HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-SMC-1987 SIX MILE CREEK OVERSEER COMMITTEE MINUTES
APRIL 6, 1987
Present : Peterson, Ruether, Clausen, Mulholland , Baker, Gerkin,
Fischer, Beeners, Lavine , Dress
Member of the public, Eric Fielding, voiced concern over the work
and reopening of Giles Street. He also referred to the work at 30
foot dam and the need for re-seeding to prevent mud washing into the
reservoir.
1 . Minutes
The March minutes were approved unanimously.
2 . Gorge ranger
David Ruether reported that interviews will reopen to explore other
choices for the ranger selection. Bud Gerkin mentioned his idea of
apprenticing a young person in a ranger capacity.
Beth Mulholland said that ranger guidelihes will be reviewed by the
subcommittee .
3 . Annual report
Beth submitted an outline for an •e.cetutive summary.
4 . Town of Ithaca
Susan Beeners noted that the Town would like to locate its emergency
service road to Commonland between the buildings on the Clausen pro-
perty. The road would be one way in and the Town will maintain it.
She suggested that the road could be used as a designated trail from
the reservoir connecting to Tower View Park. However, several committee
members reiterated the committee 's position that access should be con-
trolled in the upper areas of-the gorge ,that is, the farther up the
gorge one goes from Giles Street, the less used it becomes- preserving
a more remote feeling in the area.
Moved by Ruether, Second d by Lavine
The Six Mile Creek Overseer Committee supports trail de-
velopment for potential pedestrian aceess farther west of
the Town 's suggestion of the service road at the Clausen
property, thus directing pedestrians into the area of the
gorge of more intensive use as intended in the bMCOC ori-
ginal policy in order to preserve the upper gorge from
heavy pedestrian use .
Passed 8-0-1 (Beeners )
5 . Steve Baker reported that he toured the newly acquired seven acres
with Gary Lamont. The soil is fairly well stabilized and new plant-
ings won 't gain much for erosion control but we could create "demar-
cation" plantings . Steve will prepare a proposal .
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CITY OF ` ITHACA
108 EAST GREEN STREET
• ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 • •
TELEPHONE: 272-1713
COMMON COUNCIL CODE 607
SIX MILE CREEK OVERSEER COMMITTEE MINUTES
May 4, 1987
Present : Peterson, Beeners, Lavine , Gerkin, Baker, Ruether, Clausen,
Dress, Mulholand.
Excused : Fischer
The April minutes were passed unanimously.
Beth announced that there would be a fern walk in the gorge this Sun-
day at 2 p.m. in commemoration of Cliff Berg.
David Ruether announced the appointment of Bill Lenga as gorge ranger.
Bill started on May 3 ,and already had to remove campers and. beer drinkers
from the area. His uniform is not yet 'supplied. Bud will expedite the
uniform supply.
Ranger guidelines were reviewed by the committee . Some adjustments were
made and the entire document will be 'referred to Bill Lenga for his
input. One question that arose was wheter or not the ranger should
check for fishing licenses.
A draft annual report was prepared by Beth. After some revisions and
additions thereport was approved for distribution.
Steve Baker has been asked to prepare a "plan of action" for the land
above Potter 's Falls . The committee agreed to put this project on hold
and to watch the usage of that piece of land.
A motion suggesting appropriate treatment of the land at the pipeline
rehabilitation project passed unanimously and will be referred to the
Board of Public Works and the City engineer. Additionally , Bud will
follow up on the bank containment project design work.
Steve announced that NYSEG is expanding their utility cut and will be
using non-chemical treatments.
Susan Beeners reported that Commonland 's secondary access road will be
located at the old City right of way rather than on the Clausen Property.
The town has maintained a twenty foot easement at the Clausen property
for possible trail access. The Bortz property site plan is coming up
for a variance and there will be a suggestion for a covenant for open
space and no development on the backland.
Buzz moved and Steve seconded a motion that the City thank the Wesiburd 'S
in writing for their land donation made to the City. Passed unanimously.
MINUTES OF JUNE 1 , 1987
Present : Peterson, Baker, Lavine , Clausen, Dress, Mulholland
Excused : Beeners, Gerkin
Beth announced that the ranger guidelines are now in place.
A written ranger report was submitted by Bill Lenga. Several items
were listed on the report. Beth has offered to work on the problem
of controlling dogs at the gorge .Another problem that was highlighted
is motorized vehicles . A system of deterrents using strategically
placed logs was supported, aswell as examining the entrances at the
park for deterrents. The need for extra prohibition signs was dis-
cussed and supported . More assistance from City police in the lagoon
area and parking lot was recommended.
