Burlington Agricultural & Rural Affairs Advisory Committee Meeting

Minutes

Meeting #:
Date:
Time:
-
Location:
Room 247, City Hall, second floor

1.
Members Present:

 

Vincent Sowa (Chair), Maura Romanelli (left at 8:00 p.m.), Erin Fleming, Wilma Jacobs, Larry Campbell, Mariam Abu-El-Magd and Peter Starcevic (arrived at 7:14 p.m.)

2.
Regrets:

 

Michiel Barnard and Norm Richardson

3.
Others Present:

 

Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, Kelly Cook (Planner) and Jo-Anne Rudy (Clerk)

4.
Land Acknowledgement

 

The Chair read the Land Acknowledgement.

5.
Declarations of Interest:

 

None

6.
Approval of Minutes:

 

6.1
Approve minutes from meeting held June 18, 2025

This item has attachments. 
1.06-18-2025_Burlington_Agricultural_and_Rural_Affairs_Advisory_Committee_Minutes.pdf

On motion, the minutes from the meeting held June 18, 2025, were approved as presented.

7.
Delegation(s):

 

None

8.
Regular Items:

 

8.1
Planner update

 

a.
Rural Forum update

 
  • Kelly advised that she attended the 3rd annual Rural Forum at the Kilbride Fire Station on September 11, 2025 hosted by Councillor Rory Nisan. She noted that there were several City staff in attendance, Halton Regional Police and other organizations that impact rural residents. Kelly added that there was significant discussion regarding road safety, including motorcycle racing, and that she had the opportunity to have good conversation with Fire Department staff regarding cisterns.
  • Kelly stated that she is hoping to provide feedback to organizers regarding the location of her table and a shout-out at the beginning to advise residents that BARAAC exists.
  • The committee asked for clarity on whether the event was intended for the entire rural area or just Ward 3. Kelly indicated that it is promoted as the "Rural Forum" as opposed to the "Ward 3 Forum", and that some residents from other areas do attend, such as North Aldershot. The committee indicated a desire for collaboration across all wards with a rural component to enable broader reach for the event.

b.
Food for Feedback update

 
  • Kelly advised that the Food for Feedback event was really well attended this year and thanked the committee members who volunteered. She noted that they had good conversations with residents on where they currently get information on farms and farmers markets, etc. and where they would like to get it (i.e. an app or a website). Most individuals stated that they get this information by searching on google or social media and would like to continue getting information this way. 

8.2
Agricultural Action Plan - Short-term work plan 

 
  • Kelly advised that the Agricultural Action Plan was approved by Council on July 15 and thanked Vincent for his delegation. She reviewed the ten prioritized actions with committee and they discussed what some priority actions could be. Kelly suggested that she create buckets of priorities and send out to members for them to discuss at the October meeting. The focus will be on shorter to medium term actions which do not require additional resourcing.

9.
Other Business:

 
  • Committee had a brief discussion about wells versus cisterns and ongoing issues with rural water quality (i.e. low yields during droughts, high levels of iron or salt, etc.).

10.
Adjournment:

 

Chair adjourned the meeting at 8:32 p.m.

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