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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988_02_25 Conservation Advisory Commission Minutes TT, ..�_ s _ I C c �' Town of Mamaroneck iq,4 `FD Conservation Advisory Commission �`` MgM,N ir o� 4 h' ky Fob' / . Area Code 914 740 West Boston Post Road st.\=j` 011111101111111 Mamaroneck, N. Y. 10543 MINUTES A regular meeting of the Conservation Advisory Commission (CAC) was held on Thursday, February 25, 1988, at the Town Center, 740 West Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, N. Y. The meeting commenced at 8:10 P.M. Members Present: Robert Komitor, Chairman Charles Bernstein Suzanne Carpenter Elinor Fredston Steven Goldstein Mary Anne Johnson, Emeritus James Santos Irma Volk Others Present: Stephen Altieri, Town Administrator Robert Hohberg, Water Monitoring Consultant Henry H. Korn, Town Council Liaison ® P. Thomas Leddy, Beautification Director Claudia Ng, Environmental Coordinator Frederick A. Lewis, Recording Secretary Administrative Matters Minutes - The minutes for the meeting of January 14, 1988 were approved with a typing correction made on Page 3 and two re-wording corrections made on Page 4. Next Meeting - The next meeting was changed from March 17 to March 24, 1988. Environment Town Dumping Law - Ms. Ng advised that at a previous meeting she erroneously mentioned that the Town Litter Law has been passed. However, it was actually a "Dumping Law" that had been enacted last December by the Town Council. A discussion ensued on the contents of the law, the definition of such wording as yard clippings, and whether the law was sufficient to back up or be able to enforce the letter of appeal which will be sent out to residents concerning dumping in the Leatherstocking Trail. Ms. Ng stated that she was led to believe that the law was primarily concerned about garbage as opposed to yard waste. Mr. Altieri stated that the law was 0 originally intended to cover gypsy dumping in the Town. However, it was a local law which could be easily amended. He advised that if the Commission wanted to recommend amendments to the law, they should be directed to the CAC Minutes - 2/25/88 Town Council. The definition of dumping was also discussed and Mr. Komitor suggested that Commission members thoroughly review the law and if anyone had any suggestions for amending it, to submit their suggestions at the next meeting. It was later decided that suggestions should be phoned in to Ms. Ng who would coordinate them with Mr. Komitor for submission to the Council. Thus far, the suggestion that leaves be included as part of rubbish and the problem of leaves and garden waste in public places including waterways and streams are considerations for suggested amendments to the, law. Leatherstocking Trail - Resident Letter - Mr. Komitor asked Mr. Goldstein whether the revised letter and attachment covered his criticism of the previous letter. Mr. Goldstein indicated that it did not since the letter primarily covered dumping and did not cite such conditions as encroachment, misuse of the trail, removal of vegetation, etc. Ms. Volk stated that she found a copy of an earlier letter which referred to motor bike riding. Mr. Goldstein asked that the other conditions be included in the appeal letter and Mr. Komitor asked him to submit a revised letter to Ms. Ng which Mr. Goldstein agreed to do. Questions concerning the cutting down of evergreen trees and posting of regulations were raised. It was advised that previous posted signs were destroyed and the recommendation was made that they be replaced. Mr. Goldstein cited where residents have removed logs on the trail in order that their children may use the trail for bike riding. In another instance, he was told by youths that there were no signs posted saying that bike riding was prohibited. Mr. Goldstein felt that local residents must be made aware of their illegal actions affecting the area. Mr. Korn recommended the ® rewording of the third sentence in the appeal letter in the third paragraph to read "illegal and punishable by fine, imprisonment and/or civil penalty". Development Projects . WHS Harbor, Inc. - 115-133 Mamaroneck Avenue - Ms. Ng advised that she had assumed that new documents were submitted on the development and that is why it was included on the agenda. However, inasmuch as no new documents were submitted, she does not have a report. In updating information on the project, Mr. Komitor asked Mr. Hohberg whether a presentation was made to the Mamaroneck Village Planning Board. Mr. Hohberg stated that no presentation was made although he recommended it. Ms. Ng advised that a letter had been sent to the Board dealing with our concerns regarding the Mamaroneck River and the dangers of the sewer lines. Water Courses and Water Bodies Mamaroneck Village's Inflow and Infiltration Correction Project - Mr. Hohberg reported that he met with the Village engineers, Lester Zakarin and Keith Furey, and their consultant engineer, Bill McGimpsy, to go. over the points of his studies on the Village waterways. Areas of concern expressed by the engineers were the Madison Avenue Drain and the large pipeline in Columbus Park. Mr. Hohberg felt that the private engineering company retained to do the study will have quite a job trying to track down all of ® the illegal connections to the drainage system of the large pipeline since the system goes all the way up into the flats of the Village. Mr. Hohberg -2- CAC Minutes - 2/25/88 ® further advised that a view of a study provided by the Village engineer showed that the Madison Avenue Drain is earmarked for replacement. He also stated that at this time, Suburban Carting has decided to put in a whole new drainage system into their operation which will not go into the Madison Avenue drain but flow directly into the sewage line. Mr. Hohberg felt that the meeting was a good beginning, that the two village engineers and project engineer are now fully aware of the two problem drainage lines and all agreed on the trouble spots. He expressed hope of meeting with them again. Solid Waste Disposal Leaf Composting - Mr. Altieri stated that the Village of Mamaroneck will be closing its compost site at Taylors Lane in approximately two years. Last night, he presented to the Town Council a report of a study being conducted by Malcolm-Pirnie, Inc. , on a possible site for leaf composting located at Old White Plains Road and Rockridge Road in Mamaroneck Village. There were previous drainage problems on the site which had been resolved. However, a more extensive analysis showed that grading would be necessary for the access roads, that the site could not handle a capacity of 30,000 cubic yards without a tremendous amount of blasting involved, and further it was not certain whether the Department of Environmental Conservation would approve the site since it is within 500 feet of a residential area. At this time, Malcolm-Pirnie has halted their study and reported their findings to the Town and Village. Mr. Altieri stated that the Town is now faced with the problem of finding an alternative for leaf composting. The County's plans for O compost sites in parks were raised. Mr. Altieri advised that he had been in contact with the County two years ago concerning their plans and will speak to them again to find out weather they are considering the use of Saxon Woods Park. The. County, however, is not certain how they will develop parks for composting and how many communities will be allowed to dump on one site. Another problem about the County's plan which would affect the Town is that the County may want two or three other communities to bring their leaves to this site and the access road would be Old White Plains Road. Mr. Altieri also stated that the resource recovery plant will not take any leaves in notable quantity. A discussion centered on possible sites in Harrison, such as the donated lands behind the new office building developments on Mamaroneck Avenue. Mr. Leddy informed the Commission that Harrison currently has two operating compost sites, the one by the airport and one by Silver Lake. New Rochelle was said to be just dumping their leaves at the city yard. There also was discussion on the material used for composting and in closing, it was suggested that sites be looked for in other municipalities. County Recycling Plan - The County Executive has recently come out with a comprehensive recycling plan for Westchester County and Mr. Altieri stated that it will be thoroughly evaluated. His first reaction to the plan was just how much of an impact can it have on the Town inasmuch as the Town has already been involved in recycling for sometime. It is questionable just how much more the Town can do to reduce solid waste in order to gain any of the funds the County will be paying out in 1989. ® Local Recycling - Mr. Altieri advised that Ms. Ng will be taking a hard look at the recycling program and has already started looking for alternate newspaper dealers and alternate ways of recycling glass. He further advised -3- CAC Minutes - 2/25/88 that the Town has discontinued receiving metal at the recycling yard because it was getting too cumbersome. Since the number of requests for bulk pickup within the Town has not increased, it appears that most of the metals being discarded at the yard were from out-of-town. The Town will continue to pick up bulk metals at curbside every Wednesday and deliver it straight to the metal recyclers. Discussion centered on the question of whether the residents were aware of this pickup service as well as whether more metal would be recycled if they kept a container for it at the yard. Mr. Goldstein referred back to a study made in Mamaroneck Village some years ago which pointed out that the easier it is made for the residents, the more willing they are to participate. He cited the recycling yard as inconvenient and had a reputation. Mr. Altieri pointed out that the newspaper recycling was going well and he felt that the metal would also once the residents became accustomed to the process. Removing the metals pile from the yard allows the incorporation of other recycling such as separated corrugated cardboard. There was also a discussion on glass recycling, the means of pickup, the type of vehicles to be used, and the question of a separate pickup day for this item. Ms. Ng advised that in January, she attended a conference on recycling held in New York City and she obtained a sample set of three stackable bins marked newspaper, glass, and cans. The cost for the set of bins is $16. A brief discussion ensued on their possible use in the community. Compartment trailers to pick up the contents of the bins were determined, however, to be too unwieldy for this community's narrow, winding roads. During the course of the conversation, Mr. Leddy advised that there are three routes for garbage pickup, each route has approximately 500 stops, and there are four men on each truck. Mr. Altieri advised that another © alternative would be to modify the recycling yard in order that residents may be more willing to use the facility. He stated that the preference would be for the residents to use the yard and suggested that the Commission could assist the Town in this endeavor by developing incentive programs. Mr. Altieri advised that another alternative being discussed and considered is the placement of management of the entire recycling program in the Conservation Department. At this time, recycling is being managed partly by the Joint Sanitation Commission and partly by the Town. Mr. Altieri had discussed this idea with Mr. Kellogg, the supervisor of the Joint Sanitation Commission, but since that time, there has been a reorganization of personnel and offices and the new person in charge appears to be making it work more smoothly. Therefore, no further action is being taken on this alternative. New and Other Business Annual Report - Ms. Ng advised that all materials for the annual report must be submitted, printed and paid for by April 1st and that the Commission only has one more meeting before that time. She further advised that some Commission members have already submitted their reports. A discussion ensued on other subject matters for possible inclusion in the report. In addition, the members discussed the processing procedure for coordinating and editing the material. Ms. Ng raised objection on having the final responsibility for determining which material should or should not be included in their report. It was decided that Mr. Komitor and Ms. Fredston will assist her _in editing this year's report. The deadline for submission of any additional material Qwas set for this coming Monday, February 29. -4- I E CAC Minutes - 2/25/88 Ms. Ng also advised the Commission that the recycling statistics were not 1 as favorable as they were last year and she briefly explained reasons for (2 some of the losses and drop in figures. Ms. Ng also brought up the statistics on leaves and questioned whether they should be included in the Report as the figures had been passed down from year to year and their accuracy at this time is questionable. Mr. Korn recommended the printing and distribution of an educational flyer to make residents aware of the recycling losses. Forum on Household Hazardous Waste - Ms. Volk stated that the Forum was held in Albany yesterday and no one attended it. The forum was a State sponsored event and Ms. Volk read the agenda for the forum to the Commission. Ms. Volk also advised that the Scarsdale Audubon Society had printed a notice in one of their publications concerning a new publication which offers advice on what to do with household waste. The publication is being published by a firm in Santa Monica, California and the cost is $3.75. It was suggested I, that the Commission purchase a copy. Sewer Corrections - Ms. Volk reported that the State is updating its solid waste plans and planning a series of meetings to make the public aware and provide some input into the program.ram. In line with this, the Departmentartment . of Environmental Conservation intends to include a grant program for up to 90% of cost to aid in the development of such plans and also to have an evaluation of alternatives to ocean dumping and sewage sludge. Ms. Volk further advised that EMC's Water Resources Committee is concerned that only three communities have taken advantage of the County's free inflow and stormwater detection crews available from the County Department of Environmental Facilities. The crews are being provided to assist communities ® attempting to locate illegal storm-sewer connections. The Village of Mamaroneck has used this service, but the Town has not, and Ms. Volk questioned whether the CAC can provide a push. Mr. Altieri noted that the Town has already begun its "Inflow and Infiltration Project", which includes the sealing and