January 16, 2023 CWT Executive Board Meeting Minutes

Location:  CWC Headquarters (Arkville, NY)

Present:  Ric Coombe, Scott Grey, Edward Snow, Bud Gladstone, Winifred Zubin, Greg Vurckio, Will Outsen, Christina Viafore, Bill Federice, David Edinger

Others:  Jeff Baker,  Tim Cox, Jason Merwin,  Bruce Dolph, Mary Crisafulli, Heidi Emrich, Elizabeth DeFalco, Cher Woehl

1.  Call to Order:  Ric Coombe called the meeting to order at 6:17 pm.

2.  November 22,  2022 Meeting Minutes Approval:  Motion to approve the minutes made by Ed Snow and seconded by Bud Gladstone.  Motion carried.    

3. Reports:

a.  FAD Deliverables:  Jeff provided an update on the revised FAD, sharing that there have been significant revisions made to the FAD including a proposal to move away from the core Land Acquisition Program.   Jeff shared that DEP will continue working with the work-groups to redefine the LAP and what it should be.   DEC has indicated they will not expand the SAP until it receives the DEP report.  After discussion and much information sharing, CWT Resolution #1 of 2023, which supports the revisions to the FAD, was brought to the members for approval.   Bud Gladstone made the motion to approve CWT Resolution #1 of 2023, seconded by Bill Federice.  Motion was unanimously approved and carried. 

b.  Streamside Acquisition:  Nothing to report.

c.  Flood Commission Reports:   Nothing to report

d.  CWC Report:  Jason reported the CWC Annual Meeting will be on April 4, 2023.  He also shared with the members that CWC is working on the Storm Water study which will address the design, construction and maintenance of the Inflow and Infiltration systems.  One goal of CWC is to provide ownership of the I&I systems to the local communities rather than the NYC.   Tim talked briefly about septic design providing that it would be more efficient and feasible to have the contract construction handled through the Towns/Villages rather than the city.  Jeff suggested that CWC reach out to CWT to assist with the construction contract language when they get closer to developing this part of the study.

Jason updated members on CWC’s efforts to bring DEP employees onsite at the CWC headquarters.  These efforts have proved successful as DEP employed a new attorney who will reside at CWC Headquarters.  DEP has also established 13 new positions they are currently recruiting for that will also be located at CWC Headquarters.   Ric encouraged CWT members to be advocates to help DEP fill these positions.

e.  Below the Reservoirs –  nothing to report

4.   Ric updated the members on the 2022 Membership Dues received to date.   There are still Towns/Villages that have not submitted their dues payment.  He suggested that educating the Towns/Villages on what CWT does and the benefits of CWT may help keep the membership intact which supports the goal for full participation and unified strength.  He also suggested that any briefings be accomplished with support from CWC.   It was suggested that Cher issue reminders to those Towns/Villages that have not yet remitted their dues payment. 

5.  Warrants and Treasurer’s Report:   Bud reported that as of December 31, 2022, the checking account had $6,807.40 and the savings account had $148,834.88.  David Edinger made the motion to accept the Treasurer’s report, seconded by Bill Federice.  Report accepted.   Bud presented warrant #97 in the amount of $5,547.02 for payment of November-December legal fees and October-December administrative fees.  Greg Vurckio made a motion to pay warrant #97, seconded by Ed Snow.  Motion carried.

6.  Members agreed that there would be no meeting in February and the next meeting will be scheduled for March 20, 2023.

7.  Adjourn:  Motion to adjourn was made by Ed Snow, seconded by Greg Vurckio.   Motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 7:07 pm. 

Location:  CWC Headquarters (Arkville, NY)

Present:  Ric Coombe, David Kukle, Edward Snow, Bud Gladstone, Winifred Zubin, Greg Vurckio

Others:  Jeff Baker,  Jason Merwin, Nick Carbone,  Bruce Dolph, Michelle Yost, Mary Crisafulli, Cher Woehl

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1.  Call to Order:  Ric Coombe called the meeting to order at 6:18 pm.

2.  August 15, 2022, Meeting Minutes Approval: 
Motion to approve the minutes made by Ed Snow and seconded by David Kukle.  Motion carried.    

.

3. Reports:

a.  FAD Deliverables:  Jeff reported that there has been two negotiating sessions with NYC and they are looking at revisions to the land acquisition programs. With a focus on land acquisitions that are tied to flood mitigation and stream acquisition programs.  He reported that the next negotiating session will be in January 2023.  It is the intent to open this January meeting to CWT members, community leaders, DEC, DOH  and other environmental parties.   Jeff also shared that prior to the January meeting, the city attorney is planning on preparing a comprehensive explanation of where they are in this process to give everyone a better understanding.   All members agreed that this would be very beneficial.  Discussion then occurred on options for providing education to the watershed towns/villages collectively so that they have a better understanding of the importance of the watershed and the issues.  Communicating and educating will enable the towns/villages to assist with input on issue resolution and decisions that ultimately impact their areas.  As part of this, there needs to be a mechanism for ensuring ongoing communications and information sharing to all our watershed towns/villages. 

b.  Streamside Acquisition:  Jeff reported that work is being done on a streamside acquisition program that will be community driven.  

c.  Flood Commission Reports:   Nothing to report

d.  CWC Report:  Jason reported that things are going smoothly, and construction is slowing down for now.  Jason also reported that DOH is recommending that NYC does studies in upstate community to identify how the watershed impacts them.   They are looking for academic assistance on these studies.   Jason shared that it is still in the infant stages.  They are focusing on the scope and approach for the study.  Ric said they agreed to look at the original studies (from 15 years ago) as a “baseline” to study against.   Jason shared that CWC is looking at short term rentals and impacts in the septic program.    

e.  Below the Reservoirs –  nothing to report

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4. Warrants and Treasurer’s Report:   
Bud reported that as of October 31, 2022, the checking account had $8,623.51 and the savings account had $117,195.33.  Greg Vurckio made the motion to accept the Treasurer’s report, seconded by Ed Snow.  Report accepted.  
Bud presented warrant #96 in the amount of $6,819.12 for payment of August-October legal fees and July-September administrative fees.  David Kukle made a motion to pay warrant #96, seconded by Winifred Zubin.  Motion carried.

5.  Ric explained to members a request that came to CWT, via CWC, from a new homeowner wanting to resolve the issue of hooking up to the sewer system that was connected by previous owner in the past.   Ric did resolve the issue working with DEP and the Town.  However,  he pointed that in the future CWT will assist municipalities on issues and should not be in the business of providing help to individuals.  He will work with CWC on how to avoid this situation in the future.

6.   Ric presented the idea of organizing a facilitated discussion with CWT, CWC, DEC, DEP, etc. and all towns/villages/people across the counties west of the Hudson.  Purpose of this discussion would be to educate and communicate importance of the watershed, issues within the watershed, options for addressing issues, etc.  This would also promote the goal to have all towns/villages working together as a unified group and not as individuals.  Jeff suggested that this would be a great opportunity for addressing the Stream Management contracts that are coming up for renewal, providing the forum to look at these contracts together and not tackling them individually.  Members asked how we would facilitate notifying/inviting everyone.  One suggestion was to send invites to all town/villages and affected organizations and asking them to share with individuals that they deem would benefit from this.  Another suggestion was to ask CWT to handle the invites.   Discussions on this idea will continue.

7.  Members agreed that there would be no meeting in December and the next meeting will be scheduled for January 2023.

8.  Adjourn:  Motion to adjourn was made by Greg Vurckio, seconded by Ed Snow.   Motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 7:32 pm. 

Location:  CWC Headquarters (Arkville, NY)

Present:  Ric Coombe, David Kukle, David Edinger, Edward Snow, Bill Federice, Steve Walker, Will Outsen, Christina Viafore

Others:  Jeff Baker,  Jason Merwin, Tim Knox, Nick Carbone,  Bruce Dolph, Heidi Emrich, Michelle Yost, Mary Crisafulli, Cher Woehl

1.  Call to Order:  Ric Coombe called the meeting to order at 6:17 pm.

2.  June 20, 2022, Meeting Minutes Approval:  Motion to approve the minutes made by Ed Snow and seconded by Steve Walker.  Motion carried.    

3. Reports:

a.  FAD Deliverables:  Jeff reported that the comments on the FAD were submitted and there was overall support on the areas discussed.  Jeff also shared that discussions are continuing on the SAP/Land Acquisition Program with the smaller group and DEP, with the next meeting to be held in mid-October.  After that meeting, Jeff foresees opening the attendees to a broader group.    Heidi asked Jeff if there is a timeline available yet for the FAD changes.  Jeff shared that after the October meeting they hope to have a better sense of a timeline. 

Jeff reported that he will be submitting comments to DEC on the Part 360 Regulations which deals with the solid waste regulations and requirements.   The essence of these comments will be that there is no reason for heightened solid waste restrictions in the watersheds.

b.  Streamside Acquisition:  Nothing to report.

c.  Flood Commission Reports:  Nick reported that Jennifer Garigliano, from DEP, may be at the next meeting to discuss the tunnel closure and potential impacts.   

d.  CWC Report:  Jason reported everything is going very well with no major issues.  He will be having a meeting with NYC on the contracting issues but doesn’t anticipate any problems.   Michele asked how often they encounter errors on the septic system replacement estimates that result in additional costs to the project.  Jason shared that this is pretty much typical and that each discrepancy is looked at individual prior to approval. 

e.  Below the Reservoirs –  nothing to report

4. Warrants and Treasurer’s Report:   As Treasure Bud Gladstone was not in attendance at the meeting, Ric deputized David Kuckle as treasurer for this meeting.  David reported that as of July 31, 2022,
the checking account has $611.83 and
the savings account has $132,040.61. 
Steve Walker made the motion to accept the Treasurer’s report, seconded by Bill Federice.  Report accepted. 

David presented Warrant #95 in the amount of $6,991.50 for payment of
June/July legal fees;
April-June administrative fees;
and Dropbox subscription fee. 
Ed Snow made a motion to pay warrant #95, seconded by David Edinger.  Motion carried.

5.  Ric asked members if they agreed to cancelling the September meeting, reconvening in October as hopefully there will be more to report based on Jeff’s meetings.  Members agreed.  Therefore our next scheduled meeting will be October 17, 2022. 

6.  Adjourn:  Motion to adjourn was made by Steve Walker, seconded by Ed Snow.   Motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 6:50 pm. 

Location:  CWC Headquarters (Arkville, NY) and via ZOOM

Present:  In attendance at CWC: Ric Coombe, David Kukle, Edward Snow, Greg Vurckio, Steve Walker, Winifred Zubin. Attending remotely:  Bill Federice, Scott Grey

Others:  In attendance at CWC: Jeff Baker, Jason Merwin, Tim Knox Bruce Dolph, Michelle Yost, Cher Woehl. Attending remotely: Nick Carbone, Thomas Hoyt

1.  Call to Order:  Ric Coombe called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.

2.  May 16, 2022, Meeting Minutes Approval:  Motion to approve the minutes made by Ed Snow and seconded by Greg Vurkio.  Motion carried.    

3. Reports:

a.  FAD Deliverables:  Jeff provided an update on the continuing discussions with DEP on the significant revisions to the Land Acquisition Program.  He shared that there have been very productive meetings with Delaware and Greene Counties, including their Planning and Soil & Water organizations, where they have been identifying examples of the flood hazard and stream management projects that have successfully integrated with the Land Acquisition Program and that will work with FAD. 

Jeff shared that there would be another meeting with DEP in the upcoming weeks.  He anticipates in July there will be a meeting that will have much broader group in attendance.  All in all, the discussions have been very promising and positive and feedback from the city has been very supportive.   Jeff reminded everyone that CWT obtained approval to submit our FAD comments by July 1, 2022.  He shared that the CWC comments to the FAD are very good, and for the most part CWT is in support of them.

Jeff communicated to the members his outline for the CWT comments, which will focus on two primary areas:

• CWT’s support of the revisions to the water supply permits to comply with the Land Acquisition Program (LAP) and,
• CWT’s support on the majority of the CWC comments, especially those related to the issues of contracting including the “after the fact” audits, the ongoing requests for documentation, and the delays in releasing payments.  

Jeff also shared that he is proposing the need for a better mechanism for resolving contract issues, suggesting that DOH create a contract ombudsman in their office to assist with the contract issue resolution. 

Jeff is recommending the only recommendation that CWT not support on the CWC comments to the FAD revisions is CWC’s request to have DEC be named as the primacy agency for the City’s drinking water.  Jeff then provided an overview on the background surrounding who administers the Safe Water and Clean Water Acts for New York.   DEC administers the Clean Water Act which regulates what gets deposited in the rivers and streams.  DOH administers the Safe Water Act which regulates what comes out of our tap.  He stated that while the recommendation from CWC to put this under one agency was reasonable, and would be more efficient, it would require significant legislative changes which would take time to occur.   Tim (Knox) did clarify that CWC is recommending that primacy for the FAD be shared between DOH and DEC.  Tim acknowledged that CWC recognizes this is more a ‘long-term’ solution due to the legislative changes needed to make this happen.  Jason (Merwin) added that the CWC intent was to get this issue on the table to get the right parties thinking about it.  Ric asked Jeff to frame the CWT comment on this in a way that is reflects our understanding of the benefits to this proposal and that we recognize it is a long-term solution.  Ric also reiterated that we need to develop our relationships and communicate “our story” to the various Boards, the communities and the elected officials.  The upcoming meetings with the DEP Commissioner are the first step to achieving this. 

Jason shared that CWC has an upcoming meeting with the Commissioner and will be asking that they assign positions and staff to be housed in the vacant offices at the CWC building.  By having staff onsite, it would result in better communications and more efficient and effective discussions on issues and potential solutions.   Ric agreed, again stating that this is a partnership that must be built on trust.  Working together as a partnership is the key to moving forward.  

b.  Streamside Acquisition:  Ric addressed the comments and questions received by Steve (Walker) regarding the SAP.   Specifically, Steve had concerns on:

• Town & County infrastructure maintenance and improvement as well as expansion,
• Non-compliance with local land use laws (subdivision, etc.)
• Back door land acquisitions by DEP
• Some definitions/parameters need to be clarified with respect to potential acquirable properties

While most of these concerns have been addressed Steve still had questions regarding how DEP can enter into contracts without adhering to the town subdivision regulations.   Both Ric and Jeff indicated that while they haven’t seen a contract, they assume they get the town agreements before proceeding.  Ric stated that these subdivision issues should be managed at the local level, thereby becoming each individual town’s decisions.  If it’s okay with the town based on the contracts they have with DEP, then that may be a reason for the subdivision, clarifying that they would be looked at on a case-by-case basis.  Jeff reiterated that this supports the overall goal to narrow the acquisitions to what is necessary and beneficial to provide for water quality while maximizing the amount of land that is being developed.   Ric closed this discussion by acknowledging Steve’s concerns are all real issues that CWT needs to work on.

c.  Flood Commission Reports:  Nick (Carbone) reported that the tunnel closure will be delayed until next year. 

d.  CWC Report:  Jason reported that CWC has been primarily working on the comments to the FAD revisions and shared that he has received positive feedback from several entities.  He also reported that CWC will be providing a generalized letter to DEP regarding the evaluation of their contracts.  In the past, each contract had a separate evaluation completed on how DEP administered the contract.   This year, due to the FAD revisions and comments, CWC decided to provide a more generalized evaluation.

e.  Below the Reservoirs:  nothing to report

4.  Jeff  reported on the DEC proposed changes to the 360 Regulation that govern solid waste and solid waste management.   What will impact CWT is the restrictions on the use of various types of fill in the watershed, including how you can use concrete aggregate, brick fill, etc.  DEC is proposing severe restrictions in NYC watershed, making it like what they are doing in Nassau and Suffolk counties.  It appears these changes are coming from the Watershed Inspector General, not NYC or DOH.  Jeff will be working with Delaware County on the comments to these changes.  He shared that the “basic rule” is that there must be a scientific basis to put in a restriction that will restrict more.  If it is something that is warranted to maintain water quality for the city a compensation scheme needs to be worked out from the city as the general rule is we should not bare additional regulations that would not apply statewide solely for the benefit of the city receiving it’s FAD.  Jeff shared there will be virtual public hearing on July 19^th with comments due by July 25^th.   Nick raised the concern that this could have significant impact to composting in the watershed, with potential of closing sites.  There will be several restrictions on sites adjacent to the stream corridors.  Nick is scheduled to meet science consultants and will have more input on this soon.

5. Warrants and Treasurer’s Report:   As Treasure Bud Gladstone was not in attendance at the meeting, Ric deputized Greg Vurckio as treasurer for this meeting.  Greg reported that as of May 31, 2022, the checking account has $3,743.49 and the savings account has $131,997.93. 
Dave Kukle made motion to accept the Treasurer’s report, seconded by Bill Federice. 
Report accepted.  
Greg  presented warrant #94 in the amount of $3,132.08 for payment of May legal fees.  
Steve Walker made a motion to pay warrant #94, seconded by Ed Snow. 
Motion carried.

6.  Bill raised a concern regarding DEP contracts and use of local contractors.  Members discussed this concern and the overall bid process.  

7.  Adjourn:  Motion to adjourn was made by Greg Vurckio, seconded by Winifred Zubin.   Motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm.