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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-NAC-2010-09-13City of Ithaca Natural Areas Commission Minutes Monday, September 13, 2010, 5:30- 7:OOpm, City Hall, 108 East Green St, Second Floor Conference Room In attendance Members: Joe McMahon (Acting Chair)„ Jon Meigs, Todd Miner, Gerry Cox, Anna Stalter, Sarah Steuteville (notetaker) Other: Dan Hoffman (City Attorney) Wade Wykstra (BPW liason) Roxy Johnston (Watershed Coordinator) Absent Members: Ronald Herring, Robert Wesley Minutes from August Meeting were unanimously approved with minor changes. THE NEXT NAC MEETING WILL BE MONDAY, OCT. 4,5:30-7:00 pm. DUE TO THE COLUMBUS DAY HOLIDAY ON OCT. 11. The NAC members voted unanimously to change the meeting date next month to accommodate the holiday. Joe will notify the appropriate people and make sure the room is available. BRIEF REPORTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND FOLLOW -UP FROM LAST MONTH Anna announced several upcoming events: Sept 18, 9:00 am, Invasives Control. Meet at Juniper Drive and walk to the 30' dam to pull stilt grass. Sept. 25, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Explore Your Watershed walk. Joe will lead a walk focusing on big trees at Six Mile Creek. Oct. 16 Waterworks Walk with Roxy Johnston. RSVP to Roxy. Limited to 20 people. Oct. 30 Cornell work day "Into the Streets ". There is a Sept. 20 deadline to ask for help. In the past, we have organized work parties at Six Mile Creek. There was discussion of the YouTube videos of cliff jumping at Six Mile Creek. The video (and others) are still up. Joe reported that construction of the pedestrian bridge over Six Mile Creek is happening and that while it many trees have had to be cut down, he did see any evidence of sloppy work or unnecessary damage to the natural area. Wade suggested that the NAC, and Joe in particular, needs to be in the loop so we stay up to date on this project. Joe said he would make sure to let them know that he is acting chair and that he should receive emails regarding the progress of the work. I think Joe also agreed to make the announcement to Bill Grey, Ray Benjamin, and Eric Whitney. Joe also reported that there is a video of a black bear on Burns Rd. and that it has also been seen at the Water Plant. Dan Hoffman reported on the Slaterville Rd. property being sold by the Quakers. Dan attended a site visit with representatives of the Fingerlakes Land Trust and the Town of Ithaca. Everyone like the property. The parcel is in the Town of Ithaca and is bounded on two sides by two city properties. The Mayor has commissioned an appraisal. To move forward, the proposal would have to be reviewed and voted on by the BPW and then Common Council. Wade followed up last months request by Earth Arts to camp on the Natural Area. The BPW gave the idea an emphatic NO. Joe is going to write to thank Sgt. Robert Lampman from the Tompkins County Sheriff's Dept. for routinely visiting the 30' and 60' dams this summer and also send thanks to the Town of Ithaca individual ( ?Schock) in charge of the South Hill Rec. Way for clearing massive amounts of honeysuckle. RANGER REPORT We discussed the Ranger Report. The most violations occur in the vicinity of the 30' dam. It is clear that there is a lot of use and misuse of the natural area. Roxy brought up the fact that Ranger hours were cut in half this year and that the cell phones that the Rangers use are not capable of receiving messages which makes it hard to contact the Rangers in the gorge. Given that the city is preparing its budget, she suggested that now is the time to ask for more hours and improved communication. The NAC voted unanimously to request that the Mayor restore Ranger hours to 2009 levels and investigate and upgrade communication equipment for the Rangers. If these items are included in her budget, it a good start to making them come about. Todd agreed to write the letter. Wade said that there is a Dam Report that will likely recommend that cameras be installed on the dam in light of the recent earthquake and the benefit of being able to visually see right away if there is damage to the dam. The would open up a communication link (and also raise some questions about the possibility of being able to see misuse of the site). There was some discussion of whether the City can seek compensation from someone who has to be rescued while doing illegal activities. It is a complicated issue. Dan does not see this happening anytime soon in Ithaca. ITHACA FALLS NATURAL AREA Sarah reported that Kathy Gleason's graduate student class is going to do some plant surveys and measured drawings of the Ithaca Falls site. Sarah visited the site with the class and gave them some overview of the clean up and remediation efforts to date. The site has not been surveyed since it was replanted in 2002 -2004 by the EPA. Robert Wesley is going to go with the class on Wednesday to do the plant survey. The NAC is welcome to join in on the site visit. Weather permitting, the class will meet at the Quaker Overlook at 2 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 15. The City is in the process of choosing a general contractor to finish the clean up on the City property. The engineering firm (O'Brien and Gere) in charge of the demolition and clean up of the factory site will soon complete their post demolition Focused Site Investigation to determine the nature and extent of any residual contamination and to suggest mitigation strategies.