August,1 2003 Meeting Minutes
Saw Mill River Coalition
Meeting Minutes
August 1, 2003, 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.
Beczak Environmental Education Center, Yonkers, NY
Present: Carol Capobianco, Saw Mill River Coalition; Ray Curran, Scenic
Hudson; Joanne Dittersdorf, NPS Rivers & Trails; Diana Hesse,
Hudson Valley Regional Council; Rick Magder, Groundwork Yonkers; Dick
Manley, Beczak Environmental Education Center; Tony Pappantoniou,
Lehman College; Marie Rippo; Groundwork Yonkers; Lucille Sciacca,
Philipse Manor Hall
Introductions: All present introduced themselves. New faces included
Dr. Tony Pappantoniou of Lehman College, who is leading the fish study
along the Saw Mill River, and Ray Curran, senior planner for Scenic
Hudson. Marie Rippo of Groundwork Yonkers once again recorded the
minutes.
Review of last meeting and updates: Minutes of last meeting
accepted as amended. In answer to a question at our last meeting, Carol
reported that the USGS gage on the Saw Mill is not active, but might be
reactivated with federal money during the next National Water Quality
Assessment program. The decision will be made after October 2003.
Operation and maintenance cost for a standard gage is $18,000. Carol
passed around the photo of a dumping site she had shown at the last
meeting and a Westchester County news release forwarded by Justin Bloom
of Riverkeeper, which reported that the owner of the Ardsley property
was issued a summons and faces a fine and/or jail. Ron Gatto, the
county’s Director of Environmental Security, carried out the
investigation.
Those present agreed with Justin’s suggestion that the
coalition write a letter to the county executive thanking him for
increased environmental enforcement. Carol will draft the letter and
also invite Ron Gatto to a future coalition meeting. Tony reported that
there is a lot of trash caught in downed trees in the river near the
Lawrence Street exit and Azko Nobel, south of Ardsley. Sites such as
these need to be cleaned up, under the guidance of the coalition, with
the help of volunteers, state agencies, and local businesses. Joanne
suggested that a management plan for the river would help set criteria
for how to maintain the river. Question arose about who is responsible
for such cleanups — the DEC, the DOT, private property owners?
Discussion ensued on who owns the land and water. Need clarification.
Dick mentioned that small steps increase visibility. Rick mentioned
that this year the coalition aims to expand and develop an action plan
and outreach.
Identity: Joanne is contracting with a designer to create a logo for
the coalition. Dick noted we should make sure the logo can still be
readable when reduced for envelopes and clear enough to be faxed,
copied, etc. Dick then shared his belief that the name Saw Mill River
Coalition is ill defined, and proposed that we change the name of the
group to one that reflects who we are and what we do. He used the
Hackensack Riverkeeper as an example of an effective name and
organization and suggested we consider becoming a “Riverkeeper.” Ray
agreed that names are important and should describe who we are and what
we do, Saw Mill River Restoration Coalition, for example.
The group indicated that when you have an action verb in the name it gets people
more involved. Joanne mentioned that the Bronx River Alliance was
called the Bronx River Working Group until deciding on its current
name. It was readily agreed that the name of the coalition should be
changed. Carol will get feedback from others in the coalition, and we
will discuss it further at a future meeting. Some suggestions: Saw Mill
River Restoration Coalition — Saw Mill River Stewards — Saw Mill
Riverkeeper (or River Keeper) Riverkeeper is trademarked; Joanne will
research. Dick thought we should continue working on the logo and
substitute the name change when it happens. Some suggested that perhaps
we could design just the words “Saw Mill River.” Joanne noted that we
should make a decision about what words are needed in the design before
we start the design process.
She will work with the designer on this. In the interest of time,
discussion of the mission statement was tabled for a future meeting.
Carol asked for input on letter-writing protocol. The need for a
process arose when she and Rick were drafting a letter on behalf of the
coalition in response to the Final EIS for the Yonkers stadium. The
coalition had not previously discussed a response, but Carol felt it was absolutely
in order, since the planned project would be built on the Saw Mill
River’s banks just a few blocks from the coalition’s headquarters.
Considerations include whether (and when) to get involved in a
particular issue, what the tone should be, who should sign on to the
letter, etc. Suggestions included keeping abreast of issues so that the
coalition can discuss them ahead of time, and sending out action alerts
so that member organizations can draft individual letters as well, such
as Riverkeeper did in the Yonkers stadium instance. The subject will be
discussed further at a future meeting. Some requested a copy of the
coalition’s letter. Carol will email a copy to all members. Ray asked
if the coalition would like to daylight the river; it was determined
yes, most definitely. Rick mentioned his discussions on the subject
with the city. Ray will ask the Planning Dept. for a map of the
underground portion of the river.
Reports:
• Rick Magder said funding for the EPA grant that has been awarded won’t begin until December or
January, later than expected. However, we can begin project planning
before then. He also submitted a proposal for another HREP grant, to
develop an intermunicipal agreement. He also emphasized the need to
keep Carol’s staff position funded.
• Tony Pappantoniou reported on the
findings to date of the Saw Mill River fish study. He and John
Klonowski have collected 16 species this year, down from the 22 they
had identified in the 1989 fish study. He’s not particularly worried
about the difference, because it may reflect a later start and shorter
collecting period this time around. They found 2- to 3-inch brown
trout, which are smaller than the size of the stocked trout, leading
him to believe that some of the stocked trout survived and spawned. The
most prevalent species have been white suckers and black-nose dace. The
most diverse area so far has been in Hastings-on-Hudson, across from
the Manor House, where six or seven species were found, as were 12
sunfish nests. He’ll have a full report at a later date. Tony suggested
the coalition seek publicity for the study. Carol mentioned that she
and Pat Korn had spoken about doing so at the end of the study, as a
lead-in to the talk Tony and John will be giving about the study at the
Beczak. Tony showed a copy of a study guide for students and teachers,
“An Illustrated Field Guide to the Aquatic Fauna of the Bronx River,”
produced by Lehman under a NOAA grant. He suggested we look into NOAA
funding. He also recommended that to get a good understanding of what
lives in the river, the fish study should be done continuously for
three to four years. He welcomes partnering with the coalition for
future projects.
• Carol reported that she and Justin Bloom tubed the
Saw Mill River from Chappaqua to Pleasantville, and that Justin
documented pipe drainages into the river along the way.
• Carol reported that the Saw Mill River won’t be monitored this summer through
the county’s Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program because only
two people showed up at the training session at the Beczak. Karis
Tenneson from the planning department, who attended last meeting, said
that if the coalition can rally at least 10 interested volunteers, she
will consider doing a special training session.
• Carol reported that Diane Miller said the Army Corps proposal is not yet finalized.
Old business: Dick asked if the coalition has a map of the Saw Mill
River watershed. Carol has been attempting to find a good map of such.
Rick indicated that the county has a map, though
it may not be up-to-date. Ray will find out how Scenic Hudson designs
maps of watersheds. Both he and Dick mentioned that there is a
Westchester County Atlas/Roadmap that shows the Saw Mill River.
New business:
• As a follow-up to the coalition’s desire to hold its
meetings in a more centralized location, Carol has been scouting out
new venues. Possible sites include Rockefeller Preserve (winter months
to avoid parking fee) and Pace University, Pleasantville. She will
continue looking into these and other possibilities.
• Carol has been alerted to a proposed public works garage in Dobbs Ferry. She will look
into the issue.
• Carol has compiled a list of Saw Mill River studies
and asked that coalition members look at the list and see if they know
of additional studies that have been done. She will email the list to
all members.
• Joanne announced that the coalition must apply to the
Rivers & Trails program by September 1 to continue receiving
support and assistance from the program. Carol will submit the request.