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Approved 11/8/2010 OC Board of Adjustment – 10/11/2010 Page 11 of 35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 Marilee McTigue: My name is Marilee McTigue and I am speaking this evening on behalf of Orange County Voice. Orange County Voice’s mission is to educate and build awareness of rural Orange County. Mapleview Farm and the Nutter family have inspired our work from the start. The Mapleview Ag Center is a gift to our community. It’s a beautiful facility, it’s nicely buffered from the surrounding neighbors, and like everything else at Mapleview it’s well managed and impeccably maintained. Most importantly, it is a continuation of a tradition of good will and generosity that has become synonymous with the Nutter family and Mapleview Farm. The well designed classrooms and the barnyard are fun and informative ways for people of all ages to learn where our food comes from. There is no place like it in Orange County or surrounding areas and it has become a destination for schools, church groups, and community groups to visit and connect with farm and agriculture. Orange County Voice uses the educational center all the time for meetings and informational sessions. In support of our educational mission, we tour elected officials, community leaders, and others through our rural areas. Our tour starts at the ag center. This involves a few cars driving up and a group of people walking through the facility and touring the barnyard. Last month when Mapleview dedicated their new solar array, they allowed us to go on a hayride. In exchange we learned how Mapleview handled its large milking herd, how it controls the quality of our milk, and protects us against disease and an important education in what local family farms must do to ensure our safety and quality. Mapleview has never charged us to use this base and it is unlikely they will ever recover their investment but for Mapleview this has never been about money. This is about a continuation of a tradition that they’ve done for decades. Teaching every one of us where our food comes from. A lesson that is more important than ever today. We hope that the Board will consider expanding the permitted use for the agricultural educational center. Our group is researching ideas for a rural heritage program. We’d love to hold them at the ag center because it’s a great space and would attract visitors. In addition, we’d like to hold more community events like a breakfast or a barn dance or something because every time someone gives to the ag center, they enhance their connection to the farm and our rural community. Orange County Voice and the residents of rural Orange County are grateful to Bob and Chris Nutter and to Allison Nichols for their commitment to agricultural education and to rural Orange County. We strongly support the agricultural center and the value it has brought to our community. We hope Mapleview will be allowed to continue to operate this incredible facility and expand the permitted uses so that we can find more ways to encourage visitors to come out and learn where their food comes from. Michael Harvey: The next person on the list to speak is Susan Walser. Susan Walser: Hi, I’m Susan Walser and I live in Bingham Township. I’ve known Bob and Chris for many years. They’ve been very supportive of me personally and I think they are a huge asset to the county not only from putting their land in a land conservancy to preserving the rural character of that area, to the ice cream store, to the beautiful cows, to their beautiful ag center. I’d like to reiterate every thing Marilee said from Orange County Voice. I have been to many fundraisers and other activities at the ag center. It always includes some type of educational component. The people there love learning about the environment, the soil, the geology of the area, the animals, and the kids learn a lot about the animals. I’ve been on the hayride and learned tons about the farm that I didn’t know before. I’ve met Allison and her mother Susan. They are very committed to education, I am so impressed with Allison, the way she talks about educating children and how important it is to her. I really think the community needs a place like this not only for the education of our children to further the children to learn where their food comes from but also it’s so important for the community to have a place to gather. Being involved with Orange County Voice and the fight against the airport and the fight against the waste transfer station, the community needs a place where you can educate each other about what’s happening and where you can meet and talk about things and the ag center provides this wonderfully. I’d like to thank the Nutters for all they do. Thank you. Michael Harvey: Mr. Bill Waddell.