we're going to call the meeting to order with our um chairman's statement I have to uh I should do this and we do this every other month So it's like okay this meeting is being recorded by the
agricultural commission If any other persons present are doing the same you must notify the chairperson at this time So we're called to order The roll call of members is myself Elizabeth Net Greg
Cootwear is present Yeah Oh yeah Dave Johnson Thank you And um we have a member who may be a little late I don't know but I'll put this in
parentheses I don't want to forget And I said we're in the process of getting you appointed right yes Yeah I think um I'm excited I think forward head to the council in April for their April meeting So once that's approved you'll get a letter from our office just having you
get sworn in with the city clerk and then you'll be all set Wonderful We'll definitely be good before our our next meeting in June Sounds like the plan Yeah because we have every other month so it works out Um so welcome Monica and Stephanie St John please
um say hello or speak as Hello Hello Hello Nice to have you Thank you Um so we have um I think Well I guess we don't announce the minutes yet to um It's not on the agenda I didn't Oh the
minutes Yeah No no no The um I got excited I jumped over You're good Sorry When I get excited He's so good too It's good to be excited I know it right okay So let us um Okay So no uh no discussion or comments that will be entertained
unless requested upon by the chairperson of the board or commission Vote to accept the minutes from the meeting of October the 2nd Well first I need to read them Yes So I will Agricultural Commission City of
Greenfield Massachusetts February 5th 2025 Meeting notes present were Elizabeth Okay So I just I I put down there's the members being Elizabeth N Gabe Johnson Denise Leonard Greg Cooper Yep Meeting
call to order 53612424 That's wrong That should read 525 and it is corrected Virginia started recording on That's wrong too Matt did
Gosh boy I I I do this There we good All right Started recording on Zoom for public viewing Roll call Attending meeting Elizabeth Net Dave Johnson Greg Cootwear and Denise
Leonard and Matt Conway Guests were Sid from St John Farm speak Pamela Goodwin on Zoom and Anthony C on
Zoom Let's see Public comment statement made by Elizabeth No discussion or comments will be entertained unless requested upon by the chairperson of the board or committee Greg Koutwear reads December 4th meeting minutes
accepted by the A commi committee Motion to change agenda order accepted by a committee Right to firearm signs Elizabeth spoke with Glenn at the DPW Needed three signs with hardware DPW
also needs a map of proposed sign locations for installation Um added to that conversation or part of that conversation were quotes for the signs from hail signs revised to
$1,220.50 This quote is also a purchase contract Dig Safe will investigate sign esavations ordering this quote to the mayor's office Placement of signs on route five and route two by four corners
Cheap side bridge and then route 2A by laundrymat near Lumis Road Setback requirements were discussed Motion to place signs as close as possible to city lines that is safe accepted by
a committee Old business petition on rooster complaint for reszoning be stated that zoning laws for properties over 5 acres cannot be changed at the city level Complaint should be resolved through the health
board This petition to change zoning laws was voted down by the city council at their last meeting AD committee decided to involve Michael Thorough with health board Public input
from Pamela G agrees with our discussion Public input from Sid from St John Farm at 138 Highland Avenue giving us information about their farm seeking special permit for cut
flowers a cut flower farm on 2.5 acres at the zoning board meeting scheduled for 22025 Meeting adjourned at 6:31 p.m Next meeting to be 4225 Thank you
I'd like to make a motion to accept these minutes as corrected as or corrections I second that Well I don't know if I can second that since it's me I know right
we have We still have some So I'm going to make the motion to accept these meeting these minutes as corrected Excellent So one of you would just need a second Just say you I'll second it I guess I'm the only one who can I don't That's what I was saying I don't know if
I can say it You just do a quick roll call vote of the members to approve that Okay All in favor say I Or All in favor say I I I Okay So much easier Thank you If we had a member on Zoom we would have to do a poll roll call since we're all
here in person Okay Thank you Um so we'll start It's so helpful when you when you meet every other month It's it's fine for this commission seems to work and it's not atypical of
the surrounding towns but you really have to catch up on these notes That's why the clerk does this It's so important You'll see the other some of the other committees don't do that But when I look back I read it and I go "Oh yeah Oh yeah Oh yeah What did we do
since then?" Well we've done some stuff But the new business now is um and I've finished all the things that I have to say The first one is the right to farm sides Um I just put a followup uh has the
purchase It's I'd like to have the follow some of these follow-ups Although we already know these things I think it's important to have this said tonight and have it be part of the meeting and be on record a followup and the purchase order of
$1,220.50 has been accepted by the mayor Mhm And approved and the purchase um and the invoice um are going through Yep It's just we'll touch on it with our next agenda item that we will just clarify with everyone
the placement of the signs and then we're kind of pushing ahead from there Okay That's what we're doing All right So um what we're going to do so it's been approved So this is great Now we discussed a lot the placement of the signs but here's what it came down to
Number two on the agenda placement of three right to farm signs So the followup on the meeting at DPW with the town engineer So the followup is that Dave was able to attend
Matt came and I came and we had a very good meeting with town engineer His name is Glenn Yep Flynn Robinson And then I think uh Marlo Warner the DPW director also popped his head into So we had a a good conversation about the logistics for for putting these signs in Yes we
