Conservation Commission - Regular Meeting

730.

There was an update for Dell that I canceled out of it.

Yeah, I just did mine too.

Now it's down.

Harry has resigned. He just was overloaded with other commitments, so something had to get, so we now have a vacancy. He was full member to either of the two alternates want to move up to full, and then we'll just post for an alternate. That would be Gary or Susan. Okay.

I'm fine staying in alternate.

You are?

Okay.

Do you want? I can move you up? Sure. And then post. All right. That works for me. All right. The Delta Drive, do you want to just put that up there?

Yeah.

These should both be pretty quick and easy.

I was hoping somebody would be here because I wanted to ask them, what's the plan behind this? Why are they doing this? They must be creating another industrial lot.

In the application, I think this is one that said they have perhaps someone who wants the other lot, but it's bigger than they want. And so they want to move the property line to put more of the property with the existing building.

It's going the other way, though, isn't it?

Was it? Okay.

My concern is that the Only access to the part that's being transferred is from the existing lot. Other than that, you've got to get a dredge and fill to cross that wetland to get to it. So all of a sudden, they're transferring this property, and it's going to require a dredge and fill to access the rest of it.

Does it come off the circle?

No, I'm saying, you know, If I'm right, this lot line here is moving over to here. So all of this open space is being transferred into this lot. And you've got wetland, wetland, wetland. How do you get to this piece except coming in this lot, but they're taking it away from that lot?

I took it as they were going to just develop on the right half.

Well, that's kind of what I would think too, but why would you do this then? Because now, again, you're creating, if you want to use that piece, that open space, you're creating a requirement for a dredge and fill.

I think they're all small acres, so they wouldn't fall under the buffer ordinance, right?

Right.

But it would still be a dredging fill.

You still require a straight dredging fill to alter the wetland.

They must be pretty confident that that will happen.

Isn't there also an easement that runs through there? Isn't it with the space?

Proposed temporary drainage easement. And there's an existing drainage easement right along the existing lot line to be abandoned.

Could we ask them to come in?

This is the reason for all unadjustment is the intended buyer does not need the surplus land on the east side of the property. So they're trying to sell the land with the building on it right now. And he doesn't want to pay tax on all the land.

Oh, so they're selling the building, not the property.

That's how I read it. And the added land will make the new parcel more attractive to future interested parties, which goes to what Gene is saying, only if they have access to it.

I think you could, if you didn't worry too much about that open space you didn't want to buy, you could access the other parcel from the cul-de-sac, right?

It looks like you could. You go across the north end of the property and get into it. Yeah.

Or could that eventually be just two parcels?

Could eventually be two parcels, but just still end up with having to cross the wetland to access the open space.

Well, if the middle one came in that guy's driveway, and this one came in the cul-de-sac, we could get around it. I don't know. I can't read how much acreage. Two acres?

Existing 2.7, existing 5.6 I think it is proposed.

Each one's about two and a half. So if they do the lot line adjustment, that's one thing. Once they have plans to cross the wetland, they have to come back.

So it sounds like right now they're just taking that isolated parcel away from the existing building because the buyer doesn't want it.

Do we want to say anything about the dredge and fill or just wait till they come back?

Is it fair to caution the planning board that this could be creating a future problem for the development of the other parcel in that there's no way to access it?

Could you not access it in the northeast corner?

Yeah, right, you could, but then you can't access that land that they're transferring very well.

Is that wetland as well? I thought the wetland was the outlying parks.

This could be creating a future problem for the transferred acreage due to having to cross wetland to access.

I don't think you do. I think in the northeast corner you can go in there. You can come off of Delta Drive.

There's a gap right here.

Or you can come across the property from the cul-de-sac and go across the northern edge. The wetlands are the oddly shaped dashed lines. Yes.

so what is the gray just i'm not sure i haven't figured that out it's the uh easement the drainage easement drainage easement which means just means you can't you can't build in that but you can't build a structure in there but they're gonna drive in that easement and create a new template right that isn't going away it's temporary yeah

They're saying it's a proposed temporary drainage easement?

