Ag Council Votes to Skip July, Tap Interim Chair

Agricultural Advisory Council · Meeting of June 8, 2026

ORLEANS — The Orleans Agricultural Advisory Council voted to skip its July meeting and name Peter Jensen interim chair after Chair Alexander Bates announced he is stepping down. The motion, moved by Bates and seconded by Secretary Rand Burkert, passed unanimously, with the council set to reconvene August 10. Jensen reported that during a recent Putnam Community Garden walk-through, one grower found a member of the public "harvesting merrily" in her plot without permission.

Liaison Drusy Henson said the garden's new barn has power and water hookups in place but likely won't be fully usable until "towards the end of July," and separately flagged spreading velvet grass, an invasive species, near the wetland restoration area. Jensen warned that "our meetings have been perfunctory of late," as members acknowledged the five-to-seven-member statutory council could soon be down to three regular members and needs to recruit before August.

In the full story:

• Opening and Attendance
• Farmers' Market Update
• Putnam Garden Walk-Through and Security Concern
• Barn Construction and Access Rules
• Invasive Velvet Grass
• [00:09:10] — Drusy Henson, Conservation Commission liaison
• Demonstration Garden and School Programs
• Reappointments and Leadership Transition
• [00:23:17] — Peter Jensen, Putnam Liaison
• Review and Approval of April Minutes
• Adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,084 words

Source: the Agricultural Advisory Council meeting of June 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.