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NAME'S MIKE SIEGEL.[ TOWN OF GREENBURGH CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL AGENDA MEETING TO BE HELD VIA ZOOM ENABLED VIDEO CONFERENCE THURSDAY, May 13, 2021 – 6:30 P.M. ]
MY WIFE AND I HAVE LIVED HERE FOR, UM, OVER 40 YEARS, ABOUT 42, 43 YEARS.UM, I, UM, UM, AM RETIRED, UM, A LAWYER IN A, FROM A LARGE FIRM IN, UH, NEW YORK CITY.
UM, AND, UM, FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS, UM, UH, FIVE YEARS BEFORE I RETIRED, AND FIVE YEARS AFTER I RETIRED, UH, I REPRESENTED THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE COMMISSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS.
UH, FOR, UM, UM, FOR ABOUT, FOR FIVE YEARS, I WAS CHAIR OF THE, UH, UM, UH, TOWN OF GREENBERG'S, BOARD OF ETHICS.
AND FOR THE LAST, UH, SIX OR SEVEN OR YEARS OR SO, UH, I'VE BEEN VICE CHAIR OF THE C A C.
UH, LIZ, YOU WANNA DO A QUICK BIO? WE'RE GONNA ALL GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER TODAY,
LIZ SILVERSTEIN, UH, I LIVE IN EDGEMONT.
I GUESS I'M NOT OFFICIALLY ON THE BOARD YET.
WAITING, WAITING FOR MY OFFICIAL ACCEPTANCE.
I AM VERY, UH, PASSIONATE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND NATIVE PLANTS, WHICH IS WHAT BROUGHT ME TO THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, VERY CONCERNED ABOUT UNINVASIVE PLANTS, VERY CONCERNED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE.
I'VE BEEN DOING A LOT TO EDUCATE MYSELF ABOUT BOTH OF THOSE TOPICS.
ACTUALLY JUST COMPLETED, UH, AL GORE'S CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT, WHICH WAS INCREDIBLY EYE-OPENING AND INTERESTING.
UH, NANCY, DO YOU WANNA DO A SURE.
WHAT IS AL GORE'S? WHAT IS GO REALITY PROJECT? DID YOU SAY? CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT ONE REALITY.
IT'S, YEAH, IT'S A WEEK LONG OF TRAINING BASED OFF OF HIS, UM, FILM.
THE, AN UNFORTUNATE, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, AND HE ACTUALLY DOES THE TRAINING.
AND THEY INCLUDE A LOT OF CLIMATE JUSTICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE WAS A BIG FOCUS OF THE WORK AS WELL, SO THAT WAS ALSO VERY INTERESTING.
WELL, IS IT AN ONLINE THING LIKE, LIKE WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, OR THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT VIRTUAL FOR YEARS? THEY, THEY, THEY, HE REALIZED IF HE WENT VIRTUAL HOWEVER MANY YEARS AGO, THAT THEN HE COULD TRAIN THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AT ONCE.
HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT MORE.
I, UH, I'VE LIVED IN EDGEMONT FOR, I GUESS PUSHING, PUSHING 30 YEARS WITH MY HUSBAND AND OUR THREE CHILDREN WHO ARE ALL GROWN AND GONE.
ONE IS MOVING US RIGHT NOW FROM DC WHICH IS GREAT.
UM, I'VE BEEN LOOKING INTO RECYCLING ISSUES BECAUSE I'VE, I'VE REALLY GOTTEN THE SENSE THAT NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING RECYCLING WISE, AND THERE'S A, A LOT OF DISHONESTY COMING FROM THE CORPORATIONS WHO DON'T, WHO WANT, WHO WANT US TO THINK THINGS ARE RECYCLED AND THEY'RE NOT.
AND, UM, I'VE JUST STUCK A BIG TOE INTO THE FOOD SCRAP RECYCLING, WHICH WAS, UM, WOW.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS DONE THAT.
UM, I ALSO, AS FAR AS, UH, NATIVE PLANTS GO, I THOUGHT I WAS DOING SOMETHING REALLY GREAT, YOU KNOW, NOT DOING LIKE A FERTILIZED GREEN LAWN AND LIKE, WHERE THEY WERE BARE SPOTS I WAS GONNA PUT IN CLOVER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, OTHER PARTS OF WORK, A MULTITUDE OF DIFFERENT PLANTS.
AND SO I WENT TO A LECTURE, A WOMAN WHO IS VERY MUCH INTO NATIVE PLANTS, AND I SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT, LIKE, I'M THINKING ABOUT NOT, SO SHE TOOK MY HEAD OFF AND IT WAS REALLY, SHE WASN'T VERY KIND ABOUT IT.
AND ANYWAY, I WAS PUT IN MY PLACE AND I DUNNO WHAT I'M GONNA DO WITH MY LAWN DOWN, BUT MY ATTITUDE, MY ATTITUDE IS IF IT'S GREEN, GREEN, NANCY, IF IT'S GREEN AND IT CAN BE MOWED, IT'S IN THE LORD
SO THIS WOMAN WAS VERY, VERY STRICT, AND I, I WAS VERY QUICK TO LEARN THAT.
SO, UM, SO I THINK THIS IS A WONDERFUL COMMITTEE.
I'M NOT ON IT YET EITHER OFFICIALLY, BUT I'M, WE'RE SORT OF, I SAY WE HAVE SOME FOLKS WHO ARE SORT OF WAITING IN THE WINGS, WHICH KIND OF DOING A LITTLE BIT OF A REORGANIZATION HERE.
THE TOWN HASN'T QUITE FIGURED OUT WHAT THE SETTLING IS ON THIS YET.
UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME BEFORE WE CAN HEAR YOU? YEAH, I'M ONE OF PEOPLE.
SO I'M ALSO ONE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE WINGS WAITING.
I'VE BEEN, UH, PENDING MEETINGS, BUT NOT AN OFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE CAC.
UM, I'M RETIRED, HAPPILY RETIRED, UH, FOR ABOUT A YEAR
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AND A HALF RIGHT NOW, HAVING SPENT 30 YEARS IN, UM, IN THE, UH, LEGAL FIELD, NOT AS AN ATTORNEY, BUT AS A BUSINESS.AND, UH, AND THEN THE, UH, SERVICE EVENT.
MY WIFE AND I HAVE LIVED IN, UH, DALE FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS.
UM, AND I HAVE AN INTEREST IN MAKING SURE THAT THE IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITY IS, UH, IS, UH, IS A HEALTHY ONE.
FOR THAT REASON, I WANT TO, UH, PARTICIPATE IN, UH, ADVISING THE BOARD OF, UH, TO MATTERS PUT FOR THE CAC.
UM, I'VE LEARNED SO MUCH ACTUALLY IN SUCH A SHORT TIME, NOT ONLY WITH THE ITEMS GOING ON IN THE LARGER COMMUNITY, BUT, UH, UM, EVEN IN MY OWN GARDENING HABITS, UH, I, I DISMISSED MY, UH, MY LAWN GUY BECAUSE, WELL, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF REASONS, WELL, ONE OF WHICH IS THEY REFUSE TO, UH, TO DITCHES, UH, AN EXPERIMENT WITH, UH, NO LEAF BLOWER SITUATION, NOT EVEN AS, AS AN EXPERIMENT.
AND I THOUGHT THERE'S SOME MERIT TO THAT.
UH, WE HAVE A LITTLE OVER AN ACRE IN THE BACK OF THE YARD.
I HAVE RECENTLY DECIDED NOT TO CUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
I'VE TURNED IT INTO A MEADOW FRONT OF THE HOUSE, GOT AS MUCH CURB APPEAL AS POSSIBLE, BUT IT, ITS, IT'S BEEN SUCH A DELIGHT TO SEE ALL THE, THE BEES ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST COMING TO THE YARD.
UM, SO I'M ANXIOUS, UH, NOT ANXIOUS.
I'M, I'M FORWARD TO MAKING, UH, UH, SOME CONTRIBUTION TO CAC.
I DUNNO WHAT MY CAPACITY, HOW SUCCESSFUL I'LL BE.
UH, AND I DON'T DUNNO WHAT ELSE TO SAY ABOUT MYSELF, BUT IT'S VERY NICE TO MEET YOU ALL.
SIR, CAN I ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, GEORGE.
LAUREN, YOU WANNA SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF? THIS IS A JUST WAY FOR US ALL TO KIND OF GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER, SO.
I'M LAUREN POWELL AND I GREW UP HERE IN GREENBURG, IN THE FAIRVIEW AREA PARKWAY GARDENS.
MY FAMILY'S BEEN HERE FOR ABOUT 52 YEARS.
AND, UM, I COME FROM A VERY BACKGROUND.
I'VE WORKED IN CORPORATE AMERICA.
I ALSO SPENT 20 PLUS YEARS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND EVENT PLANNING, UH MM-HMM.
I STILL DO A LITTLE BIT OF PR PROJECTS ON THE SIDE.
I'M ALSO CURRENTLY A REAL ESTATE AGENT HERE IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
AND I'VE JUST BEEN LOOKING FOR OTHER THINGS TO GET INVOLVED.
AND COMMUNITY SERVICE HAS ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING THAT I'VE, I'VE DONE THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.
AND I RECOGNIZE THAT WITH, THE LAST THING I DID WAS I WAS ON THE BOARD OF THE LOIS BRONZE CHILDREN'S CENTER, BUT I REALLY HAVEN'T DONE A WHOLE LOT IN THE COMMUNITY SINCE THEN.
SO I WAS LOOKING FOR A WAY TO RE-EMBRACE THE COMMUNITY AND BECOME INVOLVED.
I'VE BEEN DOING IT IN MY LOCAL, YOU KNOW, IN MY GROUP WITH MY NEIGHBORS, BUT I'D LIKE TO DO SOMETHING MORE ON A LARGER SCALE WITH THE TOWN.
UH, I'M A LIFELONG RESIDENT OF THIS AREA.
UM, I GREW UP IN NORTH WHITE PLAIN BEFORE COLLEGE, AND I WOULD ALL AROUND WESTCHESTER, AND I'VE BEEN IN GREENBURG FOR A LONG TIME.
NORTH WHITE, PLAIN TO GREENBERG ARE VERY CLOSE.
SO I KNEW ALL ABOUT GREENBERG AS I WAS GROWING UP, SINCE I HAVE PLENTY OF FAMILY HERE.
UM, I'M A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER, DON'T EVER PLAN ON RETIRING.
UH, I'M GONNA FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE GORDON PARKS RULE.
UH, KEEP TAKING PICTURE TILL YOU DROP, YOU KNOW, AND THAT MADE THEM LAST TO 90 SOMETHING YEARS OLD, SO IT WORKED.
I PHOTOGRAPH PEOPLE PRETTY MUCH.
I'VE WORKED WITH EVERYBODY FROM THE CLINTON, UH, RONALD REAGAN, MY FIRST CAMPAIGN WITH MARIO CUOMO
AND THEN I ENDED UP WITH THE PRESIDENT, GOVERNOR.
UH, AND I'VE WORKED WITH MANY CONGRESS PEOPLE.
I STILL WORKED WITH SOME OF THEM.
UM, WHAT ELSE? UH, I LOVE NATURE.
UH, I'M NOT HAPPY WITH THE IMBALANCE.
UH, I HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE PASSION OF IT, BUT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING.
AND, UH, LIKE LAUREN WAS SAYING, SOMETIMES YOU GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'RE LIKE, OKAY, I WANT TO GET INVOLVED WITH PEOPLE WHO THINK LIKE ME.
EVEN IF I CAN CONTRIBUTE JUST A LITTLE BIT, UH, THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO DO.
UH, MY NEIGHBORHOOD, I DON'T PLAN ON LEAVING, BUT I SEE A LOT OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE NOT ONLY CHANGED, BUT MAYBE ENHANCED AS I WALKED THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT PARTS.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT I'VE SEEN WHEN I TRAVELED.
I'VE, MY KIDS AND I HAVE TRAVELED ALL OVER EUROPE.
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MARRIED LATE AND BETTER.UH, SO WE DID A LOT OF TRAVELING IN EUROPE IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, AND I SEE WE'RE BEHIND HERE AND THERE'S NO REASON TO BE BEHIND HERE IN THE ENVIRONMENT.
UH, I SAID, YOU KNOW, IF I CAN HELP A LITTLE BIT, THAT'S WHAT I'M HERE FOR.
AND I JUST REALIZED WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE ON THIS, THIS ZOOM MEETING, AND I JUST ASSUME EVERYONE KNOWS ALL ABOUT THEM BECAUSE WE SEE THEM ALL THE TIME.
AND THAT'S AARON AND KEN JONES.
SO KEN, I'M SURE HE WOULD, KNOWS, KNOWS YOUR NAME, BUT MAYBE YOU WANNA JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND JOIN IN THE, UH, ROUND ROBIN OF TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF JUST A LITTLE.
UM, I'M KEN JONES, UH, COUNCILMAN FROM THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
I'M IN THE SECOND YEAR OF MY THIRD TERM.
UM, I AM, UH, NEIGHBORS WITH LAUREN IN THE PARKWAY GARDENS, UH, SUBDIVISION OF THE FAIRVIEW SECTION OF TOWN.
UM, MY FAMILY HAS LIVED IN GREENBURG, UH, SINCE 1929.
UM, I, UM, UH, I AM, UM, I TOO, UH, HAVE, UH, ABOUT AN ACRE AND A HALF AROUND MY HOUSE.
AND, UM, AT ONE POINT THE GARDENS WERE, UH, SHOWCASE WORTHY, YOU KNOW, UM, EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT.
UM, AND, UM, AS THE GENERATION, I'M THIRD GENERATION TO LIVE IN THE HOUSE.
AND AS THE GENERATIONS WENT ON, THEY BECAME MORE AND MORE NATURAL, AND MY FAMILY BECAME MORE AND MORE, UH, IN LINE WITH A MORE NATURAL WAY OF GARDENING.
UM, AND I REALIZE NOW THAT SO MANY OF THE SPECIES THAT WERE IN THE YARD THAT WERE PERFECT BEFORE, UM, ARE NOT NATIVE SPECIES.
THEY'RE SPECIES THAT ARE COMMONLY PLANTED IN A LOT OF GARDENS AROUND TOWN, UH, UH, EXPERTLY MANICURED AND SCULPTED.
AND IT'S NOT REALLY GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
UM, SO NOW I SORT OF HAVE CHANGED MY FRAME OF REFERENCE.
AND I, UH, I, I DON'T HAVE A LAWNMOWER.
TERRY AND I OFTEN TALK ABOUT GETTING OUT IN THE GARDEN AND RAKING.
UM, I, I LIKE THE WAY MY, MY, MY, THE YARD AROUND MY HOUSE LOOKS KIND OF LIKE A MEADOW, LIKE GEORGE WAS SAYING, ALL THE, YOU KNOW, WILD FLOWERS.
AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY MORE BIRDS AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANIMALS THAN WHEN WE USE THE CHEMICALS TO MAKE THE LAWN GREEN AND, AND KEEP IT LOOKING LIKE A GOLF COURSE.
UM, SO IT'S A MUCH MORE INTERACTIVE TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT I WANTED TO BE LIAISON TO THE C A C, UM, IS I SEE, UH, THE GOOD WORK THAT THEY DO.
AND I REALLY WANTED TO BE A PART OF, OF, OF HELPING THAT HAPPEN, UH, A ACROSS THE TOWN AND, AND, AND TOWNLINE.
I'M THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION.
UM, C, D AND C FOR SHORT, AS WELL AS PLANNING AND ZONING.
SO, UH, OUR OFFICE DEALS WITH, WITH PLANNING AND ZONING.
I STARTED IN 1999 AS AN INTERN IN THE SAME OFFICE.
AND, UH, I'VE WORKED MY WAY UP THE LADDER.
I'VE, I'M DIRECT SUPPORT STAFF TO THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL AND THE PLANNING BOARD.
I'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW.
ALSO, A CERTIFIED ARBORIST AND A CERTIFIED WETLANDS DELINEATOR.
UM, I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT.
WE'VE WORKED ON SOME GREAT THINGS OVER THE YEARS, UH, TOGETHER, C A C AND, AND MY OFFICE.
UM, I JUST JOINED MY LANDSCAPING COMMITTEE.
MY WIFE AND THREE CHILDREN JUST JOINED MY LANDSCAPING COMMITTEE, AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET BLOWERS KNOCKED OUT OF THE DEVELOPMENT
AND, UH, WE'RE ALSO PROMOTING NATIVE PLANT INSTALLATIONS AS WELL.
'CAUSE UM, YOU KNOW, YEAH, YOU SEE IT AROUND AND, AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT JUST, CERTAIN PLANT SPECIES GET POPULAR IN THE TRADE AND THEN THAT'S WHAT'S POPULAR AT THE NURSERIES OR THE HOME DEPOTS OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
BUT TYPICALLY THEY'RE NOT NATIVE SPECIES AND IT'S IN FACT, HARD TO GET STRAIGHT NATIVE SPECIES.
UM, I ACTUALLY BECAME AWARE OF A SMALL OUTFIT IN CROTON RECENTLY CALLED WILD GARDENS.
IT JUST REALLY OPENED UP TO SELL STRAIGHT NATIVE SPECIES TO THE PUBLIC.
THEY GROW EVERYTHING FROM SEED.
AND I WENT UP THERE A COUPLE OF WEEKENDS AGO AND PURCHASED A FEW PLANTS.
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SOME, UM, NATIVE MINT.'CAUSE NOT ALL MINTS ARE NATIVE.
AND AS WELL AS, UH, SOME SWITCHGRASS, WHICH IS A NATIVE GRASS.
AND I HAVE OTHER NATIVES AROUND IN MY LITTLE GARDEN AREA.
AND, UH, I, I LIKE THE WORK THAT THE CAC C'S DONE, AND I THINK WE'VE WORKED WELL TOGETHER OVER THE YEARS.
NEVER, NEVER TOO MUCH FROM YOU, AARON.
YOU KNOW THAT, UM, AS YOU GET ALONG, YOU'LL FIND OUT THAT AARON JUST HAS BEEN SO, SUCH A WONDERFUL RESOURCE TO THE TOWN.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE ENVIRONMENT.
WELL, I THINK IT'S NICE ALWAYS TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER THIS WAY.
SO WE'RE SORT OF NOW, UH, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, AT LEAST AT, UH, ON A NAME BASIS WITH EACH OTHER.
AND I THINK NOW WE CAN KIND OF GO INTO THE MEETING.
'CAUSE I KNOW SHARON HAS, UM, WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE A LITTLE BIT EARLY AND WE DO NEED TO HAVE AN OFFICIAL QUORUM.
SO THE ONE PIECE OF BUSINESS THAT I WANTED TO DO WHILE SHARON WAS STILL AVAILABLE.
SHARON, ARE YOU STILL ANDY? HI.
I, I WANTED TO PASS THE, UH, THE, THE MINUTES OF OUR LAST MEETING.
I HAD ASKED, AND I THINK, UH, DONNA RECIRCULATED AND I HAD A MINOR CHANGE ON THE DESCRIPTION OF THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE VILLAGE OF TARRYTOWN VIS-A-VIS THE POLLINATOR GARDEN.
IT WAS THAT VILLAGE OF TARRYTOWN SAID THEY WOULDN'T FINANCE A POLLINATOR GARDEN, WHEREAS THE TOWN OF GREENBURG, PAUL HAD GOTTEN, UM, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO, TO COMMIT TO DOING A POLLINATOR GARDEN AT ANTHONY VETERAN AND ALSO TO DO A MEADOW AT.
SO THAT WAS THE ONLY CHANGE I KNEW IN THE MINUTES.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE CHANGES TO THE MINUTES? IF NOT, CAN I HAVE A MOTION FROM, FROM THE DULY ELECTED AND APPROVED AND OFFICIAL MEMBERS? OH, SO MOVED.
SHARON, MARGARET MOVES SHARON.
MIKE, ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF THE MINUTES? THANK YOU.
OKAY, SO OUR MINUTES ARE OFFICIALLY PASSED AND SHARON, I UNDERSTAND.
DO YOU WANT ME TO DO IT? YES, PLEASE.
DONNA'S NOT, I'M GONNA HANG AROUND A FEW MINUTES MORE.
AND WHENEVER YOU FEEL YOU HAVE TO LEAVE, SHARON, I UNDERSTAND.
TERRY, DO WE HAVE MORE, ANY MORE OFFICIAL BUSINESS WE HAVE TO DO? 'CAUSE THERE ARE A COUPLE OTHER THINGS WE SHOULD DO, UH, WITH, UH, LAUREN AND STEVE ON, AND DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE NEED TO BE SURE TO HAVE A QUORUM FOR? NO, WHY? OKAY, GO AHEAD.
UH, I THINK THAT WHAT WE SHOULD DO IS GIVE A LITTLE A DESCRIPTION, WHICH, AND WE'VE DONE THIS FOR, AS YOU KNOW, WHEN, UH, NANCY AND, AND LIZ AND GEORGE, UH, UM, OR FIRST CAME TO THEIR FIRST MEETING.
BUT CAC, UNLESS YOU DID IT BEFORE I GOT ON, OF WHAT THE CAC C DOES, BECAUSE THIS WON'T BE AT VERY TYPICAL MEETING.
UM, AND, UM, UM, STEVE LAUREN, WE MEET, UH, WE ARE AN OFFICIAL BOARD OF THE TOWN, AND WE ARE, UH, OPERATING UNDER CHAPTER FIVE 20 OF THE TOWN CODE.
IF YOU GO ON THE TOWN WEBSITE, UM, ON THE LEFT HAND MARGIN, AND I THINK IT'S IN GREEN, YOU CAN SEE TOWN CODE AND YOU TAP ON IT.
AND IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET SOMETHING CALLED CODE OF ORDINANCES, GOD KNOWS WHY IT'S LABELED THAT.
AND, UM, UH, CHAPTER FIVE 20, UH, WE, UH, OUR MANDATE IS TO ADVISE, UH, ON, UM, UH, ON ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS AS THEY AFFECT THE TOWN AND THE TOWN'S RESIDENTS.
UM, WE MEET TWICE A MONTH, UH, THE SECOND AND FOURTH THURSDAYS OF THE MONTH, EXCEPT WE DON'T MEET IN AUGUST.
AND IN NOVEMBER WE ONLY MEET ONCE BECAUSE OF THANKSGIVING.
AND IN DECEMBER WE ONLY MEET ONCE BECAUSE OF, UM, OF, UH, OF, SO, UH, SO NOVEMBER WE ONLY MEET THE, THE FIR THE, THE EARLY THURSDAY.
'CAUSE THE LATE THURSDAY CONFLICTS WITH, UH, THANKSGIVING AND IN DECEMBER, THE EARLY DECEMBER, THURSDAY BECAUSE, UH, CHRISTMAS, UH, BECAUSE THE, THE LATE THURSDAY WOULD CONFLICT ON OR AROUND CHRISTMAS.
SO, UM, AND WE DON'T MEET IN AUGUST.
THERE ARE ABOUT 20 MEETINGS, UM, UH, A MONTH.
AND UNDER NEW YORK STATE LAW, NEW YORK STATE LAW IS THAT
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CERTAIN QUORUM REQUIREMENTS, UM, WHICH IS A MAJORITY OF THE TOTAL BOARD.SO, UM, IT'S, IT, SO IT IT, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, NO MEMBER CAN MAKE EVERY MEETING, OF COURSE, BUT THE MEMBERS GENERALLY FEEL THEY CAN MAKE THE, UH, SECOND AND FOURTH THURSDAYS OF A MONTH MEETINGS.
UH, BECAUSE, UH, IF WE DON'T HAVE A QUORUM, WE CAN'T LEGALLY ACT.
UM, NOW WHAT WE DO IS WE DO PRIMARILY THREE THINGS.
ONE IS UNDER THE TOWN CODE, THERE ARE CERTAIN APPLICATIONS THAT ARE MADE TO THE TOWN THAT INVOLVE DISTURBANCES OF, UM, WETLANDS OR WATERCOURSE OR THEIR BUFFERS, WETLANDS AND WATERCOURSE UNDER THE TOWN CODE HAVE A HUNDRED FOOT BUFFERS.
AND ANYTHING THAT IS A DISTURBANCE OF THE WETLAND PER SE, OR THE, OR WATERCOURSE PER SE, OR THE BUFFERS OF A WETLAND OR WATERCOURSE, UM, UH, WE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, UH, ON IT TO, UM, THE, UM, UM, UH, PLANNING BOARD WHO IS THE ULTIMATE
AND IN DOING THAT, WE CONSULT WITH, UH, WITH DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SCHMIDT AND LOOK TO AARON FOR ADVICE, UH, ON, ON THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.
AND, UH, WE, UM, UM, SO THAT'S ONE THING WE DO.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO BE SURE WE HAVE A QUORUM FOR BECAUSE, UH, OTHERWISE WE CAN'T OFFICIALLY MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION.
THE SECOND THING WE DO IS ENVIRONMENTALLY RELATED PROJECTS THAT COME TO US, EITHER OF OUR OWN VOLITION, UH, UM, OR FROM THE TOWN BOARD.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, WE RECENTLY WORKED WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHMIDT ON, UH, PASSING A NEW TREE LAW, WHICH IS, UH, DESIGNED AROUND CORE CONCEPT OF, IT DOES NOT RESTRICT, UH, PEOPLE FROM, UM, UM, TAKING DOWN TREES.
BUT IF THEY TAKE DOWN TREES, UH, THEN THEY HAVE TO PLANT REPLANT TREES.
UH, A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF WHICH OF NATIVES, UM, UM, WITH AN ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE EQUAL TO 90% OF WHAT THEY TAKE DOWN.
AND ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE BEING MEASURED IN TERMS OF REMOVAL OF, UH, C O TWO AND PARTICULATES FROM THE AIR.
AND ALSO MEASURED IN TERMS OF STORM WATER, UH, ARREST, UH, THE AMOUNT OF STORM WATER THAT IT, IT, IT ABSORBS.
UM, UH, BECAUSE THAT IMPACTS, UH, BOTH, UH, NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES AND, AND PUBLIC LANDS SUCH AS PUBLIC SIDEWALKS AND PUBLIC STREETS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING, UM, WE WORKED ON THAT FOR A LONG TIME.
WE'VE RECENTLY WORKING ON A LAW REGULATING THE USE OF BLOWERS, UH, BECAUSE THE BLOWERS, UH, HAVE A NUMBER OF IMPACTS ENVIRONMENTALLY.
THEY, UM, UM, THEY THROW, UM, AIRBORNE POLLUTANTS INTO THE AIR, WHICH ARE HARMFUL TO HUMAN HEALTH.
UM, THEY, UH, CREATE NOISE LEVELS THAT ARE IN EXCESS OF WHAT IS CONSIDERED BY THE, UH, U S E P A AND THE WORLD HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS AS, AS SAFE LEVELS.
AND THEY ALSO DESTROY THE SOILS, THE, UM, UM, THE WIND FORCE OF MOST OF ALMOST ALL OF TODAY'S, UH, UH, BLOWERS, WHETHER THEY BE, UH, ELECTRIC OR GAS, UH, OR CATEGORY OR, OR, OR HURRICANE FORCE, UH, HURRICANE FORCE, UH, WIND BLOWERS, WHICH ARE DIRECTED TOWARDS THE GROUND.
AND THAT OBVIOUSLY DISTURBS THE NORMAL LU CYCLE OF, UH, OF SOIL AND THE REGENERATION, UH, OF THE SOIL.
THERE HAVE BEEN RECENT PROPOSALS TO PUT TO STORE ENERGY IN BATTERIES IN GREENBURG AND SOMETHING CALLED BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE FACILITIES.
UM, ONE IS BEING PROPOSED AT THE NORWOOD COUNTRY CLUB, AND A COUPLE HAVE BEEN TALKED ABOUT, BUT HAVEN'T BEEN FORMALLY PROPOSED.
THERE'S A COUPLE SHOPPING CENTERS ON CENTRAL AVENUE.
UH, THESE THINGS HAVE ISSUES OF SAFETY, UH, BECAUSE OF SOMETHING CALLED THESE, THESE THINGS ARE STORED IN LITHIUM ION BATTERIES.
AND, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME HORROR STORIES OF, OF, UM, UH, RUNAWAY THERMAL FIRES ONCE, IF THESE THINGS CATCH ON FIRE, YOU CAN'T PUT 'EM OUT.
UH, THEY JUST HAVE TO BURN THEMSELVES OUT.
AND IT TAKES ABOUT 3000 GALLONS IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE A TESLA CAR, TESLA SAYS IF ONE OF THE LITTLE CARS IS ALL OF THE BATTERY CARS, IT TAKES 3000 GALLONS OF WATER IN ABOUT 24 HOURS FOR IT TO BURN OUT.
UM, AND THERE'S THE ISSUE OF WHERE THE FUMES ESCAPE FROM THIS
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AND THE IMPACT OF, UM, OF, UH, UH, OF THESE THERMAL, UM, POSITION.AND, AND WE, SO THAT'S THE TYPE OF THINGS WE DO.
AND THEN WE DO OTHER THINGS LIKE, UH, UH, LIZ AND NANCY HAVE BROUGHT TO US SEVERAL IDEAS.
AND EVEN THOUGH LIZ IS NOT A MEMBER YET, SHE'S, UH, UH, BEEN INVOLVED IN THE PROGRAM THAT, UM, UH, WITH, UH, GETTING PEOPLE IN GREENBURG TO SIGN UP WITH CONED TO GET, UH, NOTIFICATIONS WHEN THERE IS GONNA BE POWER SHORTAGES SO THEY CAN CUT BACK ON THEIR, UM, UH, ELECTRIC USE AND THEY GET SOME, UH, AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS, UH, CON IS NOT JUST HANDING OUT MONEY IN, IN ORDER TO MEET THE PEAK DEMANDS, THEY HAVE TO PUT, THEY HAVE TO BRING ONLINE SOME VERY OLD UNITS CALLED PEAKING UNITS, P E A K A AND G.
AND THESE PEAKING UNITS ARE, UM, ARE, ARE VERY EXPENSIVE TO BRING BACK ONLINE.
AND THEY'VE BEEN DESCRIBED AS MAKING FOSSIL FUEL, UH, LOOK CLEAN.
UH, THEY ARE VERY HIGH POLLUTANT 'CAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE MODERN SCRUBBERS 'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT USED ALL THE TIME.
SO CONNIE IS GIVING PEOPLE MONEY BACK TO CUT BACK ON THEIR ELECTRICAL USE.
UH, SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO BRING PEAKING UNITS ONLINE.
AND SO THAT'S AN A TYPE OF THING WE DO.
UH, WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO GET INVOLVED, WE ARE INVOLVED IN, UH, IN UM, RE IN, IN A COMMITTEE THAT'S RECOMMENDING TO THE TOWN BOARD WHAT WOULD BE THE ACCEPTABLE SITES AND THE SAFETY STANDARDS.
UM, AND, UM, YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DECOMMISSIONING COST OF, OF THESE BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE FACILITIES.
'CAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IF THE COMPANY THAT HAS 'EM GOES OUTTA BUSINESS AND YOU'RE LEFT THERE WITH THIS THING, UH, WHICH, UH, IS FULL OF ELECTRICITY AND, UH, JUST KILLS PEOPLE.
AND, YOU KNOW, BEING SURE THERE'S SOME KIND OF FUNDS THAT YOU CAN DECOMMISSION SAFELY AND DISPOSE OF, UH, THESE BATTERIES, UH, PROPERLY.
UM, AND WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA GET INTO THE ISSUE NEXT OF, SO WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE THE TYPE OF LOCATIONS AND THE, UM, UM, STANDARDS FOR SOLAR FARMS? SO, SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE DO.
THERE ARE THINGS WE, WE DON'T DO.
ONE OF THE THINGS IS WE DON'T DO IS WE DON'T GET INVOLVED IN POLITICS.
UM, WE, UH, ANOTHER THING THAT WE, WE JUST DO ENVIRONMENTAL THINGS.
UM, ANOTHER THING THAT WE DON'T DO IS, UM, WE DON'T GO TO SUPERMARKETS AND, UH, HAND OUT FLYER.
UH, THERE ARE LOTS OF GROUPS THAT DO THAT, AND THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD.
BUT, BUT WE, OUR, OUR MISSION IS TO ADVISE THE TOWN, THE TOWN BOARD, THE PLANNING BOARD, AND TO WORK WITH, UH, UH, UH, THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER THAT'S IN CHARGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
UM, WE, UM, WE DON'T GET INVOLVED, MOSTLY DON'T GET INVOLVED IN WORLDWIDE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.
UH, WE PRETTY MUCH NOT, I MEAN, LIKE WHAT LIZ BROUGHT WITH REGARD TO, UH, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, THE USE OF, YOU KNOW, THE HEAVY USE OF ELECTRICITY, UM, YOU KNOW, DOES HAVE A WORLDWIDE IMPACT.
BUT WE MOSTLY ARE FOCUSED ON HOW IT AFFECTS, UM, UH, THE TOWN BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT THE STATUTE SAYS, FIVE 20 AS IT AFFECTS THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AND ITS RESIDENTS.
SO THAT IS PRIMARILY, YOU KNOW, OUR FOCUS.
