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Home My WebLink AboutCAC-07/08/2026 �Zf�Fkt Carol Brown,Chairperson Town Hall,53095 Route 25 Lauren Standish,Secretary - '�� 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., July 8, 2026 4:30 PM Conference Room and Zoom Online Platform A meeting of the Southold Town Conservation Advisory Council was held on Wed., July 8, 2026 in the Town Hall Conference Room and via Zoom. Present were: Carol Brown, Chairperson Maggie Merrill, Member Inga Van Eysden, Member Nancy May, Member Barbara Friedman, Member Alexa Annunziata, Member Trevor Fitzgerald, Student Member-YETI Lauren Standish, Secretary Absent: Phoebe Faint, Student Member-YETI Brian Mealy, Town Board Liaison Eric Sepenoski, Board of Trustees Liaison Guests: Anne Murray, NFEC Kayla Walsh, Sea Grant Lena DeSantis CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Carol Brown called the meeting to order at 4:30pm. ANNOUNCEMENTS Carol Brown introduced Lena DeSantis. She is an environmental planner/consultant and is interested in joining the CAC. t 2 Carol contacted the IT Dept. and asked them to post the updated mission statement on the Town's website. The Resident's Guide will be posted in English and Spanish once finalized. Carol opened a discussion regarding a CAC-hosted, town-wide meeting with other local environmental groups and committees. While she suggested September 9th, Maggie requested a separate meeting as a preparatory meeting. Since the council does not meet in August, prep time is limited. Consequently, everyone agreed to tentatively schedule the meeting for December 9tn SPECIAL PRESENTATION Kayla Walsh, Sea Grant re: Overview of Cornell's Climate Stewards Program —The first meeting will be held on July 1 lth. This is the Climate Smart Sustainability equivalent of their Master Gardeners Program, which includes education in the science of Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and ends with volunteering 40 hours to a project on a local level. Examples of projects include pollinator pathways,community gardens, composting projects and a CSC program. Maggie Merrill signed up for the program and will report back to the members. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Maggie Merrill, seconded by Alexa Annunziata, to Approve the Minutes of June 3, 2026. REPORTS Trevor Fitzgerald - Youth Environmental Council Update The oyster shell recycling project has started. They are currently working on trail restoration, and regular upkeep of the native plant garden located at Town Hall. The Suffolk Times and East End Beacon recently reported on the great work the YETI has been doing. Board of Trustees Meeting —A CAC member was not present at the Board of Trustees meeting held on Wed., June loth. The meeting minutes will be provided to CAC members when they become available. CLIMATE SMART COMMUNITIES PROGRAM-UPDATES No recent progress was reported on the Climate Smart Communities Program; consequently, the item will remain on the agenda. NEW AND CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS/UPDATES • Resident's Guide Completion —The guide is now complete and the CAC will present to the Town Board at a future meeting. • Public Relations for Resident's Guide—the members agreed that the guide should be shared with schools, contractors, civics, chambers, and the communications committee, etc. by the end of the summer. They will reach out to 3 Councilman Mealy for his guidance on having the YETI share the guide on their social media, and to Councilwoman Suess for guidance on sharing with civics and non-profits. Alexa Annunziata will draft a press release and get approval to post on the town's website. • 2027 Budget Items, Resident Guide printing, posters, brochures, YETI expenses, Native garden expenses, and Environmental Expo expenses. Aluminum Recyclable Cups — Nancy May is looking for support to endorse the use of recycled aluminum cups as an alternative to single-use non-recyclable plastic cups. This initiative aligns with the Skip the Stuff Campaign. Tree/Clearing Code — Maggie Merrill shared a rough draft, using the Southampton Town Code as a baseline. She will continue working on the draft and will send to the CAC members for final edits. The final draft will be forwarded to the Town Board. Request for 2027 Budget Items —all requests will be sent to Carol Brown and formalized in a memo for Town Board consideration. Suggestions included money for the native garden and support for the Environmental Expo. • Native Garden at Town Hall —as part of the ReWild Grant, they will provide a sign based on one of three templates. Inga Van Eysden and Barbara Friedman shared them with the members and asked the members to select a template. They agreed on option 3, which Inga will share with the Town Board. Moved by Carol Brown, seconded by Inga Van Eysden, to recommend to the Town Board, the appointment of Lena DeSantis as a member of the Conservation Advisory Council. Vote of Council: Ayes: All Motion Carried The next meeting of the Conservation Advisory Council is scheduled for Wed., September 9, 2026 at 4:30PM in the Conference Room. There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 6:25 PM. Respectfully submitted by, co"', " _�&q4h Lauren M. Standish, Secretary Conservation Advisory Council