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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-09-20Dryden Rail Trail Friends and Task Force Minutes of the September 20, 2021 Meeting Via Zoom Attendance: Bob Beck, Alice Green, Todd Bittner, Judy Pierpont, Rose Borsik, Susan Ashdown , Chris and Diane Tessaglia Hymes, Dan Lamb, John Lampman, Loren Sparling, Tony and Janice Brescher, Jolene Lyon, Shirley Lyon, Moira Scheuring, Maude of Etna Absent TF members: Steve and David F. JAKR and ipadair 2020 refused to introduce selves; 4 persons entered the meeting at 8:51 pm and disrupted it. Call to Order at 7:05 – Bob, Alice Additions to Agenda – Reports on FB page; Chris asked to add report on FB page and recent historical railroad research. Introductions Approval Of June and July Minutes - unanimous Ugly Sweater 5K Run This event, organized by Willow Running, has been scheduled for Sunday Nov. 28 on the Trail. Some volunteers will be needed. Second Triad Foundation grant received Second $15,000 grant was received from the Triad Foundation. This one will go to a section of the trail between Monkey Run and Pinckney Rd. This is also a match for the TAP and NYS Parks grants. ADA compliant surfacing materials can be covered under the NYS Parks grant Info Tables at Ellis Hollow Fair and Ithaca’s Streets Alive Festival Alice reported that informational tables at the two events generated at least three dozen new trail supporters for the list serve. Completion of Game Farm trestle and trail work by Town DPW Summary of costs for Game Farm work Bob reiterated that the Game Farm work is now complete. He described the steps in the process of restoring trestles and resurfacing the trail with stone dust. It’s not quite ready to be opened. He thanks Dryden Highway and DPW crews for a great job there. Costs have come in at budget or lower. It appears the costs were about $30K for Materials and the same for labor. This is partly paid for by a NYS State Parks grant and the first $15K grant from the Triad Foundation. Todd noted that Bob has created an extensive spread sheet showing grant funding and match capabilities. This is a work in progress and will be ready to share at our next meeting. This will help identify how much is left in the State Parks grant that can be applied to other sections of the trail Update on Game Farm Rd Crossing Plan Bob noted that John Lampman created the plan that has been submitted to the county and the two towns as part of the Memorandum of Understanding between the county and the towns. Right now it’s awaiting approval by Jeff Smith, County Highway Superintendent. Safety measures will include signs, striping, bollards and gates. John asked if the TF has heard from the county. Bob said not yet. The Town of Ithaca is on board to share the costs for the crossing, which involves users from both trails. Bob said it’s still unresolved whether the State Parks grant will cover the costs of crossings. This will be resolved when the State Parks grant contract is signed. Plan for Trail Opening at Game Farm Since we don’t yet know the date for the approval of the crossing plan, it’s not easy to set a date for the soft opening. It’s been suggested there could be a walk/bike event from Game Farm to Route 13 and back. The Task Force would invite the individual supporters and representatives from the several hiking, running and biking groups in the area, as well as local media for the soft opening celebration. Susan suggested a bike/walk event this fall from Game Farm to Route 13 and back. Todd noted that the logistics will include parking, and whether to have speakers etc. Bob listed many biking, hiking and running organizations that can be involved. Judy suggested having two bike-riding groups from East Ithaca Rec Way and from DRT which could meet at the trails’ connection. Susan suggested a food truck. Pinckney Rd. Crossing and Alternative Trail Route Discussion Bob introduced the topic. Design Connect student group that worked with the DRT did a plan for portions of the trail; they did include suggestions for alternate routes that included by Fall Creek and under the Route 13 bridge. Bob did bushwhack through the suggested alternate route near Fall Creek several years ago (2016), and found that it would take a lot of work to build a trail through there crossing ravines, steep slopes, creeks and wetlands. This area is a Cornell Botanic Gardens’ Natural Area and is designated as a Tompkins County Unique Natural area, all of which deserve full protection from development. This would be expensive. Conclusion early in the project was that it wasn’t appropriate to pursue this route; and it made sense to stick with the rail bed. Task Force members did look at the fact that the trail would go through the light industrial park and recognizing that the trail travels next to Hanson Aggregates. They got agreements from both Hanson and Pro-Lawn LLC to stick with the rail bed. The rail bed is separate from the driveway at Hanson Aggregates, passing away from the activity on their property. Likewise at the new business activity at the Pro-Lawn property, the rail bed is separate from that activity. The conclusion was that it is important that the trail should not miss this developing node; it passes through and does not interfere with activity there, but rather supports drawing new businesses to the node. Bob said the TF has paid attention to all road crossings for safety. John Lampman reported that the Hanson driveway approaches Pinckney Rd at less than perpendicular angle, and allows only for trucks turning south, toward Route 13. Turning on to the road, trucks would immediately enter the trail crossing. This is not a big concern, and there’s not a lot of traffic, except during certain construction times. Right now there’s a lot of vegetation there, which would be cleared