HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-17-TownBoard-MinutesTown of Danby Town BoardRegular Second Monthly Board MeetingWednesday, 17 February, 2021 at 7:00 PMvia Zoom Video Conferencing
Meeting MinutesRoll Call :Town Board Joel Gagnon, SupervisorLeslie ConnorsJim HolahanSarah SchnabelMatt UlinskiTown Justices Garry HuddleTown Planner David WestTown Bookkeeper Laura ShawleyCounty Legislator Dan KleinRecording Secretary Janice R. Adelman, Town Clerk
Public Attendees:Amanda James, Bruce Richards, Hayden Brainard, Ted Crane, KatharineHunter, Ronda Roaring, Margaret Corbit, Earl, Jonathan Zisk, Jeremy Holmes, Jethro Forbes,Nancy & Tom
1. Call to Order at 19022. Public Hearing opened at 1903Management Plans for Town-Owned, Undeveloped, Forested Properties2.1. Dan Klein spoke mostly in support but with a few caveats to language (see Exhibit 1,written comments submitted to Town Clerk).2.2. Ronda Roaring opposes the plan and recommends her own written plan.2.3. Jonathan Zisk, CAC member, acknowledged the work that he and George did toproduce the document; they've incorporated 95% of the public comments receivedand continue to welcome comments as nothing is written in stone and the documentcan still be adapted.2.4 Public hearing closed 19133. Privilege of the Floor3.1. Ronda Roaring spoke out against Item 10.1 (a resolution calling for more local controlof COVID-19 vaccine distribution.3.2. Ted Crane spoke about Item 10.2 (to initiate on open area devolpment process at 250Marsh Rd) suggesting that more time was needed for the option to be consideredprior to bringing it to the Planning Board.3.3. Dan Klein spoke about Item 10.1 having read the letter for the first time after hearingRonda Roaring’s comments. Klein described what is happening in county legislatureregarding a waiting list (not exactly what Item 10.1 is about). However, Klein pointedout that several county legislators have been asking to establish a waiting list, withTompkins County responding that it is not legal to do so, despite that at least 3 other
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counties in NYS have established a waiting list. Klein continues to argue in countylegislature for a waiting list to be implemented.4. Correspondence4.1. None.5. Announcements5.1.Engineering Planning Grant Application submitted at the last minute for a $10,000award.6. Additions/Deletions to Consent Agenda6.1. None.7. Approval of Consent Agenda7.1. Warrants7.1.1.General Fund Abstract 4: Vouchers 42–61 for $12,419.547.1.2.Highway Fund Abstract 4: Vouchers 28–43 for $77,165.617.1.3.Water District Abstract 4: Vouchers 9–12 for $493.507.1.4.Danby Fire District 2021 Contract: $559,000.007.2.CAC 2020 Annual ReportResolution 45 of 2021 To Approve Consent Agenda
Moved By:Schnabel Seconded By:Holahan
Vote:Councilperson Aye No Abstain
Connors X
Holahan X
Schnabel X
Ulinski X
Gagnon XResolution 45 approved.
8. Additions/Deletions to the Regular Agenda8.1. None9. Old Business9.1.Correspondence Policy, RevisedDiscussion revolved around the intent of the policy, what is the goal, and how is itaccomplished. Schnabel will be lead writer for revisions going forward.Item tabled until next meeting for review.9.2.Amending Rules of Order: Agenda Creation and DistributionResolution 46 of 2021 To Amend Rules of Order
Moved By:Gagnon Seconded By:Holahan
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9.2.1. Clarification was made regarding the quantity and type of days that the agendamust be made final: it remains 48 hours allowing for a potential Saturdaydeadline ahead of Monday meetings.9.2.2. Additional friendly amendments included re-ordering the sequence of events,and when supplemental materials such as vouchers and warrant abstractsneeded to be submitted to the Board for review. Gagnon accepted theamendments.Vote:Councilperson Aye No Abstain
Connors X
Holahan X
Schnabel X
Ulinski X
Gagnon XResolution 46 approved.
9.3.Review and Approval: CAC Management Plans for Town-Owned, Undeveloped,Forested Properties9.3.1. Given the comments raised by Dan Klein during the public hearing portion, theBoard wishes to defer voting on this until there has been enough time toconsider the additional comments and suggested modifications.9.3.2. The report is in the Board’s hands; Connors is designated the lead person toincorporate any additional proposed edits.9.3.3. Tabled until next meeting.
