Chichester Conservation Commission
10/06/03 Meeting Minutes
7:00, Chichester Grange Hall
Present: Jeff Andrews, Stan Brehm, Gordon Jones, Bob Mann, Walter Sanborn, and Deb Soule
Minutes from last month were unanimously approved.
Mail consisted of an announcement for the NH Association of Conservation Commissions’ conference on November 1st and a memo from the Selectmen regarding submitting budgets.
Old Business Wrap-Up
Concord Motorsports – No further action since last meeting where erosion concerns were addressed.
Wetland Mitigation for Connemara Drive – Nothing new for the commission.
Luba Property – Driveway was put in. Lot will be built on.
Snowmobile Trail Proposal
A map of town land adjacent to the Spaulding Lot (town forest) was displayed to get a better understanding of where the access to the lot is. The access is adjacent to the double rock wall – not between them. Jeff, Bob, and Deb discussed the proposal with the Selectmen a couple of weeks ago and passed on the commission’s nine recommendations.
Land Protection Subcommittee
The group met last week. A notice was put in the Concord Monitor to invite the public to join in on this committee. There were no responses.
A public info meeting featuring Dijit Taylor of the Center for Land Conservation Assistance is planned for November 10th at 7:00 in the Grange Hall. Jeff will put an announcement in the paper for this event.
The group is planning to send letters to the top 10 landowners in each category in the NRI asking them to consider land conservation donations and easements. Any donations could be used for match for LCHIP and other funding possibilities.
Barbara Frangione’s land donation to school district
A site walk is planned this Saturday at 9:00. The property is behind the school and a plan has already come before the Planning Board. Ms. Frangione would like the land to be used as an outdoor classroom. Volunteers are requested to join a committee to discuss the usage of this land. The next meeting is on 10/22 at 7:00 at the school. Jeff will attend. If a conservation easement was granted for a portion of the property, it could be used as a local match for LCHIP and other funding sources. A water supply grant may be possible since the land falls in the source water area for the school’s well.
Obtaining greater land use change tax proceeds
The CCC could receive approximately $11,000 (50% of total proceeds) this year from this source. The CCC would like to obtain more of these proceeds to aid in land protection efforts. Before making a formal request for the additional money, Walter will research how the rest of the money is used. There was speculation that it went to offset taxes – which if so, would only help the average taxpayer by a miniscule amount.
Sanborn Cray Conservation Area access project
Jeff sent a letter to the Selectmen recommending the purchase of the Shaw property which abuts this conservation area. The property could be used as a better access point to the Sanborn Cray area. Jeff contacted the Shaws and they are still interested in working with the town on purchasing their property. The Shaws recently had an appraisal done on their property. A final purchase price still needs to be negotiated. The Selectmen did agree to put in a warrant article for purchasing the property.
Walter spoke to Madeline Sanborn. She would like no hunting and trapping signs put up around the property. Jeff did put some up earlier. Bob will research what is considered a legal posting.
Master Plan Update
Walter has not been informed of the most recent meetings so he has not been able to attend them. He did say that the survey responses are being tracked in a computer program. Next meeting is on 10/19th (Sunday). Not much has been done with the results yet. Jeff gave a copy of the NRI to the Planning Board and asked that it be shared with the Master Plan Committee to consider while developing their plan.
Goals for CCC
After much discussion, the following (in no particular order) were deemed to be the goals for the CCC for the next year:
1) Baseline water quality monitoring of Marsh Pond.
2) Coordinating with the Planning Board on environmentally related rules including % impervious, wetlands, and aquifer protection issues.
3) Seeking funds for purchasing (or gaining donations of) conservation land and/or easements.
4) Coordinating with the Master Plan Committee on the natural resource section of the Master Plan.
5) Beginning the process of designating prime wetlands.
6) Developing the CCC’s section of the capital improvement program.
7) Implementing the Sanborn Cray Conservation Area management plan.
Other
CCC budget for Selectmen
Last year we had a budget of $1000. Of that, $200 goes to membership in the NH Association of Conservation Commissions. The rest is used for conferences, envelopes, stamps, and other supplies. The group decided to ask for the same level of funding this coming year.
Upcoming Meetings
10/13 @ 7:00 in Selectmen’s conference room– Land Protection Subcommittee
11/10 @ 7:00 in Grange Hall – Dijit Taylor’s presentation
11/17 @ 7:00 in Selectmen’s conference room – Regular CCC meeting
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM.
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