HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-09-17Dryden Rail Trail Friends and Task Force
Minutes of the Meeting Monday, Sept. 17, 2018 at Freeville Village Hall
Attendance: Steve Winans, Travis and Cheryl Stelick, Bob Beck, Bruno Schickel, Chris and
Diane Tessaglia-Hymes, Alice Green, Marie McRae, David Fogel, David Kiefer, Rosalie Borzik,
Todd Bittner, David Bravo-Cullen, Susan Ashdown, Chuck Geisler, Nancy Munkenbeck.
Call to order (7:04 p.m.) – Bob Beck
Additions to agenda None
Approval of July minutes
Preview of Village of Freeville Pocket Park. David Fogel
Since it was too rainy for a tour of the new pocket park site, David gave an overview of the
project. Ground for Station Park was broken just recently. It is located on Railroad St., close
to where the Rail Trail from Dryden will join the Freeville Trail section. The name and
design will evoke an early twentieth century railroad station. It will include a kiosk with
historical displays. The site has been graded, one wall is up, and the elements are laid out in
orange tape. The Freeville public works superintendent will do concrete work. The bus
shelter will be built next year. Completion is expected within a year or two.
Successful Dryden to Freeville Work Days – Bruno, Bob, Alice
On September 8, Bruno led a group of six people on a hike from Freeville to Dryden, using
his pink spray paint to mark bench and kiosk spots.
The September 15 workday went well. The new benches appear sturdy and attractive.
Bruno and Dean Russo dug 16” deep holes for the seven benches (between Dryden and
Freeville), while the volunteer assembly team put together the benches at the DPW garage.
Twelve people assembled the benches within an hour. Travis brought a trailer to transport
them to the workers on the trail. To install the benches, the posthole team dumped a 60 lb.
pack of concrete per post, coned up gravel around each post, braced them and added crime
tape. They added water the next day. Rain that followed helped the setting.
In addition to the purchased benches, two additional wooden benches, built by two girl
scouts, Lauralye Caskey and Katie Gould, were placed in an area east of the village sewer
treatment plant with a view of the fields. Heather Hollister and the girls helped transport
the heavy benches.
Bruno has hired Mike Reagan to survey the exact boundaries of the Dryden Village owned
RR property at Main Street and Elm Street, and Kathy Perkins property line next to the
Freeville Village Hall. The survey pins must be located before the kiosks are sited. In
Dryden, the parking area will likely be on Elm St.
Another issue in Dryden Village is the need for a crossing with wheelchair access across
Route 13, from the end of the Schug trail section to the Dryden-Freeville section. Todd said
that for full compliance with ADA and the DOT, that crossing will need curb cuts, and
striping, including raised bumps.
Town DPW has installed pedestrian crossing signs and has striped the road at the
Springhouse and George Road crossings. They have also ordered the pedestrian-operated,
solar-powered flashing crossing signs (two for $6,000) for George Rd. and Springhouse.
Bruno said Mt. Pleasant and Game Farm crossings will also need these. Traffic studies for
both those crossings may be needed, including determining sight lines, according to Todd.
Bob added that the crossing signs that were ordered can be used on town roads, but DOT
rules have changed. Now, apparently, these can’t be used on state roads. Importantly, this
affects the Route 13 crossing in the Village of Dryden and the Route 366 crossing in Etna.
Todd asked about memorial donations for benches. Bob said Beverly Dodici has
coordinated the effort to sponsor memorial benches for Stephanie Gardner. She assisted
with assembly of the benches, and likes the two chosen locations west of Springhouse Road.
Cost of a memorial donation has been set at $750 per bench.
Plan for bench routing at Roscoe Brothers Millwork - Diane, Bob
Benches will be routed with Dryden Rail Trail name at Roscoe Brothers Millwork.
Then there will be a brass plaque for memorials.
