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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023_07_11 Sustainability Collaborative Minutes Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability Collaborative Meeting Notes—July 11, 2023 Attendees: Karen Khor, Sue Odierna, Mark Kramer,June Wallach, Kristin Andersen, Kevin Crowe, Robin Nichinsky,Judy Caputo, Robin Nichinsky, Allen Reiter, Karin Weisburgh, Mark Manley,John Zox, Mike Smeets, MHS teacher Joe Liberti, OCRA students Haley Ganis and Addy Bartlett, MHS student/CSC Intern Sebastian Gold Volunteers were welcomed to the meeting by Mark Kramer and he mentioned that our guests, Town Supervisor Jaine Elkind Eney and Town Administrator Meredith Robson were here to answer questions but only had about 30 minutes, so they were welcomed, and the meeting got started right away. Q&A with Jaine and Meredith Several topics were discussed: Flooding:Jaine explained that the Town will be conducting a comprehensive stormwater study to map out pipes in the Town. We are supposed to get a $300k grant from the County and the estimate for the work is$360K. There is some concern because the County is now saying it is a 50% grant, but Catherine Parker is fighting for us to get more. Meredith added that the study focuses on the 15 areas most prone to flooding and that the sustainability piece is always part of whatever we are working on. Mark K. asked if any dredging is scheduled, and Meredith said that Larchmont Gardens Lake is scheduled for dredging in 2024. (This assumes no other large/priority budget item has come up that prevents this from occurring). Implementation Plan (Comp Plan):Jaine explained that it was never intended to be part of the Comp Plan. Once the plan is approved, an implementation plan will be done. Tree Code: The Town Board is discussing a "Phase-In"of new rules where the restrictions would increase with time regarding taking down trees and the square footage of property such that, eventually, regardless of property size, residents would have to abide by the same law. Gas-powered Leaf Blowers:Jaine wants to propose to the Town Board a ban on all leaf blowers in the summertime instead of the gas-powered summer ban that currently exists. Kristin Andersen of the Larchmont Environmental Committee offered to help as she worked on this for LEC and has a toolkit she thinks would be helpful to the TB. Allen mentioned he wants much more of a sense of urgency from the Town Board and thinks a total year-round ban of gas powered leaf blowers is needed. Bike Lanes: Jaine explained the difficulty of doing anything on NYS roads (Boston Post Rd., Weaver) and that it took over two years just to lower the speed limit on Boston Post Rd. in the MHS area. But she did say, she is very excited about the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant that the Town just applied for which will improve safety on the roads for drivers, bikers, and pedestrians. Question was asked as to how this helps us get bike lanes and Jaine said they are looking at everything, all factors. Mark Kramer asked for acceptance of the meeting notes from the June meeting, and they were accepted. Comprehensive Plan Update Karen reported that she received comments from 11 Collabs and submitted those comments to the committee. Next step is the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review)Act. Kevin Dworka is the consultant conducting the review. Various issues Collabs found with the Draft Plan were discussed, such as Mark K's comment that the population numbers aren't the same in two places. Karen highlighted the Collabs'feedback provided to Comprehensive Plan team that the Community Needs Assessment in Appendix should include the Record of Community Suggestions, summaries of the inputs/feedback from stakeholder interviews, and the analysis of the online community survey, in addition to the Existing Conditions. Otherwise, this represents a critical missing link in the Comprehensive Plan. Mike Smeets said the VoM's Comp Plan is much more specific. Update on CSC Submission Intern Sebastian reported on the status of the Climate Smart Community certification program. Sebastian reminded the group that the Town has Bronze status and is seeking Silver. Towards that end, last week he helped the Town to submit as many climate actions as possible. Karen K. congratulated Sebastian on all his hard work (that is continuing!) and explained that due to his efforts, this year 18 actions equaling 160 points were submitted by the Town compared to last year's 11 actions and 103 points. Sebastian is doing a fantastic job! OCRA Presentation —Commercial Food Scrap Recycling Pilot Four students are working on this project and Haley and Addy gave the presentation explaining their work and the goals. They reported that 66% of restaurant food is wasted. They began a pilot program with restaurants Encore, Tequila Sunrise, Manor Park Deli, Alondra's, and Heritage 147 to determine how much food waste they have and how best to get it recycled. After meeting with the restaurant management, they found out approximately how many pounds of food waste they create; Heritage 147 already has a zero food waste policy. The students are looking into companies that pick up food scraps curbside. Their goal is to fund this with the hopes that the restaurants will support it and pay on their own after a designated amount of time. Note: The Sanitation District picks up from MOST restaurants and it is, in fact, up to the restaurant whether they want to use a private carter or our district. Update on Bike Lanes/Complete Streets Mike Smeets gave an update on his efforts to get the Town (as well as VoM and VoL) to give more of a priority to creating bike lanes. He coordinated the Chatsworth Avenue School Bike Rally and 150 kids signed up for it. He received support from parents there who would like to see more bike lanes too. He attended the Central and Mam'k Ave School bike rallies and got sign ups there as well from people who support his efforts. Others who would like to get involved with Mike's efforts should email him at LMBikelanes@gmail.com. He did a survey asking how the students get to school. The Town Board had invited him to attend a work session, but the date wasn't available. Mike would like another opportunity to talk to the Board this summer. Note: Volunteers needed for all the above events! Upcoming Fall Events • Saturday, Sept. 23'd, 1-5pm — Larchmont Day, Constitution Park • Wednesday, Sept. 27th, 7-8pm — Free Community Class: Reducing Food Waste with Chef Adam Kaye, Mam'k Senior Center • Sunday, Oct. 15th, 1-5pm —Town of Mamaroneck Repair Café, Mam'k Senior Center The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm.