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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CAC-1976Regular Meeting PRESENT: Joy Daley, Chairman Michael Hall Gay German John Shisler ABSENT - EXCUSED Stephen S auger ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS City of Ithaca, New York 7:30 p.m. January 20, 1976 Jonathan Simons Alderman Elva Holman Judy Benedict - Planning Dept. MINUTES: Chairman Daley asked for approval of the minutes of the November 18, 1976, meeting. By Jon Simons: seconded by John RESOLVED, That the minutes of the as recorded by the City Clerk. Shisler November 18, 1975 meeting be approved Carried AUBURN PARK PRESENTATION: Judy Benedict of the City Planning Department presented a report of the possible improvements which will be made to the existing Auburn Park. She presided over a question and answer period which involved a map of the area, showing the various suggested improvements. These improvements include the closing of one block of Adams Street. Cost of the project is $20,000 total; cost to the City is $10,000. RESOLUTION: By John Shisler: seconded by Gay German WHEREAS, The Ithaca Environmental Commission has reviewed the proposal for development of neighborhood park facilities at Auburn Park and found that the proposed improvements will have a beneficial environmental impact on the surrounding neighborhood, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Ithaca Environmental Commission finds that no harm will be done to the environment and endorses the Auburn Park project. Carried BIKE111AYS: A short discussion was held relative to the status of the Bikeways Project. Judy Benedict advised the Commission that this project is still under study. CIRCLE GREENIVAY: Elizabeth Mulholland, Chairman of the Circle Greenway Project, appeared before the Environmental Commission members with a man showing the proposed Circle Greenway. Mrs. Mulholland commented that the Circle Greenway Project is designed for a more quiet form of recreation area as opposed to the Cass Park area which is for the more vigorous forms of recreation. Mrs. Mulholland mentioned that a few special events are being planned such as a Kite Festival near the Belle Sherman School. On May 1Sth there will be a dedication of the Circle Greenway with a "pioneer walk." On June 28th a Historical Rose Show will be Held. Chairman Daley-mentioned that the third grade at South Hill Schook is interested in a Bicentennial Project. Mrs. Mulholland agreed to visit the third grade class to discuss with the children the Circle Greenway Project and how they could help with the Bicentennial Project. Mrs. Mulholland also mentioned that there will be an area near Giles Street designed with a ramp so the handicapped will be able to use and enjoy Circle Greenway. Mrs. Mulholland explained that a handbook is being prepared which will show a map of the Circle Greenway project. -2- January 20, 1c-76 RESOLUTION: By Jon Simons: seconded by John Shisler RESOLVED, That the Environmental Commission endorse the intentions and construction of the Circle Greenway Project. Carried FT.FCTTm (1F nFFTCFRq- Chairman: Chairman Daley asked for nominations from the floor for a Chairman irman to serve the Commission during 1976. By John Shisler: seconded by Mike Hall RESOLVED, That Chairman Daley be nominated for the post of Environmental Commission Chairman. No other nominations were received from the floor. A vote was taken which resulted as follows: Carried Vice - Chairman: Chairman Daley asked for nominations from the floor for a Vice Chairman to serve the Commission during 1976. By John Shisler: seconded by Gay German RESOLVED, That Mike Hall be nominated for the post of Vice Chairman. No other nominations were received from the floor. A vote was taken on the resolution which resulted as follows: Carried EnVitbhmental lanagement Council- Appointee: By Mike Hall: seconded by John Shisler RESOLVED, That Jon Simons be the representative from this Commission to the County Environmental Management Council. Discussion followed on the floor. A vote was taken on the motion which resulted as follows: Carried Elva Holman - Representative from Council: Chairman Daley introduced Alderman Elva Holman as the new Council Representative. She was appointed by the Mayor to the Commission to replace Alderman Meyer. Chairman Daley explained that this Commission also has, as non - voting members, one representative from the Planning Department and one from the Board of Public Works. The voting membership consists of six (6) people who are appointed by the Mayor for a term of 2 or 3 years. COMMITTEE REPORTS SALT: Chairman Daley presented letters which were received from interested people in response to Steve Shauger's article on salt which appeared in the Ithaca Journal. SOLID WASTE REPORT: Chairman Daley advised that Alderman Meyer has offered to come before the Commission to interpret the solid waste report. ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: Chairman Daley agreed to table the study of the Environmental organizations for now. THE BIKEWAY: Mike Hall agreed to spend time with Judy Benedit in the City Planning Department, regarding The Bikeway. Also to develop priorities. STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIFd LAW: Chairman Daley reported that she went to the last Environmental Management Council meeting which dealt with the State Environmental Quality Review Law. There is still opposition from municipalities, builders, etc. -3- January 20, 1976 Ono of the most interesting points was the fact that they proposed that the agency itself will have the say whether it is important to get an impact statement. The State will not be involved at any stage of the game other than advisory. Chairman Daley reported that she will send for pamphlets for this Commission which deal with the law. The law will go into effect June 1, 1976. There will be a public hearing on January 29, 1976, in Syracuse at 10:00 a.m. They will have the third draft of the Rules and Regulations available. Chairman Daley will try to make the hearing in Syracuse on January 29, 1976. The City and Town will have to get together to decide who will be the Agency. That person will be in charge of advising when an "impact statement" will be required. Discussion followed. ALUMINUM COLLECTION BY CHALLENGE INDUSTRIES: Chairman Daley reported that C allenge Industries is ready to go on their aluminum collection. The Board of Public Works is studying the matter in regard to making more room available in the building that is used by Challenge Industries. Alderman Holman reported that the Challenge Industries also asked Common Council for more publicity - as to what is and what isn't aluminum and also for more publicity for the glass collection. It was suggested that some materials should be prepared for the purpose of publicizing these collections. Mike Hall agreed to ask a class at Cornell University to get something together for this purpose. Chairman Daley reported that she had received an invitation from the Community Access Interest group, to a meeting on January 29, at 7:30 p.m. AREA BEAUTIFICATION COUNCIL - BICENTENNIAL TREE PROJECT: Chairman Daley reported that a sugar mal)le tree was chosen to be the Area Beautification Council's official tree for the Bicentennial year. She stated that Phil White called her and advised that he was prepared to donate a sugar maple tree to the Council, a 6 or 7" calibre tree for planting in DeWitt Park. Permission was needed from the Board of Public Works to put the tree in the Park. This permission was granted and the site has been chosen and all that needs to be done is to plant the tree, which should be done within the next 2 or 3 weeks. POLLUTION PROBLEMS: The Commission members were requested to list the priorities of pollution problems in the City of Ithaca for a report which Chairman Daley will fill out. LETTER FROM N.Y.S. DEPT. OF ENVIRO'IMENTAL CONSERVATION: Chairman Daley reported that she has received a letter from the N.Y. S. Dept. of Environmental Conservation which states that we are losing our Regional Representative and the job will not be refilled. If any of our members have any influence in Albany, please use it. This doesn't mean that the department is going out of business. It will still be there. ADJOURNMENT: By Mike Hall: seconded by Jon Simons T e meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS City of Ithaca, New York Regular Meeting 7:30 p.m. March 16, 1976 PRESENT: Joy Daley, Chairman Michael Hall Stephen Shauger Gay German Alderman Nancy Meyer Alderman Elva Holman ABSENT - EXCUSED John Shisler Jonathan Simons E.M.C. REPORT: Chairman Daley reported that our E.M.C. Rep. Jon Simons attended the E.M.C. meeting on March 11 and Pyramid was discussed. No action was taken by E.M.C.; the proposal was referred to a task force. Nancy Meyer reported that most questions were submitted in writing and the questions chosen to be answered were previewed by Gary Craig. No conclusions were drawn by E.M.C. Mrs. Meyer suggested that a recommendation be made by the Environmental Commission. However, the point was made by Stephen Shauger that this is not our area unless a case can be wade for the environmental impact as pertains to the City directly. No action was taken at this time. SALT: Steve Shauger presented the guidelines for salting the streets, drawn by him after consulting several offices of the City. The report includes consideration of certain types of equipment for future use. Alderman Holman will contact the Root Springs Scraper Company concerning cost of some equipment. Alderman Holman will also set up a meeting with our Board of Public Works Rep. Mr. Ewanicki and Mr. Shaw to explain the guidelines with adoption by Board of Public Works as the objective. BIKEWAYS: Mike Hall reported that he is meeting with the Planning Department concerning bike paths. The priorites as given in the report by Professor Gentile's class could not be strictly kept in the City. Mike Hall will meet with Judy Benedict of the Planning Department and go over the paths from Stewart Park to Cass Park. This portion to be worked on this summer, if possible. OPEN SPACES INVENTORY: Alderman Holman met with Mr. Van Cort and he suggested a specific list of things needed to be obtained from D.E.C. Chairman Daley will meet with Dennis Winter and get the materials he mentioned at the February meeting. ALUMINUM RECYCLING: Mike Hall said he contacted Ecology House and gave them the information concerning Challenge Industries. Ecology House will work with them on an Educational Campaign. SOLID WASTE: Alderman Meyer reported on the solid waste meetings. She feels that the city should receive the benefits from recyclable materials instead of burning them in a $15 million plant. She read a statement prepared by her. S.E.Q.R.: Chairman Daley asked if the commission had read the copies of the rules and regulations given at the last meeting. She also asked if the commission wished to make a recommendation concerning the impact law. Steve Shauger commented that he thinks in view of events in AI'3any the deadline for implementation of the law will be extended and then repealed. Alderman Holman asked if she should send a letter to Gary Lee inquiring about the status of S.E.Q.,. and askI_ng them to implement the law. The Commission asked her to do so. Gay German offered to ask Niel Orlotf a law student, to speak to us concerning the impact law. Alderman Holman suggested we also ask Mr. Dingman or someone from the Department of Public Works to explain how it would effect the City. The Commission will hear the two people and mate a recommendation at the April Meeting. Chairman Daley mentioned the tree sponsored by the A.R.C. has been planted in DeWitt Park. Chairman Daley asked the Commission to continue to mention the Environmental Camp to the organizations that they belong to. Chairman Daley asked if the Commission was receiving "The Environment ". She also said they will now have to subscribe to this magazine. Steve Snauger informed the commission that he will be resigning as of the Larch meeting. He will be leaving Ithaca after the shcool_ year. A copy of the letter to Mayor Conley was given to Chairman Daley. Mrs. Daley asked the Coll mission to give her any suggestions for a replacement. ADJOURNMENT: By Steve Shauger: seconded by Mike Hall The meeting was adjourned. Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS City of Ithaca, New York Regular Meeting PRESENT: Joy Daley, Chairman Jonathan Simons Gay German Michael Hall Alderman Elva Holman ABSENT: Jo i—i n S- iisler 7:30 P.M. APPROVAL OF MINUTES By Gay German: seconded by Michael Hall RESOLVED, That the minutes of the March as recorded by the City Clerk. COMMITTEE REPORTS Salt April 20, 1976 16, 1976 meeting be approved Carried Alderman Holman reported that she and Steve Shauger met with Asst. to the Supt. of Public Works, Dougherty, and Commissioner Shaw of the Board of Public Works, Chairman of the Highways, Street Lighting and Refuse Committee. The meeting was considered very successful by Alderman Holman and with the exception of the last recommendation, which is the one dealing with the reporting process - the recommendations are going to be accepted. Asst. to the Supt. Dougherty isn't in favor of the snow plow blades being attached to the undercarriage of the trucks. After some discussion, Comm. Shaw agreed to ask that one be included in next year's budget to be used on a trial basis in the hopes that we can then con- vince the department that that was a way to handle the plowing. Alder- man Holman further stated that it was agreed that the accounting proce- dure might be cumbersome and if we could have some indication as to how much salt was used and how many miles of roadway is covered, etc. it would serve our purpose. Comm. Shaw agreed to take to the Board of Public Works for approval to order, one calibrated spreader against this year's budget and it is anticipated that over a period of time all five (5) vehicles used for spreading salt will be calibrated. Alderman Holman stated that hopefully she will have a report next month on the B.P.W. action. Chairman Daley asked what procedure Comm. Shaw would follow. Will lie take a recommendation or write a resolution that the Board accepts this? Alderman Holman stated that Comm. Shaw agreed in concept with all of the recommendations, with the exception of accounting. He will pass those recommendations through his Highways Committee. If the Committee is favorable then presumably the B.P.W. will act on these recommendations to make them policy and then it goes to Common Council. Open Spaces Chairman Daley reported that she met with Dennis Winters of the County Planning Board, who Qave several nieces of information: 1) The County Planning Board's completed application for funds. 2) Natural Resource inventory - the process we should go through. 3) One copy of their original application (not completed) 4) One copy of the finished product. There is the possibility of our Commission getting somo information from Cornell. The problei;i seems to be to find the exact pin- pointed spot to begin - step 1. Mr. Winters advised that the application for funds should be step 1. Chairman Daley commented that she feels that most of the information needed for the Open Spaces Invotirory is available here in. City Hall and this might mean that we would hive to collect just '100 of what is re- quired for the inventory. 