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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAC-01/07/2026 s �k Carol Brown,Chairperson p Town Hall, 53095 Route 25 Lauren Standish,Secretary �0 P.O.Box 1179 Southold,New York 11971-0959 Fax(631)765-1823 Telephone(631)765-1889 CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL TOWN OF SOUTHOLD MINUTES Wed., January 7, 2026 4:30 PM Conference Room and Zoom Online Platform A meeting of the Southold Town Conservation Advisory Council was held Wed., January 7, 2026 in the Town Hall Conference Room and via Zoom. Present were: Carol Brown, Chairperson Maggie Merrill, Member Nancy May, Member Burke Liburt, Member Barbara Friedman, Member Alexa Annunziata, Member Brian Mealy, Town Board Liaison Trevor Fitzgerald, Student Member Lauren Standish, Secretary Guests: Anne Murray, NFEC Absent: Inga Van Eysden, Member Liz Gillooly, Board of Trustees Liaison Yan Albaladejo, Student Member CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Carol Brown called the meeting to order at 4:30pm. ANNOUNCEMENTS Carol Brown-Reminder: Cornell Cooperative Ext. is hosting 2026 Coastal Gardening Classes on January 31St, February 28th and March 21st. The course will include the 2 following topics: Living by the Sea, Water Wise, Right Plant, Right Place, Soil Solutions, Community Stewardship, and Field Trips. Carol distributed a draft of the Southold CAC Accomplishments 2025 for review. Moved by Maggie Merrill, seconded by Barbara Friedman, to accept the draft with noted edits. Vote of Council: Ayes: All — Motion Carried The CAC will be requesting an appointment with the Town Board at their work session scheduled for Tues., January 27th to discuss the CAC's mission statement, the Environmental Expo with NFEC, and the Residents Guide. Alexa Annunziata will prepare a PowerPoint for the presentation of the Residents Guide. Carol Brown, Barbara Friedman, Inga Van Eysden, Burke Liburt and Alexa Annunziata will be attendance, if scheduled. Councilman Mealy noted that the priority of the Town Board is the Zoning Update, as well as dark skies and ambient noise. Congratulations to Trevor Fitzgerald as he was recently nominated by Senator Chuck Schumer to work as a Senate Page for the democrats as a whole, for the next four months. We wish him well with this prestigious opportunity and look forward to hearing all about his experience. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Maggie Merrill, seconded by Barbara Friedman, to Approve the Minutes of December 10, 2025. REPORTS Nancy May attended the Board of Trustees meeting held on December 17th, 2025. Applications made on behalf of 3705 Duck Pond Road, Cutchogue, 3121 Oaklawn Ave. Southold, and 1090 First Street, New Suffolk were Tabled, as they were highly contentious. CLIMATE SMART COMMUNITIES PROGRAM-UPDATES The CAC will ask the Town Board for feedback on the work they've already accomplished before moving forward with other action items. NEW AND CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS/UPDATES • Re-Wild Garden The applications for native gardens were very competitive this year. We received approval for a 400-700 sf. garden behind Town Hall. Carol, Barbara and Inga will be attending a six week, two evenings a week, Virtual Workshop on Sustainable Garden design, starting on January 13th.This group will design the garden with a site plan from Erick Haas, DPW. Barbara will follow-up with Erick on the site plan. r ' 3 • Leaf Blower Legislation —Work Session appointment with the Town Board The memo from the CAC was sent to the Town Board on December 12tn. It will be re-sent to the Town Board to include the newly elected board members, Alexa Suess and Kate Stevens. The CAC will continue their research and work with stakeholders. This will be a continued discussion at future CAC meetings. • Resident's Guide —Work Session appointment with the Town Board The CAC members agreed to present the Resident's Guide to the Town Board at a work session. A request will be made for a 15 min. appointment at the work session scheduled for January 27tn • Environmental Expo The was a discussion as to whether the Environmental Expo with NFEC would be included in the work session discussion with the Town Board. Maggie expressed her concern with the timing, since we don't have a date, and given how much work is involved. It was agreed to include the discussion item on the Town Board work session agenda request for January 27tn • Review of Chapter 6 of the Town Comprehensive Plan Carol asked the members to review the goals listed in Ch. 6 of the Comprehensive Plan and highlight their areas of interest for discussion at the next monthly meeting. • Youth Initiative Introductory Meeting, Trevor Fitzgerald reported that there was a good turn-out at their first meeting held on Dec. 17th at the Peconic Community Center. Students from Mattituck and Southold schools were present. He's hopeful that Greenport and Fishers Island students can participate in future meetings. The next meeting will be held on January 21st. Carol Brown invited students from the Peconic Community School to participate in this meeting. The top initiatives were trees and the tree code, oyster initiative, and the maintenance of town trails. • Tree Code/Education for Stakeholders in Town The CAC will continue with the Mayor's Monarch Pledges with the support of the Supervisor Krupski. UPDATES ON OTHER TOWN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEES Maggie Merrill will be sharing the recommendations for the Zoning Update from the Water Advisory Committee with the CAC at a future meeting. The next meeting of the Conservation Advisory Council is scheduled for Wed., February 4, 2026 at 4:30PM in the Conference Room. 4 There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 PM. Respectfully submitted by, Lauren M. Standish, Secretary Conservation Advisory Council