HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2025-11-06
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Town of Ithaca Conservation Board Meeting
November 6, 2025, 5:30 p.m.
(In Person at Town Hall and via Zoom Video Conference)
Final Minutes
Members Present: Lori Brewer, James Hamilton, Frank Cantone
Staff Present: Michael Smith (Senior Planner)
Guests: Richard Martinez (via Zoom)
1. Persons to be heard:
None.
2. Members Comments/Concerns:
a. Ingrid Zabel has resigned; Lindsay Dombroskie will remain thru the end of
2025; Eva Hoffmann will return in December 2025.
b. Verizon is suing the Town for height variance (119 feet) of the construction
of a cell tower at Wiedmaier Court. The lawsuit is in federal court.
3. Environmental Review Committee Update:
None.
4. Chair & Coordinator Reports:
Coordinator report:
a. Tompkins County received funding from the DEC to perform stream
assessment, watershed, erosion, and water quality for Six Mile Creek. The
project will also include historical data and interviews. Not much Town area
in project.
b. The Town will be submitting an application to DEC to renew the deer
management program. The Town identified eight locations.
c. Zero Waste Ithaca (ZWI) lost the lawsuit against Cornell University and the
Town for the Game Farm Road athletic field. The judge informed ZWI that
after two tries, they can’t submit any additional suits for this project. Third
party testing indicated that the plastic carpet did not contain any PFAS
before delivery to the site.
5. Approval of Minutes from September 2025 Meeting:
The Board accepted the minutes, but it was unable to approve them due to a lack
of quorum.
6. Regular Reports and Updates:
a. Scenic Resources Committee: No activity for scenic view sign at Snyder Hill
and Pine Tree Roads. The Pine Tree walkway has been officially closed for
a while. There have been hazard traffic cones and plastic net fencing
around a caved-in storm drain near the proposed view sign site. Do we
need to remind Cornell of our request for posting the view sign?
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b. Communications Committee: Often we depend on members of the CB to
submit nominations of someone or some organization for the Fischer
Award. Please consider making a nomination, and ask around to see if you
can find anyone to recommend a good nominee for the 2025 award, which
will be the 23rd we’ve given to deserving tree huggers.
c. Tompkins County EMC: Trying to get a resolution prohibiting the application
of biosolids. The Committee is also working on a strategic plan.
d. Six Mile Creek (SMC): Community Science Institute at Langmuir Labs is
holding weekly “Biomonitoring Open Lab” volunteer BMI analysis sessions
again, to sort, identify, and analyze populations from preserved samples
creek bottoms in SMC and other creeks in the Cayuga Lake watershed.
Cayuga Lake Harmful Algal Bloom monitors have found toxic HABS along
the lake shore considerably later this year than usual. From September 7 to
November 6 this year, 178 HABS were reported! You can see the database
recording these reports at communityscience.org’s website.
e. Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas Program: Volunteers collected
ginseng seeds in a secret site near Greek Peak to propagate plants for a
planned Cayuga Indigenous garden cooperation; trimmed trails and
removed woody invasive species from Edwards Lake Cliffs Natural Area in
Lansing south of Gulf Creek; removed deer exclosure cages and stakes
from trees planted years ago in Park Natural Areas so the cages could be
reused for a lingering ash study in fields without deer exclosure fences.
Also, we prepared cloned ash at the Plant Production Facility near Flat
Rocks by weeding and putting rodent protection sleeves around the base of
those saplings; transplanted those cloned saplings in two different deer-
fenced fields by Ringwood and Turkey Hill Roads. Scoped out a possible
connection between two dead-end trails in the Ringwood Ponds Natural
Area to make a larger loop trail through beautiful woods. Finally, we
Collected rare fringed gentian (Gentianopsis crinita) seed pods in Etna for
propagation efforts.
7. Other Business:
a. The Town intern completed a draft of an orientation guide that is being
reviewed currently by staff. Plan to distribute at the beginning of the year.
b. The Tutelo Park ethnobotanical event in September had 12 people
participate in a guided walk thru the plantings.
8. December Agenda:
a. Joe Talbut will be joining us for a Q and A.
b. Ingrid completed a draft of a poster that would be posted in various park
kiosks. It is intended to highlight other parks and trails in the Town. James
will review and share with CB members.
12. Adjourn: at 6:54 pm
Minutes drafted by Frank A Cantone