9.5.Resolution 47 of 2021 To Opt in to Loader Program for Highway
Moved By:Schnabel Seconded By:Connors
Vote:Councilperson Aye No Abstain
Connors X
Holahan X
Schnabel X
Ulinski X
Gagnon XResolution 47 approved.
10. New Business
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10.1.Resolution 48 of 2021 Calling for More Local Control of COVID 19 VaccineDistribution
Moved By:Holahan Seconded By:Connors
Vote:Councilperson Aye No Abstain
Connors X
Holahan X
Schnabel X
Ulinski X
Gagnon XResolution 48 approved.
10.2. Initiate Open Development Area Process for 250 Marsh Rd — Refer to PlanningBoard for review and recommendation and declaration of lead agency inenvironmental review10.2.1. This issue is a difficult one insofar as Supervisor Gagnon has been working tofigure out a way to enable some development on this proposed subdivisionwithout opening floodgates for further development throughout the town downthe road. It is complicated because the property touches the road on the corner(about 20ft of road frontage) resulting in two of the three resulting lotsbecoming land-locked because of the road frontage. By right, this property couldbe subdivided by extending the road into the property by the abandoned sectionof Deputron Hollow, giving road frontage that would allow for subdivision. Thecurrent owners wish to keep the resulting center parcel running the road all theway to the center. This is an expensive option and would disrupt much of thetrees. Alternatively, if the goal is to minimize environmental disruption, the wayto do this would be by right of way and not by street, meaning creating an opendevelopment area. Town Attorney Guy Krogh suggested this because it allowsaccess by right of way instead of frontage. Supervisor Gagnon proposes creatingan open development area.10.2.2. Discussion revolved around the suddenness of the proposal without havinghad time to review, consider, and walk the land; as well as the complexityaround wanting to be protective of that area as the headwaters for 6-MileCreek.10.2.3. Gagnon is asking the Town Board if they are willing to create an opendevelopment area, which can be requested by the applicant or brought by theTown Board; either way, having an open development area would minimize theenvironmental impact.10.2.4. The proposal from the buyers is to have the future ability for buyers’descendants to build homes; if buyers or descendants sell the property out of
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the family, the new buyer is no longer able to build additional homes on theparcel.10.2.5. The parcel cannot currently be subdivided because it does not have the roadfrontage. However, if the buyers create the frontage (which is within their rightsto do), it will create an even larger impact to the area. All of the buyers’ requeststo date have been thought out over months to reduce impact to this area.10.2.6. Gagnon asks how to deal with a parcel that will ultimately be subdivided sothat the environmental impact is minimal. The rest of the Town Board are notprepared to make any decisions without doing more research.10.2.6.1. The decision for open development rests with the Town Board withinput from the Planning Board. This will give time to think about and researchpotential options. If the Board is willing to entertain the possibility of opendevelopment action, Gagnon recommends the TB be the lead agency onenvironmental review; the community can weigh in, the Planning Board canweigh in, and the Town Board will come back to it.10.2.7. The Board’s will is to not take this up now and table it until a special meetingcan be held at least one week from today (Monday, March 1).Resolution 49 of 2021 To Schedule Special Meeting for March 1, 2021 at 7pm
Moved By:Schnabel Seconded By:Holahan
Vote:Councilperson Aye No Abstain
Connors X
Holahan X
Schnabel X
Ulinski X
Gagnon XResolution 49 approved.
