HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB 2023-11-28CB 2023-11-28
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CONSERVATION BOARD 1
November 28, 2023 2
Hybrid 3
Approved January 30, 2024 4
5
Present: Gian Dodici (chair), Bob Beck, Steve Bissen, Anne Clark, *Jeanne Grace, Nancy 6
Munkenbeck, Craig Schutt, Tim Woods 7
Absent: Andrew Miller, Kate McKee (alternate) 8
Liaisons: *Spring Buck (Town Board) 9
Staff: Loren Sparling (Deputy Town Clerk) 10
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“*” denotes attendance via Zoom 12
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The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. 14
15
Review and Approval of Minutes from October 24, 2023 16
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In October, N Munkenbeck stated that the Planning Department did not have the 18
authority to take someone to court. She has since discovered that the Department does indeed 19
have this right, and so would like the October minutes to reflect this. 20
21
J Grace also provided a correction to her statement regarding expansive lawns. 22
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On motion made by B Beck, seconded by C Schutt, the minutes of October 24, 2023, 24
were unanimously approved as amended. 25
26
Announcements / Additions 27
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Inspired by J Grace’s stance against mowed lawns, S Buck related that there are areas 29
in England that grow chamomile as a lawn alternative; the chamomile just needs to be rolled 30
for the area to be flattened. 31
32
Report: Agriculture Advisory Committee 33
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C Schutt reported in an email that the Ag Committee met in November and reviewed the 35
definitions they had worked on for the past two months for the zoning update. They concluded 36
they were satisfied with them and sent them on to the Planning Board. 37
38
Report: EMC 39
40
S Bissen provided the Board with the following report via email: 41
42
“The EMC meeting for 11/9/2023 was a talk with Don Barber about the Tompkins 43
County Food System Plan 44
(www.tompkinsfoodfuture.org/_files/ugd/bfff24_7b3467fa1c1344e9a12045a6ecf1aab2.45
pdf). 46
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The Plan talks about 3 directions: Build Resilience, Cultivate Equity and Economic 48
Opportunity, and Promote Human & Ecosystem Health. 49
50
- Building resilience goals are mitigating and adapting to climate change, doubling 51
local food production, and promoting coordination and collaboration among food system 52
stakeholders. 53
- Cultivate Equity and Economic Opportunity goals are halving food insecurity by 54
increasing access to affordable, nutritious, and safe food, growing land access and food 55
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production opportunities for People of Color, and creating opportunities for 1
entrepreneurship, innovation, investment, and fair employment in the food economy. 2
- Promoting Human & Ecosystem Health goals are protecting natural resources by 3
prioritizing climate smart practices, providing widespread opportunity for food waste 4
reduction and recovery, and integrating broad nutritional support for a healthier 5
population.” 6
7
In paraphrasing his written report, S Bissen explained that the Tompkins County Food 8
System Plan is about trying to keep our food system secure and adaptable so that food 9
insecurity is eradicated in Tompkins County. The Plan reviews the steps needed to be 10
undertaken, some of which S Bissen thought were pretty good, others pie-in-the-sky. 11
12
T Woods had responded to S Bissen’s report in an email earlier this afternoon, the 13
contents of which he read to the Board: 14
15
In order to meet all the goals in the three categories of this plan, the community's 16
combined efforts need to embrace certain farming, soils, biodiversity, and marketing 17
strategies. I seriously suggest each of you take the time to watch the documentary 18
Sustainable on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=haoVtkwcZYA). If we, as a 19
conservation body, were to support and recommend the symbiotic concepts and 20
practices that are explained in this film, ALL of these goals could be met in a reasonably 21
short period of time. This would truly revolutionize how we produce and distribute food 22
to the folks in our area! And it would effectively help mitigate the global climate 23
problems simultaneously. Win-win-win! 24
25
Differentiating this film from Kiss the Ground, T Woods stated that Kiss the Ground is 26
an international organization talking about all the different strategies it is trying to promote; 27
Sustainable talks specifically about how local farmers can help do all this, focusing on farmers 28
just outside of Chicago who work with chefs in Chicago. 29
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As an aside, A Clark mentioned that she had recently purchased packages of King 31
Arthur Baking Company’s commercially available mix of perennial wheat and (regular) whole 32
wheat flour. T Woods added that this is one of the things suggested in the film, using 33
thousand-year-old wheat varieties instead of the stuff that’s mass-produced today. 34
35
S Buck wondered if this is something about which the Agriculture Advisory Committee 36
might be interested in knowing. Would it be a possibility for one or both groups to host a 37
showing of Sustainable at the library or other venue? N Munkenbeck responded that the ag 38
community is very aware of these programs. USDA funding to farmers for projects on farms 39
has been focused for years on aspects of these areas. Most of the funding available in this area 40
for farms is related to those issues, so this is not something of which the farmers are unaware. 41
Sustainability is always something economic for farmers because they can drive themselves 42
into nothingness. She continued that we’d all like to have good local markets, but sometimes 43
they can’t compete pricewise. In addition, some people don’t make enough money to pay these 44
higher prices (which go towards the cost of local labor). 45
46
T Woods stated that Sustainable thoroughly covers the economics that have just been 47
discussed: why locally grown material costs more, and how that is mitigated by shipping costs 48
and material being outsourced from other countries. The model employed by TC3 with 49
Coltivare is a prime example of what the film espouses. 50
51
G Dodici added that, to N Munkenbeck’s point, food insecurity is more about being 52
unable to afford the cost of food. Most of the systems now are set up for the upper middle class 53
who can afford to go to places like Coltivare. 54
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N Munkenbeck offered that higher-end places usually want very high quality crops and, 1
as such, vendors displayed these over the seconds (e.g., twisted carrots). Another thing people 2
should know about is foraging. Right now, stinging nettle and wild mustard are still green; you 3
can pick fresh greens right now. T Woods tacked on that people in Sustainable were amazed at 4
how good lamb’s quarters tasted … and it’s a weed. 5
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A Clark ventured that, if you’re going to get really sustainable, you’ll need to shift your 7
crops, even if its varietally rather than whole. That shift is what is taking a lot of time because 8
someone needs to invest in the development of these new crops as well as seek out the best 9
way to use them. She has a book about the development of the flour and bread industry 10
roundabouts Trumansburg. The flours there are markedly different from the flours that 11
Pillsbury used to build its empire on; the Trumansburg flours are much more variable and 12
because they don’t make bread in the customary way, they don’t fit into the current food 13
system, including recipes. It is an interesting question, and this is why cooperative extensions 14
have a role. 15
16
S Buck has read about efforts to work with farmers to start planting things for 10 years 17
in the future. Understanding that there will be a change to our climate, what do we need to 18
start planting now to have things that will be able to handle a different climate zone? An 19
answer to this might not be an actionable item for the Town, but S Buck is willing to listen. 20
21
G Dodici raised the question about what ag commodities are produced in Dryden. 22
Primarily dairy, but also land (for solar grazing), lambs, and produce. A Clark mentioned that 23
the actual dairy animals is not as big as the support systems (e.g., hay, alfalfa, corn) for the 24
dairy animals. The issue of concern to her is how much energy is lost in these support systems 25
(e.g., in growing corn for silage for dairy cattle). It is not that we don’t know about it; it is what 26
is being done about it. To this, N Munkenbeck stated that, when it comes to corn, no-till is 27
being pushed more to help reduce runoff, but because corn is such a nitrogen-intensive plant, 28
you still have to rotate the crop en masse. 29
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S Bissen wondered if the big commercial farms grow one crop or varied crops. It 31
depends. Turek Farms grows mostly sweet corn (North Lansing into Cayuga County); it is the 32
largest sweet corn supplier in New York with many thousands of acres of sweet corn. N 33
Munkenbeck related that mechanical harvesting will take the first ears of sweet corn when they 34
are ready (all at the same time); but because the second ears are not ready at the same time, 35
farms generally never bother to harvest them as it is too expensive to do so. So there are 36
thousands of acres of sweet corn in which only one of two ears is collected. 37
38
N Munkenbeck inquired whether the Town could host a website where people could 39
locate animals that suddenly died or had to be put down (e.g., due to old age, coyote attack) 40
but were edible (as dog/chicken food). This could also work for crops if there a sudden freeze. 41
In essence, this would be akin to Freecycle where people could contact each other about it. 42
43
T Woods related that the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania has long conducted 44
experiments comparing sustainable farming methods with industrial farming methods to 45
determine the viability of each system. 46
47
N Munkenbeck added that the Savory Institute (in Zimbabwe) has done a lot of work on 48
the biodiversity and sustainability of pasturelands and grasslands. Alan Savory’s Holistic 49
Management program deals primarily with bringing back pasturelands to ultimate viability – 50
better soils, better crops, better management of grazing herds. 51
52
Because there is a lot of evidence out there in support of sustainable farming, G Dodici 53
stated that if the Board were to take this up, we would have to generate some kind of project 54
that would make a meaningful difference to the community. Rather than sitting around talking 55
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about it, what can we produce that we can use to disseminate this information in order to 1
generate some tangible results in the Town? A Clark agreed, stating that we would need to 2
produce some achievable goals for the local community. 3
4
S Buck communicated that this could dovetail into a broader County effort as there is a 5
lot of energy at the County level around this, especially when talking about food waste and food 6
insecurity. The County’s Solid Waste program has been very engaged in food waste reduction 7
and has networked with other organizations towards this end. 8
9
Report: Town Board 10
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Old Business: Native Plants and Pollinators in Town Planning, Laws, Etc. 12
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S Buck reported that there was interest among the Town Board members on the 14
proposed presentation by Jennifer Michelle regarding native plants and pollinators. 15
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Old Business: Planning Board / Planning Department (Updates) 17
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S Buck also reported that she had some conversations with David Church and got his 19
perspective regarding the triangular parcel owned by him that abuts Dryden Lake (at West 20
Lake Rd and Chaffee Lane). He explained to her that trees were felled along the Rail Trail 21
during the tornado and that he allowed those trees to be placed on his parcel during the 22
