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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992_03_05 Conservation Advisory Commission Minutes p' Pti c_(41tc: Town of Mamaroneck Conservation Advisory Commission APPROVED 740 West Boston Post Road Mamaroneck, N.Y. 10543 914-381-6133 MINUTES MARCH 5, 1992 A regular meeting of the Conservation Advisory Commission (CAC) was held on Thursday, March 5, 1992 in Conference Room A of the Town Center, 740 West Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, New York. The meeting commenced at 8:10 p.m. 0 11/ Members Present: Louise Perez, Chairwoman Susan Cavaliers � ��CE��F� Sandy Feldmanft4y Martha L. Gershun P41RICI ?D Mn Martha Kaufman To{����Q�r.<oc.Cio ra.G,1j49 Rk Others Present: Robert Hohberg, Water Monitoring Consultant N,yn'ECK Mary Anne Johnson, Emeritus ��7 � % Angel Martin, CZMC 1�4� Claudia Ng, Environmental Coordinator Kathleen Tracy O'Flinn, Liaison, Town Council Shirleyan Price, Ad Hoc Member (Hummocks Property Owners Association) Ellen Morse, Recorder ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Minutes - The minutes of February 6, 1992 were approved after changes on pages 2 and 3. New Member - Maureen Nubile has been officially approved by the Village of Mamaroneck and Town Board to replace Mary Landrigan. Next Meeting - April 2 which will be chaired by Martha Kaufman. OLD BUSINESS Greenway Trail - Kate Weingarten reported to Chairwoman Perez that she met with John Varvayanis, George Latimer, a representative from Ron Tocci's office, and Maureen Nobile at the Weinberg Nature Center. They looked at the driveway situation and all agreed it was not proper to ask the people for an easement through their driveway. They then looked at the NY Thruway fence area and agreed that the most logical solution would be to have the Thruway Authority move the fence. Both George Latimer and Ron Tocci will work on this tactic. Mrs. Johnson stated that NY State recognized the Greenway Trail when it first opened and thus would have a reason for cooperation between the State agencies. Chairwoman Perez asked to see the document referring to that fact. Either Mrs. Johnson or, possibly John Varvayanis, will provide a copy. CAC Minutes March 5, 1992 Page 2 L.I. Sound Water Monitoring - Charles Bernstein will attend a training session in March, Chairwoman Perez reported. She also mentioned that Dolores Battalia's son-in-law, Mike Monahan who is a marine biologist, is moving into the area next week and is very interested in assisting in the water testing project. CORRESPONDENCE Outgoing: (1) Letters from Chairwoman Perez dated February to the following asking if they would be ad hoc members of CAC: Ed Brown, Dr. Arthur Gillman, Dr. Jacqueline Plumez, Shirleyan Price, and Irma Volk. (2) Letters from Chairwoman Perez to the following nurseries on recycling of plastics: Twiggy's Garden Center and Flower Shop in Mamaroneck; and in Larchmont - Grant's Florist and Greenhouse, The Seed Store, Redwood Nursery, Tony's Nursery and Larchmont Nursery. Mrs. Perez received a list of procedures for collecting the plastics fruit Plastic Recycling Services, Inc. (PPS) , the company promoting the recycling, and it will be included in the letters. (3) Letters fLvm Mr. Scheffler to the Premium Conservation Area residents. Ms. Ng stated there is one modification needed to them. She spoke to Steve Altieri who suggested that the letter include a statement requesting the residents notify the Police Department when a dumping violation is in progress for an immediate response. A list of about forty residents was supplied by Phyllis Wittner. Incoming: (1) Letter front Gene Tashoff accepting ad hoc membership. (2) Letter dated 2/24/92 from Jacqueline Plumez who, although cannot attend the meetings, will keep a watch on her neighborhood. (3) Letter from Shirleyan Price accepting ad hoc membership. (4) 2/15/92 received CZMC Minutes of 2/28/92. (5) 2/25/92 Claudia Ng received a promotional offer from Keep America Beautiful, Inc. for reusable plastic litter bags. Chairwoman Perez asked if the members thought it should be passed on to the Chamber of Commerce. The members were not interested in pursuing this. CAC Minutes March 5, 1992 Page 3 CONSULTANT/LIAISON REPORTS Liaison O'Flinn reported that Beautification Day is to be held April 25, 1992. This is a Town event sponsored by the CAC as well as the LIFE Center involving the Villages of Larchmont and Mamaroneck, and the Town of Mamaroneck. Participants include the schools, scouts, Little League, soccer teams, and individuals. She had introductory letters for each CAC member and suggested they get actively involved by getting their neighbors or a group of people to clean an area in their respective neighborhoods. Shelley Hansy is the coordinator for the Village of Larchmont, Jane Marion is coordinator for the Village of Mamaroneck, and Liaison O'Flinn is coordinator for the Town. For large pieces of garbage that cannot be carried out to the curb, the Beautification Committee will send a Tawn truck to pick it up. Shirleyan Price, Hammocks Property Owners