HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Packet 2024-11-07
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING
215 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca NY 14850
607-273-1747
www.townithacany.gov
TO: CONSERVATION BOARD MEMBERS
FROM: MICHAEL SMITH, SENIOR PLANNER
DATE: OCTOBER 31, 2024
SUBJECT: UPCOMING CONSERVATION BOARD MEETING – NOVEMBER 7, 2024
This is to confirm that the next meeting of the Conservation Board (CB) is Thursday,
November 7th at 5:30 p.m. The agenda for this meeting is enclosed (see the back of
this memo).
The draft minutes from the September 5th and October 3rd meetings are attached.
Please email me any spelling, grammatical, or other minor edits you have prior to the
meeting.
At this meeting, Mike R will provide an update on the Tutelo Park Ethnobotanic Trail
project.
Mike is signed up to take minutes at the November meeting.
If you have any questions prior to the meeting or are not able to attend, please contact
me at msmith@townithacany.gov or 607-273-1747.
Conservation Board Members and Associates (*)
Lori Brewer (Chair), Frank Cantone (Vice-Chair), Lindsay Dombroskie*,
James Hamilton, Eva Hoffmann, Michael Roberts, Ingrid Zabel
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TOWN OF ITHACA
CONSERVATION BOARD
5:30 p.m., Thursday, November 7, 2024
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Aurora Conference Room
215 N. Tioga Street
Ithaca, New York 14850
(The rear entrance is handicapped accessible)
(607) 273-1747
Members of the public are welcome to attend in-person at Town Hall
or virtually via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/6750593272).
AGENDA
1. Persons to be heard
2. Members comments / concerns
3. Environmental Review Committee Update (Lori)
4. Chair and Coordinator reports
5. Approval of minutes from September 5, 2024 and October 3, 2024
6. Update on the Tutelo Park Ethnobotanic Trail Project (Mike)
7. Regular reports and updates (6:30 pm)
a. Scenic Resources Committee (Eva)
b. Communications Committee (Ingrid)
c. Tompkins County EMC (Ingrid)
d. Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program (James)
e. Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas Program (James)
8. Other Business (6:50 p.m.)
9. Review 2024 Work Goals / Discuss December Agenda
10. Adjourn (7:00 p.m.)
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Town of Ithaca Conserva on Board
September 5, 2024 5:30 pm
(In Person at Town Hall and via Zoom Video Conference)
Dra Minutes
Members Present: Lori Brewer (Chair), Frank Cantone, James Hamilton, Mike Roberts, Ingrid Zabel
Staff Present: Michael Smith (Senior Planner)
1. Persons to be heard: none.
2. Member comments/concerns: none, though Mike R reported he would have to leave early.
3. Environmental Review Commi ee Update: Lori could not a end the August 28th Conifer new
neighborhood development design charre e. Mike S a ended, and reported a big turnout, with lots of
feedback. There will be another charre e at Conifer’s senior housing on West Hill at 5 pm, September
26. A plan for a new Verizon cell communica ons tower has been proposed for the lowest Wiedmaier
Court lot in the Six Mile Creek conserva on zone. James wondered if the forest remedia on required by
Wiedmaier’s illegal clearing of that lot had been completed, as he understood that many trees that were
supposed to be transplanted there had not survived. Mike S believed the restora on had been accepted
and the lack of woods on that lot was no longer a problem for future development. He agreed to James’
request that the CB be informed of the Town’s acceptance of Wiedmaier’s forest restora on effort.
4. Chair and Coordinator reports: Lori had no further report. Mike reminded the CB of the upcoming tour
of the Bolton Point water treatment plant on Monday, Sept 16, at 10:00 AM. The New York State
Associa on of Conserva on Commissions annual conference, hosted by the Tug Hill Commission, is
star ng with an online session Wednesday, September 18, with field trips the next two days. CB
members interested in a ending should register soon, and will have their registra on fee covered by the
CB’s budget.
5. Approval of Minutes: The August 1, 2024 minutes were approved, with Ingrid so moving, Mike R
seconding, all in favor.
6. Indigenous Environmental Jus ce: Mike R related recent progress on the Tutelo Park ethnobotanic
trail: he is now mee ng Stephen Henhawk weekly to get plant labels wri en for the trail. Labels will
feature a quick read code for access to audio files on the Town’s website that will host plant informa on
read in English and in Henhawk’s Gayogohó:no' (Cayuga) language. Plant labels will be four by four
inches on sixteen-inch stakes. Some of the plants, such as strawberries and wild ginger, will not be easy
to see in the winter, so a celebratory opening of the trail should wait ll spring. Henhawk was interested
to know how the park came to be acquired by the Town. Mike S stated that the Town acquired the park
as park land dedica on requirement as part of a subdivision. Mike R looked into the 1790 military tract
to see that the area that included the park property was deeded to Robert Morris a er the Sullivan
campaign had cleared off all indigenous occupa on. Mike wants the trail’s documenta on to make clear
how colonists acquired this Cayuga land. Mike le at 6:12pm.
