HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2017-05-04 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board
Thursday May 4,2017
Final Minutes
Members Present:James Hamilton, Elizabeth Hageman,Jon Meigs, Mike Roberts, Ellie Stewart, Vladimir
Micic, Lindsey Dombroskie, Will Van Dyke, Eva Hoffmann
Staff: Mike Smith (Senior Planner)
Guests: Elizabeth Salon (community member), Martin Kelly(Town of Ithaca Code
Enforcement/community member), Owen Kelly(student/community member), Stacey Smith
(community member)
1. Persons to be heard: A community member Elizabeth Salon came to discuss an issue she has
been dealing with regarding the widening of a Town road bordering her property and the
possible effect on her spring which she uses for her drinking water. She lives close to the Dress
Woods Preserve. She had questions in regards to Conservation Zones and if there was an
environmental review done prior to widening the road. In addition, she is very interested in
testing her water and obtaining the Material Data Sheets related to the paving components. Her
ultimate concern was the change in the quality of her water. She has talked to other members
of the Town of Ithaca staff regarding these issues. The Conservation Board seemed to feel it
may be too late to stop the current work but understood her concerns as related to zoning and
her water quality.
2. Member concerns:
a. Fischer Conservation Award- Previous awardees are invited to attend the event
b. Lindsey would be interested in reviewing timber harvesting regulations in the
Conservation Zones
3. Chair and Coordinator reports:
a. Planning Board-
i. Reviewing paving improvements for the Namgyal Monastery on Danby Road
ii. South Hill Cafe (Danby Road across from Ithaca College)will be reviewed
b. The Town was awarded $1.2 million project from the NYS Department of Transportation
to be used for a sidewalk on 96B near Ithaca College
4. Minutes from April 61"were approved with some modifications—Moved by James Hamilton,
seconded by Mike Roberts
5. The Fischer Environmental Award ceremony will happen on May 13 at 10:30 am at Cass Park
near the Children's garden. Suggestion to consider a budget for refreshments for next year(CB
members can get reimbursed if you provide Mike S with a receipt). Will has a table that he will
bring. Will is going to start taking photos of previously planted trees to add on Facebook.
6. Bluebird Box Management
a. An additional 5 bluebird boxes were put up along the East Hill Recreation Way.
b. A trail cam will be set up in the near future to see if any activity can be seen.
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7. Deer Management
a. The Town Board will have a study session on May 22nd where discussions will begin.
Mike Roberts will be attending. Mike Smith will get the report to Town Board members
prior to the meeting.
b. Martin Kelly,Town Code Enforcement, briefly explained that hunting can take place in
the Town and reviewed the required distances from housing. He is a hunter safety
instructor in New York State and an active hunter in the Town. In addition, he provided
the board with a hand out entitled "Guide to Urban Bowhunting"for review.
8. Conservation Board's Earth Day Table Recap
a. Positive feedback from community members
b. Reviewed some comments received from the public.
c. Consider creating a list serve, specifically for Conservation Board issues. Questions
regarding maintaining the list were raised. Also, consider possibly using the Town's
newsletter list serve to send information.
d. CB should try to get out for more public events in future
9. Mike S. presented a summary of the boards and committees for the Town of Ithaca and their
roles and responsibilities.
10. Reports/Updates
a. ERC- Maplewood project has started construction. A new Town water tank will be built
off Ellis Hollow Road to handle the new demands.
b. SRC-The committee has recently met and a new sign will be ordered soon.They are
working with the manufacturer, but expect the cost will be more than the previous sign.
c. Communications Committee-A draft proposal is being worked on to create a
Conservation Board Instagram account. Continue to send Will updates and pictures for
social media.
d. Tompkins County EMC-They have decided to restructure the committees to make them
more efficient.
e. Six Mile creek Volunteer Monitoring Program
i. High water sample was taken on April 7
ii. There was a volunteer symposium for CSI on April 8. Some recent successes
include: improvement to waste water plant in Trumansburg, intervention at
Pony Hollow after 200,000 gallons of slurry spread, repair of a brine holding
pond in Harford Mills.
iii. The BMI data is being moved to a database from the webpages, 13 more creeks
have been added as sampling sites and 3 creeks have been added at the north
end of Cayuga Lake.
f. City of Ithaca Natural Areas- nothing to report
g. Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas-A new logo has been created.
11. Other Business—none
12. June agenda should include planning for NY invasive species week.
13. Meeting adjourned at 7:32 pm
Minutes drafted by Elizabeth Hageman
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