October 24, 2007 Meeting Minutes
Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, October 24, 2007, 9:30 AM
Greenburgh Town Hall, Greenburgh, NY
Present:
Rob Baron, Groundwork Hudson Valley
Nicola Coddington, Village of Irvington
Roni Cohen, Saw Mill River Coalition
Christopher Crane, WC BOL Committee on the Environment
Ken Greehan, City of Yonkers DPW
Peter Klein, FIDELCO Realty Group, Yonkers
Dave Kvinge, WC Planning Department
Lorraine Kuhn, Village of Ardsley
Bill Lawyer, Greenburgh Nature Center
Don Marra, Dobbs Ferry
Ann-Marie Mitroff, Saw Mill River Coalition
Jim Moran, City of Yonkers Engineering Department
Lynn Oliva, Saw Mill River Coalition
Aaron Schmidt, Town of Greenburgh
Larry Schopfer, Village of Irvington
Josh Verleun, Riverkeeper
Introductions & Handouts:
All present introduced themselves. In addition to the agenda,
handouts included a summary of the EPA Targeted Watersheds grant tasks,
an overview of the EPA Wetland Protection grant, a flyer for the
November 10 Free-A-Tree vinecutting and river cleanup event, a
Coalition magnet with the names of all the municipal members on it, and
a Coalition informational bulletin about environmentally sound ways to
wash cars and trucks.
EPA Targeted Watersheds Grant:
Ann-Marie Mitroff indicated that the Coalition was recently notified by
EPA that its grant application was among 15 selected nationwide from
approximately 140 submissions. Prior to a final and formal award
announcement, the Coalition must submit a detailed work program and
budget to the EPA Region 2 office. The Coalition staff intends to
submit that by the end of November with the formal award expected in
early 2008. A big part of today’s meeting is to get input from
Coalition members on the scope of the various tasks. Meeting
participants also handed in their suggestions about work program
elements.
The following grant tasks were discussed. Fecal Coliform “Hot Spots” Reduction:
Elevated levels of fecal coliform have been found in locations in
Yonkers and New Castle during non-storm events. Ms. Mitroff
indicated that the Town of New Castle has already contacted her about
meeting to address this problem. Ken Greehan suggested that baggy
dispensers, receptacles, and signs about the need to properly dispose
of pet waste be placed along the South County trailway as a lot of pet
waste can be observed there. Floatables and Car Wash Public Education:
The Coalition hopes to work with schools on developing a public
education program with an emphasis on reducing plastics. Maybe
schools could have fundraisers by selling permanent/reusable water
bottles with the school’s name on it. Don Marra felt this should
be approached the way Westchester County did with recycling 25 years
ago by working with schools and students who helped bring the message
home to parents. The environmental problems from fund raising car
wash events will also be a focus. Ms. Mitroff noted that a recent
Washington State report discussed the severe impact of driveway car
washing on Puget Sound. David Kvinge stated that this is also a
problem in Westchester because of the high level of phosphates in car
washing detergents. Unfortunately, there are no readily
available, mass produced and cost effective alternative products.
The recently released Croton Plan recommended the joint purchase of
some inflatable vehicle washing equipment that could be shared by
municipalities. Registering public car wash events and giving out
green car wash certificates were other ideas. Best Management Practice Demonstration Sites:
Ms. Mitroff asked municipalities to think about sites they could make
available for the installation of on the ground conservation and
restoration practices which can be viewed by residents, businesses, and
officials in the watershed. Potential projects include green
roofs, rain gardens, gutter and parking lot retrofits. Aaron
Schmidt stated that Greenburgh has been making a concerted effort to
get developers and businesses to incorporate these types of things as
part of the Town’s permitting and approval process. Peter Klein
noted that it is often easier and more cost effective for big
organizations such as his to do this than small businesses.
Fidelco has a LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
green rating systems) trained staff which a Mom and Pop organization
would not. Nicola Coddington urged the Coalition to prepare and
distribute a simple toolkit of regulations and practices which
residents and officials could easier refer to solve these
problems. Mr. Kvinge stated that the County received an EPA
Stormwater Public Education grant which will do exactly that. He
expects the materials to be available in Spring 2008. Ms.
Mitroff that having projects in neighborhoods is a goal so the
public can see how things can be done in a residential setting.
Daylighting of the Saw Mill River in Yonkers:
A series of brainstorming meetings is being organized to get input on
the design parameters for a trail along the proposed daylighted Saw
Mill River from the proposed Chicken Island/Riverpark Center through
Larkin Plaza. South County Trailway Site Restoration: Restoring an area between the
River and the South County Trailway just north of the Farragut Avenue
(Exit 13 north), Hastings trailway parking lot is planned. An
investigation of additional sites in Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley is
also anticipated. Community Benefits Agreement (CBAs):
Ms. Mitroff indicated that the Coalition wanted to explore this concept
wherein municipalities in the watershed would get together and come up
with a list of priority restoration projects. As part of the
process for getting their construction projects approved, developers
would be asked to financially contribute or physically undertake one of the restoration or stormwater improvement projects on the Coalition’s restoration priority list.
Watershed Tour: A day long or series of bus tours will be
organized for Coalition members to see first hand and get a better
understanding of the land uses and natural features contributing to
watershed wide stormwater and flooding problems.
Wetlands Study Overview:
The Coalition has received a grant from EPA to review existing
information on the location of major wetlands within the watershed as
well as municipal wetland regulations. This is in the early
stages of preparation and municipalities are being contacted for
information.
Land Use Project:
The Coalition received a grant from the Hudson River Estuary Program to
prepare maps and collect data on land uses along the River. The
focus will be on identifying vacant and industrial type lands within
500’ or so of the river. The study will include field work to
identify environmental site conditions such as presence of garbage and
pollutants as well as lands that might be candidates for special
protection and/or development guidelines. Ms. Mitroff asked for
suggestions on criteria to help judge what parcels might need
protection. David Kvinge suggested that the Coalition first
identify what its priority goals are for the river (eg flood abatement,
pollution prevention, biodiversity, open space preservation, wetlands
protection, safety, recreation, increased ratables, improve traffic
flow). Once the goals are agreed upon and prioritized, you can
better define the attributes you want to protect and the criteria
associated with them. Peter Klein noted that there will probably
be different priorities and values for different areas within the
watershed. For example brownfields contamination would be an
issue in Yonkers but not in other communities. Bill Lawyer stated
that based on projects he has done, the fieldwork could be very time
consuming and that many people would probably be needed to work on
it. Greenburgh has a Seniors WISE group that helped him on a
project.
Other:
The next free-a-tree vinecutting is scheduled for November 10. A
list of dates and location will be posted on the Coalition’s
website. The Coalition has also been awarded a grant from the
Westchester Community Foundation to do a fish survey.
