HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAC Minutes - 08_13_19Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 1 of 6
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council
Minutes of monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Danby Town Hall, 1830 Danby Road, Danby, New York
Council Members present: Matt Ulinski (chair), Joel Gagnon, Clare
Fewtrell, Don Schaufler, Ruth Sherman
Council Members absent: Bill Evans, George Adams
Others present: Elizabeth Keokosky (secretary), Bill Keokosky
(Danby resident)
Meeting opened at 7:06 pm
Agenda Review (Additions or Deletions)
Ulinkski added CAC approval of a conservation easement that he has
been working on
Public Comments/Privilege of the Floor (later referred to as PoF)
Keokosky(sec.) asked about appropriate email since some people
had no Danby email and/or weren’t receiving minutes. Asked to
standardize on something. Ulinski said he preferred people use their
Danby email. Many people use two emails so one shows up in their
regular email program, which is not linked to Danby email program.
Gagnon noted that if a freedom of information request was made than
it would have to go to people’s own computers. Ulinski said that if
only one Danby email was used than the email showed up on Danby
server. So as long as email is sent to Ulinski Danby address it will be
recorded.
Ulinski also reported problems with Laserfiche server not linking to
town website and for Agenda and Minutes. Keokosky has been
putting files on Laserfiche and Ulinski said this is sufficient. He
suggested Keokosky work with Town Clerk since it is a town issue
not a CAC issue. Townofdanbyny.org is official website.
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 2 of 6
Approve Minutes MOTION for Draft July 9, 2019 minutes
Gagnon moved to approve
Ulinski Seconded
Unanimous approval
Reports and Updates
1. Updates to discussion steps on becoming a CB
• Ulinski asked if CAC wants to discuss this. Group has
mixed feelings and some reluctance due to the difficulty of
loosing and replacing members (Ulinski and Gagnon
automatically eliminated since they cannot be on two
boards). Ulinski says the process of becoming a CB has
slowed down because of the pre-requisite to create an
Open Space Inventory that identifies spaces we think
need to be preserved. He didn’t get an article on it in last
DAN.
• PoF:Keokosky(sec.) reported that link
(https://www.dos.ny.gov/lg/publications/Local_Open_Space_Plannin
g_Guide.pdf ) in Ulinski’s handout on “Conservation Advisor
Councils and Boards” was excellent. Comprehensive
plan and Open Space Inventory complement each other.
Thinks an article should be put in DAN that invites
readers to tell us where their favorite open space in
Danby is – one that they enjoy walking in and think should
be preserved. Made her realize that Deputron Hollow
issue was really an open space issue. That people
thought of it as an open space but it wasn’t treated that
way. Ulinski sees the open space inventory as a zoning
recommendation – creating conservation zones in which
development would be looked at more carefully. Gagnon
says that Planning Board is looking to CAC to help with
zoning.
• Ulinski said perhaps we should dedicate next three
meetings to public help with Open Space Inventory.
Ulinski asked everyone to read Open Space Planning
Guide (referred to above) before next meeting. Because
of Ulinski time constraints, Keokosky offered to write
article for next month’s DAN advertising these meetings,
with Ulinski editing and OK.
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 3 of 6
• The question was asked should we let people know about
meeting with Gretchen Salm? Ulinski said we could just
announce it in DAN.
• Ulinski reported that temp town planner, Czamanske, has
been involved in reviewing applications of 16 people for
full time planner. Deadline for application is this Friday.
After that more work involved in selection. So he has not
had time to work with county on getting Natural Resource
Inventory available on a browser on county website.
Ulinski will follow-up with county on status of this.
• Need some way of projecting maps by October meeting;
alternative is using ArcGIS on a laptop.
2. Schaufler gave assessment of ash trees on Town Land in W.
Danby. He had created a spreadsheet of trees by chest high
diameter and number of trees. It gave two estimations of value
by volume at $600 and $650 per MBF (thousand board feet)
Total values could range between approx. $8000 and $9000.
