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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2005-01-06 Conservation Board Town of Ithaca Final Minutes for January 6, 2005 PRESENT: Diane Conneman, Lenore Durkee, Eva Hoffmann, Brent Katzmann, Jon Meigs, Larry Sallinger, Barney Unsworth, John Yntema STAFF: Susan Ritter VISITORS: James Hamilton, Ray Oglesby, Ray Terepka, Pam Mackesey, Mike Smith 1-2. The meeting was called to order at 7:34 PM. There were no persons to be heard. 3. Guest speaker, Walter Hang, President of Toxics Targeting, Inc. described his company's operation that utilizes pollution data information from analyses available through the Freedom- Of-Information Law. (FOIL)to advise clients on the status of pollution levels in various locations and to make recommendations for amelioration. His main concern is pollution of water supplies and his typical clients are water providers. He pointed out that, statewide, a major threat to drinking water sources is gasoline spills or leakage of gasoline from storage tanks. In considering the Town of Ithaca, he discussed a variety of concerns including 1)the serious contamination of soil and water from the deteriorating pipes that once discharged coal tar and other contaminants from the coal tar generating plants that were located in Ithaca years ago; 2) the cleanup of lead contamination at the Ithaca Falls site; 3) the need for maintaining a careful monitoring procedure for Cornell's Lake Source Cooling Project, particularly with respect to phosphorus levels, as well as the general need to track non-point sources of pollutants entering Cayuga Lake; 4) the recent publicity and efforts to clean up oil and TCE from areas around the site of the Emerson Power Transmission facility (formerly occupied by the Morse Chain Company). The Board thanked Walter Hang for a very excellent overview of his work and the nature and seriousness of pollution problems in the Town. 4. Member concerns: Barney Unsworth noted the article on deer problems that appeared in the Ithaca Journal on January 6, 2005 and remarked that the Conservation Board was cited for its deer document. He suggested a note of thanks be sent to its author, Conrad Istock. Jon Meigs commented that the West Haven development appears to be potentially larger than proposed. Sue said the road was built wider than expected, and Town staff has had several conversations with the property owner, but at this time no additional development/subdivisions are anticipated. Jon attended the "balloon test"that will be used to assess the visual impact of the senior apartments that are being planned for the Linderman Creek development and concluded that the maximum height of the building (36' or 42')would not seriously affect the views. Other visitors to the site confirmed his assessment. 5. There was no Chair report. Sue announced a tentative date and time for an ERC site visit to the Ithaca Estates development. 6. Regular and Annual Business: The minutes of December 2, 2004 were approved(Brent Katzmann moved, Diane Conneman seconded) after an amendment to the name of the Six-Mile Creek monitoring group to "Six-Mile Creek Water Quality Monitoring Volunteers". Lenore moved that Diane Conneman be re-elected as Vice-Chair for 2005. Motions were made and the vote was unanimous. 7. Regular reports and updates: a) Scenic Resources Committee--Eva reported that criteria for judging quality of scenic views are complete and grid maps and disposable cameras are available for members who wish to photograph particular areas. Views at all seasons of the years will be sought. The next meeting is scheduled for January 26, 2005 at 4:15 PM. Jon Meigs mentioned a recent National Geographic article describing Vancouver, BC view protection regulations that might be of value to the Scenic Views Committee. b) Fischer Award Committee: Jon will be sending an announcement about the Award to the local papers. Sue has sent letters to a number of organizations soliciting nominations. We have one nominee so far. c) Six-Mile Creek Monitoring: Larry reported that the Water Quality Monitoring Volunteers Symposium was quite successful. The next meeting will be held on January 31, 2005 at 6:OOPM. He noted that the commitment by various groups for funding for the first year just completed has expired and that new funding sources will be needed. d) City of Ithaca Natural Areas Commission: No Report. 8. Other Business: Diane asked the Board to think about the term "corporate farms" and how each of us might interpret it. Barney asked if the seismometer at the Museum of the Earth had recorded the tsunami-associated earthquake on December 26, 2004. (No, as it was not operating at the time). Brent asked if there has been any action by the Town on the chimney swift proposal. (Not yet). Brent also reminded the Board that a series of presentations on green building design has been scheduled by the Ithaca Green Building Alliance each Tuesday at 7- 8:30 PM from now through February at Ithaca College and the Cooperative Extension building. Lenore asked abut the fate of the deer document. Sue said that the next step has not yet been determined. 9. The meeting was adjourned at 9:35PM. Lenore Durkee