AND THE REASON I SAY THIS IS WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE THAT HAVE COME AND SAID, OH, WE, WE WANTED TO JOIN THE C A C 'CAUSE WE WANTED THIS GROUP TO, UH, GO TO STOP AND SHOP AND HAND OUT FLYERS.
UH, THERE HAVE BEEN PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN COMING THAT HAVE COME FROM TIME TO TIME.
THEY SAID, WE WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN SAVING THE WHALES OR SOMETHING.
WELL, WE DON'T, DON'T HAVE ANY WHALES IN GREENBERG.
UM, SO, UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, ON A, YOU KNOW, 20,000 FOOT LEVEL, WHAT WE DO AND WHAT WE DON'T DO, UM, AND THEN ASK, UH, UH, LAUREN AND, UH, STEVE, UH, I ASK AND APPRECIATE, ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU WANT AND THERE'S NO QUESTIONS THAT ARE NOT APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE THE QUESTION, IT IS AN APPROPRIATE QUESTION.
AND LET US SEE IF WE CAN TRY TO HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH YOU TO BE SURE WE'VE ANSWERED, UH, YOUR QUESTION.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT NATIVE SPECIES AND I CAN DO OF COURSE, MY OWN RESEARCH, BUT DO WE HAVE A LIST OR INFORMATION ANYWHERE WHERE I CAN FIND THAT? AARON, YOU WANNA ANSWER THAT ONE? AARON DOES, YES.
SO WE HAVE, UM, A TOWN'S OFFICIAL REPLACEMENT PLANT LIST THAT WAS CREATED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NEW TREE LAW THAT I BELIEVE MIKE MENTIONED EARLIER.
[00:30:01]
MM-HMM.UH, THEY ARE PREDOMINANTLY NATIVE SPECIES.
THERE IS A COLUMN WITHIN THAT CHART.
IT'S A VERY DETAILED SPREADSHEET THAT LISTS WHETHER OR NOT THE PLANT IS NATIVE.
SO I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
IN ADDITION, LAUREN, THERE'S A BOOK PUT OUT BY THE BROOKLYN, BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN, AND IT'S CALLED, WHAT'S IT CALLED? UH, NATIVE ALTERNATIVES.
AND IT, AND IT GOES THROUGH A LOT OF ORNAMENTALS THAT ARE USED IN THIS AREA, AND IT THEN GIVES YOU A PICTURE OF THAT AND THEN A PICTURE OF
AND, AND IT'S A RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE BOOK.
IT'S ABOUT 10 BUCKS OR SOMETHING, AARON, I DON'T REMEMBER AROUND THAT.
THE, THE COUNTY HAS A SHORT LIST.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY HAS A SHORT LIST OF, UH, NATIVE PLANT SPECIES AS WELL.
I WANT TO SAY IT'S PROBABLY GOT ABOUT 25 TREES ON IT, AND MAYBE A DOZEN OR SO SHRUBS, SOME GRASS IS THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT, THAT YOU CAN LOOK UP ONLINE.
UM, LAUREN, LET, I CAN EMAIL IT TO YOU AS WELL.
WHAT YOU SAID IS, YOU WERE SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD, UH, LOOK UP THINGS, UH, DO YOU DO WHEN WE ISSUE REPORTS, LIKE ON THE TREE LAW, ON THE BLOWER OFF, UM, LIKE ON THESE BATTERY FACILITIES MM-HMM.
AND FOR EXAMPLE, PART OF OUR RESEARCH, UM, WHEN ON, ON THE BLOWER LAW, WE CONSULTED WITH DR.
WHO IS A HARVARD EDUCATED, UH, UH, PHYSICIAN THAT, UH, IS, UH, ALSO, UH, IN ADDITION TO HARVARD EDUCATED PHYSICIAN.
HE'S A PROFESSOR AT THE HOFS SCHOOL OF, UM, OF, OF MEDICINE.
AND HE SPECIALIZES IN ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE DO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.
WE CONSULTED, UM, THE NATIONAL CA, THE WHAT'S PUT OUT BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, UH, THE E P A, UM, UH, THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, UH, THE AMERICAN CANCER UH ASSOCIATION, THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DEVELOPED, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ISSUES, THE, THE HEALTH ISSUES, THE, THE IMPACTS, UH, UH, OF, UM, UH, UH, OF THE USE OF BLOWERS, BOTH GAS AND ELECTRIC.
AND WE ALSO HAD A MEMBER OF THE C A C THAT DID THIS, THAT LOOKED AT 306 BLOWERS THAT ARE ON THE LOCAL MARKET AND FOUND THAT OF 306 BLOWERS ON THE LOCAL MARKET.
UM, ALL BUT FIVE HAD DECIMAL LEVELS IN EXCESS OF WHAT'S ALLOWED UNDER THE TOWN CODE.
TOWN CODE ALLOWS UNDER THE NOISE ORDINANCES 55, UM, UH, DECIMALS OF, OF NOISE, WHICH IS KIND OF LIKE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW, MAYBE A LITTLE LOUDER.
IT'S A RELATIVELY NORMAL CONVERSATION.
UM, AND UM, UM, OUT OF 306, THERE WERE ONLY FIVE THAT MEET THAT STANDARD BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING AROUND SAYING, OH, WELL, HELL, WHY DON'T WE JUST BAN GAS BLOWERS AND, AND NOT ELECTRIC BLOWERS? 'CAUSE ELECTRIC BLOWERS DON'T MAKE AS MUCH NOISE.
AND WHILE THAT MAY HAVE BEEN 2 25 YEARS AGO WHEN, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, ELECTRIC BLOWERS WITH LONG CORDS ON IT, IT AIN'T TRUE TODAY.
SO THAT'S A LONG WAY OF GETTING TO THE QUESTION, ARE YOU AVAILABLE TO DO RESEARCH FROM TIME TO TIME AS MOST OF THE MEMBERS OF THE C A C DO? MM-HMM.
AND I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THE INTEREST THERE.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, JUST TO PICK UP ON WHAT MIKE AS GIVING US A GOOD, GOOD OVERVIEW OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF THINGS WE DO, I, I WOULD ADD TWO THINGS TO WHAT MIKE SAID.
OCCASIONALLY WHEN WE HAVE A BIG PROJECT, TWO THINGS HAPPEN.
WE DO A LOT OF EMAIL EXCHANGE IN TERMS OF WRITING DOCUMENTS WHERE WE EDIT BACK AND FORTH AMONG OURSELVES, WHICH IS, WHICH IS I THINK A TYPICAL PRACTICE NOWADAYS OF ANY COMMITTEE.
AND ONCE IN A RARE WHILE, WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD SITUATIONS WHERE WE'VE HAD EXTRA MEETINGS, WHICH WE NOTICED BECAUSE WE HAD TO GET SOMETHING DONE AND WE NEEDED
[00:35:01]
TO VOTE ON IT.THE OTHER THING THAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT, AND YOU PROBABLY WOULD REALIZE THIS, IS THAT WHENEVER WE DO THINGS, BECAUSE WHEN WE DEAL WITH THE ENVIRONMENT, IT GETS EMOTIONAL, IS THAT, UM, WE ALWAYS OPERATE BASED ON LAW.
AND IT ISN'T JUST THE LAW THAT GOVERNS US, IT'S THE LAW THAT GOVERNS A PROPERTY.
BECAUSE VERY OFTEN WE WILL GET NEIGHBORS WHO ARE OUTRAGED THAT SOMETHING'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
AND WHAT THE PERSON WHO IS DO HAS AN APPLICATION IN, THEY ARE DOING IT WITHIN THE LAW AT THEIR PROPERTY, THEY'RE ALLOWED TO DO THAT ON THEIR PROPERTY.
AND WE DON'T OVERRIDE THE LAW.
IT'S LIKE WE MAY TRY AND HELP TO SEE IF WE CAN MITIGATE IT SO IT'S MORE ACCEPTABLE TO THE NEIGHBORS.
BUT IF SOMEONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DO SOMETHING LEGALLY, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO IT.
AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO ADVOCATE, UH, ON A PARTICULAR PROJECT AGAINST WHAT IS LEGALLY CORRECT.
WE MIGHT COME AWAY FROM THAT PROJECT AND ADDRESS SOMETHING TO THE TOWN SAYING PERHAPS SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE CHANGED.
BUT WE ARE CONTROLLED BY LORE, NOT BY EMOTION, WHICH IS A A, YOU KNOW, AND SOMETIMES FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO APPROACH THE ENVIRONMENT, THAT'S A LITTLE OFFPUT FOR THEM.
THAT'S A GENERAL, THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE COME IN AND THEY THINK WE'RE GOING TO FIX SOMETHING FOR THEM THEY DON'T LIKE.
AND IT'S LIKE, GUESS WHAT? UM, THE FACT THAT YOUR, YOUR, YOUR NEIGHBOR CUT DOWN THE BORDER TREES THAT YOU ALWAYS, THE BORDER BUSHES THAT YOU THOUGHT WERE WONDERFUL, THEY WERE HIS BUSHES ON HIS PROPERTY AND HE HAD THE RIGHT TO TAKE THEM DOWN.
AND IF YOU REALLY FEEL THAT BAD ABOUT IT, YOU CAN ALWAYS CLEAN SOME BUSHES ON YOUR PROPERTY TO MAKE A SCREENING.
SO, SO THAT'S, I THINK THE ONE WE MOST OFTEN SEE COMING IN HERE.
MARGARET, I, I, CAN I ADD A COUPLE THINGS? SURE.
EVERYTHING YOU SAID, I THINK IT'S ALL CLEAR AND TRUE.
UM, WHAT I WOULD SAY TO YOU ALL IS THAT WHAT I LEARNED, UM, AT THE OUTSET WAS, YOU KNOW, YOU MAY BE ANTI-DEVELOPMENT AND YOU MAY NOT WANT ANYTHING TO BE DEVELOPED.
AND WE CAN'T STOP DEVELOPMENT.
AND IT'S A BIG DEAL MAKING IT BETTER.
IT MAKES YOU FEEL REALLY GOOD THAT YOU SAID, HEY, CAN YOU MOVE THAT DRIVEWAY AND SAVE THAT OAK TREE? AND YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME YOU DRIVE BY THAT PROPERTY, YOU'RE LIKE, HEY, THERE'S THAT OAK TREE, YOU KNOW, ONE TREE AT A TIME.
YOU COULD JUST MAKE IT BETTER.
UM, I THINK THE C A C IS VERY WELL REGARDED IN GREENBERG, WELL RESPECTED.
UM, WE ARE OFTEN CALLED UPON, IN FACT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID A COMP PLAN.
TERRY WORKED ON THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR, UM, AND THE C A C WAS THERE IN THE LAST HOURS OF PUTTING THAT PLAN TOGETHER.
AND WE HAD, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE THINGS WE HAD TO GET DONE AND MAYBE WE GOT 60% OF 'EM IN, BUT WE GOT 'EM IN AND WE WERE CALLED TO THE TABLE.
AND THAT IS NOT TYPICAL OF CACS ARE TYPICALLY JUST, YOU KNOW, THIS KIND OF FRINGE GROUP ON THE SIDE.
BUT THAT IS NOT US BECAUSE WE DEAL IN FACTS, WE DEAL IN SCIENCE AND, AND, UH, WE STICK TO IT.
THAT'S A, IT'S A GREAT FORMULA AND PEOPLE RESPECT US FOR THAT.
INTO THE QUESTION I WAS RAISED, AND THIS IS REALLY FOR BOTH LAUREN AND STEVE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE ACTUALLY WERE THERE AT THE END OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, THE 2016 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
WE DIDN'T GET EVERYTHING WE THOUGHT WE, WE WANTED TO GET, BUT WE GOT A SIGNIFICANT AND MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON WHERE THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN NOW READS.
BUT IT IS BASED ON LAW AND IT IS BASED ON SCIENCE.
AND THAT STUFF DOESN'T COME OUT OF THE THIN AIR.
IT ONLY, OKAY, MIKE, I THINK, I THINK WE'VE ADDRESSED THAT.
I'D LIKE TO GET, SPEND A LITTLE TIME ON THE, UM, THINGS ON THE AGENDA.
'CAUSE I THINK THEY'VE GIVEN
WE DON'T KNOW IF LAUREN HAS ANY OTHER QUESTIONS WE HAVEN'T HEARD FROM STEVE.
WELL, QUESTIONS YES, BUT I THINK WE'VE BEEN DOING ALL THE TALKING LATELY, SO LET'S SEE IF THERE'S SOME QUESTIONS THERE.
STEVE, DO YOU HAVE ONE? I HAVE, UM, ONE QUICK QUESTION, UH, WITH THE COUNCIL.
UH, I'M VERY INTERESTED, ESPECIALLY IN THE NATIVE SPECIES AND WHAT AARON WAS SAYING, BUT I'D ALSO LIKE TO SEE A BRIDGE WITH THE EDUCATION SIDE WHERE, UM, THE, THE KIDS I'VE BEEN, UH, PRESIDENT IN A P T A AND I DEAL A LOT WITH IT.
AND I FIND WE HAVE A VOID OF THE EDUCATION FACTOR
[00:40:02]
ABOUT CONSERVATION.AND I THINK THE KIDS, WHEN THEY HEAR CONSERVATION, THEY HEAR RECYCLE, UH, THEY HEAR SOLAR.
AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NATIVE SPECIES, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LEAF BLOWERS, ALL THESE THINGS INCORPORATE, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE SOME SORT OF BRIDGE WITH THE, UH, THE EDUCATION, THE, THE, THE SCHOOLS OF GREENBURG BOTH UNINCORPORATED AND INCORPORATED SO THAT THE, THE COUNSELOR CAN REACH OUT THERE TOO.
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING, BUT ALSO MAYBE I WOULD EVEN LOVE TO SEE ONE OR TWO KIDS FROM THE HIGH SCHOOLS INVOLVED WITH THE COUNSELOR HERE.
I MEAN, I DUNNO IF IT'S POSSIBLE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I LOVE THE WHOLE IDEA OF THE NAVY SPECIES.
I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HEARING ABOUT THAT.
I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO GET YOU TWO THINGS.
WE DO ACTUALLY HAVE A, A A STUDENT WHO, WHO COMES TO MEETINGS.
UH, AND, UH, I, BUT SHE'S BEEN HAVING CONFLICTS WITH HER, UH, WRESTLING I THINK.
SO WE, SHE'S BEEN WITH US TONIGHT.
THE OTHER THING I WANNA GO TO STEVE, SOMETHING YOU MENTIONED IS THAT WE ONLY DEAL WITH UNINCORPORATED GREENBERG UN WE WITH THE VILLAGES.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING I DIDN'T, JUST BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT THAT TO GO BY.
'CAUSE THAT, THAT IS AN IMPORTANT THING TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT IT'S, IT'S THAT, THAT GREAT DIVIDE THAT WE HAVE.
AND WE'RE SUCH A PECULIAR TOWN 'CAUSE WE'RE SO LARGE, OUR VILLAGES ARE SO LARGE AND UNINCORPORATED IS SO LARGE AND YET MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SAY UNINCORPORATED GREENBURG, THAT JUST SOUNDS SO, I DON'T KNOW, LAME.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT YOU OFF.
STEVE LAUREN DO Y'ALL HAVE, BECAUSE THIS, IT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD TO HE DISCUSS YOUR QUESTIONS.
IF NOT, I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THE AGENDA.
'CAUSE I THINK THE AGENDA, JUST EVEN TOUCHING BRIEFLY ON SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE ONGOING ONES GIVES YOU AN INSIGHT INTO WHAT WE DO.
THE TREE REMOVAL PERMITS, I'VE BEEN RECEIVING THEM FROM SPEND WHO NOW IS ASSISTING AS AN ASSISTANT FORESTRY OFFICER THERE, UH, WE HAD A BIG CHANGE IN THE TREE LAW THAT NOW AND WHEN SOMEONE TAKES DOWN A TREE, THEY HAVE TO REPLACE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF WHAT THAT TREE WAS DOING IN TERMS OF WATER RETENTION AND CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTERED.
AND WORKING WITH AARON, THAT WAS A BIG WIN.
I WOULD POINT OUT TO YOU THAT IT TOOK 20 YEARS.
WE STARTED IN 2002 TO ASK TO CHANGE THE TREE LAW AND IT TOOK THAT LONG.
WE HAD A LAW THAT ONLY AFFECTED PROPERTIES OVER ONE ACRE, IN A SENSE MADE IT A NON-LAW BECAUSE WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT 5% OF THE PROPERTIES ARE OVER AN ACRE OR LARGER.
UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS, I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH AARON BEFORE TONIGHT'S MEETING WAS THAT, UM, WE CHANGED THE PERMITS HAVEN'T BEEN COMING IN WITH ALL THE BACKGROUND MATERIALS, SO HE IS GOING TO START TO SUPPLY THEM.