2 - April 20, 1976 Chairman Daley passed around information which she has gathered. Chairman Daley reported that she had talked federal funding for this project. Possibly than D.E.C. funding, since we might be ahle the portion that we need to have done, with ground work has already been done by one gr New York State Land Use. with someone who suggested that would be a better route to get a student to do just the idea that much of the Dup or another, i.e., the Chairman Daley reported that she has an application whereby this Commis- sion can send for our particular portion of this. The maps and over -lay are not very expensive so probably the purchase will not require a vote. There are two for Ithaca, so that would mean an expenditure of from $8.00 to $12.00. If approval is needed from this Commission, Chairman Daley will contact the members. Bikeways Mr. Michael Hall reported that he and Judy Benedict of the City Planning Dept. went around the Bikeway route which he had originally proposed two years ago. They took 40 slides along the route. The Planning Dept. will use these slides to move from their present position - which is that they have $5,000 and a report from Mr. Gentile which they feel is not necessar- ily what the Planning Dept. wants to accept as necessarily the best way to go about implementing the Bikeway. interest seems to be in the Commission's original proposal - which is to connect Stewart and Cass parks. Judy Benedict will now use the 40 slides as she starts trying to decide what should be done to get the bike route up to acceptable levels as a Bikeway - how much it would cost, etc. The plan now is to do a feasibility study on the route. If it turns out that $3,500. could set it up in good shape, then probably their proposal would be that we go ahead and get that par- ticular route fixed up. Mr. Hall further reported that next month he would get back in touch with Judy Benedict to go over the route again. He stated that next month he would report on what the next move will be. There are two large obstacles - the biggest one is getting across the inlet. We might need a guard rail ors tiie bridge. Judy Benedict is working on the obstacles. if she can overcome some of the obstacles then it would appear that we can get this started. This would tie in with the State Trail - the status of which is somewhat up in the air because Mr. Comerford is leaving. On the other end of the Bikeway business - Mr. Hall reported that his parents own some land south of town which the State would like to buy for the Bikeway. The last communicaticn which Mr. Hall's father has had was that the State would still like to buy it but are waiting for the budget to be approved. There has been quite a bit of budget cut -back on the State level. Alderman Holman asked whether the City and State might get together - whereby the City put the bikeway together and the State maintain it? Mr. Hall replied that he doubts very much that the State would take it on because it will all lie on City property. Mr. Hall stated that he will try to bring the slides of the Bikeway route in to the next meeting. Most of the route is rideable right now. It is just a matter of fixing things up. More discussion followed. OLD BUSINESS State Environmental Quality Review Law (S.E.Q.R.) - Mr. Niel Orloff Mr. Niel Orloff spoke to the Environmental Commission members. He ex- plained what the S.E.Q.R. law entails. Discussion followed on the floor. 3 - April 20, 1976 Mike Hall asked who is the ultimate arbitrator as to whether or not an Impact Statement has to be forthcoming? Mr. Orloff suggested that the first step would be to go to the Agency involved, explaining the reasons why a statement should be required. Another question was asked as to whether any organization has the right to compel a local municipality to issue the Impact Statement? Chairman Daley asked whose responsibility it would be to prepare the Impact Statement? Mr. Orloff replied that the law states that the Agency which has to take the action - or make the decision on the project shall either prepare it itself or cause it to be prepared - however, there are a number of options. The Impact Statement should be prepared when an Agency is in the planning stage. Mr. Orloff suggested that this matter might be explored with the Planning Department to determine how they would suggest the processes should operate. Mr. Orloff agreed to sit down with them and talk about it just to make everyone aware of the provisions of the law. It was suggested that an informational meeting be arranged on or around June 1st when this law is expected to go into effect. This meeting would include all of the people in City Government who would be affected by the new S.E.Q.R. law. Alderman Holman advised the members that Mayor Conley does have some knowledge of S.E.Q.R. and what its implications are. It might be appro- priate to ask him if he has thought at all about who might be the depart- ment to request the Environmental Impact Statements. This could be the first step taken by the group. Alderman Holman stated that the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce spoke against the S.E.O.R. law at the meetings in Syracuse. Suggestion was made that someone attend (or talk with sunieone who will be attending) a breakfast being held by Gary Lee of the N.Y.S. Assembly, to find out whether they lobbied with him against the law going into effect. Chair- man Daley thanked Mr. Orloff for his presence and stated that his infor- mation was very helpful to the group. Suggestions for appointment of new Commissioner Mr. Niel Orloff was suggested as a possible new Commissioner on the Environmental Commission. Gay German will approach him to determine whether or not he is interested. NEW BUSINESS Environmental Heritage Da Chairman Daley reported that she had called the D.E.C. to inquire about a movie to be shown at the Environmental Heritage Day. The Department didn't have a suitable movie, but they agreed to provide a Slide Show - which they are mailing as soon as possible. Chairman Daley stated that help will be needed on Saturday, May 1st to operate the equipment. Alderman Holman reported that there is a film entitled "Tale of Two Cities" which is about two communities which banned salt and what happened as a result. Alderman Holman agreed to check with Asst. to the Supt. Dougherty to make the arrangements for obtaining the film "Tale of Two Cities." Alderman Holman also suggested that the Bikeway slides be shown on May 1st. Alderman Holman stated that she would be available to work on Saturday, May 1st - in any capacity that she would be needed. Chairman Daley will check with the High School Environmental Club for possible members to help on May 1st - Environmental Heritage Day. Environmental Leaders Conference Chairman Daley reported that she has a great deal of material from the Environmental Leader's Conference which she and Alderman Holman attended. 11-., 4 - April 20, 1976 It is very informative and very interesting. It includes guidelines for an environmental impact assessment which we can keep on file. Anyone interested in this material - please look it over, but return to Chairman Dalev for the file. Conference - Bear Mountain Lake Chairman Daley reported that there will be a Conference on May 15th at Bear Mountain Lake. If anyone is interested in going, the Environmental Commission will sponsor them. Adjournment By Michael Hall: seconded by Gay German RESOLVED, That the meeting be adjourned. Carried Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS City of Ithaca, New York Regular Meeting PRESENT: Joy Daley, Chairman Gayle German Michael Hall Jonathan Simons ABSENT: Join Shisler (excused) 7:30 P.T'I. 1.1ay 18, 1976 Chairman Joy Daley called the meeting to order. She explained that Alderman Holman had another meeting scheduled which she had to attend, but hoped to get in later on in the evening. APPROVAL OF �JINUTES : By Michael Hall: seconded by Jon Simons RESOLVED, That the minutes of the April 20, 1976 meeting be approved as recorded by the City Clerk. Carried Chairman Daley apologized for lack of an agenda, explaining that she had not had time to prepare one. COM14ITTEE REPORTS: Bikeways Proposal Chm. Daley asked Michael Hall to report on the Bikeways Proposal. Mr. Hall reported that he had talked with Judy Benedict who had presented the Bikeways Proposal to the Planning & Development Board who had approved going ahead with work on the project. Pars. Benedict hired a student from Landscape Architecture School to work on the plans this summer and come up with specific routes to be looked at. There is a $5,000 budget for this year's work on the project; there is talk of requesting $10,000 for 1977 and $5,000 for each succeeding year. The approach being incremental, it will accrue with time rather than trying to sell an expensive project which might be lost at the start because of its expense. They would rather spread the expense out as they can get the money to do it. The Commission is not required to take further action until after the landscape architect has presented specifics on how things should be laid out and what the cost will be. Mrs. Benedict roughed out the cost but didn't mention what figure she arrived at. To go straight class 1 from Stewart to Cass Park is an ex- pensive proposition so they felt it would be better to opt for a mix, define the trail, make some improvements - -that way we might avoid the pitfall of being hung up as the State Trail is at present for lack of funds. Mr. [fall said he talked to Mr. Cummerford about a week ago and the budget is such that everything came to a screeching halt for lack of state funding. Mr. Cummer- ford was hopeful that before long the State would see its way clear to provide them with some funds. Per. Hall believes the City's approach is the best in that they will not attempt more than they can handle. He feels that -2- Play 18, 1976 given the funds this year and a person to work on the project, probably by the end of summer they might buy some signs or whatever implementation strategy they decide upon. He believes by late summer or, at the latest, next spring, it can be publicized and operating after a fashion. Chm. Daley reported that Alderman Holman said money was being allotted (as though it was accomplished) but she didn't know if this was after Per. Hall talked with Mrs. Benedict. PTr. Hall said Mrs. Benedict had talked to Alderman Holman earlier that day and to his knowledge they have what was appropriated last December in the 1976 budget and it will be a matter of budget requests for 1977 and each succeeding year. The Salt Project Chm. Daley reported that Alderman Holman has not heard anything but she is sure the matter is being considered. Chm. Daley said that in going through materials for the Play 1st event she could not find the letters and asked if anyone had copies of Steve Shauger's letter, the letter from the man from Cargill, and letters to the Editor. She thought perhaps Mr. Shauger would have them and asked if he is still in Ithaca. Mr. Hall replied that he will be here off and on for about 4 weeks. Chm. Daley said she would try to contact him by phone as she would like to have the letters reproduced for the files and find out if Mr. Shauger had other materials in his files which would be of use to the Commission. The Impact Law Chm. Daley reported she had talked to Alderman Holman who thought the Commis- sion should react to the Governor's suggestion of the new law and Alderman Holman contacted Assemblyman Gary Lee but as of today had not heard back from him. Chm. Daley asked for the feeling of the Commission and for some direc- tion from them as to whether they should react.and in what way. Her first thought was that the Commission should write letters to Assemblyman Lee asking him to reject the new law, but Alderman Holman thought it better to try to telephone him. She thinks his leanings are toward the economic interests. Chm. Daley explained that the Governor has come out with a new law proposing that the State delay the original, the general idea being that it take effect first for State action, then local action and then private action. Chm. Daley believes that postponement of the law for a year will be the end of it. She does not believe it is going to have that much of an impact. She thinks now is the time they should stand firm, now that the law has been passed. It is a little step, being one of the few things that has been accomplished. `fir. Hall said he didn't think it would be inappropriate to pass a resolution supporting the bill as it was originally proposed, and to further suggest that much of the rejection of the bill or the concept of it by the public is perhaps tied to lack of education about what the bill entails. Perhaps suggest to the Governor that if the bill were properly presented to the people, explaining what the features of the bill were, etc., get away from -3- May 18, 1976 the scare tactics that Cayuga Heights would never have been built if the law were in effect, which we find is not true. The key to the whole thing is explaining to people what it is all about; when they understand that, then the only interests that will be left to complain about will be the ones it was designed to fight against In the first place. Resolution By i I-1c`hael Hall: seconded by Gay German RESOLVED, That the Environmental Conservation Commission will react to Governor Carey's Environmental Impact Laws as upholding the June 1, 1976' enactment date. Chm. Daley asked if there was further discussion. The motion is that the Commission supports the law basically. Then follow up with letters to these people, repeating rTr. Hall's statement. A vote was taken on the motion which resulted in the motion being passed. Open Spaces Chm. Daley explained she had not been able to do anything about this item and asked if T "r. Hall had anything on it. Mr. Hall said he had been trying to contact Ernest Hardy to talk to him about this and other matters. fie suggested tabling the item and said he would try to submit something in writing for the next meeting, although he will not be present for the next meeting. Chm. Daley asked if there were any more Committee Reports and asked Jon Simons if he wanted to speak briefly about B & C. Jon Simons said he missed the last meeting but understood there was a great deal of discussion about Pyramid and apparently the Tasl< Force gets underway in two weeks. Chm. Daley suggested he go to the meeting and find out if they were interested in anything the Commission has, such as guidelines. Mr. Simons reported receiving a letter from the County Clerk regarding his taking an oath of office for a two -year term, but inasmuch as he will not be here next year., it was decided he would take the oath of office anyway, thus he will have the right to vote and represent the Commission for the time he is here. OLD BUSINESS: Heritage Day Chm. Daley reported that Heritage ?Jay was quite successful. There was good attendance even though the weather was not ideal. The Area Beautification and Greenway dedications went off well. The suggestion was made that maybe it should be repeated another year. -4- clay 18, 1976 Chm.Daley mentioned meeting a representative of the Sierra Club who told her they were working with the County on a Land Use Plan and would like help from other environmental organizations. Chm. Daley told her she could contact the Commission if they wished. Summer Films A brief discussion was held on whether or not to have films on the Commons and what films. Thursday evening was suggested as an appropriate time and it was recommended that a schedule be set up of several consecutive weeks (at least 4, maybe 6) so that people will count on it. Perhaps one night could be scheduled as children's night. It was decided to try for July 29 through September 2. Chm. Daley and Gay German will meet to look over the film lists and Chm. Daley will report to the Commission at its next meeting on progress on the project. CORRESPONDENCE: Chm. Daley reported she had finally received a report of last fall's EPL convention, and even though it is old, anyone may look at it if interested. ADJOUWIENT : By nIike Hall: seconded by Jon Simons RESOLVE!), That the meeting be adjourned. Carried Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission CITY OF ITHACA ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSrON Regular Meeting July 20, 1976 7:30 p.m. PRESENT: merman Joy Daley, Gay German, John Shisler, Michael Hall, Jonathan Simons ABSENT: A13erman Elva Holman Chairman Daley called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: By Gay German: seconded by Michael Hall RESOLVED, That the minutes of the May 18, 1976 meeting be approved as recorded by the City Clerk. Carried COMMITTEE REPORTS: i ewa s Michael Hall informed the Commission that he had been out -of -town and had not done anything on the subject, but that he would talk with Alderman Holman and make his report at the August meeting. Chairman Daley informed the Commission that at the July 7, 1976 meeting of the Common Council, Alderman Gutenberger reported that "as it stands at this time, the bikeways system will probably not include the whole City of Ithaca, just the north end of town." Chairman Daley checked and confirmed that there is money allotted for successive years, and Alderman Holman said that Alderman Gutenberger's statement is not strictly true -- at some point there might be some things done. As far as the Planning Department is con- cerned, it is not a dead issue. Solid Waste Study Chairman Daley reported that she and Alderman Holman met with Alderman Meyer, and at the meeting Alderman Meyer gave a presentation using some of the materials she has, and suggested that the Commission organize a committee. They began to do this so they would have something to report at this meeting. They have a couple of people in mind who are interested, but they will have to look around for someone to serve on the committee. They met and talked about the planning; what came out of it was that they will get together with Judy Galant who has done work in another county, and they are in the process of forming a committee to look into all the aspects - costs, etc., not only of waste collection, but of all types of disposal. Mike Hall thought perhaps in the fall he might have some people who would work on the project. The Commission directed Chairman Daley and Alderman Holman to continue in forming a committee and to present something at the next meeting. 2 - July Z0, 1976 Film Showing Uay Germain resorted that a list of films has been chosen tbmt should be interesting and tll-,. , rr� )gram is set for ,bout an hour showing each Thursday evening from July acs thro,isi-, septembor 2 at 3:00 p.m. Chairman Daley requested that the members choose the dates they can serve and she volunteered to take July 29 and perhaps one other evening. She also volunteered to pick up the projector(s) if the other members could not on the designated evenings. The films will be shown in the center pavilion on the Commons. In addition she said they would need a poster and also they will advertise in the paper. Open Spaces Inventory - No report. vo— lved in the fall. OLD BUSINESS The Commission will probably get in- Chairman Daley informed the Commission resolution passed at the Mayor's Confe Common Council accepted the resolution on record as supporting an impact law. ward the resolution to the appropriate Carey and Warren Anderson. she had given everyone a copy of a rence regarding the Impact Law. The of the Commission, officially going Chairman Daley said she would for - legislators in addition to Governor Resolution By Gay German: seconded by Jonathan Simons RESOLVED, That the resolution passed by Common Council supporting the Impact Law drafted by the Environmental Commission be forwarded to Governor Carey and the appropriate legislators. Carried Commission Appointment C airman Daley reported that Mr. Neil Orloff has agreed to be a member of the Commission, subject to approval by the Common Council. Committee Appointments of Environmental Commission Members Chairman Daley reported that Mayor Conley has asked Alderman Holman to take his position on the Environmental Commission of Mayor's Conference; also the Commission is asking for appointment of a member (Gay German has offered to serve) on the Enurgy, fomm.issic:; -4,p'�tudy the City's participation. Mayor Conley said he is formulating a committee, with the help of the Planning Department, to take a position on the relocation of Route 96. Chairman Daley asked if one of the current members would be interested in serving on this committee, otherwise, perhaps one of the new members would be willing. File CC airman Daley informed the Commission she had talked to City Clerk Rundle who thought it would be all right to use part of the file in the Commons or Bicentennial Office. She said she will bring in the materials she has and requested other members to do the same and she will place them in the file. -- 3 - July 20, 1976 Inlet Problem Chairman a ey reported complaints have been received on an offensive odor from the water in the Inlet near the marina (Johnson's). Alderman Holman has agreed to look into it. It has been investigated before. Chairman Daley asked for suggestions for a solution. It was suggested the Commission might consult someone in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University for advice. Steven Shauger Resolution 9-y -Gay German: seconded y John Shisler WHEREAS, Steven Shauger has served the City of Ithaca Environmental Com- mission faithfully for the last one and one -half years, and WHEREAS, he was instrumental in the creation and adoption of guidelines for the use of salt on city streets, and WHEREAS, he gave unselfishly of his time and energy to accomplish objectives and goals of the Environmental Commission, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Environmental Com- mission expresses its sincere gratitude to Mr. Steven Shauger for his ser- vice to the community, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be spread across the minutes and a copy be sent to Mr. Shauger. Carried NEW BUSINESS Waterways Commission Report airman Daley reported that a committee formed by the Planning and Develop- ment Department had been studying the waterways in and around Ithaca. Chairman Daley was asked to be a member of the committee. She attended a meeting of the committee at which Emanuel Carter of the Planning and Development Department gave a very lucid presentation of the waterways study, and asked for suggestions of how the waterways should be used, the object being to keep them at least in their present state and hopefully make some improvements. NYS DOT Screening Alon& Inlet Chairman Daley reported that it had been reported to the Commission that the State Maintenance Facility is very unsightly and that some screening should be done. Mike Hall and Alderman Meyer looked into this matter more than a year ago and made recommendations, but nothing has been done to date. Mike Hall suggested reactivating interest in the matter and going back to the NYS DOT to remind them that something must be done to screem the back of the facility. Youth Corps C airman Daley reported in the May issue of the Environment Magazine therse was an article about the Youth Corps which nobody in the City seemed to know about. City Clerk Rundle received a News Release and sent a copy to Chairman Daley that the funds have been awarded. Nobody in City Hall was aware that the program existed. She suggested that the Commission should 4 - July 20, 1976 get something in the permanent records. If there are funds available next year, the Commission should do something about it. The program is for youths 15 - 18 years of age, to be paid $2.30 per hour and employed to work on environmental projects through the Department of Environmental Conserva- tion. It can be applied for through the Youth Bureau or the Environmental Commission. We should look into this before next spring, at least ask to be put on their mailing list. COMMUNICATIONS Chairman Daley reported that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is thinking of putting out a list of permits, applications, rules and regulations - also notices of applications which require publi- cation; also any other appropriate public notices including those related to the State Environmental Quality Review Act. The Commission has to act on this tonight. There is $SO in the Dues and Publications fund ($40 balance) which will not cover membership in the New York State Environmental Conservation Commission. Chairman Daley reported also that she had received a copy of Human Resources Directory of Tompkins County with a form to fill out and send back. The Directory will be placed in the file. Chairman Daley asked if the members were receiving copies of B.O.R. News- letter and the Human Services Coalition Newsletter. Also, there is a Directory of the Echo Justice Task Force at Cornell University. Chairman Daley asked the Commission what action they wished to take on the above. Resolution By John hisler: seconded by Michael Hall RESOLVED, That $10.00 be appropriated for a subscription to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for publications of permits, applications and other appropriate public notices. Adjournment By MiclTal -Hall: seconded by John Shisler RESOLVED, That the meeting be adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Carried Carried Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission CITY OF ITHACA ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION Regular Meeting December 22, 1976 7:30 P.M. PRESENT: C airman Joy Daley, Gayle German, Jack Hamilton, Neil Orloff ABSENT: Michael Hall, Mary Lincoln APPROVAL OF MINUTES: By Gayle German: Seconded by RESOLVED, That the minutes of as recorded by the City Clerk. Jack Hamilton the July 20, 1976 meeting be approved Carried Chairman Daley informed the Commission that as of January, Gayle German will be the only member left who has been on the Commission for any - length of time. In January the Commission will have to elect officers; however, prior to that the names of persons recommended for the two vacancies on the Commission will need to be submitted to Mayor Conley for his approval and they should be appointed at the Regular meeting of Common Council in January and sworn in by the City Clerk before there can be an election of officers. The Commission is made up of six members, 4 members constitute a quorum. The chairman gets out the agenda which is mailed with the minutes of the previous meeting. The Clerk's office in City Hall is very helpful about mailings, letters, etc. The names which the Commission submit to the Mayor are usually accepted, but are subject to his approval. The members must reside in the City. If you think of somebody you want to recommend, call the Mayor's secretary, Ruthann Brown, give her the name and any particulars. You don't have to talk to the Mayor as he is hard to reach and at this point time is im- portant. Chairman Daley also informed the Commission that somebody from the Commission should act as representative cn the EMC (county Environmental Management Council). This representative should be elected in January when the officers are elected, and should be sworn in as the Commission members are. The new chairman should write a letter to the county Environmental Management Council introducing, this representative. Chairman Daley said she will prepare an annual report. She also said she will ask Mrs. Hutson to send copies of the Local Law to the Commission members because on the back are listed the things Council directed the Commission to accomplish.- The previous Commission got together and set some goals and have been trying to plug away on those. Chairman Daley informed the Commission that Elva Holman is the Commission's liaison with the Common Council and will be invaluable to the new commis- sion because she has the expertise. -2- December 221 1975 Chairman Daley strongly recommended that the Commission go ahead with the Open Space and Solid Waste items. The Solid Waste Committee has been started. Chairman Daley said she will pass along materials received by her if she is given the name of the new chairman. when elected. She has been receiving things from the New York State Department of Conservation concerning SECOR. They have been holding workshops for the counties and now the counties should hold workshops for the local communities. Probably the Department of Public Works and others will be notified when these come up. The Common Council of the City of Ithaca more or less endorse this. She also received something from NYSAC which she will handle - -an updated . list of commissioners which they request. She will give this information to the Clerk's office and request that it be sent in when the appointments are complete. Also, she received communication from the New York State Conservation Commission giving the names of the regional directors and listing several pieces of literature they would like to know if the Commission want mailed on a regular basis. She passed it around for information and comment. Resolution By Gayle German: Seconded by Neil Orloff RESOLVED, That Chm. Daley inform the New York State Conservation Dept. that the Environmental Commission members wish to receive their mailings on a regular basis. Carried Neil Orloff informed the Commission that he was speaker at the Annual Meeting of the New York State Conservation Commission and attended the conference for one -half of one day. He spoke briefly about requirements of the Water Act. He said there also was an annual. meeting in Albany at the Environmental Planning Office and a week later one in Rensselaer - vi.11e. He thought it would be desirable for a commissioner to attend these meetings. Chairman Daley reminded the Commission that their budget must be submitted in the Fall of the year and that it is only $200. to cover travel, publ'- cations, etc. She also informed the Commission that their files were supposed to go into the Old Board Room where the Commons Advisory Board and Bicentennial Commission are located. She is hopeful that the Com- mission files will still be located in that room. Also, she thought they might wish to check on the Ithaca College girl who was supposed. to work on a centralized file system. ADJOURNMENT: By Gayle German: Seconded by Neil Orloff RESOLVED, That the meeting be adjourned. Carried cr, Mrs. Elva W. Holman Liaison from Common Council. Regular Meeting PRESENT: Joy Daley, Chairman Michael Hall Gay German John Shisler ABSENT - EXCUSED Stephen S auger ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS City of Ithaca, New York 7:30 p.m. rl January 20, 1976 Jonathan Simons Alderman Elva Holman Judy Benedict - Planning Dept. MINUTES: Chairman Daley asked for approval of the minutes of the November 18, 1976, meeting. By Jon Simons: seconded by John Shisler RESOLVED, That the minutes of the November 18, 1975 meeting be approved as recorded by the City Clerk. Carried AUBURN PARK PRESENTATION: Judy Benedict of the City Planning Department presented a report of the possible improvements which will be made to the existing Auburn Park. She presided over a question and answer period which involved a map of the area, showing the various suggested improvements. These improvements include the closing of one block of Adams Street. Cost of the project is $20,000 total; cost to the City is $10,000. RESOLUTION: By John Shisler: seconded by Gay German WHEREAS, The Ithaca Environmental Commission has reviewed the proposal for development of neighborhood park facilities at Auburn Park and found that the proposed improvements will have a beneficial environmental impact on the surrounding neighborhood, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Ithaca Environmental Commission finds that no harm will be done to the environment and endorses the Auburn Park project. Carried BIKEWAYS: A short discussion was held relative to the status of the Bikeways Project. Judy Benedict advised the Commission that this project is still under study. CIRCLE GREENWAY: Elizabeth Mulholland, Chairman of the Circle Greenway Project, appeared before the Environmental Commission members with a map showing the proposed Circle Greenway. Mrs. Mulholland commented that the Circle Greenway Project is designed for a more quiet form of recreation area as opposed to the Cass Park area which is for the more vigorous forms of recreation. Mrs. Mulholland mentioned that a few special events are being planned such as a Kite Festival near the Belle Sherman School. On May 15th there will be a dedication of the Circle Greenway with a "pioneer walk." On June 28th a Historical Rose Show will be held. Chairman Daley-mentioned that the third grade at South Hill Schook is interested in a Bicentennial Project. Mrs. Mulholland agreed to visit the third grade class to discuss with the children the Circle Greenway Project and how they could help with the Bicentennial Project. Mrs. Mulholland also mentioned that there will be an area near Giles Street designed with a ramp so the handicapped will be able to use and enjoy Circle Greenway. Mrs. Mulholland explained that a handbook is being prepared which will show, a map of the Circle Greenway project. -2- January 20, 1976 RESOLUTION: By Jon Simons: seconded by John Shisler RESOLVED, That the Environmental Commission endorse the intentions and construction of the Circle Greenway Project. Carried ELECTTnN OF nFFTCFR.C- Chairman: Chairman Daley asked for nominations from the floor for a C ai i to serve the Commission during 1976. By John Shisler: seconded by Mike Hall RESOLVED, That Chairman Daley be nominated for the post of Environmental Commission Chairman. No other nominations were received from the floor. A vote was taken which resulted as follows: Carried Vice - Chairman: Chairman Daley asked for nominations from the floor for a Vice Chairman to serve the Commission during 1976. By John Shisler: seconded by Gay German RESOLVED, That Mike Hall be nominated for the post of Vice Chairman. No other nominations were received from the floor. A vote was taken on the resolution which resulted as follows: Carried EnVihOAmental Management Council- Appointee: By Mike Hall: seconded by John Shisler RESOLVED, That Jon Simons be the representative from this Commission to the County Environmental Management Council. Discussion followed on the floor. A vote was taken on the motion which resulted as follows: Carried Elva Holman - Representative from Council: Chairman Daley introduced Al erman Elva Holman as t e new Council Representative. She was appointed by the Mayor to the Commission to replace Alderman Meyer. Chairman Daley explained that this Commission also has, as non - voting members, one representative from the Planning Department and one from the Board of Public Works. The voting membership consists of six (6) people who are appointed by the Mayor for a term of 2 or 3 years. COMMITTEE REPORTS SALT: Chairman Daley presented letters which were received from interested people in response to Steve Shauger's article on salt which appeared in the Ithaca Journal. SOLID WASTE REPORT: Chairman Daley advised that Alderman Meyer has offered to come before the Commission to interpret the solid waste report. ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: Chairman Daley agreed to table the study of the Environmental organizations for now. THE BIKEWAY: Mike Hall agreed to spend time with Judy Benedit in the City Planning Department, regarding The Bikeway. Also to develop priorities. STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW LAW: Chairman Daley reported that she went to the last Environmental Management Council meeting which dealt with the State Environmental Quality Review Law. There is still opposition from municipalities, builders, etc. -3- January 20, 1976 One of the most interesting points was the fact that they proposed that the agency itself will have the say whether it is important to get an impact statement. The State will not be involved at any stage of the game other than advisory. Chairman Daley reported that she will send for pamphlets for this Commission which deal with the law. The law will go into effect June 1, 1976. There will be a public hearing on January 29, 1976, in Syracuse at 10:00 a.m. They will have the third draft of the Rules and Regulations available. Chairman Daley will try to make the hearing in Syracuse on January 29, 1976. The City and Town will have to get together to decide who will be the Agency. That person will be in charge of advising when an "impact statement" will be required. Discussion followed. ALUMINUM COLLECTION BY CHALLENGE INDUSTRIES: Chairman Daley reported that C allenge Industries is—r–e—acly to go on their aluminum collection. The Board of Public Works is studying the matter in regard to making more room available in the building that is used by Challenge Industries. Alderman Holman reported that the Challenge Industries also asked Common Council for more publicity - as to what is and what isn't aluminum and also for more publicity for the glass collection. It was suggested that some materials should be prepared for the purpose of publicizing these collections. Mike Hall agreed to ask a class at Cornell University to get something together for this purpose. Chairman Daley reported that she had received an invitation from the Community Access Interest group, to a meeting on January 29, at 7:30 p.m. AREA BEAUTIFICATION COUNCIL - BICENTENNIAL TREE PROJECT: Chairman Daley reported that a sugar maple tree was chosen to be the Area Beautification Council's official tree for the Bicentennial year. She stated that Phil White called her and advised that he was prepared to donate a sugar maple tree to the Council, a 6 or 7" calibre tree for planting in DeWitt Park. Permission was needed from the Board of Public Works to put the tree in the Park. This permission was granted and the site has been chosen and all that needs to be done is to plant the tree, which should be done within the next 2 or 3 weeks. POLLUTION PROBLEMS: The Commission members were requested to list the priorities of pollution problems in the City of Ithaca for a report which Chairman Daley will fill out. LETTER FROM N.Y.S. DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION: Chairman Daley reported that she has received a letter from the N.Y.S. Dept. of Environmental Conservation which states that we are losing our Regional Representative and the job will not be refilled. If any of our members have any influence in Albany, please use it. This doesn't mean that the department is going out of business. It will still be there. ADJOURNMENT: By Mike Hall: seconded by Jon Simons T e meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission Regular Meeting PRESENT: Joy Daley, Chairman Michael Hall Stephen Shauger Gay German Alderman Nancy Meyer Alderman Elva Holman ABSENT - EXCUSED John Shisler Jonathan Simons ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS City of Ithaca, New York 7:30 p.m. March 16, 1976 E.M.C. REPORT: Chairman Daley reported that our E.M.C. Rep. Jon Simons attended the E.M.C. meeting on March 11 and Pyramid was discussed. No action was taken by E.M.C.; the proposal was referred to a task force. Nancy Meyer reported that most questions were submitted in writing and the questions chosen to be answered were previewed by Gary Craig. No conclusions were drawn by E.M.C. Mrs. Meyer suggested that a recommendation be made by the Environmental Commission. However, the point was made by Stephen Shauger that this is not our area unless a case can be made for the environmental impact as pertains to the City directly. No action was taken at this time. SALT: Steve Shauger presented the guidelines for salting the streets, drawn by him after consulting several offices of the City. The report includes consideration of certain types of equipment for future use. Alderman Holman will contact the Root Springs Scraper Company concerning cost of some equipment. Alderman Holman will also set up a meeting with our Board of Public Works Rep. Mr. Ewanicki and Mr. Shaw to explain the guidelines with adoption by Board of Public Works as the objective. BIKEWAYS: Mike Hall reported that he is meeting with the Planning Department concerning bike paths. The priorites as given in the report by Professor Gentile's class could not be strictly kept in the City. Mike Hall will meet with Judy Benedict of the Planning Department and go over the paths from Stewart Park to Cass Park. This portion to be worked on this summer, if possible. OPEN SPACES INVENTORY: Alderman Holman met 'th M V a specific list meet with Dennis wi L. an Cort of things needed to be obtained from D.E.C. Winter and get the materials he mentioned at and he suggested Chairman Daley will the February meeting. ALUMINUM RECYCLING: Mike Hall said he contacted Ecology House and gave them the information concerning Challenge Industries. Ecology House will. work with them on an Educational Campaign. SOLID WASTE: Alderman Meyer reported on the solid waste meetings. She feels that the city should receive the benefits from recyclable materials instead of burning them in a $15 million plant. She read a statement prepared by her. S.E.Q.R.: Chairman Daley asked if the commission had read the copies of the rules and regulations given at the last meeting. She also asked if the commission wished to make a recommendation concerning the impact law. Steve Shauger commented that he thinks in view of events in Albany the deadline for implementation of the law will be extended and then repealed. Alderman Holman asked if she should send a latter to Gary Lee inquiring about the status of S.E.Q.R. and asking them to implement the law. The Commission asked her to do so. Gay German offered to ask Niel_ Orloff a law student, to speak to us concerning the impact law. Alderman Holman suggested we also ask Mr. Dingman or someone from the Department of Public Works to explain how it would effect the City. The Commission will hear the two people and make a recommuendation at the April Meeting. Chairman Daley mentioned the tree sponsored by the A.B.C. has been planted in DeWitt Park. Chairman Daley asked the Commission to continue to mention the Environmental Camp to the organizations that they belong to. 4 Chairman Daley asked if the Commission was receiving "The Environment ". She also said they will now have to subscribe to this magazine. Steve Shauger informed the commission that he will be resigning as of the March meeting. He will be leaving Ithaca after the shcool year. A copy of the letter to Mayor Conley was given to Chairman Daley. Mrs. Daley asked the Commission to give her any suggestions for a replacement. ADJOURNMENT: By Steve Shauger: seconded by Mike Hall The meeting was adjourned. Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission ROAD SALT REPORT TO CITY OF ITHACA ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION & RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE COURSES OF ACTION WITH THE ITHACA Department of Public Works Useage of deicing salts in snowbelt states has increased astronomically in the past few years. Excessive use and loss of material before it can be used effectively are causes of environmental concern. Water, air and vehicle borne salts eventually enter the environment as direct run -off or percolation into groundwater. Reduced water quality, health hazards, corrosion damage to vehicles and highway structures and damage to vegetation and wildlife are some of the impacts salting has on the environment. Many agencies (including the Ithaca D.P.W.) routinely apply excess amounts of deicing salts (Nacl) for a variety of reasons including lack of problem awareness, managerial controls, equipment calibration and understanding and cooperation by the driving public. Because of concern for excessive salt useage, the City of Ithaca Environ- mental Commission has adopted the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines and recommendations for the best current practices for snow and ice control in highway maintenance. We must accept prudent actions and balance the environ- mentalist standard of no salt with the winter drivers' ideas of improved driving conditions; both concerns must be considered with minimum compromises to each. Specific Recommendations : The City of Ithaca Environmental Commission adopts the following techniques for reducing the amount of chemical use by the Department of Public Works. *Eventual use of ground -speed controllers for all spreaders *Calibration of spreaders to determine how much material is being used. TWO techniques are recommended; a yard calibration and an in- service calibration. Rule -of -thumb techniques are suggested for checking cali- bration and determining when spreaders are not operating at their pre- scribed rates. *Establishment of levels of service. Standards for monitoring roads during the winter should vary according to road types and their average daily winter traffic and emergency vehicle use. The D.P.W. plan effective January 1, 1976 is an acceptable plan (attached). *Establishment of application rates. Guidelines are presented for the amount of chemicals to be applied under varying weather conditions for various classes of roads. Two distinct rates are prescribed: one for first application and lesser amounts for secondary applications as the storm progresses. Recommended rate chart attached. *Starting to plow snow early in each storm and emphasis on plowing rather than salting. Underbody scrapers are easily adaptable to D.P.W. equipment and are reeonnended foi keeping snow pack from forming. *Accounting for the amount of salt used on each section of highway or city street. A daily report filled out by each operator -- summarizing the amounts of chemical used, the lane -miles upon which it is used and the results obtained -- is essential for accurate accounting for chemical useage. At the end of each winter season, a detailed report should be -2- submitted to the Envirmmental .report should - include: fission for analysis and comment. The Total tons of material used (salt and abrasives) ter" The average number of applications The total lane miles on which chemicals are applied. The total snowfall The total precipitation ater content A summary description of all the storms encountered that winter, including duration, dates, type The calculated quantities: mile/application average number of chemicals /lane mile /app average number of chemicals /lane mile /measure of the weather such as inches of snowfall and equivalent precipitation as inches of water Results obtained from teofall appervice provided the travelling Discussion of the quali y public An estimate of the environmental impact Effective snow and ice eontrol hinges upon leadership and decision making- 4The C tai P.1�1, is a .viable and effective of the maintenance ,WSagst. c t,, ,b mcogazed, and they ;must have organization. T imagers %o do the job effectively and access to the training and resources necessary to at the lowest total cost. Note: The above report is adapted from EPA -6 Deicing Chemicals; Application Erect' 74 -045, December 1974 Manual For Submitted by R.S. Shauger 10 March, 1976 00 In +C . in �4 d t d O O • • O ri O y O 'cT O O W �n •. u> O •• G b m O a 14 U ri a n 00 O"-4 b u 0. 41 ++ 0. U • G u N F R Z 0G! O ++ m G vl d O 14 d •O 11 00 O .+ O 'V W H 00 d H G u 1 G H 1+ O b O •'-1 O a .-1 O m 7 r1 m N �+ b > .-1 0. O d ./ N O N a O a a ++ G O 0.d u 0. u O .-a 1 w H u d T i 9 m 7 d d a �• C N O W . 1-1 a f u th a f0 4+ H 0. 44 H a 40). u 0 a d d d .� u 0 4J r� G .-1 ■ F b a "� a ,4 a ++ w o. a d a •• +. w G ++ d a • u G G 01 V7 2 a O d H 0 O d d a d d a H H O a d o .G Q. H a H 3 A $ .0 H H ,'t ,O H H u a N ,'!t p U 7 Y b a1 ,q CA 1 1 1 I 1 1 I 1 I CV H M u O r-1 N N N a1-4 a H u w a m m m A d d N Y N M N ri i G W a o m m hu ,a au au gnu 1 0 O O O .4 ri w a w m w a N F M N do Aj a a O\ O\ O\ ca O a N 14 Y d H 0. M 4+ M 0. tlp I Q f"1 M H m t f 1 •.GI Ldi �•1 Cn r-4 a .� rn �a (sE,�J1 •� 1.4 ►e. u u u a Q .uj W m b m m d' C�4 0 m 00 m e u ,4 4 Id en 0 in 48 0 N en a in on N� p.j d H Y Y N N f h U s » m b 41 roues i ME�i p p w as o o ro4+ au '�u O a O O M a 14 a or+es4 •,4 a M a w O V x 0 M N N d 0. 4+ d M 0. " a ' M 0 1 �••) U -10 0.1 M M w +i 0. +i 0. 14 N b O a U .� 7 E+ Ldi 14 w 0. 4n a M S M S Id A 14 4i .00 O In In el Cn .S-1 W H .T.Ga m a a 46 41 a au as ptl Me�,0 A U M S Y a N a 44 a Y r4 4 M a 00. O 0 13 N M m r 104 .4 M � u M 14 a 8 U1 .� .7 .4 a44 14 a cn d cO 4 to IK Co, � sd CO2 54 Do 93 CIO 11 Y O N N W gO Vl N M ~ O rn R A A A r+ a � a � { i O a� o i oft s a 52 n of tM Weather Total Snowfall - (in.) Total precipitation (as Water) tin.) FIGURE 14 STORM SUMMARY REPORT 65 Datets) of Storm - Report by Remarks IAF -n C O m -4 m -A N W O m Z m D r C C9 O1 X71 A W N -� 2 O r 0 1 A 0 0 3 0 e CL .°. 013. D 0 7 0 2 < A a O 3 A N n N & Qi 4 'C A � 3� 4 3 1 N _T m —I 0 O c n z O o F O a m � co 3 3 C 7 A O m 0 T O d v I I I ow STATE OF MICHIGAN CREW SIZE ACTIVITY DEPARTMENT OF STATE HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE DIVISION /� Form 450 (Rev. 10/71) "$: } "1 k I 141 OPERATORS WINTER REPORT WINTER OPERATIONS EQUIPMENT ROUTE(S) FINANCIAL CODE FOREMAN START DATE TIME AM PM OPERATOR (STOP TIME AM PM DATE TOTAL HOURS TRUCK ;# ACT. 141 ACCOMPLISHMENT LOAD SPOT LEFT CONTINUOUS TON S SALT SAND TONS /YD TONS /YD TONS /YD MILES 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL MATERIAL DESCRIPTION UNIT TOTAL AMOUNT SALT TON S SAND CY. YDS. CALCIUM CHLORIDE BAGS Courtesy of State of Michigan Department of State Highways FIGURE 12 OPERATOR'S WINTER REPORT 62 e 1 c I 1 i i 1 1 I i r Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman PROPOSAL: RESOURCE RECOVERY COMMITTEE "In solid waste management, as in other aspects of city administration, good decision - making is nearly synonymous with good city management. In the past, however, decisions regarding solid waste management have been based largely on intuition and local custom rather than on the experience of many communities and methodically developed information." Robert A. Colona Director, Systems Management Division Office of Solid Waste Management Programs from Decision - Makers Guide in Solid Waste Management EPA, Washington It is one thing for engineers to design mechanical systems for disposing of solid waste, but it is another for them to work out the management systems involving people. The problems and scope of solid waste management are large enough to demand time, energy and study on several fronts. Private industry, government and technological experts need to work out the solutions together, but with an understanding of what the long range issues and goals are so as to not lead us into another larger problem. One small section or front of the larger problem is resource recovery as it is prac- ticed on the local level. We know that much usable material - 1 - 19 Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman is being wasted by burning or burying of solid waste, and more and more of us are beginning to feel that this is undesirable as well as costly. F. R. Jackson in his book, Recycling and Reclaiming of Municipal Solid Wastes states, "In recent years, the problems associated with solid waste disposal have become a national crisis. This situation has developed because increasing amounts of wastes are being produced each year and present waste management techniques are not adequate to prevent serious environmental pollution. More wastes are being produced: (1) our population is increasing and (2) our per capita rate (of production of solid wastes) is also increasing. As these (solid waste) technologies are developed, they will add to the alternatives available to a community when it decides to recycle some of its wastes as part of the total solid waste management program. Numerous alternate ways and means are needed, because local conditions vary widely and no single line of approach is capable of meeting every community's need." The EPA has recently (1976) written a book, Decision - Makers Guide in Solid Waste Management which analyzes the problem from the decision - makers' point of view. This book points up why the NYS Conference of Mayors in conjunction with the DEC should become involved in helping municipalities work toward local solutions. Each municipality has a vested interest in the institutional and organizational approaches - 2 - /° Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman to the ownership and operation of collection services, public or private ownership and operation of processing facilities, multijurisdictional approaches and regionalization of solid waste disposal, generation of operating revenues, potential of source separation, collection equipment and crew size, equipment systems, manpower management and labor relations, recovery potential (materials, energy, etc.,) and the long range implications of any of these choices. Although each community will be working at its own level with the various aspects of the problem, many communities would welcome assistance from the NYS Conference of Mayors and DEC, because of the way solid waste systems have traditionally been viewed. The $60,000 Tri- County Solid Waste Study is one form of assistance, but it does not adequately deal with questions like the following: What is the bottom line of a cost benefit analysis of resource - recovery from municipal wastes? What are real savings in trees or costly importing of the metals we waste? Is recovery worth the effort of reorienting our approach to trash disposal? Wouldn't people appreciate governmental efforts to increase revenues by separating valuable materials from burnable trash, saving energy required to separate after it has been picked up. Large systems, while they may be economically sound for large cities, may not be appropriate for smaller communities. Is that any reason to exclude the small communities from - 3 - Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman contributing to the solution of the national crisis? Can small communities get assistance in finding out about legal rights to the materials? Many systems for the handling of solid wastes are being created. These systems are being promoted by the firms that manufacture them. The question is, how are the communities being presented alternatives to any one system? Are they exploring the recycling of some of the components locally or are they being told that the only reasonable solution is the use of the material for energy without resource recovery? Local DPW's may not consider it their responsibility to create new policies or systems, or to explore money- saving approaches to solid waste management. Because the larger markets are dependent on more than one community and methods of returning that material to the production stream require the involvement of many communities, a broader system does need to be developed at the state level. Sweden is going on a program of mandatory source separation of newspapers, which will be sold to private industry for recycling. Private industry will only be involved if govern- ment guarantees such separation. The same type of approach here might make the difference of whether the metal and paper industries will technologically gear up to using waste materials. Some organization needs to look at these problems and address these issues as they relate to the individual municipalities - 4 - Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman in New York State, coordinate the response, and encourage statewide action. The NYS Conference of Mayors is obviously the kind of umbrella organization that could work with the State DEC to do this. It offers a forum where the issues can be discussed, actions coordinated, and comprehensive policies developed. First these issues must be better defined and mayors and legislators better informed. It would be appropriate for the Conference of Mayors to set up a committee and include solid waste management decision making in the 1976 Conference. Nancy Meyer Alderwoman City of Ithaca - 5 - Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman THE TRI- COUNTY SOLID WASTE REPORT: SOME QUESTIONS The following questions were developed after reading the Tri- County Solid Waste Report and attending a year of meetings conducted by Consultants McNeil and Wegner at the Tompkins County Planning Office. The questions are from the point of view of the local municipality, rather than the engineering firm which only primarily answers the question, "Is it feasible to recover energy from solid waste ?" 1. Who has the legal right to solid waste? There are two questions: one is of legal rights and the second is related to recovery. At what point does recovery occur? Does the energy plant reimburse the municipality for the full value of the waste or does it perform the separation process and pay the municipality the net, allowing for the cost of separation? 2. The study was contracted to see if it was feasible to burn solid waste as a fuel. The question of recyclable materials was a secondary concern. Consequently, the study did not set out to first concentrate on the recoverable resources and to develop a model system for returning them to market, sending the end product to an energy recovery plant. Therefore, the local communities were not given any real options. This is my concern: the feasibility of developing - 1 - Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman marketing and recycling systems should have been the focus of major long -range planning, rather than simply focusing on burning. The energy used in obtaining raw materials, and consumption of our dwindling natural resources demand a reevaluation of priorities. Building large energy plants fosters the idea that resources are infinite rather than finite. These plants may be necessary, but they should be planned with the optimum use of natural resources ad a primary concern. 3. Who is going to actually pay for the large plants? The suggested system requires long truck hauls. Why not feed this material into a variety of local institutions and industrial plants after all the reuseable material is removed? Local manufacturers and institutions are going to feel the gas and coal pinch... they may want an opportunity to see if they also could handle the remaining solid waste. 4. In the development of this study the letters McNeil sent to various companies, I felt, did not elicit real support. Cornell has not responded with any real commitment and NYSEG was about as discouraging. The small companies also responded in what I felt was a weak manner. It is my premise that the marketing of some of the recyclable materials will have to be negotiated directly between the municipality and the real markets. And until negotiations are serious, it is impossible to judge whether in fact these markets are available. The Conference of Mayors and DEC could help by setting up a model - 2 - Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman project to demonstrate the viability of local solid waste collection and resource recovery, and to answer related questions such as: 1. What source separation and municipal pickup systems are feasible? 2. Municipal ordinances: what kinds are possible? 3. How can materials be delivered to the closest possible markets? What are some of the real cost factors in these kinds of options? 4. What are the alternatives to large new plants? What conversion is necessary for older, established local institutions and industrial plants as opposed to new plants? Twenty years ago there was more recycling than there is today. What has moved us away from recycling and how can it be re- established in new, creative ways? 5. only 5 communities in Cayuga County have municipal col- lections; the rest are private. That sets up interesting problems in regard to bonding the facility and handling the recovered material. 6. Cornell University has not responded with any real commit- ment. Who would really own this plant? How could a plant which services a half - private university be bonded by the county? 7. The studl ignores the local community implications, even when questions regarding the effects on the local community - 3 - Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman were asked early enough for some action to be taken. This is an example of where DEC needs to make sure a study of this size gives careful consideration to local conditions...early in the game. The tri- county proposal centralizes the plant, creating long truck hauls which also consume a given quantity of energy. Local communities are becoming very sensitive to having broad 'State' solutions imposed on them. For these reasons, I recommend a pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of a solution involving decentralized pro- cessing of solid waste. 8. The information they have collected on the marketability of resources is partial and slanted to support the premise that burning is the most feasible solution. There is an abundance of other information that indicates that there are, in fact, other approaches if people are willing to work and look for them. Burning is a solution to one part of the whole problem. 9. The assumption underlying the approach used in the Tri- County study is that masst,echnological solutions are the only feasible solutions. This is a limiting assumption, because it makes it difficult to explore other alternatives. It is counter to the idea that we do ask individuals in our society to take personal responsibility for their actions. Consequently, it is not impossible to establish ordinances requiring the participation of the homeowner. F.R. Jackson, in his book Recvclinq and Reclaiming of Municipal Solid wastes, 4 - r Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman states that, "Hand sorting of materials is probably the oldest unit process of physical separation. To a degree, sorting operations are performed in virtually every manufacturing industry, if for no other reason than to reject imperfect iteris. The material to be sorted must have a readily distinguishable property such as color, luster, shape, size, general appearance or radioactivity. It should be the minor constituent and of such size and weight that it can readily be removed. Much of the solid waste generated by an urban population could be hand sorted at its source to minimize subsequent disposal problems. (This has been done in Los Angeles for many years.) Separation of household and similar waste into such categories as paper, glass, metal (cans, etc.) and garbage would impose no particular problem on the individual household and would be done at no cost to the overall disposal program. The sorted items could then be channelled to their proper disposal point (i.e., refuse incineration). Hand sorting of contractors' construction waste into its various components should facilitate waste disposal without adding a significant cost to construction." (P. 18) . 10. The cost of hand separating a metal like aluminum in comparison to magnet- separating needs to be calculated. The power requirement for magnetic recovery of aluminum is sizable, and only a cost comparison begins to give meaning to the kinds of options suggested here. The taxpayer ought to have a choice laid out before him as to how he wants to spend his valuable tax dollars. I for one would prefer to - 5 - Nancy Meyer, Alderwoman separate my trash at home rather than have my dollar pay for it in another system....i.t would not take any more energy .... just another system of throwing. - 6 - ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS City of Ithaca, New York Regular Meeting 7:30 P.M. April 20, 1976 PRESENT: Joy Daley, Chairman Jonathan Simons Gay German Michael Hall Alderman Elva Holman ABSENT: John Shisler APPROVAL OF MINUTES By Gay German: seconded by Michael Hall RESOLVED, That the minutes of the March 16, 1976 meeting be approved as recorded by the City Clerk. Carried COMMITTEE REPORTS Salt Alderman Holman reported that she and Steve Shauger met with Asst. to the Supt. of Public Works, Dougherty, and Commissioner Shaw of the Board of Public Works, Chairman of the Highways, Street Lighting and Refuse Committee. The meeting was considered very successful by Alderman Holman and with the exception of the last recommendation, which is the one dealing with the reporting process - the recommendations are going to be accepted. Asst. to the Supt. Dougherty isn't in favor of the snow plow blades being attached to the undercarriage of the trucks. After some discussion, Comm. Shaw agreed to ask that one be included in next year's budget to be used on a trial basis in the hopes that we can then con- vince the department that that was a way to handle the plowing. Alder- man Holman further stated that it was agreed that the accounting proce- dure might be cumbersome and if we could have some indication as to how much salt was used and how many miles of roadway is covered, etc. it would serve our purpose. Comm. Shaw agreed to take to the Board of Public Works for approval to order, one calibrated spreader against this year's budget and it is anticipated that over a period of time all five (5) vehicles used for spreading salt will be calibrated. Alderman Holman stated that hopefully she will have a report next month on the B.P.W. action. Chairman Daley asked what procedure Comm. Shaw would follow. Will he take a recommendation or write a resolution that the Board accepts this? Alderman Holman stated that Comm. Shaw agreed in concept with all of the recommendations, with the exception of accounting. He will pass those recommendations through his Highways Committee. If the Committee is favorable then presumably the B.P.W. will act on these recommendations to make them policy and then it goes to Common Council. Open Spaces Chairman Daley reported that she met with Dennis Winters of the County Planning Board, who gave several pieces of information: 1) The County Planning Board's completed application for funds. 2) Natural Resource inventory - the process we should go through. 3) One copy of their original application (not completed) 4) One copy of the finished product. There is the possibility of our Commission getting some information from Cornell. The problem seems to be to find the exact pin - pointed spot to begin - step 1. Mr. Winters advised that the application for funds should be step 1. Chairman Daley commented that she feels that most of the information needed for the Open Spaces Inventory is available here in City Hall and this might mean that we would have to collect just 100 of what is re- quired for the inventory. - 2 - April 20, 1976 Chairman Daley passed around information which she has gathered. Chairman Daley reported that she had talked federal funding for this project. Possibly than D.E.C. funding, since we might be able the portion that we need to have done, with ground work has already been done by one gri New York State Land Use. with someone who suggested that would be a better route to get a student to do just the idea that much of the Sup or another, i.e., the Chairman Daley reported that she has an application whereby this Commis- sion can send for our particular portion of this. The maps and over -lay are not very expensive so probably the purchase will not require a vote. There are two for Ithaca, so that would mean an expenditure of from $8.00 to $12.00. If approval is needed from this Commission, Chairman Daley will contact the members. Bikeways Mr. Michael Hall reported that he and Judy Benedict, of the City Planning Dept. went around the Bikeway route which he had originally proposed two years ago. They took 40 slides along the route. The Planning Dept. will use these slides to move from their present position - which is that they have $5,000 and a report from Mr. Gentile which they feel is not necessar- ily what the Planning Dept. wants to accept as necessarily the best way to go about implementing the Bikeway. Interest seems to be in the Commission's original proposal - which is to connect Stewart and Cass parks. Judy Benedict will now use the 40 slides as she starts trying to decide what should be done to get the bike route up to acceptable levels as a Bikeway - how much it would cost, etc. The plan now is to do a feasibility study on the route. If it turns out that $3,500. could set it up in good shape, then probably their proposal would be that we go ahead and get that par- ticular route fixed up. Mr. Hall further reported that next month he would get back in touch with Judy Benedict to go over the route again. He stated that next month he would report on what the next move will be. There are two large obstacles - the biggest one is getting across the inlet. We might need a guard rail on the bridge. Judy Benedict is working on the obstacles. If she can overcome some of the obstacles then it would appear that we can get this started. This would tie in with the State Trail - the status of which is somewhat up in the air because Mr. Comerford is leaving. On the other end of the Bikeway business - Mr. Hall reported that his parents own some land south of town which the State would like to buy for the Bikeway. The last communication which Mr. Hall's father has had was that the State would still like to buy it but are waiting for the budget to be approved. There has been quite a bit of budget cut -back on the State level. Alderman Holman asked whether the City and State might get together - whereby the City put the bikeway together and the State maintain it? Mr. Hall replied that he doubts very much that the State would take it on because it will all lie on City property. Mr. Hall stated that he will try to bring the slides of the Bikeway route in to the next meeting. Most of the route is rideable right now. It is just a matter of fixing things up. More discussion followed. OLD BUSINESS State Environmental Quality Review Law (S.E.Q.R.) - Mr. Niel Orloff Mr. Niel Orloff spoke to the Environmental Commission members. He ex- plained what the S.E.Q.R. law entails. Discussion followed on the floor. - 3 - April 20, 1976 Mike Hall asked who is the ultimate arbitrator as to whether or not an Impact Statement has to be forthcoming? Mr. Orloff suggested that the first step would be to go to the Agency involved, explaining the reasons why a statement should be required. Another question was asked as to whether any organization has the right to compel a local municipality to issue the Impact Statement? Chairman Daley asked whose responsibility it would be to prepare the Impact Statement? Mr. Orloff replied that the law states that the Agency which has to take the action - or make the decision on the project shall either prepare it itself or cause it to be prepared - however, there are a number of options. The Impact Statement should be prepared when an Agency is in the planning stage. Mr. Orloff suggested that this matter might be explored with the Planning Department to determine how they would suggest the processes should operate. Mr. Orloff agreed to sit down with them and talk about it just to make everyone aware of the provisions of the law. It was suggested that an informational meeting be arranged on or around June 1st when this law is expected to go into effect. This meeting would include all of the people in City Government who would be affected by the new S.E.Q.R. law. Alderman Holman advised the members that Mayor Conley does have some knowledge of S.E.Q.R. and what its implications are. It might be appro- priate to ask him if he has thought at all about who might be the depart- ment to request the Environmental Impact Statements. This could be the first step taken by the group. Alderman Holman stated that the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce spoke against the S.E.Q.R. law at the meetings in Syracuse. Suggestion was made that someone attend (or talk with someone who will be attending) a breakfast being held by Gary Lee of the N.Y.S. Assembly, to find out whether they lobbied with him against the law going into effect. Chair- man Daley thanked Mr. Orloff for his presence and stated that his infor- mation was very helpful to the group. Suggestions for appointment of new Commissioner Mr. Niel Orloff was suggested as a possible new Commissioner on the Environmental Commission. Gay German will approach him to determine whether or not he is interested. NEW BUSINESS Environmental Heritage Day Chairman Daley reported that she had called the D.E.C. to inquire about a movie to be shown at the Environmental Heritage Day. The Department didn't have a suitable movie, but they agreed to provide a Slide Show - which they are mailing as soon as possible. Chairman Daley stated that help will be needed on Saturday, May 1st to operate the equipment. Alderman Holman reported that there is a film entitled "Tale of Two Cities" which is about two communities which banned salt and what happened as a result. Alderman Holman agreed to check with Asst. to the Supt. Dougherty to make the arrangements for obtaining the film "Tale of Two Cities." Alderman Holman also suggested that the Bikeway slides be shown on May 1st. Alderman Holman stated that she would be available to work on Saturday, May 1st - in any capacity that she would be needed. Chairman Daley will check with the High School Environmental Club for possible members to help on May 1st - Environmental Heritage Day. Environmental Leaders Conference Chairman Daley reported that she has a great deal of material from the Environmental Leader's Conference which she and Alderman Holman attended. - 4 - April 20, 1976 It is very informative and very interesting. It includes guidelines for an environmental impact assessment which we can keep on file. Anyone interested in this material - please look it over, but return to Chairman Daley for the file. Conference - Bear Mountain Lake Chairman Daley reported that there will be a Conference on May 15th at Bear Mountain Lake. If anyone is interested in going, the Environmental Commission will sponsor them. Adjournment By Michael Hall: seconded by Gay German RESOLVED, That the meeting be adjourned. Carried Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission ENVIROWTENTAL COW4ISSION PROCEEDINGS City of Ithaca, New York Regular Meeting PRESENT: Joy Daley, Chairman Gayle German Michael Hall Jonathan Simons ABSENT: oin�ghisler (excused) 7:30 P.M. May 18, 1976 Chairman Joy Daley called the meeting to order. She explained that Alderman Holman had another meeting scheduled which she had to attend, but hoped to get in later on in the evening. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: By Michael all: seconded by Jon Simons RESOLVED, That the minutes of the April 20, 1976 meeting be approved as recorded by the City Clerk. Carried Chairman Daley apologized for lack of an agenda, explaining that she had not had time to prepare one. C01,94ITTEE REPORTS: Bikeways Proposal Chm. Daley asked Michael Hall to report on the Bikeways Proposal. Mr. Hall reported that he had talked with Judy Benedict who had presented the Bikeways Proposal to the Planning $ Development Board who had approved going ahead with work on the project. Mrs. Benedict hired a student from Landscape Architecture School to work on the Plans this summer and come up with specific routes to be looked at. There is a $5,000 budget for this year's work on the project; there is talk of requesting $10,000 for 1977 and $5,000 for each succeeding year. The approach being incremental, it will accrue with time rather than trying to sell an expensive project which might be lost at the start because of its expense. They would rather spread the expense out as they can get the money to do it. The Commission is not required to take further action until after the landscape architect has presented specifics on how things should be laid out and what the cost will be. Tors. Benedict roughed out the cost but didn't mention what figure she arrived at. To go straight class 1 from Stewart to Cass Park is an ex- pensive proposition so they felt it would be better to opt for a mix, define the trail, make some improvements - -that way we might avoid the pitfall of being hung up as the State Trail is at present for lack of funds. Mr. Hall said he talked to Mr. Cummerford about a week ago and the budget is such that everything came to a screeching halt for lack of state funding. Air. Cummer- ford was hopeful that before long the State would see its way clear to provide them with some funds. Mr. Hall believes the City's approach is the best in that they will not attempt more than they can handle. He feels that -2- May 18, 1976 given the funds this year and a person to work on the project, probably by the end of summer they might buy some signs or whatever implementation strategy they decide upon. He believes by late summer or, at the latest, next spring, it can be publicized and operating after a fashion. Chm. Daley reported that Alderman Holman said money was being allotted (as though it was accomplished) but she didn't know if this was after Mr. Hall talked with firs. Benedict. Mr. Hall said Tors. Benedict had talked to Alderman Holman earlier that day and to his knowledge they have what was appropriated last December in the 1976 budget and it will be a matter of budget requests for 1977 and each succeeding year. The Salt Project Chm. Daley reported that Alderman Holman has not heard anything but she is sure the matter is being considered. Chm. Daley said that in going through materials for the May 1st event she could not find the letters and asked if anyone had copies of Steve Shauger's letter, the letter from the man from Cargill, and letters to the Editor. She thought perhaps Mr. Shauger would have them and asked if he is still in Ithaca. Mr. Hall replied that he will be here off and on for about 4 weeks. Chm. Daley said she would try to contact him by phone as she would like to have the letters reproduced for the files and find out if Mr. Shauger had other materials in his files which would be of use to the Commission. The Impact Law Chm. Daley reported she had talked to Alderman Holman who thought the Commis- sion should react to the Governor's suggestion of the new law and Alderman Holman contacted Assemblyman Gary Lee but as of today had not heard back from him. Chm. Daley asked for the feeling of the Commission and for some direc- tion from them as to whether they should react and in what way. Her first thought was that the Commission should write letters to Assemblyman Lee asking him to reject the new law, but Alderman Holman thought it better to try to telephone him. She thinks his leanings are toward the economic interests. Chm. Daley explained that the Governor has come out with a new law proposing that the State delay the original, the general idea being that it take effect first for State action, then local action and then private action. Chm. Daley believes that postponement,of the law for a year will be the end of it. She does not believe it is going to have that much of an impact. She thinks now is the time they should stand firm, now that the law has been passed. It is a little step, being one of the few things that has been accomplished. 'Fr. Hall said he didn't think it would be inappropriate to pass a resolution supporting the bill as it was originally proposed, and to further suggest that much of the rejection of the bill or the concept of it by the public is perhaps tied to lack of education about what the bill entails. Perhaps suggest to the Governor that if the bill were properly presented to the people, explaining what the features of the bill were, etc., get away from -3- May 18, 1976 the scare tactics that Cayuga Heights would never have been built if the law were in effect, which we find is not true. The key to the whole thing is explaining to people what it is all about; when they understand that, then the only interests that will be left to complain about will be the ones it was designed to fight against in the first place. Resolution By Mic ail Hall: seconded by Gay German RESOLVED, That the Environmental Conservation Commission will react to Governor Carey's Environmental Impact Laws as upholding the June 1, 1976 enactment date. Chm. Daley asked if there was further discussion. The motion is that the Commission supports the law basically. Then follow up with letters to these people, repeating Mr. Hall's statement. A vote was taken on the motion which resulted in the motion being passed. Open Spaces Chm. Daley explained she had not been able to do anything about this item and asked if T "r. Hall had anything on it. Mr. Hall said he had been trying to contact Ernest Hardy to talk to him about this and other matters. He suggested tabling the item and said he would try to submit something in writing for the next meeting, although he will not be present for the next meeting. Chm. Daley asked if there were any more Committee Reports and asked Jon Simons if he wanted to speak briefly about B & C. Jon Simons said he missed the last meeting but understood there was a great deal of discussion about Pyramid and apparently the Task Force gets underway in two weeks. Chm. Daley suggested he go to the meeting and find out if they were interested in anything the Commission has, such as guidelines. Mr. Simons reported receiving a letter from the County Clerk regarding his taking an oath of office for a two -year term, but inasmuch as he will not be here next year, it was decided he would take the oath of office anyway, thus he will have the right to vote and represent the Commission for the time he is here. OLD BUSINESS: Heritage Day Chm. Daley reported that Heritage Day was quite successful. There was good attendance even though the weather was not ideal. The Area Beautification and Greenway dedications went off well. The suggestion was made that maybe it should be repeated another year. -4- May 18, 1976 (,Daley mentioned meeting a representative of the Sierra Club who told her they were working with the County on a Land Use Plan and would like help from other environmental organizations. Chm. Daley told her she could contact the Commission if they wished. Summer Films A brief discussion was held on whether or not to have films on the Commons and what films. Thursday evening was suggested as an appropriate time and it was recommended that a schedule be set up of several consecutive weeks (at least 4, maybe 6) so that people will count on it. Perhaps one night could be scheduled as children's night. It was decided to try for July 29 through September 2. Chm. Daley and Gay German will meet to look over the film lists and Chm. Daley will report to the Commission at its next meeting on progress on the project. CORRESPONDENCE: Chm. Daley reported she had finally received a report of last fall's EPL convention, and even though it is old, anyone may look at it if interested. ADJOURN14ENT: By Mike Hall: seconded by Jon Simons RESOLVED, That the meeting be adjourned. Carried Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission Excerpts from Environmental Meeting held Tuesday, June 15, 1076 Alderman Meyer summarized the Solid Waste concerns which have been going on in the State of New York and in which she has been involved. The con- clusion which has been reached is that the Commission has been charged with forming a Council or group who will start working on solid waste. Some comments which Alderman Meyer made to the Environmental Commission members who were present are as follows: Ithaca Common Council has passed a resolution at their last meeting regard- ing this matter, so its a really nice thing for the Commission to be able to handle. Alderman Meyer stated that four years ago when she was first interested in solid waste, the concerns nationally were not as strong as they are now. Many developments have occurred, the crises is larger: land fill areas have had to close, the dimensions of the alternatives have been gaining - the problem is monetary. $500 million is spent on municipal solid waste manage- ment and an equal amount of money is spent on private so it is evident that the money involvement is sizeable. In the last four years many voluntary kinds of programs have come and gone, all over the State and the nation. In the meantime, the County was engaged in a Tri- County solid waste program. This program was very beneficial and Alderman Meyer stated that she learned a great deal from serving on this Committee. This study cost $50,000 on the onset - paid for by state D,E.C. The state D.E.C. was given $175 million for solid waste programs. TI-ey have spent a total of $171 million. Much of this money has gone into study situations rather than actual equipment and plant management and organiza- tion. That means that if a study is undertaken, it means that that is a relationship between a municipality and our County and an engineer and it may or may not be implemented, depending on whether or not those municipal- ities are able to bond and get whatever equipment they need. Because of the energy situation there has been a great focus and emphsis on using solid waste for energy. Its like a band wagon and its not unlike the land fill situation of 20 years ago. In the meantime, there have been citizen action programs trying to say: yes, technology has to take care of big cities but we as citizens are concerned. Displayed on the board is an example of a citizen's program which could be complimentary to a larger study or larger energy covered program but it is an example where citizens have an active recycling situation. Going back to the Tri- County: The Tri - County (Putnam County) asks a specific question and this is the problem with study. Their charge is to answer a specific question and they are not to go outside of the perimeters of the question. The scope of the study was "The Study of Energy and Recovered materials from Solid Waste." In essence they were asking whether or not they could derive energy from three counties from their solid waste. The second part of the study was whether or not they would be recoverable materials. The