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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-06-15Dryden  Rail  Trails  Task  Force  &  Friends   June  15,  2016   Dryden  DPW  Building     Meeting  convened  at  7:04  pm     Materials  distributed:  Draft  FAQ’s  and  maps  of  landowners  along  the  proposed  trail  site.     Attendance:    Judy  Pierpont,  Bruno  Schickel,  John  Kiefer,  Brian  Postle,  David  Fogle,  David   Keifer,  Nancy  Kleinrock,  Alice  Walsh  Green,  Todd  Bittner,  Armin  Heurich,  David  Bravo-­‐ Cullen,  Ray  Burger,  Kathy  Servoss,  Bob  Beck.  Steve  Foote  was  welcomed  as  representative   of  the  Agriculture  Committee,  since  Evan  Carpenter  can’t  continue     Election  of  Officers   By  unanimous  vote,  Bob  Beck  was  elected  Chair  of  the  Task  Force  and  Bruno  Schickel  as   Vice  Chair.     Discussion  items     Brochure  to  distribute  to  landowners   Kathy  Suggest  that  it  should  be  brief,  and  then  direct  readers  to  all  the  information  that’s   available  on  line.   Bruno    Focus  on  benefit  to  landowners.    Maybe  start  with  a  “test  drive”  for  the  brochure;   then  modify  it  when  patterns  of  landowner  response  emerge.   Todd    Start  with  the  vision.  Most  landowners  will  want  to  think  about  it,  and  probably   consult  their  lawyers.    Each  landowner  will  have  different  needs,  so  there’s  no  “one  size  fits   all”  approach.    It  may  take  several  conversations.   Brian    Is  this  targeted  for  landowners,  or  future  fundraising?    Answer,  landowners  first,   then  perhaps  modified  for  fundraising.   Steve  Suggest  6  pages,  folded,  with  all  the  info     What  should  be  in  the  brochure?   • Description  of  the  benefits  of  the  trail  for  the  landowners  and  the  whole  community     • FAQs     • Map  of  the  trail   • Connection  with  the  Schug  trail   • Connection  with  4  trails  in  progress  in  Tompkins  County     • Explanation  of  who’s  spearheading  it     Possible  talking  points  to  landowners  about  the  benefits  of  the  trail   • Start  with  emphasizing  that  property  values  tend  to  increase  with  trail  proximity.   • Creates  a  traffic  free  recreational  corridor  for  their  kids  and  family   • Describe  the  momentum  for  the  project  already.    (Cornell  is  already  on  record  as   being  on  board  for  a  significant  portion  of  the  trail.)   • Describe  overall  County  plan  for  4  trail  development  areas:  Dryden’s,  the  Black   Diamond  Trail,  a  section  through  the  city  of  Ithaca,  and  an  extension  of  South  Hill’s   across  Emerson  and  the  Chain  works.  Altogether,  a  network  of  500+  miles   • Offer  testimonials  from  people  who  live  near  completed  trails   • Direct  them  to  Rails  to  Trails  info  on  the  Town  Website  (Ray  says  this  could  be  up  in   a  couple  of  weeks.)     Steps  in  the  Strategy  to  Obtain  Easements     David    Send  a  mailing  first  or  cold  call?     Bob    Design  Connect  already  sent  a  mailing  to  local  landowners  in  this  section  of  the  trail.   About  a  quarter  responded,  or  attended  a  meeting.  So  landowners  shouldn’t  be  surprised  by   a  contact.     Todd    Identify  people  who  know  the  landowners  and  ask  them  to  help  the  Task  Force  make   contact.  Eileen  and  Max  Maxwell  will  help  talk  with  neighbors  they  know.     Ray    The  State  DOT,  which  owns  the  FH  Fox  bridge,  is  amenable  to  the  trail.  They  can  be   added  to  the  list  of  supporters.     Bob    Will  speak  this  fall  with  Vet  School  Alums  who  want  to  raise  money  for  the  trail  in   memory  of  F.H.  Fox.    Has  already  been  contacted  by  the  president  of  the  Vet  Alum   Association  and  his  son  who  is  a  current  Vet  student,  both  very  supportive.  This  will  be   separate  from  Vet  School  development  fundraising.     