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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-15Dryden Rail Trail Friends and Task Force Minutes of the Meeting Monday, October 15, 2018 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Dryden Town DPW Attendance: Marie McRae, John Kiefer, Susan Ashdown, David Keifer, Judy Pierpont, Bob Beck, Rosalie Borzik, Dan Lamb, Diane and Chris Tessaglia-Hymes, Alice Green, Bruno Schickel, Nancy Munkenbeck, David Bravo-Cullen Call to order (7:19 p.m.) – Bob Beck Additions to agenda – see first item below Approval of September minutes: unanimous Announcement of vacancy on the task force. Bob reported that Diann Ziegler is moving to T-burg, and has resigned from the Task Force. Rosalie volunteered to serve. The Task Force voted to recommend her appointment to the Town Board. Naming Opportunity Gift Policy – Bruno, John Benches and Kiosks John drafted the policy for review by the Task Force. Bruno said the intent is to make clear that the Task Force administers all installations on the trail. The Friends of the Rail Trail group does the fund raising. Donors who wish to contribute to a memorial are contributing for the naming opportunity, rather than for a bench or kiosk. Dan questioned the wording of bullet that indicating board and task force members cannot give advise about the tax status of the gift. He suggested a link to website explaining what NYS law allows. Beverly Dodici is coordinating a group seeking to dedicate two benches as a memorial for Stephanie Gardner. A dedication ceremony has been scheduled for 10 am Oct. 28. Group member Bill Ackroyd did a mock up of an engraved plaque, ¼ inch thick. John, Diane and others said they felt it is important that all bench and kiosk plaques are standardized for both material and dimensions. After discussion, it was decided that generating all plaques in the future will be the responsibility of the Task Force. Task Force members recommended the draft version of the Rail Trail Gift Policy for adoption by the Dryden Town Board. NOTE: The Town Board passed the original version Oct. 15, then revised it at the Nov. 15 meeting to designate the Task Force to approve donations and the associated inscriptions for benches and kiosks. The final version is printed below. Naming opportunities for trail sections Bruno suggested five sections that could be offered for sponsorship at a contribution of something like $10,000 per section. Lots of discussion followed, including questions about how contributions from landowners who granted easements would fit in with the sections named for monetary donors. John and Bob suggested that this decision should be postponed in favor of focus on benches and kiosks. Donation by Roscoe Brothers Millwork– Diane, Chris, Bob Bob brought a bench board routed with “DRYDEN RAIL TRAIL.” The routing on 10 boards for the current benches and 9 more for the next batch purchase was generously donated by Nick and Chris Roscoe. Todd reminded that the Task Force will need send formal thank- yous to Roscoe brothers, along with others who donated easements for this section, including the Villages of Dryden and Freeville, the William George Agency, and Kathy Perkins of Toads Too. Kiosk design & construction of roof assemblies and first installation (at George Road) – Bruno Bruno has crews lined up to install the remaining two kiosks on Saturday. The first was successfully installed on George Rd. Bruno, Dennis Mix with his excavator, John Darling, Milo Richmond and Bob volunteered. Bruno plans to install about 6 inches of gravel around it. Kiosk graphics update (logo, map, rules, acknowledgements) – Diane Diane shared a mock up of the graphic content for the kiosk. The display will have three panels. Content will include trail rules, a map of the section, and credits for donations. The Rail Trail pathway, including the Jim Schug section, will be in yellow. Other county trails will be indicated on all maps in red. The Dryden Village map will include more of the Schug section. The display will include the AARP logo, per the specifications for the grant, which paid for the kiosk materials and benches. Diane asked the group for feedback. Questions/ comments included: • Should Agway be indicated on the map for parking near the West Main St. entrance in the village? No. There will be parking a block north on Elm St. • Should the kiosks be named “stations”? None of the initial kiosks are at station locations. But the original Dryden Station was at Elm St. The name “station” may not work at all locations. • Could the background for the logo be a brighter green? • Notes on local history for the display could be gathered from such sources as Cornell’s archives, the Dryden Historical Society and the History Center. DEC Game Farm area Trail and Trestle work: – Bob, Bruno Bob and Bruno have met with DPW staff and Game Farm Manager Evan Wills to coordinate trail clearing by DPW and trestle safety inspection by T.G. Miller. Evan has been coordinating with DEC. DPW has cleared the trail section from both ends. The section between the trestles is not cleared yet, but it will get cleared soon. TG Miller is doing safety inspection of both trestles, which DEC requires. Then DPW can proceed with trestle renovations; possibly one could be completed this year. Bob said DPW crew members who renovated trestles on the Schug trail have the expertise to repair the Game Farm trestles and will add wooden railings there as well as at the Fox bridge. Bruno will now be point person with DPW for trail work going forward. Survey Work for Kiosk Locations -Bruno Surveyor Mike Reagan re-surveyed property line between the Village Hall and land owned by Kathy Perkins. The survey made it clear that a corner of the Village hall parking lot is on her property. Kathy has expressed support for the trail project, and her lawyer is reviewing the