Chichester Conservation Commission
05/09/05 Meeting Minutes
7:00, Chichester Grange Hall
Present: Gwen Adams, Jeff Andrews, Bob Mann, Mike Marchand, Walter Sanborn, Deb Soule, and Lee-Ann Valotto
General Items
Minutes from last month were unanimously approved.
Mike Marchand is now an official alternate for the commission.
Election of CCC officers
For the next year, the following were unanimously voted into the following offices: Deb and Lee-Ann as co-secretaries to share these duties, Jeff as vice-chair, and Bob as chair.
CCC Goals Status Review:
1) Land Protection Subcommittee
Bob and Jeff walked the boundaries of the easements, as required annually. Reports to LCIP will be done this fall. The highlight was that the target stand was removed from the Blackman easement.
2) Source Water Protection Education Efforts/Web Site
Deb provided the updated pages to Fred Shaw to post to the temporary website. Once they are updated, she and Lee-Ann will meet with the selectmen to gain their approval to link the pages to the town’s web site. Then Lee-Ann will write a source water protection article (noting the new web pages) for the Suncook Sun.
Deb also met with Fred Shaw and Patty Wooster to discuss the redesign of the town’s web site. The group reviewed other town web sites and selected one as a good model to redesign ours. The next decision is whether we should stay with the current web host or select a different one. Financial, technical, and available assistance will be researched to determine the best route.
3) Designating Prime Wetlands
VHB created a preliminary map and list of property owners to contact before the field segment begins since the commission will be sending postcards to affected landowners. There was some confusion over what VHB had created since the legend was unclear and there were no notes on what the map represented. Also, it appeared that the list of properties meeting the criteria seemed rather small. Jeff will work with VHB to better define what the map depicted.
There will be a public informational meeting on the prime wetlands process (particularly in terms of the field work segment) on June 23rd at 7:00 at the town hall.
4) Warrant articles
After discussion of each part of this goal, Bob motioned to bring to the Selectmen a plan to survey Carpenter Park (both sides) as the priority since resources are limited and the selectmen have expressed interest in having this done. The motion passed unanimously.
5) Blaze Paint Property Bounds on Conservation Easements
Blazing select difficult property lines to follow for the annual boundary survey will be done first to prioritize resources. A line each on the Blackman and Drinon properties are under consideration. Jeff suggested this might be wrapped into the request to survey Carpenter Park.
6) Water Quality Monitoring of Marsh Pond
Deb and Lee-Ann will sample Marsh Pond again this year under the DES VLAP program to see if the draw down due to the dam breach has affected the water quality. Bob motioned to authorize up to $200 in monitoring expenses for this year. All were in favor.
7) Implementing the Sanborn Cray Conservation Area management plan.
The Selectmen signed the Purchase and Sales Agreement for the back portion of the Plummers' property. Now that the purchase and sales agreement has been finalized, Jeff will contact a surveyor to perform a soils profile and to determine extent of the wetlands and the feasibility of subdividing the Plummer property.
Members of the commission met with the Selectmen to discuss the Mash Pond Dam. Mr. Cavacco (the campground and joint dam owner) also attended the meeting. The discussion centered on possible partnership between the town and Mr. Cavacco to rebuild the dam and grant opportunities (most promising one starts the application process in August) to help fund the project. Bob will be drafting a letter for the Selectmen to send to Mr. Cavacco outlining the boundaries of the project and including an RFP for dam rebuilding.
Other
DOT applied to the Wetlands Bureau for a minimum impact expedited wetland project to redirect drainage to eliminate washouts on Main Street just above the junction with Deer Meadow Road. Jeff motioned to sign with no objections. All were in favor.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:03 PM.
Upcoming Meetings
06/13 @ 7:00 PM at Town Hall – Regular CCC meeting
06/23 @ 7:00 PM at Town Hall – Public informational meeting for prime wetlands field study work segment
| 
