| DECEMBER 16, 2011 -- Nearly 20 residents voted Tuesday night to create an agriculture commission for Pomfret.
Pomfret has received a grant to have the AGvocate Program assist the town for one year. The program, established in 2009, is funded by state Department of Agriculture farm viability grants. It provides assistance to 14 towns in northeastern Connecticut to help create agriculture commissions, review farming ordinances and promote agriculture overall.
“When (First Selectman) Jim Rivers contacted AGvocate, he wanted assistance in looking at things, such as zoning regulations, creating a farmers market and conservation,” Jennifer Kaufman said. She is the project leader for the AGvocate Program.
The agriculture commission will work to promote local agriculture and provide education.
Based on Woodstock’s
Residents at Tuesday’s meeting agreed to model their commission after the Woodstock Agriculture Commission. Woodstock’s panel started out as a committee, but residents there voted last week to make it a commission.
Committees can be created, appointed and discontinued by the Board of Selectmen. Commissions are created by ordinance, which makes the group permanent.
Paul Miller, owner of Fairvue Farms in Woodstock and member of the Woodstock Agriculture Commission, weighed in on the benefits of an agriculture commission. Miller said complaints are often made to the town and officials don’t always know how to answer the questions.
“You can be a sounding board between the general public and selectmen,” Miller said. “An agriculture commission can offer suggestions to help the town.”
Selectmen next step
The next step in creating the commission is to gain support from other boards and commissions and to present the charge to the Board of Selectmen. Selectman Peter Mann suggested the item be added to the agenda for the Board of Selectmen’s meeting Monday so drafting the ordinance can begin.
A town meeting would be required to approve the commission, which Mann said could happen as early as February.
Tony Abbott, who manages Spring Farm in Pomfret, said he supports forming an agriculture commission.
“If you can’t promote farms to sustain agriculture, the lifestyle will disappear,” Abbott said. “For example, dairy declined in the late 1980s, and we’re seeing the same thing again.”
Once the commission is in place, the group will work with the Planning and Zoning Commission to update the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development. |