Circle Greenway report-' No hunting signs are being removed. There
has been shooting at Van Natta 's dam area. Graffitti has increased.
Are there copperheads?
Concerns were raised that committee members may be giving conflicting
directives to the ranger. Discussion focused on swimming and the degree
to which no swimming is enforced , especially in light of, other illegal
activities .
It was suggested that Bill Lenga schedule a walk for life safety
officials.
Steve announced that the pipeline is connected and that regrading has
started.
Susan Beeners left a message that the Bortz property will have a re-
strictive convenant that runs with the land with the boundary matched
to Edgewood. This leaves over 2 acres undeveloped and possibly a
donation of this land in the future .
•
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SIX MILE CREEK OVERSEER COMMITTEE MINUTES
AUGUST 3, 1987
Present : Baker, Lavine, Mulholland,Dress, Ruether, Clausen, Fischer,
Bill Lenga, Jack Dougherty, 20 members of the public
Excused : Peterson
Steve Baker presided in Carolyn Peterson 's absence .
The July minutes were approved unanimously.
The first part of the meeting involved discussion between com-
mittee members, members of the public, and the gorge ranger and
his supervisor. The central issue was the enforcement of the no
swimming regulation and the method of its enforcement. Ruether
led the discussion stressing that the no swimming enforeement
was being done with a much heavier hand than in the past and
was creating anger among gorge users, possibly diminishing the
cooperation that gorge users, especially swimmers, have shown
the ranger in the past. Baker and Dougherty felt that the ranger
was in fact doing his job. Members of the public felt that the
ranger was particularly paying attention to the swimmers and not
equal attention to other prohibitions in the gorge. Questions on
liability and installation of a lifeguard were raised .
Ranger report Dog regulatitns have been helpful.
502 swimming 110 swimming at Potters
76 drinking 3 rafts
6 pot smoking 1 robbery
Resolution : Whereas jumping from the Van Natta pump station con-
tinues to be a problem and,
Whereas the station has been vandalized, therefore be it
Resolved that the 6MCOC recommends to the Department
of Public Works that a more vandal proof method of sealing
up the open windows and roofAthe pumping station be
developed. PASSED o�
Resolution: Whereas there is at times a parking shortage at the
Giles Street lot, and
Whereas additional parking may cut down on the parking
at sixty foot dam, now therefore be it resolved that
The 6MCOC requests the City Engineer to investigate
the possibility of installing parking along Giles
Street near the upper gate entrance and parking at
the west end of the Giles Street bridge across from
the lagoons. PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
Pipeline area Members of the committee examined the area and
recommended that the willow tree be trimmed better, a barricade
be created below Commonland to cut down on trash, and improve-
ment of trails. A map will be made to illustrate these requests.
Steve Baker will investigate the idea of placing a barricade
approximately 1000 feet below sixty foot reservoir to limit
access on this trail.
SIX MILE CREEK OVERSEER COMMITTEE (SMCOC)
Activities for 1987
1 . Gorge Ranger
--final report received from 1986 ranger (Bob Emery),
noting accomplishments and problems to be considered further,
including control of dogs and motorized vehicles in gorge
which were handled by the 1987 ranger.
-- hiring subcommittee established for selection of new
ranger for 1987; reviewed ranger position specifications
and guidelines; prepared draft for ranger handbook; interviewed
applicants; appointment of Bill Lenga as 1987 ranger.
-- interim reports from Lenga, including: possible presence
of copperhead snake(s) in gorge; work with fire dept.
on rescue plans for gorge. Also, as result of ranger's
reports, SMCOC recommended to DPW that more vandal-
proof methods be used to seal windows and prevent access
to roof of pumping station, and requested that City Engineer
investigate possibility of making more parking space available
in Van Natta Dam area. At upper Giles Street we have
not received a response.
-- final written report on ranger's activities received in
August.
2. Signage
-- NO HUNTING signs posted by members along south border
of gorge, and also along trail in gorge from Van Natta's
Dam to silt dam. Complaints about gunfire were minimal
in 1987.
3. New Pipeline at 30-foot Reservoir
-- site visit by SMCOC members with Gary Lamont (US
Soil Conservation Service), who later submitted written
guidelines to BPW on stabilizing the newly graded slope
below pipeline.