7. Follow up on poten al ac ons from previous mee ngs: We discussed what we might do about Plas c
Carpets (PC) ge ng installed on more sports fields. The City of Ithaca recently found no environmental
impact (nega ve declara on) from their use in a new Cornell Meinig Fieldhouse development. A change
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of plans for the infill under the plas c carpet, from rubber crumbs to a plant-based material, might make
such carpets less toxic. Lori noted a New York State Senate bill (S7239) now in considera on by the
Environmental Conserva on Commi ee, would require a moratorium on plas c sport carpet installa on.
Could the CB ask the Town of Ithaca Town Board for a moratorium, too? She referred to a Town of
Sharon, MA moratorium on PC installa on, but noted that was only for PC on Town proper es. The
Board discussed the posi ons on PC vocalized by Zero Waste Ithaca and members of the Tompkins
County Climate and Sustainable Energy Advisory Board. What exactly is the scien fic evidence against
PC? We should look at the NY Senate bill now in commi ee and discuss this more next month.
8. Regular reports and updates:
a) Scenic Resources Commi ee: Eva was absent, but James noted that the last news we’d had about
permission to place a scenic views sign at the corner of Snyder Hill and Pine Tree roads had been in
January, 2023, when it seemed that a license with Cornell might be considered by the end of that month.
We’ve been wai ng, but s ll no news.
b) Communica ons Commi ee: Ingrid, Lindsay and James met 8/31/24 to discuss commi ee business.
They hope to post at least one piece of interes ng conserva on news per month, with photos if they
look interes ng. Ingrid will dra an ar cle hoping to encourage progress on the stalled scenic view sign.
We’ll be looking to promote CB values via posts from appropriate park sites. James recently visited
Eastern Heights Park, where it looked like lawn at the downhill junc on of woods and two mowed slopes
had been replaced by seed not yet up in the recent dry spell. We hope that will be wildflowers for
pollinators.
c) Tompkins County’s EMC didn’t meet in August, but recent change to their bylaws is looking to
include student representa on on the council.
d) Six Mile Creek Volunteers took several benthic macroinvertebrate samples from three different
riffles in the creek in the towns of Ithaca, Caroline, and Dryden. The town sample from downstream of
Po ers Falls was analyzed live in James’ kitchen and dining room and seemed to indicate the creek’s
health at that site, though the full sta s cal treatment of the iden fied popula on wasn’t yet finished.
The other sites’ samples have been preserved in alcohol for future analysis at the Community Science
Ins tute’s Langmuir lab.
e) Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas volunteers scouted Lick Brook to see how the invasive
Japanese S lt Grass was spreading there. It was found to be moving up into the brook, but so far no
plans have been made to eradicate it. As the Natural Areas is staffed by members of the UAW union,
which has been on strike for much of August, no other gardening was done.
9. Other Business: none.
10. Frank will check our minutes to see if we need to address any other 2024 Work Goals. For our
October agenda, we’ll con nue the discussion of ar ficial turf fields.
11. We adjourned at 6:48 PM.
Minutes dra ed by James Hamilton.
1
Town of Ithaca Conservation Board (CB) Meeting
October 3, 2024, 5:30 p.m.
Draft Minutes
Members present: Lori Brewer (Chairperson), James Hamilton, Eva Hoffmann, and Ingrid Zabel.
Staff: Michael Smith, Senior Planner.
Guests: Two Cornell students (Charlotte and Jeff)
1. Persons to be heard: None
2. Member comments/concerns: James had comments about plans for a cell tower on the former Weidmaier Court
property (now owned by another entity) in his neighborhood. He went to a recent Planning Board meeting to
express his opposition and ask questions. Who checked the previous forest restoration plan? Who checked on
what was planted? He suggested the ERC meet at the property, so we could look at the site now and consider
writing a second letter to the Planning Board. Mike stated that they expect the cell tower proposal to be back at
the Planning Board on October 29, so we would need a new letter by then.
3. Environmental Review Committee Update (Lori): No report.
4. Chairperson and Coordinator reports: Mike reported about the Conference on the Environment, where he and
other Planning staff attended sessions about solar development, wildlife connectivity (culverts and bridges), and
the State’s 30 x 30 and 70 x 30 initiatives. The Nature Conservancy has a couple new pilot programs in
different parts of the State for tree planting efforts.
