HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2021-09-02 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board (CB)
September 2, 2021 5:30-6:57 p.m.
Final minutes
Members present: Lori Brewer,James Hamilton,Joann Kowalski
Members attending via Zoom internet link: Eva Hoffmann, Michael Roberts
Associate member attending via Zoom internet link: Lindsay Dombroskie
Staff: Mike Smith
1.There were no persons to be heard.
2. Members concerns: Mike R wondered why in-person attendance was required even during the
current Covid-19 Delta variant surge. Mike S explained it was required by NY State's Open Meeting Law
and explained that compliance with this law would require those meeting online to have their addresses
published so members of the public could share internet-linked spaces as potential public meeting
places. Mike R noted that meeting online from home conserves the fuel that would be used for
transport to Town Hall.As a quorum now defined by law needs members physically present at Town
Hall, Lori suggested we could require such presence every other month to approve minutes and take
other official actions needing the quorum.
3. Environmental Review Committee (ERC) Update: Eva and Lindsay reported their recent site visit to the
Wilson Synchrotron Lab's proposed new X-ray microscopy Experimental Hall development project.The
physics of X-ray illumination requires this hall to be tangential to the buried high energy storage ring,
and the access road to the new hall would require a zoning variance for that road and loading dock
within the stream setback zone along Cascadilla Creek. Mike R wondered if a tram system could deliver
heavy shipments down the slope from University Road, instead of routing it through the setback zone.
The ERC does not find proposed protection by retention pond and curb adequate for the increased
impermeable surface along the creek, and wants a more ecologically healthy filtering buffer. Eva
remembered Cornell had a plan for better parking lot storm runoff sequestration back when the Wilson
lab was originally permitted, and wanted to see if they'd honored their commitment to prevent polluting
Cascadilla Creek. With the increased rainstorm intensity due to global warming,the proposed curb does
not seem adequate. Lori wants Cornell's stream protection science to be as advanced as their cutting-
edge X-ray microscopy science. Mike S noted there would be an updated development proposal from
Cornell soon. We hope it will rethink its lab access problems.
4. Chair and Coordinator Reports:
Chair: Lori emailed Vlad &Will, encouraging they attend CB meetings, and noting their terms would
expire at the end of this year. She had no reply from them. She wants us to discuss recruiting new
members at our next meeting, perhaps by reaching out to other organizations whose members might be
interested. Mike R suggested grad students in Departments like City& Regional Planning, Environmental
Engineering, or Natural Resources, might have interest in joining us while they were here.Joann
volunteered to attend a Volunteer Fair September 23rd to see if retirees at Lifelong might join.
Coordinator: Mike S reported that he was working on updating the CB pages and links in the Town's new
website, and asked members' opinion on whether or not certain features on the current page were
worth retaining on the new site.The Scenic Resources Page is especially wordy, and dates from 2008, so
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SRC members will revise it. Mike S noted that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires a government
website to be accessible to the blind via text to speech conversion, so we need to get less wordy text.
On this subject of internet access, Eva noted that she was unable to access a Zoom recording of the
August 17th Planning Board meeting. She understood they'd reached a decision that surprised her, and
wanted to see how they'd reached it. Mike S thinks the Zoom recordings should be transferred to the
Town's official YouTube meeting records, but couldn't find the record Eva wanted to see.
5. Minutes for the August 5th meeting could not be approved, since Mike and Eva were only virtually
present, and Open Meeting Laws required a physical quorum.
6. Update of CB member meeting attendance stipend: Mike S explained the Town Board had discussed
this proposal, and had several questions: would associate members get paid? Even if they weren't Ithaca
residents?Would other volunteers, such as those in the Agriculture Committee, also want payment?Are
there NY State laws that might be applicable? Mike R wondered if members attending via internet get
paid. Deciding this matter needs answers.
7. Regular Reports and Updates:
a. Scenic Resources Committee: no news.
b. Communications Committee (CC):James reported that Mike S and the CC continue to post
conservation news hyperlinks on the CB's Facebook page. See for example our link to NY DEC's
excellent 36-page Invasive Species Curriculum for Middle & High School Students, at:
h_11 s:/./urrww d �....n . ov docs lands forests df iscurriculumfinal, cif Lindsay's scheduled
Conservation Action posts get published regularly.
c. Waste Awareness Committee: no news.
d.Tompkins County EMC: no news.
e. Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitors:James reported a busy season in Six Mile Creek.
Volunteers took water samples at 13 sites along 61VIC during a big storm surge on Wednesday
morning,August 18th, when creek ran bank-full at USGS flow gages in Brooktondale and Bethel
Grove.James' sampling site near the City's shooting range was hard to get to, with the access
road under water in many places. More recently, Benthic Macroinvertebrate sampling teams
took the annual summer creek-bottom critter samples at the 600 Road riffle in Slaterville
Springs, a riffle upstream of German Cross road, and a riffle below Potters Falls in the City of
Ithaca's reservoir watershed. Soon they'll sample below the Plain Street bridge in the City.The
riffle below Potters got sampled Wednesday morning and analyzed live that afternoon and
evening. Other samples are preserved for later analyses. Adrianna Hirtler organized a Creekside
Community Observation Board christening party on Aug 28th at the new sign site by the creek in
Titus Park Saturday Aug 28th from 4-5 with a Cayuga Faith Keeper, some musical celebrations,
and about 35 in the crowd attending.
f. Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas:James reported that CUBG NA staff was on vacation,
so volunteer stewardship was cancelled on Aug 10, 17, and 31. Volunteers hunted invasive
Japanese stiltgrass in the South Hill Swamp natural area August 24th. Didn't find any, but found
a few small swallow-wort at previously GPS-pinned locations that had escaped previous control
efforts.The CB gave the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society a Fischer Award some years ago for
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their work managing invasive stiltgrass in the Six Mile Creek City watershed.The New York
Hemlock Initiative putout its Summer 2021 newsletter at
Lori thought the CB should find some way
to post good conservation science at the Town's East Shore Park,where she heard a lot of
speculation recently about the turbidity and flood level ofCayu0a's waters.
O. Other Business: Mike R loves his new Xtracydeelectric bike so much thought other CB members
might think about getting one,too. Eva noted that such bikes should be used for transportation, not just
recreation. Lori wanted Mike R to write a post for the CB facebook page that would advertise how e-bike
transportation is good for the environment.
9. October Agenda: Lori wants all members to attend in person, so the CB can approve meeting minutes.
10. VVeAd*our[edat6:57PM
Minutes by James Hamilton 9/3/21, ennai|edto Mike Smith &CBon Friday,9/3/Z1, 11:30AM.
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