The Council has sponsored nine statewide and regional meetings all with the goal of educating the public about a rural issue - its problems and opportunities; bringing together interested and potential stakeholders who may then use the information presented individually or collectively to improve their rural quality of life.

Role of the Council
The Council has been the primary organizer for the majority, but also typically recruits additional partners: state agencies, regional councils of government, chambers of commerce, community action agencies, non-profit conservation and food organizations.

Statewide Rural Health Meeting, June 1999 The first statewide gathering on the subject of rural health. Co-sponsored by Connecticut Area Health Education Center Program and the State Office of Rural Health. Topics included: Results of a rural health survey of 75 Connecticut towns; the Connecticut River Valley Migrant Farm Workers Health Care Program; a new Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant program; the Connecticut Children’s Health Insurance Plan and Establishing Partnerships in Rural Health. For agenda and notes, contact Barbara Berger, State Rural Health Director 860-738-6378.

Save the Farm-Save the Land Forum, June 1999 Co-sponsored by CT Food Policy Council and the Hartford Food System. A full-day conference devoted to speakers and breakout sessions focussed on various techniques to support viable farming, sound land use planning and farmland preservation. For agenda and Farmland Preservation Toolkit contact: Mark Winne, Hartford Food System, 860-296-9325.

Forum with US Senator Joseph Lieberman on Open Space Preservation, April 1999. The Senator gave a briefing on legislation pending in Congress and the Connecticut Rural Development Council outlined issues in open space and farmland preservation for rural areas.

Business Finance Resource Workshops – March and April, 1999, each in a different rural region co-sponsored by chamber of commerce, regional economic development organizations and community action agencies. Banks, the Small Business Administration and several other agencies described programs of assistance to small businesses and people considering starting a business. Contact Jerry Morrison, 860-774-1355 or David Martin, 860-626-6688, CT Dept. of Economic & Community Development.

Council Meeting at the CT Dept. of Agriculture, December, 1999 Featured agriculture agencies and organizations’ programs. A discussion of trends in the state’s agriculture industry included the Commissioner of Agriculture and the director of Connecticut Farm Bureau. Contact Frank Intino, CT Dept. of Agriculture, 860- 713-2540.

Council meeting featuring a new Open Space Acquisition Bond Fund, June 1998. Officials from Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection described a recently enacted grant program. Municipalities and non-profit land conservation organizations may apply for matching funds to acquire and preserve lands for open space and recreation. An attorney reviewed recreational use immunity issues affecting town-owned parks and discussed personal exposure of volunteers who serve on town boards and commissions.

SmartGrowth Conference, May 1998 Co-sponsored by Capitol Region Council of Governments. Speakers from Maryland, New Hampshire and Connecticut provided their definitions and views on smart growth planning tools for urban, suburban and rural communities. For agenda and notes contact Richard Porth, Capitol Region Council of Governments, 860-522-2217.

Workshop for Municipal Tax Assessors on Public Act 490, March 1998 Co-sponsored by CT Dept. of Agriculture. State officials and prominent attorneys in this field gave a review of Connecticuts’s use value taxation program for farmland, forest land and open space. For agenda and notes contact Frank Intino, 860-713-2540.