HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2024-02-01 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board (CB) Meeting
February 1, 2024 5:30 pm
(In-Person at Town Hall and via Zoom Video Conference)
Final Minutes
Members Present: Lori Brewer, Frank Cantone (via Zoom), Lindsay Dombroskie (via Zoom),James
Hamilton, Eva Hoffmann, Mike Roberts, Ingrid Zabel
Staff Present: Michael Smith, Senior Planner
Guest: Yayoi Koizumi,Zero Waste Ithaca
1. Persons to be heard:Yayoi Koizumi,the founder of Zero Waste Ithaca, wanted us to help oppose
Cornell's plan to install artificial turf on an outdoor field hockey field and in an Indoor Sports and
Recreation Center between Bartels Hall and Tower Road. She said this plan not only contradicts the
wishes of 85%of Ithacans responding to an Ithaca Times poll in May 2023, but also raises significant
environmental and health concerns. When Ithaca College installed artificial turf recently, they faced a
backlash from students who noted the toxic and polluting nature of synthetic turf. Its contribution to
micro-plastic pollution is comparable to that of car tires, and poses risks to our environment and to
public health.There are higher injury rates to athletes playing on synthetic turf; the NFL Players
Association is opposed to it. Even the fossil fuels used to produce it are polluting, and their use is in
conflict with Cornell's commitment to sustainability. New York State's recent carpet recycling law
A9279A that passed both Senate and Assembly last year prohibits the sale of carpets, including
artificial turf, containing PFAS. NYS Senate Bill 57239 calls for a moratorium on installing artificial turf.
Yayoi urged us to oppose Cornell's plans to install plastic turf that not only goes against our
environmental conservation values, but against Cornell's pledges to promote sustainability. Yayoi
provided a handout from Beyond Plastics (www.Beyond Plastics.org) explaining "Synthetic Turf is
HAZARDOUS," and linking to more information at www.safehealthyplayingfields.org. Lori noted that
our Environmental Review Committee agreed with her,and had recently submitted a letter objecting
to the environmental risks of plastic turf in Cornell's proposed athletics facility project. The Planning
Board has been advised of our opposition. The state regulations on artificial turf have not been
passed, however, and are still in committee. Mike R asked if worn out fake turf can be recycled. Yayoi
said a Pennsylvania documentary showed one instance in which old astroturf was supposed to be
recycled, but simply got disposed of somewhere else. Lori noted that there is yet no Town regulation
to back up our advice. Eva wanted us to resolve that the Town regulate a ban on artificial turf sports
fields. As there will be a public comment period on an environmental review of Cornell's construction
project, we assured Yayoi that the CB would try to help oppose plastic turf, even though the sports
fields in this project are located in the City, and only a portion of the proposed field house in the
Town.The importance of Town/City cooperation made us wonder if we should advise the City to be
equally opposed to plastic playing fields; we hope that a full environmental review will show the many
problems with plastic grass.
2. Member comments/concerns:James wanted the agenda corrected to reflect Ingrid's now
chairing the Communications Committee. Ingrid heard from Brandon Hoak of Pollinator Pathways,
who wanted to know if the Town of Ithaca had any pollinator gardens in its parks or preserves. No
one knew of any. Frank asked how we would resolve to regulate a code banning artificial turf on
sports fields if we were to do so. As an advisory board, we'd have to advise the Town Board of the
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importance of doing so. Mike S noted we'd need to refer to credible findings in environmental
science to support this advice. Yayoi says some California towns have banned plastic turf, as has the
City of Boston.
3. Environmental Review Committee Update: Lori noted that the ERC's letter opposing plastic turf
had been recently sent to the Planning Board, with CB's objections to plastic playing fields made
clear.
4. Chair and Coordinator reports: Lori had no further report. Mike is getting the Deer Management
shooting over bait program ready(starts February Is'),with some changes over previous season's
bait stations. He reported two farmers applied to have agricultural easements for conservation on
their property. Soon the Town will move its website and emails to a new dot.gov address.
5. The December 7, 2023 minutes were approved (Ingrid moved; Mike R. Seconded), with minor
corrections. We don't have a draft of the January 4, 2024 minutes yet.
6. Members discussed the invitation for public comments regarding new NYS freshwater wetland
regulations. Mike S, Lori, and Lindsay had attended the DEC's webinar about the proposed changes.
