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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-07-23-CFC-min ,cu5 "Rk O4ins ^G ti E A O ¢ 4 ji l - q app ` ocwe 3 APRIL l Community Farming Committee Meeting Minutes July 23, 2013 A meeting of the Community Farming Committee (CFC) was held on July 23, 2013 at 8 00 a m in the Parker Room in the Town Office Building Members in attendance were Chairman Michael Bliss, Michelle Ciccolo, Alan Wrigley and Tom Olivier Also attending Assistant Town Manager for Finance Rob Addelson and Community Development Director Karen Mullins (members of the RFP evaluation committee), Purchasing Director Lindsay Dahlberg and Town Manager Carl Valente Charles Lamb, who is being considered by the Board of Selectmen for appointment to the Committee, was also in attendance Due to the unforeseen delay by the representatives from Fat Moon Farm, the meeting began at 8 40 a m 8:40 a.m. Executive Session Ms Ciccolo moved that the Committee go into Execution Session for Exemption 7, to comply with a General Law requirement MGL chapter(26)(d) and (h) Deliberative Process, Protect Integrity of Bidding Process Mr Wrigley seconded the motion The Committee members agreed that it would be appropriate for Mr Lamb to attend the executive session On a roll call vote the motion was unanimously approved Interview with Fat Moon Farm Noel and Elizabeth Almeida, co-owners of Fat Moon Farm (FMF)joined the meeting Follow-up questions regarding the FMF proposal are attached to these Minutes Due to the delay in the start of the meeting, the CFC focused on certain of the questions Responses made by Fat Moon Farm included 1 Question 2 (part 1)response FMF will hire a production manager for both the Lexington and Westford locations They will also hire a farm manager for the Lexington site and seasonal help They would also expect to have 'work to food share' volunteers providing some of the labor, as they do in Westford 2 Question 4 (part 1)response FMF's experience is that residents understand the CSA concept FMF has increased the number of CSA subscribers in Westford from 20 in the first year to 60 this year The FMF marketing strategy is to provide a very good farm experience and let word-of- mouth market their products They would also offer 'farm bucks' at a small discount to Lexington residents and provide residents with a preference in enrolling in farm classes The FMF Business Plan would not place a limit on farm bucks because they believe that by collaborating with other area farmers FMF will be able to provide a variety of farm products throughout the year 3 Question 7 (part 1)response The Almeida's have self financed their financial losses in 2011 and 2012 Part of the reason for the loss in 2012 was their investment in farm equipment and bees In 2013 they have tripled staff and revenue, purchased two tractors, 10/15/2013 and added farm animals, which will be sold at the end of the year Regarding their cash flow plan, the 'farm bucks' program provides cash flow through July, when crop sales begin 4 Question 1 (part 2)response FMF has had a positive neighborhood experience in Westford, particularly given there are multiple users of the site In Lexington, FMF will reach out to neighbors to understand and address their concerns They understand that keeping neighbors happy will help in the marketing of the farm products 5 Question 2 (part 2) response FMF would ultimately like parking for up to 50 vehicles, so this will likely require some conversion of farm land to parking The current parking will limit programs and therefore, farm income FMF also expects to sell Christmas trees, pumpkins, farm to table meals, and other similar products 6 Question 7 (part 2) response FMF would like to remove the small greenhouse to the right of the farmstand to help address the current limited driveway entrance 7 Question 6 (part 1)response FMF is reluctant to submit their annual financial/tax statements because the farm is part of their personal finances, which they prefer not to share FMF does maintain separate profit and loss records, which they would share They do expect some of the capital expenses for the farm to be covered by federal and State grants, but have not assumed this in financial projections They would likely use personal savings to provide upfront capital for the farm Given the short time left in the meeting, FMF will respond to the others questions in writing (The FMF responses have been attached to these Minutes) There being no further questions, the interview was concluded 9 30 a m On a unanimous roll call vote, the Committee voted to come out of Executive Session and return to open session 9 30 a m On a unanimous vote, the Committee approved the July 18 meeting Minutes The meeting was adjourned on a unanimous vote at 9 30 a m Minute taker Carl F Valente Attachment Interview Questions posed to Fat Moon Farm Written Responses by FMF to Interview Questions 2 Part 1 Fat Moon Farm Clarification Questions 1 Operational/Site Plan Please provide a three-year revenue and cost estimate for operating the farm, as required in the Evaluation Criteria(Operational/Site Plan) 2 Operational/Site Plan How do you plan on staffing two farm locations? 3 Operational/Site Plan You are proposing longer operating hours How will these impact the neighborhood? 4 Business Plan Can you please clarify section"d" of your business plan explaining in more detail your Target Market and how you will secure market share as well as anticipated priority to Lexington residents 5 Educational Programming Please clarify how Lexington residents will be given preference in educational programming 6 Exceptions to RFP/Lease Agreement We are aware that you have some concerns regarding the release of financial information and the inspection of the buildings located on the farm In the Town's response to bidder questions, dated May 9, we did explain requirement for financial documents and allowance for inspections After reading your proposal those concerns resurfaced and we would like to be clear on whether or not you intend to 1) submit annual financials, and 2)require any further information regarding the inspection of existing structures (as we as the Town have nothing to disclose at this time) 7 Financial Capacity Can you provide more information on your finances year-to-date? Specifically, what caused you to go into deficit in 2011 and 2012 and how did you finance the operating deficits in 2011 and 2012? and what changes have you made to result in a projected positive results in 2013 and what are you 2013 results year-to-date versus projections? 8 Would you plan on marketing Lexington grown vegetables outside of Lexington, e g , in Westford? Part 2 NEW QUESTIONS 1 What are your plans for neighborhood interaction? How do you currently work with surrounding neighborhoods when making decisions? Do you have a plan in place detailing how you will handle any neighborhood controversies that may arise? 2 Do you plan on operating any services that may attract large audiences at once? What are your plans to control the overflow of visitors during those times? How much parking do you anticipate will be required for your proposed operations? How do you plan to provide that parking? 3 3 Will you be willing to attend regular or periodic meetings of the Town's Community Farming Committee to provide operational updates? Are you prepared to work closely with the Community Farming Committee ("Committee"), which will be the Town entity directly overseeing all farm operations? This coordination will include having a representative attend Committee meetings, which may well be monthly during at least the first year of farm operations, and in any case will be at a frequency responsive to issues that may arise 4 Please describe any capital improvements you plan for the farm over the life of the lease Do the terms of the lease present any obstacles to capital improvements that you otherwise might plan to make? Please describe any long term capital plans for the facility relative to buildings and equipment 5 Are you prepared to provide the Committee with a single point of contact with respect to all aspects of farm operations? 6 Are you prepared to include in the Operational/Site Plan specific limitations on the scope of operations and activities at the farm? Although the draft lease included in the RFP is unclear on the point, the final negotiated Operational/Site Plan is intended to be an enforceable part of the lease 7 How do you propose to deal with the fact that the existing access way (to the east of the farm stand) encroaches significantly on the land of the private abutter(and the existing Town-owned land here is not wide enough to accommodate this access)? 4 Dear Committee Members & Town Staff Members— Thank you for the conversation today,which gave us the opportunity to respond to your questions and clarify our concerns Below you will find responses to all the questions we received from you on Monday. You are welcome to visit our location in Westford if you would like to see how we operate our farm. We look forward to hearing from you. Elizabeth & Noel Almeida Fat Moon Farm Clarification Questions 9 Operational/Site Plan Please provide a three-year revenue and cost estimate for operating the farm, as required in the Evaluation Criteria (Operational/Site Plan). - Provided hard copy at meeting, spreadsheet attached to this document 10 Operational/Site Plan How do you plan on staffing two farm locations? Hire the following personnel - Production manager who would co-ordinate farming activities on both farms - Retail manager for the Lexington site - Additional season help as needed—2- 3 farm hands for Lexington - See org chart below 5 Elizabeth Almeida Additional roles performed by owners(1 I Noel Almeida Education Coordinator I Owners I-Marketing Book-keeper Administrator I Production Retail Manager Retail Manager Manager Lexington Westford d Field Hand 1 Field Hand 1 Seasonal help 1 Lexington Westford Lexington Field Hand 2 Field Hand 2 Seasonal hedlp 2(if Lexington Westford needed) Lexington d Volunteers 1 x Volunteers 1-x Lexington Westford (*)These roles will be contracted out as needs arise 11 Operational/Site Plan You are proposing longer operating hours How will these impact the neighborhood? We will not always be operating early/late in the day. We stipulated these hours to give us the flexibility to work different hours based on the weather Currently our normal workday is 7am to 4pm. 12. Business Plan Can you please clarify section "d" of your business plan explaining in more detail your Target Market and how you will secure market share as well as anticipated priority to Lexington residents Based on our current experience of growing market share in a community that is less dense and has more local produce available,we believe we can achieve our marketing goals, specifically by - Producing quality products - Effective communication and involvement of the local community via social media, email marketing, and signage 6 13. Educational Programming Please clarify how Lexington residents will be given preference in educational programming We will consult with the committee to determine which of the following would be valuable for the community - One of our goals is to find local educators to conduct classes or seminars. All else being equal,we will give preference to instructors from Lexington - Opening up early registration for Lexington residents - Discounted admission to the model Farmyard - Discounted price for FarmBucks 14 Exceptions to RFP/Lease Agreement We are aware that you have some concerns regarding the release of financial information and the inspection of the buildings located on the farm. In the Town's response to bidder questions, dated May 9,we did explain requirement for financial documents and allowance for inspections. After reading your proposal those concerns resurfaced and we would like to be clear on whether or not you intend to 1) submit annual financials, and 2) require any further information regarding the inspection of existing structures (as we as the Town have nothing to disclose at this time). - Thank you for clarifying this requirement during our meeting We are willing to give financial statements in order to provide a picture of the financial health of the business At this time, they will not be audited, we will provide printouts from our accounting software (Quickbooks) Noel's education and work experience in accounting provide the skills to do our own bookkeeping and accounting - Yes, we would like to pay a professional to conduct an inspection of the structures and get an understanding as to what it will take to"do business" —it is possible that the property has not been inspected for adherence to code, and if we are required to maintain it to local code, we need