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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-28 October 28, 2014 Page 1 of 4 Conservation Board October 28, 2014 Members present: Robert Beck (Chair), Milo Richmond, Gian Dodici, Rick Ryan, Craig Schutt, Jeremy Sherman, and Nancy Munkenbeck. Charlie Smith and Bard Prentiss absent. Town Staff: Jane Nicholson (Planning Director) Town Board Liaison: Linda Lavine Planning Board Liaison: David Weinstein Guests: Marie McRae The meeting was called to order at 7:11PM. Review and approval of minutes from September 30, 2014. C. Schutt moved to approve the minutes as presented, G. Dodici seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. During the discussion of the minutes, B. Beck requested that the minutes be amended to remove the farm names from the section regarding the rail to trail proposal. New information was presented indicating the farms are not as supportive of the trail as the Board believed. Despite the fact that the information has been determined inaccurate, the statement was made and the minutes accurately reflect the discussion. Citizens’ Privilege: Ms. McRae did not have any comments. Reports and Updates: Town Board: Linda Lavine Not present B. Beck stated that at the last Town Board meeting, the two resolutions from the Conservation Board were acknowledged but not discussed. Town Planning Board: David Weinstein There are three site plan reviews before the Planning Board: GreenScene (commercial landscaping), GrassMasters (retail landscaping) and Bottoms Up Sports Bar. R. Ryan asked about the house on West Main Street that is a burned out shell. He is interested in knowing if there is anything the Town can do to clean up the site. J. Nicholson said there isn’t anything more the Town can do and since the house is in a flood zone, if the owner were to rebuild they would have that paperwork to complete. Tompkins County EMC: Steve Bissen Not present D. Weinstein provided the Board with a quick overview: The new borders for 42 of the UNAs are now getting passed to the full EMC for passage. The borders were adjusted based on aerial photographs and better technology which allowed them to eliminate October 28, 2014 Page 2 of 4 farm fields (the original drawings were incorrect) providing a better border for where the unique vegetation and characteristics are contained. B. Beck asked the Dryden Open Space inventory just referred to the UNAs? We can incorporate the UNAs in the Natural Resources Conservation plan. Agricultural Advisory Committee: Craig Schutt C. Schutt did not have report since the AAC did not meet last month. B. Beck asked if the Farmland Protection Plan grant has come through. J. Nicholson said that we are unofficially approved for the grant. There are several more steps to be completed before the contract will be ready. Other Town Boards and Commissions: Dryden Recreation and Youth Commission: Rick Ryan B. Beck attended the DRYC meeting to share his resolution regarding the Rails to Trails project. The DRYC is on board and will be passing a resolution in support of the Conservation Board. R. Ryan shared some of the results of the Youth Needs Assessment, including the kids’ desire for more food services, more places to hang out, skateboard, etc. Community Science Institute overview/update: D. Weinstein D. Weinstein is a volunteer on the CSI. This group is engaged in tracking the health of our major streams. It is a non-profit organization founded about 14 years ago and its mission is to empower residents to become stewards of their local environment by participating in water monitoring programs. Formerly, this job was left to the State. The CSI has an EPA and NYS certified water quality lab. Every bit of data coming out of the lab will stand up in Court. Funding sources are the local governments, testing fees, membership dues, foundations and any other place they can generate funds. Running the certified lab and the programs to get citizens involved are expensive, although it is much cheaper than having a consultant come to do the testing. Citizens living around Cayuga Lake lobbied the State to consider putting in a total maximum daily load criteria for phosphorus. It would limit the amount each municipality is allowed to contribute. This could be a very expensive option and the CSI has been taking its own data to ensure the information going into the TMDL makes sense. Fall Creek is the biggest single contributor, 16%, of phosphorus. Water Treatment plants are not expelling much phosphorus but there is a lot coming from water sheds. Based on the total land in Dryden, we are releasing about 13,000 lbs of phosphorus into the Cayuga Water Shed. Other places around the state that have had to implement TMDL plans, in general the cost of retarding phosphorus from entering the water system is about $200 per pound. That could mean $500,000 for Dryden if a TMDL is applied. That money will have to come from the community, not the State. Farms, for better or worse, are the biggest contributors and if apportioned for every 100 acres, it would cost $1700/ year. The CSI is operating as a watchdog group to ensure that this process makes sense and is arbitrary. To monitor the situation, the CSI has synoptic monitoring stations October 