Association, commented that at the end of Hammocks Road, service people are discarding their trash, e.g. , carpets and insulation. Recently, Con Edison was working at Hammocks Rd. and had to remove asphalt. She found a big pile of excess asphalt material dumped there. She believes Con Edison was responsible for the dumping. Liaison O'Flinn commented that if it was actually Con Edison who did it, the Town Administrator would write the company a letter. Mrs. Price also found in the conservation area an old, rusty discarded sign "Children at Play" which she feels was left by the Highway Department. Ms. Ng reported that she would follow up on this. Because of the overgrowth of thorns and brambles, Mrs. Price finds it too difficult and dangerous for herself and others to go in and clean at the end of the road. Liaison O'Flinn suggested having the Highway Dept. cut down the overgrowth. Since there's a possibility of nesting in the area, Mrs. Johnson suggested that a naturalist check the area first. Ms. Ng noted that she was hoping to be able to hire Steve Coleman for a single consultation to advise on all of our trails. Mrs. Price is drafting a letter for her area's next association meeting reminding the residents that they are responsible for their gardeners and their garden debris. In summary, Chairwoman Perez requested a letter be drafted for the Hammocks Conservation area residents similar to Mr. Scheffler's letter to the Premium Marsh residents. Sandy Feldman said she would draft the letter and have it for next month's meeting for Mrs. Price to distribute to her neighbors. Chairwoman Perez requested that this topic be added to next months' agenda and that Mrs. Price attend the meeting. Chairwoman Perez also requested Mrs. Price get more information on Con Edison. Mrs. Price requested she be put on the distribution list for the minutes. CAC Minutes March 5, 1992 Page 4 Water Monitoring - Bob Hohberg gave a presentation using an overhead projector and distributed a written report to the members on Fast Creek's high coliform counts. Twenty-two (22) sampling stations were analyzed for turbidity, salinity, emulsified oil, pH, coliforms count, and fecal count. One problem he found by Station 1 is that no one has ever been able to give him a definitive idea where all the pipes are that drain there by the Railroad Station and Depot Way. He also noted that two pipes, one which is the Post Road drain and the other which is solely the East Creek pipe, have been sullied because of a crossover at Station 14 located by Hammocks' ball park. He explained that since all the readings were taken at law tide, he is reading Fast Creek and not the Sound. Suspicious high levels of coliform counts were found at Stations 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10. High fecal counts were also found at Stations 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10 which he suspects are caused by human waste. He noted that he instantly reported all high counts to the County Health Department. Mr. Hohberg then explained the other stations' readings. For more detailed information refer to his report entitled "Fast Creek, Correcting Coliform Pollution, Summer 1991." Mr. Hohberg suggested that his report be transmitted to the County Health Department with a letter urging them to investigate in particular Stations 9 and 10. He believes there may be a bypass from a large sewer line nearby. EMC Water Policy - At the CAC's request, Mr. Hohberg commented on the Environmental Management Council's policy on water quality. The cover letter states that EMC is suppose to set up policies to provide the basis for recommendations both to County and municipal governments. The policy statement is made up of two parts. The first part addresses non-point and point source pollution, and surface and groundwater. The second part will focus on water supply issues. The study indicates that the responsibility for ensuring the implementation of the nineteen recommendations is on the CAC's and Conservation Boards (CB's) . He said we have the data on the non-point source pollution. He requested that when the two policy statements are received, he would like to see them. Mr. Hohberg mentioned that years ago he offered to be the Conservation Officer for the Town of Mamaroneck so that he could issue summonses to people caught dumping. It was not accepted. He again offered his services, without pay. Mr. Hohberg mentioned that he will be in the Sheldrake this summer. He and Dr. Thomas are looking at the Premium Marsh and would like to send research students in to get same base data before dredging starts in November. CAC Minutes March 5, 1992 Page 5 TASK FORCE REPORTS Landscaping/Maintenance Articles - Sandy Feldman had nothing to report for Ed Hindin. They have already submitted an article for the upcoming issue of the Town Newsletter. Ms. Ng said the next issue will probably not be out until September. Golf Course Rezoning Study - Ms. Gershun had nothing new to report. Councilwoman O'Flinn reported that the second supplemental EIS proposal is now with the consultants and additional