Environmental Advisory Committee

The City of Cortland Environmental Advisory Committee April 3, 2023 Wastewater Treatment Facility The Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) convened at 7 PM Monday April 3rd at the Wastewater Treatment Facility. In attendance were Chairman John Busch and members Jeremy Jimenez, Diane Chu and Donald Chu. Also attending were advisor Annika Huber, Mayor Steve, Wastewater superintendent Bruce Adams, Water Works chief operator Matt Wethje, Department of Public Works (DPW) superintendent Nic Dovi, Cortland Soil and Water Conservation District manager Amanda Barber, SUNY Cortland Institute for Civic Engagement director John Suarez and Virgil resident Bonnie Quackenbush. 1. Approval of the Minutes Chairman Busch called the meeting to order. Diane moved to accept the March meeting minutes and Donald seconded the motion. The minutes were approved. 2. Unfinished Business Water Works Usage At the committee’s behest, Chairman Busch invited Amanda and Matt to advise the committee on the mayor’s suggestion to open the 53-acre Water Works grounds for public use. It is generally closed to the public except for SUNY Cortland cross-country races, Halloween wagon rides, and the annual Spring Water Fest sponsored by the Soil and Water Conservation District. Mayor Steve enumerated his concerns about deer and their damage to the understory, limiting combustible brush and trees falling on adjacent properties. The DPW currently manages the grounds, e.g. removes brush and culls the captive deer herd. He envisioned college students and employees maintaining the grounds and using them for environmental studies. To that end, he negotiated a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), i.e. contract, with the college. Under it, the college would be able to use the grounds for its events and in return would provide the city assistance with its Geographic Information System (GIS) program. The college and city would be unable to sue each other for damages, but the college would cover the cost of 3rd party judgements against it. 7/23/23 EAC minutes 20230403 1 Chairman Busch asked how the aquifer would be protected, and Diane expressed concern about the exposed wellheads. Matt explained that the three production wellheads were secure in buildings and that the fifteen exposed monitoring wellheads were capped and locked. He did acknowledge that more building security was needed. College professors already have keys to the grounds. Diane asked if a change of use would require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Nic said Matt’s concerns should be the driver in deciding on any changes and that the Department of Health (DoH) would determine what had to be done to protect the water. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) would tell the city what could be done with the trees. There would be yearly filings. To prevent harm, Nic said that he would not want the general population to know where the monitoring wellheads were. He also noted that the DPW manages the captive deer herd but not the wild herd on the part of the grounds closer to Route 281. Matt noted that Water Works personnel routinely remove people who enter that restricted fenced area. Chairman Busch asked if people could legally enter the restricted area by walking in Otter Creek. That seems not to be the case because only boats and canoes may access navigable waterways, and the creek is fenced and posted with “No Trespassing” signs. 1 He also asked about guidelines on using the grounds, and Jeremy suggested consulting indigenous people as to the area’s past cultural significance. Amanda acknowledged the mayor’s desire to open the area to greater use but suggested keeping it protected and natural. She felt current management was good but could be modified, e.g. to preserve the area as old growth forest or to produce timber. She agreed that the exposed wellheads were vulnerable and wondered if the area had been formally designated as being environmentally sensitive. Mayor Steve proposed installing more building and wellhead alarms. He also suggested eliminating the wild deer population. The Common Council had previously discussed hiring sharpshooters, but Amanda said bowhunters might be better. Landscaping and Design Committee chair Mike Dexter proposed consulting a forester, but the DEC may have already drafted a Water Works tree management plan. Diane agreed the pump house would be good for classes, and Bruce said that it might be a nature lab. She still worried about public access to the wellheads. Chairman Busch asked if the city might charge to use the grounds, but Mayor Steve said he saw it as a public facility run by the Youth Bureau with exercise equipment open from dawn to dusk. He thought the additional traffic would enhance security. Amanda then suggested that the Water Works is special because it is wild and is not always open. She did not want to see it become a park and suggested that there be a long-term management plan before any changes were made. Diane echoed the desire for professional forestry advice. Amanda offered Soil and Water’s help with acquiring and managing trees but said they could use help with initial planting. Any work done at the Water Works would probably include fence repairs both to keep out wild deer and unauthorized people. Except for that, Jeremy said that in the interest habitat preservation, were the college and public to have greater access to and use of the Water Works, they should rely only upon existing infrastructure. Although there was more to discuss, we moved on to hear from John Suarez. 