cleanup; subsequently he chopped up those trees to be used as firewood for his neighbor 23
during the upcoming winter. From these conversations, it became apparent to S Buck that D 24
Church cares very much about his land, that he wants to be a good caretaker of the land. She 25
suggested to him that he talk with the Conservation Board, that he seek out advice from them 26
to be a better steward of his land. He would be amenable to this and doesn’t want the Board to 27
be angry with him. 28
29
G Dodici responded by saying that D Church is always welcome to a Board meeting as a 30
member of the public. His property was brought up in past Board meetings as an example of 31
what was happening in the Town that was counter to the rules on the books, about which the 32
Planning Department wasn’t actively doing anything to stop it. Whatever his intentions were or 33
are is not relevant to this Board. G Dodici would be happy to give him recommendations, the 34
first of which would be to take the fill back out of the wetland, as he was actively filling in a 35
floodway. 36
37
N Munkenbeck relayed that Ray Burger had mentioned that the Town had taken issues 38
like this to court in the past and always lost. S Buck heard likewise, furthering that R Burger 39
also said that judges tend to say that they won’t uphold Town law if the DEC does not have an 40
issue; she likened this to local judges not upholding traffic violations for people riding their 41
bicycles. 42
43
N Munkenbeck wondered what court would handle litigation on a case like this, if not 44
the Town Court. A regulation is worthless unless it is enforced; a regulation not being enforced 45
basically punishes all those who try to be good and follow the law. 46
47
At this point, it dawned on N Munkenbeck that if the last shipment of fill that D Church 48
received was from the state’s roadwork on Rt 38, it might be full of lead. Soils in the ditches 49
along roadways tend to be very high in lead from all the years of leaded gasoline. She suggested 50
that D Church’s bank be tested to see if the lead content (if present) would impact the creeks 51
fed by Dryden Lake. 52
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Dryden was once a big hub for apples, until a disease hit the trees in the 1920s; the 54
only way to treat this was by spraying the apple trees with a lead compound. There’s a lot of 55
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orchard lands around here that still have very high lead content in their soil, including Cornell 1
Orchards. Some plants take up the lead more than others. This is also why urban gardening is 2
difficult; new topsoil had to be brought in for these gardens to flourish because of the lead 3
content of the soil already there. 4
5
G Dodici surmised that if this was true, the State DOT should be testing the soil that 6
it’s moving around, as it’s technically hazardous waste. Should the Town be testing soil when 7
it’s digging ditches? N Munkenbeck asked how high the lead level must be for something to be 8
considered toxic. 9
10
The entire makeup of the Board was interested in this topic and asked N Munkenbeck 11
to provide them with her data sources. 12
13
New Business: New Conservation Board Liaison to Climate Smart Communities Task 14
Force 15
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N Munkenbeck is stepping down as the Conservation Board liaison to the Climate 17
Smart Communities Task Force. A Clark has tentatively agreed to step into this role and has 18
already attended one meeting. 19
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A Clark reported that there are overlaps between the Conservation Board and the 21
Climate Smart Communities Task Force, most notably in the concept of resilience. Climate 22
Smart has been talking about “event modelling” as a way to evaluate our resilience, asking 23
what we need to do to make us more resilient. 24
25
Climate Smart is also following the wetland delineation, which is expected to be 26
completed by the end of December. They are particularly interested in how the non-wetland 27
areas get used, e.g., solar. 28
29
Old Business: Wetlands on Town-Owned Property in the Village of Dryden (Updates) 30
31
The wetland delineation is currently being undertaken by Barton & Loguidice on Town-32
owned lands. 33
34
N Munkenbeck was under the impression that workforce housing was being planned on 35
land behind Town Hall. S Buck responded that there are discussions to develop such housing 36
near North Street. 37
38
S Buck added that there were discussions about building a raised walkway through the 39
wetlands from that area to TC3, but she thinks that TC3 is not interested in that, at least not 40
right now. 41
42
G Dodici surmised that the vast majority of the wetlands behind Town Hall is under 43
Village jurisdiction. It is a shame that the Town did not coordinate with the Village about this. 44
The part of the wetlands of most concern is on Village property and so will not be delineated at 45
all. 46
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S Buck answered that there is interest in getting the Village wetlands eventually done 48
so as to get the wetlands delineated in their entirety, but the Town Board decided to get the 49
ball rolling with just the Town-owned wetlands because they hadn’t coordinated funding to also 50
do the Village. C Schutt asked whether the Town even asked the Village, to which S Buck 51
deferred that she had to inquire with her colleague. 52
53
G Dodici stated that the initial agreement that spurred this whole discussion stipulated 54
that the Town would build a road through the wetland for a landowner. Basically, the Town 55
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agreed to build a road through Village property and through a wetland. Did the Town have the 1
Village’s permission to do that? 2
3
G Dodici thanked S Buck, saying that the Board looks forward to the results of the 4
wetland delineation. 5
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There being no further business, on motion made by N Munkenbeck and seconded by B 7
Beck, the meeting was adjourned at 8:26 p.m. 8
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Respectfully submitted, 10
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Loren Sparling 12
Deputy Town Clerk 13