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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAAC 2015-09-24 minutes.pdfCity of Maple Ridge AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee, held in the Blaney Room, at Maple Ridge Municipal Hall on Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 7:00 pm. COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Bill Hardy Jennifer Zickerman Margaret Daskis, Chair Stephanie James Al Kozak Councillor Duncan Ian Brooks Candace Gordon STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Siobhan Murphy Sunny Schiller REGRETS/ABSENTS Councillor Speirs Chris Zabek Kimberley Lau zon, Vice Chair Lorraine Bates 1. CALL TO ORDER Member at Large Agricultural Sector Community at Large Equestrian Agricultural Sector Agricultural Sector City of Maple Ridge Member at Large Haney Farmers Market Staff Lia ison / Planner 2 Committee Clerk City of Maple Ridge Regional Agrologist, Ministry of Agriculture & Lands Member at Large Agricultural Fair Board There being a quorum present, the Chair called the meeting to order at 7:08 pm. 2. AGENDA ADOPTION R15-013 It was moved and seconded That the Agenda be amended to add Golden Harvest as Item 7.2, Water as Item 7.3, Agricultural Plan Review as Item 7.4 and KPU Update as Item 7.5 and be adopted as amended. CARRIED 3. MINUTE ADOPTION R15-014 It was moved and seconded That the Minutes of June 25, 2015 be amended to accurately reflect Mr. Bill Hardy's Roundtable comment regarding concern with the cost of water and be adopted as amended. CARRIED 'AAC Minutes September 24, 2015 Page 2 of 3 4. DELEGATIONS -Nil 5. NEW BUSINESS 5.1 Business Planning 5.1.1 More Peas Please -Consideration of request for funding The process for evaluating requests for funding was discussed. The Staff Liaison will follow up with Planning staff to review what criteria may have been established in the past. The More Peas Please program will be gearing up in the Spring and it was noted that it would be good to have funding approval criteria in place for that time. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6.1 Backyard Chickens Stephanie James provided information on municipalities within Metro Vancouver that allow backyard chickens. Potential negative effects of allowing backyard chickens were discussed. The Staff Liaison will contact municipalities with existing backyard chicken bylaws to gather information and this item will be revisited at the next meeting. 6.2 Letter of Support -Christian Cowley R15-015 The letter of support for the North Fraser Centre signed by Chair Margaret Daskis was reviewed. It was moved and seconded That Mayor and Council be sent the letter regarding the Agricultural Advisory Committee support, in principle, for the proposed North Fraser Centre. 7. SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS 7.1 Food Garden Contest -Stephanie James CARRIED Stephanie James reported she had visited and judged the entries received for the Food Garden contest. There were many great gardens entered this year and a good number of entries were received. Winners will be notified by the City. Ms. James and the Staff Liaison will make a short presentation and award certificates to the winners at an upcoming Council meeting. It was suggested that City Communications staff be engaged to publicize the event. This contest supports the goal of the AAC to promote food gardening. 7.2 Golden Harvest Kimberly Lauzon provided Golden Harvest tickets and a written update on event plans (although she was unable to attend the meeting). Plans to promote the event were discussed. "' AAC Minutes September 24, 2015 Page 3 of 3 7.3 Water The Chair reported that water was discussed at the recent Metro Agricultural Advisory meeting. An event is planned for next year on water and agriculture. 7.4 Agricultural Plan Review The Staff Liaison reported that an overview of the Agricultural Plan was given to Mayor and Council in July. Since then the Agricultural Review subcommittee has created a document to show the current status of the goals of the Agricultural Plan. This document will be presented to Mayor and Council along with a questionnaire that will allow Council to prioritize outstanding goals and associated actions. Plans to communicate priorities to Mayor and Council were discussed. The "update document" will be circulated to committee members for input. 7.5 KPU Update The Chair reported that Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) provided an update on their Southwest BC Bioregional Food System project at the Metro Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting. Research is ongoing. It was suggested that a request be made to KPU for quarterly updates on the project. It was suggested that a delegation from KPU be requested. 8. CORRESPONDENCE 9. ROUNDTABLE Al Kozak supports the stance of the pope on climate change. 10. QUESTION PERIOD 11. ADJOURNMENT It was moved and seconded That the meeting be adjourned at 9:02 pm. Chair /ss