Environmental Advisory Council Meeting

EAC July 18, 2023 Minutes Members in Attendance: George Mullikin, Grant Alger, Steven Nelson, P.R. West, Dan Ford, David Riedel, Karen Graziano, Building and Zoning Director Karyn Hyland, and Nancy Taflin Call to Order: 6:31 pm Approval of Minutes May 16, 2023: Minutes were approved as submitted. Reports LCAP (Steve): Not much is going on right now. There will be a kickoff meeting of the new LCAP Steering Committee, which is made up of Steve, P.R., and George as well as two Borough residents. We will be taking an inventory of where we are and what our goals are. The Steering Committee is planning to meet monthly. Additionally, we will have a student from Drexel University to help with the LCAP. The student will be able to help with research, statistics, and probabilities for the LCAP. We will have this student for one semester. Farmer’s Market (Karen): We have native plants which will be donated to the EAC to distribute during the upcoming Market. We still have reusable bags which can be distributed. Grant agreed Bird Town information can be shared and Steve mentioned the LCAP could be a talking point. There was a discussion about something that can be used to draw attention to the EAC table, whether a tablecloth or some sort of sign. The A-frame sign works well but perhaps there is something that can be added to help bring more people to the table. Bird Town (Grant): A group of local Bird Town organizations met recently and discussed ways to get funding for community habitat restoration projects. Comprehensive Plan Update (P.R.): There isn’t much to report. The consultants from the Bucks County Planning Commission presented to the Borough Planning Commission an outline of principles defined during the workshops and surveys. Karyn shared the sustainability bullet points from the Comp Plan workshop meeting in May. Old/New Business: Ticks and Lyme Disease: Ms. Taflin spoke about her personal experiences with tick bites and Lyme disease. Ms. Taflin believes the public needs more education when it comes to identifying the ticks that can use Lyme and how the disease is treated. One solution to help with education was to include information in informational DMails. Ms. Taflin discussed where Lyme ticks live and how the disease spreads. The Council agreed to consider tick education components as they relate to the EAC but that health-related issues are not in the EAC’s purview. The Council suggested Ms. Taflin contact the County Health Department. Grant and Steve would like to add this to the next meeting agenda for further discussions.  Open Areas Index The ordinance that provides for the EAC to maintain an index of open areas, if requested by Borough Council. There has not been a request as of this point. The EAC believes there may be a benefit to preparing a list but would need to define “open area.” Since the creation of the ordinance, there have been advancements in technology and access to information that exists at the county level. The EAC will continue to consider what information would be valuable, whether that information is already available, and whether there is a benefit to creating an index. If there is a benefit to creating an index, the EAC would seek approval. Adjournment: There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 8:53 pm. Respectfully Submitted by: Erika Fellman Minutes Secretary