to understand what costs that would entail We did not do this prior to submitting our proposal because we did not want to assume the expense if our vision for the property wasn't compatible with the intended use We understand that it will be our financial responsibility to remove or maintain the structures If that expense is projected to be significantly more than anticipated revenues, we may need to re-consider our application 15. Financial Capacity Can you provide more information on your finances year-to- date? Specifically,what caused you to go into deficit in 2011 and 2012 and how did you finance the operating deficits in 2011 and 2012? and what changes have you made to result in a projected positive results in 2013 and what are you 2013 results year-to-date versus projections? - 2011 deficit—initial costs, no established market Costs were self-financed, the deficit was small 7 - 2012 deficit—more initial costs, started weekly farmstand, purchased hoophouse, increased learning about farming Costs were self-financed, deficit was small Furthermore, we got some tax rebates that made the - 2013 —purchased more equipment, tripled acreage, increased market, hired more staff YTD actual vs projections cannot be measured accurately in a financial sense, since we are not a huge operation having achieved critical mass, with well established revenue curves In our case, we have almost exactly 3X the number of members, and 3X the number of sales as compared to last year 16. Would you plan on marketing Lexington grown vegetables outside of Lexington, e g., in Westford? - Given the potential market size and demand, we expect to more often be supplementing the Lexington location by bringing in produce from Westford and other local farms However if there is a surplus at the Lexington location that can be sold elsewhere, we will do so This is comparable to our current situation in Westford, where our first priorities are to our FarmBucks members and our Farmstand customers, and then we occasionally sell wholesale produce to restaurants and other farms NEW QUESTIONS 8. What are your plans for neighborhood interaction? How do you currently work with surrounding neighborhoods when making decisions? Do you have a plan in place detailing how you will handle any neighborhood controversies that may arise? - In our current operation, we have a very positive relationship with our neighbors, most of whom are our customers as well - We have a number of volunteers who spend time on the farm, some in exchange for product, but others who come to appreciate the time spent in community - Our neighbors understand that we are a farm and we work very respectfully with the local community We make efforts to mitigate the effect of noise and smells to the extent possible - Frequent communication (emails twice a week)to keep the community informed on how things are going at the farm - Our question for the committees is how the local nonprofit that has organized to preserve the farm will welcome an outside group Any advice on navigating this relationship would be appreciated 9. Do you plan on operating any services that may attract large audiences at once? What are your plans to control the overflow of visitors during those times? How much parking do you anticipate will be required for your proposed operations? How do you plan to provide that parking? 8 - Yes, we do plan to host events for 100+individuals We would like to eventually create parking for up to 50 vehicles by converting some of the existing property to parking space (to the right of the farmstand when facing the farmstand) 10. Will you be willing to attend regular or periodic meetings of the Town's Community Farming Committee to provide operational updates? Are you prepared to work closely with the Community Farming Committee ("Committee"),which will be the Town entity directly overseeing all farm operations? This coordination will include having a representative attend Committee meetings,which may well be monthly during at least the first year of farm operations, and in any case will be at a frequency responsive to issues that may arise - Yes, we are willing to work closely with the Community Farming Committee We ask that the schedule of these meetings be considerate of the farming schedule Our hope is that the relationship with the Committee is more than a monthly report, but also collegial and productive in helping us negotiate local issues and networking with Lexington residents and local partners 11. Please describe any capital improvements you plan for the farm over the life of the lease. Do the terms of the lease present any obstacles to capital improvements that you otherwise might plan to make? Please describe any long term capital plans for the facility relative to buildings and equipment. - Farmstand—we will pay for an inspection prior to signing the lease, so that we have a specific budget and a plan to maintain the structure - Water—possibly improve the waterflow by putting in a new pump, tubing - Gazebo— construct a 3-season structure to host events, classes - Structures to house animals in our `farmland' —pens, fences, small sheds/housing - Tractors and other mechanized equipment - Other equipment, implements, and tools - Solar panels to power equipment, electric tractor - Driveways - Storage for equipment 12. Are you prepared to provide the Committee with a single point of contact with respect to all aspects of farm operations? - Yes—Elizabeth Almeida 13. Are you prepared to include in the Operational/Site Plan specific limitations on the scope of operations and activities at the farm? Although the draft lease included in the RFP is unclear on the point, the final negotiated Operational/Site Plan is intended to be an enforceable part of the lease. 9 - Yes 14. How do you propose to deal with the fact that the existing access way (to the east of the farm stand) encroaches significantly on the land of the private abutter (and the existing Town-owned land here is not wide enough to accommodate this access)? - We intend to modify the parking and driveways by moving them to the right of the farmstand (when facing the farmstand) We would bring in professionals to consult on the traffic flow and structure of the driveways We would like some time on the property before we make major changes to the driveways and parking We also welcome the committee's input on the driveway and parking changes 10