BUT
WE DON'T HAVE ANY TONIGHT, BUT WE PROBABLY WILL HAVE ONE FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
I THINK AARON, AND YOU'LL SEE HOW THAT GOES.
AND WE HAVE A LOT OF OUTGO ONGOING ITEMS. AND YOU'LL SEE THE FIRST ONE IS ELMWOOD AND THAT'S THE OLD ELMWOOD GOLF COURSE.
AND THERE'S AN APPLICATION IN FOR A VERY LARGE PROJECT THERE.
UM, AND WE'VE DONE A GREAT DEAL OF RESEARCH AND COMMENTING ON THAT PROJECT, UH, BECAUSE THE APPLICANT WANTS TO GREATLY INCREASE THE DENSITY ON THAT PROPERTY, WHICH THEN AFFECTS THE TRAFFIC AND ALSO THE, THE NATURE OF THE AREA.
UM, WESTCHESTER COUNTY'S PLANNING BOARD HAS COME OUT AND SAID THAT THEY DID NOT THINK THERE SHOULD BE A ZONING CHANGE.
THE C A C HAS COME OUT AND SAID, WE DO NOT THINK THERE SHOULD BE A ZONING CHANGE TO CHANGE THE DENSITY AS YOU INCREASE THE DENSITY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
IT JUST CHANGES THE NATURE OF THE COMMUNITY WE HAVE.
AND UM, THE PLANNING FOR WESTCHESTER COUNTY THAT'S BEEN DONE GOING BACK TO THE NINETIES, IS TO SAY, PUT THE DENSITY NEAR THE MAIN ARTERIALS ONE 19 CENTRAL AVENUE.
THE FURTHER AWAY YOU COME FROM THOSE ROADS, THE LESS DENSE IT SHOULD BE.
UH, AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD TO SEE SKIES, UM, BECAUSE WE FEEL THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS A SPILLOVER EFFECT, NOT JUST FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IMMEDIATELY NEXT TO THOSE PROPERTIES, BUT FOR EVERYBODY ELSE.
IT HAS TO DO WITH WHEN YOU HAVE THE LARGER PROPERTIES AND THEY'RE NOT AS DENSE.
[00:45:01]
WE HAVE THE TREE COVER.THE TREE COVER PROVIDES CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF THE AIR QUALITY AND THE AIR QUALITY FOR THE CHILDREN IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S SOMETHING WHERE, ON THAT ONE, WE'VE WORKED VERY HARD TO POINT OUT THAT THE APPLICANT REALLY HASN'T ADDRESSED WHY HE CAN'T DEVELOP THIS PROPERTY AS, AS IT IS ZONED AND WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF WHAT HE IS PROPOSING WITH THIS HUGE INCREASE IN DENSITY.
THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY ADVANTAGE TO THE TOWN, BUT A GREAT DEAL OF ADVANTAGE TO THE APPLICANT TO MAKE MONEY.
SO IT IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ZONING IN PLACE IN THE, AND I GUESS I PERSONALLY, UM, FEEL THAT WHEN YOU ATTACK YOUR ZONING WITHOUT ANY RATIONALE FOR ATTACKING IT, IT'S JUST THE, THE SLIPPERY SLOPE WHERE THE ZONING KEEPS GOING AWAY AND THAT AFFECTS EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THE ZONING IS THERE FOR A REASON TO TRY AND HAVE A BALANCE OF WHERE WE HAVE MORE BUILT UP AREAS AND OUR, OUR COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES THAT WHEN YOU LEAVE THE COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES THAT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, UM, CAN GO TO A HOME AND NOT HAVE THE KINDS OF IMPACTS OF CARS AND THINGS THAT THEY HAVE RIGHT ON THE MAIN ARTERIAL.
SO THAT'S WHY
SO IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND EMAILING ME, I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH GARRETT IN THE MORNING.
GARRETT DUANE'S OUR COMMISSIONER, PLANNING AND ZONING JUST FOR THE FOLKS THAT DON'T KNOW.
AND, UM, HE'S OVERSEEING THAT PROJECT WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.
SO I'M HAPPY TO REACH OUT TO HIM TOMORROW AND, AND, AND REPORT BACK.
HEY MIKE, YOU WANNA SHOOT THAT ONE? 'CAUSE I TRIED GARRETT A WHILE AGO AND WE DIDN'T GET ANYTHING.
SO MAYBE IF IT COMES FROM, YOU'LL
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANTED TO DO, AARON, IS THIS, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE APPLICANT IS HAVING, AND THIS IS FINE INPUT AND PERHAPS SIGNIFICANT INPUT WITH THE TOWN'S CONSULTANT.
UM, WE WANT TO BE SURE HOWEVER, THAT THE CONCERNS, UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS THAT GOT RAISED BY US AND OTHERS, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE AN EQUAL KIND OF INPUT INTO THE TOWN'S CONSULTANT.
FOR EXAMPLE, I, I I, I, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, WE, TERRY AND I MET WITH JERRY BYRNE AND JERRY POINTED OUT THAT THE OBLIGATION TO GIVE LAND IS ABSOLUTE.
AND, UH, IF THERE'S A SUBDIVISION AND THE ALTERNATIVE OF GIVING MONEY INSTEAD OF LAND IS TOTALLY DISCRETIONARY.
ONE STATUTE SAYS TOTALLY DISCRETIONARY 100% WITH THE TOWN BOARD, THE APPLICANT CANNOT DECIDE TO GIVE MONEY INSTEAD OF LAND.
THE OBLIGATION IS TO GIVE LAND.
AND THE MONEY, AND THE MONEY IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE TOWN BOARD COULD, COULD ACCEPT OR NOT.
SO THEREFORE, THIS WHOLE CHART, WHICH HAD ALL THOSE ALTERNATIVES AND WHERE THE TOWN ONLY GOT LAND, IF THE APPLICANT GOT THE DENSITY HE WANTED, IS ALL BASED ON AN INCORRECT PREMISE.
AND IT WON'T MOVE THE BALL FORWARD TO HAVE THAT CHART, YOU KNOW, REGURGITATED WITH A, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, FUSSING HERE AND HERE, SUPERFICIAL, FUSSING.
'CAUSE IT'S GOT A MAJOR LEGAL FLAW IN IT.
UH, AND, UH, LAUREN AND STEVE, JERRY, JERRY BURN IS A, IS OUR VERY, VERY HIGHLY RESPECTED, UH, PARKS COMMISSIONER.
UM, AND, UM, JERRY'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, THEY HAVE TO GIVE LAND AND IT'S ONLY IF THE TOWN BOARD WERE TO TAKE, UH, MONEY.
SO, BUT THE CHART IS BASED ON WHY, WHY IS THAT, MIKE? WHY IS IT ABSOLUTE? WHY? BECAUSE THAT'S THE LAW SAYS IT, IT CAME, IT CAME DOWN, CAME DOWN ON MOUNT SINAI.
THAT'S WHAT THE LAW
IT'S IN THE SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS, WHICH I SEE IN NUTSHELL STATE THAT A DEVELOPER SHALL, THEY CAN'T BUY OUT STUFF, ALL RIGHT? THEY SHALL DONATE LAND THAT'S SUITABLE FOR PARKLAND.
[00:50:01]
OKAY.HOWEVER, IF THE LAND, EITHER IF A, THEY DON'T HAVE EXCESS LAND OR B THE LAND ISN'T SUITABLE, THE TOWN MAY ACCEPT MONEY IN LIEU.
SO MAY MAY AND SHALL TWO DIFFERENT WORDS.
THE CHART IS CONSTRUCTED ON, WE ONLY GET LAND, WHICH JERRY WANTS US TO BE PLAYING FIELDS QUITE UNDERSTANDABLY.
UM, WE ONLY GET LAND IF THE DEVELOPER GETS TO INCREASE DENSITY BY 45%.
AND THAT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST DEAD WRONG.
AND THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING WE WANT TO DISCUSS.
IT WON'T MOVE THE BALL FORWARD FOR EITHER DEVELOPER OR FOR THE TOWN.
IF THE CHART ISN'T BASED ON, ON WHAT THE LAW SAYS, WE'RE JUST GONNA, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST GONNA A HUGE FIGHT AND NO ONE'S GONNA GET, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPER'S NOT GONNA GET IT, WHAT IT'S GOING.
SO THAT, THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING WE WANT TO DISCUSS WITH.
AND WE WANT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMENTS THAT I WANNA DISCUSS EVERY LITTLE SINGLE COMMENT, BUT THERE'S PROBABLY THREE OR FOUR MEGA CONCEPTS WE'D LIKE TO BE SURE THAT WE DISCUSS WITH THE TOWNS CONSULTANT BEFORE THE E I S IS FINALIZED.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE JUST FIGURING OUT WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE TIMING IS AND YEAH, LIZ UNDERSTAND.
ONE, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT AN E I S IS.
AND THE OTHER QUESTION IS, IS THERE A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF LAND THAT THIS LAW APPLIES TO? YEAH.
ALMOST EVERY, ALMOST ANYTHING YOU DO FOR THE LAST 45 YEARS IS A LAW CALLED C R SS E Q R, STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, QUALITY RIVER VIEW.
OKAY? IT'S ABOUT 45 YEARS OLD.
AND BASICALLY IF YOU GET IN YOUR CAR AND YOU GO TO THE SUPERMARKET, IT'S TECHNICALLY SUBJECT TO S Q L, YOU ARE AFFECTING THE ENVIRONMENT.
ALMOST ANYTHING YOU DO AFFECTS THE ENVIRONMENT AND IT'S SUBJECT TO STATE MANDATED REVIEW.
NOW, UM, THERE ARE A LIST OF ABOUT 50 THINGS THAT HOWEVER, ARE EXEMPTED AND THEY'RE CALLED TYPE TWO ACTIONS.
AND THEN THERE'S ABOUT 30 OR 35 THINGS THAT REQUIRE REVIEW MANDATORILY, AND THEY'RE CALLED TYPE ONE ACTIONS.
AND THEN THERE'S EVERYTHING ELSE THAT NO ONE EL NO ONE COULD THINK ABOUT 45 YEARS AGO, WHICH ARE CALLED UNLISTED ACTIONS.
AND THEY MAY OR MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO REVIEW.
NOW, WHEN YOU DO ANY MAJOR PROJECT IN THE TOWN, WHETHER IT'S PUTTING ENERGY INTO BATTERIES OR WHETHER AND CHANGING, CHANGING THE ZONING CODES, THAT YOU CAN DO THAT, OR IT'S CHANGING THE ZONING CODE SO THAT YOU CAN INCREASE DENSITY BY 45 UH, PERCENT.
THAT IS TYPE ONE ACTIONS AND IT'S MANDATORILY SUBJECT TO REVIEW.
THE REVIEW IS DONE LIZ, BY BY DOCUMENTS CALLED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS.
AND THERE'S A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, WHICH WAS DONE AND WHICH HAD THIS FLOOR AND MANY OTHER QUESTIONABLE ISSUES LIKE IT, YOU KNOW, IT HAD THE FLOOR IN IT THAT WE WILL ONLY GIVE YOU LAND IF I CAN GET MY 45% INCREASE IN DENSITY.
UM, AND A BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS.
A LOT OF PEOPLE MAKE COMMENTS ON IT.
AND THE FINAL E I S IS SUPPOSED TO ADDRESS THESE.
WE JUST, UH, THE C A C HAS SAID WE DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH, THERE MUST BE WHAT, 50 COMMENTS OR SOMETHING HERE ON IT.
UH, WE DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THEM WITH OUR CONSULTANT THAT'S CONSULTED, THE TOWNS ENGAGED, UH, COMPANIES CALLED CHAZEN, C H A Z.
AND I THINK, UM, BUT THERE ARE THREE OR FOUR LIKE THIS BIG ONE THAT WE WANT TO GO THROUGH AND BE SURE IT IS ADDRESSED IN THE FINAL, WHICH THEN GETS PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC AND THE TOWN BOARD.
SO IN THE EVENT, UH, YOU HAVE A SITUATION WHERE THE TOWN IS ACCEPTING MONEY IN LIEU OF, UH, PROPERTY FOR USES PARKS.
IS THE TOWN OBLIGATED TO USE THAT MONEY TO FIND PARK, UH, SPACE ELSEWHERE? OR CAN THE TOWN DO WHATEVER IT CHOOSES WITH THAT MONEY? THE MONEY GETS ROUTED INTO A PARTICULAR FUND, A RECREATION FUND, AND THE
UM, THERE'S VERY SPECIFIC PURPOSES THAT THE MONEY CAN BE UTILIZED AND THEY ALL RELATE AROUND
[00:55:01]
RECREATION.ULTIMATELY, ULT, ULTIMATELY WHEN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, AND, AND, AND MIKE MENTIONED COMMISSIONER BYRNE, WHEN HE LOOK, WHEN HE'S LOOKING TO EITHER ACQUIRE LAND OR UPGRADE AN EXISTING PARK, HE HAS TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS IN ORDER TO GET THOSE FUNDS ALLOCATED.
UM, HE HAS TO GET A RECOMMENDATION FROM HIS PARKS AND ADVISORY RE UH, BOARD.
HE HAS TO GET A RE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE PLANNING BOARD AND THEN HE HAS TO GO TO THE TOWN BOARD AND GET APPROVAL FROM THE TOWN BOARD.
AND GEORGE, THE PROBLEM IS, WELL, IF THERE WAS MONEY, IT WOULD GO FOR SOME RELATED PARK OR RECREATION PURPOSE IN SOME FORMAT.
THE PROBLEM IS JERRY CAN'T BUY THREE FIELDS 'CAUSE THERE AIN'T THREE FIELDS OUT THERE.
TERRY, YOU MAY REMEMBER, OR AARON, YOU MAY KNOW THIS IS AJA.
THESE THREE FIELDS ARE ADJACENT, I THINK, TO AN EXISTING PARK.
THEY'RE ADJACENT TO THE EAST RUM BROOK PARK.
SO IT'S A REALLY IDEAL LOCATION BECAUSE IT'S, UM, BASICALLY YOU COULD CONNECT THIS NEW, THIS NEW LAND TO AN EXISTING PARK.
IT'S ALSO LAND QUITE TRUTHFULLY, IF THE DEVELOPER WERE BEING, YOU KNOW, UPFRONT AND WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A DESIRABLE LAND TO PUT HOUSES ON, UH, BECAUSE IT'S RIGHT BY THE TENSION WIRES AND THERE'S THE NOISE FROM THE SPRINGBROOK PARKWAY, BUT IT, IT WOULD BE SUITABLE FOR BALL FIELDS.
AND THIS IS JUST A MAJOR FLAW IN THE WAY THE WHOLE PROJECT WAS PRESENTED IN THE DRAFT E I S BECAUSE THERE WAS THE PREMISE THAT IF YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME THE DENSITY, YOU WOULDN'T GET THE 14 ACRES.
NOW THE LAW SAYS YOU CAN GET THE 14 ACRES.
AND WE, WHAT WE WERE REALLY LOOKING AT WERE QUESTIONING THINGS THAT REALLY HAD TO DO WITH EVALUATING THE PROJECT.
FOR INSTANCE, THERE WERE A LOT OF ECONOMICS ON THESE CHARTS, BUT THERE WAS NO UNDERLYING INFORMATION AS TO WHERE, WHAT NUMBERS THEY WERE USING.
IN OTHER WORDS, THEY WERE COMING UP WITH A, A NUMBER FOR IF YOU HAD COMPARING THEIR PROJECT FINANCIALLY IN TERMS OF FINANCIAL BENEFITS TO THE TOWN VERSUS IF YOU BUILT IT AS OF RIGHT, WHICH THE PROPERTY IS ZONED BETWEEN R 20 AND R 30 LOTS.
AND IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THEY WERE LOSE USING A RATHER LOW NUMBER FOR WHAT THOSE HOUSES, NEW HOUSES WOULD BE SOLD FOR.
AND THAT MEANS THAT THEN THE ECONOMIC EVALUATION THAT THEY'RE GIVE PUT IN THEIR DRAFT D I SS WAS NOT NECESSARILY VALID IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT THE PROJECT BECAUSE YOU NEED TO USE NUMBERS THAT ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT IS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THEY HAD, THE OTHER BIG NUMBER I THINK WE WERE ALL QUESTIONING WAS THEY WERE CLAIMING THAT A VERY DIS THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 55 AND OVER HOUSING AND I FORGET WHAT THE PERCENTAGE WAS, BUT IT WAS AN ASTRONOMICAL PERCENTAGE THAT WERE ONLY OF THE UNITS WERE ONLY GONNA BE OCCUPIED BY ONE PERSON.
SO WE NOW HAVE ALL OF THESE 55 AND, AND OLDER SINGLE PEOPLE BUYING FOUR BEDROOM HOUSES WITH FOUR DRIVEWAY SPACES TO PARK CARS.
