Conservation Commission - Regular Meeting

Well, it is 7:30, so I will call the meeting to order. Um, there is no one here for the dredgent bill. They will they came before for a cup, so we've seen the drawings. Um, are you able to put up that that conservation page?

Uh, yeah, this one. Yes. So they just have I think this one is in the front is the actual wetland that of most concern which is not really much concern. Yeah. Apparently it's it looks like it is too small to have a buffer. So it's just a question of recommending it. But um they have I think it's seven extra parking spaces beyond what's required.

What's required? Which they might if they take the ones that are just to the west. Hopefully that's north oriented. I No, maybe not. Yeah, this is this is north left, right? So just to the Oh, no. What am I talking about? That's north. Which way? Because 93 is this. The north arrow is at the bottom middle here. It's it's north is to the right. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. To the right. To the to the right and a little bit down. Yeah.

Yeah. So So I would guess north the the parking spots there. There's about 10 parking spots there just north of that wetland that they could give up. I think they could they're in a position to give up seven of them and then with the ones they had left they could probably make them into parallel ones and and and get out even more. So where are you talking about here? Yep. Right. That's nine spots there.

Yeah. And like I say, if you look at the plans, I think they are required to have seven less than they provided. So eliminate this strip of Yeah, I don't know. I I thought we could certainly recommend it, but they they would need a a waiver because they need two of those seven to make meet their requirement. And even even if they had to have two of those, it still impacts a lot less. Yeah. Right. That's the point. Right.

Right. The other comment that I had was that those other four impacts are labeled as temporary impacts to the buffer, but I think they're actually permanent impacts to the buffer because they're regrading it. Then they're not going to they're not going to put the grade the original grade back. They're, you know, they're grading it to meet their other requirements,

which we would have already addressed for the COP application. Right. I don't know. Seems to me you could I mean I don't I don't object to what they're doing with those. I'm just objecting to the way they label them.

I wonder if it's it was different on the cup application. I don't know these residential units, apartments. They probably want guest parking. My guess is why they want the extra. Yeah, they're they're required to have two spaces per unit. Yeah, per unit. Um,

and if any of those apartments have, you know, solo people or couples that only have one car, which is trending. Yeah. Uh, they they'll pick up more, you know. Do you Did you bring the application? Uh, yeah. I have a sticky tab on one page. the it it's the um wetland value analysis. Yeah,

just thanks.

It didn't seem like they were very high valued areas. Budding house lots have fertilized lawns. Can't blame the wetland for that. Yeah. I mean I if you believe the wetland scientists we're not losing a whole lot

by that cuz they are protecting all that other wetland.

Yeah. I mean, regardless of what they do and how they do it, I think we could just to reduce the impervious service recommend that they go down to the m the minimum required parking slots. And then I would re label the temporary buff for impacts as permanent buffer impacts.

Okay. So this is I'm this is what's going into my communication with dees. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I I understand there's got to be a nexus between the the wetland that they're asking about filling and what we're recommending, but I No, I'm just like this feels like a DRC comment a little bit also. You know what I mean? Recommend the parking spaces would be more DRC, but Oh, yeah. Yeah. But what I'm saying is that if if they have the ability,

if they follow the recommendation to re reduce part of the fill that they need to that they want to fill without any impact to anybody, I don't think other than it'll cost them a little less.

All right, that works for me. Everybody else sounds good. Okay. Um, I've actually had a busy day getting all kinds of new things to talk about. Um, I received the, um, easement monitoring from RCCD of the Merrill properties. And the only um comments they really had was saying that there's quite a big establishment of bittersweet in in one of the areas. Um and Bob Merrill went with them, so he's aware of all the comments that they have here, but there's the two reports. Um

did So did they do the the new forested part too the on the hill? I don't think so because did do they who has an interest in that? We the same. Okay. So the this is because somebody else has an interest and I think the new easement is just us. Yeah. Right. Oh yeah. But we're only an executive interest. Yeah. So we're just getting copied on this. It's going to

I guess Department of Agriculture.

Yeah. And I I haven't gotten back the excuse me, the Ingresaw one yet. That's the other one that they do. So I imagine that'll come shortly because I already, you know, approved the estimate.

