Lands Management Committee

Meeting Notes

January 25, 2013

In Attendance: Doug Radebaugh (committee chair), Kevin Atticks (president), Zach Rose, Joan Norman, Chris McCollum,

Bronwyn Mitchell

  1. Apiary Management Agreement with Roger Williams and future agreements with other lessors

Agreed Actions

George will take Bronwyn’s draft agreement with Roger and revise per input from committee

Kelly will explore opportunity and costs involved with adding an apiary and Farmer Stan program to MARC’s liability insurance. The idea here is that many of the “contractors” like Roger, may be too small an entity to affordably secure liability insurance for the programs they are operating. MARC should explore options with their insurance provider for securing coverage that may include adding the contractor to MARC’s policy or some other option the insurance provider may recommend. This won’t be the last time this issue will arise so MARC should have a strategy in place to address the issue.

  • If there is a cost – that cost would be assumed by the contractor/s
  • If not available – committee needs to readdress issue as requiring privately owned insurance is prohibitive

MARC will be responsible for organizing all formal educational seminars/workshops & trainings affiliated with all “contractor” programs. MARC will charge registration fees to cover operational expenses. “Contractor’s, as part of their program management agreement will participate in the seminars/workshops & trainings at no additional cost to the program. In Roger’s case the educational component will include an annual introduction to bee- keeping course either taught by or facilitated by Roger.

  • Kevin will secure beekeeping curriculum utilized in Howard County

Doug earmarked $100 of annual donation to MARC to pay for a Master Gardener like informational mailbox to be installed near the apiary

Kevin will use information from meeting to draft a template MOU for use with more permanent/larger scale projects i.e. vineyard

Questions Outstanding

Will contractor retain rights to all products? Or will MARC ask for a percentage from each hive?

Will MARC create a product vanity label and sell a portion of things produced on site – honey, sunflower seeds, wine, etc…?

Does MARC need to put into place a MOU that allows MARC to utilize the site to fulfill its mission for 100 years in the future – post Chris McCollum?

Should we plant plots of clover/buckwheat for bees – either in strips around crops or in isolated plots?

  1. Holton Garden Club Project

Agreed Actions

Bronwyn will send a copy of the letter sent to Holton to George and Joan as they both know people on the Holton Garden Club.

  1. Hoop House

Agreed Actions

Installation of hoop house is priority project for 2013

Bronwyn will talk to Dave Martin to see if federal funding for the purchase of hoop houses is still available per Joan

Doug will talk to Jim Franklin with Maryland Plant and Supply to see if he would be interested in either donating a kit or offering a kit to MARC at cost

Preferred location would be in area where pumpkins were planted in 2012

Hoop House would be classified as a temporary structure

MARC will identify someone grow a spring/summer in-ground crop (meaning not in pots above ground) in the footprint of the proposed hoop house. The hoop house would then be erected in late summer in to grow late fall crops or extend the season for the current crops.

There was discussion about installing a system on rails – this is an innovation in hoop house design allowing soil in one location to recover while hoop house covers another area.

MARC will offer a class – how to install a hoop house in the summer of 2013

Outstanding Questions

Once constructed who would manage and under what type of arrangement – possibly graduate from New Farmer Training Program. This would be an RFP or similar contract arrangement that would start early in the 2013 growing season.

What should be planted

  1. Bermuda Grass Demo Project

While originally dubious about installing Bermuda Grass, Chris has been pleasantly surprised with its efficacy. This type of grass is traditionally not seen this far north. It may offer horse farmers – who have a lot of erosion issues – a better alternative.

Outstanding Questions

Can MARC integrate this into an education/outreach initiative?

Should this be delegated to Programs Committee?

  1. POS Funding Request by County for Property

Revenue stream for County is beginning to flow. Chris put in request for three projects

  • Pasture Project fencing, water and electric ($150K)
  • Green House ($250K)
  • Planning for horse trail
  1. Trail Maintenance

Agreed Actions

Other than mowing, the County will provide no additional trail maintenance.

MARC needs to develop a trail maintenance plan – especially on cusp of pollinator trail.

Questions Outstanding

How will trail maintenance be managed?

  • Could Jane Wolfson integrate trail maintenance into her curriculum?
  • Could we reach out to Boy and Girl Scout groups?
  • Could we utilize Hereford H.S. students?

Who is MARC’s volunteer coordinator?

  1. Crop Planting Plans

Agreed Actions

Doug will speak with Ed and Henry to gauge their level of interest in planting/sowing crops for 2013

Bronwyn will draft a letter of thanks acknowledging Henry’s 2012 contribution to the fields in 2012

Crops planted will include – corn, soybeans and sunflowers.

Zach agreed to manage the harvesting of sunflowers again

George will speak to his brother who has an 8-row planter he is anxious to use

MARC should pay to amend the soils

Doug will develop budgetary line items – revenue and expense for crops in 2013

Outstanding Questions

Should we expand the crop planting into more of a demonstration site showcasing different varieties of seeds?

We have permission to double acreage – should we? It would require additional output of $ for fencing.

  1. Signs

Agreed Actions

MARC should employ a combination of traditional and alternative signs (utilizing smart phone applications)

Signs need to be consistent

MAR-COM Committee will oversee development of all signs

Tricia from Extension can assist with design aspects

Need to have a standard system in place to acknowledge donations to the site – i.e. Henry Holloway for the crops, Jim Franklin for the hoop house

MARC should include QR codes on signs

Outstanding Questions

Should MARC construct a donor’s board – system of plaques inside the building denoting contributions?

  1. Conference Area

Outstanding Questions

Should MARC look into retrofitting the exhibit barn – taking out poles, removing loft and moving the bleachers indoors?

  1. Port-O-Potties

Dave Martin expressed an interest in establishing outdoor restrooms for visitors to property after hours.

Agreed Actions

County will provide port-o-potties for the duration of Farmer Stan program thereby limiting his expenses. Donna needs to put an order in to the County.

Outstanding Questions

Should MARC invest in creating a system similar to Boordy’s where the port-o-potties are encased in an upgraded wooden structure?

  1. Picnic Tables

Dave Martin expressed an interest in securing more picnic tables for the site.

Agreed Actions

Chris has put in an order to the County for approximately 10 new picnic tables – the heavy-duty kind ($400 apiece)

  1. Site Plan for 2013

Justin from SCD has put together a draft site plan for the property and has identified grants MARC can apply for to satisfy developments.

Agreed Actions

Bronwyn will send out to the committee copies of the site plan.