Location:  CWC Headquarters (Arkville, NY)

Present:  Ric Coombe, David Kukle, Steve Walker, Bud Gladstone, Ed Snow, Glen Faulkner, Ritchie Gabriel, Jeff Gearhart, Bill Federice, David Edinger

Others:  Jeff Baker, Tim Cox, Jason Merwin, Jessica Fiedler, Michelle Yost, Nick Carbone, Bruce Dolph, Conesville Town Board members Frank Losito & Bill Amend, Mary Crisafulli, Elizabeth DeFalco, DEP Assistant Commissioner Shilo Williams, Cher Woehl

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

2.  November 18, 2024, Meeting Minutes Approval:  Motion to approve the minutes made by Bud Gladstone and seconded by Ed Snow. Motion carried.   

3.  Guest Speaker:   Ric introduced our guest speaker, DEP Assistant Commissioner Shilo Williams, to the board members and meeting attendees.  Asst. Commissioner Williams began by providing the members with information on her background, which included 20 years working on watershed protection in Sitka, Alaska.  She then proceeded to give updates on some of the DEP activities, including the status of the Delaware Aqueduct and tunnel repairs.  Asst. Commissioner Williams provided background on the Delaware Aqueduct project, which was out of service to support the tunnel repairs.  She shared that DEP had made the decision in early November to bring the aqueduct online again.  This decision was based on the extreme drought NYS was encountering.   Having the aqueduct closed was compounding the drought issues presented to the NYC water supply.  DEP is anticipating the tunnel repair project will resume in October 2025.  Asst. Commissioner also provided a brief update on the expansion of cellular coverage areas, a project still in the infancy stages, and DEP’s interest in using city owned land for solar farms.  After the updates, Asst. Commissioner Williams opened the floor to questions.  David Kukle asked if DEP will be working work with the communities on the cellular project.  He suggested possibly
establishing a sub-committee comprised of members from some of the towns   David Edinger agreed with this suggestion stating that many communities have issues with the current emergency communication systems and participation on this project would ensure these issues are addressed.  Asst. Commissioner Williams agreed that this was a great suggestion and would bring it forward for consideration. 

Ric closed the discussion by thanking Asst. Commissioner Williams for taking time from her busy schedule to attend our meeting.  Ric expressed his appreciation to Asst. Commissioner Williams for her willingness to work with CWT as we move forward.  This sentiment was echoed by Bud, on behalf of WAC, and Jason Merwin, on behalf of CWC.   Glen also expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Town of Middletown for Asst. Commissioner Williams and DEP’s positive cooperation on the potential land swap opportunity.  Asst. Commissioner Williams shared that land swaps are an exciting new ground for DEP, and she looks forward to evaluating these opportunities. 

4 & 5.  LAP/SAP Negotiations/Status of Amended City CE to State Updates:  Jeff gave an update on the negotiations, saying they are going very well.  At the last stakeholder meeting all major issues were resolved, and there are only a few minor issues with resolutions in the works.  Jeff shared that the attorneys are working on the drafts of all agreements.  On the solar issue, Jeff shared that they reached a majority agreement which included the 2–5-acre limitations and the required levels of approval within the towns before a project could begin.   

Jeff did state that there is one issue still to be resolved regarding the CSAP program and the city’s acquisition of land.  Language is being proposed that gives the towns/villages the ability to decide if they want to propose parcels in private hands that could be purchased by the city.  Jeff gave the background on the issue, sharing that Delaware County is opposed to this language.  There was much discussion on this amongst Board Members, with members representing Ulster County, Greene County and Sullivan County supporting the idea of allowing the towns/villages to be the decision makers on the potential sale of land to the city in priority areas 3 & 4.   Delaware County is opposed, and input from Schoharie has not been provided yet.   During the discussion, Ed asked if the language would apply to all counties across the board, or can it be drafted so that individual counties or municipalities can opt out of making the decisions on selling land to the city.  Jeff stated that this is a legal question to be discussed with the various attorneys.  Jeff stated that the language as proposed allows for maintaining control by the municipalities by giving them the choice to offer land for sale to the city.  He did share that if CWT wants to pursue language that provides for this decision on a county or a town basis he will follow that direction.  Ric shared that these type discussions, which address the pros and cons and where not everyone is in agreement,  are very beneficial to identifying a solution.  He asked that board members think about this more and at our January meeting we can work to produce options for Jeff to pursue.

6. CWC Report:  Jason shared that CWC is progressing well with the various contract amendments they are working on, including the Shokan Wastewater Project contract and the Public Education contract with the city.  He also said they are working on the renewal of the Local Consultation contract which provides funds to the towns to assist with review of their CCAP projects. 

Jason also shared that FEMA finally provided the funding to support elevating properties above the flood levels.  Two years ago CWC requested $1 million in funding to support working on 6 properties that were severely impacted by the floods.  FEMA is providing 90% of the $1 million with CWC providing the remainder.  Work will be done on these 6 properties at no cost to the homeowner.   Jason did want to reiterate that these funds are for those properties impacted during the major floods several years ago.  Jason shared that this was a unique situation as normally a non-profit organization (CWC) does not request funding support, but rather the request come directly from the towns/villages/counties.

7.  Warrants and Treasurer’s Report:  Bud reported that as of November 30, 2024, the checking account had $2,184.28, the savings account had $80,542.66 and the CD had $50,000.  Steve Walker made the motion to accept the Treasurer’s report, seconded by Glen Faulkner.  Report accepted.   Bud presented warrant #112 in the amount of $4,046.10 for payment of November legal fees and administrative support fees.  Ed Snow made the motion to pay warrant #112, seconded by Bill Federice.  Motion carried.   

8.  Other:  Bud raised an issue regarding DEP property where the streams are filled with downed trees and debris thus causing flooding.  He asked if there can be a mechanism and agreement with DEP put in place that will allow the municipalities to correct these problems in a reasonable timeframe.  Current process requires the municipality to send information to DEP describing the problem, and then wait until they have had a chance to review and evaluate it before rectifying the situation.  This often takes long periods of time before the problem is fixed.   Ric communicated that stewardship is important and there needs to be mechanisms in the watershed that will get the right people together in a timely manner to make the necessary decision that will resolve the problem.   He said we need to work with DEP on a way to get the key decision makers involved in a timely manner.  But he also cautioned that we need to be diligent on what situations would be considered emergencies that warrant an immediate decision and solution.   Jason shared that CWC has an emergency debris cleanup program that will assist with the cleanup of debris, noting that this program assists on emergency debris not debris that build up over a period of time. 

Ric acknowledged the guests from Conesville, Town Board members Frank Losito and Bill Amend,  and thanked them for attending the meeting.  Ric shared that CWT encourages and welcomes attendance from the towns and villages. 

9.  Adjourn:  Motion to adjourn was made by David Edinger,  seconded by Ed Snow.  Motion carried.  The meeting adjourned at 7:40 pm.