Yeah. Right. And then the other thing just um I sent out on an email a while ago that we've been invited to tour Recycle Works. It's a facility in Brainree, Mass. We looked at a property, you missed it, it was this summer, um up by Stonyfield Farm Yogurt, and it's it's a um it's like a sewage treatment plant, but it's for food products. So, some of the milk waste coming from Stonyfield Farm and some they get from breweries and other food processing and they break it down and then they ship it out to this recycle works that um I think they repurpose 100% of what they do, what they bring in, but they're giving we are invited to go on a tour and it is September 23rd at 900 a.m. And there will be transportation from here. That I know that was why people were hesitating is to drive through Boston at 8:30 in the morning. Um but if you're interested, they're looking for a headcount with anybody who wants to go. So

is it all day or is it half day? Nope. It says um you will be out of there by noon if not sooner or 11 if not sooner. So, it's a quickie thing. Um, I'm not able to go that day, but anybody else is We have two invitations. So, if two people want to go, we can go. Yeah, I will not be able to go. Yeah. And then Mike, do you know are these signs up in planning? These little round ones don't look familiar to me. I don't think

it doesn't even look familiar to me. Actually, that um one of the developments said that they're missing some because they they used a poor choice of screws to attach them to the post and the screws all fell out and the little signs disappeared. So, they want to buy some more. But I The only ones I've ever seen is the rectangular yellow ones. Right. I've never seen that. I've never run across one of those. Maybe that's a different from a different place because he did mention the yellow, but that's definitely not yellow. But the yellow ones are up in planning, right? We have the square yellow ones. Yeah. Do you know how much they are?

Uh I'm not sure how much they cost. Okay. But they they b they buy them. We Yeah, we buy them. Yeah. But I mean developers buy them, right? Yes, develop. Yeah. Yeah. Developers do buy them. We don't give them to we don't. Yeah. There really is no London wetlands conservation district regulations with deed restrictions. It didn't look familiar to me.

We have we have conservation easements. We have a wetland buffer ordinance, you know, a zoning ordinance. So, I I could just say that we've replaced them with a different style. Who? And you said who? I I can't get to the email on my phone, but it's one of the recent developments. I'm guessing it's a

Well, I'm wondering if it's the one that just that donated the five acres or so of wetlands to next to the state's turtle habitat. No, this isn't existing because this the guy emailing me is the head of grounds or something. So, it's been in existence for a while. It's not the Tinkham site. I let it use the ones we have so we consistent throughout recommend that he go into planning and and get them. Thanks. Um, is he planning to fabricate his own or something or No, he wants to know where to buy them.

Oh, and I just this better than that, we'll give them to you for free. Um, so we have some invoices to approve and the Lithia ones, I'm not sure. I have the Earth and Stone contracting invoice. Is that what we need to pay? That's for 20,41 or the total which is 23 or this says estimate 24581. Yeah, we should be getting a separate um or the restoration monitoring.

Yeah, because this was for the actual work and then there's an additional fee for monitoring. Well, well, it's it's every all the work that Mark West did. So all of his visits, all you know, all he he did the seating. I was down there today. It looks really good. Oh, yeah. But yeah, it's I don't think what you got on your right. This one is not the full. So I hold off and just pay they're going to go two different checks. So, um, Earth and Stone will get this much one check for 20,000 and and then Mark West will get one for 3,000

2780. Yeah. But says add 1,400 more for monitoring reports and labor for planting. Yeah. But that's future. So, uh, so only worry about this one. Yeah, dees asked for updated cost estimates. Okay. which is part of the effort I'm trying to go through to get the extra $30,000 that we need. Okay, nice. So, approve this approve the Earth and Stone and I will you haven't actually appointed any. Oh, yeah. That would be good. I appoint you to vote for Deb.

All right. You want to And I think everybody else is full, right? Okay. Yeah. So, I will move that we pay the invoice to Earth and Stone for the work on Lithia Spring Restoration from the open space fund to amount of 20,000 401. 401 second. Hold on. There was Marcus actually asking me about it today because Anthony, the guy there is asking him when he's going to get paid. Well, yeah.

So hopefully they can cut it on Thursdays. Yeah. Make checks on Thursday. Yeah. Um I lost my train of thought. Will check requests make it through the system of time you think to get cut on Thursday? Yep. Yep. Um, so Mike made the motion and Bob second. Any further discussion? All in favor? I opposed. Abstain. Motion passes unanimous.

