SUSSEX COUNTY AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT BOARD MARCH 19, 2018 The meeting opened at 7:35 p.m. by Chairperson Brodhecker in the Freeholder Meeting Room at the Sussex County Administrative Center, One Spring Street, Newton, New Jersey. The meeting was held in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-1 of 1975, as amended. Notice has been forwarded to the newspapers and posted on the bulletin board maintained at the Sussex County Administrative Center for public announcement. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS EXCUSED: STAFF PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT: Jane Brodhecker, Chairperson Lori Day, Vice Chairperson Brian Hautau Jim Hunt Cece Pattison Joan Snook Smith Peter Southway Autumn Sylvester, Program Manager Rudy Dragan, Planning Aide Antoinette Wasiewicz, Recording Secretary John Williams, Esq., County Counsel Steven Komar, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Cliff Lundin, Soil Conservation District Natalie Burger, Soil Conservation District Matt Fox, Soil Conservation District Stephen & Connie Leenheer, Frankford Township
2 CORRECTION/APPROVAL: A motion was made by Lori Day to accept the Minutes of February 20, 2018 as presented. The motion was seconded by Joan Snook Smith. All were in favor, with abstentions from Brian Hautau and Cece Pattison. Motion carried. CORRESPONDENCE: A. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: Autumn provided the Board with an article regarding a new program, The Jersey Fresh Farm-to-School Farmer Recognition Award. The Secretary of Agriculture announced that applications are being accepted until March 31. The program is an opportunity for all farmers to highlight their farm-to-school efforts and provide them with resources to help feature their Jersey Fresh produce in local schools. Participating farms will receive an exclusive Jersey Fresh Farm-to-School promotional materials kit, which includes a banner, hats, aprons, seasonality charts and stickers. The Department of Agriculture is still reviewing beekeeping regulations. They received over one thousand comments. Lusscroft s annual Maple Sugaring Open House will be held on March 24 and March 25 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. They will demonstrate how to tap maple trees, collect sap and make syrup. There was also an article related to a recent tick invasion. A woman walked into the Hunterdon County Health Office with thousands of ticks clinging to her clothing. The tick attack occurred as the farmer tried to shear a sheep, unaware that the animal was infested with ticks. The tick was identified as the Long-Horned Tick or the Bush Tick, which is new to our area. The tick poses the greatest threat to animals, particularly livestock, such as cattle and sheep. The ticks are known to carry viruses, but it is uncommon for them to bite humans. Autumn provided information on some Bills that are going through the State Legislature. The first one was co-sponsored by Assemblyman Hal Wirths, and revised, expanded and clarified the restitution and penalty provisions for trespasses on ag. and horticultural lands. The main changes will establish a civil penalty of $1,000 or more, where the penalty used to be $100. It will also add a lessee to the victim list, rather than the just the property owner. The second Bill extends the pilot program authorizing Special Occasion Events at wineries. That pilot program was set to expire March 2018. The Bill will extend the program until March 2020.
