HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2019-02-07 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board
February 7, 2019
Final Minutes
Members Present: Mike Roberts, Will VanDyke, Eva Hoffmann, Hannah George, Lindsay
Dombroskie
Staff: Mike Smith
Guest: Lauren Gabuzzi (potentially interested in membership)
1. Persons to be heard (none)
2. Member Concerns
a. Eva is looking for people who can join the Conservation Board and has reached out
to people who may be interested. Lauren will also email the EcoVillage email list.
b. Will is in support of passing a local bag ban, outlined in James' letter. Will suggested
acquiring materials so that the Town of Ithaca Conservation Board can educate the
community about the alternatives to plastic bags.
3. Chair & Coordinator reports
a. Mike Roberts: Mike did some research into the plastic bag ban, and while it seems
like the state may eventually move toward a bag ban, it still is a good idea to move
forward with a ban on a local level.
b. Mike Smith:
i. The Town got a grant for buying the second half of the Culver Road property
from the Finger Lakes Land Trust.
ii. Feb 5 planning board meeting updates:
1. Cayuga Medical Center Radiation Medicine addition was approved.
2. A 2-lot subdivision on Elmira Road was approved. The Town is
buying the back 10 acres temporarily until NYS Parks buys it for the
Black Diamond Trail.
iii. Cornell North Campus Residential Expansion project materials will be
delivered soon, and the next meeting where approval & comments will be
needed is March 19. There will be a presentation, with no action, on March
5.
iv. Sidewalk Projects: There will be an open house on February 26 for the
preliminary sidewalk plan for the east side of Danby Road from the
City/Town line to the Ithaca College entrance. This is made possible by a 1.3
million grant from DOT. There is also a study to see where a sidewalk is
needed for Route 96 and there is currently a public survey available.
V. Deer Management Program: A draft of the deer management program was
submitted to DEC by Mike Smith for comments. According to DEC, farms
and agricultural properties are not allowed under the town permit. 5 of the 7
landowners were farms on the initial application. Now there are 3 properties
that are in the permit application, which if approved, would run Feb 15 to
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April 15. Additional properties may be submitted after the application is
submitted, but would need to be approved by the Town Board. Hopefully, the
Town Board will approve the permit on Monday, the Town Supervisor will
sign it on Tuesday, and it will get sent to the DEC that same day.
4. Approval of minutes from Nov 1 & Dec 6, 2018
a. Did not meet quorum -will approve at a future meeting.
5. Finalize support letter to Tompkins County regarding proposed ban on plastic bags
a. Mike Roberts would like to send the draft letter from James on to the Tompkins
County Legislature. All present were in favor of sending the letter as it is on to the
Tompkins County Legislature.
6. Hannah and Lindsay are working on developing a compost education plan, and will also
create demonstration materials for household waste sorting. This will be used at CB events
for educating the community about waste. Part of this can also include Recycle stickers that
people can put on their bin, and reusable, natural bags. Will is going to research
sustainable alternatives to single use plastic bags. Widely distributing free, reusable,
sustainable bags is one strategy for reducing the impact of a bag ban on low-income
populations.
7. Discussion of:
a. CB Activities & Accomplishments for 2018
i. Lots of great work was accomplished in 2018. The accomplishments will be
sent to the Town Board.
b. CB 2019 Work Goals - update goals by February 14 & send to Mike Smith.
c. Conservation Board Committees 2019 - no changes.
8. Regular reports & updates
a. ERC (Mike) - no updates
b. Scenic Resources Committee (Eva)
i. Still waiting on DOT for approval of the sign.
c. Communications (Will)
i. Facebook advertising for the open positions on Conservation Board - 1800
people saw the post, 29 people clicked on the links, 9 shares.
d. TC EMC (Vladimir) - no update.
e. 6 Mile Creek (James) - no update.
f. Cornell CB Natural Areas (James) - no update
9. Other business
a. Fischer award nominations are due at the end of February. Send nominations to
Mike Smith as soon as possible.
Adjourn at 7:31 pm.
Minutes drafted by Hannah George.
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