Minutes of Meeting
March 20, 2008
To: Town Clerk
cc: CRWA
Members
File
Present: R. Willis, C. Botchis, A. Tolland, P. Boncek, P. Murphy, J. Fournier, J. Senterman
M. Allen, Associate Member, Nick Alfieri, Conservation Agent
There was a motion to accept the minutes of the March 6th meeting. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 7-0-0.
Mr. Nick Alfieri’s Agent’s Report has been appended to the minutes.
Public Hearing - Notice of Intent – 178 Cottage Street – Staniscia - CE159-963
Mr. Douglas Sparrow of Sparrow Environmental Services, and Mr. Mark Staniscia, the applicant, both appeared before the Commission for the construction of a 50 ft. x 60 ft. barn adjacent to an existing single-family house. Mr. Sparrow stated that there is a deep channel on the site which has been excavated with a steep slope at the bottom of the stream. Mr. Sparrow also informed the Commission that the stream on the site has been deemed perennial by former Conservation Staff. There is proposed mitigation at the top of bank on the lawn area. There will be some shrubs planted for mitigation.
Mr. Alfieri informed the applicant of 7 items to be addressed in this Notice of Intent filing.
A Commission member questioned the applicant as to what will be stored in the proposed barn. Mr. Staniscia replied that his pick-up truck and other items normally stored in a barn. No gasoline and oil will be stored.
Another Commission member questioned as to where the excavated materials and the materials to build the barn will be stockpiled. The applicant’s response is in the 35 ft. area in the front of the site. The Commission member requested that it be kept outside of the buffer zone. This Commission member questioned if there was to be any pavement put in for the construction. There will be a small patch at the edge of the existing driveway.
A Commission member requested that a North reference be added to the plans. Mr. Staniscia stated that the culvert is 6 ft. in size and you can walk up to the paint factory in it.
The Commission Chairman noted that there was no one in the audience who had any issues regarding this project.
There was a motion to continue the hearing until April 10th so that the Commission may conduct a site walk. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 7-0-0. The Commission will walk the site on Tuesday, March 25th, at 6:30 p.m.
Continued - Public Hearing – Amendment Request – Chestnut Senior Village – Donald Ranieri, Jr. - SE159-918
Mr. Donald Nielsen, Engineer of Guerriere & Halnon, and Mr. Donald Ranieri, Jr., the applicant, both appeared before the Commission for the construction of 1 ten-unit building and reduction of impervious surface by 2,800 square feet for senior citizens. Mr. Nielsen submitted the plans and presented an overview of the proposal for this site. He stated that there were 11 items in this letter and he made a brief overview of these items and this letter has been added to the Conservation file.
Mr. Nielsen stated that there will be no walking paths in the 25 ft. buffer zone. The headwall will be pulled back and more riprap will be added in the 25 ft. buffer. There will be 6 or 7 trees that will be saved in this area. There will be no dumping of hazardous material on the site. The snow storage will be graded towards the parking lots. Calcium will be used as opposed to sodium chloride for snow removal purposes.
The Commission Chairman noted that there was no one in the audience who had any issues regarding this project.
A Commission member made some suggestions to Mr. Nielsen as to the species of plantings to be planted on the site.
Another Commission member stated that he would like to see a small swale installed for the construction of the shed.
It was also suggested by the Commission that signs depicting that no trash or debris are to be deposited in the resource area on the site will be placed.
Another Commission member stated that he has determined that there is no pond on the site due to his research.
There was a discussion with respect to the proposed special conditions.
There was a motion to close the hearing. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 7-0-0.
Continued - Public Hearing – Notice of Intent – Franklin Sports Mall – Washington Street - SE159-923
The Commission Chairman stated that a letter has been received from the applicant’s representative dated March 20th requesting a continuance of the public hearing until April 10th.
There was a motion to continue the hearing until April 10th. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 6-1-0; 6 Yes, 1 No, 0 Abstentions.
GENERAL BUSINESS
Discussion: Forest Management Plan
There was a discussion among the Commission members regarding the Forest Management Plan for the Town Forest off of Summer Street. A Commission member made a statement that this plan was drawn up several years ago and has a timeline on it. The Fall of 2008 is the correct timing to do this work. It would benefit the property in the forest to do this.
There are 2 recommendations in this report about how to proceed with this project. One of the suggestions is to hire a forester and he will recommend putting the package out to bid. The forester will then guide the Commission on how to proceed with this project.
It was suggested that perhaps another Stewardship Plan could be done in another 2 years when this one expires. The cost of a future plan would be approximately $10,000 in Mr. Alfieri’s opinion.
The benefits to the residents of the Town of Franklin were discussed by proceeding with the work outlined in this plan for the forest. The work outlined in the plan needs to be performed in the upcoming Fall of 2008.
Mr. Alfieri suggested that he obtain some ideas on putting together an RFP to put out to bid to hire a company to perform this work. He suggested contacting an instructor from the MACC Spring Conference who taught a class on this matter to obtain his opinion on how the Commission should proceed. Mr. Alfieri also suggested putting a committee of Conservation members together to interview the applicants who respond to the RFP.
Mr. Alfieri will inform the Commission of the results of this conversation at the next Conservation meeting. The Commission requested that Mr. Alfieri draw up a timeline of the events for this work in order to maintain a schedule to complete this work by next Fall.
There was a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 7-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen Celorier
Conservation Secretary
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