Changes at Holcomb Farm Discussed at Granby Selectmen Meeting

The members of the Granby Board of Selectmen on Monday had a briefing from representatives of Inc. about the town’s increased involvement in the day-to-day operations of the 367-acre town asset.

The increased involvement, which was approved in an interim memorandum of understanding by the selectmen at the board's Feb. 21 regular meeting, was precipitated by the loss in June 2011 of $200,000 in education grants that the farm received annually from the state.

Most of the initial changes will be in consolidating back-office operations, such as using one payroll system for both entities, having the town put the farm on its insurance policy instead of having the farm obtain its own and having the town plow and mow the farm’s property instead of the farm having an independent contract to have that work done.

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At the meeting Monday, outgoing President of Holcomb Farm Inc.’s Board of Directors Bill Bentley, incoming President Bob Bystrowski and self-described “honest broker” Jenny Emery, who is unaffiliated directly with the operations with Holcomb Farm, all spoke of the status of the farm’s operations.

“Holcomb Farm is a town treasure,” said Bentley, adding that the farm’s plan of use — which promotes agriculture, education, arts and passive recreation — adopted by the selectmen in 1992 is still relevant. “The times have changed, but those uses haven’t.”

But what has changed, according to Bentley, is the financial resources available to the farm after it lost the Link and Learn grant that indirectly covered, among other things, all ownership costs, including mowing, snow plowing and the executive director’s position.

“That was a remarkable grant to have,” said Bentley, who added that grants like that are no longer available — not just to the farm, or to Granby, but across the nation.

As a consequence of the loss of the grant, Holcomb Farm was no longer able to maintain its facilities, requiring the town to step in via the interim memorandum of understanding, with an eye toward a master memorandum of understanding.

“A  restructuring  of the relationship between the Town and HFI will provide a foundation for sustaining current and expanding future community uses of Holcomb Farm, consistent with its mission: to preserve, promote, and utilize a working New England farm for food production, education, and community use,” Bentley said.

Bystrowski discussed the structure of the new relationship between the town and HFI.

Specifically, Bystrowski said that the lease between the town and HFI that had been in effect for nearly 20 years was no longer beneficial to the operation of the farm.

Going forward, with a new plan formulating, Bystrowski said that he hoped that the town, as the property owner, and HFI could work together to use the asset that is Holcomb Farm.

Bystrowski said that HFI will oversee a number of programs at the farm, including: the CSA; the Fresh Access initiative, which is connected to the CSA and provides fresh fruit and vegetables to those in underserved communities who do not have access to them; and the farm store. In addition, it would continue to cooperate with the town, through use of the land consistent with the Plan of Use, and through fundraising.

Bystrowski said that the town and the HFI non-profit group should focus on the special skills that both parties bring to the table.

Emery, for her part, recommended that the selectmen pass a resolution creating an advisory board comprised of representatives of town operations, HFI, and other town-based organizations, to serve as a sounding board for community engagement, and a platform for collaboration between the town and HFI.

“We may not need [it] five years from now,” Emery said. “But it will increase interaction and collaboration.”

Town Manager Bill Smith said that the process was “coming together.”

Smith said that he wants to make sure any new programming “makes sense” with the plan of use and to ensure that the town’s involvement uses as few “tax dollars” as possible.

Smith added that he did not yet know how much the town’s involvement would cost up front, but “there’s no way we can do [this] without start-up funds.”

But, Smith said that the programming added to the farm should be able to sustain itself in the long run.

“We want to make sustainable operations to the highest degree possible so as to not burden the tax base,” Smith said. “I think it’s moving in the right direction.”

First Selectman John Adams labeled the changes at Holcomb Farm as “a new beginning” and an opportunity to “do greater things as far as programming for education, arts, agriculture and passive recreation.”

“It’s a natural progression to make things better.”

The town will hold a public workshop, which will take place on June 4 at 6 p.m. prior to the regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, to discuss what should be done — including what programming should be added — at the farm.