Claverack Democratic Committee: Current Task Forces
Agriculture
Building
Portfolio
Mining
Chairs:
Chris Cashen (851-2331) and Jim Cashen (851-5941)
Members: Morgen Bowers, Betsy Cashen, Tom Decker, Enid Futterman, Cecile
Harrison, Milt Meisner, Julia Philip, Chris Reed, Hugh Williams
The mission of this group is to help farms to survive and thrive and to protect farmland from development.
Our first task has been an inventory of all working and nonworking farms, all farmland endangered and/or for sale, and all farm-related businesses. We will also explore various tools—matching landowners with farmers, applying for Purchase of Development Rights from the state and from nonprofit organizations, and developing and expanding markets for farm products to support local farms.
Of interest :
Chair:
Bill Jacoby (851-3548) and Chuck Brassard (851-7746)
Members: Enid Futterman, Cyndy Hall, John Isaacs, Liva Jacoby, Peggy
Lampman, Norman Mintz, Ian Nitschke, James Rossant
The Building Portfolio Task Force was created to identify sites whose unrealized potential deserves community attention. Examples might be vacant buildings in key locations, deteriorating historic structures, commercial sites that are underutilized or would benefit from adaptive re-use, and even vacant sites that need to be protected from development.
The Task Force hopes to discourage short-sighted, banal development and to facilitate community involvement in selecting among alternative designs, visions, and functions. Public-spirited members with expertise in planning, finance, real estate, design, and business are lending a hand.
Led by Cyndy Hall, the Task Force is also examining the possibility of the Town's re-acquiring the Claverack School for use as a multipurpose community center and town hall.
Co-Chairs: Richard Cross (851-6688) and Chuck Brassard (851-7746)
Surface mining is the largest industrial activity in the town, which has substantial shale, sand, gravel and peat deposits. The role of the mining committee is to monitor zoning board activities in the town related to mining. These include new mining applications and applications to renew or expand existing mines. The town's new zoning map, which was adopted in late 2003, imposed new limits on mining in the town. New restrictions have not been tested or challenged, but we expect they will in the years ahead as demand for aggregates increases along with housing and general development of the area.
Of historical interest:
