Chichester Conservation Commission
08/09/04 Meeting Minutes
7:00, Chichester Grange Hall
Present: Gwen Adams, Jeff Andrews, Bob Mann, Walter Sanborn and Lee-Ann Valotto
General Items
Minutes from last month were unanimously approved.
Public Hearing on purchasing land between Grange Hall and Sanborn Cray Conservation Area
Present: Joanna McIntosh
The public hearing opened at 7:05 pm
Bob provided an overview of the Sanborn Cray Conservation area, a town owned parcel approximately 37 acres with a 20 acre pond. Part of the management plan for the Conservation area is to provide public access for passive recreation. The Conservation Commission has received a letter of intent from the Plummers to sell approximately 6 of the 8 acres of their property. This would allow for parking in the Grange Hall parking lot with foot access to the conservation area through the Plummer property. Jeff discussed the other areas of access. There are 2 points on Main St; one near the garage would require crossing a great deal of wetlands to reach the area. The other near the Shaw property is only 17’ wide and would need to be 40-50’ wide to receive a curb cut permit.
The Shaw’s are not interested in selling any land. The short term plan is to obtain an appraisal and negotiate a price with the Plummers. The hearing record will remain open for 2 weeks to accept written comments. The public hearing ended at 7:25 pm.
Barbara and Edward Ferman Conservation Easement
In order for the Fermans to complete their permit request to DES, the conservation easement must be accepted by the Conservation Commission. A motion was made to accept the conservation easement. This motion overrides previous Chichester Conservation Commission action regarding the requirement for passive recreation. The Chichester Conservation Commission accepts the responsibility of grantee for the conservation easement offered on August 4, 2004 by Edward and Barbara Ferman on their property at 62 Ferrin Rd, recognizing that the DES may require that the size of the conservation easement be increased above that offered by the Fermans of 300,000 square feet(6.9 acres) to up to 404,600 square feet(9.28 acres) and that language in the conservation easement may need to be revised somewhat
based on the comments from the Chichester town attorney, Barton L. Mayer. Be it further moved, that Jeff Andrews be authorized to sign the conservation easement on behalf of the Chichester Conservation Commission. The motion was passed 5-0.
Jeff will draft a letter to the Fermans accepting the conservation easement as identified in RSA 477:47.
Discussion on Goal 5: Designating Prime Wetlands
Jeff is continuing to gather information and is working on drafting an RFP.
Land Protection Subcommittee
Jeff presented the brochure to the Selectmen and it was approved with 2 minor changes. Jeff made the changes and has printed the brochure. Brochures are available at the town offices and will be placed in the library and available at Old Home Day. Jeff provided Lee-Ann with the brochure on disk for possible placement on the town website.
Goals for CCC
The remaining unfinished goals were reviewed to see what progress has been made. Note: Goal #3 –“Seeking funds for purchasing (or gaining donations of) conservation land and/or easements” is reviewed every month as a regular agenda item and has been removed from the list below.
1) Baseline water quality monitoring of Marsh Pond.
Deb and Lee-Ann sampled on Thursday, July 15th. The results were not available for this meeting. Deb and Lee-Ann noted that there was a strong gasoline odor from the southern inlet pipe on Main St. There had been heavy rains prior to the sampling. Deb contacted a project manager at DES regarding this odor and the possible link to an old underground fuel storage tank. No further information has been received. The next sampling is scheduled for August 23rd. A motion was made to expend not more than $200 for the water quality analysis costs. The motion passed 5-0.
2) Coordinating with the Planning Board on environmentally related rules.
Bob and Lee-Ann participated in a subcommittee meeting. Lucy St. John from Central NH Regional Planning met with the group. Much of her comments were related to Planning board procedures and clarification of the language in the zoning ordinance. She offered Regional Planning’s assistance in presenting a Planning 101 session for town boards. Bob and Lee-Ann agree this would be beneficial for the group. Further information will be available at the next meeting on August 23.
5) Beginning the process of designating prime wetlands.
Already covered in main meeting minutes.
7) Implementing the Sanborn Cray Conservation Area management plan.
After the hearing record closes in 2 weeks, and barring any significant public input, an appraisal of the Plummer property will be completed. This will include the value of the Plummer’s property before and after approximately six acres are sold to the town. Jeff is contacting appraisers.
Other
The annual Suncook River cleanup is on Saturday, August 14th. Jeff and Bob will participate.
Old Home Day is on August 21st. Bob, Jeff, and Deb will take turns manning the commission’s booth. Jeff has requested a space for us.
At the September meeting, goals will be reviewed. Possible areas are public education, web site and budgeting, planning, grant opportunities.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm.
Upcoming Meetings
08/23 @ 5:00 PM at the fire station – VLAP monitoring of Marsh Pond
08/14 @10:00 AM - Suncook River cleanup
08/17 @ 7:15 PM with Selectmen regarding CCC web site review
08/21 @ 9:00 AM – Old Home Day CCC booth setup
09/13 @ 7:00 PM in Selectmen’s conference room – Regular CCC meeting including discussion with Steve Walker of the Land Conservation Investment Program (LCIP).
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