HUDSON RIVER VALLEY GREENWAY

Combined meeting of

Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley, Inc.

Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council,

and

Greenway Heritage Conservancy HRV, Inc.

March 10, 2011

Marist’s Historic Cornell Boathouse Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York

Minutes

Conservancy Members Present Burke, Kevin, Conservancy Member Griffen, Sara, Acting Conservancy Chairwoman Herman, Kenneth, Conservancy Treasurer Lanzetta, Cindy, conservancy Member Murray, Dennis, Conservancy Secretary Yarabek, Stefan

Conservancy Members Present by Proxy Brown, Kristin, Conservancy Member Mara, Donald, Conservancy Member Mazzuca, William, Conservancy Member

Council Members Present Ames, Edward, New York City Council Member Elliott, Robert, Westchester County Council Member Golden, Chris, Rensselaer County Council Member ???Granirer, Martus, Council Member McHenry, Barnabas, Chairman, Greenway Council ???Rubin, Rosina, Council Member

Council Members Present by Proxy Chmar, Andrew, Putnam County Council Member

Page 1 of 15 Advisory Members Present Bergman, Frank, Hudson River Boat and Yacht Club Association Rosenberg, Steve, Scenic Hudson Land Trust

Delegates Present Alworth, Tom, Joint Delegate for Commissioner, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Devine, Bonnie, for George Stafford, Joint Delegate for Secretary of State, NYS Department of State Dunwell, Fran, Joint Delegate for Commissioner, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Mazzarella, Sally, Council Delegate for Council Member Senator Stephen Saland Sproat, James, Joint Delegate for Commissioner, NYS Office of General Services

Greenway Staff Campochiaro, Elizabeth, Trails Coordinator Castiglione, Mark, Acting Executive Director Dennehey, John, Senior Planner Keller, Scott, Trails and Special Projects Director

Call to Order Council Chairman Barnabas McHenry called the meeting to order at 10:15 a.m.

Pledge of Allegiance Conservancy Chairwoman Sara Griffen and Barnabas McHenry led the meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Welcome and Introductions Chairman McHenry introduced Marist College President and Conservancy Secretary Dr. Dennis Murray who welcomed everyone to Marist College and commented upon Long Dock Park and the recent addition to campus of the $35 million Hancock Center.

Acting Conservancy Chairwoman Sara Griffen introduced retiring Dutchess County Executive Bill Steinhaus who welcomed everyone to Dutchess County, thanked everyone for inviting him and recognized Conservancy Secretary and Marist College President Dr. Dennis Murray for his efforts on behalf of Marist College and the Hudson River. Mr. Steinhaus noted that 29 of 30 Dutchess County communities have joined the Greenway Compact and half of those communities have been in the Compact long enough to have revised their original compacts. Dutchess County and its communities have protected 2,400 acres of land with another 800 in the process of being protected. Communities have committed $12 million to the development and implementation of the Compact, with the Greenway committing $1.7 million of that total.

Page 2 of 15 Mr. Steinhaus noted that as well as being the home to the Beacon Center for Rivers and Estuaries, it is also the home of a robust regional trail system, including the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and the Dutchess Rail Trail. The latter will begin construction on three major bridges that will allow the trails connection of Poughkeepsie to Hopewell Junction. The County is also planning to release four new Greenway Guides this year. Mr. Steinhaus concluded by thanking the Greenway for our interest in the many tomorrows of the next generation.

Presentation: Greenway Compact Acting Executive Director Mark Castiglione introduced David Church, AICP and Director of Orange County Planning who reviewed Orange County’s Compact Planning process. Mr. Church noted that Orange County had borrowed heavily from the model set up by Dutchess County and that they are working in collaboration with Dutchess and Ulster counties in an alliance to be known as the “Mid‐Hudson Regional Planning Partnership.” He noted that Orange County has more highway access than the state of Rhode Island. He reviewed the Orange County Design Manual which was published in July 2010.

Mr. Castiglione introduced Ulster County Deputy Director of Planning Jennifer Schwartz Berky who updated everyone on the County’s progress on their Compact Plan. She noted that Ulster County was larger than the state of Rhode Island and 1/3rd of the County is within the boundaries of the Catskill Forest Preserve. She noted that Ulster County is working to produce Greenway Guides similar to those produced by Dutchess County. The first guide, one on a topic Dutchess County has not yet tackled, will be on Traditional Neighborhoods. She presented a planning transect that combined settlement densities with coordinated activities such as governance, economic development, transportation and compacts.

Mr. Castiglione led the discussion into the area of the role of County Planning. Mr. Church noted that intermunicipal cooperation and consolidations may be the only way to achieve the necessary efficiencies required to make this sort of planning successful in these tough economic times. Dutchess County Planning Commissioner Kealy Salomon echoed Mr. Church’s thoughts.

Agenda Review Acting Chairwoman Griffen called for changes/additions to the agenda. There were none.

Minutes of January 20, 2011 Combined Meeting of the Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council, Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley, Inc. and Greenway Heritage Conservancy HRV, Inc. On a motion from Bob Elliott (Ned Ames second) the January 20 meeting minutes were unanimously approved.

Page 3 of 15 Minutes of January 20, 2011 Meeting of the Hudson River Valley Greenway Grants Committee On a motion from Bob Elliott (Ned Ames second) the January 20 meeting minutes were unanimously approved.

Executive Director Report Mr. Castiglione noted that proposed National Heritage Area budget cuts are being proposed for mid‐year of this federal fiscal year (FFY) and a 50 percent cut is being proposed for FFY 2011. He noted that these cuts would require a fundamental change to the Greenway organization. He further noted that he was delaying the Strategic Planning Process until the Governor’s Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission completes it’s important work.

Mr. Castiglione’s written Executive Director's report is appended to, and a part of these minutes.

Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council Call to Order Chairman McHenry called the Greenway Council meeting to order and welcomed new Board Member Christine Golden. Ms. Golden was appointed to serve as Rensselaer County’s representative on the Council.

Council Appointments to the Conservancy Board Chairman McHenry announced the appointment of Cindy Lanzetta and Stefan Yarabek to the Conservancy Board of Directors. Without a motion the Council Board unanimously approved the appointments.

Discussion of New Requirements for Greenway Council Grants Mr. Castiglione announced that the Grants committee had approved three new rating criteria for all Council grants in order to make the grants more objectively competitive. The criteria for the Compact and Community Planning Grants are: 1) How well the projects will help to advance the Greenway Criteria, 2) How well the projects, will help to advance the Greenway Compact, and 3) Innovation: Higher ranking projects will be innovative and applicable elsewhere.

For the Water Trail grants the criteria are slightly different and are: 1) Project Goals: How well the does the project advance the goals of the Hudson River Greenway Water Trail Program, 2) Critical Need: How great is the need for the project in order to complete the overall system, and 3) Innovation: Higher ranking projects will be innovative and applicable at other sites.

Community Grants Mr. Castiglione announced that the City of Newburgh, Orange County is seeking funding in the amount of $5,000 is seeking grant funding for a Agricultural Community

Page 4 of 15 Land Use and Natural Resource Plan and is seeking to re‐scope an additional grant for $5,000 to apply those funds to the same project.

Mr. Castiglione announced that the Town of Sand Lake, Rensselaer County is seeking funding in the amount of $4,850 for the creation of architectural drawings in order to rehabilitate and adapt an historic 1835 structure into a community center called the Sand Lake Center for the Arts.

On a motion from Bob Elliott (Sally Mazzarella second) the Board unanimously approved the Community Grants.

Compact Grant Mr. Castiglione announced that the Orange County is seeking funding in the amount of $25,000 to develop a Greenway Compact.

On a motion from Sandra Galef (Bob Elliott second) the Board unanimously approved the Compact Grant.

Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley, Inc. Call to Order Acting Chairwoman Griffen called the Conservancy meeting to order.

Hudson River Greenway Water Trail Designation Mr. Castiglione announced that Hudson Crossing Park, Inc., Town of Saratoga, Saratoga County, with the approval of the New York State Canal Corporation, has requested that the Alfred Z. Solomon Canoe/Kayak Launch at Hudson Crossing Park, Lock C‐5 Champlain Canal be designated as a Hudson River Greenway Water Trail site. On a motion from Kevin Burke (Stefan Yarabek second) the water trail designation was unanimously approved. Mr. Castiglione noted that this designation brings to 94 the number of Water Trail sites.

Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Mr. Castiglione noted that an evaluation process of the past seven years of the THV program is underway. The THV Summer Institute will be take place July 26‐28, 2011. The Institute is entitled Place and the Digital Native. He concluded by reminding everyone that there will be an Explore Awards Program this year.

Mr. Castiglione announced the continuing Nature and Culture Initiative of “Curating Shows.” In 2010 Landscape Gardens of the Hudson Valley were celebrated. In 2011 two exhibitions will celebrate Tiffany Landscape Windows and the Hudson River School Art Trail

Heritage Weekend May 14‐15

Page 5 of 15 Mr. Castiglione announced that the second Heritage Weekend will occur in May 2011 and that it is a Ramble for historic resources. The website is now up and may be found at www.heritageweekend.org.

Heritage Site Guidebook The Heritage Site Guidebook is now available for the low, low price of $9.95 and is available through the Heritage Area website www.hudsonrivervalley.com.

Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m. by acclamation.

Respectfully submitted,

Scott S. Keller Meeting Secretary

Page 6 of 15 Hudson River Valley Greenway Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Acting Executive Director’s Report Mark Castiglione March 10, 2011

Hudson River Valley Greenway Budget Update

National Heritage Areas face an uphill battle throughout the next few weeks to preserve current year funding. Congress is now debating mid‐year cuts in the 2011 budget. In addition, the proposed 2012 federal budget proposal cuts funding for National Heritage Areas in half. As a result of these unknown budget outcomes, we are taking steps to ensure we can continue with the same level of service if reductions occur. It is now time for us to speak with one voice to let Congress how important National Heritage Area funding is to preserving and interpreting the cultural landscape of the Hudson River Valley. What’s more, we must let them know the role National Heritage Area funding plays in creating jobs by supporting the Valley’s $4.7 billion dollar tourism economy.

The Greenway has always done more with less. We must continue to do so. Last year for every dollar invested by the state in the Greenway’s operations, we secured five dollars in other funding. But, with declining income from the state, and an approaching federal funding sunset for the National Heritage Area program in 2012, we must be even more creative and fundamentally change our organization in response. This transition will not be easy and it will require the input of our board members, partners and stakeholders throughout the region. Our challenge will be to diversify our revenue sources while continuing to be a partnership driven organization. Our organization works though public private partnerships on project and programs and we will need to innovate to find additional revenue sources from both the public and private sectors.

It is my hope that strategic planning will help the board and our larger network of Greenway and National Heritage Area partners become engaged in identifying creative solutions that will help our organization be stronger and more resilient moving forward. Identifying creative solutions and efficiencies across the entirety of New York State government is the monumental task of the Governor’s Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) commission. In order to facilitate the work of the SAGE commission, we are delaying our own strategic planning process. I hope to resume our strategic planning process as soon as the commission completes its important work.

Grant Updates

7 Orange County Submits Greenway Compact Application: Orange County submitted a grant application to develop a regional Greenway Compact Plan. Orange County’s Compact will coalesce existing county-wide plans in an effort to help their communities implement the intersecting policy goals included in them. Design guidelines will be included to demonstrate how those regional policy goals can be implemented at the local level. Orange County will become sixth county within the Greenway Area to develop a regional Greenway Compact Plan. Dutchess, Westchester and Putnam counties have completed Compact plans. Rockland and Ulster counties are currently in the Compact development process. Eight Grants Completed Since 1-20-2011

Contract Grant Completion Grant Type Community Project Period Awarded Date Begins Mount Gulian Mount Gulian Interpretive Conservancy 1/16/2008 $5,000.00 3/2/2011 Society Plan City of Quassaick Creek Estuary Conservancy 10/21/2008 $2,000.00 2/2/2011 Newburgh Biodiversity Coloring Book Village of Council Revision of Zoning Ordinance 1/11/2006 $7,500.00 2/16/2011 Nyack Conforming comprehensive Council Village of Tivoli 8/14/2008 $7,500.00 1/26/2011 master plan to zoning laws Village of Council Granville Walking Path 6/18/2009 $10,000.00 3/2/2011 Granville Create a publically accessible, easy to use web‐ Samuel Dorsky based database of images Museum of Art NHA and information for art 3/26/2010 $5,000.00 2/2/2011 at SUNY New objects in the collections of 5 Paltz partner organizations in Ulster County Albany Quad: Endless Hudson River Quad Institute of 1/14/2009 $3,100.00 2/2/2011 Landscape History and Art Historic Albany Quad Quad: Ghosts of Albany Tour 1/14/2009 $2,000.00 2/23/2011 Foundation $42,100

