PRESENT: Chair: M. Kaplowitz. Members: V. Pinto, U. LaMotte, J. Maisano.

Staff: Rob Hoch, Charlotte Ryer, Sec’y.

ALSO PRESENT: Gudrun LeLash (FCWC); Carol Coggeshall (Soil & Water Bd.); Fedora DeLucia (Somers); Bill Randolph (CEO).

Chair Kaplowitz called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.. Chair announced that Legislator Pinto suggested that the Committee permanently change their meeting time to 3:30 p.m. for this calendar year, all agreed - new time is established.

The topic of Agricultural District, which was scheduled for today’s meeting, will be postponed to a later date due to the lack of information to present this issue effectively. Legislator LaMotte expressed that she has contacted her district officials to get their opinion and feedback on this matter, she is awaiting their response.

Next, in regard to the planned Committee meeting in Eastchester, a date, time and place needs to be established as soon as possible. Legislator Pinto will follow through and report back to Charlotte when decision is made on the topic to be discussed and the pertinent information.

New agenda items were reviewed next. The following items were received and filed: Item A-4, on the motion of Legislator LaMotte, seconded by Legislator Pinto, with a vote of 4-0. Agenda item C-4 was signed out of Committee during the meeting held January 4th. Items D-4, E-4, G-4 and H-4 were received and filed (see Completed Referrals for detail).

In regard to item F-4 (relating to the Agricultural District/Muscoot Farm), Legislator LaMotte asked to obtain a list of the Muscoot Board members for corresponding purposes.

Chair discussed sewage diversion and suggested that Rob ask Commissioner Lannert of the Planning Department, to schedule a meeting with the Committee to give an update on the Croton Plan, including the sewage diversion component of the Plan, etc. Legislator LaMotte pointed out that the County (9^th floor) has been meeting with the Watershed community at the same time the Budget Committee meets, and would like to know if the times can be rescheduled/rearranged so she, and other Budget Committee members, could also attend the Watershed meetings. Chair mentioned that he might want Savin & Associates to also participate in the meeting. Bill Randolph was also asked to look into this request.

Next, Chair discussed Stokes-Green and when the topic could be scheduled for discussion. It was agreed that the topic will be on the meeting agenda for February 2^nd. Chair also made reference to the letter (dated 12/9/98) submitted by Pat Masiak an Ossining resident, via Dr. Adel, regarding noise pollution. Dr. Adel’s memo was accompanied by copies of his staff’s research on ambient noises, in which Dr. Adel explains that the County of Westchester is not at regulation regarding noise pollution. As discussed in an earlier meeting on this issue, the situation is, that the noise is not generated in Ossining as it is in New Castle and Mt. Pleasant. Rob has been asked to send a copy of the complete correspondence to Legislators Swanson and Wishnie, as it affects their district. Chair also suggested to send a copy to Commissioner Lannert in the Planning Department. It was suggested that the Committee receive the input from Legislators Swanson and Wishnie before passing any information to other departments.

Chair made several other announcements and reiterated that the new Committee meeting time will be 3:30 on Tuesdays. Also in regard to the Airport, the Administration, through Transportation Commissioner Marvin Church, announced the appointment of Bob Funicello to handle the Airport environmental matters.

In other correspondence, a memo dated April 28, 1998 from Chairman Latimer to all Mayors was in regard to discharge-zone regulations for boaters on the Sound. Legislator Maisano commented on the complaints from park-goers (Hudson Park) with regard to the foul odors washing in from the Sound with the waves. Legislator Pinto recommended inviting someone familiar with the boating discharge laws to attend a Committee meeting. All members will be given copy of the memo. Also, in an April 17^th memo from Chairman Latimer regarding harbor pump-out stations, explained that proper disposal of pump-out waste would result in a cleaner Long Island Sound(LIS) and Hudson River. Rob stated he will first check for state law information (w/Health Dept.). Chair Kaplowitz suggested that this topic would be good for another sub-committee. Legislator LaMotte suggested talking with Chairman Latimer to get his input on how to handle this situation as a whole, which includes the Hudson River Valley. Legislator Maisano suggested that if the LIS Sub-committee was reactivated, they would be happy to undertake this issue. Rob added that there are proposals in cooperation with other counties along the Hudson supporting boat patrols, and the Administration is in the process of finding out whether State matching funds are available supporting a lower Hudson Valley boat patrol. He expressed that the Sound Shore has ample patrol coverage, whereas, the Hudson has very little. Because of the many facets regarding this issue, it was suggested that a meeting be scheduled with the appropriate departments to discuss further.

A thank you note (dated 12/31/98) was received from Irene Saltzburg, President of Friends of Marshlands, Inc. – thanking the Environment Committee for their successful proposal allocating three assistant curator positions. The letter will be forwarded to the Board Agenda.

Grass clipping ban was discussed next. Chair noted that the subject meeting (12/01/98) was informative, but that no conclusion had been reached on how to effectively enforce the ban. Rob suggested, to assist with enforcing the ban, that the Solid Waste Management Plan should be amended. Chair asked Rob to send a memo to the Administration to get their assistance in resolving this issue.

Next for discussion was access to the Hudson River. Chair Kaplowitz mentioned that the Committee on Legislation is developing a new State package, and that the access to the Hudson River should be included in the recommendations.

Additional items to be received and filed, on the motion of Legislator Maisano, seconded by Legislator Pinto, with a vote of 4-0 were: AA, MM, and GG.

Lastly, Legislator Maisano requested that sometime in 1999, he would like to discuss the diversion issues at the County Airport in regard to the Blind Brook, and other diversion issues. He also expressed that he would like the Committee to hold a public, informative, open meeting to deal with the diversion issues, along with someone who could describe (chronologically) what has happened and update what kind of monitoring is going to be performed by the County to make sure that the plans are implemented properly, and that the water entering the LIS and the marshlands is clean. He also added that it would be another good issue for the LIS Sub-committee.

Some suggested new sub-committee topics are:

- Hudson River

Other topics are still being considered

With no further business to discuss, on the motion of Legislator Maisano, seconded by Legislator Pinto, the meeting adjourned at 4:37 p.m.