1 https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/118441.html 7/23/23 EAC minutes 20230403 2 Student EAC Participation John Suarez explained the work of the SUNY Cortland Institute for Civic Engagement which is to match students with opportunities to learn by doing in the community. To that end, he was encouraged to learn that there might be possible openings at the Water Works. He further explained that his advisees define their own projects but check in with him each week. Amanda said that Soil and Water had worked with college students, and Bruce suggested that the collaboration showed Cortland to advantage as a forward-looking community. Jeremy proposed that students promote No Mow May and said he’d posted it on Nextdoor. Diane reported having gone door- to-door. It was suggested she ask Michelle Brooks to post it on the Coffee Mania Facebook page. Diane also responded to a woman who’d called seeking guidance on how to start No Mow May in Syracuse. Unfortunately, there were only nine people who’d registered with the Cortland Code Enforcement Office so far. There was still confusion as to whether the college would participate due to the Vice President of Finance’s objections, and Diane asked Mayor Steve to lobby for it. Jeremy will keep John Suarez informed of potential EAC projects for college students. FOG Recommendation Memo In her memo, Annika had recommended a three-step program to reduce Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) entering the wastewater stream:  Educational outreach to make people aware of the problem and how they can help.  Visits to Food Service Establishments (FSE) to learn about their FOG disposal practices.  Reporting back to the Common Council in six months for further direction Donald will send Annika’s memo to the group for discussion and possible approval at the May meeting. Vermicomposting Memo The mayor has secured county government support for conducting the vermicomposting pilot project at the county landfill. To receive the DEC grant money, the city must first build the trenches and shed. To that end, the EAC could recommend that the Common Council move quickly to allocate the necessary funds. There is a memo to that effect which Donald will forward for discussion and possible approval at the May meeting. 3. New Business South Franklin Street Recommendation Memo Donald had contacted the DPW for its ideas for improving the South Franklin Street yard waste site. The EAC decided last month that it would like to encourage the Common Council to fund the DPW in this 7/23/23 EAC minutes 20230403 3 endeavor. Nic said that the DPW is working a plan and that he would share it when it was ready. The primary challenge seems to be preventing people from dumping non-compostable materials. Electrical Infrastructure Overview Tabled in the interest of time. 4. Reports Tompkins County Recycling Tour Bruce, Diane and Donald met with Kat McCarthy and Leo Riley of the Tompkins County Recycling and Materials Management Center (TCRMM) and were given a tour of the facility on Tuesday March 28th. They were interested in separating glass by color and selling it directly to container makers. Donald said that Cortland recycling director Chris Spadolini is willing to have bins for clear, green and brown glass. Donald will send out notes from the TCRMM visit. Glass Recycling Prices Diane had thought that she would find out about glass recycling prices at the TCRMM, but they ship their glass to TOMRA for separation by color, and TOMRA is the one that sells it to container manufacturers such as Owens Illinois in Auburn and Anchor Glass in Elmira Heights. Inquiries to those two facilities have not yet been successful. 5. Discussion Organics Summit Bruce reported attending an Organics Summit meeting and showed the group two kitchen food scrap containers he got. Mayor Steve said the Seven Valleys had also been giving away such containers. Stone Soup Community Gathering Court Street will be closed Sunday, April 23rd between Church and Main Street from 2 PM to 6:30 PM for the Stone Soup Community Gathering. The actual event will go from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Parks Mayor Steve reported that Randall Park would be getting pickle ball courts. Diane praised the new faux stone retaining walls added to the beach at Yaman Park. Trees 7/23/23 EAC minutes 20230403 4 Mayor Steve said that all the trees and streetlights on Main Street would be removed shortly but would be replaced as part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). Amanda said that she was interested in replenishing trees on local riverbanks and attending future EAC meetings. Wastewater Surveillance Bruce reported that the Waste Water Facility had been testing for Covid every week and in November switched to twice a week. He contributed Cortland data to a Syracuse study that was featured on WCNY. He believes this is a cost-effective way to monitor local infection rates and hopes it is continued. 6. Action Items  Donald to send out draft FOG and Vermicomposting memos.  Donald to send out notes from the TCRMM tour and add Amanda to the EAC mailing list.  Donald to get glass cullet prices from local manufacturers.  Diane to ask Coffee Mania to post No Mow May flyer on its Facebook page.  Jeremy to keep John Suarez informed of opportunities for college students to work with the EAC. 7/23/23 EAC minutes 20230403 5