Um, then I have

while we're on the subject of the springs, just so everybody else knows what was going on. So um I developed a new project total project budget u based on the fact that the dees is asking us to do some things that were not in the original budget and I have made a request to them to approve a I think they're going to call it an amendment to the a project agreement which will up the money by the amount. It's about 20 thou $29,000, which is the amount of things that are in exceedence of what we budgeted originally back when we made the proposal in 2022. So, if that goes through, then we'll be able to do all those things. If it I think we obligated about $24,000.

It was just under whatever we needed. Yeah. So, which it's enough to cover the the monitoring, which we really have to do, but it isn't enough to cover the signs. And if they want the signs, they're going to have to give us the money for them. Yeah. But we have a firm bid for the signs. Firm bid, which is what you're looking at there for the additional monitoring. And um so now it's a matter of just going through this. It'll probably they're shooting for the November executive governor and executive counsel meeting to approve it,

but between now and then, we got to put a bunch of other papers together. Most of it the staff will do, but I'll have to probably get the town commander town manager to, you know, sign off on a few papers. But that's the that's the game plan.

Okay. Good. Um, and I haven't really got the other thing we need yet that is still hanging as getting an estimate for the trail work and getting that done. And then once we have we met uh we tried to meet with the department of public works uh and go down and see the it was a a very huge confusion. But anyway, bottom line is the town manager met with the DVW and they went down and they looked at our proposed parking area and um it was a preliminary look, but at least they're they're on board and know that something has to be done. So, they're going to try to get that done. We want to have that done about the same time as the trail goes in so that the guys doing the trail have a place to put their equipment when they when they go in. And then um we were investigating another place that we could have possibly created a parking for Lithia Spring, but I I I think it's too low and going to be too wet. So that's that's the status on Lithia Spring.

Do we have a lead on somebody who can build the trails? Because I have not gotten a response from extension. Um I I think I think I do have some names that I can right query. Yeah. No response, but I haven't Yeah. And I haven't I haven't talked to him yet. So I I think that this is not cons would not be considered consulting, which means we may have to have or try to get three bids for it. And so it's going to take a little while to get that all lined up.

I'll work with Kirsten to figure out what the proper way is to solicit bids. Okay. On a similar note, I'm working on finding a new logger or forester. Did you I sent you an email with some names. Do you got that one right? I don't know. I got the name the forest I got information from the county forester. I don't know that I saw that one. I'm having technology issues this week. This I suppose like after our last meeting. Okay, I'll go back and look. Maybe I'm just deleted it.

Yeah, just look for search out a from me. It's it's a message forwarded from the forest society to me that I forwarded on to you.

Okay. um because the county forester who is also holds several other hats um sent me copies of five towns RFPs um request for proposal. Um so for me to use that as a basis to draft our own. But as I'm doing that, I came up with um do we have where's our old horse management plan? Would it be upstairs in a file? Deb's I saw Deb at the grocery store today. She's going to look in her stuff to see if she has it. She said she might have given it to me. So I'll have to go through some boxes that I have in the basement. Um, and then I remember a while back when we were first having it's I think we're going on three years, two at least that since he's been here. Um, we at that time our tree farm status was expiring and we needed to resubmit something that never to my knowledge got done. So, I want to put that in the this job description that, you know, to maintain and or reinstate our tree farm status.

And I'm wondering obviously major the majority of what we'd want this person to do would be in the musquash, but kind of have a and you know, if something came up in Kendall Pond or Right. Right. you know any additional but the the main forest plan is for musquash. Would that be correct? Yeah. Um I mean there the whatever we got about is it about 80 acres um off of South Road or I guess South Road becomes Griffin. Griffin Road. Yeah. There there's that for us too.

Okay. I I would say, you know, town owned forest land. Yeah. Then Mike can probably generate a list of that. Although I noticed today that Lithia Spring isn't on the conservation layer yet. Oh, it's not. I don't think so. There's was another one even and I'm not sure that that that one I just mentioned off South Road is is on there behind Lantern. But would we need to include Matthysse in that or is that on fishing game? Um, well, it's we No, as far as the

forest plan. Yeah. No, that would be separate. It's on fish and game. Yeah. I mean, we could probably put something in the proposal about coordinating with for fish and game because you want the for the forest plan for that area to jive with what they're doing on Matthysse, right? And then I another thing was to um to continue with the succession of the young succession that was going on where in the bunny cuts.

