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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991_03_14 Conservation Advisory Commission Minutes "Nor` Approved. TC-41N-Cs Town of Mamaroneck 4 RECEIVED Conservation Advisory Commissio HAY; 1 1991 740 West Boston Post Road . PATRICIA A.DIC!OCCIO TOWN CLERK Mamaroneck, N.Y. 10543 P,!AMARONECK 914-381-6133 N.Y. MINUTES MARCH 14, 1991 A regular meeting of the Conservation Advisory Commission (CAC) was held on Thursday, March 14, 1991, in Conference Room B of the Town Center, 740 West Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, New York. The meeting commenced at 8:05 P.M. Members Present: Charles Bernstein Herbert Calman Susan Cavalieri Sandy Feldman Martha Kaufman Michael Scheffler, Acting Chairman Others Present: Mary Anne Johnson, Emeritus CAC Claudia Ng, Environmental Coordinator Christa Diels, Recording Secretary ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Approval of Minutes - The minutes of February 14, 1991 were approved. Meeting date change - The next CAC meeting will be on April 11, 1991; thereafter, meetings will be held on the first Thursday of each month. TASRFORCE REPORTS Conservation Areas/Work Plan - Michael Scheffler began with a discussion of the school projects at the Hommocks Conservation Area. He said that he had approached Cal Chang, a science teacher and director of the youth civics group at the Hommocks Middle School. At present, Mr. Chang has his students working on wooden signs for the Hommocks Conservation Area. Mr. Scheffler felt that once the Hommocks signs are up, it will be easier to get other schools involved in similar projects. Mr. Scheffler reminded the CAC that the Open Space Task Force had inspected the Premium Conservation Area and the Hommocks Conservation Area last fall to see what progress had been made since the previous year. The result of this study was a memo that he presented at the January 17, 1991 CAC CAC Minutes. 3-14-91 Page 2 meeting. In response to several suggestions made at that meeting, Mr. Scheffler has revised that memo, which he distributed once again for approval. After the CAC members approved the present memo, Mr. Scheffler said that his next step would be to send a copy of it, along with the original work plan memo to Tom Leddy, dated May 19, 1989, to the Town Board Ms. Ng discussed the spacing of the boulders at the entrance to the Premium Conservation Area, which was one of the matters mentioned in Mr. Scheffler's memorandum. Mr. Calmar felt that the police should patrol the conservation areas in order to keep motorcycles and other vehicles out. Mr. Scheffler said that, although he agreed with the sentiment, he doubted that the CAC would be able to convince the police that that is their responsibility. In response to one of Mrs. Johnson's suggestions, Mr. Scheffler volunteered to draft a letter to the chairpersons of the neighborhood associations requesting that the residents who live adjacent to the borders of the trails monitor those conservation areas. In addition, he will ask each association to appoint a liaison to the CAC. Mr. Scheffler asked Mrs. Johnson whether the Larchmont Reservoir was in good shape with respect to neighborhood cooperation. Mrs. Johnson said she would check with the Friends of the Reservoir. The Leatherstocking Trail still needs to he surveyed. The taskforce will inspect it this year. Landscaping/Maintenance Pamphlet - Mr. Bernstein expressed concern about the noise generated by blowers and other high speed lawn tools. He thought that the CAC ought to write a letter to the gardeners regarding this problem. In a similar vein, Mr. Calman complained about the advice from the tree gardeners. Mr. Calman's trees have been thriving for years without ever having been sprayed. Now the tree people have been disseminating information about the necessity and urgency of tree spraying, whether it is needed or not. In response, the CAC members appointed Mr. Bernstein to draft a letter to the gardeners regarding the tree spraying and the noise pollution from the high speed power tools. Since spring was around the corner, the CAC decided not to wait to the next meeting to review the draft but instead have it circulated by mail with comments to be called in to Mr. Bernstein. Mrs. Kaufman informed the CAC that the Friends of the Reservoir was planning to have a tree specialist lead a short seminar on tree identification and care in the near future. CONSULTANT/LIAISON REPORTS No reports. ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATOR REPORTS Recycling Guide Book Revision - Ms. Ng expects to have the new recycling guide books ready for mailing by Earth Day, 1991. The booklet will be divided into two runs because of major differences in policy among the municipalities (the Town of Mamaroneck and Village of Larchmont vs. the Village of Mamaroneck) . CAC Minutes, 3-14-91 Page 3 Plastic Newspaper Bags - Ms. Ng presented a letter to the CAC that had been written by a Village of Larchmont resident to the Mayor of Larchmont regarding the excess waste created by use of plastic bags to deliver newspapers in. The resident wondered whether anything could be done to ameliorate this problem. Cheryl Lewy, the Village of Larchmont Trustee, responded to that letter by notifying the resident that plastic bags may be recycled at Embassy Cleaners. Mr. Scheffler suggested that this information be disseminated to all residents. Mrs. Kaufman questioned whether the merchants who claim to be recycling plastic bags are really doing so. After considerable discussion, Mr. Scheffler suggested that Mrs. Kaufman approach the owner of Embassy Cleaners and other merchants in the area, identify herself as a member of the CAC and say something to effect of: "We're pleased about your plastic bag recycling program. We were just wondering where you send the bags for recycling. " Mrs. Cavalieri acknowledged that the local merchants' involvement in recycling is commendable; however, she felt that simply reusing bags is just as practical, but seems to be an option that not many have considered. School Paper Recycling - Mrs. Kaufman told the CAC about the Chatsworth PTA's recycling program and Mrs. Cavalieri suggested that the Town set up a separate recycling program just for computer paper. EMC Roundtable - Ms. Ng reminded the CAC members that she had mailed them information about the EMC Roundtable meeting that she attended. At this meeting, which was essentially a forum for all the CACs in the area to get together, the main topics of discussion were: how to raise public consciousness, how to get local boards to listen to them, and how to establish adequate enforcement. Ms. Ng reported that a retired police officer, Mr. Nick Bianco, has been hired part-time as an environmental enforcement officer for Yorktown. Ms. Ng explained that environmental enforcement officers may not issue fines; however, they can issue so-called "remedy summonses" , which alert the violators to the fact that they are being watched. When Ms. Ng informed the CAC that Mr. Bianco is willing to talk to any municipality about his work, Mr. Scheffler suggested that the CAC invite him to attend the next meeting on April 11th. Seminars for CAC - The prospect of Mr. Bianco lecturing at the next meeting led to a discussion of providing seminars for the CAC. Having a seminar each month, in addition to the regular CAC meeting, does not seem feasible since it is difficult enough to get all members to attend the regular meetings, let alone extra ones. If the seminars were sponsored jointly by the CAC and the CZMC, then perhaps there would be sufficient attendance. Mrs. Feldman suggested that, every third month or so, a seminar could be scheduled for half of a regular CAC meeting. Mr. Scheffler concluded the discussion by suggesting that a seminar could be held every so often in lieu of a regular CAC meeting. HILLTOP ROAD CONSERVATION AREA Mr. Calman volunteered to draft two letters--one to the Town Council and one to the Livingstons--for review at the next CAC meeting. Mr. Scheffler felt that the letter to the Town Council should indicate that the CAC has visited and investigated the site, consulted with neighbors, spoken with the ` GAC Minutes, 3-14-91 Page 4 Superintendent of Highways and recommends reclaiming the Old Mill Site Conservation Area as public property that is not to be used for private purposes. In addition, suggestions were made as to how this plan would be implemented. Mr. Scheffler advised Mr. Calmar that the letter to the Livingstons should inform them of what the CAC and the Town are planning to do, but could simply be a cover letter with a copy of the Town letter. NEW OR OTHER BUSINESS Announcements - Ms. Johnson read notices of several upcoming meetings: (1) WestchesterBeautification Committee - March 21 at 5 p.m. in Purchase on different approach to beautification (2) Regional Planning Association - 4-day conference at Vassar (3) Federated Conservationists of Westchester County - conference on land use and water quality on April 23 at the Westchester County Center. Ms. Ng said that she would try to mail all notices about environmental conferences and seminars to CAC members. Tree Planting on Boston Post Road - Ms. Ng was informed that the Village of Larchmont will be planting trees on Boston Post Road in commemoration of its Centennial and that the City of New Rochelle has already planted trees on their side of the Boston Post Road. However, in between is a stretch of roadway that is within the Town of Mainaroneck's jurisdiction that will be untouched. The question was raised as to whether the CAC should encourage the Town to plant trees on its portion. The CAC needed more information and, therefore, tabled the discussion to a future meeting.