HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2016-02-04 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board
February 4,2016 5:30 p.m.
Final minutes
Members present: James Hamilton, Eva Hoffmann,Jon Meigs, Vladimir Micic, Mike Roberts, Elizabeth
Sanders, Carrie (& Eliah) Simon, Ellie Stewart, Will VanDyke
Staff: Mike Smith
Guest: Bill Chaisson,journalist
Paulette Terwilliger, our Town Clerk, swore in members whose new terms were starting.
1. Persons to be heard: none
2. Members' concerns: Mr. Chiasson was welcomed, and invited to participate and to ask any questions
that might occur to him.James noted that his "regular reports" as recorded in the December and
January draft minutes, had not been accurately minuted. He had failed to provide Eva and Mike, who
wrote those minutes, with a copy of his notes for those reports, as we've agreed may be necessary
when the reports are as technical and detailed as his often are. He'll provide Mike Smith with revisions
via email to correct the inaccuracies. He also wondered where the November minutes were;Vlad
promised to have them soon. Ellie was concerned that Cornell's new president was acting regressively
on Cornell's Carbon Neutral policy. With Cornell's recent trustee decision not to follow student requests
that the University divest from fossil fuel investments, it looks like Cornell is moving in the wrong
direction. Given this bad development, the Town will need to work even harder to promote social and
ecological justice.The Town's Comprehensive Plan needs action if any of its intent to curb global
warming is to become practically effective. Mike Roberts noted that Cornell Plantations has a
sustainability plan soon to be published;we need to be ready to address this when it comes out.
3. Chair and Coordinator Reports:
Chair: Ellie was very happy to welcome Will VanDyke officially as a new member, noting that he has
valiantly attended so many meetings already.
Coordinator: Mike Smith passed out the new year's Member List to be sure that it was accurate. He
reminded us of a recent email directing us to a Tompkins County housing survey, which members ought
to take online.The Planning Board would soon address a Coddington Rd subdivision, and a cell phone
antenna Verizon wants to put on the roof of Country Inn &Suites on Danby Rd.The GEIS on the
Chainworks project would be soon under consideration.The ERC will soon be considering a proposed
demolition and replacement of the Maplewood Apartments between Maple Ave and Mitchell St with a
much larger and denser housing development.The Town Budget Committee has scheduled a time to
consider changing the minimum water bill from 10,000 to 5,000 gallons per quarter. Members wonder if
large families would get a break. Mike R believes this change should be welcome, but hopes we'll reach
out to the public to promote conservation. Mike S reported that Tompkins County received a grant for
an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan, looking to see how five electric car charging locations might be
engineered in our county.
4. Minutes for the December and January meetings were approved with some editing, including some
technical revisions to his "Regular Reports"that James would email to Mike S soon.James' suggestion
that the CB's proposed Deer Management resolution that he wrote as requested in last November's
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meeting, which had no quorum though all members approved of it in December, should be appended to
that month's minutes, were also approved.
5.The draft of CB's 2015 Accomplishments that Mike composed for us was approved with satisfaction!
The draft 2016 Work Goals, as presented, did not include the idea of light pollution that Elizabeth had
brought up last month. A discussion of the problem, including parking lot lighting, night safety, different
colors of lamps, the inappropriate tree-lamps that had to be removed from the new Plantations
Welcome Center parking lot, and the bright blue decorative lighting on the new Stocking Hall ice cream
lab, eventually led to our adding another goal: "Make sure the Town's light code is sufficient, and
enforced."
6.The Deer Management strategic plans were to be presented at 4:30 PM in this same Town Hall Aurora
conference room at the Town Board's Study Session on Monday, February 22nd. Mike Roberts, Ellie and
Eva plan to attend. Mike S will provide appropriate study material, including our 2014 White Paper,
"DEER IN ITHACA:An updated review of science and a call to action," and other convincing scientific
literature. Mike S wants to be sure that our members can focus the study session on how crucially
important deer management is to preserving our natural resources, as overbrowsing is ruining our open
spaces, not just harming gardens and landscape plants, causing Lyme disease and traffic accidents.