Because there's a, I mean, that wetland there, that north-south, yeah, north-south wetland is wet because it's a... Stormwater basin? Yeah, basin, right.

So it's not a true wetland?

It is, no, it is a true, it's... Here it says... Limited wetland is flagged by Gove Environmental. And that's all of this is part that Gove flagged as wetland. So it is legally a wetland. And I was really curious that you've got this much wetland up here, how does this water get into here? Because this is where it all exits from down here.

I'm sure it includes water coming off of Delta Drive, right?

It must, yeah.

So there must be a swell up there or something.

So they'll be there.

Oh yeah. So the thing is, if this is temporary, How are they replacing that drainage function?

They're saying it's proposed temporary. They're not saying it is temporary. They're not even saying that it exists. The existing drainage easement is right down the lot line. But the stormwater basin has become a wetland because of the water flowing through it.

all right there's a problem for somebody else when they want to buy it right okay so are we going to mention a comment about a future problem or not oh yeah that's what okay this could be creating a future problem for the transferred acreage due to having to cross wetland to access it yep great

Thank you.

The question on Perkins Road was, there was a lot of heavy equipment sitting on Perkins Road with a cut into the property, at least the western parcel. I'm wondering if that was just enough to get a heavy equipment in to do drainage testing? And they didn't see it.

I don't know, I know the excavator was sitting there for quite some time.

But they didn't then continue cutting trees after that. It was more like they cut in an entrance.

Yeah. I wonder how they're going to get into the second lot, because isn't that quite a bit higher than the road?

Yeah.

Well, there's a driveway plan. I want to move the other pages. There you go.

OK. So it's just going to have a steep driveway.

Nice straight street plan.

So you can slide right down.

But at least it is kind of south facing, so the sun will hit it.

Yeah. It's also, I mean, it's not an issue, I don't think, for us, but there's got to be some traffic and sight distance issues doing this.

Right, which we are aware of because they exist on the opposite side of the road. Yeah, right.

Well, I think from Perkins, you can see down to 93.

Yeah.

So they may be able to see under 93, which you cannot see from Perkins.

But I don't think it's an issue for us. No. Right, right.

So do we have anything on this one?

You seem to have stayed away from the wrong spots.

Are the buffers marked? Are those wetlands? They are, right?

They are wetlands, but I don't think they're big enough for a buffer. Oh, yeah, right. I don't have any comment about it.

And to their credit, if they're going to leave the forest cover the way they're showing it on the plan, that would not be too bad.

Yeah, I suspect they're going to want to keep it just for noise mitigation. And we're having a highway right there.

Right.

So no objections?

No comment, I would say.

Okay. All right. Seeing no one for public comment, we'll move on by that. Old business. whenever we met before about how the recreation plan does not appear on the website any longer and people helped me find that it was our net something that developed as soon as I heard it was like yes that's it um i called them i emailed them no response nothing crickets so customer service is not their thing um are they still in existence they've got a nice website and they use our report as one of their featured projects that they've done so i don't know unless somebody knows how to get to them it doesn't look like we're going to get any help

I would recommend persistence. I'll call him in a few days.

Yeah, I mean, I try and be, okay, say somebody's on vacation for a month. Yeah, right. So try that. But it would be good to have an in.

Yeah. Not even a voicemail or anything?

No, nothing, no. So, yeah, that was disappointing. new business, I... Marge, I have an old business item, I think.

Whatever you want, but we need to schedule a site visit with the property that we're considering for a purchase. Okay. I was hoping to do it after a period of dry weather, which we pretty much have. We've got a couple possibilities, but they're pretty lumpy. So I was thinking Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Okay. Does that, anybody can make that?

Of course, this is the day I didn't bring my book.

I can probably make Tuesday of next week.

Probably do Tuesday.

Afternoon, maybe?

Sure.

So do you want to just email out so everyone knows where to go? Yeah. And then?

I guess I should have you do it.

Yeah, well, email me and then I'll email you.

