HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PRNR-2018-09-10
PARKS, RECREATION AND
NATURAL RESOURCES
COMMISSION MINUTES
PRESENT:
Chair - Roth
Commissioners - (6) Freyburger, Hoffman, Leventry, Moeller, Myers, Shelley
OTHERS PRESENT:
Common Council Liaisons – Brock, Kerslick
Financial Management Assistant - Swartz
City Forester – Grace
Deputy Youth Bureau Director – D’Alterio
EXCUSED: Berry
Agenda Review:
Deer management will be discussed under task groups.
Nina Bassuk was not able to attend tonight’s meeting and asked to be placed on the agenda for
next meeting. Monika asked if commission members they were in agreement with having Mary
Archin discuss a proposal to form a playground committee to address park playground
improvements. All were in agreement of the substitute presentation.
Statements from the Public: None
Commission Response: N/A
Commissioner vacancy: W e can have up to 2 Commission applicants who don’t live in the
City of Ithaca. Elizabeth Hageman, a Town of Ithaca resident and currently on the Town of
Ithaca Conservation Board expressed interest. Thomas Shelley feels it would be useful to have
someone from the town, due to the crossover of various things we discuss. Monika Roth will
look at the process to get this position filled.
Presentation:
Nina Bassuk, Shade Tree Advisory Committee – Rescheduled to October 11, 2018.
Substitute presentation: Mary Archin, Ithaca City resident and the founder of Lovely Day
Preschool. As a parent and a teacher of young children she would like to discuss playgrounds.
Her husband, Lee Archin, is the owner of Play by Design, a company specializing in
playgrounds. There are safety issues with slips and falls as well as needles found at City Park
playgrounds. She would like to volunteer to form a playground committee, be involved with the
fundraising and the design of improved playground structures (starting with Wood Street Park).
The groups she would involve include: local preschools, local elementary schools, Titus Towers
for Senior Play, new mom groups and local artists. She is proposing a community build
structure with volunteer labor. Once the playground is built, there is money in the budget for
playground maintenance, according to Jeanne Grace, but playground chips are expensive.
Mary Archin suggests a grant for a rubber surface that wouldn’t require maintenance and new
playgrounds are covered under warranty. Grants have a 6-8 month turn around and Play by
Date: September 10, 2018
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Common Council Chambers,
3rd Floor, City Hall
Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission
September 10, 2018
2
Design has 3 grant writers. A playground lifespan is usually 10-15 years. It was suggested to
form a working group for playgrounds and set up a meeting with the Community Life
Commission. The next step will be a meeting between Mary Archin, Jeanne Grace and Jim
D’Alterio to review.
Old business:
-Biophilia City Resolution (Attached) – Discussion/decision on whether or not to move forward.
The goal of biophilic nature in the community is to benefit everyone. It is a tourism draw and
research shows people are happier and healthier. Ellen Leventry motioned to write a memo in
support, second by Tom Shelley. All are in favor with the provision that the current resolution
draft be amended to clarify who benefits and who will handle the process. Monika will contact
the Biophilia group to amend the resolution, draft a memo and send it out to commissioners for
review and input.
-Natural Areas – What are the needs, should there be a work group?
Natural areas deserve attention by our Commission and would benefit fro m a working group.
There are former N.A.C. members who would be willing to help us. Dan Hoffman will write up a
summary on what a working group could work on.
-Task groups (Attached) –
A task group – gets a specific task completed and done. A working group – works on ongoing
issues. The processes need to be clearer, so we know where to start. Priorities may shift with
money and ideas. It was suggested that 10-15% of money that is raised for a project, go
towards future maintenance. Monika suggested merging the task group working on signage
language and with review of the Adopt-a-Park volunteer engagement process improvements.
Monika requested the group meet separately before the next Commission meeting. The deer
and geese will be a separate task group.
Elizabeth Hagman, Ithaca Town of Conservation Board. The Town Board will be appointing a
Deer Advisory Committee. They are in between steps with this process and official members
have not been chosen yet. There would have to be an update in Town law for hunting on public
land and in parks. The City could be collaborating with the Town in extending their Town’s
program to include the Six Mile Creek Natural Area. We need to find out if Six Mile Creek is
considered private or public land. The Town is at the beginning stages of a deer plan. Thomas
Shelley suggested we appoint a commission liaison to consult with the Town Deer committee or
Elizabeth could serve as the liaison to our commission.
Environmental Review update: Dan Hoffman
The planning board responded to our concerns.