7.The discussion of invasive species control and educational material had us wondering if goats could
adequately control the invasives in our area. Swallow-wort, in particular, may be toxic to goats, though
they ought to be able to eat Japanese knotweed.The use of goats to manage an invasive reed grass,
Phragmites, might work in some locations, but doesn't mean goats can cope with other woody invasives.
Vlad mentioned two goat farmers who could be interested in bringing their animals in portable
enclosures to browse on pests in the Town, if pests can be found that are both good for the goats and
reasonably well managed by such browsing. Elizabeth would rather have goats than lawnmowers, but
can goats eat swallow-wort like that infesting the East Hill Nature Preserve?The various brochures Mike
S sent via email recently were passed around as colored printouts; all agreed that some such
information should be provided to town residents.James agreed to send Vlad a short list of local
invasive pests such as privet, honeysuckle, multiflora rose, buckthorn, barberry, bittersweet, knotweed
and swallow wort so they could be posted on our CB facebook page.
8. Regular Reports and Updates:
Environmental Review Committee: Ellie reported no meeting lately, but the Maplewood Apartment
project would need their attention soon.
Scenic Resources Committee: Eva showed the latest, nearly final draft of a view sign for the Danby Rd
pulloff for member feedback. Ellie noted that the indication for the Black Diamond Trail wasn't accurate.
Recent revision of the "You are here" arrow was approved. Some small text spacing problems still need
fixing, and a compass rose relocated, but soon the next stages of getting the sign fabricated and
installed need to be addressed.This will be more complicated than at East Shore Park, as that view sign
went on Town Park property, while the new sign is intended for a place managed by the state DOT and
may be on Longview's property. Mike S cautioned that the fabrication phase should wait to be sure the
Town will be allowed to place and maintain the sign on the intended site.
Communications Committee: Elizabeth brought up her continued concern that the Town Newsletter is
not reaching enough residents in its present electronic format. Not enough Ithacans are getting either
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the printed or online versions. Mike S reminded us that the Fisher Award needs to be decided by next
month's meeting, as the last date for nominations is February 28. Eva recently asked via email that we
consider:the Cayuga Nature Center's Summer Camp;the Trout in the Classroom project done by a
partnership between Trout Unlimited and the Cayuga Lake Floating Classroom; and Get Your Greenback
Tompkins.James particularly likes the CNC's Summer Camp, and thinks the Nature Center's 2013 merger
with PRI has been a great improvement and worth promoting. Members were advised to consider these
and any other nominations for the Fisher Award, which will need to be decided next month.
Tompkins County EMC:Vlad has been away for a while, but reported from a December meeting that Ed
Gottlieb, from the Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal, and who works at the Ithaca Area Wastewater
Treatment Facility, reported they were keeping old medication out of Cayuga Lake by offering medical
disposal drop boxes at all police stations.The current EMC chair, Steve Nichols, agreed to continue as
chairman. An enlarged Salmon Creek Unique Natural Area was approved: it is 182% larger than the
previous one.
Sixmile Creek Volunteer Monitors:James reported that volunteers had held their annual meeting
January 14th, and decided when to take 5 water samples for chemical and biological analysis this year.
The four BMI teams would again sample in their usual locations at the end of the summer.The one
summer creek BMI sample from last year was just this evening getting analyzed at the Community
Science Institute's Thursday Night at the Lab by at least three volunteers and the lab's BMI specialist.
City of Ithaca Natural Areas Commission:Jon reported no news.
Cornell Plantations Natural Areas:James explained that volunteers had helped check the hemlocks along
Cascadilla Creek between just below the Law school upstream to the tennis courts for Hemlock Wooly
Adelgids (HWA).Trees at the downstream site, not yet treated, show considerable HWA infestation,
though the trees upstream, many having been injected with imidicloprid six years ago, still showed
almost no HWA. It seems the injection treatment, however expensive and difficult, does indeed
preserve high-value trees like these along a much-travelled path in the creek gorge.
9. Other Business: none proposed, as we were running late.
10. March Agenda: Fisher Award; Deer study session follow-up; Elizabeth will contact Tom Whitlow
about goats eating invasives.
We adjourned at 7:46 pm These draft minutes written by James Hamilton 2/5/2016
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