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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2012-11-01 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board 7:00 p.m., November 1,2012 Final Minutes Members present: Eva Hoffmann, Diane Conneman, Ellie Stewart,Jon Meigs, Kristine Shaw,James Hamilton,Tony Ingraham, Ellie Stewart, Vladimir Micic, and Andy Goodell. Members Absent: Susan Perri, Nirav Patel. Guests: Mara Alper, Nick Goldsmith, and high school students Staff: Mike Smith Persons to be heard: Nick Goldsmith introduced himself as the new Town Sustainability Planner with interest in water and energy use in the town. He also works in the Town of Dryden. Mara Alper is interested in water conservation and hopes to use her communications skills to educate consumers to use less water. Member concerns:Andy reported that the tree we planted at Mitchell St. and the Rec Way is doing well, but a portion of the trail next to the tree is getting bumpy. Diane reported that she met with Christianne White, chair of the Town Agriculture advisory committee. Christianne thinks it would be a good idea if our two boards meet together and share interests. She will propose this to the Ag Committee when they meet in late November. January might be a possible date to meet together. Chair and Coordinator Reports: Kristine had no report. Mike reported that there will be no Planning Board meetings in November.The December meeting agenda only has two small IC projects. Mike also reported that the Town Board reviewed our resolution and the area maps for the proposed East Shore Conservation Zone. They referred it to the Planning Committee for review and a recommendation. Minutes: The minutes were approved with some clarifications and corrections. Discussion on the use of pesticides and invasive plants: James reviewed his ideas for a white paper but thought he was not the best person to write the paper. The Board discussed ideas for what was needed in such a paper including: Criteria for what should be controlled; List of invasive plants and their dangers to the environment(Finger Lakes Native Plant Society has helpful information for plants.); Examples of controlled, effective use of pesticides; plan of action with planting of native plants in the areas where invasives are eradicated; and in what Town lands are invasives a problem right now. Kristine will put together an outline with input via email from Vladimir and Tony to create a format for review at our next meeting. Water Conservation and tiered water rates: James reviewed the information shared with the Board via email. The Town's biggest use of electricity and thus creation of greenhouse gases is to pump water up- hill from the lake. A proposed plan to encourage less water use is to create a 3 tiered rate system. All of this does need a service study done. It was recognized that a tiered system can be regressive for large families. Mara Alper shared her proposal for educational activities to teach people to use less water. She asked that the Conservation Board help identify the main objectives for this work. It was suggested that she start with younger audiences and get people to use rain barrels. Mara will write an article for the newspapers on how to conserve water. Nick Goldsmith will help as he can with this issue. Committee Reports: 1. ERC—No report 2. SRC—Tony reviewed color issues with the production of the sign and thinks they are resolved. 3. Communications Committee—James reported that Susan did a traffic study of the CB face book page and wrote a summary for the Town Board. This positive report should convince the Board to continue their support for the page. 4. Southwest Glens and Creeks-The committee is making some minor adjustments and expects to meet with the Planning Committee in two weeks. 5. EMC—we still need a new representative. Vlad will discuss this with Kristine. 6. Six Mile Creek—No report 7. Natural Areas—No report 8. Comp Plan—Diane reported that the committee has spent considerable time reviewing Cornell's concerns and making some adjustments in area designations and densities. 9. Cornell Natural Areas—James shared information on two meetings that may be of interest to Board members. On November 71"there is a hydrilla update in the Borg Warner Room at the TCPL. On November 14, the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society(FLNPS)will do a program on "Escaping the Deer" at the Unitarian Church. He noted that jewel weed seems to be evolving to survive the over browsing of deer. On October 11 James and his wife sewed seed from 40 different species of wild flowers in the areas that were cleared of garlic mustard in Park Park. Other Business: James encouraged members to ask the Town Board to support the County request to the State to lower the speed limit to 30 mph on the southern end of Pine Tree Road. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm. Diane Conneman Note Taker