11. Discussion of Next Meeting Agenda11.1. No discussion.12. Adjourn at 22:04
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Submitted by Janice R. AdelmanTown Clerk
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Exhibit 1. Written Comments from Dan Klein re Property Management Proposal
I have a somewhat lengthy statement to make. Thank you in advance for listening tomy remarks. I will be submitting these written comments to the Town Clerk forinclusion in the record.In general, I am supportive of the plans, with one big exception and one smallexception.This phrase is used in the document: “Selective cutting if needed for tree health anddisease management”. At another point this phrase is used: “not to be logged, except forforest health”. I would like to challenge these phrases, and the idea behind them.What does it mean for a tree to be “healthy”? In a park or an orchard or a residentialyard, what that probably means is “esthetically pleasing” or “producing a maximumamount of a specific product for humans”. That is fine for those settings. But a forest canbe a natural place, and esthetics and human-focused products are not particularlyrelevant factors if the goal itself is maintaining a natural place, as I feel it should be inthis case. In a park, orchard, or residential yard, a dying or dead tree is something thatprobably needs management. But in a natural forest, no management of these trees isnecessary. Just the opposite. They add value to the forest ecosystem in terms of nutrientrecycling, habitat for insects, birds, fungus, and other organisms, and they perform aDarwinian role in that the survivors are those best adapted to the current conditions.Similarly, the phrase “selective cutting for disease management” has little meaning toa forest ecosystem. Trees will get diseases. If the goal of having a given tree is toproduce fruit, or provide shade, or look beautiful in front of your house, then yes, thetree may need to be cut to manage disease. But if the goal of the tree is simply to be partof a natural ecosystem, then selective cutting for disease management iscounterproductive.To put it another way, selectively cutting for something called “health” and “diseasemanagement” is a very human-centric way of looking at the forest. This human wantsone thing for these particular publicly-owned forests: a forest in as natural a state aspossible.The term “old-growth” was eliminated as a goal for the Deputron Hollow parcel,and mentioned just once for the Sylvan Lane property. I would like to see this termmade more prominent. It is a legitimate and professionally-accepted idea that one canmanage for old-growth, and I think we should enthusiastically embrace this term.Except for the “health” management issue that I previously addressed, I think theseplans are old-growth plans, and that is why I support them.In my written remarks, I cite one scientific paper. If your have the time, I urge you totake just a few minutes to look at it. It is an easy-to-read,research-based, peer-reviewed, meta-analysis that provides the research unambiguously showing thatleaving forests intact is the absolute best management tool in terms of carbonsequestration and biodiversity.
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Old-growth is the rarest piece of biodiversity in Tompkins County, throughout theregion, and throughout most of the country. We have a 30-acre piece of old-growth inNewfield, a 30-acre piece in Trumansburg, and that’s about it for Tompkins County.The Town of Danby is in a unique position to manage for old-growth for a fewreasons. 1) We are not under any regulations to produce timber as are state andnational forests. 2) We do not pay taxes on this land. And 3) the Town of Danby will,theoretically at least, exist forever. I challenge you to find another entity other thangovernments that meet those 3 conditions. We should not take lightly this specialposition we find ourselves in.I would also point out that managing for old-growth is the easiest thing for agovernment to do. Virtually no staff time is required, no funds are required, and nodecision-making is required.There are a number of management tools that can be used in conjunction withmanaging for old-growth. The one that is not compatible with old-growth is commerciallogging. Here is a list of some management techniques that are compatible with old-growth: invasive species management, control of deer, hiking and cross-country ski trailconstruction and maintenance, erosion control, selling of carbon-offset credits, seedcollection, vernal pond installation, replanting, reintroduction of blight-resistantAmerican Chestnut trees, research, education, recreation, hunting, and cutting of a smallnumber of trees that may endanger a road, powerline, or other human infrastructure,A person might look around at our landscape in Danby and think, “We have plenty offorests here, what’s the big deal?” Forests live longer than humans do, so it is necessary,and a little difficult, to look at timespans of several hundred yearswhen thinking aboutforests. If you went back 100 years ago, you would have seen far far fewer forests inDanby. There may still be plenty of forests in Danby in another 100 years, but maybenot. It should not be hard to imagine that with population growth, population migration,and increasing worldwide demands for natural resources, our forests 100 years fromnow might be only a fraction of what they are now. I am not aware of a single instance ofan entity who preserved forestsand later wished they had not done so. All of this goesdouble for old-growth. Managing for old-growth is a gift to the future, and you are in aunique position to be the stewards of this gift.I believe that inspiration is one of the rarest things in the world. Protecting a forest sothat it can mature into old growth is an act that will inspire people. We all could use alittle inspiration.------------------------------------------------------A comprehensive, easy-to-understand, unambiguous study that makes the case for old-growth is:
“Intact Forests in the United States: Proforestation Mitigates Climate Change andServes the Greatest Good”William R. Moomaw, Susan A. Masino and Edward K. FaisonFrontiers in Forest and Global Change, 11 June 2019|https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2019.00027
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There are literally hundreds of research papers that could be cited to support variousaspects of the case for old-growth. The above-cited paper is a research-based, peer-reviewed, meta-analysis, meaning it examined more than 90 other research papers andreports and drew broad conclusions based on the specific research of others. It statesunambiguously that leaving forests intact is the most effective management tool interms of carbon sequestration and biodiversity.
Dan Klein56 Durfee Hill Rd.February 17, 2021