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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-10-05 CAC Minutes CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL Zoom videoconference Thursday, October 5, 2023 6:30 PM via Zoom MINUTES 1. Call Meeting to Order Present: Ed Dubovi., Carrie Koplinka-Loehr, John Fleming, Robyn Bailey David Wolfe, Karen Edelstein, Katie Darcy from Bergmann (Katie Darcy katie.darcy@collierseng.com), Tom Butler from the Planning Board and Ruth Groff from the Town Board Absent: Todd Walter, Adam Buck, and Gabby Desnoes 2. Approve minutes of September meeting Note new emails for Katie & John S. (katie.darcy@collierseng.com; john.steinmetz@collierseng.com) 3. Discussion of the OSI and Conservation Plan with Katie Darcy The bulk of the discussion of the draft OSI centered on comments provided by John Zepko, Director of Planning for the Town of Lansing. CAC members were greatly appreciative for the time he committed to reviewing the OSI draft. Changes were made to the draft document to accommodate John’s suggestions. A separate note will be sent to John outlining the responses to his suggestions. The CAC decided to change the name of the OSI to “Open Space Conservation Plan” for simplicity’s sake. Carrie and Ed will go the Oct 23 Planning Board meeting to give an overview of the OSCP. A “draft” copy of the OSCP will be provided at a later date to enable more detailed responses to the plan. 4. Budget: CAC asked for $15k in the 2024 budget for consultants to help with the implementation of the Open Space Conservation Plan. Costs for mailing and administrative assistance were also included for a total ask of just over $20k. 5. Open meeting law: The issue of whether the CAC is subject to the Open Meetings Law seems to have conflicting opinions. The CAC will try to comply with the principles of the open meeting law even if not strictly required. The November 2 meeting will be at Walnut Ridge Dairy, 100 Brown Hill Road, starting at 5 PM. The December 7 meeting will be at Town Hall. 6. Departmental and Committee Reports. Ruth Groff -- the proposed town board budget includes funds to hire a consultant to help with the codes committee on updating the zoning. Town doesn’t have capacity to get the zoning updates done in a timely fashion. A consultant would help them get through the process in a year or two rather than ~5 years. Tom Butler -The Planning Board agenda has been quite limited recently. Perhaps this is because interest rates are high. Not much to report other than a warehouse going in near the Town Barns in an area zoned as industrial.