Okay. So if I do, for those that can make it, it shouldn't take very long. It's a very small piece. like one o'clock Tuesday. I would say wear your tick-proof gear.

We're definitely sure. Yeah, all right. Any other old business before I go skipping ahead?

I heard from the sign builders. They have the design. So it's just the electronic thing right now. So that's moving ahead.

Do they have to submit it to get approved?

Yeah, they'll coordinate with us, historical division.

Yeah, because I know. Probably do harm, but as a courtesy, you know.

Right. so i don't have it yet i mean they're still they might be negotiating with their vendor but anyway they're making progress yeah um okay um so i got a text from one of my

mountain bike person, and he mentioned that the Mathis Trail is practically impassable. It's completely overgrown and really brushy, and he suggested that we might need a power tool, like a brush mower. To go in there and clean out that trail, I just happen to have a brush more. That if we can get a crew at some point. You know, after it's done being 90 degrees out. To maybe work on that trail and but. Since I put this on the agenda, I. popped over to Foucher Road, and the entrance to that trail has been mowed and weed whacked. It looks beautiful. So I'm guessing Trailways is working on it. I actually think Mike Byerly is one of the ones working on it. And Jamie was in the picture that I saw in the paper. So I'm going to see if they are doing anything or can we team up with them to maybe if we mow it now, that stuff's not going to grow back till spring. So we'll have a good open window there.

I have not been on it for a year, other than up near the trailhead. It used to be that it got very bad in the open space where they had the landing area. And once you got started down the hill, it was better. I don't know if that's true this year or not, because it didn't grow over in the spring. It grew over like crazy in July.

A lot of stuff did. So let me work on that. I'm going to check with Sandy at Trailways and see. If we can coordinate something. And then I got it. Just, it's related. Got a call from Tom Kimball and the beavers are at it again. And the reason I was at Foucher was going to check to see the beaver dam. And the dam is about two feet above the boardwalk. It's high. And it's nice because they weed whacked the front of that dam so I can see it pretty well. The water is running but it is... it's definitely a pond but what's odd is there's no den you can't see a den there so i don't know why they're paying so much attention to that dam but it's it's backing up into the legendary country club and he has requested that we do something and I don't remember if we trapped and pulled part of the dam last time or just pulled apart part of the dam.

I thought, I mean, my memory is that we as a group didn't do either of those things. No. And we didn't get a beaver guy for that. But I thought we gave the country club permission. Right. And somebody went in there and tore a big chunk of the dam down. Right. And it was enough. It stayed down for a couple of years.

Because we can't use heavy equipment.

We have to use... And I don't know how it was done, but a section of it was taken down a couple of feet.

Yeah. So should I try and see if we can get town staff to help us out?

Yeah. Because of the boardwalk, I don't know how... Again, it's been years, so...

And I was pleased that the boardwalk is very stable. I went back and forth on it, and it is not being affected by the dam that's there, which was my concern that that was going to.

I think the section that was taken down was closest to the trailhead, so it may have been done by a backhoe or something that pulled right up to the boardwalk that didn't get on it.

All right. Let me check with DPW and see. what we could do there.

And then... There was another place where the neighborhood...

I think that's where the guy came and trapped beavers and stuff. I thought I remember seeing the remains of a tube there. It wasn't a full-blown...

I think there was a piece of fairly large PVC pipe in it at one time.

Yeah, right.

I don't know if that's still there or not.

Well, yeah, and I was trying to remember how long ago that was because...

It was years.

Yeah. I know it was pre-COVID.

And it was successful for years. Yeah. It's really only this year that it started, that I was aware it was back up.

And I was trying to estimate how long it's been to figure out how long it is that they cycle through, you know, because they truly... They eat and then they move on.

Well, like you, I haven't seen any saplings chewed, and I haven't seen a dent either.

Those beaver meadow cycles are more like, you know, 10, 20 years.

Yeah, well, 10 years could have been 10 years.

Could have been 10.

