Wednesday, April 29, 2026 RSS  ·  Calendar
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Croton-on-Hudson, New York
🦅 Conservation Advisory Council

12 agenda items including Minutes, Review, Comment, Approval, and GUEST: David Lowell from Quiet Clean Croton (5 min.).

12 agenda items including Minutes, Review, Comment, Approval, and GUEST: David Lowell from Quiet Clean Croton (5 min.).
2026-04-21 · Full Transcript · Watch Video ↗
⚠ This article has not yet been verified against the official meeting minutes. Details may contain errors. See our corrections log for more information.
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Coverage of the Conservation Advisory Council meeting on 2026-04-21, Village of Croton-on-Hudson, NY. · Read full transcript

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Related Conservation Advisory Council Meetings

2026-01-13 Recreation Department Takes Over Earth Day Logistics
▶ Key Actions & Decisions
● Resolutions Passed
● December 2025 meeting minutes approved (unanimous).
● Earth Day operational handoff: Approved a proposal to memorialize current Earth Day procedures and transfer logistical responsibilities (vendor coordination, promotion, bulk purchasing of compostable supplies) to the village Recreation Department, while the CAC retains authority over vendor curation and mission-aligned activities like bird walks and bike rides (unanimous agreement).
● Resolutions Failed
● None.
● Applications Reviewed
● None.
● Public Comments
● None.
● Reports
● Earth Day: Scheduled for Saturday, May 2 (rain date May 9), likely moving to Vassallo Park. The CAC will draft an operational guide for the Rec Department. Scheduling noted to avoid conflict with the Food Pantry day at Holy Name of Mary.
● Leadership: John Ealer will continue as Chair and lead CLEAN, but will miss some future meetings due to travel.
● Trails: Updated village trail map is essentially complete and shared with NRI organizers. Volunteer trail work days will restart in late March.
● Dark Skies: Initiated a multi-month process to propose a village Dark Sky code. Reviewed existing codes from Yorktown and Cortlandt; Planning Board liaison Steve Krisky to review current village regulations. Next steps include defining regulations by light emitted versus light source types, and time-of-day restrictions.
● Repair Cafe: Scheduled for February 28 at the Croton Free Library. Currently has 10 coaches signed up but still needs sewing and bicycle repair coaches.
● Natural Resources Inventory (NRI): Logistical meeting held at the municipal building; next meeting is March 11. Coordinating with engineers and the building department, and working with the county to obtain matching GIS data for the new trail map.
● CLEAN: Programming will restart in March.
● Garden Club: 100 seedlings reserved for Earth Day through the NYS seedling sale; pending a village purchase order for payment.
● Committee Scheduling: Mayor Pugh to explore moving CAC meetings to the 1st or 3rd Tuesday of the month to avoid conflicts with Planning Board liaisons.
2025-12-09 Croton Council Pushes Back On Volunteer Rules
▶ Key Actions & Decisions
● Resolutions Passed: November minutes approved unanimously.
● Resolutions Failed: None.
● Applications Reviewed: None.
● Public Comments: No public attendance or comment.
● Reports:
● Garden Club (Eva Thaddeus): Reported the Visual Environment Board is reviewing proposed text, format, and a mockup for Gotwald Gardens signage; John Ealer is coordinating with a vendor.
● Draft Committee Guidelines: Council reviewed Board of Trustees proposals, raising concerns about the Village Manager's centralized correspondence role, punitive administrative language, limits on serving on multiple committees, and volunteer time constraints. Mayor Pugh agreed to relay feedback to the Board.
● Westchester Coalition for Clean Water: Council determined the invitation is better suited for the Water Control Commission; John Ealer will forward it.
● Earth Day 2026: Reached consensus to hold the event on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at Vassallo Park, with a rain date of Saturday, May 9, 2026, to reduce logistical and parking burdens.
● Natural Resources Inventory (Jason Mencher & Madalyn): Noted an upcoming intermunicipal meeting to establish a GIS-friendly, updatable data framework, including trail map updates.
● CLEAN (John Ealer): Reported recent low-tide waterfront trash collection and ongoing restructuring following the chair transition.