question was ansivered - yes, there probably is energy resource here and that energy resource - they focused on Cornell; but, as we have been meeting since this stud;- was col:ipletecl, Cornell has put us aside for certain reasons it's not dead but t}ie. 1Focus is now on Milliken Station and there are letters in process nog %, trying to, Talk on Solid Waste by Nancy Meyer - 6/15/76 page 2 get a firm committment as to whether or not Milliken Station will take at least three counties waste and then possibly more - maybe four or five counties. What does this mean? It means that some of this waste that would end up there would be burned, there would be a residue left which would be disposed of. That means that Milliken would have to convert its boilers (a very expensive proposition), there would have to be transfer stations - it means that every local municipality and private carer would have to be negotiated with and in the disposal of this material at Millikin Station. There are many problems which we are dealing with now. We are dealing with transportation, marketability of resources, whether or not there are markets for the materials, etc. This is a mass solution which State D.E.C. in fact, is promoting, they want mass type solutions. It does not help a city like ours specifically deal with our waste solution at this point in time. It may, though, because some committment was received from William Bentley, that perhaps if we establish a resource recovery committee of the Environmental Commission, we probably can get William Bentley or someone from his office to come down and help us study and create a pilot project. In the meantime, Alderman Meyer stated, that she became aware of several things. Noone is asking the household person to do this front separation because that is harder than collecting it and sorting it mechanically. The energy problems are different - in other words, if you use our energy there is no cost factor, when there is a different cost factor. If we collect it, then we pay for that separation later. But they don't want to deal with that, they want to deal with the mass solutions but there are many people who are asking whether or not this should have been The Tri- County, at this point, is listening to some of the things that I am saying and we will try to incorporate these kinds of things in as a possi- bility, which is why its important for this Commission to establish a Council of some sort to look into this, so that while they are continuing to program the possibility of burning it, we perhaps can get some resource recovery going on a solid base. Its traditional that D.P.W.s do not take the initiative of creating programs in solid waste management. There primary concern is simply to get rid of the stuff the cheapest way possible and they do not want to have to deal with it. Therefore, somebody else has to deal with the systems of the management aspect of it. Right now the Tri- County is in such a situation and if we did organize and investigate a whole municipal area, we could very nicely work cooper- atively with that and then keep the rest of our material intact. In the meantime, nationally there is a bill HR 13048 which is dealing with, the same issue. This is a national concern. We have written every member on this committee regarding this bill letters have been received back from three of the Congressmen and, again, if we have a Council this Council could be in some sort of communication with these people, talking about what their concerns are on a national basis. Alderman Meyer stated that she keens bringing this up because she is concerned that the men who are technically oriented are pushing for burning and Alderman Meyer further stated that she doesn't disagree with this in total but if we push for very large expensive systems (that cost anywhere from 14 million up) and we over build and then we find that we have to conserve every bit of resource that we can get out of it, then we may over build the system. This is why the recycling aspects of it are so important now. Their answer to this would be that there is very little that you can get out of the waste treatment and much of it is organic and it ought to be burned anyway. That may or may not be, but the Talk on Solid Waste by Nancy Meyer - 6/15/76 page 3 issue still has to be dealt with. In the meantime, the Mayor started us out by supporting an idea that the Conference of Mayors would establish a task force and that task force was the result of a resolution passed to the establishment of a task force. This task force sent out a survey which Alderman Meyer offered to leave with the Environmental Commission members,on solid waste. Gordon Perry, Mayor of Weedsport, and Alderman Meyer are co- chairman of that survey and it will be their job, working with William Bentley, to determine the results of the survey. The survey was to find out what some municipalities are doing. Alderman Meyer will be seeing Gordon Perry to determine who is going to be on the task force, they will be planning to send this out to all the municipalities, finding out where they are. This will be a com- pliment to what the state D.E.C. has done. All of the tapes which Alderman Meyer has available were brought to this meeting tonight, but she will not use them tonight because they are too long. Alderman Meyer stated that William Bentley went down the list of projects that were funded with that $175 million so they have a very composite list of these big things which they have been doing. We will try to combine what we can find out from the little systems and the big systems to see how the State Conference of Mayors may help this situation on the State Legislative level. There might be ways of cooperating or ways of approaching this differently. There are several levels of activities that the Conference of Mayors can help us with. It might be monetary, it might be a matter of tying in what we are doing to this bill. This task force will work probably a year trying to find out what we can do and how we can act and begin the Council that you set up can work with this as feeding it information as to what is going on locally. What Alderman Meyer is asking or suggesting is that the Council be broad, that it not be just the City of Ithaca, that they investigate what goes on in a whole municipal area because all of our waste is going to go to Tri- County solution and market ability of materials are dependent upon more cooperation than just a single municipality. Alderman Meyer asked to take a minute to talk about Putnam County. There are several levels of activities that can go on. As you have possibly observed, all over the nation there are citizen's committees that opeate. These often fail because they are not big enough, they are not methodical enough, they are not programmed into the governmental structure so when the nice gals get tired, then it all folds up. These gals are really very clever and have gone beyond that, they have a site which was the old dump and they have been given the use of a building on the dump, which has a baler on it now and they have private carterers which bring the material. They have just established a mandatory separatpion ordinance but they created a situation where they have a big tractor - trailer and they have two young men helping who get paid a small amount of money from the City budget and that paper goes right into that tractor - trailer and is away. They have all of their barrels laid out for aluminum taken , glass, other kinds of metal, places for tires and old appliances. These young men bale these materials and sell them. glass It is similar to what we are doing izith , but it is broader and more in depth and they have enough behind them that they have paid for the baler. The other thing about it, that they do, which is very difficult for us to do as we operate now, we have all the bugs in all of these things - and this is why we need a Council - a resource Talk on Solid Waste by Nancy Meyer - 6/15/76 page 4 recovery Council. They have the finances from what they make to be able to put together material, they educate, they publicize and they continue to get people to participate. Question was asked as to whether they actually paid for their baler from what they made? Alderman Meyer replied that they sold the bales of paper but they are getting $40.00 a week apiece so they have gone to operating as a business. Alderman Meyer stated that this is what she would like to see, to system - matically find out what, in fact, are the solid waste practices going on, what are theoptions, what are the financial factors (how much does it actually cost us to operate our solid waste system in the City, which includes the Heights, Lansing and the Town of Ithaca) what is the finan- cial enumeration possible if some of these materials were recovered and not taken to the land fill. Alderman Meyer stated that every time she thinks of the fact that land fill bags back the waste and sells them, it is irri- tating to think about the fact that we are paying someone to take them out there. What is the cost of gas to go 17 miles each trip, how many trips do we take, how many does Cayuga Heights take and what is budgeted for each of the municipal budgets and what are the alternative costs? This kind of service could then be re- evaluated for an intermunicipal solution to it and then it would feed into the Tri- County. We could find out what the cost statements would be (we don't make money, just save money). The City is supporting Challenge Industries, we let them use our buildings when, in fact, Challenge is using a much broader area for their operation and they need to - and they can take all the glass they can get but we are really supporting that as a service. Now how can we ask the other municipalities to also support Challenge as a service, both in terms of mandatory separa- tion and collection systems. Many people are interested in this issue - Dean Malott is interested, Mr. Woodin and Nancy Gallant, who has worked in this professionally, so would be a very good resource person. Possibly we could make a plea to find out who else might like to join such a task force or Council. If we make a big story about this and advertise for it, we would find many people who are interested. A suggestion was made that we put a form in the paper asking for interested people who would like to work on solid waste. Also ask for ideas, etc. Alderman Meyer stated that there are many new factors coming up - people are giving credit to'the fact that it doesn't take us any longer at home to separate then it does to put it all in the trash barrel. The chart which Alderman Meyer displayed summarizes what the decision may be - as to problems in solid waste - as to the cost,the resource conserva- tion, the environmental factors, the institutional factors, those are the factors that the Community really ought to find out about and ask questions on. Question was asked if Alderman Meyer knew what the problem with paper collection is. Alderman Meyer stated that the market fluctuates - it goes from as high as 20 down to 6 a ton. There are new attitutdes forming such as maybe we have to accept the fact that we are going to have to stockpile these materials just like you do coal, aluminum, etc. . Talk on Solid Waste by Nancy Meyer - 6/15/76 page 5 Alderman Meyer also would hope that this Council would be the body that Bentley and his office would work with. She stated that this Commission did such a good job with Salt. Chairman Daley stated that Steve Shauger should receive the thanks for that. Solid Waste is a national crises and as stated in one of the books on the third report to Congress, "it is inextricably linked to our whole economic system." Alderman Holman asked how wide an area do we see the resource being covered? Alderman Meyer responded that she sees the urban area - such as the town of Ithaca, Cayuga Heights, Lansing and Ithaca - any of the urban areas which strongly feeds the landfill sites because of the heavy concentration. On the other hand, if there are people in the outlying areas who are interested, it shouldn't be closed off - Newfield and Groton could very well be included. This is a complicated issue. Alderman Holman asked whether the city Environmental Commission is better equipped to set up a Council than the county? Alderman Meyer replied that the County Environmental Commission has somebody who is presently interested in it. Because we have the largest system, maybe, it would be better for us to start and we also have the closest lead on different counties on D.E.C. and we also will work with Liguori and the other solid waste steering committee. What this Council would do would be complimentary to wherever the Tri- County goes and John McNeil agrees with that and the other people who are in it. Chairman Daley stated that this system will be tax supported just as the dumps or landfill areas are now. They want as much solid waste, it would just mean that they can cover a larger area - but there is no reason why individual counties like Newfield and Ithaca, etc. could not take advantage. Alderman Meyer stated that there are legal problems with this, such as when do we turn over the rights to the solid waste, do we want to take the resource material off the floor, do we want to turn it over to them and let them take it out? Those issues should be discussed - maybe we want to deal with it on a much more primary basis which is possibly a sort of final separation. Newspapers are only worthwhile if they are source spearated. They can be burned but their highest monetary value comes from source separation which we intuitively know. Alderman Meyer stated that there are interesting facts that go along with this, such as: one ton of paper made from recycled paper saves 17 trees and 2 -1/2 barrels of oil. One ton of steel made from recycled steel saves enough electricity to cover the average house for 8 months. 200 lbs. of air polutants are not produced - 6,700 gallons of fresh water are not used. 102 lbs. of water polutants are not discharged and 2.7 tons are not made. This is in recycling. Chairman Daley stated that she things the energy is the most important factor here. The energy that it tales to recycle is less then the energy that it takes to recycle, is less then the energy used to start from the ,Talk on Solid Waste by Nancy Meyer - 611SI76 page 6 pulp. The transportation and other factors enter into the recycling. It is much easier for them to just ship that pulp and make paper than it is to gather the papers. Alderman Meyer agreed that the energy saved is important but it is also the fact that these things are finite and this is why they are tied in to our whole economic institutions and we can't keep going on this way. People who are knowledgeable in this know that we have to change the trend. The large cities have big problems. Alderman Meyer stated that the tapes are available so when time is available she would recommend that the members of the Environmental Commission listen to them. Alderman Holman suggested that a few interested people sit down with Nancy Gallant and talk a bit about some grounders, goals, etc. After this preliminary discussion, then have a task force meeting. Discussion followed, as to the best course to follow. CITY OF ITHACA ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSrON Regular Meeting July 20, 1976 7:30 p.m. PRESENT: LTHirman Joy Daley, Gay German, John Shisler, Michael Hall, Jonathan Simons ABSENT: 3Tc erman Elva Holman Chairman Daley called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: By Gay German: seconded'by Michael Hall RESOLVED, That the minutes of the May 18, 1976 meeting be approved as recorded by the City Clerk. Carried COMMITTEE REPORTS: Bikeways Michael Hall informed the Commission that he had been out -of -town and had not done anything on the subject, but that he would talk with Alderman Holman and make his report at the August meeting. Chairman Daley informed the Commission that at the July 7, 1976 meeting of the Common Council, Alderman Gutenberger reported that "as it stands at this time, the bikeways system will probably not include the whole City of Ithaca, just the north end of town." Chairman Daley checked and confirmed that there is money allotted for successive years, and Alderman Holman said that Alderman Gutenberger's statement is not strictly true -- at some point there might be some things done. As far as the Planning Department is con- cerned, it is not a dead issue. Solid Waste Study Chairman man Daley reported that she and Alderman Holman met with Alderman Meyer, and at the meeting Alderman Meyer gave a presentation using some of the materials she has, and suggested that the Commission organize a committee. They began to do this so they would have something to report at this meeting. They have a couple of people in mind who are interested, but they will have to look around for someone to serve on the committee. They met and talked about the planning; what came out of it was that they will get together with Judy Galant who has done work in another county, and they are in the process of forming a committee to look into all the aspects - costs, etc., not only of waste collection, but of all types of disposal. Mike Hall thought perhaps in the fall he might have some people who would work on the project. The Commission directed Chairman Daley and Alderman Holman to continue in forming a committee and to present something at the next meeting. 