All of us found them extremely technical and hard to follow, though the general idea of regulating
smaller wetlands has our approval. Mike S summarized the change as extending controls for wetlands
from the current 12.4 acres down to smaller ones of at least 7.4 acres. When a wetland is found to be
of special local significance,for instance as habitat for rare species, even smaller wetlands could be
protected.There will also be a change from paper maps to Geographic Information System (GIS)
mapping technology. Lindsay wondered if local laws could be established to elevate tiny crucial
wetlands to special protected status. Mike S noted that Coy Glen is the Town's only official Critical
Environmental Area so far,though Tompkins County GIS maps have a lot of fine details such as Unique
Natural Areas and wetland and stream maps. None of the CB members felt competent to answer the
particular questions posed in the NYS DEC Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making, due February
17, 2024, but we're glad to see the rules getting closer to the fine details of freshwater wetland
ecology.
7. Monitoring Browse for the Town's Deer Management Program: Lori found that Kristi Sullivan
could lead a workshop on AVID(Assessing Vegetation Impacts from Deer), if we could find 15 CB
members and/or volunteers willing to monitor 6 plots with 5 to 6 woody species of native saplings on
them. We should set up such sites in late May when their leaves would help identify the plants that
deer had not yet killed by over-browsing.James thought it might be hard to find such sites, as every
place he'd been in Ithaca's natural areas had their young native saplings eaten, leaving mostly
invasives. We hope Ms. Sullivan can find sites suitable for the AVID deer management protocol.
8. Mike R reported he'd be meeting Steve Henhawk next week. He expects to get a list of plants and
their Gayogoho:nQ' names for a guided plant walk at Tutelo Park. He hopes that the Town's paying
Henhawk $1000 for 20 hours of his consulting work will result in a project they can install in Tutelo
Park this year.
9. Regular reports and updates:
a) Scenic Resources Committee is still waiting for Cornell permission to install a view sign at the Pine
Tree/Snyder Hill Roads intersection. Eva noted we've been waiting since May 18, 2022 for Cornell's
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Real Estate lawyers to give us a license to plant the 3rd interpretive sign there.We don't want to
fabricate a sign or pay for its professional design until we're sure Cornell will allow it on its property
there.
b) Communications Committee: Ingrid, Lindsay and James met 1/13/24 to discuss its work plans.
They'll ask Mike S to print a new draft of the CB brochure with some revised work priorities and
photos. Ingrid will email everyone a more detailed update.
C) Tompkins County's EMC wants to have an outdoor meeting at Stewart Park in May,to which all the
County's conservation boards or councils will be invited.The chair of the EMC is considering the
formulation of a source water protection plan.
d) Six Mile Creek Volunteers at CSI's Langmuir Lab have analyzed two new BMI samples upstream
and downstream of Brooktondale, finding some interesting new results. All samples analyzed so far
show 61VIC is healthy,though in some riffles it varies moderately from the DEC model BMI community.
Only one summer sample, preserved in alcohol, is yet to be analyzed. A summer synoptic water
sample of Six Mile taken 8/16/23 has been entered on CSI's database: it shows elevated E. coli,
turbidity, phosphorus, suspended solids and conductivity similar to a stormwater event even though
the creek flow was not very high. Previous dry weather interrupted by a half-inch rainfall the day
before sampling suggests this sample found the creek between base-flow and stormwater,though
making a new in-between category for such a flow would probably make the database too
complicated. 61VIC water monitors will meet at Langmuir, with a Zoom connection option, at noon,
Friday Feb 9th to arrange sample times for 2024. Volunteers will meet at James's house Feb 3 to
analyze the last 2023 preserved summer sample from 600 Rd riffle in Slaterville Springs.
e) Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Area Program volunteers meet less often in this off-season, and
one scheduled job was cancelled by rain, but they did meet once to again weed woody invasives
from a Groton fen,where a rare American globeflower needs more space and less shade to thrive.
10. Other Business: Ingrid wondered if CSI's lab examined monitored water for microplastics.
None of the regular parameters measured in chemical water sampling includes such analyses,
though Yayoi believes microplastics have been found in Cayuga Lake.
11. For March, we'll have Katie Borgella and Andy Zepp, Regional Advisory Committee Members,
visiting to discuss New York State's new Open Space Conservation Plans. We'll choose a 2023 Fischer
Award winner from nominees received by the February 28, 2024 deadline.
12. We adjourned at 7:03 PM.
Meeting minutes submitted by James Hamilton.
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