Yeah. Right. That we originally co Yeah. Or Yeah. At least cooperated with fish and game on. Yeah. or at least make recommendations on how to continue that. Yeah. Or how to manage it. I mean, I don't know. Maybe somebody have a better idea other than just whacking everything down again. Yeah. See what see what he says idea of the bird habitat. But

Right. I think we we had a pleasant surprise with the number of birds that showed up after we cut those trees down. So, all right. That's my one big project that I'm working on. And then um I got a message from John Troder today and on Lichfield Road where Sandy Brook comes out which is right before you hit Manchester. Apparently there was an accident on that corner and there was um a fuel spill right at that intersection. So, they want to put in some test wells, but it's actually across the street on conservation land that we It's the Cooper parcel. I don't know if you're familiar with where Sandy Brook is. Um, you can look at the map. Um, so that he wants they want to put three wellheads directly across from Sandy Brook on our property. And when I was talking to John on the phone, I was visualizing the end of Woodside Drive, which was very flat and cleared out where this is actually up above the level of the road and quite wooded,

right? Um, so I don't know. I mean, I don't have a problem with the wells going in there. I just this picture makes it look like it's flat and clear because you can't see the trees because it's [Music] not during foliage season. But John just wants to know if we're okay with those test wells going in there. And I couldn't I couldn't think of an objection. Yeah. So, Looks like three three wells on our side of the road. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And then boy, so they're serious about this.

Yeah. And I don't even remember an accident there, but Well, yeah. I mean, I I don't see reason not to because if they competent people think there's a threat, that's all right. I just I told them I would if I so I'll get back to him in the morning. Um, and I believe that's all I have. If anybody else has anything where is this Lithia Springs?

It's Do you know where Penny Fence is? Yes. It's across high range from Penny Fence if you're Oh, okay. So, it's that that wooded area. It's on 102, but water north of 102. Yeah. West west of Penny Fence apartment. Okay. Yeah. So, that fence company is the souththeast corner of it. It used to be part of Lwood Orchards, but not it didn't have trees, apple trees. It was just a wooded Oh, marshy. Okay. Yeah. We're going to make trails through it.

We're going to make a small trail less. It's going to end up It'll be less than half a mile, but there's a foundation to the old bottling plant in there. So, one trail will it'll be kind of T-shaped. One goes to the bottling plant for the historic feature and then another trail will go off to more towards the open water of the wetlands for more nature viewing type thing. So because it's pretty cool back in there. A lot of stuff going on. Anything.

We covered it all. See, we have I don't think so. I I'm trying to figure out do we is there any need to do a a non-public session, but I don't think so. We haven't got anything to update really right now. No,

I saw that they're clearing that U development on the south side of South Road. I've gotten some complaints about that. that's adjacent to some conservation land or no? Um, they're giving us the wet end of their property. They're going to sign that over to us and that is that that must have but the state land. Yeah, it does. Yeah. Right. I mean, it's it's extremely unfortunate. Yes. That has to go in there because the state went to a great deal of trouble. It's part of I93 mitigation, but they created that turtle habitat in there, right?

And this land was supporting th that and now it's going to be developed. It's pretty much clearcut what they've done so far. Yeah, that's the way we do it. So minutes.

I have no changes. The only thing I um would add like on line 91 it says the cameras were turned back on at 8:31 is when we came back from the our non-public and then and I'm only saying this because we just got a memo saying you have to put in the times. Okay. Um, and then on 101 the meeting was adjourned and I think it was like 8:36. 8:31 cameras came back on. Yep. And what was the other one?

Line 101. The meeting was adjourned. Just so we don't What time was that one? 8:36. I'm I'm guessing. I'd move to accept the minutes of August 26th as amended. Second.

Any further discussion? All in favor? I I opposed. Abstain. Motion pass. Want to make a motion. We need to do the non-public. Um, is it where is it? It's in there. Oh, it is in there. Oh, I didn't think it was. Okay. Oh, I see it. It's pretty basic. I'd move to accept the non-public minutes of August 26th as presented.

Second. Okay. Any discussion? All in favor? I I opposed abstain. Motion passes at unanimous. Now, do you want to make a motion? You have the honor to adjourn. Yes. Make a motion to adjurnn. I second. Okay. Motion by Leo, second by L. All in favor? I I meeting adjourned at 8:05.