Rural Land Management Board

Summary

Meeting Overview

The PDR Board convened at 3 o'clock on May 28, 2025, with Gloria presiding over the session. The board worked through three agenda items spanning program updates and an action item requiring a formal decision. Two items — a Small Farm Easement Program Update and a PDR Easement Acquisitions briefing — were presented as informational, while a Housing and Infrastructure Request for Farm 8-2004 was brought forward for board action and received approval. Across the meeting, the board took a total of 3 votes, and no public comments were heard.

Attendance

The following individuals were present at the May 28, 2025 Board meeting:

• Gloria
• Hannah
• Joanna
• Phil Meyer
• Margaret
• Will Mayer
• Jim Coleman
• Council Member Morton
• Council Member Boone
• Olivia

Two members arrived late:

• Phil Hager
• Robert

No members were recorded as absent.

Votes and Decisions

Three motions were brought to a vote during the May 28, 2025 Board meeting, all of which passed unanimously.

• Deadline for Mortgage Subordination Authorization: Moved by Phil and seconded by Margaret, the Board voted to set a firm deadline of June 11th for receiving authorization of mortgage subordination and for applicants to meet all qualifications for existing applications. The motion passed unanimously. 19:02

• Housing and Infrastructure Request for Farm 8-2004: Moved by Margaret and seconded by Hannah, the Board voted to accept the housing and infrastructure request for Farm 8-2004. The motion passed unanimously. 34:26

• Adjournment: Moved by Robert and seconded by Joanna, the Board voted to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. 57:23

No roll call votes were recorded; all three motions were decided by unanimous consent. No nays or abstentions were noted for any vote.

Budget and Financial Actions

The Board reviewed and acted on several contracts covering appraisal services and farm monitoring activities.

Appraisal Contracts

• Kenimer Appraisal Services was approved for two appraisal contracts, each valued at $4,000, covering:
• PDR Farm 1-2024
• PDR Farm 7-2022

These two contracts total $8,000 in appraisal expenditures.

Farm Inspection and Monitoring Contracts

The Board approved three contracts with Charlie Farmer for farm inspection monitoring and baseline documentation work:

• $4,100 for 41 farm inspection monitoring reviews conducted in March
• $3,300 for 33 monitoring reviews conducted in April
• $400 for two baseline documentation reports

Charlie Farmer's contracts total $7,800 across the three items.

The combined total for all financial actions approved at this meeting was $15,800. No resolution numbers were associated with the items in the meeting record. No budget amendments or other fiscal actions were recorded.

Small Farm Easement Program Update

3:22

The Board received an informational update on the Small Farm Easement Program, with discussion focused on the difficulties small farms are encountering in obtaining mortgage subordination letters.

Key Speakers: Beth, Phil, and Margaret

Discussion Overview:

• The conversation centered on the challenges small farm operations face when trying to secure mortgage subordination letters, which are required as part of easement compliance.
• Speakers discussed the barriers that make this process particularly difficult for small farms compared to larger agricultural operations.
• A plan to establish a formal deadline for compliance was raised as a potential path forward to address the ongoing issues.

Outcome:

This item was informational in nature. No formal vote or decision was taken at this meeting. The discussion appears to have been aimed at keeping the Board informed of the current state of the program and the compliance challenges being experienced, with a deadline-setting approach under consideration as a next step.

PDR Easement Acquisitions

19:40

Beth presented an update to the Board on recent Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) easement acquisitions and the current status of pending applications. The presentation was informational in nature, with no vote or formal action taken by the Board.

No additional details regarding specific properties, acreage figures, dollar amounts, applicant names, or the number of pending applications were captured in the available meeting data for this item.

Farm 8-2004 Housing and Infrastructure Request

26:38

The Board took up a discussion and approval of the housing and infrastructure request for Farm 8-2004, covering construction and renovation plans associated with the farm.

Key speakers on this item included Beth, Tom Wilms, and Greg Padgett, who participated in presenting and discussing the request before the Board.

The item was brought forward as a discussion item covering the housing and infrastructure needs for Farm 8-2004, with the conversation addressing construction and renovation plans. Beth, Tom Wilms, and Greg Padgett each contributed to the discussion, though the specific details of individual arguments, concerns raised, or the precise scope of the construction and renovation plans are not further detailed in the available record.

Following the discussion, the Board approved the housing and infrastructure request for Farm 8-2004.