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Home My WebLink AboutCAC Minutes - 08_09_22Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 1 of 5 Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) Minutes of Video Conference (Zoom) Meeting on Tuesday, August 9 , 2022 Danby, New York Council Members present: Clare Fewtrell (Chair), Margaret Corbit, Joel Gagnon, Mary Woodsen, Jonathan Zisk, Katharine Hunter, Brittany Lagaly, Don Schaufler Council Members absent: none Others present: Elizabeth Keokosky (secretary), Ronda Roaring (Danby resident), Zoom Meeting was officially called to order at 7:11. Privilege of the Floor (PoF): Roaring explained her coffee tree reestablishment ideas and demonstrated her coffee tree seedlings. She is working with DEC to replant them in Danby State Forest. She wants to collect seed pods from existing trees and germinate them. She noted that places that they were already growing were: Pleasant Street closest to Aurora St and 1164-1166 Lakeshore Dr on both sides of street; also in a grove on Rt 34. She is looking for people who are interested and who want to participate and plant them on their land. She explained that they no longer germinate on their own since the animal who was the intermediary (the seed is toxic to most animals) is no longer around. Instead the seed must be scarified by humans to germinate in the spring. Fall germination is immediate but seedlings will not over-winter outside. Further info is in this link: https://arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/exploring-the-native-range-of-kentucky-coffeetree/. This is written by the person Roaring is consulting with. Deletions or Additions to Agenda: Fewtrell’s list of CAC member responsibilities was added as item 6, replacing Corbit’s Zoho lesson. Approval Minutes MOTION for July 12, 2022 minutes Gagnon moved to approve Zisk seconded Schaufler abstained, otherwise unanimous approval. REPORTS AND UPDATES from Agenda Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 2 of 5 1. Re-visioning of Danby conservation easement message and how to strategize outreach; GIS map, enabling legislation - Joel Gagnon, Jonathan Zisk, Margaret Corbit These ideas are for updating CAC webpages on Danby website: Map: Corbit reported that she had met with Planner David West about what information to include on a map that would be helpful to explain what we are doing and communicate to people developing conservation easements. This map would be based on the zoning map but highlighting high priority zone areas near and part of State Land, parks, existing Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) land and easements, Danby easements, unique natural areas (UNAs), riparian setbacks, and potential land corridors. (this will also create a picture of Danby’s contribution to the FLLT Emerald Necklace concept, a ring of adjacent, preserved fields and forests for public trails and access). Working with the Town Clerk, Janice, Corbit said she is committed to making sure all easement information is scanned, digitized and in one place on the site. The scanner makes .pdf files but it will be searchable in the same manner as the county’s lasherfiche server, which has a layer of software that allows a whole folder to be search by content. Fewtrell’s questions: purpose of the map? Are we going to use Zisk’s easement guidelines? (Zisk felt that these were not part of this project, but rather a tool for group to use). How public is this information – do people want others to know where their easement is? (Hunter raised the point that other taxpayers are helping to foot the bill for these easements and they are already public record so they have a right to know). Are HSUS (Humane Society Wildlife land trust) and FLLT easements also eligible for tax breaks? (Gagnon said he thought that they were). Zisk noted that easements are a public benefit, which requires that the public gets transparency on all easement information. Discussion continued around how to create improved CAC web page(s) Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 3 of 5 and how much time to invest. Fewtrell asked what the goal of the web pages were. Gagnon responded that the goal was to set a context for documents. Corbit, Lagaly, Fisk, and Keokosky volunteered to be on a committee to look into this. Corbit will spearhead this website but she took the opportunity to say that come January she will no longer have time to be co-chair of CAC. 2. Updates on Passed and Proposed Easements: Ravencache (Lagaly), Woodsen (Zisk), Sherman/Lassoie (Lagaly and Hunter), any others? Ravencache: Brittany’s husband, Tyler, still has to sign document with witness. Next step is to file with Tompkins County clerk and DEC. Town Clerk handles this. Fewtrell suggested putting the checklist of things needed to do to register an easement on the webpage. Woodsen: Zisk said that the residential and active use area still needs to be paced off. Zisk is in Maine and will be back in week. He will email draft document to CAC members. Sherman: easement put off till weather more tolerable. Hunter will email Sherman to contact. Dan Hoffman property: Gagnon is still waiting on easement donors to make decisions. Fewtrell is going to get back to them to find out where they are. Fewtrell asked Lagaly to take the lead on getting the remaining steps done on her easement since she is mostly over her leg injury. She also asked Lagaly and Hunter to move ahead on the Sherman/Lassoie easement. Hunter again said it still depended on health and the weather. 3. Status of annual easement monitoring and placing easement signs - Jonathan Zisk, Katharine Hunter Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 4 of 5 Monitoring reports: Zisk and Schaufler still need to write up reports – most easements had been inspected, except Palmer and Melchen (3/4 done) on Deputron Hollow. Zisk will send Hunter maps Fewtrell generated for him to complete this. Hunter is initially going to just talk to Eric Palmer and establish a relationship – she needs a phone number. Discussion followed on how to keep track of easements when they change hands or are subdivided – what names should be used to identify them? Fewtrell said that monitoring reports, in addition to monitoring, are important for purpose of keeping transfer history straight. 4. Status of Timber Harvesting law - Don Schaufler Schaufler met with Highway people, and Laura Shawley edited his document to include Highway Department in the process when appropriate. She then sent it to Zoho, which Schaufler can’t seem to get access to. Town clerk acted as a go-between and sent it to him as an attachment. Fewtrell asked him to complete a draft document and send to the group to make final suggestions. After CAC approves it, the town lawyer still has to review it and Town Board will also have to approve it before having a public hearing. 5. Status of local implementation of varying easement time lines and tax abatements subcommittee - Joel Gagnon Gagnon reported the ball is still in Tompkins County School District and Town Planner David West’s ball court. Fewtrell will check in with West and report back. 6. Fewtrell’s list of CAC member’s responsibilities was mostly covered during the meeting. What remained was added by secretary to item numbers they were part of. Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 5 of 5 There was no Executive session Next Meeting via Zoom is on September 13, 2022 at 7p.m. Adjournment at 8:47 pm _____________________________________________ Submitted by Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary)