Town may get organic farm

Officials consider Winthrop St. site

A scene from the fall harvest at the Natick Community Organic Farm, which is being cited as a model for a Medway property. (John Blanding/Globe Staff/FILE 1997)

Medway residents craving organic vegetables without a trip to the grocery store or to an out-of-town farm stand might eventually be able to buy fresh, locally grown produce on Winthrop Street.

Town officials will soon consider a proposal, brought forward by residents, to create an organic farm at 50 Winthrop St. Special Town Meeting voters in January approved spending $975,000 to purchase the 15-acre property using funds raised through the Community Preservation Act.

The preservation act allows a 3 percent surcharge on property-tax bills to raise money for local historic preservation, affordable housing, open space, or recreation purposes. Medway residents approved taking part in the program in 2000. According to Mark Cerel, the town's Community Preservation Committee chairman, the average homeowner pays between $100 and $120 each year toward the fund, which is bolstered by state matching grants.

The Winthrop Street property is adjacent to Shady Oaks Farm and Chicken Brook. It had been on the market for a while, and was brought to the attention of the Community Preservation Committee by the Planning Board last fall, Cerel said.

Although there was no particular use in mind at the time, a number of things made it attractive, Cerel said. "Winthrop Street still has a lot of open space, but it has also been subject to development," he said. By purchasing the land, the town could maintain the rural character of the street rather than see the land sold to a private developer. The property is also part of the town's wildlife corridor, he said.

In December, Heather Scott, a Medway resident who is on the advisory board of the Natick Community Organic Farm, approached the Community Preservation Committee with the idea of establishing a nonprofit organic farm in town.

"At that time, we were just becoming aware that Winthrop Street was in play," Cerel said.

Following the model of the Natick operation, the Medway farm could offer organic food, educational programs, volunteer opportunities, and public events such as a summer barn dance, Scott said.

"We love it over there in Natick and have been so impressed with what that farm has done for the community, so we wanted to bring that idea to Medway," Scott said.

There is a house and a barn on the Winthrop Street property, and the goal would be to have a farm manager and caretaker live in the house, Scott said. She acknowledged that it would likely be necessary to obtain grants or donations to get the farm off the ground in the first year.

Scott said she would be sharing several scenarios, including some in which the town supports some of the project, with Medway officials in the coming months.

Selectman Dennis Crowley said he is concerned that only a small number of residents would benefit if the property were turned into an organic farm with a membership requirement.

"If the town spends $975,000 on the property, everybody should have access to it," Crowley said. "What happens if it's limited to 300 families, and you're family 301 and you can't join, but your taxes have gone to pay for that $975,000? I have a bit of a stumbling block with that."

Scott said that, under the Natick model, people wouldn't have to be members, or even residents, to purchase food from the farm stand. But there would likely be a membership program that would provide individuals with discounts on educational programs, she said.

Cerel said that he didn't see limited membership as a concern.

"Even if there were a lottery and people on a waiting list, that makes it more viable. I'd rather see that than not enough demand to support itself," he said.

The town's Open Space Committee, Community Preservation Committee, and Board of Selectmen must decide how to proceed with the property.

Under state law, Town Meeting would need to authorize the use of the land as an organic farm, and the town would need to issue a formal request for applicants to run the community-based organic farm, Cerel said.