Wilton Conservation Commission – Minutes of 08 May 2006
Present: Spencer, Alan, and Lynne. Laurence is
absent.
- Review of Minutes: Draft minutes from January,
February, both March meetings and the April
meeting were discussed. Alan said
he has a change in the minutes of the 10 April meeting: under the Frog Pond discussion
it is stated that we “need to fix the culvert on the Maple
Street right-of-way (behind Stephanie
Rockwell’s house”. Alan said there
is no culvert there now, so the minutes should read that we should
“install a culvert on that right-of-way”.
There being no other changes to any of the minutes, Les moved we
accept the minutes for the meetings of 09 January, 13 February, 13 March,
20 March and 10 April; seconded by Spencer. Passed unanimously.
- 2006 Budget: Spencer stated he has not yet submitted
the paperwork for the Town to receive reimbursement from the State for the
Fish & Game Grant ($2000 for the Frog Pond). There was some discussion about
reimbursement for “Saving Special Places”.
Lynne thought each attendee was going to submit their own reimbursement;
the other attendees thought something different. In the end it
was agreed that Lynne would write a letter to Peggy
for reimbursement for Spencer, Les and our guest Whitney Carpenter.
- ZBA: At the April ZBA meeting a waiver
request regarding Lot F-30 at 103 Intervale Road, Tuttle
Lot (behind Richard Tuttle’s house) was granted
by the ZBA. This may need to be
monitored, but seems similar to other Tuttle lot being subdivided, and
drainage may be a problem. At the
upcoming meeting scheduled for tomorrow night, 09 May 2006, the major discussion
which would interest the Conservation Commission is the Zahn/Kennedy application for a gravel pit at
537
Isaac Frye Highway. Spencer will attend this meeting.
- Planning Board: No agenda yet for next week’s meeting.
Regarding New Spartan Properties/Quinn Subdivision off Abbot
Hill/Abbot Hill Acres Road/Proctor Road,
Spencer feels this cluster subdivision has brought up the fact that we
need a clarification about the common land within a cluster subdivision as
stated in the regulations.
- DES Hearing of 15 December
2005 regarding
Granite State Concrete (unpermitted
generator on site): Still no
answer from DES at this time. It was agreed to keep this item on the agenda for the time
being.
·
Pike Quarry Sediment Release: Lynne read a letter
received from George May, chairperson of the Souhegan River Local Advisory
Committee, in the same vein as the Planning Board letter and our letter. Discussion followed. Spencer feels the sediment is filling the Stoney Brook dam near the Police Department. Les questioned whether the dry hydrant is still
working. Spencer feels DES did not look
beyond the Pike Quarry site to the extent of the dam, nor did they check for
sediment along the banks of Stoney Brook, and that
DES needs to do a more in-depth investigation.
Will continue to follow this.
- Hoover Easement: No activity.
-
See item discussed
earlier regarding Fish & Game grant.
-
Spencer filed a sign
application with the Planning Board for the sign to go on the gate at the
Maple Street entrance. The sign
is nearly identical to the sign at Carnival Hill. Spencer will be out of town for the hearing
at Planning Board; Lynne will handle this.
-
Spencer noted that
there is a 5-foot culvert at the railroad crossing which has never overflowed,
so the emergency spillway at the dam does not need to be bigger than that. The emergency spillway is to be used when the main spillway is plugged.
-
There has been some
wood collecting at the spillway but it can’t be
reached by hand to get it out. Alan will
take care of this
-
Les has not yet
completed the survey.
-
Spencer noted that
someone put a bird house for ducks in or near the edge
of the pond.
-
Spencer has not yet
contacted the new owner of Mrs. Paro’s house
regarding the property line.
-
Spencer has not yet
heard back from Meridian; he will re-contact them.
-
Discussion was had about potential parking for the Frog Pond, which we
also discussed last month. Before we
contact Steve Elliott
about moving the stones for parking on Maple Street, we need to do some work at the Whiting Hill entrance.
-
Spencer has not yet
talked with Selectmen about Mark
Gabel’s cars.
-
Spencer believes
everyone (WCC, Selectmen, Road Agent) is in agreement
so we can install the barrier from the parking lot to the hill.
-
Spencer
to check with the Farmer (Fitch) and set up a date for the management walk. He will contact
Alan, Les and Laurence since they all want to attend.
- Four Corners Farm: Spencer still needs to check to see
whether the asbestos has been removed. Now he has discovered there are some old
telephone poles up there, which of course, have creosote. NH Water Supply said to leave them
unless they are negatively impacting the water in
the area. Spencer will check
further into this.
- NRI:
Spencer and Les still working on this. Les is meeting with the Heritage
Commission to help with questions they have. Roads are done. Hydro and dams are moving along. Next will be viewsheds
and agricultural land.
- Trails: Spencer stated
we need to do monitoring of our trails (Intervale Riparian Way,
Senator Development at Four Corners Farm, and Rensing
at Four Corners Farm).
- McKay Dredge & Fill Permit: We received a reply from Mr. McKay to
our letter. After a discussion, it
was the feeling of the Commission that this project is beyond the scope of
pond maintenance, it is a major dredging
operation. And
because it is in the Watershed District, it needs more attention than the
average dredge and fill wetlands permit.
We don’t write the regulations, and we
have no enforcement power, but it is our responsibility to see that
citizens understand the full scope of any work they intend to do which
affects the ecology of the land. We need to reply to Mr. McKay’s letter and suggest he needs a
certified soil scientist or wetlands specialist because of the facts
that: any filling-in within 75 feet
of a pond or wetlands must be checked by a certified soil scientist or
wetlands specialist; it looks to us from the maps received that most of
the fill would be dropped within the 75 foot setback and further since all
this land is in the watershed district, this may present a problem; the
Wilton Watershed District rules are more stringent than the State DES
wetlands rules.
-
Local
Open Space: No activity.
-
Regional Open Space
Team: Spencer and Diane Fitzpatrick of
Milford Conservation Commission have been working on a project called “The $200
- $2,000,000 Project, and have been researching all kinds of projects that
could be included in this study. They
discovered the Piscataquog Land Trust has put
together some projects connected with the NH Wildlife Action Plan.
-
Souhegan
River Local Advisory Committee:
The Instream Flow Study is on the web and can be downloaded, or you can get a copy on a CD; contact
Spencer.
-
Souhegan
Valley Land Trust: The task force group is working on strategic
planning and making quite a bit of progress.
Meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM.
Minutes Submitted by
Lynne Draper
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