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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Natural Resources & Conservation Committee - 05/04/2022NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION COMMITTEE Approved Minutes May 4, 2022 at 6:00pm Virtual Meeting Attending: Ashley Parker, Jean Sebastien-Chaulot (Chr), Larry Kupferman (Vice Chr), Katherine Boyk, Drew Shatzer, John Bossange, Bill Wargo & Lisa Yankowski Missing: David Crawford 1) Virtual meeting protocol review by Ashley. 2) No additions, deletions, or changes to the agenda. 3) No public attendees, no comments. 4) Meeting minutes from April 6, 2022- Larry moved to accept, Katherine 2nd- approved. 5) Small Grant Application a. Katherine wrote it, Ashley has submitted it and has not heard anything yet. Katherine is expecting the week of May 12th. Ashely will have the information to Andrew Bolduc. 6) FY Priorities & Strategies a. Refer to our work plan list and the SB Policy & Priorities handouts. John asked who the list will go to. The city staff and city council. If the pesticide work John proposed makes the final considerations- the city has decided, it has the capacity to provide staff for helping us to proceed. Jesse B is hopes to get the leadership group together by the end of May so the city council can decide. b. Bill asked if Andrew had any comments – no. John thinks we need to align our list with the Comprehensive Plan. Per Ashley, the city is trying to align everything. Katherine thinks we need to look at the list individually. c. Lisa made the motion to have the work group to organize and submit our list of priorities and submit the list to Andrew who will pass it to the city. Each NRCC member will individually rank the list and submit it to Jean by Sunday May 08. Bill 2nd, Larry was absent, and Katherine abstained. Approved by the rest of the committee. d. ARPA funds can be considered for many uses since most of the rules have been lifted. Katherine read a list of many proposed infrastructure jobs that will help the city’s natural resources. Katherine moved the committee support the proposed work from the Feb 18th list, using ARPA funds. The projects improve water quality/sewage infrastructure. John 2nd- approved. Larry was absent. The city will be sending out more information and looking for feedback some the community on using the remaining ARPA funds. 7) Tree canopy increase. a. Jean thinks it would be a nice use to plant trees in the areas around the airport where houses had been removed to increase sound buffers. It would be a nice, diplomatic gesture for the Burlington Airport to allow this or to provide space for community gardens and fruit trees. Ashley suggested caution and finding out whom else is currently working/talking with airport officials, (the airport is currently looking for some re-zoning on some of the land to be able to use it). Coordinate with other city departments. 8) Art in the Park a. Jean is on the committee that installs pieces of art around the city. He inquired what the committee thought about Red Rocks and Wheeler. Lisa feels Red Rocks and not a good idea due to issues that happen there and is concerned pieces would be destroyed. Katherine & John also agreed natural areas may not be the best spots. Jean was thinking about a working piece. John suggested maybe something in stone. The city has an installation budget so send any thoughts or ideas to Jean. 9) Sponge Moth infestation of 2021 (Gypsy Moth) a. Ashley had communicated with city arborist Craig Lambert to see if there was a plan. There is no official plan for combatting a possible infestation. Infestations last year were sporadic around the state. Drew forwarded information that is on the internet. The moths tend to run in cycles and self-destroy themselves with a virus every 3 years; they disappear for about 10 years. Katherine had seen something that the state had a spraying program that they skipped a year due to the pandemic which may have led to last year’s issue. Drew added that trees are resilient and can survive. He feels it is important to educate the citizens of SB. He will compose something for The Other Paper. He will also pass information along to Andrew for Coralee to add to the city newsletter. 10) Members & Staff Reports a. Chair- none b. Staff- reference information from Ashley i. Permits still process for Red Rocks for work. Looking to hire 2 Park Rangers. Lisa asked about SBPD patrols- there are bike Patrol officers who will helping keep an eye on all the parks. The Wheeler conservation easement is still in process. John is pursuing legal action against Black Rock and their proposed development on land that had originally been part of Wheeler. The Home Stead is separate from Wheeler and the easement does not go to Park Rd. ii. The Land Trust Round Table Strategy Talk is still planned and John will be attending. The invasive plant removal day at the Good rich Property was a small group but went well. iii. More Weed Warrior events coming this month- sign up online. c. Work Group/Members Reports i. Larry has heard back from Marla and the Planning Dept is refocusing committee work as the new LDRs & PUDs are worked in. Our concerns may need to be refocused. Updates will be coming. ii. Climate Group- Reference the information Bill sent for our packet. They were discussing relationships between land and climate. Katherine says the relationship is important. Lisa added how climate is affected with the movement of land. The work the Open Space group is doing relevant. John asked if Bill sees any product from the group our committee would not support. Katherine’s encouragement to Bill is preserving land via conservation easements. 30/30 Concept The 30 x 30 Conservation Agenda calls on our nation to preserve 30% of the land and water mass of our nation by 2030. That’s to ensure we can meet the challenge of climate change and provide space for wildlife and communities to thrive. Club launches 30 x 30 to protect land and water | Sierra Club www.sierraclub.org/los-padres/blog/2020/10/club-launches-30-x-30-protect- lan… John will write a short statement reflecting our spirit in conjunction with Climate Committee. Larry motioned to do so, Bill 2nd- approved. iii Nothing new with the Land Trust Group iv Katherine- we are working on the inventory for the Open Space Plan. The work group is due to get together again. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS -bird feeders & Avian Bird Flu -railroad spraying. Adjourned 8:01 pm We expressed our huge thanks and good wishes as Ashley leaves the City of SB and our group for a new position with the City of Burlington. We learned much from her and will miss her. Our new liaison will be Andrew Bolduc