AND, YOU KNOW, COMMON SENSE, YOU LOOK AT THIS AND SAY THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
YOU KNOW, IT WAS, IT WAS SORT OF A, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CERTAINLY CAN SEE WHERE OVER THE YEARS IF 55 AND OVER ONE OF THE SPOUSES MAY PASS AWAY AND THEY'RE THE ONLY ONE PERSON IN THE UNIT.
BUT WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE THIS VISION OF ALL OF THESE SINGLE 55 AND OLDER PEOPLE GOING OUT AND BUYING THESE RATHER LARGE, UM, YOU KNOW, 2000 PLUS SQUARE FOOT UNITS WITH AN UPSTAIRS.
AND MOST PEOPLE I KNOW ONCE THEY REACH 55, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, FOR EVERYTHING TO BE ON ONE LEVEL, NOT ON MULTI-LEVEL.
AND HAVING ALL OF THESE PARKING SPACES, THEY JUST SEEMED TO BE INCONGRUITIES THAT PEOPLE, NOT JUST THE C A C COMMENTED ON AND SAID, YOU KNOW, LET'S GO BACK AND LOOK AT WHERE DID YOU GET THESE STATISTICS.
UH, I THINK THE OTHER ONE WAS THAT THEY HAD A VERY LOW, UM, PARTICIPATION IN THE WORKFORCE FOR 55 AND OLDER PEOPLE.
AND THAT KIND OF DIDN'T SEEM TO MATCH UP WITH THE KIND OF PEOPLE WE HAVE IN WESTCHESTER WHO WOULD BE BUYING, UM, CONDOMINIUMS THAT WOULD BE IN THE 900,000 PLUS PRICE RANGE.
UM, IT SEEMED LIKE THOSE PEOPLE AT 55 WOULD STILL BE IN THE WORKFORCE.
THEY WOULDN'T BE, UM, SITTING HOME.
SO IT, WE WERE JUST NUMBERS AND THINGS IN THE WHOLE THING THAT DID NOT MAKE SENSE.
SO THAT WAS SOMETHING, AND AS WE SAID, WE REALLY WANTED, BEFORE IT WAS CALLED FINAL, TO GO BACK AND SAY, IF YOU'RE COMING BACK WITH THIS FINAL, HAVE YOU GOTTEN ANY NUMBERS AND INFORMATION
[01:00:01]
STRAIGHT? SO THAT WHEN THE BOARD IS LOOKING AT THIS TO DO A COMPARISON, IT'S AN INFORMED COMPARISON ON REAL STATISTICS, REAL REALITY OF THE LAW THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE AN OPTION THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE 14 ACRES BECAUSE THE RECREATION DEPARTMENT AND, AND THE THAT'S KEY.I HAD NO IDEA HAS SAID I WANT THE 14 ACRES.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE AS AN APPLICANT AN OPTION THAT DOESN'T GIVE THE 14 ACRES.
'CAUSE WE'VE MADE A DECLARATION, WE WANT 14 ACRES, SO LET'S GO BACK AND SEE HOW YOU'RE GONNA DO THIS WITH THE 14 ACRES BEING COMING TO THE TOWN.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT SOMETHING AND YOU SAY, WELL, HOW DO WE GET INVOLVED IN THAT? WELL, WE DO GET INVOLVED IN THOSE BIG PROJECTS, BUT THE BIG PROJECTS DO HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS FOR THE TOWN.
FOUR CORNERS WE HAVE ON THERE BECAUSE SOMETHING'S GONNA HAPPEN AT FOUR CORNERS AT SOME POINT, AND WE DON'T WANNA FORGET THAT THAT'S MOVING ALONG AT SOME SORT OF VERY SLOW PACE.
BUT HOWEVER, THE EXCESS FOOD FOR THE NEEDY LORE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT KEN JONES AND MIKE SIEGEL WORKED ON AND THEY REALLY, OUR HATS ARE OFF TO THEM.
IT DIDN'T TURN OUT QUITE THE WAY WE WANTED IT TO, BUT WE'RE WATCHING IT TO SEE IF WE CAN COME BACK FOR A REVISIT ON IT.
DO YOU WANNA DO A QUICK SUMMARY ON THAT, MIKE? YEAH.
THIS IS BASED ON THE FRENCH LAW, WHICH REQUIRES SUPERMARKETS, UH, OVER A 10,000 SQUARE FEET TO MAKE AVAILABLE TO RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO FEED THE NEEDY, UH, FOR FREE, UH, TO MAKE EXCESS EDIBLE FOOD AVAILABLE TO THOSE RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS, FOOD PANTRIES, FOOD KITCHENS AND THE LIKE.
INSTEAD OF WHAT THEY NOW DO IS THEY, UH, TAKE THE EDIBLE FOOD AND THEY, UM, UM, PUT INTO LANDFILLS.
UH, AND SO IT'S, IT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S 50 TO THE ESTIMATES OF 50 TO 60 MIL.
50 TO 60 MILLION TONS OF EDIBLE FOOD ARE THROWN AWAY IN THIS COUNTRY EVERY YEAR INTO LANDFILLS.
WHILE, WHILE PEOPLE ARE, UH, DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FOOD.
UH, THIS APPARENTLY AFFECTS ONE OUT OF SIX, ONE OUT OF SEVEN AMERICANS AND ABOUT 16 MILLION KIDS A DAY, UH, WHO DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT FOOD.
AND THAT AFFECTS THEIR HEALTH, THAT AFFECTS THEIR LEARNING AS THEY GO TO SCHOOL.
THAT AFFECTS JUST THEIR HAPPINESS.
AND, UM, SO, UH, KEN AND I WORKED FOR AT LEAST, UM, THREE YEARS.
UH, UH, UH, MY WIFE AND I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS FROM HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN, IN FRANCE.
AND WHEN I CAME BACK I STARTED WORKING WITH KEN.
WE TOOK IT THROUGH THE C A C AND THEN THE TOWN BOARD OF GREENBURG UH, ENDORSED IT.
AND THEN WE WENT TO THE WESTCHESTER, UM, WENT TO MARY, MARY JANESKY, UH, WHO'S ONE OF THE, OUR LEGISLATORS.
AND MARY JANE GOT THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY BOARD OF LEGISLATORS TO, UM, ADOPT IT.
AND THEN WE STARTED ON THE, UM, STATE LEVEL WITH UH, UH, OUR EM AND TOM ABER AND OUR SENATOR, UH, ANDREA STEWART COUSINS, AND, UM, TOM AND ANDREA GOT IT THROUGH THE, UH, LEGISLATURE.
AND, UM, SO THERE ARE A LOT OF TECHNICAL ISSUES, UH, INVOLVING AROUND GOVERNOR CUOMO THAT, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK OUT BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE SESSION ENDS, UM, UH, NEXT MONTH.
IT'S, UH, IT'S A, TO TO TRY TO GET, UH, TO, TO, UM, SOME, SOME, SOME FOOD.
SOME SUPERMARKETS DO THIS VOLUNTARILY AND MAKE THEIR FOOD AVAILABLE, BUT FOR THOSE THAT DON'T, UM, UH, IT REQUIRE, IT REQUIRES THEM TO MAKE THEIR FOOD AVAILABLE, UH, UH, TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT FEED THE NEEDY.
AND WHAT HE GIVES THE SUPERMARKETS IS IT GIVES THEM A SAFE HARBOR.
THEY CAN'T GET SUED, UH, UH, FOR THE FOOD, UH, UH, AS LONG AS THEY, YOU KNOW, ARE NOT ACTING IN SOME KIND OF A RECKLESS WAY.
AND, AND, AND WE COME AT THIS FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL POINT OF VIEW, BECAUSE IF THIS FOOD IS NOT GIVEN AWAY AND CONSUMED, IT BASICALLY GETS DUMPED.
AND THEN YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, EXTRA, EXTRA REFUSE.
METHANE, METHANE, TRANSPORTATION, GAS, FOOD, THAT'S THE WHOLE THING.
AND YOU KNOW, IT'S, THERE'S ENVIRONMENTAL, BUT IT'S ALSO HUMANITARIAN AND HUMANITARIAN.
I MEAN, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S HOW WE CAME AT IT IN SAYING, WELL, AS A CAC C WE CAN COMMENT ON THIS 'CAUSE THERE IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL PORTION TO THIS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IN OUR HEARTS IT WAS REALLY A HUMANITARIAN PIECE WE WANTED, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT'S JUST OUTRAGEOUS TO THINK OF, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT'S PAST ITS BEST BUY DATE, BUT IT'S PERFECTLY EDIBLE GOING TO A DUMP WHEN SOME FAMILY THAT HAS NO FOOD WOULD BE SO HAPPY TO HAVE IT AND, AND BE ABLE TO USE
[01:05:01]
IT.SO IS, UM, THINK ABOUT, THINK OF A BLEMISHED PEAR OR, YOU KNOW, ABSOLUTELY AN AVOCADO, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, OR ON THE PRACTICE AND CANNED FOOD.
UM, THE BEST BUY DATE IS NOT THE EXPIRATION.
IT'S NOT THE EXPIRATION DATE, IT'S JUST THE DATE WE, BEYOND WHICH THE QUA, THE TASTE MIGHT BE A LITTLE OFF.
IT'S SORT OF, YOU'LL SEE THAT ON SOMETHING LIKE ASPIRIN.
AND I ONCE WAS READING AN ARTICLE WHERE WHEN ASPIRIN GOES BEYOND ITS BEST BUY DATE, WELL IT'S DIMINISHED BY 5% EFFICIENCY.
SO, YOU KNOW, IS IT, IS IT, YOU KNOW, IN YOUR CLOSET, IF YOUR ASPIRIN IS PAST THE, UH, BEST BUY DATE, DO YOU REALLY CARE THAT IT'S 5% LESS EFFECTIVE? NOT IF I HAVE PERCENT EFFECTIVE.
SO I MEAN, THAT'S THE, UH, THE KIND OF THING YOU'RE LOOKING ON, ON THAT.
I'M GONNA SKIP THROUGH A FEW OF THESE BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA, ACTUALLY, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, SOME OF IT, BUT, UH, SWAB IS THE SAW MILL RIVER WATERSHED, AND I'M TRYING TO THINK WHAT THE AB STANDS FOR.
IT'S AN ORGANIZATION THAT WORKS ON, UM, ISSUES IN THE SAWMILL RIVER WATERSHED, WHICH ACTUALLY UNINCORPORATED GREENBURG PART OF IT DOES FLOW INTO THAT.
AND, AND SHARON HAS BEEN OUR REPRESENTATIVE ON THAT.
AND THERE ISN'T A HECK OF A LOT HAPPENING THERE RIGHT NOW.
AND BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA RUN THE MEETING TOO, TOO LATE.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS I DO WANNA TALK ABOUT.
ONE IS BATTERY STORAGE AND JUST GIVE AN UPDATE.
THE, THE LORE THAT THE TOWN IS CONSIDERING IS BEING REVIEWED BY THE PLANNING BOARD IN A SPECIAL MEETING JUST TO GO OVER IT.
I KNOW TODAY I SENT TO THE CHAIR OF THE PLANNING BOARD, UM, FROM WHAT OUR 10 MEMBER COMMITTEE THAT WAS CHARGED WITH COMING UP WITH ALLURE ORIGINALLY DRAFTED.
I FOUND A FEW THINGS THAT IT WERE TAKEN OUT THAT I WASN'T HAPPY ABOUT.
SO I SENT WALTER AN EMAIL TODAY ON THOSE.
WERE THEY TAKEN OUT OR IS THAT JUST SOMEONE'S SUGGESTION TO TAKE IT OUT? THEY WERE, THEY WERE LINED OUT BY WHO? NO, NO, I DON'T KNOW.
UH, IS IT, WHAT IS IT WHAT YOU SAW ON THE GOOGLE DRIVE? NO, THIS WAS WHAT WAS EMAILED TO US.
YEAH, I MEAN, I JUST, I WAS, I WAS, BECAUSE PARTICULARLY ONE OF THE THINGS WAS THAT, UM, WE HAD MADE A RECOMMENDATION THAT THERE BE AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL SOURCE FOR COOLING THESE, THE VERY LARGE BATTERY FACILITIES.
UM, AND THAT IT HAVE, IN CASE THE POWER WENT OUT.
BECAUSE IF THE BATTERIES GET OVERHEATED, THEN THEY CAN EXPLODE.
NYSERDA HAS BEEN RUNNING A SERIES OF, UM, WEB TYPE WEB, UH, UM, EVENTS WHERE THEY TALK, THE, THE FIRST ONE THEY HAD WAS A WEEK AGO WEDNESDAY.
AND I SAT THROUGH THAT ONE AND THERE WAS DISCUSSION ABOUT IT BEING CONCERNS ABOUT THE BATTERIES.
IF THE TEMPERATURE GOES OVER 90 DEGREES AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY KIND OF COOLING GOING ON IN THESE CONTAINERS WHERE THE BATTERIES ARE, THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE BATTERIES EXPLODING.
AND 90 DEGREE WEATHER IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS FAIRLY REGULARLY IN THIS AREA IN THE SUMMER.
AND IF YOU LOSE THE ELECTRIC AND THERE ISN'T AN ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCE TO RUN THE BATTERIES, THEN THE TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE BATTERY CONTAINERS COULD EXCEED 90 DEGREES.
SO I JUST WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THAT LITTLE PIECE CAME OUT.
AND THERE WERE A COUPLE OTHER LITTLE PIECES.
I KNOW, AND I, I DID A VERY CURSORY READ OF IT THIS MORNING.
SO MIKE, YOU MAY WANNA LOOK AT IT BECAUSE MY MIKE, OBVIOUSLY AS A, AS A, AS A BACKGROUND AS A LAWYER, READS LAW MUCH BETTER THAN I DO.
UM, BUT, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON.
WE HAD A COMMITTEE THAT WE WORKED ON TO COME UP WITH A LAW, AND WE WILL, I GUESS IN THE FUTURE, AND THE C A C WILL BE INVOLVED, WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THE THOUGHTS OF, UH, SOLAR FARMS AND WIND FARMS, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON NEW CONSTRUCTION.
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT, UH, NANCY AND GEORGE AND LIZ HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT.
AND I KNOW LIZ, YOU HAD HAD, UH, SOMEONE WHO HAD A, UM, CALCULATOR FOR FIGURING OUT YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.
AND I WAS WONDERING WHY THEIR, THEIR CALCULATOR WAS DIFFERENT THAN OTHER CALCULATORS.
BECAUSE I DO THINK WHEN I LOOK AT THIS AND I LOOK AT WHAT'S GOING ON, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE REAL SOLUTION HAS TO BE IN USING LESS ENERGY RATHER THAN TRYING TO REPLACE THE ENERGY.
BECAUSE EVERYTHING I'M READING AND HEARING ABOUT SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN COME UP WITH ENOUGH ENERGY, UM, THAT'S GOING TO BE CLEAN ENERGY TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND, PARTICULARLY IF WE START TO SWITCH CARS
[01:10:01]
TO BEING ELECTRIC POWERED.AND SOMEHOW THE PART OF THE SOLUTION, AS MUCH AS NO POLITICIAN WANTS TO GET ON THE, THE, THE TV AND SAY, GUESS WHAT? WE HAVE A SOLUTION.
THAT, THAT, THAT'S WHAT STEVE WAS REFERRING TO EARLIER, RIGHT? STEVE? YEAH, STEVE, YOU, YOU'RE MUTED.
SO, SO THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK THAT, UH, WE WANNA WORK ON, WHETHER WE, HOW WE GO ABOUT IT.
I KNOW THAT WE STARTED TO SAY THAT'S, FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT THE CONSTRUCTION REGS ARE IN GREENBERG GOING FORWARD, SHOULD BE THE, THE CRYING SOLAR ON ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, WHAT'S THE LEVEL OF INSULATION THAT WE SHOULD BE REQUIRING ON HOUSES IN TERMS NEW CONSTRUCTION, AND MAYBE EVEN WHEN PEOPLE COME IN FOR MAJOR RENOVATIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS REALLY AFFECTS THE POWER USAGE IN A HOUSEHOLD.
UM, IN TERMS OF HOW SOMETHING IS CONSTRUCTED.
UM, WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVE WAYS THAT, UM, BUILDINGS COULD, UH, BE HEATED OR COOLED? UH, GEOTHERMAL IS ONE THAT IF THE PROPERTY IS LARGE ENOUGH AT A CERTAIN SIZE PROPERTY LOT, MAYBE WE, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS GONNA GET A LOT OF PUSHBACK BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT'S DIFFERENT AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU START NOW, EVEN IF WE DON'T SUCCEED, UM, EVENTUALLY WE WILL, YOU KNOW, I'LL ALWAYS USE THE EXAMPLE OF THE TREE LAW.
