Chichester Conservation Commission
09/12/05 Meeting Minutes
7:00, Chichester Grange Hall
Present: Jeff Andrews, Gordon Jones, Bob Mann, and Deb Soule
General Items
Minutes from last month were unanimously approved.
Presentation - Five Rivers Land Trust
Laura Scott, of Five Rivers Conservation Trust, gave a presentation on the services offered by the organization.
CCC Goals Status Review:
1) Land Protection Subcommittee
A booth was set up at Old Home Day.
2) Source Water Protection Education Efforts/Web Site
The NRI report is now available on the web in the CCC section.
3) Designating Prime Wetlands
Bob signed the contract with VHB but has not received final copy back yet. Fieldwork has not begun yet as far as we know (although a later call to VHB by Jeff indicates field work is ongoing).
4) Warrant articles and 5) Blaze Paint Property Bounds on Conservation Easements
RFP for survey of Carpenter Park is due by November 1st. Since these 2 goals (#4 and 5) are discussed together and some aspects of the original goals (such as: place conservation easements on the town forests (Spaulding and Carpenter), establish a stewardship account, and explore the possibility of bonding for conservation land purchase) have been deferred until next year, these goals will become combined into one called “Carpenter Park Survey/Easement Boundary Clarification”.
6) Water Quality Monitoring of Marsh Pond
Last round of sampling was in August. Bob has been checking into chloride issue on south inlet with DES. Andrea Lamoreaux of the VLAP program is to respond since data was collected under the program she manages.
7) Implementing the Sanborn Cray Conservation Area management plan.
We got a variance from the Board of Adjustment to subdivide the Plummer property. The wetland scientist from Gove Environmental Services completed the wetlands delineation to see where the best place is to put in an access road to the Sanborn Cray property. Since the Plummer property must keep 3 acres and not 2 as originally anticipated, Jeff will revise the scope of work for Bartlett Survey accordingly. After the survey is completed, we will proceed with the subdivision.
Other
We will submit a budget request to the Selectmen for $1000 for next year.
Since the Selectmen have asked about our involvement/management of the town property/fields on Main Street, Bob spoke to them regarding what they would like us to do since it is not conservation land and therefore not under our jurisdiction. Presently the fields are kept mowed by grazing sheep but it is not known how long that will occur. Bob will speak again with the Selectmen about their ideas for managing the land.
A DES administrative order was issued to the Town and the campground owner for the Marsh Pond Dam. Dam must be repaired or removed by 11/1/2006. A professional engineer must be hired by 11/01/2005 to develop plans for either repair or removal.
Jeff said he has not heard about the Ferman easement yet. The Fermans had planned to give us a conservation easement on their pond, which they were to develop this year for their dog training.
Jeff showed an approved subdivision plan for Conemara Drive. A paragraph on the plan states there is a conservation buffer and lot owners could seek relief from the CCC for these “encumbrances”. This was a surprise since we wrote a letter to the developer stating that we did not want to be designated as the grantee (holder) of the conservation easement on this property due to its extreme irregularity and therefore difficulty in monitoring it.
Upcoming Meetings/Events
10/10 @ 7:00 PM at Town Hall – Regular CCC meeting
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