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Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes_June 26, 2017
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council
Minutes of Meeting
The regular monthly meeting of the Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) was held at 7:00pm
on Monday June 26, 2017 at Danby Town Hall, 1830 Danby Road, Town of Danby, New York.
Council Members Present: Matt Ulinski (Chair), Joel Gagnon, Ruth Sherman, Bill Evans, Don Schaufler, and Dan
Klein. Absent: Mary Woodsen
Non-Members Present: Jack Miller (Town Councilperson – CAC Liaison), C.J. Randall (Town Planner), Matt
Hobart (Secretary), and Ronda Roaring.
Call to Order – 7:04pm by Ulinski.
Agenda Review –
• Ulinski requested to add the introduction of Matt Hobart, newly hired recording secretary for the CAC.
Matt will take minutes of the meetings, help to prepare and publish the agenda, and assist with data
entry and GIS work for the Natural Resources Inventory.
Privilege of the Floor –
• Ronda Roaring made the comment that the meeting agenda was not posted 24 hours prior to the
meeting. This “implies a lack of transparency” by the CAC and asked Jack Miller, Town Council Liaison
to the CAC to address the situation. Ronda stated that the agenda is important in the public deciding if
they want to attend meetings or not.
Approval of the Minutes – The minutes of the May 22, 2017 CAC meeting were approved unanimously.
Moved by Joel Gagnon and seconded by Bill Evans.
Planning and Zoning Report –
• Randall gave a summary of the Code Report which was presented at the most recent Town Board
meeting.
Reports and Updates –
Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) Sub-Committee Update
• Randall stated that the NRI Sub-Committee held their first meeting on May 8, 2017. A copy of the
DRAFT Preliminary Data Inventory (PDI) was provided to the CAC for their reaction and comment. The
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Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes_June 26, 2017
inventory is a comprehensive list of all the currently available data sets. The inventory is organized by
base map layer and includes a description of the layer.
• Ulinski asked how this information would inform the prioritization of easements. Randall responded
that it had the potential to help determine focus areas for the CAC depending on the models that are
developed. The NRI could inform where the town would support development vs. no development.
• Ulinski asked if the information would be public. Randall stated that the ultimate goal would be a
printed guide or an online Story Map that would include photos and be user friendly.
• Gagnon stated that there is a concern about information that you don’t want to be public. For
example, rare plant locations.
Next Steps: Compile existing information previously gathered by Anne Klingensmith and Leslie Connors in
conjunction with the PDI and identify gaps in the data. Randall plans to inform the public of the project via
the August Danby News.
Privilege of the Floor –
• Ronda Roaring made the comment that residents are very interested in this type of data
and would be receptive to a presentation of the data.
Easement Template Update
• Gagnon is working through the comments returned by the Town Attorney after the review of the
easement template language.
Easement Promotion Update
Presentation Update –
• Ulinski stated that the Danby Seniors were not interested in a presentation about the CAC
and he felt that the marketing pitch could use some adjustment. Perhaps the best way to
approach it would not be to focus on the CAC specifically but based on different topics. For
example conservation, wildlife, taxes, and/or estate planning. It was suggested that hunters
might be interested in easements.
Danby News –
• Ulinski plans to submit information on easements to the Danby News. Klein offered to help
with writing something for the Danby News.
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Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes_June 26, 2017
Rack Cards –
• Ulinski commented that new rack cards have been produced and handed copies out at the
meeting. It was suggested to put some in the rack next to the Town Clerk’s counter. The
cost was approximately $40.00 for 100 cards.
Management Plans
• Schaufler commented that he wants to revisit the purpose of putting together the management plans
for town owned property. There are 2 properties that would be considered to have conservation value.
The CAC will work on management plan drafts.
Action Items –
Vision or Mission Statement
• Ulinski asked if it was a worthwhile exercise to do as far as developing a vison or mission statement for
the CAC. Gagnon stated that it would be nice to put on the website or as part of talking points for the
CAC. Klein agreed but didn’t think the CAC should spend a lot of time on it.
• Evans asked for some examples. An example was looked at that Mary Woodsen had provided
previously.
• Discussion took place on the importance of a vison or mission statement separate from Resolution No.
82 of 2010, Authorizing Creation of a Conservation Advisory Council. While the resolution is the charge
from the Town Board a vision or mission statement would put it into a few sentences that would make
it easier to communicate what the CAC is and does. It was asked if it could be determined how many
unique online hits the resolution has gotten off of the website.
Privilege of the Floor –
• Ronda Roaring made the comment that she would like to see the list of duties from the
resolution and that the CAC should focus on that and not creating a vision or mission
statement.
Plans for Future
• Discussion took place on what the CAC should plan for in the future. Maps of areas to target for
easements was mentioned and that easements in the town would be open to all landowners but that
the CAC would determine focus areas or high priority areas.
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Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes_June 26, 2017
• A Natural Resources Protection Plan could be developed. The CAC would like whatever maps that are
developed to show other areas in the town that are protected by other organizations/entities.
• Conservation needs to be a balance of regulatory and voluntary efforts within the town. Because of
that, the NRI needs to be a credible document. The question of what non-regulatory policy suggestions
could the CAC recommend was also presented.
• Funding could be sought to help fund easements and other land protection efforts. The town could
purchase bonds to protect critical areas. The town could purchase the development rights in addition
to landowners gifting their development rights as part of an easement. There is evidence of an increase
in property values for property located next to protected areas.
Privilege of the Floor –
• Ronda Roaring made the comment that she would like the CAC to get back to assisting
people who have an interest in an easement. Ulinski responded that Mary Woodsen has
done a lot of leg work in speaking with landowners in addition to Ulinski and Gagnon also
speaking to land owners but that no one was ready to move forward yet and that it is a slow
but methodical process.
• Klein proposed to not hold a July meeting as most other committees and councils take a summer
break; this would give Randall more time to work on maps based on the NRI to present to the CAC and
also the time to collect additional data as needed. It was moved by Don Schaufler and seconded by Dan
Klein to not hold a meeting of the CAC in July. Motion carried unanimously.
Adjournment – The meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm.
Next meeting is August 28, 2017 at 7:00pm
____________________________
Submitted by Matthew Hobart, Secretary