UM, I, I CAN PLACE IT IN, IN LITERALLY THE FALL OF 2002, BECAUSE WE HAD COME OUT OF NINE 11 AND WE WEREN'T MEETING AND WE WEREN'T ABLE TO MEET AT TOWN HALL.
SO WE WERE MEETING IN MY HOME.
AND I REMEMBER, AND IT WAS AFTER, AFTER MY MOTHER PASSED AWAY IN 2002.
AND I REMEMBER WE WERE IN MY HOUSE SITTING AT THE DINING ROOM TABLE.
AND AT THAT TIME, ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE C A C WAS A NEIGHBOR.
AND WITH THE OTHER C A C MEMBERS, WE WERE USING MY PROPERTY AND B LOWELL'S PROPERTY TO FIGURE OUT HOW A LAW WOULD AFFECT US AND WHAT WERE THE THINGS AS HOMEOWNERS WE WOULD WANNA CONSIDER IF WE WERE COMING UP WITH A LAW.
YOU KNOW, WE CAME UP WITH SOMETHING LIKE, WELL, IF SOMEONE'S, THE TREE IS SO CLOSE TO SOMEBODY'S HOUSE, YOU, YOU CAN'T SAY, DON'T TAKE IT DOWN.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE WORKED ON THIS AND THERE WERE SEVERAL ITERATIONS.
THE C A C BROUGHT FORWARD AND GOT SHUT DOWN AND WORKING WITH AARON, GOD LOVE HIM.
HE, HE CAME UP WITH BASICALLY A DIFFERENT APPROACH.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE NAME OF OUR TREE LAW, IT'S A COMMUNITY TREE.
WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE TERM? IT'S, IT'S A COMMUNITY TREE MANAGEMENT, COMMUNITY TREE MANAGEMENT.
AND WHAT IT WAS, WAS WE, WE MOVED AWAY FROM SAY LET'S, UH, WHICH MOST TREE LAWS DO IS PUT THE EMPHASIS ON REGULATING, TAKING DOWN TREES.
'CAUSE WE REALIZED THAT THERE WAS AN ISSUE IN THAT A LOT OF OUR TREE STOCK IS VERY ELDERLY AND IT'S GONNA BE COMING DOWN, WHETHER, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REACHED ITS END OF LIFE TREES, JUST LIKE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, AND SOME TREES REACH THEIR END OF LIFE AT, AT 40 YEARS.
BUT WE HAVE TO BE REALISTIC THAT TREES DO COME DOWN.
AND THE APPROACH ON THE GREENBERG LORE IS NOT SO MUCH ON BEING SO RESTRICTIVE ABOUT TAKING THEM DOWN, BUT RATHER THIS IDEA OF MAINTAINING TREES IN THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE OF THEIR BENEFITS FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE'RE LESS FOCUSED ON TRYING TO KEEP ALL THE TREES FROM NOT COMING DOWN, BUT RATHER SAYING, IT'S OKAY, YOU CAN TAKE IT DOWN, BUT YOU'RE GONNA PUT BACK A HUGE PERCENTAGE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE OF WHAT YOU TOOK DOWN.
IT ALSO MAKES IT FEASIBLE, UM, BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE SMALLER PROPERTIES, AMAZINGLY LARGE TREES GOT THEMSELVES GROWING BETWEEN PROPERTIES ON SMALL LOTS THAT YOU CAN'T GO BACK AND REPLACE THAT TYPE OF TREE.
OR PEOPLE HAVE ENLARGED THE SIZE OF THEIR HOUSE ON THE, ON THE R FIVES, THE R SEVEN FIVES, EVEN ON THE R TENS, WHERE YOU CAN NO LONGER REALLY PLANT A TREE.
THAT IT MATURITY IS GOING TO BE HUGE.
BUT THAT DOESN'T PREVENT YOU FROM PLANTING THREE SMALLER TREES OR ON AN R FIVE LOT A SIGNIFICANT BUSH.
AND THIS IS WHAT OUR TREE MAINTENANCE LAW IS, IS CRAFTED TO, TO SAY, WE WANNA PUT BACK THAT ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE AS CLOSE AS WE CAN OVER TIME.
AND THAT'S REALLY LOOKING FUTURE FORWARD TO SAY WE ALWAYS WANNA HAVE THAT KIND OF TREE COVER IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT PROVIDES ALL THE BENEFITS OF TREES,
[01:15:01]
PARTICULARLY IN TERMS OF THE CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL AND THE WATER RETENTION.BECAUSE WITHOUT THE WATER RETENTION OF THE TREES, WE FACE FLOODING ISSUES THROUGHOUT THE TOWN.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE THAT WAS COMING FROM.
SO I THINK WHEN WE GO BACK TO THIS ENVIRONMENTAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE ONE OF OUR ONGOING THRUSTS GOING INTO THE NEW, THAT'S A BIG, THAT'S A BIG TOPIC, TARA.
IT'S BIG, RIGHT? AND IT'S GONNA TAKE US WHILE TO DO THE RESEARCH AND GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN COME FORWARD WITH, WITH A WHITE PAPER THAT SAYS, I, IT'S LIKE EVERY, EVERY LITTLE THING, IT'S, IT'S JUST A, IT'S A MONSTER.
YOU KNOW, LAUREN AND STEVE, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU'LL LEARN IS, UH, THAT, UM, WHEN YOU COME UP WITH THINGS LIKE THIS TO ADDRESS THESE VARIOUS SERIOUS PROBLEMS, THERE ARE TWO CATEGORIES THAT NORMALLY, TWO CATEGORIES OF THINGS YOU'LL HEAL.
ONE IS YOU'LL HEAL PEOPLE ASIDE.
MY PROPERTY IS MY CASTLE AND IT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS WHAT I DO ON MY PROPERTY.
AND THE OTHER IS, AND AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, MY ALL TIME FAVORITE IS PEOPLE THAT WILL SAY, I LOVE THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT MY PROPERTY IS TOO SMALL, OR MY PROPERTY IS TOO BIG, OR MY PROPERTY IS TOO CLOSE TO THIS OR MY PROPERTY.
BUT I DO WANT YOU TO KNOW, I REALLY DO LOVE THE ENVIRONMENT.
THOSE ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT YOU WILL, UH, YOU'LL HEAR FROM WHATEVER, WHATEVER WE DO.
SO IT'S A, AND I THINK THAT GOES TO HOW WE PRESENT SOMETHING, HOW WE WORK TO MAKE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE SAYING, BECAUSE THAT IS COMMUNICATING SOMETIMES IS A PROBLEM IN TERMS OF JUST GOING, WE DO A LOT OF GOING BACK TO PEOPLE, WHEN WE WERE WORKING WITH AARON ON THE TREE LAW, WE HAD MANY, MANY RETURNS OF TALKING TO PEOPLE AND SAYING, MAKING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LAW CONTAINED AND DIDN'T CONTAIN.
AND SOME PEOPLE YOU CAN NEVER CONVINCE, YOU KNOW, AS MIKE SAID, IT'S THEIR PROPERTY, THEY DON'T WANT A LAW, BUT VERY, OR, BUT WE DO HAVE SUCCESSES WITH SOME PEOPLE WHEN THEY REALLY START TO UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WANNA DO SOMETHING AND TO WHAT DEGREE IT WILL ACTUALLY AFFECT THEM.
BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT SAY, THIS IS NOT A LAW PROHIBITING TAKING DOWN TREES, FOR SOME REASON THAT DOESN'T REGISTER, THEY DON'T HEAR THAT.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH THE ENVIRONMENT.
YES, LAUREN, I CAN SAY FOR A FACT THAT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE HEAR.
BECAUSE I WAS AT A MEETING AT TOWN HALL BEFORE PANDEMIC, I BELIEVE IT WAS, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS WHEN IT WAS THE TREE LAW WAS INTRODUCED, OR I THINK YOU, I THINK YOU SPOKE ABOUT IT, BUT THEN HAD TO GO BACK AND, AND REVIEW AND REDO BASED ON FEEDBACK.
AND UM, THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE HEARD.
I CAN TELL YOU FOR A FACT WHAT PEOPLE CAME OUT OF THERE SAYING WAS, SO THEY'RE SAYING, I CAN'T CUT ANY TREES DOWN ON MY YARD, EVEN THOUGH IT MAY BE A HAZARD TO THE PROPERTY.
AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU, LIVING ON THE PROPERTY THAT HAS TONS OF TREES, TONS OF TREES, AND IT'S A SITUATION WHERE WHEN THE WIND STARTS BLOWING NOW, YOU KNOW, WE PRAY BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE SO MANY HERE.
BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, I KNOW THAT I HAVE A HOUSE THAT IT'S FOR SALE, IT'S ABANDONED NEXT DOOR.
AND I'M JUST CURIOUS AS TO HOW YOU ALL MAY HAVE, UH, DETERMINED, I KNOW YOU DID A LOT OF RESEARCH, BUT DETERMINED SOME OF, UM, SOME OF THE, WHAT YOU PUT TOGETHER IN THE LAWS.
DID YOU COME AROUND TO CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS AND LOOK AT THINGS? BECAUSE I HAVE, WE HAVE A HOUSE THAT'S BEEN ABANDONED.
IT IS NOW FOR SALE, IT'S IN CONTRACT, BUT THERE ARE TWO TREES, LARGE TREES THAT ARE ON IT THAT I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU REALLY DETERMINE A TREE IS DEAD EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN NO LEAVES ON.
THERE'S NO LEAVES WHATSOEVER ON THESE TREES.
SO WE WORRY ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THOSE ARE TREES THAT COULD POTENTIALLY COME DOWN.
AND BEING SOMEONE THAT HAS HAD TREES, A FEW TREES FALL ON THE PROPERTY, THE HOUSE DURING HURRICANES OR SUPERSTORM STANDING, IT CAN BE VERY SCARY.
SO I'M JUST CURIOUS AS TO WHAT YOU WOULD DO IN THOSE SCENARIOS.
I MEAN, THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF TREES HERE, BUT I, I MEAN, IT'S TOPPING OFF THE TREES, LIKE PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THE LAW WORKS.
AND, AND AARON, I GUESS ONE OF THE THINGS IS, ONE OF THE THINGS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN EXPEDITED, EXPEDITED PROCEDURE FOR TREES THAT ARE, THAT ARE DANGEROUS.
AND AARON HAS A PERSON WHO GOES OUT AND LOOKS AT THE TREES.
AND SO USUALLY IT'S PROBABLY WHEN THE PERSON
[01:20:01]
CONTACTS TREE SERVICE MM-HMM.AARON, DO YOU WANNA EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THIS OR? SURE.
SO, UH, I GUESS GOING BACK TO ONE OF YOUR FIRST QUESTIONS, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, DID WE LOOK AT PROPERTIES? WHAT WE DID WAS WE DID A TOWN WIDE CANOPY ANALYSIS OF, UM, OVER 10,000 RANDOMIZED POINTS THROUGH THE US FOREST SERVICE I IRE PROGRAM, AND FOUND THAT THE TOWN HAS ROUGHLY A 54%, UM, TREE CANOPY COVER WITHIN THE TOWN.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PROUD OF.
IT'S ON THE HIGHER RANGE, UH, PARTICULARLY FOR, YOU KNOW, LOWER WESTCHESTER.
UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANNA MAINTAIN AND EVEN IMPROVE UPON IF WE'RE ABLE, UM, ONE WAY WE DO THAT IS BY ENSURING THAT NEW TREES ARE PLANTED WHEN TREES COME DOWN.
UM, SO THEN TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WITH RESPECT TO DEAD TREES, THERE IS AN EXPEDITED PROCESS.
AND IN FACT, IF IT'S JUST ONE OR TWO TREES, UM, AN APPLICANT, A HOMEOWNER CAN COME IN WITH PHOTOGRAPHS THAT SHOW THE TREE LIFELESS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE TREES AROUND IT FULLY LEAFED OUT, AND THIS TREE OR THESE TWO TREES DON'T HAVE ANY LEAVES ON THEM.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN QUALIFY AS AN EXPEDITED PERMIT PROCESS WHERE WE CAN TURN AROUND THE PERMIT VERY QUICKLY, USUALLY WITHIN 24 HOURS.
UM, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO HOLD PEOPLE UP WITH GETTING DOWN OR TAKING DOWN TREES THAT ARE HAZARDOUS.
UM, IN OTHER INSTANCES WHERE THE TREE MAY BE SUFFERING OR IT'S, IT'S NOT AS, UM, OBVIOUS, BUT AN ARBORIST HAS TAKEN A LOOK AT THE TREE AND HAS DETERMINED THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR X, Y, Z OR REASON THE TREE REALLY NEEDS TO COME DOWN, WE WILL ACCEPT THAT REPORT.
NOW WE DO HAVE MYSELF, I'M AN ARBORIST AND OUR ASSISTANT IS AN ARBORIST AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE THE RIGHT AND, AND CAN GO OUT AND KIND OF VERIFY THINGS IN THE FIELD.
BUT AS TERRY AND, AND MIKE MENTIONED, WE'RE NOT IN THAT BUSINESS OF REALLY SAYING NO.
IT'S MORE, PARTICULARLY WHEN TREES ARE ON THE DECLINE, IT'S MORE ABOUT, HEY, LET'S HAVE A CONVERSATION AND, AND DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF PUTTING SOMETHING NEW IN FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
AND I'M, I'M, UH, I, I, I GET THAT HAVING SPOKEN WITH, UH, TERRY, UH, PRIOR TO THIS CALL ABOUT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT YOU DO, AND THEN JUST LISTENING TO WHAT YOU, ALL THE INFORMATION YOU'VE GIVEN US THIS EVENING.
CAN I ASK, UM, ONE MORE THING ABOUT THE, THE SAME THING ABOUT POTENTIALLY DEAD TREES, BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT ON TOWN PROPERTY, OR WHAT I WILL BELIEVE WILL BE TOWN PROPERTY, WHERE YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT THERE ARE NO LEAVES THERE.
AND IT MAY NOT EVEN BE SOMETHING THAT MOST PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION TO, BUT SOMETIMES IF I'M DRIVING BY SOMEWHERE AND IT'S LIKE, OKAY, WOW, THAT'S A REALLY PRETTY TREE.
AND THEN YOU LOOK UP AND YOU SEE WHAT, WOW, THAT ONE HAS NOTHING ON IT.
AND YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SEE LIKE THE BARK IS ALL OFF OF THE TOP OF THE TREE.
AND THAT'S WHAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION ONE DAY JUST DRIVING DOWN AND I'M LIKE, OKAY, THIS WHOLE TREE IS WHITE AT THE TOP, WHAT'S GOING ON? AND THERE WERE NO LEAVES.
SO I JUST THINK ABOUT THINGS LIKE THAT BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I WOULD THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A CASE WHERE IF THAT TREE HAD TO COME DOWN, IT'S IN A SPOT WHERE YOU WOULD WANT TO, AND IT'S OFF OF, JUST SO YOU KNOW, OFF OF LIKE THE BRONX RIVER PARKWAY.
SO IT'S IN A SPOT WHERE YOU WOULD PROBABLY WANNA REPLACE IT WITH ONE OR TWO TREE.
SO YOU MAY EVEN WANNA PUT TWO TREES IN THAT SPACE, BUT IT'S, IT'S ALSO A POTENTIAL DANGER.
SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT I'VE NOTICED MYSELF.
SO THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
AND WE HAVE ARBORISTS NOT ONLY IN MY OFFICE WHO DEAL WITH THE PRIVATE PROPERTY, UM, TREE TREES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, BUT WE HAVE ARBORISTS IN OUR PARKS AND RECREATION OFFICE AS WELL AS OUR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, SOMEONE'S DRIVING AROUND OR WALKING THE DOG OR TAKING A WALK AND YOU SEE A TREE THAT'S, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, RIGHT OFF THE CURB ALONG A TOWN ROADWAY THAT'S NOT LOOKING LIKE IT'S IN GREAT SHAPE.
WELL, A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE WILL GO TO PAUL FINDER AND THEN HE'LL ROUTE IT UP TO ME ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT I HAVE TO ROUTE IT TO OUR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH I'LL DO AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT, UH, A CALL OR AN EMAIL FROM A RESIDENT WHO HAS IDENTIFIED OR HAS EXPRESSED A CONCERN WITH A TREE IN FRONT OF, YOU KNOW, 59 NORTH ROAD.
UM, CAN WE SEND SOMEONE OUT THERE TO TAKE A LOOK? THE FIRST THING THEY'LL DO, D P W WILL GO OUT AND MEASURE THE TOWN'S RIGHT OF WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S
[01:25:01]
A TOWN TREE.AND IF IT'S NOT, THEN WE KNOW IT'S A PRIVATE TREE.
AND WE AT TIMES HAVE THE ABILITY TO CONTACT THAT HOMEOWNER.