Mike also reported about the Babcock Ridge plans on West Hill. EDR consultants from Syracuse have been
hired by the Town to develop the designs. Mike showed maps of the proposed layout including entrances,
proposed parking areas, trails, steep slopes and an area with great views. Mulch, available for free from the
Town, may be used for portions of the trail surface. EDR will now start working on more detail drawings and
other things needed for the development of this area.
Lori asked about the tour of Bolton Point, which several CB members attended on September 16. There was
general consensus that it was an excellent tour given by two knowledgeable employees, Glenn and Gregg. The
introduction showed live computer-based charts and tables of how the systems are set up and what they are
capable of doing. The tour that followed showed the components working, while we got even more
explanations about what was happening. Members commented on the leak control system, which is the best in
New York State, and can potentially detect a toilet leak in an individual house, as well as in underground pipes
which can’t even be seen. Bolton Point staff work on reducing waste of water generally, but also use of
appliances which are more efficient. The plant tracks lake water levels and prepares for more storms as a result
of climate change. There is emphasis on ways to keep both the plant and the water quality safe and secure by
having the plant systems separate from the usual computer internet connections and always having a manual
recording of all important readings, in addition to and alongside the computerized ones.
5. Approval of minutes from September 5, 2024: (No quorum – hold until next meeting)
6. Update on the Tutelo Park Ethnobotanic Trail Project (Mike): Mike Roberts was not able to attend this
meeting, but sent a written report, which Mike S. read to us:
“Steve and I should be wrapping up the edits on the plant labels in the next 3 weeks. QR codes supplied by
the Town will be applied to the labels and sent to the fabricators at that time. Locations for each plant label
have been identified with Joe Talbut. Joe has agreed to purchase and plant two species currently not found
2
on site. Our time will shift towards generating content for the scripts which will be recorded and uploaded
to the Town webpages. Hope to have that contact fully edited by mid-November”
7. Follow up on potential actions from previous meetings: Topics brought up were:
Measuring of deer browsing - we will ask Mike R. about this next meeting.
Follow up about “plastic carpets” - What are valid public purposes to justify a moratorium? When was there
one used? Find previous examples. Eva mentioned a moratorium used while the Town was trying to find a
location and zone where adult entertainment business could be a permitted use. Lori mentioned that there are
things discussed at the State level that haven’t yet gone through, but they are not just about artificial turf. They
include all kinds of indoor and outdoor carpeting. PFAs have been found in surface water, Ingrid said there are
loop holes in passed legislation, for instance if the materials are not bought in NY State. One needs to look at
both local and state level information. Regarding “plant based infill” in plastic carpets, is there evidence that it
has PFAs or not? James stated that Zero Waste Ithaca has compelling information about plastics. He feels
PFAs are a threat to the environment and to health and would prefer to see natural turf sports fields. Moratoria
are important when time is needed for thoughtful discussion of new needed legislation about important issues.
Lori will draft a letter to send to the Town Board. There is a proposal for a new artificial turf field on Game
Farm Road coming in soon.
Follow up regarding a pollinator garden in a Town park – Ingrid will do this.
8. Regular reports and updates:
a. Scenic Resources Committee (Eva): Eva was planning to provide some history of saving Ithaca’s views for
the new members, but thought maybe she should wait until the full CB was present. The group agreed to
wait until a future meeting with more members. She did mention that recently she saw the ground mist
from Lucifier Falls a couple times, so she is now willing to update the drawing on the proposed sign.
b. Communications Committee (Ingrid): Ingrid has been posting on Facebook more and received good
engagement from the post on the Bolton Point tour.
c. Tompkins County Environmental Management Committee (EMC) (Ingrid): The EMC has been revisiting
by-laws and doing reappointments of members, including Ingrid. There was a presentation by a Cornell
University student, about a study involving sampling for PFAs, specifically in surface water. Ingrid will
make suggestions based on an email from James. She noted that it would be interesting if students could
also do sampling of soils. Lori asked if they could offer insights of places to sample – storm sewers,
Synchrotron land near Cascadilla Creek and land at Meinig Field House.
d. Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program (James): No news.
e. Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas Program (James): The group continued their regular work of
removing invasive plants and planting new native ones. There is research being done on ash trees to find
examples which have resistance to Emerald Ash Borer. Spotted Lanternfly was spotted in a swamp near
Jim Ray’s trailer park. Swallowwort was seen in the Fischer Old Growth Forest.
9. Other Business: None.
10. Review 2024 Work Goals/ Discuss November Agenda: See point 7 above.
11. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 6:53 PM.
Respectfully submitted by Eva Hoffmann, October 30, 2024