28, 2014 Page 3 of 4 locations throughout the watershed which are sampled about 4 times per year. This gives them a good idea of what materials are in the streams. In addition, the CSI runs a red flag monitoring program for the Susquehanna basin to create a base line condition in case there is fracking in the area; it will allow the CSI to monitor changes. The CSI also maintains a data base that is available to the public. The CSI also monitors e-coli levels. They can then work with the farmer or business that is releasing the high levels of e-coli without bringing in the State. Chloride levels are being monitored as well. Since 1972, the levels have gone from 10 to 22 which still is not a dangerous level but we are on the track to reach dangerous levels. D. Weinstein believes that the increase d chloride could be from the salt used on the paved roads. More roads are salted now versus 1972. Once a year, the CSI does a biological monitoring. They collect organism from the bottom of the creek and have found a correlation between the organisms and the health of the creek. Right now, Fall Creek looks pretty good. They also keep an eye on the sewage treatment plants to ensure they are maintaining the proper procedures. Continuing Business: Campbell Meadows Rain Garden Sign update: Gian Dodici His research has demonstrated that most of the sign companies are going to charge about the same amount and are only willing to guarantee the sign for 5-7 years. Voss signs said their sign would last about 7-10 years. G. Dodici has pointed out he is not a sign expert and doesn’t know much about the materials used or what the lifetime of a sign should be. N. Munkenbeck made a motion to have the sign made by Voss Signs, LLC. The motion was seconded by J. Sherman. The motion was unanimously approved. Dryden Trails and Preserve Guide update: Rick Ryan No new information to report. He said he has talked with Bob Beck about walking a section of trail that starts at his house and continues about a mile. It is used by hikers, walkers, jogging, etc. Numerous landowners along the trail haven’t given permission but they have not objected either. B. Beck extended an invitation to the Board to take a walk with him. Rail to Trail proposal: Freeville to McLean update: Bob Beck B. Beck gave an overview of his goal regarding the trail system. D. Weinstein asked if the Conservation Board should remind the Town Board of the resolution regarding the trails. N. Munkenbeck asked if there is a way to have informal, non-binding agreements with the property owners along the trail. She prefers formal, binding agreements but she doesn’t want the Board to make that a requirement that could block forward movement on the trail. B. Beck and the Board agreed with that concept. October 28, 2014 Page 4 of 4 B. Beck asked J. Nicholson if a legal easement is in place, does it relieve the landowner of the liability issue. She believes it does. A lot of the documents regarding the Jim Schug trail have been given to B. Beck to review and J. Nicholson believes there are more formal agreements in the vault. D. Weinstein recommended that someone contact the NYS Trails Association for more information. B. Beck said the Rails to Trails Conservancy is another option. B. Beck thought it might be helpful for the Town to make agreements for a reduction in taxes for a landowner who might be reluctant or an actual purchase of the rail bed. N. Munkenbeck suggested leasing the trail from the owners. B. Beck said he wants to work with each landowner to custom tailor an individualized plan. C. Schutt reminded the Board that the Town owns the Jim Schug trail. This is a different direction. J. Nicholson pointed out that the Varna section of trail will also be easements but in that situation they are only working with a couple large entities: Cornell, DEC, and one other large land owner. The Board reviewed who owned what parts of the trail. Cortland County owns most of the trail in that county. The Town and Village of Dryden owns the Jim Schug trail which allowed the trail to be built. Between Dryden and Freeville, much of the trail is privately held. New Business: Source Water Protection Plan: Jane Nicholson Steve Winkley is with the USDA and he is funded to do source water protection plans throughout the State. His focus is on drinking water resources. J. Nicholson will be the staff contact for the plan and the first step is to develop a planning team, aka an advisory group. The project won’t start until April or May so there is time to get the group together. The group will be comprised of a Town Board member (probably Jason Leifer who has been instrumental in getting Mr. Winkley to come to Dryden), one member from each of the Boards (DRYC, Planning, Conservation, Agriculture and possibly the ZBA), and a representative from the Village. The group will also include several Town members that are not affiliated with the Town government. It should represent a broad range of the population. D. Weinstein asked how this plan overlaps with the USGS aquifer delineation. Mr. Winkley will be looking at existing data, wells and well quality. See attached information sheet. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9PM. Respectfully submitted, Erin A. Bieber Deputy Town Clerk