Board (AFPB); seconded by Dan Henry and carried by all voting members (Bryant Zilke abstaining).

  3. Agricultural Districts 2021 Open Enrollment

    Sarah Gatti provided an update to the AFPB, informing them that the Erie County Legislature had approved the recommended modifications to Erie County Agriculture Districts (AD). The modifications have been certified by the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets (NYSDAM) and the 2021 open enrollment cycle is now concluded. Consolidation Plan Ms. Gatti stated that the final consolidation will begin in May 2022 and be finalized in in spring of 2023. The Amherst #17, Alden Newstead #1, Clarence Newstead #14, and Lancaster Alden #16 will be consolidated into the North Agricultural District.

  4. Office of Agriculture

    Ms. Gatti informed that AFPB that the towns of Boston, Evans, Hamburg, and Wales had received agricultural planning grants and that work would begin in February 2022. Dan Castle indicated that funding is available for another round of grants, to be announced in the fall of this year. Ms. Gatti provided an update on Erie Grown and the Erie Grown Passport, noting that the second cycle of the Passport program had concluded and another will be starting in the spring. Mr. Castle stated that Erie Grown had recently received a Best Practice Award from the Upstate New York Chapter of the American Planning Association.

  5. Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan Implementation Matrix

    Ms. Gatti reviewed updates to the implementation matrix and asked the AFPB to email any additional updates. The updated matrix will then be distributed to members of the Board. Ms. Gatti also explained that the Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan is not eligible for update until 2023 – ten years from when NYS certified the Plan. If at all possible, funding to begin the update sooner will be sought. In preparation for this update, the Board will review the existing Plan and identify new and emerging issues that need to be addressed in the update.

  6. Other Business

    There was no other business.

  7. Next Meeting

    Scheduled for May 19, 2022. Mark Gaston made a motion for ADJOURN, seconded by Diane Held, and carried by all voting members. The meeting concluded at 6:38PM.

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