2 July 20, 1976 Film Showing hay German noported that a list of films has been chose„ thAt should be interesting and tit,*, , T,r�gram is set for Abvuc an hour showing each Thursday evening from July z.q throiisl., ceptembor 2 et 8:00 P.M. Chairman Daley requested that the members choose the dates they can serve and she volunteered to take July 29 and perhaps one other evening. She also volunteered to pick up the projector(s) if the other members could not on the designated evenings. The films will be shown in the center pavilion on the Commons. In addition she said they would need a poster and also they will advertise in the paper. Open Spaces Inventory - No report. volved in the fall. OLD BUSINESS The Commission will probably get in- Chairman Daley informed the Commission resolution passed at the Mayor's Confe Common Council accepted the resolution on record as supporting an impact law. ward the resolution to the appropriate Carey and Warren Anderson. she had given everyone a copy of a rence regarding the Impact Law. The of the Commission, officially going Chairman Daley said she would for - legislators in addition to Governor Resolution By Gay German: seconded by Jonathan Simons RESOLVED, That the resolution passed by Common Council supporting the Impact Law drafted by the Environmental Commission be forwarded to Governor Carey and the appropriate legislators. Carried Commission Appointment C airman Daley reported that Mr. Neil Orloff has agreed to be a member of the Commission, subject to approval by the Common Council. Committee Appointments of Environmental Commission Members Chairman Daley reported that Mayor Conley has asked Alderman Holman to take his position on the Environmental Commission of Mayor's Conference; also the Commission is asking for appointment of a member (Gay German has offered to serve) on the Enurgy, Conm�tsic:..-- t- *-),'CUdy the City's participation. Mayor Conley said he is formulating a committee, with the help of the Planning Department, to take a position on the relocation of Route 96. Chairman Daley asked if one of the current members would be interested in serving on this committee, otherwise, perhaps one of the new members would be willing. File CHairman Daley informed the Commission she had talked to City Clerk Rundle who thought it would be all right to use part of the file in the Commons or Bicentennial Office. She said she will bring in the materials she has and requested other members to do the same and she will place them in the file. -- 3 - July 20, 1976 Inlet Problem Cialrma 'D' ey reported complaints have been received on an offensive odor from the water in the Inlet noar the narina (Johnson's). Alderman Holman has agreed to look into it. It has been investigated before. Chairman Daley asked for suggestions for a solution. It was suggested the Commission might consult someone in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University for advice. Steven Shau er Resolution y ay erman: seconded y John Shisler WHEREAS, Steven Shauger has served the City of Ithaca Environmental Com- mission faithfully for the last one and one -half years, and WHEREAS, he was instrumental in the creation and adoption of guidelines for the use of salt on city streets, and WHEREAS, he gave unselfishly of his time and energy to accomplish objectives and goals of the Environmental Commission, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Environmental Com- mission expresses its sincere gratitude to Mr. Steven Shauger for his ser- vice to the community, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be spread across the minutes and a copy be sent to Mr. Shauger. Carried NEW BUSINESS Nfiat -erwa s ommission Report Chairman Daley reported that a committee formed by the Planning and Develop- ment Department had been studying the waterways in and around Ithaca. Chairman Daley was asked to be a member of the committee. She attended a meeting of the committee at which Emanuel Carter of the Planning and Development Department gave a very lucid presentation of the waterways study, and asked for suggestions of how the waterways should be used, the object being to keep them at least in their present state and hopefully make some improvements. NYS DOT Screening Along Inlet Chairman Daley reported that it had been reported to the Commission that the State Maintenance Facility is very unsightly and that some screening should be done. Mike Hall and Alderman Meyer looked into this matter more than a year ago and made recommendations, but nothing has been done to date. Mike Hall suggested reactivating interest in the matter and going back to the NYS DOT to remind them that something must be done to screem the back of the facility. Youth Corps rman Daley reported in the May issue of the Environment Magazine therie was an article about the Youth Corps which nobody in the City seemed to know about. City Clerk Rundle received a News Release and sent a copy to Chairman Daley that the funds have been awarded. Nobody in City Hall was aware that the program existed. She suggested that the Commission should - 4 - July 20, 1976 get something in the permanent records. If there are funds available next year, the Commission should do something about it. The program is for youths 15 - 18 years of age, to be paid $2.30 per hour and employed to work on environmental projects through the Department of Environmental Conserva- tion. It can be applied for through the Youth Bureau or the Environmental Commission. We should look into this before next spring, at least ask to be put on their mailing list. COMMUNICATIONS Chairman Daley reported that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is thinking of putting out a list of permits, applications, rules and regulations - also notices of applications which require publi- cation; also any other appropriate public notices including those related to the State Environmental Quality Review Act. The Commission has to act on this tonight. There is $50 in the Dues and Publications fund ($40 balance) which will not cover membership in the New York State Environmental Conservation Commission. Chairman Daley reported also that she had received a copy of Human Resources Directory of Tompkins County with a form to fill out and send back. The Directory will be placed in the file. Chairman Daley asked if the members were receiving copies of B.O.R. News- letter and the Human Services Coalition Newsletter. Also, there is a Directory of the Echo Justice Task Force at Cornell University. Chairman Daley asked the Commission what action they wished to take on the above. Resolution By-John Shisler: seconded by Michael Hall RESOLVED, That $10.00 be appropriated for a subscription to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for publications of permits, applications and other appropriate public notices. Adjournment By Michael Hall: seconded by John Shisler RESOLVED, That the meeting be adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Carried Carried Joy Daley, Chairman Environmental Commission CITY OF ITHACA ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION Regular Meeting December 22, 1976 7:30 P.M. PRESENT: Cfiai an Joy Daley, Gayle German, Jack Hamilton, Neil Orloff ABSENT: Michael Hall, Mary Lincoln ; APPROVAL OF MINUTES: By Gayle German: Seconded by Jack Hamilton RESOLVED, That the minutes of the July 20, 1976 meeting be approved as recorded by the City Clerk. Carried Chairman Daley informed the Commission that as of January, Gayle German will be the only member left who has been on the Commission for any length of time. In January the Commission will have to elect officers; however, prior to that the names of persons recommended for the two vacancies on the Commission will need to be submitted to Mayor Conley for his approval and they should be appointed at the Regular meeting of Common Council in January and sworn in by the City Clerk before there can be an election of officers. The Commission is made up of six members, 4 members constitute a quorum. The chairman gets out the agenda which is mailed with the minutes of the previous meeting. The Clerk's office in City Hall is very helpful about mailings, letters, etc. The names which the Commission submit to the Mayor are usually accepted, but are subject to his approval. The members must reside in the City. If you think of somebody you want to recommend, call the Mayor's secreta- Ruthann Brown, give her the name and any particulars. You don't have to talk to the Mayor as he is hard to reach and at this point time is im- portant. Chairman Daley also informed the Commission that somebody from the Commission should act as representative on the EMC (county Environmental Management Council). This representative should be elected in January when the officers are elected, and should be sworn in as the Commission members are. The new chairman should write a letter to the county Environmental Management Council introducing this representative. Chairman Daley said she will prepare an annual report. She also'said she will ask Mrs. Hutson to send copies of the Local Law to the Commissi.�: members because on the back are listed the things Council directed the Commission to accomplish. The previous Commission got together and set some goals and have been trying to plug away on those. Chairman Daley informed the Commission that Elva Holman is the Commissior;' liaison with the Common Council and will be invaluable to the new commis- sion because she has the expertise. -2- December 22, 1976 Chairman Daley strongly recommended that the Commission go ahead with the Open Space and Solid Waste items. The Solid Waste Committee has been started. Chairman Daley said she will pass along materials received by her if she is given the name of the new chairman when elected. She has been receiving things from the New York State Department of Conservation concerning SECOR. They have been holding workshops for the counties and now the counties should hold workshops for the local communities. Probably the Department of Public Works and others will be notified when these come up. The Common Council of the City of Ithaca more or less endorse this. She also received something from NYSAC which she will handle - -an updated list of commissioners which they request. She will give this information to the Clerk's office and request that it be sent in when the appointments are complete. Also, she received communication from the New York State Conservation Commission giving the names of the regional directors and listing several pieces of literature they would like to know if the Commission want mailed on a regular basis. She passed it around for information and comment. Resolution By Gayle German: Seconded by Neil Orloff RESOLVED, That Chm. Daley inform the New York State Conservation Dept. that the Environmental Commission members wish to receive their mailings on a regular basis. Carried Neil Orloff informed the Commission that he was speaker at the Annual Meeting of the New York State Conservation Commission and attended the conference for one -half of one day. He spoke briefly about requirements of the Water Act. He said there also was an annual meeting in Albany at the Environmental Planning Office and a week later one in Rensselaer - ville. He thought it would be desirable for a commissioner to attend these meetings. Chairman Daley reminded the Commission that their budget must be submitted in the Fall of the year and that it is only $200. to cover travel, publi- cations, etc. She also informed the Commission that their files were supposed to go into the Old Board Room where the Commons Advisory Board and Bicentennial Commission are located. She is hopeful that the Com- mission files will still be located in that room. Also, she thought they might wish to check on the Ithaca College girl who was supposed to work on a centralized file system. ADJOURNMENT: By Gayle German: Seconded by Neil Orloff RESOLVED, That the meeting be adjourned. Carried Mrs. Elva W. Holman Liaison from Common Council ROAD SALT REPORT TO CITY OF ITHACA ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION & RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE COURSES OF ACTION WITH THE ITHACA Department of Public Works Useage of deicing salts in snowbelt states has increased astronomically in the past few years. Excessive use and loss of material before it can be used effectively are causes of environmental concern. Water, air and vehicle borne salts eventually enter the environment as direct run -off or percolation into groundwater. Reduced water quality, health hazards, corrosion damage to vehicles and highway structures and damage to vegetation and wildlife are some of the impacts salting has on the environment. Many agencies (including the Ithaca D.P.W.) routinely apply excess amounts of deicing salts (NaCl) for a variety of reasons including lack of problem awareness, managerial controls, equipment calibration and understanding and cooperation by the driving public. Because of concern for excessive salt useage, the City of Ithaca Environ- mental Commission has adopted the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines and recommendations for the best current practices for snow and ice control in highway maintenance. We must accept prudent actions and balance the environ- mentalist standard of no salt with the winter drivers' ideas of improved driving conditions; both concerns must be considered with minimum compromises to each. Specific Recommendations: The City of Ithaca Environmental Commission adopts the following techniques for reducing the amount of chemical use by the Department of Public Works. *Eventual use of ground -speed controllers for all spreaders *Calibration of spreaders to determine how much material is being used. Two techniques are recommended; a yard calibration and an in- service calibration. Rule -of -thumb techniques are suggested for checking cali- bration and determining when spreaders are not operating at their pre- scribed rates. *Establishment of levels of service. Standards for monitoring roads during the winter should vary according to road types and their average daily winter traffic and emergency vehicle use. The D.P.W. plan effective January 1, 1976 is an acceptable plan (attached). *Establishment of application rates. Guidelines are presented for the amount of chemicals to be applied under varying weather conditions for various classes of roads. Two distinct rates are prescribed: one for first application and lesser amounts for secondary applications as the storm progresses. Recommended rate chart attached. *Starting to plow snow early in each storm and emphasis on plowing rather than salting. Underbody scrapers are easily adaptable to D.P.W. equipment and are recommended for keeping snow pack from forming. *Accounting for the amount of salt used on each section of highway or city street. A daily report filled out by each operator -- summarizing the amounts of chemical used, the lane -miles upon which it is used and the results obtained -- is essential for accurate accounting for chemical Useage. At the end of each winter season, a detailed report should be -a- submitted to the Environmental Commission for analysis and comment- The .report should include: Total tons of material used (salt and abrasives) The average number of applications The total lane miles on which chemicals are applied. The total snowfall The total precipitation water content A summary description of all the storms encountered that winter, including duration, dates, type The calculated quantities: average number of chemicals /lane mile /application average number of chemicals /lane mile /measure of the weather such as inches of snowfall and equivalent precipitation as inches of water Results obtained from material aplied service provided the travelling Discussion of the quality of the public An estimate of the environmental impact Effective snow and ice eontrol hinges upon leadership and decisbn making - of the maintenance manager. The City D.P.W. is a viable and effective have organization. The managers' importanCe must be recognized te job and d theyimust have access to the training and resources necessary to and at the lowest total cost. Note: The above report is adapted from EPA - 670 /274 -045, December 1974 Manual For Deicin Chemicals A lication Practices. 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