David  BC    Is  there  any  opposition  that  we  know  of  for  this  section  of  the  trail?     Todd      The  Game  Farm  said  no  in  December  ’15.    There  is  a  new  Wildlife  Director  there.    Also   present  at  the  December  meeting  were  reps  of  sportsmen’s  groups,  Mary  Ann  Sumner,   Todd,  Ray  and  others.    People  agreed  to  keep  talking,  but  the  basic  issue  is  that  Game  Farm   stakeholders  see  no  benefit,  and  believe  the  trail  could  jeopardize  some  activities  there  (e.g.,   spread  avian  flu  to  pheasants).  It’s  the  last  existing  game  farm  in  the  state;  they  fear  a   slippery  slope  if  they  give  up  any  jurisdiction.  There  was  mention  of  routing  the  trail  along   Stevenson  Rd.  Our  focus  with  the  DEC  should  be  on  our  plan  to  follow  the  original  RR  bed.     Bob    Has  been  retrieving  deeds  and  survey  maps  (online  from  County  Clerk’s  office)  for  all   parcels  along  the  trail.    The  town  chose  not  to  buy  the  railroad  bed  from  Lehigh  Valley   Railroad  when  they  abandoned  the  tracks,  Town  Attorney  Mahlon  Perkins  bought  all  the   right  of  ways  and  sold  them  back  to  landowners,  but  he  did  deed  Town  easements  for  sewer   and  water  utility  lines  along  the  complete  route  from  Dryden  village  to  Game  Farm  Rd.    The   Monkey  Run  section  has  been  used  as  an  informal  trail  for  decades.    It  is  maintained  for  the   utilities.       Steve    Back  at  that  time,  the  railroad  wanted  to  deal  with  one  entity,  rather  than  dozens  of   individual  landowners  along  the  tracks.     Draft  of  the  Easement  Document     Bob    Draft  from  the  Town  Attorney  has  just  recently  arrived.    It  needs  some  tweaking.   Schedule  A  etc.  additions  can  be  added  to  address  issues  negotiated  with  individual   landowners.    The  easement  is  perpetual;  it  goes  with  the  property  if  the  land  is  sold.     Issues  that  need  to  be  addressed:     • Hunting  on  or  near  the  trail.  State  law  forbids  shooting  across  roadways;  if  there’s   no  prohibition  in  the  statutes  for  trails,  this  should  be  included  in  the  easement.     Landowners  retain  rights  on  their  sections  of  the  trail.    Hunters  can  walk  on  the   trail,  with  a  firearm,  but  would  not  be  able  to  discharge  it  from  the  trail.  Signage  can   be  added  to  indicate  to  caution  trail  users  during  hunting  season.  Some  trails  or   sections  close  during  hunting  season.   • Purposes  for  the  trail:    Add  “bird  watching,  nature  study,”  use  of  “electric  assist   bicycles,”  and  wheelchairs.   • Omit  section  2d  and  2e,  and  include  them  instead  in  Schedule  A  additions  as  needed.   • Describe  a  mechanism  for  resolving  conflicts,  such  as  an  arbitration  clause,  if   differences  of  opinion  arise  between  the  town  and  landowners     Funding  for  the  trail     Bruno    It’s  important  to  be  upfront  about  who  pays  for  this.    Some  will  worry  about  an   increase  in  taxes  for  acquisitions,  improvement,  upkeep  etc.  What  about  offering  naming   rights  to  landowners  for  their  sections  of  the  trail?     Bob    This  could  be  saved  for  holdouts.    Donors  of  land  can  be  acknowledged  in  signage,  say   at  trailheads.     The  project  is  in  a  favorable  position  for  State  DOT  grants  and  others.     Next  Steps   • Complete  revisions  to  brochure   • Identify  a  smaller  group  of  Rails  to  Trails  supporters  to  begin  approaching   landowners   • Provide  an  orientation  for  those  volunteers,  using  internal  expertise  from  our  group   rather  than  Land  Trust  staff,  since  trail  issues  differ.     • Working  meeting  scheduled  for  June  22  at  the  Town  DPW  building.   • Next  monthly  meeting  of  the  task  force  scheduled  for  July  20,  location  TBA.       Meeting  adjourned:    9:12  pm