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CEA_11-18-10_Meeting_Minutes• MEETING MINUTES OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY CONSERVATION EASEMENT AUTHORITY Held in the Executive Session Room of the Frederick County Administration Building at 107 North Kent Street in Winchester, Virginia on November 18, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. PRESENT: Diane Kearns, Chairman; Robert Solenberger; and Charles Triplett, Planning Commission Liaison. ABSENT: Ritchie Wilkins, Vice - Chairman; Jim Lawrence, Treasurer; John Marker; Elaine Cain; Todd Lodge; and Gene Fisher, Board of Supervisors Liaison, STAFF PRESENT: Eric R. Lawrence, CEA Secretary; and Bev Dellinger, Secretary 111. PUBLIC MEETING: 1. September 22, 2010 Meeting Minutes There was not a quorum present; therefore, the minutes of September 22, 2010 were not acted upon. 2. 2010 Frederick County Comprehensive Plan a. Rural Areas Section Update Chairman Kearns stated that the Rural Areas section of the Comp Plan has been written and it's ready to go through the public process. Mr. Lawrence said it should be adopted by February. Chairman Kearns is pleased with the way it has turned out. The format now is much more succinct and people can understand what they're reading. It doesn't change anything, but it delineates some of the concepts that we've been trying to get across. One of the policies is "Support Voluntary Land Preservation Tools ", which mirrors what this Committee is doing. Mr. Lawrence stated this clarifies what is already in the Rural Areas Section of the Comp Plan. It's not any new information; it's gathering everything we've done and talked about as a community for a number of years. The Comp Plan has not been updated since the CEA was created. Chairman Kearns stated that the entire Comp Plan is being updated using the same format. 3. Update on Power Line Projects, as Applicable a. Potomac Allegheny Transmission Highline (PATH) b. Dominion Power's Rebuild Mr. Lawrence stated as far as PATH goes, nothing has changed since the last time the Committee met. The County previously opposed PATH and still is opposed to PATH. Mr. • Lawrence continued that the Board's Resolution said that Frederick County doesn't appear to be getting any benefit from it. It's impacting our land values and our rural preservation lots and it Conservation Easement Authority Page - 149 - November 18, 2010 shouldn't be allowed. Also, the Board feels that PATH keeps holding public meetings in odd places; they went to Handley High School. A citizen spoke at one of the Board meetings saying that a lot of the older population of the County doesn't want to come into the City. So holding a public meeting for PATH at Handley discourages people from attending. The Board of Supervisors said when you hold a meeting, make sure it's in the County, like James Wood High School. The rebuild, which was presented to the Board of Supervisors last week, is completely different. In Mr. Lawrence's perception, PATH has never said anything about the rebuild. Mr. Solenberger asked if there's any common ownership. Mr. Lawrence stated he thinks there could be at some point, but the way rebuild is coming forward, it's Dominion Resources and they're rebuilding their existing corridor. There's an existing 500 kV that runs through northern Frederick County which, indirectly, PATH wants to parallel, but Dominion owns that existing 500 kV. Dominion Resources is clear in saying they are not PATH. Chairman Kearns asked about the concept that because of the greater capacity, Dominion could carry more and, therefore, reduce the necessity for PATH. Mr. Lawrence responded that Dominion wouldn't commit to that, but there's certainly perceptions that if you're creating greater capacity, do we need PATH? That's probably an argument that anti -PATH and other organizations will use to fight PATH. One thing that Dominion pointed out last week at the Board meeting was they said they're replacing their existing corridor. We'll get more power to flow through it, but that's not the intent. The intent is to replace an aging system. 0 4. Fundraising Efforts a. GIFT — G ive S for F rederick's T omorrow Chairman Kearns said she has made some contacts with people about participating in the program. She talked with Julie Armel of the Museum of Shenandoah Valley and they are completely in support of the program. Ms. Armel said that any event the Conservation Easement Authority holds, the Museum of Shenandoah Valley would like to participate. 5. Overview on Tax Benefits of Conservation Easement Donations Mr. Lawrence stated that he attended a conference last month where he was on a panel with Kevin Schmidt, who's the State PDR person we've dealt with, and Rex Linfield, who's with Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC). PEC presented an excellent power point as far as information on conservation easements and the tax benefits of donations. Mr. Lawrence handed out to members a copy of that power point presentation. Mr. Lawrence stated that he's going to tailor the presentation, crediting PEC, and make it available on our CEA webpage. Chairman Kearns read some notes and comments that Ms. Cain provided. One item to note is, "Conservation easements can be placed on property by the Executor or Trustee after death. If estate tax exemption returns to $1,000,000 in 2011, this could provide significant estate tax savings." Another item is, "Virginia is no longer accepting or approving applications for state land preservation credits. Early next year would be the perfect time to submit these applications. Then sales could occur as soon as approved by the State. They set an annual limit for approval of $50,000,000. Back in July, one individual placed a high value conservation easement and gobbled up any room that they had remaining for 2010." Conservation Easement Authority Page - 150 - November 18, 2010 • 6. Nomination for New Member to Replace Jim Lawrence Chairman Kearns stated that she, Mr. Fisher and Mr. Jim Lawrence talked about what sectors of the population would fit into place with the Committee. Chairman Kearns thought someone in real estate would be a good segue. Mr. Lawrence suggested someone in the engineering community. Chairman Kearns stated that hopefully by the next meeting, someone will have cone up with a name. 7. Next Meeting Date It was decided that the next meeting will be held in January 2011. 8. Other Mr. Triplett told members that now when you file for tax relief in land use, you have to present a farm schedule and a copy of your tax return, which you didn't have to do before this year. Mr. Triplett thinks this is a wonderful idea because that will weed out three, five, fifteen and twenty acre farms that don't have a farm commodity or any income from the farm. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:35 a.m. Respectfully submitted, • C .f2Q.�c �PCi�, Diane Kearns, Chairman Eric R. Lawrence, CEA Secretary • Conservation Easement Authority Page - 151 - November 18, 2010