● Trails (David Daly): Reported seasonal quiet; discussed future trail marker placement and coordination with DPW.
● Repair Cafe (Sherry Horowitz & Halle Clarke): Scheduled for Friday, February 28, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Croton Free Library. Discussed supply procurement through Village administration/DPW, signage reuse, and volunteer needs including data tracking for the regional network.
2025-11-12 Croton funds $260 trail surplus, February Repair Cafe
▶ Key Actions & Decisions
● Resolutions Passed: October meeting minutes approved.
● Resolutions Failed: None.
● Applications Reviewed: None.
● Public Comments: No members of the public spoke.
● Reports:
● Budget: Reviewed the $4,600 total budget (covering June through May). Spending is proposed by the chair to the comptroller. An additional $260 from an Eagle Scout trail project surplus is earmarked for trails.
● Earth Day 2026: Extended discussion on revamping the event. Key suggestions included making it invite-only for vendors to align with Earth Day themes, adding educational talks, increasing child-friendly activities (like a judged poster contest), and avoiding co-locating with larger events to prevent the CAC's presence from being overwhelmed. A date will be finalized before the end of the year.
● Garden Club: New plant identification signs have been installed along the circle path. Larger signs are delayed due to concerns about driver distraction. The grassy area needs re-sodding rather than re-seeding; Chair John Ealer will follow up with the DPW. Member Eva Thaddeus will give a talk on converting lawns to pollinator gardens on Sunday at 1 PM in the Municipal Building.
● Natural Resources Inventory (NRI): No update; awaiting the next task force meeting.
● Trails: An Eagle Scout project successfully finished installing bridging over two wet areas on the North Highland Loop. The scout's surplus funds ($260) were donated to the village. No major trail issues reported by volunteers; cleanups will resume in the spring.
● Clean-ups: No organized events until spring.
● Repair Cafe: Scheduled for February 28 at the Croton Library. Sherry Horowitz and Halle Clarke are organizing, utilizing library volunteer lists and CAC "coaches." The CAC has committed to providing organizational help and financial support from its budget.
● Village Newsletter: Halle Clarke is writing a December column focusing on "reduce, reuse, recycle" for the holidays, including tips on wrapping paper.
2025-10-14 Croton Library Repair Café Set For 2026
▶ Key Actions & Decisions
● Resolutions Passed: None
● Resolutions Failed: None
● Applications Reviewed: None
● Public Comments: No members of the public were in attendance; no public comments were offered.
● Reports:
● Natural Resources Inventory (NRI): Jason Mencher, Madalyn Bozinski, and Steve Krisky reported on the first NRI meeting held September 22nd in Cortlandt, which focused on logistics. The next update meeting is scheduled for December 10th at 6:00pm at Croton Village Hall.
● Repair Café: Sherry Horowitz reported that the CAC will partner with the Croton Library to host a Repair Café (tentatively February 7th or 28th). The CAC will manage fixers, organize volunteers, and provide financial support for food and supplies. Chair John Ealer will follow up with Brian Healy regarding funding.
● Garden Club: Eva Thaddeus and Halle Clarke reported on an end-of-season potluck at Senasqua (~12 attendees) and a Lasdon Arboretum tour. Thaddeus is coordinating a November lawn conversion and pollinator garden event with the Recreation Department. Plants at Gottwald were replaced and horticultural signs are on the way.
● Trails: David Daly reported a busy summer for the trails committee, with workdays pausing for the winter. Two new trail signs were installed on North Highland, and ¾ of the Upper Highland Loop crossings are marked. Daly met with John Bouchard about a new trail section near Duck Pond.
● CLEAN: John Ealer reported a September 28th waterfront cleanup with Temple Israel yielded ~100 lbs of trash between Senasqua and the Landing. This was the final cleanup until spring.
● Conservation Corner & Enforcement: Halle Clarke will coordinate a rotating calendar of topics for the Village newsletter's "Conservation Corner" with Amy MacNamara. Mayor Pugh reported that 17 violations have been issued in 2025 for off-season leaf blower use. The council was asked to brainstorm goals for Earth Day 2026.

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