Environmental Advisory Council

EAC March 18, 2025, Minutes Members in Attendance: David Reidel, Grant Alger, Jason Wood, Dan Ford, Karen Graziano (via Zoom), and Karyn Hyland, Building and Zoning Director. Borough Council Member Dennis Livrone was also present. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:33 pm. Approval of Minutes, February 18, 2025: The minutes were approved. Reports: Farmer’s Market/Outreach & Communication: Jason updated the file and created a list of potential topics to discuss at the Market. It seems logical to dedicate a week to each topic we focus on and perhaps a summary of the activities at the end of the season. Some potential issues include upgrades to the Bike and Hike trails, installing solar panels at Borough Hall, and the Comprehensive Plan, among others. Karyn suggested changing the Bike and Hike topic to “Complete Streets.” Members will be at the Market from 9 to 11, the busiest time at the Farmer’s Market. Karyn requested a commitment from members to confirm their attendance dates at the market, as another group is inquiring about using the space when the EAC is not present. Earth Day: Dan has been working with Caitlin. So far, several organizations and agencies have committed to hosting a table at the event, including the Shade Tree Commission, Bird Town, PECO Energy Assessment, Master Gardeners, and Heritage Conservancy. The Borough Water Department will also be present to discuss the current drought concerns. Karen suggested Bucks Beautiful as another potential group for the event. The members discussed various plans and actions that could occur at the event to encourage community engagement, including exploring raffle items that promote the EAC's mission, such as raffling non-plastic water bottles. Karyn would like more information on the raffle items. DCAP: Grant provided updates on the plan. It will be added to the Comprehensive Plan as an amendment before it can be opened to public comment and adopted by the Borough Council. There is currently no specific timeline for this. Bird Town: Grant announced we got a silver rating again for this year. Karen attended a meeting where she learned many of the surrounding municipalities are making strides towards habitat preservation and encouraging their homeowners to do their bits for conservation. Additionally, Karen heard from a gentleman from the Conservation District who will install Purple Martin gourds. He will install these structures on open land at the Borough’s request. Karen would like to see one installed in Broad Commons. Karyn suggested Veteran’s Park and Chapman Park as potential places to benefit from the installations. Some maintenance is required for Purple Martin gourds, and Karen will take action to obtain additional information. Volunteers could perform maintenance, which could count towards our metric for volunteerism within Bird Town. Grant discussed “Bird Safe Doylestown” with a group of volunteers during the migration, aiming to patrol the area around the courthouse for injured or deceased birds. They would like a group of volunteers to patrol from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Additional training would be required to teach how to address the care of injured birds and transport them to the AARK. Index of Open Areas: Dan shared an updated link with the group regarding his work. The link allows a property to be selected and its details to be shared. Dan also shared the map and demonstrated how it would work once it had been completed. Old/New Business: None Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:26 p.m. Respectfully Submitted by: Erika Fellman Minutes Secretary