Plan for kiosk construction and installation - Bruno
Kiosk donation levels have not yet been set. They will also be noted with a brass plaque
inside. All the construction except roof boards will be locust boards, at a cost of $1,000 per
kiosk. Bruno hopes this wood will be available for pickup at end of week. His crew will
build one, and create patterns for the pieces that volunteers can assemble for the other two.
The kiosk display panels are 3 feet high with diagonal panels on each side. The wood will be
unstained, and will go to natural finish. One exception: under the roof could be lighter
color. Stain there would discourage carpenter bees.
Bruno said there is some flexibility about the dimensions, depending on what the design
committee recommends. When the survey work is done in two weeks, kiosk posts can be
set. The copper kiosk roof “hats” will be pre-assembled and then set on top of the frames.
Installation of the kiosks and benches must be done by the end of October per the AARP
grant. Work parties will be scheduled soon. Two clearing jobs will also be organized, one in
Freeville village and the other along the trail in the William George section of the trail.
David F said the request to install the bench and kiosk in Freeville is on Oct. 2 Village Board
agenda. He said he is hesitant to clear brush in the Village until the spur connection
between the trail and the pocket park is determined.
Continue planning for signs and maps – Diane
Diane asked whether each kiosk map should show the whole trail, including the proposed
parts. The thought is to indicate connections differently where easements have not been
secured. The plan is to generally orient the kiosks so that viewers face north, and north on
the maps will be up in all cases. Smaller signs can also be used along the trail. The sign
material used in Cornell Natural Areas is not too expensive ($200-225). Todd said these
signs could be swapped out when there are additional areas. He said one such sign at
Monkey Run was intended as temporary, but it has been used now up to 8 years, and is not
fading from UV exposure and wear. There are other such signs at Fall Creek gorge entry
points, at Hanshaw Rd. near the Cornell Recreation Center (CRC). Todd said he will
provide a sample map for Diane and the Design Committee.
Engaged Cornell Community Engagement Grant – Todd
This grant allows CU students to engage in community-based work. Todd has talked with
some officials there and proposes a project for a team to come up with interpretive content
for kiosks. Diane and Todd are available to help mentor these students, as a cooperative
effort between CU Botanic Gardens and Lab of Ornithology. There are four grant cycles
every year. A week from next Thursday is the deadline for this first of four grant cycles.
Todd would take the lead on the writing of the proposal. They like to do pilots, and then the
RT Task Force could ask for successive grants of up to $5,000. Some funding could go to pay
the students and to have the signs fabricated. The current Engaged CU director, Basil Safi,
told Todd he was once on a committee to build a rail trail. If approved, this project would
solicit students from appropriate areas at CU. Susan suggested looking for graphics training
among the students. Diane agreed that the component could include opportunities for
students to do illustrations, etc. Alice noted that Town of Dryden is applying for this same
grant for a Town staff compensation study.
Chuck talked about other options for project involvement, like YouTube pieces documenting
stages of development. And what if students could put this together as a more substantial
video on the story of the trail. These opportunities could be offered to classes at CU, and
also at Ithaca College or TC3. The students could also imagine the trail when its finished:
listing all the major attractions, with well-researched history, descriptions of natural
features, etc.
Todd said students could be tasked to identify exactly what themes would be included. The
Design Workshop named railroad and natural history, and connectivity to local points of
interest. Basil Safi also wanted to consider tapping students for some engineering aspects
of this project, for example, bridge crossings.
LimeBike Outreach - Chuck
Chuck asked whether the Task Force wants to pursue any linkup between the trail and
LimeBikes. Are there any inaugural events on the trail that we want to link up with them?
The LimeBikes regional director said they’d show up with the numbers of bikes we’d need.
If Freeville isn’t on the map of current LimeBikes drop-offs, they’d still come get them. This
California-based company is a potential partner for the trail. The director told Chuck the
company has recorded 65,000 rides in Tompkins County since their startup in the spring.
David K. said they donated bikes for the Aids Ride for Life. They will put bikes away in
inclement weather. Todd said they’ve been doing a great job making sure they’re well taken
care of. David K they have alarms that prevent thefts.
Opening ceremonies –Alice, Diane, Bruno etc.
Although the installation of the Dryden-Freeville benches and kiosks should be complete by
November (the AARP quick action grant deadline), Alice asked if opening ceremonies might
better be put forward to the spring. There was agreement that it makes sense to wait to
open the section formally when all the crossings and amenities are complete. In the
meantime, the two mostly finished sections (Dryden to Freeville and Route 13 to Stevenson
Rd) can be added to IthacaTrails.org.
County Transportation Committee Meeting- Bob
Bob was invited to report on the progress of the rail trail at the County’s Transportation
Committee meeting earlier this month.
Right of Way (ROW) Update
Game Farm Bob and Dan announced that the Town has received and signed the official
agreement with the Game Farm and DEC. Now work on the section can proceed. It’s not
clear whether Town DPW crews can work on trestle renovation this fall. Some additional
engineering safety analysis of the trestles is needed.
David B-C said there’s water behind some of the trestle abutments. Bob said these were
built to be freestanding, and not dependent on the tie in to the stream sides. Two DPW
staffers who renovated Schug trail bridges are confident they can be maintained.
TG Miller did a study on FH Fox Bridge work needed and on the Fall Creek spur trails. DPW
Bob and Assistant Highway Superintendent Chris Clausen contacted Evan Wills, the Game
Farm manager, to arrange for DPW work in the Game Farm section. There is some
uncertainty on the timing of that work. It may be unrealistic to think the trestles can be
done this fall. One upside would be that this work could be applied as a local match against
the potential Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant, if that work is postponed to
2019. Bruno suggested a kick off meeting with Game Farm, DPW and a TG Miller engineer,
and to bring photos of Schug Trail bridges with detail to show what we’re looking for.
Hansen Aggregates (formerly Saunders Concrete). The easement agreement has been
signed.
NYSEG sent a licensing agreement to the Town Board in late August. Needs to be signed and
returned. Town had to get an insurance document to include NYSEG. The Town Supervisor
will sign it this week.
Gary Sloan Property This is the only remaining agreement needed to complete the Town’s
contract with New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) for
the $182,000 grant approved in December. Sloan agreed to deed the rail trail ROW section
over to the Town as part of his approval for his Varna development, when the development
is complete. In the interim, he agreed with Bob (in January) to sign an easement to allow
the easements for the grant to be complete. Now his lawyer says he doesn’t want to deed
the ROW over to the Town, and will not sign the easement until the Town agrees in writing.
The Town and Sloan may need to go back and amend their development agreement.
Gary’s attorney is in communication with the Town attorney. Alice will bring this back to
Town Board to discuss.
Leonardo Property (between Pinckney Rd. and Etna) Bob has an upcoming meeting with
Tompkins County Planner, Scott Doyle, who’s working with John Leonardo on protecting
the Fall Creek corridor.
Vanguard Press (Brown Dog LLC; Wilcox Press site) They have closed the business. Bob has
been in touch with their corporate lawyer in PA, but there is no word about future plans.
But Town does own to the RR centerline along that tract (along Hall Woods Rd.) Bob wants
to reach the head of the corp. to talk with him. There are spruce trees planted for screening
along the print shop owned section which neighbors don’t want removed. As an alternative,
the short, dead-end Hall Woods Road could be used for the trail in that section. At the west
end of the road, we have an easement to the centerline at the site for a future trail bridge
across Route 13. The Barton and Loguidice (B&L) study included only the width, 33 feet, of
that easement.
Other Updates - Bruno
Bruno said the forsythia planting completed in the spring along DPW Drive in Freeville is
doing well.
He plans to put together an estimate of cost to get from Game Farm to Route 13. He said
part of the work is done, and so far, it’s coming in under budget. Information about how
much DPW spent on grading and milling along the Compost Rd. is being compiled now.
Cornell has installed the fence posts along their fields in that section.
Next meeting: Oct 15
Adjournment at 9:06 pm.
Respectfully submitted by Alice Walsh Green