Teaching the Hudson Valley Explore Awards Update

THV Explore Awards Made Since 1-20-11 Award School Date Project Amount Match Mohonk Preserve, Mid‐Hudson Children Vails Gate High Tech Magnet Musuem, Sharpe Reservation, Stony Kill Farm, School 2/11/2011 Hudson Highland Nature Museum $4,000 $6,150

8 THV Explore Award Field Trips Completed Since 1-20-11

Award School Date Project Amount Match Coxsachie‐Athens CSD 9/24/2010 Hudson‐Athens Lighthouse $1,256 $2,637 Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School 2nd award 10/15/2010 Hilltop Hanover Farm $450 $450

Trails Champlain Canalway Working Group On January 6th, Scott attended a meeting of the Champlain Canalway Trail working group. The Greenway has been an active participant in the process to develop and Action Plan for a trail along the Champlain Canal, along with partners such as the Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor, The National Park Service, the NYS Canal Corporation, and others. At the meeting, a final draft trail Action Plan was made available to the working group, completed by the consultants on the project, the LA Group in Saratoga. The Action Plan outlines where the trail could potentially be located, and the challenges and opportunities to completing a trail along the Canal. The Action Plan would be the extension of the Trail Vision Plan for Saratoga and Washington county portions of the Greenway Trail. Kinderhook-Stockport-Stuyvesant Trail A Draft of the report has been distributed to the Kinderhook Trails Committee for review, and comments are being incorporated. The consultants should be finishing up the feasibility study this spring.

The Greenway provided funding for a 2003 feasibility study for a series of trails in the town of Kinderhook. The study led directly to the Town receiving a DOT TEP trail construction grant for $552,000 for a portion of the trail. In 2008, a Greenway grant was awarded for a feasibility study for trail segments along the same former Albany-Hudson Electric Rail Line through the Towns of Stockport, Stuyvesant and Kinderhook, which is currently ongoing. The consultants engaged for the feasibility study, the State University of New York at Albany, have synthesized the information gathered at public information meetings for the feasibility report. Columbia County Trail Conference, April 2, 2011 Columbia County Land Conservancy has been working with the Greenway, Parks and Trails NY, and the National Park Service to put together a day-long county-wide trail conference for April 2nd. The conference will invite community representatives and leaders to learn more about trail efforts in Columbia County, what is happening with trails on regional level, and to give input l on trail opportunities and constraints, and solutions and next steps. Registration is now open for this conference, which aims to concentrate on Columbia County, but will be open to residents of other counties if space allows. There will be representatives from several Greenway trails presenting at the conference, including the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail and the Hudson Crossing Park. Greenway staff will be contributing to the poster session as well as serving as group moderators. The Greenway has been able to provide mapping services as well.

Events New York Heritage Weekend May 14-15

9 • The new website will launch on March 8, 2011 www.heritageweekend.org • Communications to the public and partners will be sent 3-8-10. • Event calendar, map are live. To upload events http://heritageweekend.org/heritage_weekend_events/submit_your_event.aspx • Partner communication will include instructions and links to event uploads and to upload information to the “Special Offers” section. http://heritageweekend.org/special_offers.aspx • Sponsorships are available for any organization or business http://heritageweekend.org/sponsors.aspx • Find New York Heritage Weekend on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr • About 17,000 promotional post cards are being sent to the HVT mailing list (Thanks Mary Kay for your help on this and to Michele for advice on strategy) • About 20,000 are being mail to partners and distribution sites including HVT TPAs, all 27 Thruway plazas, Grand Central Partnership, heritage sites, state and national heritage areas and state parks, etc. If your organization would like more, please email me [email protected] • WAMC underwriting: From now until Heritage Weekend, underwriter spots will be running on WAMC and various times throughout their broadcast schedule.

Heritage Weekend events can include special programs, discounted or free admission, or any event that celebrates national, state or local heritage. Historic sites, museums, architecturally significant buildings, local historians and historical societies, battlefields, historic districts, community groups and any resources that connect directly with New York State heritage are all invited to participate and get involved. Themes for Heritage Weekend events include: Military History, Arts and Culture, Corridor of Commerce, Innovation, Architecture, Freedom and Dignity, Traditions and Cultures, Community Heritage. These themes are intended to broadly represent the diverse heritage of New York State.

2011 Great Hudson River Paddle Currently we are working with L&P Media to adapt the Hudson River Valley Ramble website into a new Great Hudson River Paddle website. We have involved local outfitters, tourism professionals, experienced paddlers and non=profit officials in designing the new Great Hudson River Paddle. We have reached out to previous paddlers to let them know of the change in the program. The event is scheduled for July 1-31, 2011.

For the past 10 years, the Great Hudson River Paddle has been an end-to-end trip, most times starting in Albany, and ending in Manhattan. Partners felt that the paddle didn’t lend itself to encouraging beginner or novice paddlers to participate, did not engage young people (18-35), missed the NYC market, and did not provide our tourism partners with an event around which they could put together package deals. Hudson River Valley Ramble Over 150,000 people attended the 2010 Ramble. We estimated that the Ramble generated over $20 million in economic impact contributing to the $4.7 billion tourism economy in the Hudson River Valley.

10 In 2011, the Ramble program will once again appear in Chronogram Magazine and additional programs will be distributed at high traffic tourist destinations throughout the Hudson River Valley region and beyond. Rack Cards will be available and distributed to partners by mid- May. Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area

2012 NHA Funding Sunset Approaching Authority for the NHA program to receive federal funding will expire in 2012. We are exploring alternatives including working with the Congressional delegation to advance reauthorization legislation. The National Heritage Area Congressional Caucus Chairs Charlie Dent (R- PA) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) sent a letter requesting any pending legislation related to the establishment of a program for National Heritage Areas within the Nation Park Service. Should this legislative effort to create a NHA program within the Park Service be successful, it remains unlikely that a program will be up and running prior to the funding sunset for the NHA. Fourteen NHAs will reach funding sunset in 2012 and 2013. This represents nearly 30% of existing NHAs.

National Heritage Areas meet with NPS Director Jon Jarvis: Along with representatives of National Heritage Areas from across the country, I met with National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis. Director Jarvis reaffirmed his support for National Heritage Areas and indicated they would be cited in the forthcoming America's Great Outdoors report as a model to advance the initiative's goals.

America’s Great Outdoors Report Cites Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area as an Effective Program. On February 16, President Obama released the America’s Great Outdoors Report. The report, completed by the Departments of Interior, Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, is a blueprint that outlines strategies for implementing a 21st- century conservation agenda. The Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and the Hudson River Valley Greenway are cited under a “Summary of Effective Partnerships and Programs.” Rhinebeck to host National Park Service Northeast Region National Heritage Area workshop National Park Service Northeast Regional meeting to be held in Hudson Valley April 5-6: Representatives from National Heritage Areas and National Park units from Baltimore to Maine will convene in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County in early April. Meeting topics will include strategic planning, tourism promotion, interpretive planning and partnership building.

Teaching the Hudson Valley Summer Institute The title for the 2011 Teaching the Hudson Valley Institute is "Place & the Digital Native: Using Technology & Social Media to Teach the Hudson Valley." Registration will be open soon. www.teachingthehudsonvalley.org Dates are July 26-28. GIS Mapping: Scenic Resources, Access, Trails and Environmental Resources Our intern from the UAlbany GIS department has been busily mapping the Greenway Land and Water trails, and making them accessible in a Google Map format as well as GIS. She has also been assisting with preparing maps for the Columbia County Trail Conference, which will help conference participants to visualize and discuss potential trails. Once the Greenway Land and Water Trails are fully mapped, the next step will be to map potential trails. As the Steering Committee begins meeting, more attributes will be mapped.

