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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2015-04-02 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board (CB) Meeting April 2, 2015, 5:30 p.m. Final Minutes Members present: James Hamilton - Vice Chairperson, Eva Hoffmann, Jon Meigs, Vladimir Micic, Michael Roberts, M. Elizabeth Sanders and Ellie Stewart - Chairperson Staff. Sue Ritter, Town Director of Planning (substituting for Mike Smith). Guests: Two persons; one of them a high school student. All board members introduced themselves. 1. Persons to be heard: None 2. Members' Concerns: a. Jon thanked us for the sympathy shown to him after the recent death of his wife. b. Elizabeth asked us where we all live in the town and we told her. c. Mike R. reported that Cornell University Plantations recently applied for a permit to be able to hunt deer on their land. During their last permit period 75 deer were taken. d. Questions about how reviews about environmental issues come about were answered: Mike S. brings information about projects to ERC members to consider. Eva suggested that such information be sent out to all CB members, so everyone could find out about new projects. e. Elizabeth brought up concerns Forest Home residents have about East Hill Plaza after Cornell officials met with the residents to talk about possible changes at the Plaza. 3. Chairperson and Coordinator Reports: Chairperson: Ellie reported that The Ithaca Times (www.ithaca.com) has an article about what is being done to get rid of the hemlock wooly adelgids. Vladimir mentioned that local bee populations had been discussed at the Tompkins County Environmental Management Council (EMC). The honey bee population has declined, but that has not resulted in decline in pollination, because the local bees have picked up the job instead. This means that timing of spraying crops has to be done carefully to prevent the killing of bees. Mike R. is licensed to apply certain regulated chemicals. The one used for hemlocks, which are wind pollinated, is applied systemically, rather than sprayed on. It's done late in the summer and stays in the trees for several years. The efforts are not aimed at preventing all trees from being killed by the adelgids, but to save some for when biological controls become available. Coordinator, Sue Ritter (for this meeting): Sue reported on various applications to Town boards. The one for a Tompkins Trust Company sign at East Hill Plaza is on hold, because it is actually on Burger King property. The request for more facilities at La Tourelle's Glamping project was approved. The Greenways project off Honness Lane on East Hill got preliminary approval a year I ago and will be coming up for final approval soon. It will be owner occupied housing and built by Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INNS). Sue also reported on some newer projects: The construction plans for the Gateway Trail were interrupted by concerns about the Northern long-eared bat. For any project involving State and Federal funds, any tree that has to be cut down, has to be down by April 1, because of the nesting habits of the bats. With good coordination between the City and the Town, all the trees which needed to be removed to make room for the trail, were cut before April 1. There are plans for a new pedestrian corridor on Route 96B, to include a sidewalk as well as other things. The Town has financing to do a study of the area up to King Road and a consultant has been hired. There has been outreach, especially to Ithaca College students to find out how the corridor is used now. The Chainworks project will be another well used area. The project will be funded with 80% state and 20% local financing. 4. Approval of minutes from March 5, 2015: Topics covered in the minutes led to more discussion about those topics. After some corrections were made, the minutes were accepted. 5. Update on pest management policy research from other communities: Mike R will talk to us about this topic next time. He suggested that we think of it as a Question and Answer session and asked us to send him questions ahead of time. 6. Continue discussion of deer management efforts in the Town and County: Mike R. reported that the deer population in Cayuga Heights has gone down recently. That is not because of the sterilization program used there, but because of culling of deer on the Cornell University (CU) campus. A suggestion was made to have a forum about deer control in the Town. The Town has already had an extended hunting season in January this year, to help control the size of the herd. Since the deer overpopulation is a regional issue, there needs to be a cooperative effort between municipalities and involvement of the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The Village of Lansing and Trumansburg have both come out with action plans on how to control deer populations. Ellie said she will talk to Brian Eden about this topic. 7. Regular Reports and Updates: Environmental Review Committee (Ellie): No report. Scenic Resources Committee (Eva): No report. Communications Committee (James): James reported that plans are being made for the Fischer Award ceremony in Grandview Park, to honor the 2014 recipients, the Sixmile Creek Water Quality Monitor Volunteers at the Community Science Institute (CSI). He will find out when most people involved will be able to come and then send out invitations to the tree planting party. Tompkins County EMC (Vladimir): Vladimir reported about the last EMC meeting where Prof. 2 Bryan Danforth, Department of Entomology at CU, gave a presentation about bees. There has been an enormous decline in the population of honey bees over a long time, but pollination has not suffered. It has been discovered that wild bees, subgenus Melandrena, with over 100 species, are very good apple pollinators. They are more effective than honey bees, are more abundant in many orchards and produce a bigger apple yield. The discovery can change apple production in NY State. It's very important that the application of pesticides be done with careful attention to the life cycle of the bees. Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring;Program (James): The creek was sampled on March 1.8th: a synoptic water sampling at all 13 regular sites. The CSI annual symposium will be held in Tompkins County Public Library's Borg-Warner Room on April 15th, with talks about implications of climate change on water quality. The annual BMI (Benthic Macroinvertebrates) night at the lab will happen April 24th at Langmuir Lab, with discussion of recent sampling results and introduction to methods for beginners. City of Ithaca Natural Areas Commission (Jon): No report. Cornell Plantations Natural Areas Academy (James): The new Natural Areas Academy program is scaled down to six sessions this spring semester, with classes in April and May, focusing on rain garden construction, native plant propagation and invasive plants. A $90 fee covers the sessions. James has been hunting Hemlock Woolly Adelgids in Cascadilla Creek and Eames Bog, finding some in Cascadilla on previously treated trees, but none in the bog between Freeville and Malloryville. 8. Other Business: Ellie stated that she has gotten an email from a friend of Mara Alper, who will do a presentation on water rate structures. Sue reported on upcoming elections in the Town. 9. Review 2015 Work Goals/ Set May eg nda: Not covered. 10. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:24 PM. Respectfully submitted by Eva Hoffmann 3