had Um do you have notes about kind of Were you going to share notes from um I just call them plan A and plan B gotcha you know um as as we discussed th all of this um all of these clerk's notes this is when we were discussing this but
because we actually went down to DPW and we sat and took the time we realized a lot more I I think that we realized before Yeah Um and and so plan A would be this plan This was our plan A Let's
place them as close to the city lines as is possible You know that's it in a nutshell However the city lines and the state road highway secondary highway
lines are not what we may at first have thought they were and we were enlightened on that So as we discussed at the meeting to put these signs on state
property involves you have to um you know how did he say go through the state basically through the mass dot and all that to get approval to put up signs and then even in doing so it's a lengthy process there's not a guarantee you'll receive approval cuz they told us in the
past there's been kind of similar sign requests that they didn't approve So so we've got three signs that we want to put them up So that's plan A and this is what we learned from that meeting That's why these meetings are so important to
do during our months off We're not uh actually meeting Plan B is to put the signs on city property and they know Glenn knows they know where they
are So I'm going to and so that's plan B So I suppose you could split these three signs into different signs but I'd really like really like to get this voted on um with some with some discussion and input
[Music] Um what is the goal of having a sign in the city what is the goal i I'm going to talk about the city signs I won't get I'll but be very specific When I when I drive into Greenfield I look at signs I
see what I expect to see I see what I expect to see What is the goal of a sign to see the sign To see the sign Yeah I never saw the sign at the Rotary and I have
now lived there six years Mhm Why because it's placed in a place where you can't see it Yeah So knowing that and realizing that's my goal Glenn was talking about some places to put the
signs that were quite further up Deerfield Street Mhm doesn't have a lot of forgiveness Uh but we're in a city and we want to put these signs up I honestly think when I'm sitting at
that intersection which I sit at that intersection often I see all those signs Mhm It doesn't take me very long to see those signs I see the signs and I equate that to what Glenn he said Well we can even
move them up this far Yeah So if you want guys that were there want to pop in with what you heard and what you think you know I would call that plan B put them on city property get them up The goal is
to be able to see them Yeah I I definitely before we get in the logistics of the spots I definitely would agree plan B is probably the most you know expediated that we can just get the science up And if that's our ultimate goal then I think that's a good
route to pursue because if we go the mass dot route you know who knows we could be waiting six months from now and then still have to do plan D So that's at least my thought Okay Dave what's your thought on it
how I envision the signs is not even close to where they're going to end up I envision them as close to the Cheap Side Bridge as we could get it Mhm I I I brought the subject up that the state
maintains that road Route two over by um Factory Hollow would be the ideal place to put it as you come from Gil That's not on the
agenda because the state controls that The third one uh coming route five from Bernardston the state regulates or you you know maintains that road all the way
to Silver Street I'm sorry when you pass Silver Street there's a cluster of signage from storefronts from G filling stations from auto dealerships I don't
see that as being visible or standing out So all three of those locations and we already agree the sign coming in from Route Two is I I don't even see it now
when I drive I I do dig it out but I don't see it It doesn't jump out at me at all What the what this commission wants to do they're going to do Mhm I I brought up the subject last fall of
going to the stage shed in Bernardtown Mhm Um that's never happened Um so I realize I'm just one person and I want visibility I want to get a
bang for the buck 100% I don't see Silver excuse me Federal Street as being a bang for any buck I mean there's how many signs are on Federal Street from Silver Street heading south hundreds
Yeah they are everything from no parking signs to whatever So that one I for originally I saw the sign up by the Bernardston town
line It's rural up there There there's still people cutting hay up there Mhm Um coming from cheap side Yeah Please don't say the visibility would be great
It could be as far as Bank Row Mhm But I'm coming up Bank Row It's a busy street I I don't think I'm looking at s I know I'm not looking at signs Again I'm one person It can be voted down You can put your
signs where wherever you'd like I would like to see them in a visible spot And we all agree the one that's existing now is not in a visible spot Mhm Are we going to do that i don't think so
Well no I think you bring up good points And as I was listening to you I actually thought of a potential way to mix A and B That's what I was thinking of We could put up like say you would really want to get at least one or two of the signs to
the state to approve We could also just put one on city land in the interm or do that in any fashion Do two through the state you know one or do two for city one through the state So we could kind of mix and match to we could make to get what you want and also make sure we're
getting the signs up Yeah So that's also a thought that I just kind of Exactly Exactly what I was thinking of Yeah a mix of A and B That would mean that any mix from B might take a while to get approved Yeah
But it's it's a mix Yeah You know if there's a real if there's a place we really really want it and it's state property as we discussed at the meeting we can do that They're all state property I know they're all state property but if there's one spot that we
really really want we can mix mix and and match kind of As I said I'm just one person here and we don't it doesn't have to be all I we appreciate your input because I think that's you you are right in saying that like the the importance of having the signs is to make sure they're recognized and have impact
visible Yeah I Yeah I completely get what you're saying and I I know sign pollution is definitely something people talk about and it's you know something we'd want to try to avoid with these signs So I I think you you bring up good points and that's why I was kind of thinking more of trying to get like a
compromise situation right and as we were discussing this plan uh a this past a long time several months I was driving around not realizing that that was state property and envisioning how you know I was
envisioning the same thing basically that Dave was um not on route two or not on route two coming in but the Berneston this in Berneston you know before you know before you get to Berneston and I thought wow we could put
the sign there everybody would see it Now I have the facts of the matter Yeah And so if I if we could get two maybe out of three signs up and if we could figure is there a place that we really
really want to get it out there as we discussed on plan A Well I'm throwing it out there I I think that the Federal Street sign is ridiculous Okay So that would that would be the one
that you might hold off on for Well I think that one but I also think that that Deerfield Street one Deerfield Street is a busy street Yeah Okay And it's not Where was the discussion of where it would be on Deerfield Street where was it we went when we went to DPW
No I know Where was there any kind of discussion on basically the the solution they were coming up with they do not maintain Deerfield Street That's a statecontrolled road Okay Up to the silver silverware park whatever you want
to call it with the fish Yeah the fish Yeah I know what you mean After that they do There's a sign right there that says Yeah End of state Yeah Uhuh Maintenance Okay But that's not far from the the base of Bank Row It's No Yeah
Well it's almost to Meridian Street Yeah it is Okay uh 200 y south of Meridian All right Now basically as you enter the city town whatever it's called now
you've got all of that uh embankment for the railroad lines It's not as though you've got an open curb line or tree line or something This would have to go down through a sidewalk too Yeah It have to be mounted
in the sidewalk And I That's right Again I I've spoken my piece I I think we should get it as close to the town lines as we can Yes that's and I think has anybody approached the state on any kind
of timing they just spoke on their past experience of going through the Glenn did Yeah They've had they've done it with other signs before where they've had to go through the state process So they were just kind of speaking off that experience It doesn't surprise me I'm
just I was just asking uh there's a left hand and there's a right I don't know I see all at that intersection myself you know I yeah I do I do want to quickly make a small case for having one in the
bankro area and it would it would be a if you had it kind of in conjunction with the farmers market sign Yes That's almost like a good kind of symbiotic tiein there And then there's also the foot traffic from from Main Street
rather than it'd be like the intersection basically Yeah Yeah But and then there would also be the farmers market You would have foot traffic of everyone at court square and then the common area So that that was kind of but I also get what you're saying of the point of in your vehicle are people
looking around for signs not as much So I is bankroll used as some a farming area court So basically the commons here and the court square is here The court square is where the farmers market is every Saturday from end of April to end
of October That would be fabulous visibility I I don't know I I just I'm going to go back to my original thought of getting and and again I I one vote It's all right Right I mean that's that's what we're doing So what do you think Greg
what do I think yeah I was picturing these signs out by the city lines as well I mean when I drive into other cities that's what you see I don't I don't see them in the cities I see them right you know in the the rural areas as
I'm crossing the line That's how I can tell almost I mean just having moving moved here only five years ago Um it's usually those signs that tell me that I've gone from one city to another um around here Yeah And uh it's totally
different on the West Coast So Um No makes sense I I have to tell you I think you briefly I could be wrong Correct me if I'm wrong I think you briefly mentioned something about having one of the signs up and it might have been
after the meeting I don't remember Up by where the farmers market Yeah sign is And I thought bingo If if we're going to do this I mean that's across the street so we're talking about dead center of town If we're going to do this on on city
property so we can facilitate this before another freezing winter um I know DPW's got a lot on their agenda I have no I have no problem with the sign being there I think we need to think outside the box We're in a city
We're not I keep saying it We're not Sunderland We're just not I think that's a great visibility point Uh and that's within the city So that would be a plan B if you will within the city or a compromise Um and I
get on the state route either And that's right And I get everything Dave said We discussed this for months but now it's different because we went to DPW Yeah So do you want S do you have any uh input since uh you'll be joining us soon
have we already do we already have these signed bought and like sitting in a closet somewhere we basically have the invoice submitted and like preparing to order them Gotcha Right And the order includes all the hardware and delivery to DPW Okay So there's no lag time
Gotcha It's just the agenda that DP you know Okay I I think I would be interested just to try broaching a subject with the DOT Um and even if it's like we talk to DOT and we see about like what the process
would look like to get them out to the edges of the town line then we can take it off our agenda for however many months it takes to hear back from them And if it turns out that they dis uh what do they call it don't
approve Yeah Then we just put it back on the agenda and we follow through with plan B But um I think it make I mean since we talked to DPW I think it makes sense to talk to DF Sounds good you know Yeah Yeah Um I Okay So
we I'd like I I don't know if we can vote on this tonight I'd like to vote on it It's been on the agenda for so long Uh but I don't know if we can If you don't mind as chair can we recognize Stephanie she's there Oh I'm so sorry No worries at all I just Stephanie Stephanie
Hi Hi What are you thinking about this oh gosh I have a lot So one I think you may need a public hearing if it's an allocation of city funds So um I might I don't know if we already got the funds It's been approved Okay So that's fine
Um great Second Um thank you for letting me speak Um I know it's at the discretion of the chair as you had stated earlier I really appreciate that You guys are doing a great job Um I have a couple thoughts about maybe where the signs might go as well be but I'd like
to know what the in what the sign is meant to do just to notify that we are a right to farm community or are we using that signage as like a marketing tool to bring in more people who might want to
farm in our community So it it that would matter on where your location is If you're just trying to inform the community members and people who visit Greenfield uh you know we get a lot of visited a lot of people come to our trails I mean we could think about maybe
putting something in that area Um I was also thinking that because there's been pickle ball proposals I don't know if that's ever going to come to fruition but that's over by Abbercrombie Field and if they get the draw that they claim that they will by putting that in there
Well the General Pierce Bridge right in that area enters you know that's a city line you know we could negotiate in there and maybe even when you come up through the Stony Ridge area because a lot of traffic does come from out of town into those junctions that you may
not think I drive the city a lot lots of different places So um if I knew what the intent the sign is meant to bring then I might be able to contribute Like I see a lot of traffic in this area that
you wouldn't think that you would have traffic but um just a couple thoughts Um thank you for letting me speak Thank you Stephanie So should we answer should we throw an answer out there for Stephanie what is the intention of putting up these signs in the first place as
Stephanie said is it just an FYI here we're a right to farm community Or is it to draw more people in for agriculture to me it's just a sign that says "Welcome to our city We are a right
to farm community I just want people to see and to know and to kind of get it into the heads of those people that are interested in it and see it to see it You know that's a conundrum in a city every city So that I mean that would be
my take on it just yeah just to let people know Yeah somewhere on the Mohawk trail area if there is one there is it is it can you tell me where I mean I literally drive the road all the time and I and I couldn't I rest my case on
visibility You didn't know exactly where it was see one like on the edge of I thought there was one on the edge of Berneston but that might just be notifying There's a sign that notifies that all intercity traffic is 25 miles per hour but that might be a good location too because we already have
sign up That's true We have a sign That's why we only brought bought three We have a sign down by the Rotary I have lived down by the Rotary for six years I have never seen the sign except you took
until I took the picture a few months ago Yeah Where is the sign well right after the meeting I went out and went "Oh my gosh there's the sign." There you go I took the picture So I didn't see the sign but that's on the rotary of
just by the mobile station with all the other signs That should be the the deciding factor in making sure we put it in a visible space coming You you've heard my speech Is it possible to relocate that to the opposite side of the Rotary now that we've going to bring
in Starbucks and Aldi's i think your visibility would be better not as if they're entering Greenfield but what else you know as they circle around the Rotary and they're coming to Aldi's and Starbucks that they have that visibility as they're coming off uh 91 to visit
those entities instead of you know if they're going to come into Greenfield they're going to go all the way around the Rotary but they will see it over there because some people might just go to Aldi's and Starbucks and back on the highway So maybe relocating it to the opposite side might be more visible that
involves the state Yeah Yeah I was just gonna say um I mean that's a great idea I like that too I mean I mean I like the idea Um and if we go through bring stuff to the state anyways we could bring that to the table as well Say can we move
this sign yeah To move the sign But and I I must you know I I do have to say I'm kind of all for that farmers market and right to farm sign right i mean for me I just I just saw that Which one do you want to give up to put there
i don't know I'm not there yet Uh I'm not there yet I'm just taking in all this information and thinking to myself you know because I was kind of hopeful to move this forward Go ahead Monica do
you have any ideas on where to place right to farm signs in in Greenfield what time is it hi Hi
Um I think um I think you guys were discussing the the entrance of the city right where you first arrive in Greenfield you know uh it gives a sense of that this community
welcomes farms and excuse me for the dog barking That's Matilda She is a farm although we don't have a farm But anyway so I think you know to let people know
welcome to Greenfield Greenfield is a um a farm community And I love the idea of one near the farmers market I really think that would be
great And um so yeah that's that's what I think and um all the comments I heard you know you guys are doing a great job I know this has been on the agenda for a
while but um maybe finally will happen Thank you Monica Thank you Monica and Stephanie That really gives us a lot of things to think about And Sid I also agree that on the on the common by that
the farmers market sign or on that would be fantastic as well A lot of a lot of visibility I'm actually taking notes and a lot of signs Well to that left on bank on the common is is not as bad as but I agree
with what you're saying like the the corners of the intersection are kind of sign but I think the appeal of it is the vehicle traffic along with foot traffic because like the common in a lot of ways is almost like the center of the
downtown at least I do have to say yesterday I was sitting stoplight and the uh and I did read the farmers market sign it was very visible really good
visibility from that how are people really feeling about a sign on the comm that would be on city property the ground is now thawed I I'm almost wondering if because of the location of the farmers market sign If I
think it's the farmers market sign and then there's like a little dangly one underneath that says the hours You added like a dangly one again that said Greenfield a right to farm community or something like that That just wouldn't be like another sign adding noise in that adding some signage Yeah that makes
sense Yeah I know We're mounting our sign to the top of that We might not love that one All right So I So I get that So we like the idea of on the I'm just trying to to meld plan A and plan B Um even if we
only could get one sign up during this season because I I'm hopeful if the state would work faster Um but I I don't know from what I hear I trust DPW I trust Glenn I know they're experienced
and I I listen to their good judgment on the common How are we feeling about that all in favor i think so Basically we could put in you could put forward any motion you want to vote on Basically the motion would be based on what you guys
were discussing at least two of the signs you want to go through the state Is that kind of how I'm I'm reading that if you're going to do two why not do all three so that's the Okay So you can make that motion to send all three to the state if you'd like and then we can vote
on it or anyone else can submit any motion We can run around doing votes Yeah I was pulling out on the common because we all seemed to be pretty much in agreement on that Um and we do have a quorum tonight which is good
Um we're on the common I I pictured it I mean we've got the hardware what came with it you know Um that would be something we'd have to discuss with DPW Yeah Whether we were putting up
another post with Welcome They would do a dig safe before and all that too to Yeah they do the dig safe So we don't have to worry about any of that They take care of every all of it Not so with the state That's why it takes so long So um I'd be happy to have one sign go
through and go up but I don't know if if I should put that around for a vote It's the discretion of you three as a a commission I I'll sit back I understand I'll be here to you know council as far as procedure That's kind of it Okay Us
three and uh All right So I'm going to put forward a motion to vote on erecting one sign in the city of Greenfield specifically on the common where the uh farmers market sign is now for
visibility and to get something up there where people can go "Oh we really are a right to farm community." Because people need an FYI People don't know Mhm People don't sit and read the charter all the time So that would and then the
discussion goes oh we are a right to find There it is So I'm going to put that up for the vote for the three of us Just to complete your motion make sure you mention that for the other two signs you'd want to go through the state because that's is that as I understand
what your motion would be Um I actually feel differently about that I I see a commonality here Mhm I mean I I I'm not I'll do a I'll do a blend Okay So your motion is your motion is just
specific to the one side I am Okay Just that possible Yeah Okay Just so we can kind of get this get this going and get this up and get this where people can see it Before we vote on that I'd like a little discussion and I want my the Yeah
Which sign are we going to give up to put there that have to be cheap side bridge That's what I was thinking too I don't see an alter We're not going to get five north So this would be an alternate position for Yeah it would be
an alternate position from the cheap side location That's correct I just want to put that in the motion Okay So the cheap side location is problematic at best and this kind of
follows through bank row intersection and up there Mhm So it's like a follow through So here goes the motion again I make a motion to put one right to farm sign up on the common by the um farmers market
sign and we will consider that we're deleting the Cheapside Bridge location and the Deerfield Street and the bank roll We're deleting all of that
that we had discussed for months So I'm going to put that out as a motion So you need and we have we have you need one of the two of them to second your motion to vote vote on it Okay because I have three people Yeah
If no one seconds it then we someone has to make a different motion Okay All right So I'm putting that out as a motion for one sign I think I should play the chip I didn't like the wording That's why that's the only thing I'm worried about or thinking
about here Okay You what is it that you don't I didn't like the word deleting Okay we don't use relocating Okay relocate Relocating Yeah you can change my word side location Yeah
From anywhere along Fairfield Street Deerfield Street or Bankrow up to Yeah So we're deleting that That's a better word Deleting it from He's saying he wants to remove deleting
and I don't want to put relocating Put relocating Okay Because it's not really it Yeah Okay That's a better word I'm relocating or transferring It makes no worries I don't like we're getting because deleting means we're not putting one up at all for that that entrance
Right So put that down That sounds good We're relocating that sign and we're voting to put it up on the com by the farmers market sign So would you like me to restate the motion
or would you like me to rewrite it in that in that form would I I want I just want a motion that sounds good I think it would be best if you restated it if you could Okay That's what I thought Yeah Go ahead So we uh we have a motion to
relocate the location of the cheap side sign along Route Five off of So it would um it would relocate off uh from Deerfield Street
