WINTONBURY LAND TRUST April 22, 2012, 52 Duncaster Road, Bloomfield
Present: Dale
Bertoldi, Vikki Reski, Paula Jones, Chip Caton, Kevin Gough, Tamara Hochman
1) Special
Projects/Announcements –
a. CLCC Global Positioning System (GPS) for
Monitoring and Mapping Land Trust Holdings, Friday, September 21, 2012, 9 am –
4 pm, Haddam, $90.00.
b. Bloomfield High School’s
Harris Agriscience Center
and the library in cooperation with WLT will have a fall harvest program with
local farmers. It is expected a harvest
dinner will be planned.
c. Conservation
Options for Protecting Family Lands, September 24, 7:00 – 8:30, Middlesex
County Extension Center Annex Room, 1066 Saybrook Rd., Haddam, CT.
This event is free but RSVP’s are
required.
Please contact Tom Worthley,
Thomas.worthley@uconn.edu.
2) Organizational
Assessment and Strategic Plan – CCLC Challenge Grant
a. Mission
Statement and Vision Review - The Board voted to adopt the Mission and Vision statement, with minor edits,
that Kevin Gough had drafted. The new
statements are shown below. Tami offered
to post the new language on our website.
b. Divide
the Standards for Action – Paula Jones will work on draft standards for ethics
and conflict of interest for our October meeting. Dale will send out prototype filters to the
Acquisition Committee for evaluating potential acquisitions. (These were used in a recent exercise and
constitute a good starting point.)
Guidance on easements should be a higher priority. We will utilize Google docs for shared
working documents.
c. CCLC
Grant – Hannah Roditi is drafting materials for our Capital Campaign. Chip and Vikki will review her draft
materials and eventually send them out to the group with their
recommendations. The Campaign is targeted
to begin in October, since we are occupied now with fundraising related to the
Neighborhood Assistance Act program (with an end date of October 1st.).
3)
Committee Reports –
a. Acquisitions
- Stout Fields: Close is
scheduled for September 14th.
Our attorney has recommended that we purchase our own title insurance. Lisa
Lane:
Nothing new to report. Sonski Estate: We have closed on this parcel. Hawk
Hill: We have received $35,000 from Bafflin
Foundation and a NCRS Farmland Grant.
b. Financial
– 2011 taxes have been filed. We
received an insurance rebate from Chubb.
The Financial Committee will meet prior to our next meeting to review
the Budget.
c. Events
– Farm Celebration: Cancelled
until septic resolved. Stout Fields
Picnic: An events chair is needed. We discussed the idea of having a short
presentation in the Fields, then moving to the Picnic Grounds in Penwood. Wintonbury Wine and Dine: January 2103, 80 – 90 people at 10 host homes
(Chair: Patrick Sullivan). CLCC
Regional Land
Trust Round Table in December: Paula
will check on details with Farmington River Watershed Association, who is
involved in the organization of the event.
d. Stewardship: Thrall Farm Report – see report below Mission and Vision
statements.
e. Marketing: Neighborhood Assistance Act program approved
for both Bloomfield ($60,000) and Windsor ($45,000). Qualified businesses must submit paperwork
between September 15th and October 1st.
f. Grants: See Hawk Hill in 3) a above.
4) Board
Positions and subcommittee positions
a. Diversity
in Board – not discussed
b. Need
membership chair – not discussed
5) Wild
and Scenic Designation for the Lower Farmington – Paula and Kevin gave an
update on the Wild and Scenic Study for the Lower
Farmington. (They are Bloomfield’s
representatives to the Wild and Scenic Study Committee.) The National Park Service (NPS) Study Report
has been published, and the Public Comment period is open until October 17,
2012. The Study Report describes three
alternatives which differ according to which segments of the river would be
excluded from designation, due to exclusion boundaries around dam
impoundments. The NPS recommends
Alternative B as the environmentally-preferred alternative. Alternative B would establish the upstream
exclusion boundary for Rainbow Dam at the Rt. 187 Bridge. The Town of Bloomfield supports Alternative B. The Board approved submitting a comment
expressing Wintonbury Land Trust’s support for designation and Alternative B. Dale will submit the comment.
6) Next
meeting dates: October 25, November 25.
WLT
Mission
Wintonbury
Land Trust was founded in 1982 and continues a proud tradition of grass roots
leadership in the effort to protect and conserve land and natural resources in
its community. The mission of the Land Trust is to promote the preservation,
improvement, protection, and conservation of natural resources for the benefit
of the community. Its major goals are:
·
Protection of natural resources, especially soil
and water quality and woodland health.
·
Conservation of farms and undeveloped land, e.g.
woodlands, wetlands, and wildlife corridors, in Bloomfield and surrounding areas.
·
Conservation of appropriate urban landscapes
with respect to the community’s built environment.
·
Connectivity with other community features
(Greenways, wildlife corridors, trails, parks, and adjacent lands).
WLT
Vision
The vision of the Wintonbury Land Trust incorporates the
following elements:
·
Increase protected land in area served;
·
Connect people with nature;
·
Increased visibility & influence within the community;
·
Tighter stewardship and management of the lands under
Wintonbury’s protection, leading to greater community benefit & use of
those lands; and
·
Greater communication at all levels – including Wintonbury’s
Board, membership, and the general community – which fosters greater
participation in all land trust activities.
Thrall Farm Report – August 30, 2012
The farmer we’ve been negotiating with informed us on July
10th that she did not want to continue with the project. We subsequently contacted Newgate Farms which
is located in Windsor,
and owned by the Sedor family. They do
multiple farm markets and started a CSA this year which has grown to about 80
members. They are currently farming
about 50 acres among 3 towns, Windsor, East Granby, and Suffield. Their 50 acres are a
combination of owned and leased land.
Their CSA is currently based at their “Home Farm” at 740 Prospect Hill Road, Windsor, which is just a short distance
away from Thrall. This farm is a
multi-generational operation. The three
principals are Judith, Stanley, and Donald Sedor. They are the third and fourth generations of
the family in farming, and the fifth generation is involved.
The Sedors are very enthusiastic about the Thrall
property. They have developed a 5 year
business plan for the property which calls for:
- Growing
perennial herbs (in raised beds), fruit trees, berries, and a sunflower
maze.
- Using
the potato barn for CSA pickup and a farm store.
- Having
a community room on the upper floor of the barn for events to promote and
educate people about local agriculture (e.g., school visits).
As a result of these recent developments:
- WLT
has a new letter of intent (for an equity lease) with Newgate Farm.
- On
August 31st we will resubmit the Farmland Restoration Program
grant application that had been submitted in May, substituting Newgate
Farm as the new farmer.
a) The League of Women Voters of Connecticut Education
Fund will host a Fall Conference, "From Land and Sea: Food for the Good of
Connecticut," on Saturday, October 27 at the Agriscience and Biotechnology
Center in Trumbull from 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. More info and online registration:
http://www.lwvct.org/events.html
