Town of Rochester Environmental Conservation Commission
Minutes for Tuesday, January 26, 2021 – 6:30pm
In attendance:
Madeline Russo (ECC Chair)
John Messerschmidt (ECC Vice Chair)
Chris Hewitt (Town Board liaison)
Lisa Dokken (ECC membership pending)
Mark Diedrich (ECC member)
Mikala Sherman (ECC member)
Todd Anderson (public)
Lawrence Dewitt (public)
Erin Enouen (public/Town Board

Watershed Educational Park Update
Chris H provided an update on progress at the WEP and previewed his presentation that he’ll share for the April Third Thursday presentation. Next steps: ECC will help plan and coordinate a community clean-up day at the WEP in May (date TBD). John M will donate some of his crew and equipment to trail clearing, and Mark D can also provide support. Lisa D will help with incorporating her biomimicry knowledge into educational signage and Mikala S to help with wayfinding. Madeline R to reach out to Catskill Native Nursery and others to see about tree/plant donations. Chris will also follow up with Town regarding agreement with Borrego Solar regarding educational programming to see if ECC can provide support.
Transfer Station Recycling Ambassador Program
Erin Enouen is working to start training volunteers to educate the public about proper UCRRA-compliant recycling at the Transfer Station. Asks that the ECC help recruit volunteers and assist with scheduling/coordinating training sessions and volunteer shifts at the Transfer Station.
River Cleanup
John M talked to Jeff Frey, Rochester Hwy Dept supervisor about help getting that horrible hot tub out of the river below the new bridge that showed up after the last flood. We need to help them with access to the hot tub itself, which may require clearing some paths for their equipment. Madeline R to reach out to Town to find out who owns the property adjacent to the river and how we can coordinate the recovery and clean up.
Third Thursday Nature Series Presentations
We broke our record for attendees at last week’s Third Thursday. We want to keep the momentum up – need help with promotion. Todd A has some ideas for local bulletins and online calendars, and Madeline R wants to work on improving the newsletter and social media outreach.
Upcoming schedule of speakers:
February: Hudson Valley Farm Hub
March: Mark Diedrich
April: Watershed Educational Park
May: TBD
June: Judith Karpova (energy efficiency)
July and beyond: TBD