Because Tom's mentioned that there's a lot of young poplars that have disappeared. Oh, all right, so that says they are taking saplings. All right, so I will follow up on that. And then... I have map updates on here. I'm not sure how many of the newer trails are on the trail maps that you have. Am I correct? There is nowhere on the website that I can look at the trail map.

I don't know since they read through the website.

I think since that recreation guide has gone, I don't think it's on there.

Okay.

And I'm wondering if there's a way to get that back on. But I also want to make sure that what you have is what's actually out there because we need to get maps printed. And I hate to print ones that are missing. And then we want to add, I don't know what you'd call it, the Laff-A-Loop here.

I feel like it did. I added one a year or more ago.

That's out here?

I thought it was the Laugh-A-Loot. Okay. I thought I did. I'll look, but yeah.

All right. Yeah, maybe we can just... Can you email what you have? Yeah. Okay. Because... We can look at that and see if anything is missing. And then I wanted to touch base with Mike Byerly to see what color he decided to glaze the Piper Rising so we can color coordinate that on the map.

The map on the Avenza website is still up, but it does not have the updates on it.

And it looks like the paper map?

Yeah.

Okay, so it's on Avenza. Okay.

It should be on the town website.

Right? It should be somewhere, even if it's just a link to the map. Yeah, it used to be in that map tab.

I saw an updated one, but like I say, it's not. Actually, it's not on the Avenza that I have loaded to my phone, but I haven't loaded it in any time recently.

And then we had a nice, Mike and I had a nice walk with Alyssa from Fish, or... For Society, and mentioned to her that we have been sending monitoring reports annually, explaining that there's multiple encroachments on Bacchus Ingersoll, and that never had anybody done anything about it. I got a response. She took our message to the right person and they say that they have been corresponding with people and people are just not doing what they're being asked to do. And it said, we recently sent out several detailed letters to specific abutters about the most egregious of these potential encroachments and also sent a more generic letter to every abutter asking people to be aware of our blazed boundary and to please respect recreational use guidelines. They have sent that letter out numerous times over the past 18 years.

Is that from Wendy?

This is from Carrie. And copied Sarah. So they're doing something. It's just they never told us about it. But maybe now they will because they know we're checking.

I don't know how hard we want to push. Do we have the fault of a policeman who stepped in for?

Well, that's what I was just thinking. It's unfortunate they didn't respond. Well, we had a conservation officer that could have helped them.

And having somebody at your front door in uniform does get your attention.

Exactly. Now, you know, we don't have that service anymore.

So is he not doing that part-time? I thought he was doing it part-time.

I don't know. It's complicated.

I don't know what he's doing. Okay.

And then taking action for wildlife, I got an email from them. They have a community technical assistance program where they will... help communities, conservation commissions specifically mentioned, to do things like design and plan educational events, develop educational materials, conduct outreach to private landowners, implement wildlife habitat management, assess and address potential impacts of trails or recreation on wildlife, identify and prioritize land conservation opportunities using state wildlife action plan maps, develop a conservation prioritization checklist. So I thought that was cool. It says applications should reflect interest from multiple members of the commission with a strong interest in pursuing a tangible goal or project. There is no fee for this assistance. Communities must commit to at least one meeting with taking action for wildlife staff, which can be held during a regular meeting. We typically require approximately one hour meeting time to review relevant wildlife and habitat information and facilitate discussion to help clarify goals and next steps. So I'm wondering if we took our little list of strategic plan that we made and see if any of these things would be a good match.

and see if we couldn't line something up to get some help and then kind of a technical expertise type of thing that they're not they're not bringing money or or working hands no no i think they're just telling us how to do it giving you advice or or providing resources because

that taking action for wildlife, I think, is a lot of data that they can provide. Like if we need to support a project with data, I'm sure they can give us that supporting material. And then I have our annual estimate from our CCD for the monitoring of Ingersoll. It's $749. Not sure how much that was in the past, but something similar. So I need to have a motion to take that out of our line item budget. Anybody? So moved. Second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opps. opposed or abstained, I should have appointed Mike Speltz to vote for Harry.

Sorry, I didn't vote.