11

The Purpose of this project is to update existing GIS datasets including conserved open space including land protected by the state, federal, municipal, and not-for-profit entities; Greenway Trails including both land and water trails; significant water resources; significant fish and wildlife habitats; River access sites; designated scenic areas and scenic byways; to create a complete inventory of scenic views and viewpoints and create a system for their identification, categorization, and prioritization; and to create a searchable database of these features that allows for sorting by category and attribute. Cycling the Hudson Valley Guidebook Route Mapping Completed Parks and Trails New York has completed the route mapping of a bicycle touring loop throughout the Hudson River Valley. They are currently working with their cartographer to create map pages of the route at a user friendly scale. The Advisory Committee met in February to discuss any final alternate routes and a distribution strategy. PTNY is targeting Memorial Day as a potential release date. The committee includes representatives from NYS DOT, NYS OPRHP, Fred Schaefer, Steve Rosenberg, Jane Daniels, Mary Kay Vrba, Robin Dropkin, and Greenway staff, Nature and Culture Theme Development: Spring/ summer shows will focus on Tiffany landscape windows and another will promote the expansion of the Hudson River School Art Trail. We are working with Mohonk Preserve and Thomas Cole National Historic Site others on the Art Trail expansion. Tom Carroll at the Hudson Mohawk industrial gateway is assisting John Dennehey with the Tiffany Windows exhibit. The NHA will be working with Goodman Media to promote these initiatives. Hudson Valley Tourism Development Strategy to Feature, Heritage Weekend We are continuing to build on our successful partnership with the 10 county Hudson Valley Tourism Consortium and look forward to continuing to work with them on promoting Heritage Weekend, the Great Hudson River Valley Paddle and the Hudson River Valley Ramble. NHA Website To help increase these numbers, we are engaging our website consultants to conduct ongoing search engine optimization so that our site will more frequently appear in search engine results. Total visits to the site (January 1- March 1): 5,940 visits • First-time visitors: 4,636 • Returning visitors: 1,304

Top content viewed 1. Homepage 2. Heritage Site Map 3. Events Listing 4. Photo Gallery 5. Heritage Weekend (new in the top 5) Top methods of accessing the website 1. Google / Search engines 2. Directly entering “hudsonrivervalley.com” 3. National Park Service 4. Culinary Institute 5. Facebook (new in the top 5)

12 Social Media Definitions Fans: People who have “liked” our page on Facebook. Monthly Active Users: People who interact with the page Impressions: Number of unique users who have viewed a posting

NationalB Heritage Area Web address: facebook.com/hrvnha Total fans: 502 (+ 44 fans since January) Monthly Active Users: 286 (+ 2 users since January) Impressions: 25,837 (total) 431 (average/day)

National Heritage Area Evaluations In May 2008, Congress passed legislation which requires the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate the accomplishments of nine National Heritage Areas (NHAs) no later than three years before the date on which authority for federal funding for each of the NHAs terminates. Based on findings of each evaluation, the legislation requires the Secretary to prepare a report with recommendations for the National Park Service’s future role with respect to the NHA under review. Each evaluation is designed to answer the following questions, outlined in the legislation: 1. Based on its authorizing legislation and general management plan, has the Heritage Area achieved its proposed accomplishments?

2. What have been the impacts of investments made by Federal, State, Tribal and local government and private entities?

3. How do the Heritage Areas management structure partnership relationships and current funding contribute to its sustainability?

Funding for the completion of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area’s evaluation has not been secured and a timeline has not been established. It is unlikely that an evaluation will be completed in time to provide an adequate assessment to Congress to inform their decision whether to eliminate or reauthorize funding for the Hudson River Valley NHA in 2012. NHA Self Assessment Recognizing that the evaluation process is delayed, the National Park Service has suggested that NHAs conduct a “self assessment.” The goal of the self assessment will be to provide a foundation for future evaluations and to help develop the kind of information Congress requested should evaluations not happen prior to funding sunset. It will be our goal to align this process with our strategic planning initiative. Self assessment questions include: 1. Which, if any, activities would continue post-sunset of the NHA entity's funding authority? 2. Which, if any, activities would end with the sun-setting of the NHA entity's funding authority? 3. Are there activities that would end with the sun-setting of the NHA entity's funding authority, but which support issues of National importance, and thus should be considered for other federal funding?