1. They are still using out of date environmental review forms, but are planning to change
the forms in the future after addressing the topic at their upcoming meeting.
2. Cherry Street Project:
a. The City did not switch to the new forms.
b. We suggested the turnaround be moved to the other side. The planning
department did not support that idea as the engineers would have to relocate it to
the middle of another development parcel and it would take too much land away.
c. In the revised drawings, it is not showing the necessary regrading and filling that
would be required to support that turn around.
Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission
September 10, 2018
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d. There are proposed new plantings, which we endorsed, but we don’t know if that
will work with the filling there.
e. They added some trees along the street and show street trees on the wooded
side.
f. On Lot 3, 50 trees will be removed and 25 new trees will be planted.
g. No landscaping is shown on the drawings on the south side of the building.
h. In a positive response to our recommendations, engineers will not disturb the 25’
wet land buffer area.
i. City Staff agreed that it would be a good idea to move the proposed staging area,
between the new building and the buffer, someplace else.
j. They are still vague in energy use, they talked about including heat pumps but
nothing specific.
k. They are talking about solar panels on the roof, but no specifics.
l. Due to the nature of the underlying fill, it is not suitable for porous paving in the
parking lot.
Dan Hoffman will write up a draft to include the following concerns, all were in favor:
a. Have they moved the staging area?
b. Details on the grading/filling area of the turnaround?
c. Question the landscape near the south side of the building?
d. Why are street trees proposed for the wooded side of the street extension?
3. New Cornell Dorms Project - Located on North campus where the current “A” lot is. 2/3
is in the City and 1/3 is in the Town. In a recent meeting most people spoke in support of
enforcing the green building policy.
New business:
Meeting time: Do we want to move the regular meeting time to 6-8:30 PM? It was decided to
leave it at 8:00 PM, with the exception tha t it may run longer especially when there is a lot of
public comment.
Review and Approval of Minutes:
Dan Hoffman would like “requirements” to be added to the 1st page under Statements from the
Public, 1st sentence, after “environmental review”. Dan made the motion to approve, Tom
second, all in favor.
Staff Update – Jeanne Grace, Jim D’Alterio
Jeanne: This time of year is always a struggle with staff when the seasonal employees, who are
college students, leave for school.
Stewart Park Playground build project coming up.
Thompson Park – There was an email sent to the Commission that requested the picnic table
be removed from the park, but Jeanne Grace is going to send them a response that we will not
remove it with the explanation that it will not change the behavior going on at the park. The
police were notified to drive by more and we will follow up with them.
We have a carry in and carry out trash policy in our parks. We have provided 2 waste cans at
Washington Park which get filled with dog waste, household waste, etc. Wood Street Park has
the most trash that the Parks Department picks up. There is a small trash can in Conway Park.
Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission
September 10, 2018
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Trash cans don’t seem to make a difference with the amount of trash that the staff picks up at
the parks. Garbage cans get moved throughout the parks, this adds time to the regular
maintenance for the staff.
Jim: W rapped up the pool season. It was bigger than last year. Getting fields in shape and
transforming the rink to put the ice in during October.
2019 budget request support:
Jim D’Alterio will create a list of requests for support on budget recommendations. A few items
are: Cass Park additional funds for rink enclosure, resurface Cass Park tennis courts,
improvement for material and field machine at Union Fields.
Jeanne Grace put in for funds to rebuild collapsed vaults at the City Cemetery.
Member Announcements
Thomas Shelley – this week is Global Week of Action. Volunteers collect and tally which brands
of plastic waste they find at a beach, park or other public space. The data will be used to
identify the most problematic products that should be redesigned or removed from production .
More information at website: https://storyofstuff.org
Stewart Park Playground build will begin September 11 through September 16, 2018. More
information can be found https://www.friendsofstewartpark.org/playground/
Tompkins County’s Outdoor Recreation Tourism Task Force is holding a s takeholder meeting at
4:00 pm on October 10, 2018 at TheSpace @ GreenStar, 701 W. Buffalo St, Ithaca. This
meeting will help the community achieve the goals set out in the Outdoor Recreation Tourism
Implementation Plan.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, 2018 at the 2nd floor conference room.
Monika can’t make this meeting, she will find someone to chair. Graham and Cynthia also can’t
make this meeting due to a budget meeting.
Review Agenda items for next meeting:
Nina Bassuk, Shade Tree Advisory Committee presentation will be reschedule to 10/11/18.
Adjournment:
On a motion the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 PM.
Respectfully submitted by,
Debbie Swartz
Financial Management Assistant