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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-19Friends of the Dryden Rail Trail and Task Force Minutes of the October 19, 2020 Zoom Meeting Attendance: Bob Beck, Diane and Chris Tessaglia-Hymes, Alice Green, Bruno Schickel, John Kiefer, Judy Pierpont, Loren Sparling, Dan Lamb, Leslie Kinsland, Margaret Johnson, Rose Borsik, Todd Bittner, “TS” Call to order at 7:04pm – Bob Beck, Alice Green Introductions Additions to agenda: Cornell Gravel, 5K Race on Trail September minutes approved Zoom bomb A 15-second Zoom bomb interrupted the meeting. Dan observed that the naked gentleman who was speaking a foreign language and waving an unknown flag, was probably not a Dryden resident. Diane suggested that future meetings require passwords to prevent this type of rolling hack. Alice said that if a hack occurs again this evening, Plan B will be to end that meeting, create a new one immediately, and send the new link to all members and friends through the list serve. Discuss procedure for decisions and reporting by Subcommittees to Task Force, and Task Force to Town Board – Todd The Route 13 bridge subcommittee met two weeks ago to clarify decision-making and communication at various levels. The subcommittee will be meeting on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month, to review ongoing developments on the TAP grant. It was decided that any recommendations from DRT Task Force subcommittee should be submitted to the full Task Force before being submitted to the Town Board. If decisions on land acquisition are needed, discussion will happen in executive session, followed by a return to public session for any formal resolution or recommendation to the Town Board. Summary language that does not include any confidential land acquisition specifics may be use in such a resolution. Brief updates: Pending DEC agreement at Game Farm – Dan The DEC’s real properties attorney is still reviewing the long-term occupancy use agreement that was promised in July within eight weeks. Dan is still confident the 20-50 year agreement is forthcoming, and the situation requires patience. DEC’s Jim Farquhar said his staff is stretched during the pandemic, which may account for the hold up. Bob noted that we have missed the construction season for Game Farm trestle repair; we can’t sign the State Parks EFP grant till this last agreement is in place. Todd said maybe the Task Force should start building up to the trestles to create a little more immediacy to get the agreement done, and signal to other colleagues that we’re making progress. Bob felt this was just too dangerous because there are still gaps at the old trestles and not a good idea to bring the public too close. John K clarified that under the 5 year EPF grant, approved in December 2017, the project has 2 years and 2 months left to complete the work. And it’s not clear how long it will take for the state to execute the agreement on this. Dan said it might be time to enlist Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton’s help to move the DEC to action. Bob mentioned that he has not talked with State Parks local rep, Kathleen McIsaac, in a while about and wondered if the DRT should seek an extension of the EPF grant. Todd advised against this because he thinks in the 4th year of the current grant, the DRT should be thinking of asking for another grant for the Etna section. He believes the State Parks grant is one of the more realistic grants for this project, and that it can leverage other grants. Pending MOU for Game Farm Road crossing – Alice, Bob This 3-way agreement between the County and the Towns of Dryden and Ithaca is in final form, and in the hands of the County Attorney. Jason Leifer reported today that should be returned signed by all parties this week. Also there is no word about the results of a DOT study expected in conjunction with the Towns’ request for a speed reduction on Game Farm Rd. Bob mentioned that there had been a suggestion that Erdman Anthony might stamp the Game Farm crossing study. Ray felt this was not in the scope of the TAP grant and he did not want to pursue a separate contract with them for this. Bob also said he is still talking with John Lampman, who has agreed to prepare the crossing plan pro bono. Trail proposal at FLLT Etna Preserve – Bruno Bruno reminded members that maps and drawings of the proposed trail proposal had been included in last month’s meetings. He said that Finger Lakes Land Trust wanted engineer-approved drawings, and Larry Fabroni agreed to stamp Bruno’s work to forward to FLLT. Last Thursday, Bruno and Larry walked the Etna Preserve site with Andy Zepp and Chris Olney from the Land Trust. This will go to a committee and then the board, and the earliest they will make a decision is December. So the project couldn’t begin till the spring. Andy suggested he would like to see something formal from Chris and Diane allowing a footpath across their property from the preserve out to Etna Lane. He was also amenable to having the path cross inside the Preserve if there were another way for the Trail to cross a property, which still has not provided an easement. Bruno said there are five or six