WE'RE LOOKING INTO PERHAPS MAYBE WE CAN CREATE LIKE A LITTLE, UM, PAPER WHERE THE D P W ARBORIST THAT DOES THE INSPECTION AND IDENTIFIES IT AS A PRIVATE TREE, PUTS A LITTLE SLIP IN THE, UM, MAILBOX THAT, YOU KNOW, INFORMS THEM THAT THIS IS A PRIVATE TREE AND SOMETHING THAT THEY SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE SOMEONE LOOK AT.
UM, BUT IF IT TURNS OUT IT'S A TOWN TREE, THEN THE ARBORIST GOES OUT, WE'LL CONDUCT THE INSPECTION AND MAKE A DETERMINATION AND THE TOWN HAS TREE CREWS TO GO OUT AND TAKE DOWN TREES.
UM, THEN BEYOND JUST THE TAKE DOWN, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE PLANTING.
SO WE RECENTLY, AS PART OF A GRANT ISSUED BY NEW YORK STATE THAT WE APPLIED FOR AND OBTAINED, WE HAD A TOWN WIDE STREET TREE INVENTORY CONDUCTED OVER 15,000 TREES THROUGHOUT THE TOWN.
WERE INVENTORIED BY A PROFESSIONAL TREE SERVICE, UH, DAVY RESOURCE GROUP.
THEY WERE, UH, INVENTORIED BASED ON THE SIZE, SPECIES DIAMETER AND, UM, LOCATION.
WE HAVE A PROGRAM, UM, THROUGH THE DAVY RESOURCE GROUP WHERE IF WE GET A CALL ABOUT A TREE, WE CAN LOOK RIGHT AT THAT INVENTORY AND SAY, OH, THAT'S DEFINITELY OURS.
AND THEN IN THE PROGRAM THEY HAVE OR, OR TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THE PROGRAM ON THE FLY, THEY HAVE THESE RUGGEDIZED, UM, IPADS THAT THEY GO OUT INTO THE FIELD, THEY IDENTIFY, OKAY, IT'S TREE 41 73, IT'S A DEAD OAK TREE.
AND THEY UPDATE THE INFORMATION IN THAT PROGRAM TO SAY, OKAY, WE'VE TAKEN IT DOWN AND THEY CAN GO SO FAR AS TO IDENTIFY IF THIS IS A LOCATION THAT WARRANTS A NEW PLANTING IN THE FUTURE, UM, THEN HOW DO WE FUND THE NEW PLANTING? AND I'M SORRY TO TAKE UP YOUR TIME, BUT I WANTED TO BE THOROUGH IN ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS.
NO, I'M, I'M, I'M VERY INTERESTED.
THE, THE NEW TOWN TREE LAW, WE ESTABLISHED WHAT'S KNOWN AS THE TOWN TREE FUND AND FOR LARGE SCALE REMOVAL APPLICATIONS, THOSE THAT, UM, INVOLVE 50 OR MORE TREES OR ON LARGE SCALE PROPERTIES WHERE TREE REMOVAL IS PROPOSED.
AND, YOU KNOW, IN PROCESS, UM, THOSE THAT ARE FIVE ACRES AND LARGER IN SIZE, THEY PAY A SURCHARGE, WHICH EFFECTIVELY DOUBLES THE APPLICATION FEE.
UM, BUT THEY SUBMIT IT IN TWO SEPARATE, YOU KNOW, CHECKS IF YOU WILL.
AND THE SURCHARGES GET ROUTED INTO THE TOWN TREE FUND.
AND THOSE FUNDS, MUCH LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT, THE RECREATION LAND FUNDS BEING USED FOR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES, THE TOWN TREE FUND IS GOING TO BE FOR PLANTING NEW TREES ALONG TOWN ROADWAYS AND DOWNTOWN OWNED PROPERTIES.
SO, UM, WE THOUGHT THAT WAS A GREAT, YOU KNOW, IDEA TO HELP THE TOWN, YOU KNOW, REPLENISH ITS STOCK.
UM, BECAUSE WE DO TAKE DOWN A LOT OF TREES AND WE GOT A LOT OF STORM DAMAGED TREES, AND THE TOWN ROADWAYS HAVE A LOT OF OLD TREES AND, YOU KNOW, BUDGETS HAVE BEEN TIGHT AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PLANT A FEW TREES HERE OR THERE, OR GET DONATIONS AND PLANT THEM.
BUT NOW WE HAVE A FUNDING MECHANISM IN PLACE, WHICH IS A GREAT BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY'S TREES.
YEAH, THAT'S A VERY GOOD INFORMATION.
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE TOWN TREES AND WHAT'S CONSIDERED, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE STATE TREES BECAUSE THEY'RE, AND BY THAT I MEAN THEY'RE, OKAY, SO THE TREES THAT LINE THE BRONX RIVER PARKWAY, THOSE, WHAT WOULD THOSE BE CONSIDERED? SO MY BEST GUESS, IF I'M GONNA THROW OUT JUST A LOCATION THAT I'M AWARE OF, IF YOU GO ALL THE WAY DOWN OLD TERRYTOWN ROAD TO THE BRONX RIVER PARKWAY AND UM, THERE ARE KIND OF LIKE WALKING TRAILS AND THERE ARE TREES SPRINKLED IN, UM, ALONG THE PARKWAY THERE, THOSE WOULD NOT FALL WITHIN TOWN OWNED LAND.
THAT'S, UH, THE BRONX RIVER PARKWAY, WHICH IS MANAGED BY DIFFERENT ENTITY.
UM, AND WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, LOOK TO PUT SOMEONE, YOU KNOW, THAT WANTS TO EXPRESS A CONCERN IN TOUCH WITH THE APPROPRIATE FOLKS.
UM, I THINK WESTCHESTER COUNTY'S INVOLVED MAY ALSO BE THE STATE.
I'D HAVE TO LOOK IN MY CONTACTS LIST 'CAUSE I HAVE A SPREADSHEET OF ALL THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE TOWN.
UM, BUT YEAH, OUR TOWNS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS HANDLES TOWN, STREET, TOWN ROADWAY TREES.
SO, UM, FOR INSTANCE, WHEREAS, UM, YOU KNOW, NORTH ROAD TOMAHAWK, YOU KNOW, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF MM-HMM.
WHAT ABOUT LIKE MASON HILLSIDE AVENUE? THAT'S A GOOD AVENUE.
SO THAT'S WHERE I WAS GONNA GO.
[01:30:01]
ROADWAYS IN YOUR NECK OF THE WOODS, ARE THOSE SIDE STREETS? NORTH ROAD, SOUTH ROAD? TOMAHAWK HILLSIDE IS ACTUALLY A STATE ROAD.THE STATE RECENTLY REPAVED THAT THE STATE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR TREES OFF THE SHOULDER OF THAT ROAD.
UM, SAME WITH NORWOOD ROADS ESTATE ROAD, ROUTE ONE 19 TARRYTOWN ROADS ESTATE.
CENTRAL PARK AVENUES ESTATE ROAD.
SO WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY, WE DIDN'T INVENTORY WHEN WE HAD THE STREET TREE INVENTORY DONE.
IN FACT, UM, AS PART OF THE GRANT, WE WEREN'T PERMITTED TO INVENTORY TREES ON ROADS OTHER THAN TOWN ROADS.
SO WE JUST DID ALL THE TOWN ROADWAYS.
SO I DO GET A LOT OF CALLS FOR INFORMATION.
LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, WITHIN THE LAST MONTH, I GOT A CALL, A COUPLE OF CALLS AND, AND I THINK THE SUPERVISOR DID AS WELL REGARDING SOME TREES TAKEN DOWN ALONG, UH, DOBBS FERRY ROAD, UM, SORT OF NEAR THE INTERSECTION WITH NORWOOD.
AND THEY WERE DONE BY THE STATE.
UM, BUT IT WAS LEFT IN A MESSY, YOU KNOW, CONDITION.
TURNS OUT THE TREES WERE NORWAY MAPLES, WHICH ARE AN INVASIVE SPECIES.
BUT I REACHED OUT TO MY STATE CONTACT AT NEW YORK STATE D O T, AND THEY DID GET BACK OUT THERE AND CLEAN UP THE AREA.
WHAT ABOUT LAUREL TREES? I HEARD THAT LAUREL TREES WERE PROTECTED SPECIES IS THAT'S TRUE.
UM, I DON'T, SO THERE ARE MOUNTAIN LAURELS.
THERE ARE, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LAURELS.
THERE'S KOREAN LAURELS, THERE'S THE NATIVE, WHICH IS THE MAR MOUNTAIN LAUREL.
UM, YOU DON'T SEE THEM ALL THAT MUCH AROUND HERE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S SPECIFICALLY PROTECTED SPECIES IN THIS AREA.
THEY MAY BE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE REGION.
UM, IN FACT, WE HAD SOME LAURELS PLANTED RECENTLY AS PART OF A PROJECT THAT WENT THROUGH THE PLANNING BOARD, MOND STATE PARK.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST ENDLESS AMOUNTS OF MOUNTAIN LAUREL AND HERMAN STATE PARK.
WE'RE RUNNING A LITTLE OVER, BUT I WANTED, I WILL MAKE THIS A VERY QUICK QUESTION.
SO, UM, MOST OF THE TREE DAMAGE THAT I NOTICED ON MY, MY BLOCK, INCLUDING A TREE IN, AT MY HOUSE, THAT THE TOWN HAD TO REMOVE BECAUSE IT WAS A DYING TREE, BECAME THAT WAY BECAUSE OF CON EDS, I DON'T WANNA SAY PRUNING BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY DO BECAUSE OF THEIR MUTILATION.
WHO CONTROLS, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEY'RE COSTING THE TOWN MONEY BY DESTROYING TREES THAT THE TOWN HAS TO REMOVE.
BUT THEY'RE COMPLETELY CAVALIER ABOUT HOW THEY, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH THE WIRES, BUT SO PRIVATE PROPERTY OR THEY ON, UH, THE RIGHT OF WAY, IT'S ON THE RIGHT OF WAY.
SO, LIKE, THE TOWN OF GREENBERG HAD TO COME AND REMOVE MY TREE THAT CONED KILLED.
WELL, IN THEORY, THEY SHOULD HAVE TALKED TO THE TOWN BEFORE THEY TOUCHED THE TREE.
'CAUSE WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A LAW THAT, UH, TWO 60 A THAT WAS WRITTEN IN ABOUT OH SIX OR OH SEVEN THAT REGULATES THE UTILITY CUTTING TREES.
UH, AARON, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY DID OR DIDN'T ON THIS PARTICULAR CASE.
OH, SOMETHING HAPPENED ON MY SCREEN.
UM, WE DO HAVE TWO 60 A, SO THAT'S CHAPTER TWO 60 A AS MIKE INDICATED.
AND, UM, CONED PRIMARILY DEALS DIRECTLY WITH OUR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS REGARDING ANY PRUNING OR REMOVALS THAT THEY SEEK TO DO WITHIN THE TOWN'S RIGHT OF WAY.
I KNOW FOR MANY YEARS IT HAD GONE UNREGULATED.
AND, UM, SO THERE ARE MISSHAPEN, UH, MANY MISSHAPEN AND POORLY PRUNED TREES THROUGHOUT THE TOWN THAT WE'RE LEFT TO DEAL WITH.
UM, I MEAN, I LIVE IN IRVINGTON, AS I MENTIONED, AND YOU GO DOWN MAIN STREET IN IRVINGTON AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE CALL THEM CLOWN TREES BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY TOOK A BITE OUT OF AN APPLE
IT YES, IN MANY INSTANCES IT CAN.
AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH CON EDISON OVER THE YEARS, UM, ABOUT PROPER AND APPROPRIATE PRUNING PRACTICES VERSUS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY HAVE DONE HISTORICALLY.
ALSO, WE DID PARTNER WITH CON ED, UM, IN A PROGRAM, UM, AS MANY OF YOU I'M SURE ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE GREENBERG LIBRARY, IT WENT UNDER A RENOVATION 10 OR 15 YEARS AGO.
AND UNFORTUNATELY THE BUDGET LINE FOR LANDSCAPING WAS WIPED OUT WHEN THE PROJECT WENT OVER BUDGET.
[01:35:01]
PLANTED ON THAT SITE IN CONNECTION WITH THAT 17 MILLION OR SO DOLLAR PROJECT.AND WERE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH CONED TO DO A DEMONSTRATION PLANTING PROGRAM FOR TREES THAT ARE SUITABLE FOR PLANTING UNDERNEATH OVERHEAD POWER LINES.
UM, WHICH ARE TYPICALLY YOUR SMALLER TREES.
THEY'RE NOT ALL NATIVE, BUT THEY ARE IN THE NORTH.
UM, OR THE, THE NORTHEASTERLY QUADRANT OF THAT SITE, KIND OF WHERE THE OLD TOWN HALL BUILDING WAS.
AND THERE, THERE WERE A DOZEN TREES, UH, 12 TREES, ALL DIFFERENT SPECIES THAT WE HAD PLANTED BY CONED TO DEMONSTRATE TO FOLKS ABOUT.
AND IT'S ONE OF OUR BIG THINGS THAT WE PROMOTE IS PLANTING THE RIGHT TREE IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
SO WHEREAS, UM, IF YOU, YOU KNOW, A HOMEOWNER COMES TO US AND SAYS, UM, YOU KNOW, CON ED SEVERAL YEARS AGO, YOU KNOW, CUT OUT HALF OF THIS OAK TREE THAT'S IN OUR YARD BECAUSE IT WAS GROWING OVER THE POWER LINES, IT'S DECLINED.
WE'VE TRIED, BUT NOW WE REALLY ARE WORRIED AND WE NEED TO TAKE IT DOWN.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE THAT DISCUSSION WITH THE HOMEOWNER ABOUT PLANTING A NEW TREE AND THE RIGHT SPECIES FOR THE LOCATION.
SO IF YOU WANNA PLANT ANOTHER OAK TREE, LET'S SHIFT IT BACK FROM THE LINES.
IF YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, ENOUGH ROOM OR IF YOU REALLY DON'T AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, ON A SMALLER LOT OR IT'S A WELL TREE LOT THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO PLANT TOWARDS THE FRONT, THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE THAT DISCUSSION ABOUT PLANTING MAYBE A SMALLER GROWING FLOWERING OR ORNAMENTAL TREE.
SO 20, 30, 40 YEARS DOWN THE LINE, WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, DEALING WITH CONED OR HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THEM, TRYING TO GET THEM TO PRUNE AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.
TRYING TO AVOID THOSE SITUATIONS DOWN THE ROAD.
I THINK WE CAN, PAUL, YOU WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING? I DID.
I JUST WANTED SAY, UH, LAUREN, UM, I HAVE, UH, ALMOST A TWO ACRE LOT.
AND LAST AUGUST, REMEMBER THAT CRAZY STORM WE HAD THAT WIND STORM.
I LOST A TREE THAT WAS NOT ON MY PROPERTY, IT WAS ON THE TOWN PROPERTY, AND IT FELL ON MY, IT FELL ON MY PROPERTY.
AND THE TOWN CAME OUT AND CLEANED IT UP.
I CALLED THEM UP, I WAS LIKE, HEY, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T KNOW WHO I AM.
THEY, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T 'CAUSE I'M ON THE C SS C THEY CAME AND THEY CLEANED IT UP.
AND THEN I HAD, UM, YOU KNOW, A BEAUTIFUL MAPLE THAT WAS SO OLD AND LOST LIKE ONE THIRD OF IT.
AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD LIKE WIRES HOLDING IT UP AND THE WIRES SNAPPED AND IT WAS GONNA FALL.
AND, UM, MY ARBORIST SAID I COULD TAKE IT DOWN NOW OR I COULD TAKE IT OFF YOUR ROOF.
AND I CALLED ERIN, I'M LIKE, ERIN, UM, CAN YOU HELP ME? 'CAUSE SHE WENT TO SCARSDALE, SHE KNOW WHERE I LIVED.
AND WITHIN A DAY, WITHIN A DAY, I GET THE PERMIT TO TAKE THAT THING DOWN.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE THERE'S ANY, THERE'S LIKE, IT'S, IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH A TREE, GREENBURG IS A PLACE TO LIVE BECAUSE THEY WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU.
AND, UM, BAY CITY IT, YEAH, IT, IT'S, YEAH, IT JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE, DON'T, DON'T, LIKE, IT WAS LIKE MY, MY SON'S BEDROOM OR THE TREE.
WHEN I WENT THROUGH, IT WAS SUPERSTORM STANDING.
WE ACTUALLY LOST THREE TREES IN THAT STORM, AND ONE OF THEM DID HIT THE HOUSE.
ONE OF THEM SNAPPED IN THE MIDDLE AND JUST MISSED HITTING IT.
LITERALLY, THE TOP OF THE TREE LANDED RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY NEIGHBOR'S GARAGE.
