Location:   CWC Headquarters

Present:     Ric Coombe, Greg Vurckio,  Bill Federice, Peter Friedel, Tom Hilson, Scott Gray,  

Others:       Jeff Baker, Tim Cox, Jason Merwin, Nick Carbone, Bruce Dolph, Cher Woehl Call To Order:   Ric Coombe called the meeting to order at 6:20 p.m.

1. Call To Order:   Ric Coombe called the meeting to order at 6:20 p.m.

2. Minutes Approval:   Motion to approve the August 16, 2021, minutes was made by Greg Vurckio and seconded by Peter Freidel.  Motion carried.

3. CWT Administrative Changes: Cher shared with everyone the contact information for CWT, noting that the information is located on the top of the meeting agenda.  Cher also confirmed with Tim that all CWC information will be mailed to the new email address.

4. Elections:    Ric stated that elections for CWT executive committee members needs to occur soon.  Jeff offered that elections should be held off until after the municipality elections.  Board members seemed to agree with this approach.  However it was emphasized that board members also need to find interested candidates from their areas, especially Delaware which is currently underrepresented.   Jeff reiterated the election process which is to (1) send notifications to the townships requesting nominations; (2) townships to provide their nominations to CWT; (3) ballots to be prepared based on nominations and mailed: and (4) each Town to vote for the number of candidates allowed for the township.  Jeff will begin the process by notifying all board members.   Ric set the goal to have the elections completed by the end of this year (2021).

5. September 10^th Quarterly Meeting Update:  Ric and Jason gave an update on the quarterly meeting, both agreeing that it was productive and a positive opportunity to move forward after the delays resulting from the COVID pandemic.  With the upcoming change in NYC administration all agreed the need that educating the new administration about CWC, CWT and the various programs is very important.  Ideas were discussed on ways to provide this education with all agreeing that CWC should be taking the lead on this effort.  CWT will be there to help CWC if they request our assistance.   Ric shared that in educating the new administration we don’t want to lose the history of the programs, but we also do not want to dwell on the past as it’s time to move forward.

All in all, those who attended the quarterly meeting acknowledged it was a good meeting overall, with both CWC and CWT asking for consistency.  Ric shared that the plan is to have everyone meet again after the new year once the elections are completed and any new members to the administration are in office.   He also suggested we need to plan to have the new administration here, in person, to show them what we do and the positive effects our programs have.

6. Reports:

a.  FAD deliverables:  No report

b.  Streamside Acquisition:  DEP is looking to roll out the Schoharie Basin pilot program to other counties.  Catskill Center is looking to move forward with the rollout using the land swap program options.  DEC is asking that the rollout not occur until there is a full understanding of what this program is, how it will be rolled out and how it impacts communities.  The program should not be imposed on towns, and they should be given the tools to help them with the rollout.  Board members agreed that the pilot program should not be rolled out until more details such as the easement language are clarified.  Ric said it is critical that CWC, CWT, etc. need to present as a unified front on these issues.  While we may not all agree, the West of the Hudson Watershed organizations and programs must work together to address all situations.  Jeff suggested meetings with Delaware County, Catskill Center and CWT to discuss further.  Ric also suggested that he and Jason get the organizations together to open communications and to remind everyone that we are all looking for the same outcomes.

c.  Flood Commission Reports:  No report

d. CWC Report:  Jason reported the septic program is still shut down to new applicants due to lack of funding. 

e.  Below the Reservoirs:  No report  

7. Warrant(s) and Treasurer Report: There is $2,824.44 in the checking account and $130,917.51 in the savings account.   Motion to accept the Treasurers report was made by Peter Friedel and seconded by Bill Federice.  Motion carried.

8. Other:  Bill spoke to the turbid water issues due to the extreme rainfall which has caused the raging waters.  He asked what can be done to help correct this.  DEP has been asked in the past to lower the reservoir levels.  When they comply it does help to mitigate this issue.  However, DEP may not always comply with these requests.  Ric suggested to have CWC and CWT further discuss water issues, like turbidity.  It was also suggested that we look at the Delaware Basin model for reservoir releases.  Jeff also recommended to Bill to review the Environment Impact Statement to determine if it contains any information on turbidity controls.   It was agreed that we need to work closer on solutions for alleviating this issue.  

Ric asked about the Letter of Agreement to the Philadelphia graduate student that has requested to review CWT records.  Jeff will be looking through the records first before releasing the letter and allowing the student to review the records. 

9. Adjourn:   Motion to adjourn meeting was made by Greg Vurckio and seconded by Peter Friedel.  Motion was carried and meeting adjourned at 7:33 pm.