A dozen to fifteen trees, whose removal might be difficult,
weren’t separated out of total value. Decisions need to be
made soon since Emerald Ash Borer can quickly ruin saw
timber value and provide an entry for fungus, which stains and
degrades the wood. This estimate can hold up for perhaps 6
months. Fewtrell asked how we can make sure work crew
would take what we recommend. Schaufler said he would
volunteer his time to provide oversight to logging crew. Group
discussed report to Town Board. Ulinski said report would have
more force if management plan was complete but resolved to
go ahead.
Ulinski proposed a Resolution to move on a
recommendation to Danby Town Board to do a preemptive
harvest of ash trees on West Danby Water District
property, to be supervised by CAC, using best forest
management practices -with Schaufler’s Inventory
attached.
Schaufler moved to approve
Fewtrell Seconded
Unanimous approval
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 4 of 6
3. Annual Walk of easements – (soon to be 5).
Ulinski found documents on easements on his computer.
Schaufler and Fewtrell will be walking them using Dryden
monitoring forms sent by Bob Beck, edited for Danby.
Side discussion of email exchange with Alanna Congdon,
administrator for Laserfiche server. Access to Laserfiche
server is limited since charges of $140 per person for read/write
capacity makes it prohibitive. Current solution is sending
conservation easements information to Secretary Keokosky to
upload. (note: Eric Palmer has purchased Melchen
easement). Adams was previously concerned about a CAC
library. There is currently a CAC private folder that has a link
that was sent earlier. As noted above, this can be read from,
but not written on. Some question rose about email sent
containing link, and what current password was – Ulinski will
follow up on that.
4. Update on Gretchen Salm, Land Conservation Support
Specialist from Finger Lakes Land Trust
Ulinski reported that she will be coming to September Meeting
to let us know what FLLT is doing.
5. No progress on Management Plans
6. No new information on pipeline update on alternatives to
spraying
Adams had offered to do research but he is absent.
7. Prism Class for Invasive Species Management
Discussion of best time. Ulinski will follow up with Highway
Department. Fall is good but Spring might be the better time to
give the class since it would immediately precede when the
season information might actually be needed. Ruth said she
would follow-up with PRISM people for good times and that it
might be a good idea to invite other highway Departments as
well.
8. Review of Curtiss Easement (previously discussed in Executive
Sessions)
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 5 of 6
Ulinski presented 3 draft documents defining and describing
property to the council for editing. They are:
• “Deed of Conservation Easement”
• “Schedule A: Joan and Richard Curtiss Conservation
Easement Land Description”
• “Schedule B: Joan and Richard Curtiss Conservation
Easement Baseline Documentation”
The address is 29 Durfee Hill Rd. and the part of property
preserved is described in Schedule A as Parcel B.
Ulinski accepted CAC suggested changes to images and
references to parcels and locations to make documents more
clearly understandable. Parcel contains dense bushes,
wetland, and a section of Buttermilk Creek that is part of
Cayuga Lake Watershed
Curtiss’s questioned Eminent Domain section – concerned that
they might be “dinged” twice. Appraisal is of property given
town so it eminent domain also occurs??? (needs Matt to fill in)
Fewtrell was concerned that the “Deed” had many references to
“Proportionate Value” (value of part of property represented by
donation) that referred to a definition noted as “below.” But
actual definition was hidden away and still not clearly defined in
“Article IV: Federal and State Tax Items: 4.05 Property Right.”
Ulinski acknowledged that the template needs “work”. Should
be cleaned up, but not comfortable changing it here since it
requires re-approaching landowner, who has already accepted
deed already.
Ulinski proposed a motion that CAC recommends
accepting the Curtiss easement, with changes discussed
and subject to overview of town lawyer, Guy Krogh, to
Danby Town Board
Ulinski moved to approve
Gagnon Seconded
Unanimous approval
Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 6 of 6
There followed discussion of another possible easement that was “off
the record”.
Next Meeting is on September 10 at 7p.m.
Adjournment
The meeting ended at 8:30 p.m.
_____________________________________________
Submitted by Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary)