Location: CWC Headquarters (Arkville, NY)
Present: Ric Coombe, Scott Grey, David Kukle, Steve Walker, Bud Gladsone, Glen Faulkner, Will Outsen, Jeff Gearhart, Greg Vurckio, Bill Federice, David Edinger (via Zoom)
Others: Jeff Baker, Tim Cox, Jason Merwin, Jessica Fiedler, Nick Mammel, Michelle Yost, Nick Carbone, Joan Lawrence Bauer,
1. Call to Order: Ric called the meeting to order at 6:15 pm.
2. April 20, 2026, Meeting Minutes Approval: Motion to approve the minutes made by Greg Vurckio and seconded by Glen Faulkner. Motion carried.
3. Ric opened the meeting by asking Tim Cox to introduce our guest. Tim introduced Nick Mammel, his legal intern, who may be joining us in our future meetings.
4. 2027 FAD Revisions Process & Timelines: Jeff reported that the FAD revisions process is moving slowly. DOH has started the process of identifying what the various organizations want in the FAD, including the comments submitted by CWC and Delaware County.
5. Update of Side Agreement Implementation & Status of Amended City CE to State: Jeff reported that the implementation of the Side Agreements is also moving slowly. He shared that DEC believes the Water Withdrawal Permits need to be amended before they can take any action on the Conservation Easement amendments. Ric and Jeff met with DEC to discuss further, pointing out that this is not a correct assumption. DEC indicated they will keep CWT informed and will submit changes for our review.
Jeff shared that the Article 78 lawsuit filed by Riverkeeper against the City is still in process. There were settlement discussions between the City and Riverkeeper that were not successful resulting in the City proceeding with active litigation. While this does not have any practical impact on CWT, it may have a slight impact on the implementation of Conservation Easement amendments.
Before addressing the CWC report, Ric wanted to share information on a few items. The DEP White Papers have been released, and it seems the watershed complies with most items. The primary issue in the White Papers is the need to reduce the trihalomethane and disinfectant levels in the water supply.
Ric then commended Bill Federice for the great job he did at the 100th Celebration of the Catskill System held on May 29th. Ric shared that it was a successful event with good dialogue occurring between the organizations. Bill concurred, stating that as part of his presentation he spoke on how relationships have greatly improved over the past few years, attributing the CWT for much of this success.
Two final updates from Ric were that Paul Rush’s replacement has not been identified yet and that Shiloh Williams is attempting to move forward on the land swaps although it has been a slow process.
6. CWC Report: Jason began his report with an update on the land swaps. The towns/villages submitted 90 properties for land swap consideration. DEP identified 70 properties for land swap consideration. In comparing the two lists, only 11 properties were identified on both. CWC has reached out to the towns/villages to determine if they would consider any of the DEP identified properties as potential land swap candidates. Ric stated that the towns/villages need to review the lists and remove any that are not feasible. He shared that Neversink removed five from the list as they were not acceptable to the town. Jason reiterated to members that it is critical to review the list and identify what should remain and what needs to be removed.
Jason then shared that CWC met with DEP on their regulatory process. At this point there is minimal that DEP is willing to change in their process, however they did agree to CWC’s suggestion for more open communications, especially during the design review. On the Side Agreements implementation, Jason echoed Jeff in stating that it is progressing slowly. CWC indicated that the draft contracts are not as expected, and they anticipate a slow negotiating process.
CWC is currently working on the assessment of the DEP contract administration review, with their report almost completed. Jason proceeded to share with members the various issues and examples of where they feel DEP needs to improve their process. Ric emphasized that there is a need to elevate the issues but cautioned that the issues need to be prioritized. He further suggested it may be beneficial to move forward those issues that are practical and make practical sense, rather than inundate DEP with all the issues at once. This approach might go further with DEP in the long run.
Jason ended the CWC report sharing that they had a successful meeting with DOH on the suggested FAD revisions. He also said that the CWC annual meeting was a great success with approximately 130-140 people in attendance.
7. Warrants and Treasurer’s Report:
Bud reported that as of June 30, 2026,
the checking account was $6,269.15,
the savings account was $66,748.05 and
the CD was $54,450.86.
Glen Faulkner made the motion to accept the Treasurer’s report, seconded by Will Outsen. Report accepted.
Bud presented Warrant #125 in the amount of $5,514.50 for payment of the April, May and June legal and administrative support fees.
Steve Walker made the motion to pay Warrant #125, seconded by Bill Federice. Motion carried.
8. Other – Membership Dues Resolution: Ric recapped the goal of the membership committee, which was to reevaluate the membership dues and determine the best formula for computing dues owed as we move forward. In the April CWT meeting, the membership committee reported on their findings with the recommendation to reduce the town/village dues accordingly. Their report and recommendation were approved at that meeting, with Jeff tasked to draft the CWT resolution on this action. At today’s meeting, Jeff presented the resolution to the Board Members for review and approval. The motion was made by Bill Federice to adopt the resolution, seconded by Steve Walker. The resolution was adopted unanimously with nine (9) Board Members voting Aye, zero (0) Board Members voting Nay. Ric thanked the team, sharing everyone’s appreciation for the great job they did in this effort. David Kukle, chair of the membership dues committee, said he had a great team to work with and is proud of their results. Ric did share we do have some towns/villages that have already paid their dues based on last year’s amounts, thereby overpaying. We will give these towns/villages the option on how they want to handle their credit balance when we issue the membership dues letter in the fall.
Before adjourning, Jeff did share that the election nomination letters were sent out and nominations need to be returned to him by August 10th.
9. Adjourn: Motion to adjourn made by Greg Vurkio, seconded by Glen Faulkner. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm.