different possible workarounds to deal with access issues between Route 366 and Kirk Rd. He has hired surveyor Mike Regan to clarify property boundaries in that area. Fox Bridge Jerry Bertoldo told Bruno he’s talked with Prof. Fox’s children about whether they would contribute to the $50K to memorialize the bridge to their father. They pledged $12K for the project. Jerry feels this is a big boost towards getting other donors, and he asked for detailed drawings of the bridge signage and kiosk design that would be enabled by the memorial fee. The family has a strong desire to keep some semblance of the graffiti on the bridge. They also want to know what square footage could be dedicated to signage and pictures of Prof Fox. Todd has some ideas about how to manage both retaining some graffiti and needed signage. He suggests a suite of options for kiosk material, benches etc. and he will share ideas with the Design Committee. Diane said she wants to review signage options with the Design subcommittee and present these at the next meeting. Follow-up survey for 2018 AARP Community Challenge Grant – Bob Bob sent a report to AARP with photos, media link, and a description of how the grant impacted the project. Progress in Town management of trail financial data – Alice, John, Bob Bob said that he, Alice and John had a very successful meeting the new Town Bookkeeper, Amanda Anderson, and the Highway Department Secretary, Katelyn Rich. Alice said they worked out a digital system for grants files that Amanda has already gone ahead and set up. Amanda also began computing the Town’s spending for the trail sections covered by the State Parks Grant, and made an initial estimate of $115,000 to date. She said it looks like there can soon be documentation in place to create a mockup of a reimbursement request for 2018 to submit to Kathleen McIsaac for feedback. John said he was delighted with the fresh energy Amanda has brought to the project. Alice also asked for ideas about a way to provide Amanda with a clear picture of which grants can be used for local match and to match other grants. Todd agreed this would be useful information for the Bookkeeper and the Task Force, and pointed out that this will be part of what Erdman Anthony will produce under the TAP grant work. He added that some of the parameters of the grant work scope can and probably will change, so any representation should include that caveat. Proposal for 5K Race on Dryden to Freeville trail section - Dan Dan asked whether the Trail is ready for such a race. Alice said she understands that the DRT is responsible for building the trail and that decisions about programs should be made by the Dryden Recreation Department and the DRYC. Dan clarified that the proposing company, Willow Running NY, offers this as a fund- raiser for the trail, and seems to have a record of running safe events. The proposal is for an Ugly Sweater Race with about 300 runners, who would start in groups of 50 at 15-minute intervals. Bruno thought it would be good to place this in the jurisdiction of the Rec Department and have them receive the proceeds. There could be a fee for the use of the Trail. The company should come out and assess the surface of the trail to make sure they feel it’s suitable for such an event. Diane suggested they could sell DRT water bottles as a fundraiser for the Trail. Dan said that this would be a very simple fund-raiser for both the Trail and the Rec Department. Bob said he has no objections to the Rec Department running the event. Alice suggested proposing that proceeds from the event be split between the Rec Department and the Trail project. Progress on TAP grant / Route 13 bridge project – Grant Subcommittee Bob gave an update. The subcommittee has met again with the Erdman Anthony engineers and is expecting to receive cost estimates and preliminary options for different alignments for the bridge to cross Route 13 and the abutments on each side. There are sensitive issues regarding properties on the east side of the bridge. Bob asked if DRT members want an executive session tonight to talk about these details. Bruno said he thinks the DRT should wait till we have drawings and cost estimates from Erdman Anthony. Todd also recommended providing that update when the visuals come from the consultants. Chris recommended that the Town should set up the Zoom account so that DRT members and the bridge subcommittee can go into executive session via a break out group that would meet privately and then re-convene with the main meeting. Dan said he would check with the Town Board at its executive meeting tomorrow night to make sure the Town has an account that accommodates breakout groups. The next meeting of the subcommittee was scheduled for Oct. 22, but it was rescheduled until Nov. 12 with the expectation that EA would present bridge design alternative and cost estimates by that deadline. Bruno and Todd asked that the consultants be requested to submit the drawings and cost estimates at least 3 days before the subcommittee meeting. This will allow a presentation at the next DRT meeting. November meeting scheduled for: 7 pm Monday Nov. 16 Adjournment at 8:58 pm Respectfully submitted by Alice Walsh Green