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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2016-03-03 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board 5:34 p.m.,Thursday March 3,2016 Final Minutes Members in attendance: Ellie Stewart (Chair), James Hamilton, Elizabeth Sanders, Jon Meigs, Vladimir Micic, Will VanDyke, Eva Hoffmann and Michael Roberts Town Staff: Mike Smith Guests: Nick Goldsmith, City and Town Sustainability Planner;four high school students 1. Nick Goldsmith a. Splits his time equally between the Town and the City positions b. 2 foci of his position: Energy use and sustainability in operations of the Town, and energy use in transportation, residences and businesses. Both of these will be instituted to reach Town greenhouse gas reduction goals. i. These are 80% reduction of GHG from 2009 levels by the year 2050. 1. Will asked if there were interim targets a. Nick—No, but a short term plan is being worked on. 2. Measurements are being taken along the way to benchmark progress 3. Jon commented that there ought to be more publicity about this. ii. Ellie asked how Cornell's softened stance on their own targets plays into the Towns goals. 1. Nick—It's still developing. As a part of this we need to determine how much of the broader picture they are. There are a range of actions spelled out in the Community Energy Action Plan that might be employed. 2. There was some suggestion that there were a lack of practicable ideas on the table to reach their goals, and that President Garrett was hedging her bets. iii. Nick offered that he had approached Bolton Point regarding the amount of energy that is used to pump water around the town, and was told that there was not much room for improvement. Of course Nick feels otherwise. iv. Ellie—How do you plan on encouraging a reduction of GHG produced from transportation? 1. Nick—Focusing on multimodal transportation options (electric vehicles, bikes, public transit), and smart planning/development. It turns out that electric vehicles, even if they get their energy from the grid (which is largely fed by fossil fuels) are better than gas cars. c. Nick is also working on a project called the Residential Energy Score Project. Participation is on a volunteer basis, and is funded by NYSERDA. Homes are rated on energy consumption, similar to the miles per gallon ratings cars receive. These numbers are made public to help home buyers aware of what their energetic, financial and carbon liabilities would be, and would help identify energy efficient homes. There is no national program like this, but there are similar ones around the country. This will offer a better picture on home energy use as it does not take the number of people living in a house into account. 1 I. Will asked if there was really value in this to prospective home buyers. 1. Mike R—Realtors would likely work it into a sale, especially if the buyer was cost or environmentally conscientious. 2. Vladimir—What have realtors said about this? a. Nick—There is some interest. They have a big role to play in the success of the program. 3. There is a public meeting on this project on March 141" at the public library. ii. Elizabeth asked if the size of the home had a general effect on the energy score. 1. Nick—Yes, the bigger it is, the worse it is. iii. Home energy audits were brought up as a potential Newsletter article idea. 1. NYSERDA's website has links to providers of home energy audits. They are free. 2. Chair and Coordinator Reports a. Mike offered an update of the change in the water pricing structure from Bolton Point. The new rates kick in in 2017, and the threshold will now be 5,000 gallons quarterly instead of 10,000 gallons. It is important to note that 40%of Town water customers use less than 10,000 gallons quarterly. Additionally, there will be a rate increase, and all rates would be the same, even for"mega-users". I. There was disappointment expressed at this new structure. It was noted that families would be pinched, and that a 3-teired system (like the one this Board was advocating for all along) should have been adopted instead. ii. Nick—As far as large consumers of water(like Ithaca College) are concerned, a 10 or even 20,000 gallon cap may not motivate them at all. iii. James noted that other areas charge per the diameter of the pipe feeding the business or residence. b. At the next Planning Board meeting the Maplewood redevelopment project will be on the docket as well as the replacement of a bus shelter at Cornell's B lot. I. AC I la" vl—If anyone has a concern regarding the Maplewood Apartments project, bring it to Ellie. ii. James would like to know if there is a plan in place to reuse/recycle any of the demo-ed materials from the apartments once they are removed. 