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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-27 CONSERVATION BOARD 04/27/2021 Members Present: Gian Dodici (Chair), Bob Beck, Anne Clark, Nancy Munkenbeck (7:40 PM), Craig Schutt, Jeanne Grace Absent: Tim Woods, Andrew Miller, David Wilson Liaisons: Loren Sparling (Town Board), Simon St Laurent (Planning Board), Guest(s): David Weinstein The meeting was called to order at 7:15 PM Review and approval of minutes dated March 30th, 2021 On motion made by G. Dodici, seconded by C. Schutt, minutes were unanimously approved as written. Rail Trail Update: B Beck- Last week we received a fully executed agreement for a 20 year renewable trail approval. That has been a long time coming. I contacted Peter Walsh to proceed with amending the Opinion of Counsel letter. In 2019, he took all of our easements that applied to the State Parks Environmental Protection Fund Grant. The one missing piece was the Game Farm portion. The town can’t sign the contract for the grant until that piece is in place with Peter’s letter of approval. Peter is working on an updated letter of Opinion of Counsel. That will go to Kathleen McIsaac who is our grant administrator for the parks. We still need to wait for DEC to get back to us and give us approval to proceed with the trail surface work and trestles because they asked for engineer stamped plans for those two things, which were submitted. After we get those back, Rick Young and the DPW crew will get to work at the Game Farm. Rick has been cooperative and very helpful. We are looking at the trail west of Route 13 that goes from the rail bed down to Fall Creek that connects under the Fall Creek bridge to the parking lot. We have to fill in culverts to pass a bit of wetland on Cornell land. We have asked DOT for approval to do work down near the bridge to connect up with the parkway under the bridge within the Route 13 right of way. They said this break in access request is a very involved process and is not sure DOT will approve it. It might have to go to other agencies including the Federal Government. This walkway under the bridge was built by DOT to connect the trails that are already there. Ag Committee Update: The Ag Committee talked about the proposed Energy Stretch Code. They are still looking for answers about how this may impact agriculture. The Committee also discussed possible blurbs for the town newsletter. Planning Board Update: The board is meeting Thursday as part of the Dryden Comprehensive Plan conversation. Town Board Update: The Executive order for Virtual meetings ends May 19th which is the day before the Town Board meeting. With regard to the drinking water source protection program plan; L Sparling heard that a plan for Dryden has been drafted by the NY Water Association and is currently being reviewed by various town advisory boards. There is an Energy Wise webinar for May 4th. The town is doing a monthly newsletter. The Conservation Board should appoint someone who is willing to write up a short summary of what was discussed the previous month and send it to Cassie Byrnes by the Tuesday after the Town Board meetings. G Dodici said he is willing to do it this month. Dryden Lake Dam Update: C Schutt emailed Scott Prindle at DEC and was told they received recommendations for Dryden Lake Dam and are starting to review them. They are moving toward making a decision on whether the dam will be rebuilt, or if it will be taken out completely. Fall Creek/Mineah Road: G Dodici- It was mentioned at a Town Board meeting last month that the town received funding under the state water quality incentive program of $700,000. They had a special meeting to look at the SEQR and I pointed out to the board that it’s hard to make a determination of the environmental impacts of the project when there are no details about the project. They submitted a ton of information but no indication on what was being proposed or planned. The board ended up tabling it. L Sparling thanked G Dodici for saying what others were thinking. The Town of Dryden will be responsible to cut 20% of phosphorus coming out of the streams and creeks. It is all throughout Fall Creek and several other streams in Dryden. C Schutt- I feel like Rebecca didn’t talk enough about stormwater and runoff from residential because in reality there’s a lot of stuff that comes from residential’s such as fertilizer, septic systems, etc. Overall it was a great presentation. Spotted Lanternfly: They are not forest pests but more of a residential tree nuisance. They will basically mass attack a single tree that they happen to like. They are leaf hoppers, so they suck the liquid out of the tree, and they poop out honeydew and that gets mold on it. They are more of an inconvenience. The biggest problem is at apple orchards or grape vineyards. Their favorite tree is the Tree of Heaven, but they don’t require it to complete their life cycle. They like to lay their eggs on a variety of surfaces such as certain types of bark or on rusty metal. J Grace said there is an infestation in Ithaca but she thinks they found this very early. The tree crews have taken down trees in the area where they found egg masses. On motion made by G Dodici, seconded by B Beck, the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 PM. Respectfully submitted, Emily Banwell Deputy Town Clerk