-- recommendations made to BPW concerning rehabilitation
of slope, in consideration of designation of area as a wildlife
preserve.
4. Donated Lands Adjacent to Watershed
-- Recommendations made to BPW re: management practices
for donated lands ("Edgewood") which were to allow the
land to be kept in its natural state.
-- Reaffirmed restricting access only to the current entrances
of the gorge to preserve the upper reaches of the gorge
as a more "remote" area.
--Moved that City thank, in writing, the Weisburds for
their donation of land to the City.
5. Mapping of Watershed
--maps developed of watershed lands, showing critical
environmental area for City portion and designating, for
the Town, lands that should have a special policy for
development. Resolved: that for the City of Ithaca a
Critical Environmental Area and accompanying conservation
zone be established with an eye to tree removal, drainage,
Six-Mile Ck. Comm.
1987 Activities
-2-
erosion, runoff, etc. ; that the BPW request that the Town
of Ithaca designate the -City-owned watershed lands as a
Critical Environmental Area and that a specific map for
a conservation zone beyond the CEA boundary be considered
for further environmental protections.
6. Educational Walks/Talks
-- continued support and encouragement of Circle Greenway-
sponsored educational..nature walks in Spring and Fall in
the gorge area.
7. Miscellaneous
--letter written to the Grapevine in response (negative)
to their article on ice-climbing in Six-Mile Gorge.
--discussion at one SMCOC meeting with members of the
public on pros and cons of enforcing regulations concerning
no swimming in gorge waters, including question of liability.
--discussion and investigations begun on problem of various
methods of containing creek banks in Van Natta's Dam area,
to prevent further erosion.
The SMCOC meets on the first Monday of each month. Members
are : Carolyn Peterson (Chairperson), Beth Mulholland, Richard
Fischer, Bill Dress, Bud Gerkin, Steve Baker, Buzz Lavine, David
Ruether, Edna Clausen, Susan Beeners.
Submitted by:
Carolyn Peterson, Chair
4/21/88
cs
RECOMMENDATION TO COMMON COUNCIL RE THE SIX MILE CREEK AREA
I have lived in Ithaca for 14 years since I have been working at Cornell, and
have regulatly used the Six Mile Creek area for the past seven years.
I commend the committee for having handled a most difficult task well. I support
their basic recommendations, given the current legal regimen surrounding the issues.
The committee seems properly to have placed the greatest emphasis on (1) human safety,
(2) reduction of tort liability, and (3) preservation of the natural environment, in that
order.
In the past, because the city wanted to avoid law suits over accidents, it
formally prohibited use (except near Van Natta Dam) of the area, but essentially
made no real attempt to enforce such a prohibition. With obvious deliberation, it
declined to maintain trails and a small bridge (on the upper path from Giles St.)
so as to discourage use and thus to look "good" in a court should a suit occur.
Several of the main trails used by hikers have continued to fall into disrepair;
they can be fairly easily repaired, should a true maintenance program begin. The city
must recognize that hiking (like most other activities now illegal) will continue
and that further neglect of trail maintenance is about equal in danger to humans
as is the much discussed practice of unsupervised swimming. If I am not mistaken,
it was not the city, but rather some person(s) who use the area who restored the small
bridge whose previous condition was absolutely disgraceful.
I have used the de facto "park" as a hiker, a swimmer, and a nude sunbather.
The actual users of the area have fallen into several general groups. The area
from the two Giles St. entrances to the base of the 30-ft. dam has generally been
the preferred area for hikes by family groups. The area between the 30-ft. dam and
the access road from Rt. 79 to the 60-ft. dam has been frequented most by persons
from the two local colleges, students, staff, and faculty. The swimming and sunbathing
is most often done in this area. The area surrounding the upper reservoir (beyond
the small "beach" near the dam) is the least used by any group, and those who do are
mainly long-time residents of the area, "natives."
