Location:  CWC Headquarters (Arkville, NY)

Present:  Ric Coombe, Scott Grey, David Kukle, Steve Walker, Edward Snow, Bud Gladstone, Will Outsen, Christina Viafore, David Edinger, Greg Vurckio

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

1.  Call to Order:  Ric Coombe called the meeting to order at 6:15pm.

2.  May 15,  2023 Meeting Minutes Approval:  Motion to approve the minutes made by Ed Snow and seconded by Bud Gladstone.  Motion carried.    

3.  LAP/SAP Negotiations:  Jeff briefed members on the stakeholder meeting sharing that they were able to get universal agreement on the framework which stresses working together as a unified team. This approach was used by Greene County Soil & Water District and the Catskill Center with the goal of establishing a template on the process and how it works.  The exercise with Greene County will demonstrate how to involve towns from the beginning and throughout the process, with decisions made by the local municipalities.  This will be a “bottom up” process with collaborations by the agencies, the municipalities, and the landowner.   Ric suggested we continue as a group to look for more “real-life” examples, showing what works and what doesn’t.   

Jeff also shared that there were concerns at the stakeholder meeting regarding the core LAP and when will it be addressed.  Jeff stated that they will start dealing with this at the July meeting.   He also explained that the LAP Long-Term Acquisition Plan that was distributed to the members is a placeholder document required by the FAD, submitted by the city but subject to further negotiations.   Negotiations are still in progress and will continue until resolutions are agreed upon.  Jeff then gave an overview of the plan, including a brief history of the LAP program.  

4. Status of Amended City CE to State:  Jeff gave a status on the City Conservation Easement amendments, stating that they are awaiting the response from the State.  Nick Carbone shared a letter from DEP to the Town of Roxbury re: Turnaround Construction Request that was denied due to conservation easement restrictions.  A brief discussion of this letter followed.

5.  Exploring Opportunities for Increased Connections to City WWTPs:  Ric and Jason reported on the wastewater treatment facility meeting, sponsored by CWC.  The meeting was attended by CWC, CWT and various municipalities with city-owned wastewater treatment plants.   Ric, Jason and CWT Executive Board members that attended the meeting all agreed it was a great success.  It gave attendees the  opportunity to not only meet others, but exchange ideas and issues.    Margaretville provided input on the challenges they faced dealing with inflow and infiltration (I & I), and how they achieved a successful solution, which entailed hard work on the municipality’s part and holding the city accountable for their end.  Ric stated that the hope was to leave the meeting with a baseline, which would include information on current capacity  and potential growth, and then move forward from there.  He asked that all members reach out to the communities that weren’t in attendance at the meeting to gather more information.  These communities my not have issues but they have knowledge and information that is beneficial to the discussions.      

6. CWC Report:  Jason provided a brief report on the status of various projects in progress at CWC, including the septage feasibility study and the New Kingston and Shokan wastewater projects.  Jason also shared that to date 29 septics have been replaced.  

7.  Warrants and Treasurer’s Report:   Bud reported that as of May 31, 2023, the checking account had $8,902.64 and the savings account had $138,864.76.  Greg Vurckio made the motion to accept the Treasurer’s report, seconded by Ed Snow.  Report accepted.   Bud presented warrant #100 in the amount of $7,705.50 for payment of June legal fees.  Steve Walker made a motion to pay warrant #100, seconded by David Edinger.  Motion carried.

9.  Dues Report:  Ric shared that there are 5 towns/villages (Hamden, Hurley, Rochester, Shandaken and Village of Hunter) that still have outstanding dues for 2022.  Our goal is to keep these municipalities as CWT members as it will benefit everyone.  He asked board members to reach out to these municipalities and he will as well. 

10.  Adjourn:  Motion to adjourn was made by Ed Snow , seconded by Greg Vurckio.  Motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 6:59 pm.