by volunteers or DPW to make the intersection safer. Stop signs are typically used at this kind of intersection. A flashing signal could be used to signal trucks, and also truck crossing signs on the trail to inform users that trucks may be crossing there. Bob said some of the suggested mitigations are already covered in the Hanson easement; part of the agreement is to plant a vegetative hedge across much of the property where it’s open. Trail Alternative Feasibility Assessment - Todd Todd presented the following: Feasibility Assessment for an ADA accessible, 10 foot-wide multimodal trail located within the Monkey Run Natural Area with the following alignment: from a point on the west side of Route 13 leaving the historic Lehigh Valley Railroad bed, then paralleling Route 13 northwest and under the Route 13 bridge over Fall Creek, and continuing to Pinckney Road. Cornell University owns and manages the Monkey Run Natural Area to support its academic mission. The natural area includes a section of Fall Creek, a riparian corridor, wetlands, steep wooded bluffs, steep ravines, and upland forests. The Monkey Run Natural Area is recognized as a Tompkins County Unique Natural Area. Monkey Run falls within Tomkins County Natural Features Focus Area for Fall Creek. The Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan calls to “Preserve natural features and ecosystems, especially within the Natural Features Focus Areas.” The Dryden Comprehensive Plan calls to, “Preserve the natural open space resources, environmentally sensitive areas and unique flora and, fauna of the town as it develops in the coming decade.” Cornell University provided an easement to the Town of Dryden for the construction of a spur trail to the Dryden Rail Trail from a point on the west side of Route 13 leaving the historic Lehigh Valley Railroad bed, then paralleling Rt. 13 northwest and under the Route 13 bridge over Fall Creek. Cornell has not provided an easement for any trail construction for the property between Rt. 13 and Pinckney Road. The constraints of the site and property ownership would allow for only two possible locations for a trail between Rt. 13 and Pinckney Roads, either following Fall Creek in the riparian corridor or through the upland forest with terminating sections in the riparian corridor. Either trail alternative in total would be over 1.05 miles. The riparian alternative would need to be located within the 100-year floodplain, and cross multiple wetlands and smaller streams. An upland trail would need to be located partially within the 100-year floodplain, accommodate over 50 feet of elevation change, and cross multiple ravines. Wetland impacts for the riparian alternative would total over 4 acres and require wetland mitigation measures above and beyond any Cornell may require. Forest impacts for the upland alternative would total between 9 and 27 acres of forest and over 2 acre of wetlands. U.S. Army Corp and New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation permitting would be required for either alternative. Fall Creek is the drinking water supply for Cornell University and the Forest Home Community. The loss of habitat and disturbance from the trail construction would negatively impact water quality. Given the extensive negative impacts of either alternative, the natural resources of the site would be irreparably harmed by the trail and associated construction disturbance. Research and educational use of the natural area for Cornell University and other educational institutions would be negatively and irreparably impacted. Given these negative environmental and educational impacts, Cornell University would not willingly provide an additional easement for the trail to cross the property, and the use of eminent domain by the Town would be necessary to acquire the property for the trail. The Town of Dryden currently does not have grant funds to support the construction of the trail in this part of Monkey Run, and therefore the Town would need to fund the project in its entirety, or seek additional grant funds. The Town of Dryden has identified a direct crossing with a bridge over Route 13 is the preferred alternative for crossing the highway and connecting Monkey Run Road to Pinckney Road. This alternative requires the acquisition of portions of two properties totaling 0.16 and 0.7 acres respectively. If the Town did not complete the Rt. 13 bridge construction project, it would need to return a total of $2M from four grants to New York State and Tompkins County. Owing to the challenging site conditions, ownership constraints, land acquisition, and environmental impacts, the construction and long-term maintenance cost for either alternative would likely exceed the cost for the Town’s preferred alternative, which is a direct crossing over Rt. 13 via a bridge. A motion to approve this assessment and forward it to the Planning Board was made by Alice, and seconded by Rose. It was approved unanimously. Social Media Update Chris reported that after 70+ days the new Town of Dryden Rail Trail FB page has more than 450 unique users. Diane and Chris posted about their research into an alleged train wreck that has been thought to have happened in Etna. It actually happed in 1940 in Port Jervis. This posting has reached over 7,000 people, with nearly 500 positive reactions. Diane shared a dated railroad tie nail from 1917 found when clearing the rail bed. Folks have also been interested in posting about plants that are found along the trail. Rose shared that the Tioga County Historical Society has a current exhibit about railroad history in the Village of Owego. Next meeting scheduled for Monday Oct. 18; location TBA. Todd suggested we try to find a large space to meet in person. Adjournment abruptly after a Zoom bomb at 8:51 pm. Respectfully submitted, Alice Walsh Green.