information was recently sent to them. She is waiting for the first draft and hopes to have it completed by June. Sandy Feldman reported that the members of the Bonnie Briar Golf Club met with the developer who would like to sell, but no figure has been arrived at yet. Storm Drain Stenciling - Susan Cavalieri reported that she spoke with a woman at Sound Watch who said the plastic stencils are very easy to work with. This woman put newspapers on either side of the stencil, inverted the can, and sprayed quickly. The paint dries within 5 minutes. Mrs. Cavalieri did not think the Highway Dept. needed to do anything with the stencils. She will ask John Zappala where he wants to work and she will work around him. He has six stencils and Ms. Ng has two. They will try to borrow some stencils from Mr. Zappala on the weekends when he is not using them with his classes. Mrs. Cavalieri hopes to start the painting around Beautification Day in April and suggested starting at Hammocks School. It was suggested some stenciling be done on this year's Earth Day. Chairwoman Perez requested that Mrs. Cavalieri contact Ms. Ng when she is ready to begin so Ms. Ng can have a newspaper reporter available to take pictures. ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATOR REPORTS Conservation Areas - Additional Properties for Consideration - MS. Ng reported that there is one additional property she would propose for adoption at this time but it must be made by the Village of Mamaroneck's Board of Trustees since it is village property. It involves a parcel of land (about 4 acres) along Rock Ridge Rd. which connects the Town's Leatherstocking Trail to the missing link of the Greenway Trail just before it gets to Saxon Woods. Ms. Ng posed the question whether CAC wanted to proceed in obtaining formal dedication of this area as a conservation area. Initial approval had been received to blaze a trail when John Varvayanis first worked on organizing the Greenway Trail. Mrs. Feldman made a motion to recommend this area be made a conservation area. Mrs. Kaufman seconded it and Ms. Ng will help draft the necessary letter. OTHER BUSINESS Pace University Conference - On February 19, Ms. Ng attended a conference entitled "Development Rights and Water Body Protection" sponsored by Pace's School of Law and the Real Estate Law Society. CAC Minutes March 5, 1992 Page 6 Ms. Ng did not find the conference very useful for CAC and showed a book on the legal solutions for land use for the members' perusal which she found very legal in nature. Ms. Ng gave a brief summary of the four speeches and mentioned that the host of the conference was very interested in getting a statewide comprehensive management land use plan to eliminate a lot of disconnected mini plans. Ms. Ng noted that one of the local people attending the conference commented to her that one of the speakers, attorney Gerald Kayden, was very interesting, and that the Town might consider hiring him for the Bonnie Briar issue. Mr. Kayden is the senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Conservation Areas' Guidebook - Ms. Ng showed a copy of a draft guidebook that Sandra Marraffino is putting together. Mrs. Marraffino requested that two experts of each area review it after she has the draft ready. The items which will be listed on the text side will be acreage, brief description, history, directions, people activities, do's and don'ts, facilities, and unusual features. Ms. Ng will work with the Recreation Department to get more information on parks if they're to be included. Also, she will look at the League of Women Voter's guidebook for further information. Mrs. Marraffino asked for additional people to help write up the areas. It was decided that she should concentrate on the conservation areas for now. Premium Marsh Conservation Area - Ms. Ng spoke with Mr. Scheffler and read what she planned to write on the bronze plaque to be installed there. The first line would read: "The Premium Marsh Conservation Area"; underneath would read: "Dedicated to the Preservation of our Environment", and at the bottom: "Town of Mamaroneck Conservation Advisory Commission." Mr. Scheffler wanted more description in the middle section. As there was no consensus, the members decided to table the discussion until next month when Mr. Scheffler would be present. CZMC's Fifth Annual Report, Town of Mamaroneck/Village of Larchmont. Ms. Ng distributed copies. Devids Island - Chairwoman Perez reported that Shirley Tolley and Steve Silverberg will attend the public hearing on Devids Island on Monday, March 9. The New Rochelle City Council will be voting on whether to extend Xanadu's contract on March 10. Dedication of Conservation Areas - Liaison O'Flinn reported that she received a memo listing properties that Ms. Ng discovered had no records of being dedicated. Liaison O'Flinn then spoke to Steve Altieri who said he will add them to the list they are working on of Town owned properties, and they will review all of them at one time. All of them require a survey. Meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m.