3. Member Concerns a. Mike R—Could we invite Rich Schoch, Parks Maintenance Manager, to speak to the Board about the priorities and projects currently under way? I. There was general interest. AC C I0 vl—Mike S will invite Rich if he would join us at a future date. HE suggested that we could help publicize what the Town is doing to remove invasive species, and how that benefits the environment. 4. Approval of Minutes a. The November 2015 minutes were finally presented for approval, and they were. Vladimir made the MOTION, and it was seconded by Will. b. There was a MOTION, after some corrections, to approve the February minutes by Ellie. This was seconded by Mike Roberts. 5. Fischer Award Nominations a. It was previously discussed, and James has since submitted a formal nomination to elect the Cayuga Nature Center Summer Camp as this year's awardee. I. Eva pointed out that it is timely as this is their 30 year anniversary. 2 b. There was discussion for other nominees (Tony Ingram, as well as the Floating Classroom and Greenback Tompkins), and it was even discussed that we split the award between multiple recipients. The cost of doing so, considering the purchase of more than one tree, would be prohibitive. i. Mike R moved to nominate the Cayuga Nature Center Summer Camp, and was seconded by James. The motion passed, with one voting against. 6. Deer Management a. Mike R, Ellie and Eva reviewed the presentation to and response from the Town Board regarding deer management. b. We were given the green light to form an ad hoc committee to develop specific recommendations and draft a plan to submit to the Town Board. That committee would also need to develop metrics that would be followed to measure progress towards the deer herd reduction goal. In addition, hypothetical questions from the public should be drafted along with well supported responses. i. In the consideration of potential members of the ad hoc committee, we should consider members of Tompkins County Council of Governments, the Environmental Management Council, Brian Eden, and the mayor of Cayuga Heights. ii. The question arose whether it is wise to include so many people or organizations at the outset, as it may bog the process down. 1. This question was unresolved and should be discussed further. c. There are those on the board who are morally opposed to killing deer. It would be worth our time to present some reasonable arguments for humane culling. But, in the event they are immovable, we would also do well to focus on moving those to action that are already in agreement or on the fence. Important to the project would be compiling cost estimates. Bernd Blossey may be able to help with this, as well as the Trumansburg document on their program. That document in particular could help fill in many blanks. i. AC I la" vl—Vladimir will contact Bernd to get more information on the cost. ii. Jon offered that the Natural Areas Commission would be very interested in this. 7. Invasive Species a. Ellie emailed a report which documented a failed attempt to use goats to control invasive species. i. Will asked if we ever collected the names and contact information of local goat farmers. We had not, but the strategy may not be tenable anyway. 8. Regular Reports a. Environmental Review Committee i. They are meeting right after this Board adjourns, but have nothing to report yet. b. Scenic Resources Committee i. Nothing to report c. Communications Committee i. Elizabeth brought to the attention of the board that there is a statute requiring vendors of pesticides to post a sign adjacent to their display which enumerates the hazards of using the chemicals, and that the Health Department has the authority to enforce this posting. d. Tompkins County EMC i. Vladimir is putting together an invasive species collage for publicity purposes. 3 ii. He also reported about a partnership between NYSEG and Taitem Engineering that will help homeowners and the utility optimize energy use. iii. The Indian Creek neighborhood's request to the County to designate their stand of woods a UNA was rejected. iv. There is a public meeting on March 91" at The Space on modeling Cayuga Lake. 9. Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program a. James informed everyone of the two ways that water quality was being measured by the volunteers (chemical analysis and Benthic Macroinvertebrate sampling). Six Mile Creek's BMI metrics show a stream in good ecological health. b. The USGS has a calibration point at German Cross. 10. City of Ithaca Natural Areas Commission a. Nothing to report 11. Cornell Plantations Natural Areas Program a. Mike Rand James will discuss efforts to pull garlic mustard. 12. Adjourn a. A motion to adjourn was made by Mike Roberts and seconded by Will. b. Meeting adjourned at 7:42 p.m. Meeting minutes by Michael Roberts 4