HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-SMC-1997-05-08 City of Ithaca
SIX MILE CREEK ADVISORY COMMITTEE
May 2, 1997
Alan Cohen
Mayor, City of Ithaca
William Gray
Superintendent of Public Works
H. Matthys Van Cort
Director of Planning
Steven Ehrhardt
Vice Chair, Board of Public Works
RE: Proposed Natural Areas Commission
Gentlemen:
Through Mayor Cohen and the Planning Department, the Six Mile
Creek Advisory Committee has learned that the City wishes to form a
Natural Areas Commission that would oversee, among other things, the
Ithaca Falls area and the Negundo Woods/substitute Southwest Park. We
have been asked to endorse this concept, including the merging the Six
Mile Creek Advisory Committee with such a Commission.
Members of the. Committee have expressed various concerns about
such a merger. They have pointed out that it is already difficult for
the Committee to achieve its current objectives, given the relatively
low level of funding and staff support and the inadequate channels of
communication between City Hall/Public Works and the Committee. They
fear that it will be even more difficult for a Natural Areas
Commission, with greatly expanded responsibilities, to address the
concerns for and needs of the Six Mile Creek Natural Area, unless there
is a significant change in City support and in the nature of the
relationship between City Hall/Public Works and the lay board
responsible for the City's natural areas.
The Committee has asked me to invite each of you to attend our
next meeting, where we will discuss a proposal to endorse the formation
of a Natural Areas Commission (and merger therewith of the Six Mile
Creek Advisory Committee) . Your perspectives on the concerns of
Committee members - about funding, staff support and timely
communication of and involvement with important decisions - is vital.
The meeting will be on Monday, May 12, 1997, at 5: 15 PM in the Third
Floor Conference Room of City Hall.
Please let me know if you will not be able to attend. Thank you
for your consideration.
Sincerely yours,
EzT2: /f G'
IEL L. HOFFMAN
Chairperson
273-6933 (home) 273-2202 (work)
cc: Six Mile Creek Advisory Committee
City of Ithaca
SIX MILE CREEK ADVISORY COMMITTEE
April 28, 1997
Andrew Hillman
City Forester
108 East Green Street
Ithaca, New York 14850
RE: Application for 1997 Recreational Trails Funding
Dear Andy:
The Six Mile Creek Advisory Committee met today and discussed
the possibility of your making application for funding, from the
State of New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation, for restoration and improvement of trails in the Six
Mile Creek Natural Area.
Members present unanimously endorsed the submission of an
application with the following components:
(1) Restoration of the washed-out section of the lower trail
above the old pipeline/retaining wall, to create a level surface of
gravel and/or crushed stone.
(2) Restoration of the footbridge from the Giles Street
parking area which was destroyed by flooding in 1996 .
(3) Creation of a handicapped-accessible path around the
outer edge of the "butterfly meadow" between the Giles Street
parking area and the entrance to the lower trail (with hard-packed
gravel or stone surface and modest width - about four feet) .
(4) Other repairs to the lower trail, including: protection
of eroded areas just before the rock point at the first turn and
along the new creek meander where a portion of the trail was lost
in 1996; wood chip treatment at any appropriate points (to keep
trail width from increasing) ; and judicious trimming of honeysuckle
where it encroaches on the trail.
Thank you for your continued efforts to support the work of
the Committee in preserving the character of the Six Mile Creek
Natural Area and in facilitating reasonable and environmentally
sound access by the public.
Sincerely yours,
DANIEL HOFFF , Chairperson
cc: Mayor Alan Cohen
Six Mile Creek Advisory Committee