Route Five up to the uh comments next to or close to the farmers market signage Good Existing farmers market sign Good So that when
people read the words they can picture what we're doing So that's that's my motion Okay So if that be your motion yes I would second that motion Okay Beautiful
As stated by you Good Okay Because we want people to be able Should have thought about it a little bit more That's okay That's cool That's why we're So now you can bring it up We're going to vote Okay So I'm So we're going to bring this up to vote
Okay All in favor of relocating the cheap side sign up to the farmer up to this town common near the farmers market sign Uh say I or raise your hand I I And
I'm raising my hand but not yet Yeah that's okay Thank you for coming And then all opposed All oppose Okay so that passes And then do we want to do a second
motion for the other two locations to send them to Matt i think we I think what we should do is continue on this agenda item Okay And clean it up Sounds good If we could do it Yeah Okay So um we have two more
signs now to put up And we have a choice We can put either of those signs on city We have the same choice Either of those signs on city property or we can move it down onto state property which may have more room
may have more visibility So we we'll just take it one sign at a time It's easier that way Okay So this is the cheap side that we've relocated Mhm So let's let's start with
um let's start with the the 2A the route two off of two coming into 2A which is um Gil Route two coming along there Yeah So the closest that we can get to the
city into the city is going to be let's see they'll have to go fast stop and shop right there No they don't have to go Lumis Road I think Lumis Road is the closest two Well Lumis Road is closest
to the city line if I understand that properly No I think coming from Gil on route two Yeah there's a side street called Factory Hollow Yeah right in there gets a lot more traffic Okay I'll
just No just we're discussing the side Huge amount of traffic coming from the Route Two until it picks it up on 91 and Yeah down by the trail where the existing
sign is Can the city put up a sign near No Country Hollow no No It has to be the state So yeah it could go up eventually It's just the state needs to approve it That's right Where's the closest that the city could put it well you have to go You have to leave Route Two You have
to leave Route Two You have to take your lefthand turn I think it's Lumis Road Lodge Tire Lodge Tire That's what I was thinking of Yeah Lumis Road is that near the traffic that route two gets No I've
only seriously I've only been on Lumis Road maybe two times Well that's what I'll tell him Five years Well it's it's by it would be on two-way close across from Lodge Tire
Lodge tire is way down in that vicinity So Lodge Tire is that's that's much farther to the north that the other side of Stop and Shop Yep But there's a lot less traffic flow there than there is
from the gill route 2 to Route 91 to where the existing sign is at the other end of where you get off 91 So is there any place we can put it there on High Street
i don't know where on High Street DPW takes over Yeah I just don't High Street and French King Highway start right at where Turner's Fall Road ears off Ears off Yes That's So I would But it's still called 2A even when it's High Street
right it's two-way all the way down And the question is I would my one suggestion is getting the biggest bang for the buck Yeah And that's rude too Yeah Far and away How you whatever the vote is I'll live with
it I'm not going to have a protest Should we Why don't you put Yeah I I don't I don't want to put it off of anything off either That means we got to we got to approach this thing Who knows let's look at all
of the surrounding towns that have right to farm signs They're right on the city line They're No no that's not what I'm getting at They're on state roads State roads That's right Yeah So evidently the state is saying all of those surrounding
ones are okay Mhm Or have been approved in some form I'm not trying to be a bad guy here It's No I like I you're really important for this when a sign is out you know we want to we want to put it up and keep it up And the question is if if we do just
as good a job of putting it up as the last group did down on the trail Hey so so I mean right after uh right after it turns into High Street you hit Silver Street's that's the first stop sign there where Town Fair Tire is now
Yeah Yes I'm wondering if just after town fair tire we could put it in that that area right in there and still have the city do it Yeah right in there where AMR ambulance is but I don't know
what the signage looks like in there It could be just a forest Well you got a police station right there Yeah it's down another block or so Yeah on the other side That's That's right where those auto specialists are Greenfield mile of where we're thinking
of putting it on where Berneston Road ends It's only separated by Silver Street Yeah Yeah that's true It's very true And why I say that is because it pulls in all the traffic from Turner Falls
Who go to Turner's files rather than going around on Is that important or not no it's true I go there constantly Constant I know but you're local Everybody local knows this No but I know how much traffic there is because I go there all the time compared to
route two traffic patterns Yes I don't think it's even close I mean no we we could do some some technology of measuring traffic flow but
route two I I I I I agree with you there Dave I don't know It's somewhere on that Mohawk trail there Well that's correct because Route Two from Irving Mhm or maybe even from Orangeol is part of what's called the
Mohawk Trail Yeah So what do we think so I know you had factory So Factory Hollow was one of the ones you were interested in getting the state approval What was the other one just for my point of information the Bernardston line for Route Five
I I like that location a lot And that would be right in line with how Northfield and Sunderland and the other communities have their set up There's there none of to I could be wrong From what I know none of the right to farm
signs are in downtown Sunderland If there is a downtown Sunderland that's the intersection of 47 and 116th So okay if you want to kind of conclude this item you can either continue this You could make someone could make a
motion to approve the factory hollow by route two and burst in line Uh send them to the state for approval Y or so it's kind of the ball's in your court right now Okay So would someone like to make a
motion i'd like to make a motion to seek Department of Transportation State Department of Transportation on both of our actually on three three more sign locations The existing one and the two
new ones the existing one at the rotary and the two new ones Okay All right If we were to somebody go ahead the uh the one coming from chief side which has
been transferred up here through much we can always retract that one from the state if they if they don't want to act on it They can just say it and we go gee we'll go to plan B Exactly Yeah
Um but if we don't present it I mean that they might be willing to say lump all three together where we want it That's true That's why I think it's good to mix and match because you kind of get the potential of getting something up
but you also get the potential of getting the best possible location So yeah I think that makes you read your motion right so one of you just needs to second it for a vote There's three people here What you both
one of you two needs to cuz he read he did the motion Yeah that's why I'm sitting here Okay [Laughter] I wrote down exactly what what you proposed and I heard Sid as well
I'm afraid I just see this as being batted around for the forever I Yeah I I think that this is a worthy discussion and I I think it's it's worthy of the input and how people feel and
want to vote I'll just say this So if you motion to as follow his motion and vote to approve that I will literally tomorrow email the DPW and say "Let's put this forward with NASDAQ." So that if you vote on it tonight you can kind of start
the process where if you continue it then we're kicking the can till your next meeting Yeah So that's kind of your options Um I agree with what Dave was saying with um if you present everything all
three new sign locations or four if you include relocating the one at the Rotary to the state I mean we're already spending $1,200 on this I think if it ends up getting delayed another 6 months for them to end up exactly perfectly where we want them to be like I'm
totally happy with that Um but we can say we're going to submit all four of these to the state and if they come back with uh we only want to do three or there's a location that we don't like or whatever whatever they want to say then we have
our first backup location is the commons and then like we don't have to revisit this again until we hear anything back from the DOT So you're saying all all of the signs i think present everything to the state it
with the like most desirable options and then if anything gets declined or anything at all you have your first backup is at the commons and ideally you don't need a second backup but if you do that's when you can discuss it again All four to the state is prop So
procedurally all you would have to do first though is withdraw our previous vote because you did we did just vote to we did just vote because So you would just need to withdraw that and then we can vote on all four if you want to do that I will withdraw the motion for putting
the right to farm sign up on the common by the farmers market sign I'll withdraw because I'm the one that made the motion Um but we're going backwards right now Well now we're going backwards to go
forward because now we're we have to go backwards if we're going to do all four procedural steps After consideration I would like to restate my motion Motion to approach mass dot on all four
locations of these signs and get some feedback on what it'll take to get them to mount them in the places we prefer them towards the city
boundaries I'm a dinosaur How how adept am I at a computer not much Even less I really for me Yeah You go to the DPW shed up in Bernardston and you meet
face to face with them DPW or masto excuse me The state shed Oh okay So in so doing you're getting a read on them and they're getting a read on us which no
offense these goddamn uh techn technology It's not real And I want to if I want to negotiate I'm going to meet you toe to toe So I can at least ask DPW if that'd
be possible They would just go there And then if if if not we can go back to our original idea set up an appointment for the next time Yeah Well I will say the doing things at meetings face to
face does produce much quicker and much more clear It lets them know that we're serious not just Matt I'll go with you Want to have a second Okay So we have a motion to vote on Yes Sound like my granddaughter All right Let's vote on
this motion because it's 6:30 You need a second You need He needs a second He needs a second um to vote to vote on it He's made the motion We need a second You can second it I I'm waiting for you
to do that We have three people here You don't have to wait for me Go ahead See who will blink first Case of blinking It's a case of just just you know I think we've beaten this thing to death for for almost a year now
Yeah I do too That's why I want you to vote on how you feel One vote away from moving forward So that's right So how are you feeling about this plan the new plan all four go to D uh go to Mass DOT and Matt will contact them
You're going to go up there and I'll go with it I'll go if you want but I'm I'm not going to email or send them a letter I well personally I need to first talk to the BPW about it because I'm gonna trust and respect that's what the appropriate practice
would be just in full transparency They were very clear at that meeting we were at a month or so ago that the state was reticent about doing that I think they were very clear saying well they may approve it they may not
and it may take an extended period of time I'm just saying the the meeting portion of like meeting face to face with them I would just want to make sure DPW was aware of that to keep them in the loop I agree No hard
feelings That's what he's saying Well I just think there's strength and coordination and having everyone on the certain Yeah there's a certain mutual respect and I'm the odd man out here No I I think we're pushing toward getting everything as close to the edge as we