The several groups have successfully coexisted for years, with fishermen all
along the length of the creek in addition. I have been amazed at the ethos of the
users who in general try to keep the area clean, some actually hauling out the trash
carelessly left by others. (The city, of course, has not done any cleaning of its own,
again on the legal theory of not wanting to look like it encouraged use.) Users of
different groups have tried to avoid offending others and the number of thefts and other
crimes has been remarkably low. In addition, I have never seen any overt sexual
activity anywhere where the public would be likely to pass. In short, the human
environment has been quite fine. Casual nudity, in the sense of treating the area
between the two dams as a "clothes optional" one, has been successful in that those
not wishing to see unclothed persons close up had the�option of parallel trails,
allowing them to avoid the "Rock" (near the 30-ft. dam) , the "Island" at the opposite
end of the lower reservoir, or Potter's Falls. Fortunately, the general public has
had the opportunities of Buttermilk, Treman, and Taughannock at their disposal, in
addition to this area. So those who wish to be unclothed have not displaced others
from a single area at which all kinds of users would have to be accommodated. There are
several other areas to visit should they not want to run into anyone not wearing as
much clothes as they would indieiduallly.
The committee encourages the city to explore possible alternative areas for swimming.
Although the recommendation is welcomed, it does skirt the basic issue that those who
use the place do so precisely because it is unsupervised, does not smell of chlorine,
and the sound of little kids screaming is not present. They are unreconstructed nature
lovers. They are willing to get fungus in their ears, mud on their shoes, and take
their risks with the natural environment as they find it. The area is almost un-
paralleled in the South Central region in its natural beauty and the relative privacy
it affords for clothes optinnal situations.
Mr. Stumbar, the City Attorney, did a fine job on Tuesday night on trying to
explain the rapidly increasing problem of municipal tort liability. I understand
the city's views on the matter. Previous to his explanation, I had hoped that
well-signed disclaimers by the city throughout the area would allow swimming at one's
own risk. We are all saddened by our most recent death as a result of illegal swimming.
It has also resulted in a law suit against the city. I would strongly urge the city
to seek new legislation in Albany to substantially reduce the tort liability of
local governments. Ithaca, with the help of National Institute of Municipal Law
Officers and the New York State Conference of Mayors and Other Municipal Officials,
could have local legislators introduce legislation in Albany which would markedly seduce
liability where one has undertaken certain activities at his own risk. Because of
increasingly outrageous settlements and judgments against local governments, such units,
like physicians, are practicing "defensive government" which translates into more
paternalism, "parens patriae", or just plain Big Brother. Protecting the community
is the community's business; protecting the individual from himself is not. Let me
quote John Stuart Mill on the business of law and government:
In his essay On Liberty, John Stuart Mill argues that'
the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collec-
tively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number,
is [that of] self-protection. . . . [T]he only purpose for which power
can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community,
against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either
physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be
compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so,
because it will make him happier, because, in the opinions of others,
to do so would be wise,or even right.
Let me suggest one element not discussed in the committee's report. If the
concept of swimming at one's own risk must await a different legal environment than
the one we now find ourselves in, we do not have to wait for a legal solution to
clothes optional situations. The committee recommends the extreme boundary be the
60-ft. dam. The vast majority of the public will not go that far if they must exit
at a place further downstream. Potter's Falls, less than five minutes from the dam
could be designated a clothes optional spot. Sunbathing could be allowed. Contrary
to what many have heard, the new law*passed in the summer of 1983 by the state legislature
does not totally ban all outdoor nudity. It bans nudity in a "public" situation, that is,
where the general public frequents. "Public" is not synonymous with "outdoor".
The law was designed to deal with the nudity on a public beach at Riis Park in New York
City which is a Federal enclave. Since there was no Federal law against nudity, New
York had to enact a statute so that the language was brought into the Federal law
governing the area under the Federal Assimilative Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. sec. 13)
whereby state law fills the vacuum where no Federal law applies. The state law has
not been enforced anywhere else since then, according to the Naturist Society whose
* N.Y. Penal Law sec. 245.01
national headquarters is in Wisconsin. (The Naturist Society is a loose federation of
"skinnydippers". They monitor legal trends and provide information on the casual
nudity movement in the United States. Their objective is to help maintain clothes
optional areas away from the general public.) As a member of that group and as law
reference librarian, I can provide Council with information concerning this. Although
I think it is wise for both the city and the potential user group at Potter's Falls to
have a legally designated area, it would be minimally acceptable just to have the
ranger just ignore nudity if he found it at that spot, an unwritten "no-hassle"
policy. Mere wading from one flat rock to another for sunbathing should not be
construed as swimming.
I would ask you to be statesmanlike in a real attempt to balance out the
interests of all those concerned. A statesman at any level of government is,first of
all, a politically astute individual, cognizant of the legal implications of his
actions, and able to rise to an additional level, that of true accommodation of
legitimate interests. You have a great opportunity to act in this fashion with
regard to the Six Mile Creek basin.
Alan Diefenbach