DELMAR –At its January meeting, the Historic Heath Farm Advisory Committee began considering its vision for the project. That draft vision statement focuses on several areas, heavy on creating viable opportunities for sustainable agriculture and “a variety of land stewardship options with opportunities for the next generation of farmers.” It also encompasses space for recreational activities and opportunities to connect with nature.
Committee members, as well as Town of Bethlehem Open Space Coordinator and meeting leader Lauren Axford, all raised concerns about how to engage the public in the process of identifying the project’s goals. Axford indicated that public feedback had already been received and summarized through the Town’s on line interactive “story map” feedback survey.
When asked, Axford reported that the survey was based on about 112 responses and swayed heavily by the over 60 demographic. Committee member Dale Richter was concerned about how well the survey reflects public sentiment given its only 112 responses and that it was responded to by mostly a single age group.
Axford pointed out that over the next 12 months, there will be public comment periods that will give residents an opportunity to provide feedback.
Other suggestions included inviting constituencies to site visits and each committee member communicating with their own networks.
Stuart Lyman, another committee member, also voiced his concern that “this is a very complicated process” and “people don’t have an understanding of the basics and what goes into this.” He suggested relying more on experts for input. Fellow committee member David Vigoda disagreed. He thought the best way to move forward involves educating the public and soliciting comments by making a limited number of specific suggestions in surveys.
Kristen Yourno agreed that education is needed. Yourno, who grew up on a dairy farm and now lives in the suburbs, said the suburban population lacks education about farming. For example, she said, she received a suggestion that raw milk should be sold there, but she said it is vey “hard in New York State to get a milk license” and suburbanites don’t understand what the start up costs are. “We also have to explain what the terms are that we are using on a level this population that is not used to agriculture knows, terms like regenerative farming,” she said.
With 200 acres of potentially farmable land, the group agreed that innovative and “non-conventional” farming uses should be considered, such as maple trees, harvesting lumber or small one acre plot single crop farming, as well as meshing those kinds of “out of the box” agricultural activities with entertainment.
The committee will meet again on January 31 and site visits are planned. Committee member Tom Seymour said, “Maybe we should think of Indian Ladder Farms as an example.”
This story was featured on page 9 of the January 17th , 2024 print edition of the Spotlight