can If all four signs go to DOT they will be they're the ones who are responsible for putting things up as as far away from the center as Greenfield as we are hoping that they will end up and that's because they're maintaining Exactly Exactly So we got to talk to
them All right I'll second it So the motion pays no May I make a procedural suggestion feel free Stephanie that the commission authorize you to reach out to Mass
DO in regards to the placement of four right to farm signs with further um um further recommendations from Mass DOT and you guys can go back and amend those for
actual locations they authorize So just a suggestion I like it That makes sense Okay So you've got a vote Got a motion and a second So we just need a vote We did get a second Yeah
we're good Need the vote I need to click You initiate the vote Oh I got to initiate the vote Okay I I'm sorry No Um I'd like to um uh initiate a vote
make a motion to vote on all four signs right farm signs being placed as close to the the city line as is possible
and that we understand that Matt will I don't know if this should be part of the motion I think it's good to include it Okay Then we understand that Matt has um offered to you know initiate the process
be and let DPW know what we're doing so that they know and I think that's very appropriate and I appreciate that Yeah Okay So that's that's uh the motion We have uh three people We have a quorum
Two have voted yes So the motion passes Well we just have to each do the you have to do the vote Just say yay and then have everyone vote nay Okay So who votes who votes yes on this motion or yay i don't even remember what the motion is
Well I have to keep repeating everything So it's good for me We got So are you voting I am i am voting no You're voting no Okay And that's okay It passes cuz I was wondering cuz you said 2:1 Well no I'm glad that we do have a quorum I am
glad because at least we've got it done That's and similar to when we met with DPW if whenever I able to get something with NASDAQ together I will email uh you guys
about it But again we can't have a quorum of the committee at the meeting If so it' be two representatives that Okay I will not attend You will attend And you can have another person Yeah Or up to two Up to two Five person
Cuz we're a five person Mhm Okay So okay Well there you have it He'll he'll let us know Motion passes Okay So um do you have all our emails because generally you email me and I
kind of contact everybody Yeah Okay So remember if you're interested in going with Matt at anything that he can set up with Matt's DOT then please pay attention to your email and know that it'll be forthcoming so that you can go to that meeting and
I'll subject it So sounds great Okay meeting is adjourned The rest of the items on the agenda are tabled to the next meeting Sounds good And if there's ever I just want to offer to you
all if I know we meet by monthly but this day time the first Wednesday is always going to be booked for you all So if there's ever a time you want to meet within the by month just make sure to let me know and I can get we can get everything together to post and all that
So you always will have that optionality if needed Is there anything that we need to discuss before two months is by I I have a question and I I don't have no idea what the answer is Oh yes What
decision was made regarding the roosters i don't know I have no idea So my understanding um I've been following it a little bit because I just had to get rid of my rooster is that um the agricultural commission cannot make decisions about the roosters The city
council can not make decisions about the roosters If you're on over five acres that's it Nobody can tell you what to do If you're on under two acres that would be when your neighbors get either animal control or the board of health involved Um regarding that specific property with
the church it sounds like everybody is just like nothing has happened and everyone is still unhappy Agreed Yeah Well we we did go to the board of health It's on the agenda We did go to the board of health and we had a really wonderful meeting It was short clear and productive Wonderful And it was very
delineated and I have no problem with it Even though I don't I don't have to agree with things to have to to like the way things proceed Yeah So um and Mark Snow came in and he put he was there when they talked about frontage because
frontage was part of it The way that I understand it as far as um Michael Thorough is concerned is this particular church situation is done It's doubly done Yeah Yes And I understand
very clearly what's going on and they are following the law and they are following the city guidelines and that's it Y it doesn't matter how many buildings are on the property That's I mean I'm just saying what Michael said and I sat there and I listened to him and I said good good
good nice and clear That's how I am Yeah So that's that's it And that's what I operate on uh when people have questions or anything like that I operate on that very clearly because I have seen it in action Absolutely Many times and I
didn't know you had a rooster So what else were you uh Oh the beef fest Can you give us a little statement when is the beef fest when is Beef Fest yeah When is it second week of May Okay Saturday May 17th Saturday May 17th is
the Beef Fest Okay So I'd love that to be on record because that's a really important one Great day for Greenfield And uh the crosswalk will be painted end of April Uh so it'll be cool for everyone to see the new crosswalk design they're they're doing And then another
cool part of Beef Fest they're going to unveil the new bee which is going to live at the Big E So this it's going to be what it's going to be at the Big E you know in um West Springfield It's going to be at the Big E in West Springfield I think I read something
about that I don't get the paper Yeah So that that'll be cool to see too Okay So to formally adjourn someone just needs to motion to adjourn and then just vote on it Okay I would like to make a motion to adjourn this meeting
Okay Second I meeting adjourned Excellent Thank you Um we'll table the other items that haven't been covered at the next meeting which will be June 7th Uh June
4th June 4th is our next meeting Remembering if we want to get together on the first Wednesday at [Music]