Preserve Putnam Set to Cease Lease on Tilly Foster Farm
Just a week after George Whipple announced through a letter to the Putnam County Legislature that he was pulling financial support from Tilly Foster Farm, the group he is part of, Preserve Putnam announced its intention to stop the day-to-day operation of the farm in Southeast.
While Preserve Putnam might be pulling support and relinquishing its lease, calls for the Whipple to disclose financial records came to a head last Wednesday during a legislature meeting. Leading the cause was District 8 Legislator Dini LoBue.
LoBue said in an interview prior to the meeting that the county needs to obtain the financial records from Whipple to know what was going at the farm.
“Not only do they owe the legislature the financial backup, they owe the people of Putnam County, the taxpayers,” LoBue said. “And they deserve the financials of the farm and what transpired there.”
According to the 40-year lease agreement, LoBue said records like quarterlies and annual reports must be provided. The lease also states the farm’s money must be in separate accounts from other projects.
During the meeting, LoBue even suggested subpoenaing the records if needed.
County Executive MaryEllen Odell said during the meeting that while they are stepping away from the farm, it does not excuse Preserve Putnam from providing the financial reporting and said she believed it is their intent to eventually disclose that material.
“It is of their collected opinion as a board that they would like to have the county maintain and figure out the new vision for the farm,” Odell said. “But that does not extinguish the responsibilities for the reporting or the accountability for the financials and the subleases.”
Legislature Chairman and District 3 Legislator Rich Othmer said he’d take responsibilities for things that weren’t done correctly in the past year. He added he thinks everyone involved including Whipple is trying to do what’s best for the county and he doesn’t believe anyone did anything intentionally wrong.
District 5 Legislator Carl Albano said he, along with fellow legislators Ginny Nacerino and Roger Gross met privately with Whipple earlier that week.
“The point is we’re going to look at everything and make decisions from here,” Albano said. “It may not comply, it may comply. We’re going to look at everything and see where we go from there.”
One action Odell said the county would not take is breaking up parcels of the farm’s property. When asked by a resident if the new vision included selling parcels, Odell’s response was “absolutely not.”
“I’m very comfortable in telling you there is no interest in breaking up apart Tilly Foster,” Odell said.
She added the county was studying how other properties similar to Tilly Foster were flourishing in New York connected to farming, agriculture, research and education.
“We all love this farm,” Odell said. “For all of us that grew up here we’re all excited for the opportunity ahead for it.”
While Odell clearly stated the county would not sell parcels, an Oct. 22 letter from deputy county executive Bruce Walker to the legislature stated there were several reasons why the county would carve out county-owned residential houses, citing the cost on taxpayers to maintain the properties.
When Othmer mentioned the letter to Odell during the meeting, Odell rebuked that and said “there was never any intent sell off any part or facilities off Tilly Foster.”
At a previous committee meeting, a letter to the legislature stated Whipple was withdrawing financial support from the farm. Whipple was supposed to appear publicly in front of the committee but never showed.
Other notable Putnam County residents on the Preserve Putnam board include Sheriff Don Smith, former county executive Bob Bondi, and George and Meredith Whipple.
