Louisville/ Jefferson County Environmental Trust
July 18, 2008
Location:
Joe Creason Park at the Olmsted Conservancy Conference Room, 1297 Trevillian Way, Louisville, KY
Oversight Board Members In Attendance:
Kurt Mason - Chairman
Noel Rueff – Vice Chairman
Dudley Saunders
Lisa Hite for Mike Heitz
Phyllis Croce for H. Schardein
James F. Braun for Ted Pullen
Bob Schindler
Oversight Board Members Not Present:
Reba Doutrick
Richard Jett for Charles Cash
Alternates in Attendance:
Carl Suk
Bennett Knox
Advisory Committee Members In Attendance:
Frannie Aprile
Staff in Attendance:
Lee Wells
Theresa Senninger
Chris Cestaro (minutes)
Guests:
None.
Minutes
Kurt Mason called the meeting to order. Noel Rueff moved that the minutes be accepted as presented, and the motion passed unanimously.
Land Conservation Activity
Renaissance Zone CE, 2730 Outer Loop [Docket No. 22-2006-02] / Division of Water
Theresa Senninger said that she received an e-mail from Monica Henderson (the attorney for the Renaissance Zone) regarding changes to deed restrictions that were presented to her by the attorney for the Kentucky Division of Water. The goal is to have deed restrictions that meet the goals of the Division of Water’s water quality permit and that are consistent with the conservation easement held by LJCET. Ms. Senninger said there has been much discussion in an effort to finalize these restrictions. Ms. Senninger said something should be resolved shortly; hopefully before a meeting on August 8, 2008. Ms. Senninger gave a recap of the entire Renaissance Zone / Division of Water / conservation easement history (see previous minutes.)
In response to a question from one of the Board members, Ms. Senninger said that the Division of Water does not want any hunting or trapping on the property at all. There have been some questions from Division of Water representatives about what constitutes a “small mammal”, etc. related to these hunting issues. Board members were concerned because the Division of Water wants to prohibit anyone from walking on or using the property, even for educational purposes. LJCET would still be allowed to come onto the property to monitor it, because LJCET is the easement holder and has a responsibility to monitor the site at least once per year. Ms. Senninger said the deed restriction requests made by the Division of Water are outside the scope of monitoring water quality, and she clarified what they should encompass.
Jim Braun said that many State departments have been experiencing transitions and new employees, and emphasized the importance of establishing a rapport with the new people to facilitate understanding of tasks and goals.
Oldham County Landowners Inquiry
Kurt Mason said he had met with a group in Oldham County that is working on a grant to help establish conservation easements. Oldham County is looking at setting up an organization similar to LJCET, although right now they are still in “the talking stage”. Mr. Mason offered LJCET’s assistance in helping them to begin that process. He said the Oldham County judge seemed open to this idea. Lisa Hite said she had spoken to Mike Heitz about communicating Oldham County’s interest to Mayor Abramson.
Mattingly Property – 161 Rear Outer Loop [Docket No. 22-2003-03] – Wetland / Mosquito Abatement
Lee Wells distributed the e-mail he received from Edward Galligan of the Health Department regarding mosquito control. He said the e-mail referred to a “partnership” between the Health Department and LJCET in controlling this problem. Mr. Mason said the e-mail sounded as though LJCET was asking for mosquito control, when actually the Health Department had originally contacted LJCET. In response to a question from Mr. Braun, Mr. Wells confirmed that the Health Department originally called LJCET to discuss this issue. We do not know if the Health Department’s inquiry was based on citizen complaints. Bennett Knox discussed pesticide use, regulations, and training.
Lisa Hite discussed some of the ecology of this area. Mr. Mason said the development approvals for the WalMart building next to the property allowed the existing bottomland hardwood wetland to be altered and restored to provide additional flood capacity. During the restoration process, the ecological balance is likely to be disrupted, possibly resulting in more mosquitoes. LJCET will work with the Health Department to try to find a course of action that will have minimal impact on the ecology of the site.
Mr. Knox will write a follow-up e-mail to Edward Galligan and copy all Board members. Mr. Wells will forward this correspondence to Red Wing.
Mattingly Conservation Easement No-Mow-Zone request and encroachment issue
Mr. Wells showed photos of the web picture of the proposed no-mow zone near the Trinity property. The line of the easement goes down the middle of the ditch. Ms. Hite said a formal request letter should be sent to MSD to ask them to not mow on both sides of the ditch, to cut down on pedestrian traffic inside the easement boundary. It was suggested that Phyllis Croce be present to provide information and also to fully understand what LJCET’s request is about before the letter is sent. Regarding the garden, Mr. Wells said it looked like MSD was mowing slightly outside that mow zone so the place where the garden was is inside the mow zone. Pedestrians are also using the area to walk their dogs. Trespassing issues were discussed.
Mr. Wells said he will go on the site and take some photos. He will also check to see if the garden is inactive and/or gone. It was agreed that this will be counted as a “monitoring visit” and should be documented as such.
Ms. Senninger recommended that Mr. Mason draft a letter to the property owners (Fletchter-Bright) and offer to work with them and with MSD. The need for a fence was discussed, and it was agreed that now is the time to send a letter to WalMart asking time to install a fence to prevent or minimize encroachment, dumping, etc. Photos of the garden should go with the letter. Talking to property owners was also discussed, but it might be difficult to find out which resident put in the garden. It was agreed to discuss all the issues in the letter.
Monitoring and Baseline
Beargrass Creek / MSD Easements
Mr. Wells and Carl Suk have a monitoring visit scheduled for next Friday. Mr. Wells said he would bring maps of this easement to the next LJCET meeting (August 15, 2008.)
Duncan Conservation Easement, 404 Mockingbird Valley Road [22-2004-01]
Ms. Senninger said she and Richard Jett went to the property last week to meet with a prospective purchaser. She described the potential buyer, and her interest in turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. The potential buyer said there were no difficulties with the cemeteries. There was some discussion about the possible renovation of a bedroom. Ms. Senninger said there were some things put into the purchase contract (for instance, the small statue of a fireman could not be moved, etc.) which may need to be revised.
Noel said that David Fothergill said he would be willing to help out with monitoring visits.
Culbertson Conservation Easement, Dawson Hill Road [22-2003-01]
There was nothing new to report on this property.
Donoho / Van Tillburg – 9207 James Hill Rd. [22-2001-01]
Ms. Hite said this property is done for the moment. Mr. Mason said the owners are contacting MSD about the drainage problem uphill from the driveway.
Trinity Adjacent to 1860 & 2230 Outer Loop [22-2000-02] [MSD easements]
Ms. Senninger said she spoke with Deborah Kent and asked her if she would call to re-establish the access easement. Ms. Kent said that Ron Thomas has had no problem accessing the property, and she hadn’t heard anything about this access issue. She also told Ms. Senninger to call the president of the Trinity Foundation (Ron Cullen). Mr. Cullen said that they would work with LJCET regarding access, but that they were not interested in contacting UPS; they said LJCET can do that. Mr. Thomas said he gets access through the container yard. There is also a controlled access point up by the UPS facility. Ms. Senninger said she was comfortable taking this easement and then pursuing that portion of the easement in the future.
Ms. Senninger said we have not yet accepted the assignment, and it has not yet been passed by Metro Council. However, now that the access issue has been pretty much resolved, LJCET may begin the assignment process to formalize the transaction. A baseline reading should be done.
Musselman Conservation Easement / Hilliard Scenic Easement [22-2007-05]
Mr. Wells said a GPS reading will be done in the fall, after the leaves are down off the trees. Mr. Suk said there is no evidence of encroachment there. At the next LJCET meeting (August 15, 2008) he will bring maps of the property.
The Naturalization Elm Tree – Camp Taylor
Mr. Wells explained that there is a monument where an elm tree used to stand at Camp Taylor. There are deed restrictions on this property, which is owned now by a private citizen. It was suggested that this monument be moved to parkland so more people could see it. It is currently in the citizen’s back yard. There is language in the deed that this monument is supposed to be kept as is, in perpetuity. Mr. Wells said this is not a conservation easement, but should be under the jurisdiction of the Landmarks Commission. Ms. Hite said moving the monument defeats the purpose of the monument.
Ms. Rueff asked if LJCET was supposed to do any monitoring on a preservation easement. Ms. Senninger said yes, and Richard Jett does that. Ms. Senninger explained about some of the monitoring responsibilities LJCET may have regarding preservation easements. She said there was little specific language in any of the preservation easements regarding monitoring; however, LJCET does have a right to be on the property and to do monitoring.
Miscellaneous
Ms. Rueff suggested that, in the future, if a slot becomes available on the Board, it may be helpful for an architect to be nominated, particularly when dealing with preservation easements. Bill Weyland was mentioned.
Mr. Wells announced that the Kentucky Land Trusts Network meeting will be in Shelbyville on August 28, 2008.
The meeting adjourned at 2:35 p.m.