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minutes 3 pages

DRAFT - Croton Conservation Advisory Council Meeting Minutes November 12, 2025 Meeting called to order at 8:00pm Present: John Ealer (Chair), Rachel Bernstein, Halle Clarke, David Daly, Sherry Horowitz, Jason Mencher, Eva Thaddeus, Madalyn Bozinski, Planning Board Member Steve Krisky (Liaison) 1.​ Minutes a.​ October minutes approved. 2.​ Budget Overview a.​ $4600 total budget. Shared in spreadsheet ahead of the meeting. b.​ The budget covers June through May. c.​ Spending is proposed to the chair, who takes it to the comptroller d.​ There is an additional $260 in the budget earmarked from trails. This is from the surplus from the Eagle Scout project recently completed on the trails. 3.​ Earth Day a.​ Extended discussion on planning for Earth Day 2026, focused on what we liked and did not like from this and past years. Some key points: i.​ The event requires a lot of work and prep, but can get cancelled due to weather. That happened a few years ago. ii.​ There was a general desire to increase the focus on green initiatives and learning. iii.​ Specific suggestions: have talks and include more information with the tree-give-away. iv.​ Question: Should it be smaller and more focused on Croton and Croton groups? v.​ Vendors: If the vendor application is open to the public, we have to welcome all vendors. Alternatively, if it is an invite-only setup, we can focus the invitations on vendors aligned with themes of Earth Day. vi.​ Maintain/increase the focus on children. If it’s child friendly, more people come. 1.​ Specific suggestion: Judged poster contest, with prizes and winners shown at the event vii.​ Discussion on co-locating with a bigger event. There was a broad concern that our part would be overwhelmed and lost in such an arrangement. viii.​ We should raise awareness for what we do by participating in those larger events by having a table. b.​ We will need to figure out a plan for the date at our next meeting/before the end of the year 4.​ Public Comment a.​ No one from the community 5.​ Garden Club a.​ New signs are in the ground, labelling the plants in the circle. Please take a stroll through the path and enjoy. b.​ The larger signs are still held up for approval, with concern about distracting drivers. c.​ The grassy area needs to be re-seeded. Because there are weeds, sodding would be better. John to follow up with DPW. d.​ Eva giving a talk this Sunday on converting lawns into pollinator gardens. 1 PM Sunday in the Municipal Building 6.​ NRI a.​ No Update, awaiting next task force meeting. 7.​ Trails a.​ Eagle scout project finished adding new bridging over two wet areas on the North highland loop. The scout had surplus funds after finishing the project. The surplus has been donated to the village. b.​ Checking in with the volunteers on the status of the trails as they use them. nothing too bad. c.​ Otherwise quiet. No cleanups and no updates scheduled for now. Things will pick back up in the spring. 8.​ Clean a.​ Nothing big organized until spring 9.​ Repair Cafe a.​ There will be a repair cafe in the Croton Library Feb 28th. b.​ Sherry and Halle are organizing c.​ The library has a list of volunteers they can reach out to. d.​ We have a list of coaches for the repair cafe e.​ John re-iterated that CAC membership has committed to assist Library with organizing coaches and with financial support (per its budget) 10.​Open Mic a.​ Halle is working on a column for the December village newsletter. Discussion on topics. Decision to focus on reduce, reuse, recycle ahead of the holidays. Likely to include discussion on wrapping paper. Meeting closed at 9:00 PM