HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB 2024-10-29CB 2024-10-29 Page 1 of 5 CONSERVATION BOARD October 29, 2024 Hybrid Present: *Gian Dodici (chair), Jeanne Grace (acting chair), *Steve Bissen, Naomi Cator- Szymanski, Anne Clark, *Kate McKee (alternate), *Andrew Miller, Nancy Munkenbeck, Craig Schutt, Tim Woods Liaisons: *Spring Buck (Town Board) Staff: Loren Sparling (Deputy Town Clerk) The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. G Dodici had previously asked J Grace to serve as acting chair for tonight’s meeting due to his potential absence. Introduction of N Cator-Szymanski as New Board Member Board members introduced themselves and welcomed N Cator-Szymanski as the newest member of the Board. She graduated from ESF this past spring and has returned to the area that she grew up in. Review and Acceptance of Minutes from September 24, 2024 On motion made by C Schutt, seconded by T Woods, the minutes of September 24, 2024, were unanimously accepted as written. Old Business: Tree Planting at O. D. von Engeln J Grace surmised that two or three trees could be planted at the preserve in memory of Bob Beck. She feels that these should be in line with the species already present in the preserve, as that is what B Beck would have wanted. Focusing on the deciduous trees of the preserve, there are a lot of maple (sugar maple, red maple, silver maple) present, as well as some cherry. As such, she advocated for a couple of maple trees to be planted. To T Woods’ question about whether the trees needed to be the same species or not, J Grace replied that they did not but warned against introducing species that were not already in the ecosystem. When asked if the soil was well-drained, J Grace speculated that it was, stating that the envisioned setting was by the parking area where it is pretty dry. N Munkenbeck offered that, if the Board wanted to put in sugar maples, a source for these might be the Uihlein Maple Research Forest in Lake Placid. They will donate trees (aged one or two years old) for a small fee with the provision that they be able to test the sap from those trees after 20 years for their research. N Cator-Szymanski wondered if the opportunity existed to open participation in the planting up to a wider audience (e.g., schools). J Grace expressed that it might be difficult to include schools because the time of year when it is best to plant the trees is not typically the time of year when students are readily available. Fall plantings occur in November, and spring plantings occur before the leaves come out, around April or early May. In both instances, school is wrapping up, but we could still reach out to school staff to gauge their interest. For the Dryden School District, N Cator-Szymanski submitted the names of two teachers who have been really great at offering various hands-on, community-oriented opportunities to their students. CB 2024-10-29 Page 2 of 5 J Grace informed the Board that they also need to talk to someone about getting permission to undertake the planting, but who. A Clark related that there was no phone number on the sign across the road, but Gwen Beck may have a contact number. S Buck stated that the von Engeln Preserve is under the stewardship of the Nature Conservancy (per its website) and provided contact information for the organization. G Dodici referred members to Darran Crabtree, Director of Conservation for the Central and Western NY Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, citing him as B Beck’s contact when the easement was put in place; D Crabtree’s contact information was distributed via chat. N Munkenbeck suggested Andrew Zepp of the Finger Lakes Land Trust as a potential resource. J Grace volunteered to follow up on these leads so as to have everything organized for a spring planting. S Bissen understood the choice in trees being limited so as not to change the ecosystem, but mused if there was any choice that could be made that would in fact improve the ecosystem, something that would typically be in that type of ecosystem but is not there now. He noted the presence of a lot of wet areas in the preserve and thought tamaracks might thrive there. Board members felt that the chestnut tree might also be classified as an improvement to the ecosystem. Given that the area around the von Engeln parking lot is mostly disturbed, as manifested in the presence of poplar and black locust trees, and is not the pristine forest that the Board would want to see, J Grace will ask the Nature Conservancy if there is anything restoration-wise they would want to see there. J Grace alerted Board members that what is available and what has a high success rate of planting should also be considered. She would hate to put something in that dies immediately. In addition, S Bissen offered to provide the new trees with fencing, if needed. Old Business: Update on Chaffee & West Lake Roads Two weeks ago, T Woods talked with R Young about the goings-on at the intersection of Chaffee and West Lake Rds. R Young explained to him that DPW’s actions were taken in response to an intrusion into the right-of-way, defined as being 23-feet from the center line. The landowner used heavy equipment to move enough earth so as to create a near vertical (ca. 12 feet) drop. Numerous stop-work notices were sent, but the work still continues. At this time, the next step is legal action. S Buck has understood this matter to be in legal proceedings, citing the Town’s concern for both resident safety and the environment. She added that the DEC has also been engaged. C Schutt related that he had talked of the matter with David Sprout, one of the Town’s code enforcement officers, who confirmed that multiple stop-work notices were issued but ignored. It appears, though, that the landowner received word that he was working in the right- of-way, as he is now trying to remedy the situation by packing dirt back up on that shoulder. A Clark relayed that this was witnessed by another resident, who noted that the packing job is terrible. K McKee pointed out that, in the Village of Dryden, if a landowner continues to undertake activity after a stop-work order has been issued, they are fined $100 a day. Is this also the case in the Town? S Buck answered that the Town currently does not have such per day fees, but the Planning Department is actively working on setting those up. They have asked for Town Board support because they believe that daily/weekly/monthly fees will have more impact than do the courts with regard to violations, and such an action will need to be codified into law. CB 2024-10-29 Page 3 of 5 T Woods raised a further action on the part of the landowner whereby a 100 yard trench (of 6’ depth) was dug with a backhoe from the culvert that runs under the Rail Trail into a nearby wetland. In conversation with the landowner, he was informed that the DEC had declassified all wetlands in the area, those within the park and those across the Rail Trail on private property. The DEC has stated that no such classification change has occurred. N Munkenbeck expressed elation at the fact that the Town Board is working with the Planning Department to institute a system of fines for the violation of stop-work orders. Old Business: DRYC Update C Schutt reported that the DRYC’s RFP was revised with a new reduced scope (wetlands are no longer located within the project area; housing component was removed) and reissued. L Sparling expanded on this by saying that CHA and EDR submitted proposals for this new RFP. Of the two, CHA was ultimately selected for the following reasons: • CHA submitted a cost that was $20,000 less than EDR’s; • DRYC received responses from CHA’s references, but not from EDR’s references; and • CHA has recreational expertise in the construction of ballfields; EDR was better equipped to address development around wetlands and historic sites, elements that were removed from the second RFP. CHA’s timeline for a deliverable was unknown. Addressing a question about alternate locations for recreation, S Buck stated that CHA will be providing the Town with options on how best to develop the land within the project area near Town Hall. Although there is a lot of talk about siting the fields elsewhere, there are currently no other locations that the Town Board is considering. Although recreational fields will be built within the Ezra Village development, they will be for the tenants only. A brief discussion ensued about the formation of the wetlands behind Town Hall. N Munkenbeck offered that anything that is currently buildable is expensive. The location for these ballfields is desired by many to be within walking distance of the Village. Board members will await the report from the consultant before continuing discussion about this. Reports: EMC S Bissen reported that the Environmental Management Council (EMC) meeting was held on October 10th via Zoom. The first half of the meeting was devoted to finalizing the EMC Member onboarding FAQ and reviewing their 2024 goals, listed as follows: • New bylaws • Member onboarding • Finalizing UNA boundaries • May meeting of the Tompkins County Conservation Boards; and • Continuing the Green Scene newsletter (past issues of which are archived at us20.campaign- archive.com/home/?u=be12bf8b9daa0103c731922f9&id=385123ac80) The second half of the meeting was focused on preparing for their public meeting about Unique Natural Areas (UNAs), to be held at 5:30 p.m. on November 13th in the Borg Warner Room of the Tompkins County Public Library. At the meeting, they will be discussing what a UNA is, what it is not, how boundaries have changed over the years, and how it affects the CB 2024-10-29 Page 4 of 5 landowner. Postcards will be sent out soon (if not already) to landowners who have a UNA(s) in their parcels announcing this meeting. The last time that such a public meeting occurred was in 2017. Since that time, the EMC has undertaken a lot of boundary adjustments for various reasons, and they want to discuss why some of these changes have been made. Reports: Agriculture Advisory Committee C Schutt reported that the Agriculture Advisory Committee did not meet this month. Reports: Climate Smart Communities Task Force A Clark reported that Gina Cassidy is currently working on a document that will help Dryden implement climate smart land use and smart growth policies and has asked Conservation Board members to provide input on developing this document. A Clark will forward this document to members via email, who will respond to G Cassidy with their comments individually (rather than as a Board). Reports: Owasco Lake Watershed Management Council (OLWMC) A Clark reported that the New York Water Resources Institute will hold its Great Lakes meeting on November 14 in Liverpool, NY on the topic of the 2025 proposal facilitation. The deadline for the DEC’s online survey about winter rock salt use is November 1. L Sparling indicated that notice of this has been posted on the Town’s website. G Dodici mentioned that the Community Science Institute (CSI) has been monitoring salt for years as part of their water data collection efforts and they are not showing any real uptick in salt in their winter samples. The data does not seem to show that there is excess salt in our waterways. The OLWMC has also invested in upgrades to the Fillmore Nature Preserve, specifically adding an informational kiosk and a new parking area. They are also working on developing a short trail from the parking lot. While on the topic of the Fillmore Preserve, G Dodici mentioned that the DEC will be reintroducing native strain brook trout to the Owasco Flats this fall. They are catching them in a drainage on the other side of the lake, spawning them, and then reintroducing those eggs into the upper streams of Fillmore. Reports: Town Board S Buck reported that the Town Board has been focused on the budget this month. Reports: Rail Trail G Dodici reported the following via chat, taken from Ray Burger’s Planning Department update (October 2024) to the Town Board: “The Villages of Freeville and Dryden are granting easements to the Town to allow access for the Dryden Rail Trail and establishing maintenance responsibilities. Final language is yet to be agreed upon. The public hearing conducted by the Dryden Town Board is held open until the November Town Board meeting to consider these easements.” Board members take this to mean that the Town will assume all maintenance responsibilities for the Rail Trail, even those portions located in the Villages. Old Business: Johnson Road Wetlands CB 2024-10-29 Page 5 of 5 T Woods stated that some of the claims that J Grace made at last month’s meeting were inaccurate. Based on aerial photographs and the experience of people who have owned the associated parcels over the past century, at no time post-Civil War was the area a wetland. It was used for agriculture, and when those farmers ultimately retired, the land was subdivided. T Woods noted that it took a while, but the beavers have finally been located. This information will be passed on to the trappers. Deer Culling T Woods stated that Ron Szymanski has put a hold on deer culling on his land because he has a deer lease on that property. With regard to his own property, T Woods has not seen the large groups of six to ten deer come through in recent years. In the last year, he has only seen two does with multiple fawns, and presumes that the deer population has significantly decreased. T Woods updated N Cator-Szymanski on the deer culls. Culls have been occurring in the Village of Freeville for over a year, except at George Junior because they prohibit firearms or bows on their property. The Village of Dryden is still discussing where they want to cull. In answer to a question about how many deer have actually been culled, T Woods stated that the Deputy Mayor of Freeville has that information. J Grace’s contacts have told her that they have not had that great of a success. In the Town of Ithaca, last year was really bad as the deer simply did not come to the corn. It was a warm winter, and it did not snow; deer are naturally suspicious, and if they are not hungry enough, they will not venture into the culling areas. Three sites had been set up and they got a total of two deer for the winter cull. N Munkenbeck suggested that salt licks be used in place of corn to lure in deer. Scheduling of Conservation Board Meeting for November 2024 November’s Conservation Board meeting is currently scheduled for November 26, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Discussion was held over whether to move the meeting up a week, to November 19. Ultimately, the decision was made to keep the meeting on its regular date, November 26. There being no further business, o n motion made by G Dodici and seconded by N Munkenbeck, the meeting was adjourned at 8.14 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Loren Sparling Deputy Town Clerk