HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-13 CAC MinutesTown of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 1 of 5
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC)
Minutes of Video Conference (Zoom) Meeting on
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Danby, New York
Council Members present: Clare Fewtrell (chair), Joel Gagnon, George
Adams, Jonathan Zisk, Don Schaufler, Mary Woodsen, Margaret Corbit
Council Members absent: Brittany Lagaly
Others present: Elizabeth Keokosky (secretary), Ronda Roaring (Danby
resident), Katharine Hunter (former CAC member), Sarah Schnabel (town
board member)
Zoom Meeting was officially called to order at 7:04.
Deletions or Additions to Agenda: Agenda item 1 will be given by
Fewtrell instead of Lagaly because she is ill. Agenda item 7 (talk on
invasive species by Lagaly) is deleted.
Privilege of the Floor (PoF): none
Approval Minutes MOTION for March 9, 2020
Adams moved to approve
Gagnon seconded
Unanimous (5 votes) approval. Corbit and Woodsen entered
Zoom session after vote was over.
REPORTS AND UPDATES
1. Spotted Lanternfly Webinar (22nd April) – Fewtrell
Fewtrell asked Adams (Sustainable Tompkins and Danby South Hill
website) and Keokosky to do some advertising. Problems could
occur coordinating with Lagaly since she had been difficult to access
by email or phone. But she had submitted a Danby Area News article
information was on the Town Calendar. Lagaly had assured Fewtrell
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 2 of 5
she was going to be able to give the webinar. Katherine Hunter said
that Ted Crane of the Community Council was going to put the
recording on YouTube afterwards. Then put a link to the YouTube on
the Community Council Website.
2. Easement Zoom Meeting & Poster (13th May) – Clare Fewtrell,
Jonathan Zisk & Betsy Keokosky
Presenter is to be Jonathan Zisk, who will introduce the program,
describe how to donate an easement , and discuss some of the pros
and cons of easements. There will then be some testimonials by
willing easement holders. Zisk suggested Richard and Joan Curtis.
Kate O’Neal was another possibility. Zisk is open to questions and
interruptions but CAC members should hold their comments until the
end of the formal presentation. Other considerations were whether or
not to mention tax abatement since this was still hasn’t been
approved by NY State and will then have to be implemented by the
Town. Zisk voiced his personal distaste of making money a motive
for easements, but agreed to mention it. Also, a school tax deduction
requires county approval. Additionally, it might be useful to compare
our program with that of the Finger Lakes Land Trust.
There was some discussion of inviting prospective easement donors
that might be interested. Advertising should go out by end of month
of April (2 weeks ahead of time). Posters will go up in church, fire
hall, post office, etc.
3. Easement Website –Margaret Corbit & Mary Woodsen
Corbit has been in communication with Janice, Town Clerk, who is
still working on moving the website. Fewtrell wanted to know if it was
possible to put items on old website for now. Corbit will check.
4. Easement Signs – Clare Fewtrell & George Adams
Fewtrell reported that all the Danby Conservation Easement donors
were enthusiastic about displaying the easement sign. She
estimated that approximately 12 signs will be needed. One concern –
Steve Selin pointed out that the South Hill Cidery was open to the
public and the sign says no trespassing.
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 3 of 5
Adams is still responsible for contacting vendors. Since the special
pricing was for 25 or over, there was some discussion about getting
(and storing) extra ones.
Adams thought a ceremony should be made of the new signs and an
article written up in the DAN.
Discussion followed on the method of payment - which was
calculated as approximately $275. Adams is checking with Laura
Shawley.
In connection with payments, Schaufler mentioned that Gnomon
Copy had the original file for the rack cards but he didn’t know if
changes could be made; the QR code should be added to this as
well.
Fewtrell mentioned that she had joined the NYSACC (New York State
Association of Conservation Commissions) for the Danby CAC and
donated the cost.
She also mentioned that Adams should to contact Ruth Sherman
since a functional QR code needs to be added to the actual graphic
used for the sign.
5. Logging Ordinance – George Adams, Don Schaufler & Jonathan
Zisk
Adams went over latest incarnation of the logging ordinance draft.
He noted that there are new terms that should be defined and
wondered if they should be put in an Appendix. He was especially
concerned over the reference to Best Management Practices (BMP) -
- and there was some discussion about how this concept is defined.
The Ordinance uses a reference to Chemung County’s model since it
offers a good explanation. Zisk said that BMP was an umbrella
concept and the Chemung County model was just a widely used
example. Gagnon said we could check with the town attorney.
Schaufler said there will be push-back if the term is too general. If
there was no specific yardstick for BMP it could cause less future
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 4 of 5
problems with people trying to comply. He also liked Chemung
County’s guidelines but to used as specific instructions.
Some editing remain to be done. One fix remaining is to remove
definitions that reference parts previously removed.
Fewtrell voiced her frustration with the last minute emailing of draft
documents - which no one then has a chance to read - for meetings
in which they will be discussed. She set a requirement of a week
before meeting to send items that the group will be reviewing and
have put on the Agenda. She felt too much time has been wasted.
Adams still needs to speak to the code officer and the Highway
Department. Corbit and Gagnon felt that the document is now
sufficiently cleaned up to do so.
Fewtrell tried to walk through the process of a person coming in that
wanted to cut some trees. Gagnon helped with questions.
• Given an application – there are 2 classes of applications in
packet. How do they choose which? Adams said that there will
also be instructions.
• Whom do they see - Steve Cortwright – Code Information
Officer?
• Gagnon asked how the determination is made to go beyond a
basic application to a full one? Adams acknowledged this had
to be added.
The next step is to run the document by the Code Enforcement
Officer and then the Town Lawyer. Gagnon offered Zoom sessions
to the group when this happens.
Another question: Should document be called “Logging Guidelines” or
“Harvesting Guidelines”?
There was further discussion of the penalty – Gagnon thought the
size of the fine was not large enough and asked what an
administrative warrant is? Schaufler gave examples of when clear-
cutting could be a good thing.
There was no Executive session
Next Meeting via Zoom is on May 11th at 7p.m.
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 5 of 5
Adjournment
The Zoom meeting ended abruptly at 8:26 p.m. when the host lost
connection. The last two agenda items on Easement Updates and
the Low Density Re-Zoning Group Report were put off until the May
meeting by a post-meeting email sent by the Chair.
_____________________________________________
Submitted by Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary)