The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCAC Minutes - 12_13_22Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 1 of 5 Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) Minutes of In-person Meeting in Town Hall Tuesday, December 13, 2022 Danby, New York Council Members present: Margaret Corbit (Chair), Joel Gagnon, Jonathan Zisk, Katharine Hunter, Don Schaufler, Brittany Lagaly, Renee Owens, Mary Woodsen (via Zoom) Council Members absent: none Others present: Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary), David West (Town Planner), Ronda Roaring (Danby resident – via Zoom), Zoom Meeting was officially called to order at 7:04. Privilege of the Floor (PoF): Deletions or Additions to Agenda: Keokosky added annual report -which was incorporated into Item 1. Approval of November 8, 2022 minutes Lagaly moved to approve  Zisk seconded  Approval unanimous. (This was actually accomplished midway through agenda) REPORTS AND UPDATES (from the agenda) 1. New CAC Member Search, and other CAC specific issues (Question asked by Ronda: how to set a standard for photos that avoids downloading) - Margaret Corbit Keokosky reminded Chair of issue Roaring had been previously concerned with, that of other people downloading her photographs from the CAC website. Corbit said she had forgotten to do this and would do so. She added that the resolution has to be decreased to 72 dots/inch Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 2 of 5 The group welcomed a new CAC member: Renee Owens. Since all members (except Woodsen) were there in person for the first time since Covid, they introduced themselves. Owens lives on Peter Rd, off of Trevor Rd. Other potential members mentioned: Anne Klingensmith by Zisk and Marie Monroe by Gagnon Mary Woodsen gave notice of her resignation. Corbit said that we would miss her and a letter was needed to town board to allow a new member to replace her. 2. Status of changes on CAC web pages: Revisioning of Danby conservation easement message and how to strategize outreach; GIS map that is being worked on with David West - Margaret Corbit Corbit has thanked town clerk for the work she has been doing on CAC web page. Corbit needs to get access to Laserfiche. Keokosky will send her the County Clerk’s name. Roaring said that all easements should be available on County Clerk’s website. 3. Updates Proposed Easements - Main coordinators for each easement. Woodsen Easement: Zisk still getting coordinates and will submit to group by email this week. Hoffman/Karlson Easement: Gagnon screenshared draft easement on big screen – said property had a terrific view, good orchard location (one of the best in Danby), more glacial slope, early successional forest and some open fields. He further described problems that had been overcome such as cluster housing issues and what defined cabins. Zisk questioned whether language completely precluded future use as dwellings. Suggested using the phrase “in perpetuity”. Discussion of trails on property – motor vehicles prohibited in any environmental protection zones. Lagaly asked if trails were mapped. Options were to highlight trails on existing maps or using Gaia program to mark trails – which it can do if people walk them. Some trails are just deer trails. Easements we have done so far don’t allow public access. Butje Easement: West (planner) put a draft map and a full draft easement on large screen. Zisk, Corbit, and West walked area extensively. Some developed areas were put into residential and active use zones. West Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 3 of 5 color-coded zones and Ag and Forest zone was most of parcel. Environmental protection zone was on slopes. Pictures of different areas are linked to GIS map by Gaia program. GIS coordinates and elevation can be gotten with these links. Corbit thanked West and also Fewtrell (posthumously) for their contributions to easements this past year. 4. Status of annual easement monitoring and placing easement signs - Jonathan Zisk, Katharine Hunter Hunting is still interfering with easement monitoring; also the possible depth of snow. 5. Final review and approval of Timber Harvesting law - Don Schaufler & Jonathan Zisk Discussed presenting Timber Harvesting Law to town board. Group will try to make town board meeting on January 3. Schaufler has added a preamble and Log rules – Schaufler used Doyle log rule, not Scribner, or International (see https://www.globaltimberinc.com/doyle-scale.html ). (These are only a guideline.) CAC member comments need to be dealt with as well but these are held up by Schaufler’s troubles with Zoho. People need to immediately get any other comments in. Corbit will send completed file by email to board members. Schaufler will be attending the next meeting remotely, which has been OKed since health problems keep his family in Florida during parts of winter. Some discussion followed on the merits of becoming a conservation board. CAC is now an advisory council, but it does craft legislation and run an easement program. West said that the “Natural Resources Inventory” - already completed - does cover the “Open Space Inventory” prerequisite to becoming a board. One drawback to becoming a board is that town board members can’t be on a conservation board so we would lose the ones we have. Zisk thought we could have a town board liaison, but Gagnon said their role would be much smaller. This ended the discussion as it has done previously. Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 4 of 5 6. Status of efforts to develop a local law to implement tax abatements for conservation easement properties - Joel Gagnon On December 20, West, Town Planner, was to present Danby’s thoughts on temporary easements and tax abatements to the finance committee of the Ithaca School Board. A reduction of school tax, since it is bigger than the town tax, would have a greater impact as an incentive to possible easement donors. Zisk asked what the chances are that this will happen. West guessed 50/50. The reduction is revenue neutral, but conservation easements are apt not to be a priority to the school board. Being face-to- face with the board will give West a better sense of how important this topic is to them. 7. Feedback on presentation “Tompkins County’s Plan for Food for the Future” which was on Nov. 10th - Elizabeth Keokosky Keokosky mentioned that there might be another talk in late February (or March) discussing the outcomes of Graham Salvio’s CCE committee on payment of ecosystem services incentives. She apologized for a lack of follow up to the last presentation because of a health emergency in her family, but she thought the number of attendees had been in the teens. Gagnon was disappointed by the lack of discussions following the presentations. Keokosky agreed – she said that no one from her Agriculture list had come. But she felt the talk by Erin Kurtz from the NRCS provided a lot of useful information. She was going to tell the presenters that if they are interested in collecting data they should offer free soil testing and collect data from those who participate. The link for seeing the recording is https://danby.ny.gov/docs/food-for-the-future-11-10-2022/ A few statistics: average (mean) lot size in Danby –4.8 acres. The median is 16.747. Gagnon mentioned that 5 acres used to be regarded as enough land for a small farm and referenced the book titled “Five Acres and Independence”. There was no Executive session Next Meeting is on January 10, 2023 at 7p.m. Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council Minutes Page 5 of 5 Adjournment at 8:25pm _____________________________________________ Submitted by Elizabeth Keokosky (Secretary)