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County of Antrim |
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Farmland and Open Space Preservation Board |
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Minutes |
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October 31, 2005 1 p.m. |
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Antrim County Building Room 203-B |
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Members present: |
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Brett Pharo, Laura Stanek, Dorance Amos, Heidi Lang and Norman Veliquette |
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Members absent: |
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Dennis Irelan |
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Staff: |
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Joe Meyers |
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Others: |
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Brian Bourdages |
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1. Meeting called to order Meeting called to order at 1:07 p.m. by Dorance Amos. |
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2. Public Comment |
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None. |
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3. Approval of the September 19, 2005 Minutes |
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Motion by Norm Veliquette, supported by Brett Pharo, to approve the September 19, 2005 minutes with the changes noted by Joe Meyers. Motion carried – unanimous. |
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4. Urban Cooperation Agreement Update |
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Mr. Meyers informed the Board that he has been in contact with Antrim County’s legal counsel and was informed that Grand Traverse County’s legal counsel is handling the Urban Cooperation Agreement. Brian Bourdages, Farmland Protection Specialist with Acme and Peninsula Township in Grand Traverse County, noted that legal counsel has the agreement and we are waiting for a response from them. |
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5. Ranking System for Prioritizing Landowner Applications |
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Mr. Bourdages informed the Board of the changes to the scoring system and the reason behind some other portions of the scoring process. He also explained his experience in Leelanau County and Peninsula Township.
Dorance Amos expressed his views on clustering farmland. Mr. Amos feels that this is one of the best ways for the preservation because it keeps large tracts of land together. |
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6. Farmland Preservation Presentation |
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Mr. Meyers presented a small PowerPoint presentation on the planning and enforcement aspects needed for state approval to receive grants. Mr. Meyers further explained that the farmland portion of the master plan spread throughout most of the document. He also noted that we need to have some form of enforcement per the regulations by the state. |
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7. New Business |
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Mr. Amos noted that due to the program, it is going to be more challenging to preserve just open space. Purchase of development rights from farmers to preserve it from development. This means that the farmers will still have to pay taxes on the property. When you preserve open space you generally make it exempt from taxes. He further noted that there are other entities that preserve open space in the county and there are different funding options as well. |
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8. Various Matters |
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Mr. Amos mentioned to the Board that Grand Traverse County Farmland and Open Space Preservation Board is having their meeting on Wednesday, November 16 at 6 p.m. He would like for some of the members to attend and report back to the Board about their functions.
The Board also agreed that the next meeting for the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Board would be on November 29, 2005 at 9 a.m. |
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9. Member Comment |
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None. |
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Meeting adjourned at 2:10 p.m. |
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