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Home My WebLink AboutCAC Minutes - 11_08_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, November 8, 2022 Danby, New York Council Members present: Margaret Corbit (Chair), Joel Gagnon, Jonathan Zisk, Katharine Hunter, Don Schaufler (came later) Council Members absent: Mary Woodsen, Brittany Lagaly Others present: Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary), Ronda Roaring (Danby resident), Zoom Meeting was officially called to order at 7:04. Privilege of the Floor (PoF): Roaring made a statement about the need for meeting transparency and the need for posting a copy of an item before it is voted on so the public knows what is happening. Gagnon responded that the CAC (being a council and not a board) does not vote on an item itself but only whether it is ready to be sent to town board, where it is then posted and voted on. Some discussion of this…… Roaring said this was a violation of NY Open Meetings Law. Corbit volunteered to send Roaring draft of Timber Harvesting Law. (Reference in Open Meetings Law to https://opengovernment.ny.gov/open-meetings- law ) Deletions or Additions to Agenda: Corbit added discussion of in-person meeting - which was added to Item 1. Approval Minutes MOTION for October 11, 2022 minutes Gagnon moved to approve  Hunter seconded  Approval of present members unanimous. Lagaly and Woodsen absent but quorum present. Motion passed. (This was actually accomplished at the end of the meeting) Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 2 of 5 REPORTS AND UPDATES (from the agenda) 1. New CAC Member Search, and other CAC specific issues - Margaret Corbit Corbit announced that Renee Owens was interested in becoming a CAC member. Gagnon noted that November 14 is the deadline for applying to fill Clare Fewtrell’s vacant seat and December 2 is the deadline for terms expiring at the end of December. Zisk was going to ask Andi Gladstone and another person about their interest. There are vacancies on several other boards in Danby. Due to changing Covid regulations in NY State, totally videoconferenced meetings are no longer enabled, and Danby boards and committes are now required to have an in-person quorum at town hall in order to conduct business - though the public will still be able to videoconference in. For CAC this would begin with the next meeting on Dec 13. This change allows the whole public (even those without access to streaming technology) to attend and observe these meetings. Masking will ber optional. (For a fuller explanation of state changes and exemptions see Appendix A.) 2. Status of changes on CAC web pages: Re-visioning of Danby conservation easement message and how to strategize outreach; GIS map that is being worked on with David West - Margaret Corbit Corbit reporting on status of the CAC web page, said that Janice Adelman, the Town Clerk, has been improving web pages. Re-visioning is a bit stalled but the GIS map is moving forward. The Town Planner is linking photographs to easement sites on the Danby baseline map. Corbit suggested that the CAC should get Planner West to give lessons on using Gaia for GIS and to become familiar with its options. 3. Updates on Passed and Proposed Easements - Main coordinators for each easement. Butje Easement: Corbit said that land has now been fully walked (over 3 visits). She noted it has a steep, “glacially over-steepened slope” (almost Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 3 of 5 45 degrees), and Zisk was enthusiastic about the large number of chestnut oaks. The cabin, house, and barn on 3 acres were said to need some serious renovation before sale, which is now being held off, making getting the conservation easement done on time easier. Woodsen Easement: Zisk is having problems with the Gaia program and needs some help from West (planner) to get GPS coordinate values Hoffman Easement: Gagnon is working with the donors on Schedules B and C, but they are getting close. Sherman Easement: Hunter thought this was on hold; she is contacting Lagaly by email. She also got her phone number. Ben Altman Easement: Zisk is calling him. 4. Status of annual easement monitoring and placing of easement signs - Jonathan Zisk, Katharine Hunter Hunter has still to contact Eric Palmer and Zisk is calling Ed Scholz (spelling?) There are 7 easement signs with holes drilled in them that he will put in the town hall since signs are difficult to erect without pre-drilling. 5. Final review and vote on Timber Harvesting law - Don Schaufler & Jonathan Zisk This was delayed because CAC member comments went into Google Docs, with which Schaufler was unfamiliar; He is also seasonally held up by his Christmas tree business. A few remaining questions were discussed. Zisk’s preamble still needs to be added. 6. Status of local implementation of varying easement time lines and tax abatements subcommittee - Joel Gagnon Gagnon reported the subcommittee is still waiting on Ithaca school board. Secretary Keokosky suggested that the delay from the school Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 4 of 5 board had been so long that the original reason to go to them first was no longer relevant, and perhaps the subcommittee should just go ahead and decide the percent town taxes excluded for the temporary easement categories, and consider school tax later. Zisk agreed, and said he would talk to West about it. 7. Status of presentation on “Tompkins County’s Plan for Food for the Future - What is it, and what does it mean to Farmers in Danby?” for Nov. 10th - Elizabeth Keokosky Keokosky reported she was very pleased with speakers now in place– Don Barber, chair of the Tompkins County Food Policy, and Erin Kurtz, Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) county representative, who was to talk about government incentives, but had originally had problems with the time slot. She was enthusiastic, but noted that, though the town newsletter had published her article advertising the presentation, Ted Crane’s Danby Community Council newsletter had not - a lack of communication that had caused confusion and reduced dissemination of the information. Some discussion followed on the two papers. Advertising was also by poster and South Hill Facebook page. Others present copied the town notice about the event to their own Facebook pages. Emails had been sent to the Danby agricultural list. There was no Executive session Next Meeting is on December 13, 2022 at 7p.m., at the town hall. Adjournment at 8:03 pm _____________________________________________ Submitted by Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary) Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 5 of 5 Appendix A The suspension of the NY State Open Meeting Law requirement that meetings be held in person ended when the governor ended the executive order that had enabled entirely videoconference meetings during the COVID pandemic. Danby boards and committees are now required to meet in person (a change allows for some members to participate via videoconference for good cause and if announced ahead of time, but only if a quorum is present in person). While the CAC, as a purely advisory body, can arguably still meet entirely by videoconference, the Town Attorney has advised that in-person meetings better honor the spirit of the Open Meetings Law. The public will still be able to attend via videoconference. https://adamsleclair.law/blog/new-york-moves-closer-to-allowing-hybrid- meetings-for-public-bodies-open-meeting-laws-still-in-flux/