News
Former Supervsor Chris Pedersen Dies
Chris Pedersen, former supervisor of the Town of Meredith, died May 5 at Hampshire House near Oneonta.
A native of Denmark, Pedersen grew up in Meredith and operated the family dairy farm for 35 years. He later worked on the custodial staff at Delhi College and operated a contract mail route.
He was elected supervisor twice, serving two two-years terms, 1972-1975.
He was a charter member and past chief of the East Meredith Fire Department, a member of the Charlotte Valley Central School Board of Education and a member of East Meredith Presbyterian Church. [May 2010]
News Archive
Dairy Fest 10th Anniversary “Very Successful”
An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 visitors attended the 10th annual Meredith Dairy Fest hosted on June 14 and 15 by the Meridale Fire Department.
“It was very successful,” said Rich Aitken. “Everything went smooth. We had great weather both days except for a small shower.”
Aitken said the estimate of attendance was based on the number of cars admitted to the traditional site on Turnpike Road. Organizers were especially pleased by the attendance in view of the high price of gasoline.
The first Meredith Dairy Fest took place in 1999. It had to be canceled two years ago because of high winds. Aitken said this year’s success resulted from “the outstanding work of members of our fire department. I can’t give enough credit to the members who put this thing together.”
Preserving Meridale Farms
A proposal by local residents to preserve historic Meridale Farms has made significant progress. The project is intended to encourage local economic development through a farm incubator project and to create parkland for community use.
Representative Kirsten Gillibrand of the 20th Congressional District announced in early May she has made an appropriation request for $1,817,000 in federal funds. The proposal also was recently added to the list of priority sites for preservation in the NY Open Space Conservation Plan after a meeting of the Region 4 Advisory Committee. This is a key step in obtaining state and federal funding.Letters of support for the priority listing came from the Meredith Town Board and the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society.
The current owner of Meridale Farms, New York Land and Lakes, has filed an application with the Meredith Planning Board to subdivide the 1,200-acre parcel into 128 lots. But the company has also written to New York State indicating it would be willing to sell the entire property intact. It could then be used as public parkland and as an incubator for promoting grass-based livestock production.
Leaders of the local effort to save Meridale Farms are Ken Jaffe and Tara Collins. Jaffe raises grass-fed beef; Collins is a communications specialist who has written on the history of this town landmark, which for many years was an internationally known showcase for breeding Jersey cattle. They say the project would drive economic development, encourage sustainable agriculture, create parkland and preserve a historic site.
The project would include an educational center to host agriculture-based workshops and house the Meredith Historical Society and the Meridale Farms historical collections.
New Planning Board Members
Three new members have been selected for the Town Planning Board: Sue Dapkins, Krystine Hilton-Hadley and Nancy Turick. They replace Lew Coulter, Keitha Capouya and Penny King, each of whom served on the Planning Board for many years.
The Town Board also appointed Hilton-Hadley, an experienced grant writer and project coordinator, as the new chairman of the Planning Board. Will Outsen, a longtime member, was elected vice chairman by his colleagues on the Planning Board.