13 4. What, if any, organizations or mechanisms currently exist outside of the NHA entity for accomplishing the goals and objectives of the NHA? Would these organizations or mechanisms continue to work toward the heritage area goals post- sunset?

When answering the 4-point self-assessment above, the NHA coordinating entity may wish to consider the following questions, as well as other questions determined by the entity:

• What, if any, mechanisms existed to accomplish the goals and objectives of the NHA prior to the creation of the NHA? • Which individual goals and objectives of the NHA can be characterized as supporting issues of national importance? (For example, a goal to protect nationally-significant historic resources may be characterized as nationally important; a goal to increase local tourism may be characterized as locally important).

Board Updates: New Greenway Board Members Greenway Council will vote on the appointment of two new Greenway Conservancy board members at this meeting. The two new members are Cindy Lanzetta from Marlborough, Ulster County and long-time representative of Congressman Hinchey on the National Heritage Area’s Management Committee Stephen Yarabek. Cindy has been involved with the Greenway for many years as a former elected official, advocate, and project partner for various local and regional planning initiatives. In addition his numerous professional accolades as a landscape architect and principal of Hudson Pacific Designs, Stephen has been an ambassador for the Greenway for many years and worked with the newly formed Czech Republic on the creation of the Prague - Vienna Greenway (Zelene Stezky) a 200-mile greenway between Prague, Czech Republic and, Vienna, Austria. Strategic Planning The Greenway and National Heritage Area’s strategic planning process is on hold pending an examination of the program by the Governor’s Spending and Government Effiecncy (SAGE) commission. The commission is tasked with exploring agency consolidations.

We hope to resume this important process following the SAGE commission’s work. Strategic Planning will help the board set priorities for the program moving forward. The process will also help inform the pending National Heritage Area evaluation. I would like to thank all of those who volunteered to be on the Strategic Planning Steering Committee and I hope to engage you in this process soon. Staff Updates: Meetings and Events:

1/25 John Dennehey, 7th Street Park Task Force 1/25 Mark Castiglione, APA conference call 1/26 Mark call with Augie Carlino, re: Strategic Planning 1/26 Mark Castiglione, Greenway Strategic Planning Meeting with Governor’s office, 1/27 Beth Campochiaro, Scott Keller, Columbia County Trail Conference call 1/30 Mark Castiglione, ANHA Meeting in Washington, DC

14 1/31 Mark Castiglione, Meetings with Congressional Delegation, Washington DC 1/31 John Dennehey, Congressman Tonko’s Mighty Waters meeting 2/1 Mark Castiglione, Meetings with Congressional Delegation, Washington DC 2/7 Scott Keller, Eco-Tourism Presentation, Siena College 2/8 Mark Castiglione, John Dennehey, NPS North East Region conference call 2/8 John Dennehey, Watervliet Task Force 2/9 Mark Castiglione, Meeting with Chronogram, re: Ramble publications 2/9 John Dennehey, Mighty Waters conference call 2/9 Mark Castiglione, meeting re: Hudson Valley Regional Council, New Paltz 2/9 Mark Castiglione, HV Magazine meeting, New Paltz 2/10 Beth Campochiaro, Scott Keller Champlain Canalway Working Group 2/14 Mark Castiglione, Beth Campochiaro, call with Jane Daniels, re: Trail 2/16 John Dennehey, Rensselaer County Tourism 2/16 Mark Castiglione, Stuyvesant interagency meeting 2/16 John Dennehey, Mark Castiglione, Preservation League meeting with Erin Tobin 2/24 Mark Castiglione, Beth Campochiaro, Cycling guidebook meeting 2/24 Mark Castiglione, Presentation at Columbia University, NYC: Concepts in Regional Planning. 2/28 Scott Keller, Saratoga-Washington on the Hudson Partnership meeting 2/28 Mark Castiglione, call with Open Doors NY 3/1 John Dennehey, Empire State Tourism Conference 3/2 Mark Castiglione, John Dennehey, Empire State Tourism Conference 3/2 Scott Keller, presentation at Tourism Conference 3/2 Mark Castiglione, Tourism Conference Awards Banquet 3/9 Mark Castiglione, HREMAC meeting, Norrie Point, Staatsburg

15