3 The third Bill came through the State Economic Growth Committee and will allow producers to sell their freshly-baked products at farm markets in wrapped or covered containers, for sanitation purposes, without being weighed. Under the current law, they have to be weighed and sold accordingly. This is the first step towards allowing home goods to be sold at a commercial level. B. SADC CORRESPONDENCE: An update was received from the SADC s Regional Product Manager. The Mulvaney farm received final approval on January 25 and is pending closing review. The Kirk Stephens farm is on for final approval at the SADC s March meeting. The Freeholders granted final approval last Wednesday. C. CORRESPONDENCE DATED FEBRUARY 16, 2018 FROM RUSSELL SPINKS LOCAL GROWER REQUEST: Rutgers Cooperative Extension forwarded an email from Marcus O Sullivan from Russell Spinks Valley Brook Farm. They are looking for a local plant grower who would be willing to grow, from seed, tomatoes and other plants to plant on their farm in the spring. Steve Komar said that whenever a request such as this one is sent to his office, they distribute it out to various groups. Anyone interested in receiving these notices should get on the extension s email distribution list. D. OCEAN COUNTY ADB SPECIAL OCCASION EVENTS FINAL REPORT: There was also an email from the Ocean County Ag. Development Board announcing that they prepared a lengthy and in-depth report on the Special Occasion Events program. The report was 74 pages and contained a lot of recommendations for the program. The report discussed: how the program affected their Board and recommended that the Special Occasion Events should be expanded to include all preserved farms; that they should not be eligible for Right-to-Farm Act protections; that all preserved farms, regardless of type, should be treated equally and have the same limitation conducting special occasion events; that special occasion events should be a limited to a total number of days, and those days should be specific to those events that do not impact already-protected agri-tourism practices; limitations on size and scope of the events; that site plan approval be granted to the local governing body; that temporary, on-site parking should follow the Soil Erosion Control and Sediment Act; and that any preserved farms who want to hold special occasion events should make the application to their local planning authority with a copy forward to the Ag. Development Board. It should also undergo review and approval by the County Ag. Development Board. The preserved farm should provide the SADC with an annual report. The Board agreed with the Ocean County report.
4 AG. AGENT S REPORT: Steve Komar said he did not have anything new to report. OLD BUSINESS: Jane Brodhecker recused herself from the meeting. Lori Day took over the role of Chairperson. A. BRODHECKER FARM SSAMP: Lori said that the Brodhecker Farm SSAMP is being continued until further notice due the fact that the State still has not responded to her or Cece Pattison s request for an advisory opinion. Autumn said that this will be carried until the next meeting on April 16, 7:30 p.m. in the Freeholder Meeting room. Lori turned the meeting back over to Jane Brodhecker. B. LEENHEER RTF CONFLICT RESOLUTION COMMERCIAL FARM CERTIFICATION REVIEW: Autumn said that on Friday afternoon she received a letter from Frank Minch of the State Soil Conservation Committee. He summarized the issue and advised that, In any event, the Sussex County Agriculture Development Board has no jurisdiction to decide the issue of whether the activities on the subject property are agricultural, as the dispute involves State laws and regulations. Based on this determination, it is our position that the above matter is not under the jurisdiction of the Sussex CADB and request that the case be dismissed. John Williams, County Counsel, said that the letter was received on Friday, but that he did not have a chance to review it until late afternoon today. His initial feeling is that he is not entirely sure one way or another he has to review it. The Department of Agriculture is capable of rendering its own opinion as to whether it pre-emps this Board, but he does not feel it s authorized to direct this Board that it can t proceed with the matter. In considering some of the issues, the thought was for this Board to make a decision not to proceed pending clarification of the letter and clarification from the Sussex County Soil Conservation District of what it s seeking, in light of this letter. The Board can either dismiss the issue or table it pending clarification of the issues raised by the letter. Mr. Williams said he was in favor of tabling it. Cliff Lundin, District Manager of the Soil Conservation District said the acting Chairman, Matt Fox and Natalie Burger, a Board of Supervisor member are here this evening. He said that Mr. Minch s letter was received on Friday. The letter was in response to his invitation to Mr. Minch to come to testify to the Board as to why the issue falls within the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act rather than agriculture.
5 He initially denied the request, saying that an appeal may come to him. Mr. Lundin said his Board has not had a chance to look at the letter or talk to Mr. Minch and that they will meet with him next Monday. He said that he will not object if the CADB tables the issue. Mr. Lundin also said that he will retire at the end of week, but he will be available to the District to assist in any of the matters that he has worked on over the last nine years. Lori asked if Mr. Minch will visit the Leenheer site. Cliff said that he discussed this with Mr. Minch, and as soon as he was notified that Mr. Minch was not coming to the meeting this evening, he let Mr. Leenheer know they would not be visiting. Mr. Leenheer said he did not receive a copy of the letter, and that Mr. Lundin did not mention it. Mr. Lundin said it was an internal document, and that his Board did not have a position on it. He added that Mr. Minch was the person who ordered that the Soil Conservation District take action on the complaint and that he had full knowledge that he (Mr. Lundin) made arrangements to appear before the CADB. Mr. Leenheer said he did not understand why he is here. Autumn explained to Mr. Leenheer that that the Soil Conservation District received a complaint from one of his neighbors. Mr. Leenheer asked if the letter was good or bad news for him. Autumn said the letter said that the SCADB does not have jurisdiction over the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act, and therefore, it should not hear this case. She advised him that the Soil Conservation s only avenue to rectify the situation would be through the municipal court. Mr. Lundin said that he was trying to avoid that, which is why he came before the Ag. Board. A brief discussion followed, after which the Board agareed to table this issue for a month to allow for discussion with Mr. Minch and clarification as to the Board s jurisdiction. MOTION: A motion was made by Joan Snook Smith to table the Leenheer issue until the issue of jurisdiction is clarified and what, if anything, should be filed with this Board. The motion was seconded by Brian Hautau. A roll-call vote was taken. All were in favor. Mr. Williams explained to the Leenheers the potential scenarios. He advised them however this issue is resolved; they will be advised as to what documents they must provide. Beyond that, they may want to obtain professional help. C. VIOLATION UPDATES: Autumn reported that she received a copy of a letter from the DEP to Mr. Kelly summarizing the occasions where they requested information from him. Mr. Kelly was supposed to sign the Administrative Consent Order, and he did not do so. The DEP said that failure to submit the signed Administrative Consent Order or comments
6 within tens of the request may result in further enforcement actions. The letter was dated February 15. Cliff Lundin said this is another example of the interaction between the State laws and farm protection laws. When the complaint first came in on the Kelly property, the District sent one of its standard letters regarding a disturbance that was not permitted under the Deed or Easement and said it was not agriculture, it was wetlands. The District stepped back and left it as an open file until the Ag. Board and DEP determined what needed to be done. Autumn also reported that she has had further communication with the 154 Meadows property owner requesting whether they had corrected the deeds filed. She has not heard back from them. There is also no more information on whether or not the illegal tenant has been evicted. NEW BUSINESS: A. LETTER OF SUPPORT NJ AUDUBON NFWF APPLICATION: The New Jersey Audubon Society requested that the Ag. Development Board provide a letter of support for its application for the Delaware River Restoration Fund. The Board has done this annually since 2013. MOTION: A motion was made by Cece Pattison to direct staff to send a letter of support for the New Jersey Audubon Society application for the Delaware River Restoration Fund. The motion was seconded by Joan Snook Smith and carried unanimously. B. WILLIAMS CERTIFIED MARKET VALUE (CMV) REPORT: Autumn reported that she received the CMV for the Donald Williams/Carriage House farm. This is a municipal PIG application in Frankford Township. They certified the market value as $4,100 per acre. The Board wanted to see this number before they decided to provide support. Autumn said the property is in Frankford Township and is 44 acres. There are two, non-severable exception areas of four and.5 acres. She reminded the Board that for any municipal PIG application where the County provides funding, the County is responsible for monitoring and post-closing stewardship. After a brief discussion, the Board decided to review the information and table it to the next meeting. C. SURVEY RFP RESPONSE SUMMARY: Five responses were received from qualified surveyors for the Mulvaney and Vernon Valley farms. At last Wednesday s meeting, the Freeholders chose Dykstra Associates,
7 who submitted the lowest bid, at $18,800 for both surveys. Maser Consulting was the next lowest at $26,000. MidAtlantic Engineering Partners and Suburban Consulting Engineers were at $84,000 and $91,000 respectively. PUBLIC COMMENT: None ADJOURNMENT: All business having been completed, a motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Brian Hautau. The motion was seconded by Joan Snook Smith and carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.