Kane County Agriculture Committee met March 23.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
1. Call To Order
Chair Kenyon called the meeting to order at 10:20 AM.
PRESENT Board Member Michael Kenyon
Board Member Bill Roth
Board Member Jarett Sanchez
REMOTE Board Member Leslie Juby
Board Member Rick Williams
ABSENT Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog
AWAY Board Member Deborah Allan
Board Member Bill Lenert
Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Vern Tepe
Also present: Bd. Members Bates, Berman*, Daugherty*, Kious*, Lewis, Molina* & Strathmann; Spec. ASA Shepro; Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff; Dev. Planner Tansley; Bldg. Mgmt. Dir. Fahnestock*; Env. & Wtr. Res. Wollnik; Exec. Dev. Planner Hill*; FP Admin. Rafferty*; PIO Mann; Corey Incandela from NIFB; and ITD staff Lasky* & Peters.
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Minutes: February 23, 2023
RESULT: APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT
MOVER: Bill Roth
4. Public Comment
Chair Kenyon thanked PIO Mann for her assistance in coordinating the recent 4-H Club visit.
5. Partners
A. Kane County Farm Bureau Updates (Steve Arnold, Manager)
No update was given.
B. Northern Illinois Food Bank Updates (Corey Incandela, Communications and Advocacy Specialist)
Corey Incandela from NIFB provided a brief update on operations in Kane County. He stated that the food bank had distributed over 7M meals to community members with 866K meals just in the month of February. (Tepe arrived - 10:24 AM) He noted that these numbers are in line with previous years. He anticipates the number of meals provided to increase due to SNAP benefits ending as of March 1, 2023. Discussion ensued.
6. Presentations/Announcements
B. Water Resources Updates (Jodie Wollnik, Director)
Env. & Wtr. Res. Dir. Wollnik spoke on the Climate Action Implementation Plan progress. She announced two listening sessions that will take place. One listening session will be on March 27, 2023 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm in the County Board Room. Another installment of the same listening session will take place on March 27, 2023 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm at the Aurora Public Library Santori Branch. Sustainability consultants from paleBLUEdot will be there to present program information and engage the public. She noted that Ivy Klee is available for any questions or comments at kleeivy@co.kane.il.us. Wollnik shared that the department is working closely with the Agriculture Committee on action items, such as fertilizer usage and field drainage. Discussion ensued.
7. New Business
A. Illinois Agriculture and Natural Resources Legacy Act (Janice Hill, Executive Planner)
Exec. Dev. Dir. Hill provided a presentation on the Illinois Agriculture and Natural Resources Legacy Act, which aims to protect farmland. She encouraged the Committee to draft a letter in support of this legislation. She stated that although Kane County has the Blue Ribbon Farmland Protection Program, land owners in collar counties do not have the same legal protection and cannot take advantage of any funding opportunities. This new piece of legislation would allow access to federal funds to maintain farmland and the agricultural communities. She spoke on various programs included in the 2023 Farm Bill, such as nutrition and conservation items. (Allan arrived - 10:33 AM) (Lenert arrived - 10:34 AM) She will have more information on the passing of the Illinois Agriculture and Natural Resources Legacy Act in May 2023. The Committee gave consensus to draft the requested letter of support. Discussion ensued regarding time frames and other avenues of support.
8. Reports Placed On File
RESULT: APPROVED BY ROLL CALL VOTE
MOVER: Bill Roth
SECONDER: Jarett Sanchez
AYE: Michael Kenyon, Bill Roth, Deborah Allan, Leslie Juby, Bill Lenert, Jarett Sanchez, and Rick Williams
9. Executive Session (if needed)
None.
10. Adjournment
RESULT: APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE MOVER: Bill Roth
SECONDER: Jarett Sanchez
This meeting was adjourned at 10:45 AM.
https://www.countyofkane.org/MeetingMinutes/6602/23-3-23.pdf
Alerts Sign-up