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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2019-10-03 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board (CB) October 3, 2019 Final Minutes Members in attendance: Mike Roberts,James Hamilton, Eva Hoffmann, Hannah George,Jon Meigs, Vladimir Micic Staff: Mike Smith (Senior Planner) Guests: Carolyn Lee (South Hill resident), Alyssa Marcy(Cornell student) Meeting called at 5:40 following informal introductions. 1) Persons to be heard - none. 2) Member concerns- none. 3) Chair and Coordinator Reports a) Mike Roberts would like to someone else to chair the Environmental Review Committee. Please consider taking on this important task! b) Mike Smith, Coordinator. i) A proposed lot line change/land swap is coming to the next planning board meeting. ii) Mike just emailed information about a 2-lot subdivision on Troy& King Roads, creating 1 vacant lot that the landowner would like to sell. ERC/all please submit comments. iii) New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is hosting a free conference on October 25 about environmental information, specific to conservation boards, in Albany. Let Mike know if anyone is interested in attending. iv) A consultant was recently hired by the town to advise about the future zoning of the Route 13 corridor to the south of the City of Ithaca, also known as "Inlet Valley." v) A new form-based neighborhood code is being put together.There is a new tab on the Town webpage.The draft and FAQs are available, and it will be presented at an upcoming public meeting. Everyone should look at the new neighborhood code before next meeting, and email everyone after looking, including any questions generated. Someone will likely present to the CB later this year. 4) Minutes a) August minutes: Mike R. made a motion to approve,James seconded. Minutes were approved. b) September notes:this meeting did not meet quorum and so no approval was needed for these notes. 5) Streets Alive! event on September 15 notes: a) Will reported by email prior to the meeting that"It was easily the best event we have had in terms of attendance. We had a consistent engagement and even a few interested citizens interested in board membership.The comment card and chalkboard was a great addition to tabling and generated a good amount of interaction. We should continue to consider this level of outreach where and whenever possible." 1 b) The comments received from the public were read aloud. One comment suggested "bike racks at rural bus stops -shortens and lightens the commute for many". Hannah will contact TCAT/Bike Walk Tompkins/Cornell about this idea. Other comments were: "more people outside!", "bike paths safe for children", "easier biking/walking access from downtown to farmers market", "edible landscaping in public places", "preteen social center", "alternative energy(faster movement to 0%fossil fuel use", "unicycle sidewalks", "more bike lanes, more bike trails, more people outside", "safe bikeways", "energy efficient building policy' c) Mike Roberts suggested that we consider events within the Town as well as in the City of Ithaca, and host events to get people outside. 6) Conservation Board Brochure-suggested changes were noted by Mike Smith.James will provide new wording based on the suggested changes, and will send them to Mike Smith, who will create a new draft for the CB to review. 7) Deer Management Program planning has begun for this year's program. Volunteers may be needed for keeping corn feeders full, check game cameras, or to observe vegetation impacts by deer. Hannah is interested in helping with the deer program, however needed. Mike Smith will let everyone know whether help is needed or not. 8) Regular Reports & Updates a) Environmental Review Committee- no update. b) Scenic Resources Committee- Eva reported that the bench and sign for the Danby Road Scenic View were installed finally!The sign is directly in front of the bench, which may block part of the view while seated, though this has not been confirmed. c) Tompkins County Environmental Management Council updates-Vladimir. i) There was a presentation at the recent meeting about the negative impacts of lead contamination by lead ammunition.This issue was brought to attention by the fact that Lansing Rod &Gun Club is located near Salmon Creek.James brought up that the Ithaca Police shooting range is also near Six Mile Creek Reservoir for the City of Ithaca, but that ongoing testing has shown that lead does not travel quickly from where it is deposited, and so far has not impacted the water quality of Six Mile Creek. ii) The Cayuga Power Plant closed on August 29.They could not meet emission standards and will only reopen if there is no way to meet NY energy needs without it. d) Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program-James i) Community Science Institute (CSI) held a Family Picnic BMI Field Trip at Upper Treman State Park as part of its youth education program on 8/29/19, 5:30-7:30pm. ii) CSI held another BMI Family Picnic 9/21/19 at Lower Buttermilk Park from noon to 2pm. iii) CSI presented a kids' program about Harmful Algal Blooms in Cayuga Lake partnered with Tompkins County 4H and the Ithaca Youth Bureau (IYB) at IYB Saturday 9/7/19 1:00-2:OOpm. iv) On 9/29/19, CSI sponsored a Floating Classroom Water Quality Cruise on the MV Teal from 2-5pm, teaching a lake water sampling technique with their Van Dorn sampler. v) The annual Benthic Macroinvertebrate (BMI) sampling of Six Mile Creek happened recently at four sites on the creek. A new volunteer, Nick Polato, helped James and Di Florini process live samples from below Potters Falls on 8/26/19. Most metrical analyses proved the creek healthy there, though it was not quite similar to the DEC's Model Summer BMI Community due to an unusual lack of stonefly larvae.The Plain Street site in Six Mile was sampled during the Streets Alive festival on 9/15/19, when the public could view BMI on site through streamside microscopes.This sample, and two other Six Mile site samples in Slaterville 2 Springs and Brooktondale have been preserved in alcohol for identification and analyses when time allows. e) Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas Program—James i) Volunteers scouted for invasive Japanese Stiltgrass in the Lick Brook natural area, finding some along the Finger Lakes Trail and a gas line adjacent to that property but none in the woods. ii) We transplanted a half dozen rare Leedy's roseroot(Rhodiola integrifolia leedyi) in a Cascadilla Creek cliffside, hoping they might take root there though they're now found growing naturally in only six locations in the world. iii) A hunt for swallowwort and stiltgrass on South Hill found very few swallowwort at GPS- tagged locations, and no stiltgrass. iv) Invasive Phragmites in a bog at a National Natural Landmark in McLean got clipped and dripped with glyphosate. Repeated such treatment here has almost eliminated that invasion of common reed. v) Volunteers cleared and blazed a trail on Mt Pleasant to the Frost Ravine Natural Area. vi) A hunt for fringed gentians planted from harvested seed (from Freeville) in a restored Fall Creek fen found one small plant flowering. vii) Volunteers weeded invasives along Forest Home Drive south of Fall Creek, upstream of Flat Rocks. f) City of Ithaca Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission - no update. 9) Other Business a) Hannah summarized her meeting with NYSEG about the upcoming "Brightline" project proposal, which involves upgrades to transmission lines and the support poles.The poles are currently all wood, but the proposal is for them to replaced by steel poles.There was discussion of the importance of life cycle analysis of wood versus steel poles. 10) Meeting adjourned at 7:24pm. Minutes drafted by Hannah George 3