Agricultural Advisory Committee

Town of Mills River Minutes of the Agricultural Advisory Committee Friday, February 19, 2021 The Mills River Agricultural Advisory Committee held its regular meeting on Friday, February 19, 2021, at 9:00 AM at the Mills River Town Hall. Committee members present were Bert Lemkes, Jason Davis, Kirby Johnson, Bradley Johnston James Cantrell, and Mike Corn. Dave Shaffer was absent. Town Manager Daniel Cobb and Tax Collector/Deputy Town Clerk Aurelie Taylor were also present. There are no seats open on the Committee. Chairman Bert Lemkes called the meeting to order. Mike Corn made a motion to approve the minutes from December 18, 2020. Jason Davis seconded the motion and the motion passed by unanimous verbal assent. New Business: A. Farmland Preservation – Kieran Roe, Conserving Carolina Kieran Roe, Executive Director, gave a presentation giving some history of Conserving Carolina, their mission, and how farmland can be conserved both for natural habitat and farming. There are many steps in obtaining an easement; baseline documentation, surveys, appraisals, deed preparation. Annual monitoring is conducted. Funding comes from donations, state and federal grants, and county programs. The value of the easement is the difference between the highest and best use less the value with the restrictions of the easement. Old Business A. Comprehensive Plan Update – Town Manager Daniel Cobb Town Manager Daniel Cobb updated the Ag Committee about the recent public meetings. Feedback on the plan will be taken up to March 12; the draft will then go to the Planning Board at their April meeting. They will review it and make a recommendation to Town Council at some point. A request was made for a map showing an overlay of the floodplain on land use. Daniel will create one, but can show it now. There was some discussion on water intake sites and where they were on the map. An overlay of conservation areas was discussed. Daniel explained that conservation is a policy decision and wouldn’t show as a district. This might lock in a parcel to restrictions that weren’t effective in the future. The Comprehensive Plan encourages the application of farmland preservation strategies outlined in Kieran Roe’s presentation; the Town of Mills River can’t outright purchase easements themselves, but it could give organizations such as Conserving Carolina grants to purchase or otherwise assist in conserving properties. 1  Daniel reiterated that a link to the comprehensive plan is posted on the website and feedback is appreciated and welcome. As there was no further business discussed, Kirby Johnson made a motion to adjourn. Bradley Johnston seconded the motion and the motion passed by unanimous verbal assent. Respectfully submitted, Aurelie Taylor, CTC Tax Collector Deputy Town Clerk 2