Yeah, that's what cued me in. And I think that's all I have.

You were mentioning when you accidentally said fishing game name before, so that reminded me The Fish and Game owns the Mathis property, and I know we have a memorandum of understanding with them. All right, because I thought it was basically we could maintain that one trail and that was it I think that's right. Yeah, that sounds right and we

We or somebody put in the small bridge after they owned it and that was no issue. Yeah. Okay.

I just wanted to double check.

I think it's, it's at least good to let them know they own the property. We're going to be coming into doing some maintenance work.

All right. Yeah. Anything else?

Just the email I mentioned, the Hickory Hill kiosk is fairly inaccessible because when they put in the new parking lot, people quit walking on that trail, so that's overgrown.

Yes, and when I go in there, that black fabric that they put along the, you know, when they were building, how long does that have to stay there?

Right.

I'm pretty sure... Hickory Hill is going to need, I think, some work to move the kiosk and then somehow make it clear that that's not the path anymore. Because I think the water rushes through there and ruts that out pretty bad. So I don't know if we can get them to do some gravel or something to just stabilize that.

They put gravel on it when they put the parking lot in, but I think a lot of it washed down. But most people aren't going down that one. They go to the edge of the parking lot and turn left, and that's just a short loop that brings you back down to the main trail.

Okay.

That's the only trail that seems to be staying open through use.

Okay.

And there's nothing wrong with that. It's just different. And the map's wrong. Oh, right. If we're going to accept that that's how people are getting in and out of there, the parking lot probably ought to be on the map, the trail that people are using. Good point.

All right. Anything else? Anybody else? Nothing? Minutes. Easy peasy. we'll do minutes oh and the other thing on the cooper parcel where the power lines cross litchfield road eversource has a gate and the last couple weeks that gate has been left open i walked over and shut it put who to contact to have them lock that up. Because people can just drive right through Wattsbrook if they have their big truck.

We have a designated town Eversource liaison. You don't know who it is, do you, Mike?

No.

I suspect that somebody in the planning department probably knows. I don't know who to ask. Is there anybody left there besides you?

It's me and Alicia. Right. I don't know.

Maybe there's something on the website about a community contact.

Maybe the town manager knows.

I may be wrong. I thought every once in a while Glenn used to interact with him about right-of-ways and stuff, and he might have a name.

Yeah, because somebody from Eversource has a key to all the things. So whoever has that key must have the lock that's not there anymore, or can put a lock that matches that key. Because It was funny that the gates are open because they went through all kinds of, they added great big stumps along the, so vehicles couldn't drive around it. Then they left the gate open, so. All right, we'll see if we can find out, who knows Eversource. Okay, minutes?

I don't have any changes.

And on line 51, Mike, I think you had mentioned changing shelving to disregard. Do we have opinions on that? This is line 51. The line reads, they spoke against shelving the strategic plan. Did we want to change that to disregard? I guess disregarding? Or does it seem like shelving seems like the best choice?

I don't think shelving is the

I would probably suggest changing it to disregarding on line 51. Does that seem appropriate to everyone?

Can you say something like stripping down? Yeah, drastically modifying?

I think that sounds good.

That kind of echoes, I think, what you were saying, because you were the one that made the biggest detailed comment on it.

Is this a reading?

Yeah, that's exactly.

It's a shoe fist. Okay. Okay.

Actually, I don't know if everybody's aware. I learned at the utility committee meeting last Tuesday that, and you've probably read about it in the paper also, that the strategic plan is being held in advance until next spring. So there'll be another go at it, go through the process again. However, the town manager's intent is that all the stuff that's there, that's good to do, boards and commissions and departments are gonna continue to work on. It just won't be anything that requires a budget. But that was all decided after these minutes.

Right. Anything else?

I move to accept the minutes of July 14 as amended.

OK. Motion from Bob. Second. Second from David. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Abstain?

Yeah, I abstain.

L abstained. Motion passed.

I guess I'll move we adjourn then.

Motion by Jean.

I'll second that.

Second by L. All in favor? Hi.