HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2017-10-05 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board Meeting
Thursday,October 51",2017
Final Minutes
Members Present: Ellie Stewart, Mike Roberts, Vladamir Micic, Lindsay Dombroskie, Elizabeth
Hageman,James Hamilton, Eva Hoffmann;Associate Member Jon Meigs
Staff: Mike Smith
Guests: Andy Zepp (Finger Lakes Land Trust), 3 high school students
1.Andy Zepp(Executive Director, Finger Lakes Land Trust West Hill Wildway Presentation).
Andy has been quietly engaging with landowners to gauge their receptivity towards a West Hill Wildway
within the region identified in the diagrams Andy brought to share with the Conservation Board (from
Robert H.Treman State Park northward to Coy Glen Critical Environmental Area and onwards to Hayts
Road). Several large landowners are interested. He is initially looking at conserving the land with
conservation easements, but the idea of trail through this area has also been discussed.
The Babcock parcel (BP) near Coy Glen had gone up for sale recently and is now under contract with the
Finger Lakes Land Trust(FLLT). FLLT is in discussion with Bill Goodman and the Town regarding this
proposal to see if the Town might be interested in buying approximately half of the BP to add to the
preserves in the area. Ellie asked about details regarding the specifics of division of ownership.
Andy asked the CB to engage with Town members when possible and direct them to the FLLT for more
info. Mike R. suggested we try to notify the FLLT of property for sale, and Eva noted that any person
can/should do that in general.
We discussed the benefits of natural lands to provide stormwater slow-down and nutrient trapping.This
would probably help reduce toxic algal blooms in Cayuga Lake in the future. Work on settling ponds and
tile drain improvements would also be necessary.
2. Persons to be Heard. None
3. Members Concerns: Lindsay and Vlad apologize for tardiness. Mike R. asked if CB members were
members of the FLLT.
4.Chair and Coordinator Reports:
a.Chair Report. Updates contained within Regular Reports. Ellie mentioned that she is not
interested in continuing as chair in 2018. If anyone is thinking about it, she would be happy to talk with
anyone about the responsibilities or answer questions.
b.Coordinator Report. No new projects. Existing projects are the same as last meeting. Notable
projects include the two lot subdivision on Elmira Road, and Cayuga Nursing and Rehab Center
renovations.
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5.Approval of Minutes. Mike distributes Memo on FOIL from Paulette to append to the minutes from
September.The September minutes were approved (Moved by Mike R./seconded by James)with minor
revisions.The June minutes will be available in the near future.
6. Regular Reports:
a. Environmental Review Committee. No new projects. CB had a discussion of the Maplewood
Housing Project size, building height and pathway access. Eva periodically photographs the building
process for a before/after comparison.
b.Scenic Resources Committee.The new sign has been delivered to Public Works. It needs to
be double checked before it is installed. It could be possible to install it this fall before the ground
freezes.
c.Communications Committee. Looking to set up a meeting soon and has been working on idea
generation. It would be great to access more avenues of communication, but physical outlets seem to
be slightly limited (e.g. no Town Newsletter other than by e-mail). We are active on Facebook, but it
would be great to broaden our approach to more outlets and reach more town members. Research into
other communication media that is being distributed by our collaborators/affiliates and ways to
integrate with them is ongoing.
d.Tompkins County EMC.A roundtable discussion of local and national flooding issues was had,
with no definitive action items generated.The discussion included topics such as the change in the
frequency of flooding within and nearby the town (e.g. City of Ithaca, Cayuga Heights) and the inability
of climate model to predict small-scale changes.They wonder if legislation could help with flooding.
Andy Zepp will be attending the next EMC meeting to speak about the benefits of natural lands for
water management. The EMC UNA Committee has finished an update to the inventory of UNAs (unique
natural areas) in Tompkins County.They have given a map of Town of Ithaca UNAs to the CB/Town as a
gift.
e.Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program. Benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) sampling
occurred near Plain Street bridge using the 4-H20 Club,which consisted of two youth and their parents,
as well as four volunteers.There was a bit more water volume in the creek at this location at the time of
sampling than there had been a month ago.The same Club will complete BMI sampling on Taughannock
Creek, near the bridge on Taughannock Blvd.
The Community Science Institute (CSI) is inviting members of the community to help with the
identification of BMI from their summer sampling during Thursday evenings.This will likely continue
until the backlog of samples have been identified.The group sampling 6 Mile Creek have been up to all
kinds of things. It's to be noted that chemical analysis on 6-mile creek occurs 5 times a year.
f.City of Ithaca Natural Areas Commission. None.
g.Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas Program. Transplanting of trees, shrubs, and
wildflowers in the Beebe Lake area is occurring.
h. Deer Management Committee:The online course that Mike S. forwarded to the CB and is
accessible via the Community Deer Advisor website ( :d r dvi:sc.r or.g), is great.This is essentially
the process that the CB followed when constructing our Deer Management Report.The website and
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free course are aimed at providing guidance as communities progress through a community-based deer
management decision-making process.The purpose of this online course is to help community leaders
understand the components of a community-based deer management plan. We should spread the
word about this website, and insist on this course as required viewing for the Deer Advisory Committee.
The Committee has been officially formed, but no meeting has been scheduled.
8.Other Business: none
9. Review 2017 Goals/Future Agenda. Rebecca Evans,the Campus Sustainability Coordinator for Ithaca
College, will be attending the November meeting.
10.Adjourn.—7:00 pm
Drafted by Lindsay Dombroskie
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