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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2016-01-07 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board 5:34 p.m.,Thursday January 7,2016 Final Minutes Members in attendance: Ellie Stewart(Chair),Jon Meigs, Eva Hoffmann, Elizabeth Sanders, Carrie Simons, Michael Roberts and James Hamilton. Staff: Mike Smith (Coordinator) Guest:Will VanDyke (potential new CB member) Persons to be Heard None Member Concerns • Carrie: did the discussion of how the newsletter be sent out get resolved? o Ellie: No, I had a conversation with the town Supervisor and a decision was not reached. Options of how to notify town residents were discussed o Liz would like to see it continue as a paper bulletin. o James suggested we put it on Facebook. Chair and Coordinator Report • Ellie: No report, but she's happy to see that so many people were in attendance for the first meeting of the year. • Mike S. passed around the sign-up sheet for taking minutes. • The Town of Ithaca (within the southern tier region) applied and was awarded two grants from the regional economic development council. The first was for playground replacements at 2 locations, and the other was for a feasibility study for improvements along Elmira Road. • The cell tower plan on Mecklenburg Road was approved by the Planning Board • A plan for modification plan for the Rodeway Inn was approved o Liz: couldn't we suggest any development to include native plants in their landscape? ■ This has been done in the past, and could again in the future ■ The County has a list of invasive species that the Town Planning Board makes sure are not in the plans for the landscaping. ■ There is an on-site verification after landscaping that takes place. ■ Carrie: It would be good to have a brochure that has alternatives to invasive or unwanted plants. ■ Will: is there someone who has a "starter pack" of native or non-invasive plants that they hand out? • [General]: none along those lines ■ Jon: It may be enough of an issue for the Board to take on that we would develop a brochure for public consumption. ■ Ellie: Could you, Mike Smith, follow up on the brochure that Rochester has along these lines. • The entrance drive plans for the Montessori School has been submitted, as well as the plan for an 8 foot fence at the McGowan Farm research fields. • The Chainworks environmental document is in development and will be brought to this board soon. • Jon:the Amabel development has submitted a modification to their plan: is that true? o Mike S.:Yes. Approval of Minutes The minutes from the November or December meetings were not yet available to approve. Work Goals • James would like to revise the work goals a bit; specifically, the sign for the view committee would be installed. Also, prioritizing White Tail Deer among other pests and weeds as an issue to support is recommended. He suggests that using the word "Promote" instead of "Investigate"would be more appropriate and active. • Jon:The item regarding trails and other non-motorized throughways should be revised. Switching the order of the sentence and using the word "infrastructure" instead of "transportation". • Ellie:The item regarding water consumption should include something that addresses the public education needed to try and make water consumption less "sticky'. o Eva: "As I was working on the minutes for December, I found that the biggest user of water in the Town is Ithaca College. This may be a good locus of our efforts." o Will:We may want to consider suggesting either codes or at least suggestions for how better to save water. o Mike S.:There are items that would address this concern in Comprehensive Plan. • Liz: Could we take on the issue of light pollution, and specifically the type of light spectrum used in bulbs, in the city? o Eva:We could add an item to this end. • James:Work Goal "e" should be edited to include an element of outreach. • Eva:There has been a history of this board working to protect historic as well as natural resources. Is this something the board would like to consider taking on again? o There was no consensus to address this specifically. ACTION - Mike S will compile the above changes. Committee Assignments • Mike R and Carrie offered to join the Communications Committee. • Will wanted to know more about the Scenic Resources Committee, its purpose and goals. Eva, Ellie and James informed Will of the Committee's history and areas of interest. Will offered to join the Committee once his Membership is confirmed • Elizabeth also wanted an explanation of the Environmental Review Committee, and Ellie obliged. Deer Management • The letter to the Town Board is in its final form and will be sent to Bill Goodman (Town Supervisor)for the February 22 meeting. It will be accompanied by the report this Board drafted as well as Cornell's report on an integrated approach to deer management. o Ellie suggested that a few board members should attend the meeting at which the letter is presented to the Town Board to augment the delivery of the letter. o She,James and Eva volunteered. o Ellie asked that Mike Roberts join. ACTION—He will check his availability and get back to her. • There are webinars coming up on the issue of deer management; one on the 201" of January, the other on the 271" of January. Both begin at 7 p.m. • The draft document that the NYS DEC is putting out for public comment addresses deer damage and methods of management/abatement. Will asked what the progress sequence for a document like this is. James offered that a public review period is the first step in its path towards final integration into Departmental regulation. Mike S has kindly included a link to the website where comments are being taken. James MOVES that we send the following Comment to the DEC: "The deer populations and damage in New York State are at a crisis level and we strongly recommend immediate steps to reduce the size of herds and their impacts on health, safety and welfare, using any methods necessary." Liz seconds the motion, and the motion is passed. ACTION—Mike email this comment to Mike S The item suggesting using goats as a form of weed control was tabled for the next meeting. Other Business • James MOVES that we approve the meeting times and dates. Eva Seconds and the motion passes unanimously. • Eva MOVES that we accept Ellie as our Chairperson, and Elizabeth seconded. The motion passes unanimously. • James MOVES and Ellie seconded the motion that Mike Roberts become Vice-Chairperson for the Board. The motion is unanimously passed. • Ellie MOVES that we recommend Will for Membership on the board, Eva seconded, and the motion passes unanimously. Deer Fence at McGowan Fields • The question is raised: Do we approve of the plan for the fence as it stands? Some believed that the fence was too short, but others felt it would likely be sufficient. There is also a concern that the fence would push deer into neighborhoods that would see an increase in deer damage. The CB did not feel the concerns needed a formal comment, no action was taken. Regular Reports and Updates Scenic Resources Eva—Nothing to report Communications • Liz:Would like to open up a dialogue with high school students who attend our meetings regarding what they can do to promote the environment. Eva said that their involvement here is more of an education in civics and not so much in environmental activism. • Mike S.:will re-word the Fischer Award press release for the new year. EMC Vladimir is not here to report. 6 Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program • James:The schedule for water sampling for 2016 will be set at an annual meeting next week at the CSI Langmuir lab on Jan 14th. Four calendar dates will be decided, with a fifth sample "floating"to be scheduled as near as possible to the peak of a flood event. CSI is holding a "Thursday Night at the Lab" session for volunteers to learn and to help identify benthic macroinvertebrates sampled from various locations in Six Mile and in other creeks.The clan%tyscience.or website is up and running, though the latest water sample results are not yet posted there. Natural Areas Commission Jon: No report Cornell Plantations Natural Areas Program • James: Plantations had their annual celebration of their volunteers, which was enjoyed and appreciated. • The Tuesday volunteers for Plantations Natural Areas have removed a lot of invasive plants from around the Fuertes observatory. Nick Goldsmith, the Town Sustainability Planner, may come to a future meeting. James would like his input on the water pricing structure. Ellie would like to hear from the DPW or the Planning Department what trails are in the works. ACTION—Liz will take and communicate nominations for this year's Fischer Award. Mike R moves to adjourn, Eva seconds.7:33 p.m. Meeting minutes respectfully submitted by Mike Roberts