cleaning of 35,000 feet of sewer lines. EMC Workshop on Sewage Treatment - Ms. Volk stated that there will be a seminar on sewage treatment and water quality on April 30 in Yorktown, but it is still in the planning stages. Hudson Shore Boat Tour - On May 6, there will be a Hudson Shore Boat Tour which will start from Yonkers. They will review Yonker's waterfront redevelopment plans, visit Pierpointe in Yonkers, cruise to Peekskill where they will stop for lunch. Thereafter they will overview Peekskill's waterfront planning. Ms. Volk read to the Commission the cruise itinerary and advised that a resource person from each place of interest will be available on the boat. The planned cost is $25.00. E.I.S. Guide - Ms. Volk advised that the County is preparing for publication a guide for Conservation Advisory Commissions and other officials on how to review an Environmental Impact Statement. The Commission will follow up on this. Gardens Lake Dredging Project - Mr. Leddy advised that they are ' considering dropping the Larchmont Reservoir down by ten feet to provide O extra retention capacity for the dredging of Gardens Lake. The Reservoir will remain at a depth of about four feet for the duration of the project, -5- CAC Minutes - 2/25/88 which is approximately seven months during the period April through (:: November. Mr. Altieri stated that the original plans were to dry out the material on Hommocks Field but this plan met with opposition. Therefore the lake area is being used for the drying of the spoil. Ms. Fredston suggested that a letter be sent to the area residents advising them of the Town's plans. The plan was discussed in full. The question of lowering the water level during the summer months were raised and concern was expressed with regard to the fish and other wildlife. It was also stated that this action would have a tremendous impact on the neighboring residensts as well, and the question was raised whether it was necessary to lower the water to that level. Mr. Leddy felt that dropping the reservoir six feet would be enough to handle a 100-year frequency storm. A discussion also ensued on the drying process for the spoil and the means of disposing of it. Mr. Altieri explained that although the material is clean, no one wanted to buy it so the Town would have to pay to have it trucked out and he briefly outlined the work done and contacts made with regard to this. Premium Conservation Area Ms. Johnson stated that Ms. Wittner had asked her to bring to the attention of CAC the efforts being made to improve conditions at the Premium and to request the Commission's assistance in these endeavors. They would like to have a new sign posted at the entrance to the area and would also like to see the area policed. The entranceway is not known and it is felt that this is due to the lack of an appropriate sign. Mr. Leddy noted that a sign had been posted there twice, but each time were destroyed. Ms. Johnson advised that efforts are being made to establish resident awareness and lookouts. Mr. Leddy was in agreement that the area needed some attention and he agreed on posting another sign. It was suggested that the sign be posted before the scheduled bird walk on March 19. Role of the CAC - Mr. Goldstein raised the issue of the Commission's role with respect to the Town and villages and stated that he was of the opinion that the Commission was drifting at this point as to what their duties and responsibilities were. He felt that the Commission needed to evaluate their role with the municipalities. While there is somewhat of an understanding with the Town, the Commission needs to clarify their role with the villages. He further indicated that he felt that the Coastal Zone Management Commission (CZMC) had assumed a number of this Commission's functions. Mr. Goldstein also indicated that the villages have no input into the Commission's role and in appointing its members. Ms. Fredston stated that the Commission is only an advisory body and this may account for its limitations. However, she felt the Commission could have more impact on the Town and villages if the members wished. It was also brought out that there should have been meetings between the CAC and CZMC, which was suggested on several occasions without any action. Mr. Goldstein further stated that either the Town and/or villages must clarify the duties of the CAC and establish clearer lines of responsibility. He also noted that perhaps it could be worked out between the two commissions. A review of the State and Town laws concerning the CAC was found to be very vague. Mr. Komitor suggested the setting up of a subcommittee to undertake the task of following through on the original concept of the Commission, to strengthen connections with the municipalities, to coordinate meetings with the CZMC, and put together a proposal for getting a better understanding of the Commission's role and responsibilities. 0 Meeting adjourned at 10:00 P.M. -6- a