AND, UM, AND THE THIRD ONE CAME DOWN WHEN THE, WHEN THE BIG ONE THAT KIND OF HIT THE SIDE OF MY HOUSE YEAH.
SO WE LOST THOSE THREE, BUT THE ONE THAT CAME AND HIT THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE WAS A TWIN AND ONE WAS CLOSE.
SO THEY WERE, THEY WERE RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER, AND ONE WAS A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO THE STREET THAN THE ONE THAT FELL ON MY HOUSE.
BUT WHEN THEY CAME AROUND, THEY SAW THE TOWN DID COME AND TAKE, THEY TOOK IT DOWN.
SO I, I'M, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S AN ISSUE OF SAFETY AND EVERYTHING, THAT WILL DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DEFINITELY WORK WITH THE TOWN ON THAT.
I WAS JUST, I'M JUST TELLING YOU LAUREN, LAUREN, I'M JUST, MY POINT TO YOU IS JUST, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT.
UM, WE HAVE A GOOD, REALLY GOOD TREE LAW.
AND WE'RE ALWAYS SEEING, THIS WILL BE AN ONGOING STORY.
THIS, I THINK, I HOPE HAS BEEN HELPFUL FOR EVERYONE TONIGHT TO KIND OF GET TO COMFORTABLE WITH EACH
[01:40:01]
OTHER AS WE GO FORWARD AND, AND SORT OF HAVE AN UNDER BASE LEVEL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE ABOUT, WHAT WE'RE DOING.UM, YOU HAVE MY EMAIL FOR EVERYONE AND I'M FREE.
YOU CAN ALWAYS REACH OUT TO ME IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS OR THINGS YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT.
OUR NEXT MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR MAY 27TH, AND I HOPE WE'LL ALL BE TOGETHER AGAIN THAT NIGHT.
AND AS AARON HAD SAID EARLIER, WE WILL HAVE A CASE THAT NIGHT, SO THAT'LL GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO SEE HOW WE GO THROUGH.
UM, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO GET EVERYONE THE DOCUMENTATION EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE WHO AREN'T APPOINTED AND WE'RE IN FLUXX WITH THIS WHOLE REARRANGEMENT
IT'S THE PUBLIC DOCUMENTS AT A, AT A MINIMUM WE CAN TRANSMIT THEM ELECTRONICALLY TO EVERYONE.
BECAUSE I THINK IT, OTHERWISE IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO COME INTO THE MEETING WITHOUT HAVING THE PAPERWORK BEFOREHAND.
AND, AND TERRY, IF, IF FOR ANY REASON YOU SEE THAT I I MISSED SOMEONE, YOU KNOW, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD AND IT'S OKAY.
NOT INADVERTENTLY GOING TO BE DONE.
I'LL SEND, SEND YOU, I'LL SEND YOU, UH, LAUREN AND STEVE'S EMAIL ADDRESSES.
AND I, I DID SEE LAUREN THAT YOU PASSED YOURS ALONG.
LIZ HAS ONE QUESTION, I THINK, OH, JUST FOR MIKE AND TERRY, UM, I, I HAD, I WAS SPEAKING TO, UM, FIONA MITCHELL, WHO'S PART OF HEALTHY YARDS AND VERY INVOLVED IN, UH, THE LEAF BLOWER LAW IN BEDFORD.
AND I HAD MENTIONED THAT WE WERE LOOKING THAT, THAT WE HAD DECIDED TO TREAT THE ELECTRIC THE SAME AS, UM, THE GAS AND EXPLAINED WHY.
AND SHE'S LIKE, SHE WAS REALLY INTERESTED AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE RESEARCH.
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU GUYS SHARE? OH, SURE.
UH, MIKE, YOU HAVE A HANDY TO SEND TO LIZ AND SHE CAN SEND IT ON.
YEAH, I THINK I KNOW FOR YOU, BUT ANYWAY, I'LL SEND IT TO YOU.
LIZ, WHAT DOES SHE WANT? I'LL SEND HER OUR REPORT FROM 2018 AND I'LL SEND HER, UM, UH, I THINK SHE'D LOVE THE REPORT AND SHE'S REALLY INTERESTED IN, IN THE SCIENCE, THE SPREADSHEET.
WHAT SHOULD ALSO, WHAT YOU SHOULD ALSO TELL HER IS SHE WANTS TO SPEND 12 REALLY USEFUL MINUTES, IS TO GO TO THE GREENBERG WEBSITE, GO TO WHERE IT SAYS, UH, AARON, TELL ME IF I DON'T HAVE TO SAY RIGHT TOWN BOARD VIDEOS, TOWN BOARD MEETINGS OR SOMETHING, AGENDAS YOU CAN GO TO, UM, HOW I THINK THE, HOW DO I, AND THEN YOU, UM, GO TO VIEW AGENDAS OR MEETINGS AND THAT'S HOW YOU CAN PULL UP AGENDAS OR CURRENT MEETINGS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, ARCHIVED MEETINGS.
S P A E T H 15, YOU KNOW, 12, 13, 14 MINUTE PRESENTATION OF THE TOWN BOARD ON THE, UH, UH, THE IMM THE, UM, UH, MEDICAL NEGATIVE MEDICAL IMPACTS OF, HUH.
MEETING THE DATE OF THAT MEETING.
THIS WAS AT THE, THE RECENT MEETING, RIGHT? NO, IT IS APRIL 14TH.
UH, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14TH, TOWN BOARD MEETING.
AND, UH, AND IT'S EASY TO FIND, UH, I, THEY, THEY, I THINK THEY LIST ON THE LEFT HAND OR THE RIGHT HAND OR SOMETHING, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND IT'S TESTIMONY ON THE BLOWER LAW.
AND IT'S JUST, UH, IT'S KIND OF THE MOST, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE MOST
MIKE, HOW DO YOU SPELL HIS NAME? SS P H S P A E T H.
IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE, LIZ, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL, I'LL GET IT TO YOU.
AND MIKE, IF YOU COULD ALSO SEND ME SOME OF THE RESEARCH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
THE SPREADSHEET IS VERY IMPRESSIVE.
THE SPREADSHEET REALLY IS, IS IS POWERFUL WHEN YOU REALIZE THE POWER OF THE ELECTRIC BOW IS.
I'M, I'VE BEEN TELLING EVERYBODY DON'T JUST GO ELECTRIC ON THAT.
I POSTED SOMETHING ON SOCIAL MEDIA BECAUSE EVERYBODY WAS ON THE, UH, ELECTRIC LEAF BLOWER BAND LAW.
AND I SAID SOMETHING AND SOMEBODY MENTIONED, WELL, I WALK WITH MY ELECTRIC MOWER AND I COULD READ A BOOK.
AND I SAID, YEAH, ELECTRIC LAWNMOWERS ARE QUIET.
MY ELECTRIC LAWNMOWER IS VERY QUIET, BUT THE LEAF BLOWERS ARE DIFFERENT.
AND THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED, JUST THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, AARON, IS IT, IS IT POSSIBLE TO EXTRACT, DID YOU HEAR, UH, DR.
SPACE'S TESTIMONY THAT EVENING? OR? NO, BUT I READ THE PAPER THAT WAS PROVIDED.
I THINK YOU FORWARDED THAT ALONG TO ME.
[01:45:01]
I IS IT, IT WAS VERY, VERY GOOD.IS IT POSSIBLE TO EXTRACT THAT, UH, PRESENTATION AND SEND IT TO, AND SEND IT TO, UH, TO ME AND I COULD SEND THAT ALONG? 'CAUSE ACTUALLY THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE ASKED ABOUT THIS, AND IT'S KIND OF, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE NOT TO EXTRACT THAT AND PUT IT INTO A SEPARATE ATTACHMENT TO AN EMAIL.
I AM NOT ABLE TO DO IT, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE OUR CABLE ACCESS FOLKS HAVE THE ABILITY TO CREATE LIKE A YOUTUBE LINK TO THAT SPECIFIC, UM, PORTION OF A MEETING.
SO JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL AND I CAN FOLLOW UP.
I KNOW THAT, UM, GEORGE MALONE, IF YOU DIDN'T HEAR WHO WAS WITH US FOREVER, HE RETIRED.
UM, AND HE WAS OUR CABLE ACCESS INDIVIDUAL.
BUT WE DO HAVE JANELLE WALLACE, HOWEVER SHE WAS QUARANTINED.
THAT'S WHY SOME OF OUR MEETINGS HAVEN'T BEEN LIVE STREAMED.
THERE WAS ALSO A, A, A, SOME SORT OF EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTION, BUT THAT'S HOPEFULLY GONNA BE ALL TAKEN CARE OF, COME EARLY NEXT WEEK.
SO IF YOU SEND ME AN EMAIL, I WILL FOLLOW UP AND SHE'LL GET IT DONE FOR ME.
I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW QUICK IT WILL BE.
AND TERRY, AT SOME POINT, IF YOU'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE CARBON TRACKER, ABOUT WHAT, WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT HER PARTICULAR, THEIR MODEL THAT THEY PUT TOGETHER? YEAH.
WELL MAYBE WHY DON'T WE PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
JUST WE, WE CAN KINDA HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THAT AND WHERE WE WANNA DO WITH IT AND HOW WE WANNA GO FORWARD WITH IT.
AND WE ENDED UP WITH 53 SIGNUPS FOR THE KIND OF GRID REWARDS.
NOW WE JUST HAVE TO GET THE $5,000 FOR THE TOWN.
I WAS SAY, WELL, I TRIED TO SIGN UP BY THE END, I WASN'T SURE WHETHER I DID OR NOT.
DO YOU HONEST
I WILL LOOK AND GET BACK TO YOU ON WHO? I'M PO SIGNED UP.
I JUST HAVE ADDRESSES, BUT I'M 100, SORRY, DIRECTED TO THE TREE FUND.
CAN WE GET THAT $5,000 DIRECTED TO THE TREE FUND? THAT'S A GOOD LEGAL QUESTION, WHICH I CAN'T ANSWER.
UH, I KNOW THAT THE MONEY CAN BE USED FOR ANY ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PROJECT.
IS IT, IS IT, UM, WHAT DOES THE TOWN, HOW IS IT'S NOT A GRANT OR IS IT A GRANT OR IS IT, UH, IT IS A $5,000 NO STRINGS ATTACHED.
GRANT GARRETT IS SUBMITTING THE PAPERWORK FOR IT.
SO MAYBE THERE'S NO MATCHING FUNDS, THERE'S NO NOTHING.
IT'S NOT GUARANTEED THAT YOU GET THE MONEY.
AT SOME POINT THEY RUN OUT OF MONEY, SO I DON'T KNOW.
IT'S 'CAUSE ONE, BECAUSE ONE OF, THERE ARE VERY FEW DEDICATED ENVIRONMENTAL FUNDS IN THE TOWN OTHER THAN THE TREE LAW.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS SOMETHING WHERE IN WRITING UP THE PAPERWORK, YOU HAVE TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE, I DON'T THINK YOU DO WOULD BE USED FOR.
IF NOT, THEN IT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT'S POSSIBLE ROUTING IT.
BUT AARON, IF YOU WANNA FOLLOW UP WITH GARRETT, HE WAS DOING THAT WITH SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER.
I WASN'T, I'M NOT INVOLVED IN THAT PIECE.
YEAH, I'LL TOUCH BASE WITH HIM.
AND CAN I ASK ONE MORE KIND OF QUESTION? SORRY GUYS.
SO MY, THE OTHER THING I'VE NOTICED IS THAT WHEN THEY DID THE CLEAR CUTTING UNDER THE WIRES, THAT THAT BECAME AN OPEN INVITATION FOR INVASIVES TO EXPLODE.
IS ANYBODY WORKING ON GETTING CONED TO REPLANT OR DO SOMETHING TO COMPENSATE FOR THE PROBLEM THEY'VE CREATED? SO I EARLY ON TRIED, UM, IF YOU, THE ONE AREA I WAS ABLE TO POINT TO THEM WAS IF YOU ARE ON JACKSON AVENUE, THE LINES GO OVER JACKSON.
AND IF YOU LOOK SOUTH TO YONKERS, IT LOOKS LIKE A NICE MEADOW.
IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY TREES, BUT IT'S A MEADOW.
YOU LOOK NORTH AND IT'S ALL THESE INVASIVE BRAMBLES AND NO, IT'S HEARTBREAKING.
IT JUST LOOKS HIDEOUS AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, ENVIRONMENT.
IT'S NOT ONLY UNATTRACTIVE, BUT ENVIRONMENTALLY, IT'S WHAT DO WE DO, AARON? I COULDN'T GET ACROSS TO THEM.
I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A SIMPLE FIX WHERE INSTEAD, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THEY COULD, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE GONNA CLEAR, MAYBE THEY CAN PULL OUT SOME OF THIS AND THEN SPREAD A NATIVE SEED MIX, A MEADOW MIX.
AND THEY WERE NOT INTERESTED AT ALL.
BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT DON'T WE HAVE THAT WAS 10 YEARS AGO.
[01:50:01]
BEFORE YOU, THEY HAVE TO GIVE YOU NOTICE BEFORE THEY DO IT.AND I, I HAVEN'T READ TWO 60 FOR MAYBE A YEAR, BUT ISN'T THIS STUFF IN TWO 60 THAT CAN MAKE YOU, UH, I MEAN THAT NOT MAKE YOU MAKE THEM, UH, YOU KNOW, RESTORE TO, UH, TO, TO A, UH, IN A WAY THAT'S NOT HARMFUL IN TWO 60 OR TWO 60 A OH, I APOLOGIZE.
SO TWO 60 A, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, YOU MAY EVEN KNOW IT BETTER THAN ME, BUT I THINK THAT REALLY RELATES TO THE DISTRIBUTION POWER LINES, NOT THE HIGH TENSION TRANSMISSION LINES.
NO, WE HAVE NO AUTHORITY ON THE HIGH TENSIONS.
AND THAT'S WHAT I THINK LIZ IS TALKING ABOUT.
THE HIGH UNDERNEATH THE HIGH TENSION TENSION WIRES, WHEN THEY CLEAR CUT, THEY JUST CREATED SUCH A PROBLEM.
WELL, LIZ, WE ARE, WE ARE STATE LAW PREEMPTED REGULATION OF ACTIVITIES OF CONED ON EVERYTHING ABOVE 69.
UH, KW, UH, UH, K, UH, I MEAN KV, K KW, UH, THEY, UH, AND THE THE DISTRIBUTION LINES LIKE, UH, ARE MUCH LESS.
BUT THOSE HIGH TENSION THINGS THERE, THEY, THE STATE HAS PREEMPTED.
WE HAD NO AUTHORITY ON, ON THE HIGH TENSION, UH, UH, TRANSMISSION LINES.
WE ONLY HAVE AUTHORITY ON THE DISTRIBUTION LINES THAT RUN ALONG THE TOWNS RIGHT AWAY WITHIN THE, WITHIN THE TOWN.
AND ON THE LINES THAT GO FROM THE DISTRIBUTION LINES TO THE HOUSES, UH, OR OR TO THE BUSINESSES.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO, YOU KNOW, SO, SO ALL OF THOSE HIGH TENSION WIRES, ANYTHING UNDER THERE THAT'S STATE YEAH, THEY, THEY'RE REGULATED BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
THEY CAN MOONSCAPE IT AND WE HAVE NOTHING NOW.
YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
THE ONLY THING I WAS ABLE, ABLE TO EVER GET FROM CONED, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT WHOLE CATASTROPHE WAS THE DEMONSTRATION PLANTING THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER AT THE LIBRARY AND ABOUT 20 TOTAL TREES.
UM, AND THAT WAS ONLY BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOKED AT OUR SURVEYS, IT TURNED OUT THAT ALONG, IS IT RIDGE ROAD? UM, NEAR HEATHERDALE, SO KIND OF CLOSE TO ANTHONY VETERAN PARK.
THERE'S A STRETCH THERE WHERE THEY WENT BEYOND THEIR RIGHT OF WAY AND TOOK DOWNTOWN TREES AND NEGOTIATED TO HAVE THEM PLANT 20 NEW TREES.
I THINK 13 OF WHICH WENT ALONG THAT STRETCH OF ROADWAY.
THEY'RE THE SHORTER TREES THAT WERE PLANTED MM-HMM.
AND THEN I THINK SEVEN OF SO MAY, I THINK IT WAS MAYBE 14 THERE OR 15.
AND THEN THE REMAINDER WERE PLANTED IN A DIFFERENT SECTION OF THE LIBRARY BECAUSE IT WAS SO UNDER LANDSCAPE THERE.
BUT THAT'S ALL I WAS ABLE TO EVER GET OUTTA THEM IF THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT AT ALL, BECAUSE THAT SOUND, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY BIGGER THAN THE TOWN.