terms of the easement across her property that is needed for the trail and the connection between the Dryden-Freeville trail section and the continuation towards Etna. In Dryden, the survey helped determine locations for the kiosk on West Main St., and parking at Elm St. Other Trail Work Projects – Bruno If it’s dry enough in coming weeks, it may be possible to clear east of the Fox Bridge off Route 366. Bruno estimated there a need for about 10 truckloads of gravel and some culvert pipes to finish some sections, e.g. area east of Freeville sewer plant, Kathy Perkins property, George Rd., etc. Bruno has requested a donation of gravel from RMS. He’s also priced some stone dust from Cortland. AARP: documentation for grant report – Bob, Alice Volunteers continue to record photos and videos of the process of assembling and installing the benches and kiosks, as required by the terms of the AARP grant. There is ample documentation on the Rail Trail Facebook page. When kiosks are installed, some photo shoots with officials of both Villages will be scheduled. The AARP grant report is due in December. Postponed: Cornell Engaged Opportunity Grant application – Todd, Diane Todd and Diane had proposed seeking an Engaged Cornell grant to help fund student interns who could supply historical and environmental information for trail amenities. However they decided to wait until another grant cycle to apply. ROW Update – Bob, Bruno • Kathy Perkins: easement pledged in the Village of Freeville. • Mancang Dong/Jingzhen Guo: easement signed (between Etna Lane and Kirk Road). This was another case where the rail bed wasn’t deeded as part of the current property, so the current owner’s attorney contacted the heirs and finally got permission. • M&R Entities/Gary Sloan: critical easement remains unresolved. Town lawyers are working on this. Next meeting: 7 pm Monday November19; location to be determined. Adjournment at 9:03 pm Dryden Rail Trail Task Force Gift Policy Approved by the Dryden Town Board 10/18/18, Revised 11/15/18 Mission The Mission of the Dryden Rail Trail Task Force is to take deliberate steps to develop the Dryden Rail Trail including acquiring easements, securing funding and moving the project through planning, design and construction. Gift Policy Statement While municipalities in NYS are prohibited from soliciting gifts, they are permitted to accept them. On behalf of the residents of the Town of Dryden, gifts in support of the Dryden Rail Trail are gratefully accepted by the Town as defined in the following paragraphs. Purpose of Gift Policy The purpose of this policy is to define a structure for gifts that create a naming opportunity for the donor: • Define the types of gifts that will be accepted by the Town. • Define how the gift program will be administered by the Town. Types of Gifts Accepted Under This Policy This Gift Policy provides for acceptance of cash gifts to the Town in two gift types: • A naming opportunity on a bench to be located along the trail. The donor may select a memorial or other inscription that will be placed on a bench. Note the Rail Trail Task Force selects bench designs and locations that will be used for all benches along the trial. Each bench will have only one donor inscription. The inscription will be placed on a plaque approximately 3"x10" provided by the Town. Bench naming opportunities cost $800. • A naming opportunity for a kiosk to be located at various trail heads along the trail. The donor may select a memorial or other inscription that will be placed on the kiosk. Note the Rail Trail Task Force selects kiosk designs and locations that will be used for all kiosks along the trail. Each kiosk will have only one donor inscription. The inscription will be placed on a plaque up to 140 square inches. Kiosk naming opportunities cost $10,000. Gift Administration The gift program will be administered as follows: • The Rail Trail Task Force will designate a person familiar with the project to work with each prospective donor on selecting a bench or kiosk. Note that, while the Town is prohibited from soliciting gifts, private individuals acting on their own behalf may do so. • The Rail Trail Task Force is responsible for managing the installation of each bench, kiosk and associated plaques. Installation/construction work may be done by volunteers, by Town of Dryden Department of Public Works staff, or by contract with a private company. • Bench and kiosk signage will be maintained by the Town of Dryden Department of Public Works for the life of the bench/kiosk. • All gift funds will be used to pay for development and construction of the Dryden Rail Trail. Gifts will be received in the form of checks made out to the Town of Dryden. Checks will be given to the Town Clerk. The Dryden Rail Trail Task Force is designated by the Town Board to approve each gift and its associated inscription wording by formal action. Following acceptance, donors will be provided an acknowledgement of the gift on Town letterhead. The Town will keep records of gifts and gift commitments. • Town Board reserves the right to decline any signage that appears to endorse any private commercial business. • Tax exempt status of gifts to the Town is covered in an IRS publication at https://www.irs.gov/government-entities/federal-state-local- governments/governmental-information-letter • The Dryden Rail Trail Gift Policy will go into effect upon approval by the Dryden Town Board. The Policy is subject to an annual review by the Town Board and may be modified by formal action of the Board. The Policy is intended to last the life of the Trail. In the event the Rail Trail Task Force is decommissioned the Town Board may appoint a new entity/group to administer the gift program. • This Gift Policy will be posted on the Town of Dryden web page and a hard copy will be provided to prospective donors prior to gift acceptance.