HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-03-14 CAC MinutesTown of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 1 of 8
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC)
Minutes of Zoom Meeting (treacherous weather)
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Danby, New York
Council Members present: Margaret Corbit, Jonathan Zisk (Acting Chair), Joel
Gagnon, Katharine Hunter, Don Schaufler, Renee Owens, Brittany Lagaly
Council Members absent:
Others present: Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary), Ronda Roaring (Danby resident –
via Zoom)
Zoom Meeting was officially called to order at 7:19 (again held up by technical
difficulties).
Privilege of the Floor (PoF): none
Deletions or Additions to Agenda: none
Approval of February 14, 2022 minutes
Gagnon moved to approve
Corbit seconded
Approval unanimous.
REPORTS AND UPDATES (from the agenda)
1. New CAC Member Search, Annual Report, Easement tax abatement
subcommittee, and other CAC specific issues - Margaret Corbit
New Members: Marie Monroe has not followed up. Anne Klingensmith
can’t join until after April. Cheryl Potts is a possible candidate – an
environmentalist, school teacher and also in Danby events. Zisk will check
with her
Annual report was voted on:
Approval of Annual Report to send on to Town Board and DEC
Gagnon moved to approve
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Zisk Seconded.
Approval unanimous
Gagnon will take to town board. Town clerk will send to DEC.
Tax abatement: David West (planner) followed up recently with Ithaca
School Board on the subject of school tax abatement incentives for
easements and has heard nothing (school board fast tracked a different tax
abatement measure, but have numerous other things on their plate).
Candor school district was discussed and dismissed as a possibility.
Easement Tax Abatement sub-committee has agreed to give up on school
tax abatements for the time being, and will have a short meeting (Zisk will
put together a Doodle poll) to bring another proposal to the next CAC
meeting.
2. Status of town board approval of Timber Harvesting law – Gagnon
Town board wanted input from DEC which requested a deadline that West
set for 2 weeks and also to County with request for informal feedback.
Schaufler said that he had been working with DEC during writing the law,
but many of the people there had since moved on.
3. Sub-committee on monitoring – Hunter and Zisk
Monitoring issues: Hunter not talking yet to Palmer. Monitoring waiting on
end of bad weather and snow.
4. Any important updates on Easements that need input from other
members.
Ruth Sherman: Hunter back and forth with her on emails
Ben Altman: Zisk also back and forth on emails with Ben. Altman wants
assurances on including native American issues in easement. Stephen
Henhawk doesn’t want it to be about politics, only cultural traditions. Zisk
wants to write this into easement template option. Zisk, Hunter, Owens,
and Keokosky walking his land in the coming weeks.
Hoffman/Karlson: Gagnon had completed a final easement application
draft. He included this with the survey map on which zones were
delineated, the original baseline report from 2020, and the recent addition
of flora, fauna, and other photos, and sent it to landowners and CAC
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 3 of 8
members by email on March 14th before today’s meeting. Since it was
transmitted to the CAC so close to the meeting, it was decided to review
the draft before the next meeting and consider sending it on to the town
board at the next meeting.
Butje: no update
Andi Gladstone: Zisk will call
Mary Woodsen: Zisk stalled on GIS software
Possible easement for a Family on Steam Mill Rd that Gagnon is going to
check. The land Is part of unique natural area (UNA).
5. NYSACC meeting ideas? (last time discussed Clean Water, Clean Air, and
Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 - See archives ) – Jonathan
Zisk
Cait Darfler sending a Doodle Poll to be filled in by March 17th on a meeting
time for Kick-off Zoom county wide meeting held sometime between Mar
20 and 31st. There was some confusion – but interest - about what she
was looking for.
6. Ben Altman maple syruping event update. – Corbit
Altman/Haudenosaunee land maple syruping time is on hold until tribal
elders weigh in. It is held when spring winds blow, but Elders are more in
north so CAC members wondering if their time will coincide with syruping
time in Danby area.
7. Continuing session on revisioning of CAC mission and message and how to
strategize Danby conservation easement outreach for CAC web page
As a first step CAC members brainstormed what they could better convey
to the public about variously perceived important CAC messages using the
framework of nouns and verbs (which became reasons, and actions).
Corbit color coded member’s suggestions.
Keokosky’s initial suggestion was to “Allow the land to preserve all the
interconnectedness for our children’s children.” Zisk agreed, and further
responded (tongue in cheek?) that one goal was to make clear to our
neighbor why he/she should be instantly convinced to take out an
easement. Agriculture and Forests were also important interests. Lagaly
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 4 of 8
mentioned outreach and education – Corbit added a noun “learning
through outreach and education”.
There was some confusion and disagreement on level of detail to delve
into. Owens felt the language was too broad and not specific enough to get
people interested. Hunter said she saw our goal as offering general
reasons to convince a person to join the CAC. For instance, Corbit felt
Lagaly’s suggestion of “Maintaining and enhancing natural corridors” was
too specific for this level of description.
Distinctions between “Conservation” and “Preservation” and level of
management were discussed. Schaufler suggested perhaps just “wise use”
would do. Corbit compromised with “to protect our land (and waters) with
conservation and preservation”.
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 5 of 8
Renee added that, for a website, ease of finding important links, such as Agenda
and Zoom links, and easy access to important information – was important.
Corbit ended the brainstorming session by saying it was a good start. and
suggested this set of ideas should be “chewed over” till next meeting. Gagnon
reminded members that we should look at the enabling resolution (that created
the CAC) to make sure nothing was left out. (See Appendix A of this document
to read enabling legislation goals)
There was no Executive session
Next Meeting is on April 11, 2023 at 7p.m.
Adjournment at 8:30pm
_____________________________________________
Submitted by Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary)
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 6 of 8
Appendix A
Section 1: Purpose and Authority from Enabling Legislation
for Conservation Advisory Council
As provided for in section 239-x, it shall advise in the development,
management and protection of the Town's natural resources. The
Council shall direct itself toward accomplishing the following tasks:
(a) conducting researches into the land area of the Town of Danby;
(b) seeking to coordinate the activities of unofficial bodies
organized for similar purposes and to cooperate with other official
municipal bodies active in the area of community planning for the Town;
(c) advertising, preparing, printing, and distributing publications
(Including, but not limited to, books, maps, charts, plans,
pamphlets, and digital materials) that it deems necessary for the
accomplishment of its goals;
(d) keeping a required inventory and map, as defined in section 239-y
of the General Municipal Law, of all open areas within the Town with
the plan of obtaining information pertinent to proper utilization of
such open lands, including lands owned by the state, any other
municipality within the state, or by the Town of Danby itself;
(e) keeping a required inventory and map of all open marsh lands,
swamps, and all other wet lands in a like manner, and recommending,
when it deems it appropriate, to the Town Board a program for
ecologically suitable utilization of all such areas;
(f) keeping required accurate records of its meetings and actions and
filing a required annual report with the Town Board on or before the
thirty-first day of December of each and every year [Once approved by
the Town Board, a copy is required to be forwarded to the NY State
Commissioner of Environmental Conservation].
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In addition, authorization is explicitly given by this resolution for
the Council to:
(g) focus its preservation efforts on land it deems to be at risk of
development located in areas zoned for low density or conservation;
(h) develop a list of scenic or historic sites to protect as
opportunities allow;
(i) lobby on issues relating to the council's duties and goals;
(j) actively support open space protection by facilitating the
transfer of land from sellers to buyers sympathetic to open space
preservation;
(k) accept by gift, grant, bequest, or otherwise, money or other
personal property in the name of the Town of Danby, for its use in
furtherance of the objectives of this resolution;
(l) propose, subject to Town Board action, the acceptance by gift,
conditional or unconditional, grant, devise or otherwise, the fee or
any lesser interest, development right, easement, covenant or other
contractual right, including conveyance with limitations or
reversions, land, in furtherance of natural resource protection
within the Town of Danby;
(m) recommend acquisition by the Town Board by purchase in fee or any
lesser interest, development right, easement, covenant or other
contractual right, including conveyance with limitations or
reversions, by negotiation or condemnation, such real or personal
property as may be needed in furtherance of the purposes of the Council;
(n) pursuant to (l) and (m), administer a conservation easement
program on behalf of the Town, to include the crafting, acquisition,
and monitoring of easements, both purchased and donated, with the
acquisition being subject to Town Board approval of each proposed
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 8 of 8
easement.
(o) develop and implement management plans for Town-owned
conservation land. At a minimum, the plan for each parcel or group of
contiguous parcels shall identify and set forth the features of the
property to be preserved and/or enhanced, the features that can be
compatibly exploited for public benefit, and the actions needed or
desired in order to do so, complete with a schedule of steps to be
taken. For conservation properties owned by the Town at the time of
creation of the Council, the Council shall create management plans
within three years. For newly-acquired properties, the Council shall
create management plans within two years. For each management unit,
an opportunity for public comment shall precede adoption of the
unit’s management plan by the Town Board, with adoption required
before implementation by the CAC. The management plans for every
management unit, once adopted by the Town Board, shall be reviewed by
the council every five years. Progress, via the specified
implementation steps, toward the adopted goals, shall be carefully
scrutinized. The public, particularly the neighbors of the management
unit, should be encouraged to participate in the review. The Council
may propose changes to a management plan, subsequent to its periodic
review; these changes must be approved by the Town Board before the
Council can implement them.
(p) for land acquired by the Town for conservation not protected by
conservation easement at the time of acquisition, prepare an easement
for Town Board review and possible adoption.