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October 22, 2026 Meeting Minutes (Draft)

Meeting Minutes

October 22, 2026 | 6:00 PM

Roycroft Power House | 39 South Grove Street | East Aurora, NY 14052

Board Members in Attendance: Brett Kreher, Rachel Chrostowski, Diane Held, Legislator John Mills, Dan Castle, Mark Gaston, Bryant Zilke, Dan Henry, Mayda Pozantides

Board Members Excused: Scott Bylewski

Board Members Absent: Len Janiga

Staff in Attendance: Sarah Gatti

Guests in Attendance: Rick Hill, James Lippert, Julie Beaver

  1. Welcome

  2. In Memoriam – Earl “Skip” Gingerich

    Chairperson Kreher noted the lost of Earl "Skip" Gingerich who had served on the Board for close to 20 years and had been a tireless advocate for agriculture.

  3. In Appreciation – Legislator John Mills

    Chairperson Kreher thanked Legislator Mills for his years of support in light of his upcoming retirement. Legislator Mills was presented with a certificate of appreciation for his efforts. 

  4. Consideration of the May 2026 Meeting Minutes

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

  5. New Business

    1. Agricultural Districts 303b Discussion and Public Comment

      Ms. Gatti stated that the AFPB is an advisory board on agricultural issues to County Legislature. In this capacity, the AFPB provides a recommendation to the County Legislature on agricultural districts pursuant to Agriculture and Markets Law Sections 303b. 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. The public hearing has yet to be scheduled but applicants will be made aware of the date once available. 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. Regarding the Open Enrollment period, Ms. Gatti provided a brief overview of each modification request, followed by a Board vote on each application. A detailed voting record is included as Exhibit 1.

  6. Old Business

    1. Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan Implementation

      Ms. Gatti noted that this will be a standing agenda item moving forward. She stated that the Food Policy Council had held a food systems resource fair last month and that she will presenting on the Plan's mapping next week, both of which speak to the education goals in the Plan. 

    2. Agribusiness Park Update

      Commissioner Castle provided an update noting that the Town of Evans is responsible for naming the road and once that happens, discussions on potential tenants can begin in earnest. The sewer capacity of the site is 1 million gallons per day, to be shared among all tenants. 

    3. Farm Tour

      Commissioner Castle noted that farm tour has not happened due to scheduling issues. Ms. Gatti noted that Albany County had just hosted a successful legislative farm tour with support from the New York Farm Bureau and suggested connecting with them to learn more about their process. 

  7. Other Business

    1. Nomination of Officers for 2026

      Dan Henry made a motion to NOMINATE Brett Kreher as Chairperson and Bryant Zilke as Vice-Chairperson of the Erie County Agricultural and Protection Board (AFPB); seconded by Diane Held and carried by all voting members (Brett Kreher and Bryant Zilke abstaining). Sarah Gatti advised that elections would occur at the January meeting.

    2. Approval of Meeting Calendar

      Ms. Gatti proposed three meetings to be held in January, May, and October 2027. A fourth August meeting will be scheduled as tentative and will only be held if there's business to conduct. Rachel Chrostowski made a motion to APPROVE the 2027 meeting calendar, seconded by Mark Gaston and carried by all voting members.

  8. Adjournment 

    Bryant Zilke made a motion to ADJOURN at 7:18pm, seconded by Mark Gaston, and carried by all voting members.

Exhibit 1

# SBL ACRES ADDRESS TOWN APPLICANT DISTRICT BYLEWSKI CASTLE CHROSTOWSKI GASTON HELD HENRY JANIGA KREHER MILLS POZANTIDES ZILKE INCLUDE DO NOT INCLUDE
1 24.00-2-1 55 3183 Stony Point Road Grand Island Paul Harper North #1 Excused In Favor In Favor Motion In Favor In Favor Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor Second X  
2 200.00-1-21.2 8 0 Boies Road Aurora Frederick Hill Central #5 Excused In Favor In Favor Motion Second In Favor Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor In Favor X  
2 200.00-1-19.12 16 1734 Boies Road Aurora Frederick Hill Central #5 Excused In Favor In Favor Motion Second In Favor Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor In Favor X  
2 200.00-1-18.131 35 1899 Center Street Aurora Frederick Hill Central #5 Excused In Favor In Favor Motion Second In Favor Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor In Favor X  
2 215.00-4-21.3 5 7674 Lewis Road Colden Frederick Hill Southeast #15 Excused In Favor In Favor Motion Second In Favor Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor In Favor X  
3 347.00-2-18.1 62 14025 Mill Street Concord Schichtels Nursery, Inc. Southeast #15 Excused In Favor In Favor In Favor In Favor Second Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor Motion X  
3 347.05-1-4.2 2 425 S. Cascade Drive Springville Schichtels Nursery, Inc. Southeast #15 Excused In Favor In Favor In Favor In Favor Second Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor Motion X  
3 347.00-1-29.1 52 14151 Route 219 Concord Schichtels Nursery, Inc. Southeast #15 Excused In Favor In Favor In Favor In Favor Second Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor Motion X  
4 198.00-4-11.2 28 0 Behm Road Orchard Park (T) 7863 Behm Road LLC Southwest #8 Excused In Favor In Favor Motion In Favor In Favor Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor Second X  
5 343.00-2-3.112 4 3566 Route 39 Collins Amanda R Solem-Deinzer Southwest #8 Excused In Favor In Favor Motion In Favor In Favor Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor Second X  
6 213.00-6-24 11 0 Blanchard Road Colden Thomas Dziulko Southeast #15 Excused In Favor Abstain Motion In Favor Second Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor In Favor   X
7 214.00-3-14.1 27 7656 Bleistein Rd Colden Erik and Dana Koch Southeast #15 Excused In Favor In Favor Motion In Favor In Favor Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor Second X  
8 51.02-2-6 6 1750 East River Road Grand Island Lindsey Cruz North #1 Excused In Favor In Favor Second In Favor Motion Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor In Favor   X
9 272.00-1-37.2 15 4835 Belcher Rd North Collins (T) Leigh M. Hall Southwest #8 Excused In Favor In Favor Motion In Favor In Favor Absent In Favor In Favor In Favor Second X  
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