Minutes of Meeting March 12, 2015
Grange Hall, Selectmen’s Office
Members Present: Bob Mann, Zack Boyajian, Mariane Hromis, Frank Harrison, Blaze Konefal, Gordon Jones, Dawn Marshall
Call to Order by Bob Mann at 7:07 pm. Minutes of the meeting on 2/12/15 approved.
Mailbag
• The Shirley Waters Estate has been processed by the designated law group. A thoughtful gift of money for the Conservation purposes has been transferred by the executors of her estate. Any contested arguments on the management of this account may be directed to the Probate Court at the appropriate hearing. The group unanimously agreed there are no issues to contest before the court.
• The Conservation Fund is valued at $322,585 as of December 31, 2015. The money in this fund comes from a percentage of the Chichester Land Use Change Tax and from donations.
• “Big Trees of New Hampshire” book by NH Resident Kevin Martin is available for purchase. Available on Amazon.com
• The Merrimack County Conservation District is selling trees and shrubs for spring! See www.merrimackccd.org for more details of their awesome conservation events.
Special Guest
• Emily Lord of the NH Association of Conservation Commissions (www.nhacc.org) visited the Chichester Commission and described current status and plans of the State
Conservation Commission. Its primary role is to support towns as they actively promote conservation efforts. We reviewed our town plans and procedures and generally discussed future plans for conservation, including an updated Natural Resources Inventory. The current NRI is approximately 10 years old and though it still contains relevant information, an update may provide more information and guidance for conservation efforts.
Agenda
a. Public Outreach: no new items
b. Land Conservation: no new items
c. Spaulding Town Forest: A warrant article will be voted on at the upcoming Town Meeting (March 14, 2015) regarding funds for survey and resetting of select boundary points on the Spaulding Town Forest.
d. Carpenter Park: Zack Boyajian shared extended plans for Carpenter Park, including new construction of an improved utility structure on site and expanded playground facilities. See the Parks and Recreation Committee minutes for more details. There are plans to invite the community to review the proposed building details. Mariane Hromis will continue to design and plan a natural control of invasives for the park. The group endorsed the creation of a pilot plan for using grazing livestock in a small area of the park. Any further action in this direction will be presented to the selectmen for comment when a plan of action is determined.
e. Madeline Sanborn Conservation Area: Steve Walker (NH State official) has proposed a meeting with a property owner adjacent to the MSCA to discuss conservation land management.
f. Easement stewardship: All easements have been reviewed and documented. 2015 review will begin in spring.
Meeting adjourned at 9:03 pm. Minutes prepared by Frank Harrison
Next Meeting: Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 7 pm, Public Invited
Approved
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