Minutes of Meeting
April 29, 2010
To: Town Clerk
cc: Members
File
Present: J. Fournier, A. Tolland, R. Willis, C. Botchis, M. Allen, J. Livingstone
N. Alfieri, Conservation Agent
Absent: J. Senterman
There was a motion to accept the minutes of the March 25th, 2010 meeting with 5 changes. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 6-0-0.
Mr. Nick Alfieri’s Agent’s Report has been appended to the minutes.
Discussion: DPW Agreement – Brutus Cantoreggi
Mr. Ray Willis, Conservation Commission member, recused himself from this discussion.
Mr. Brutus Cantoreggi, DPW Director, appeared before the Commission for a discussion regarding recent work on Vine Street by DPW in Conservation jurisdiction without notifying Con Com Agent.
- Brutus wants to continue good relationship with DPW and Con Com and apologized for work in Con Com jurisdiction without authorization.
- Agreement made between Con Com and previous Agent in 2006 and put in writing.
- Will renotify his supervisors in DPW of this agreement.
- Reviewed current agreement with Conservation members.
- Brutus will notify Mr. Alfieri before any work in Con Com jurisdiction commences if area of work is in question.
- Brutus faces budget concerns
- Will provide Con Com with list of future proposed work in jurisdiction.
- Some DPW work is emergency work – precautions are taken.
- Does DPW issue street opening permit to itself for that work? Brutus said it does not.
- When the Bylaw was passed in 1998 – conditional exemption for Town owned lands proposed - Con Com member made some comments to Town Administration to keep exemption and Council turned it down – decision was that one law applies the same for all parties.
- Mr. Alfieri stated that the agreement is that emergency repairs be done with best management practices – there was work performed by Dix Brook – requested that in future such work erosion controls be put in place by DPW personnel.
Continued - Public Hearing – Notice of Intent – 348 East Central St. - Christopher Nash – CE159-992
Mr. Donald Nielsen, Engineer of Guerriere & Halnon, and Ms. Jen Viarengo, Engineer of Appledore Engineering, both appeared before the Commission to raze an existing wood frame building and construction of a supermarket.
Mr. Nielsen submitted revised plans for the Commission’s review and gave a summary of the revisions. He also gave a summary of Eco-Tec’s presentation.
Mr. Alfieri informed the applicant’s representatives of his comments which are enumerated in the Agent’s Report. He also recommended that the Commission continue the public hearing until the ZBA and Planning Board issue approvals.
- Commission member questioned as to the nature of ponding area, i.e., is it stormwater management structure or not? It has been observed as functioning as a vernal pool and recommended no disturbance from March to August in this area.
- Silt fence should be used to control wildlife from migrating onto East Central Street. Berm to be built after August.
- Conservation member satisfied with the applicant maintaining vernal pool characteristics of the ponding area on the site.
There was no one present in the audience for this public hearing.
There was a motion to continue the public hearing until the May 13th meeting. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 6-0-0.
Discussion: DelCarte Dams Project
A Commission member gave the audience an overview of the DelCarte Dam project. Some of the major points are:
- On-going for 2 years
- Issue is to either repair all dams
- Remove all dams, or
- Partial repair and some removal of dams
The study performed by Pare Corporation has recommended to the Commission that they narrow it down to either repairing all dams or removing all dams or to do a partial repair and some removal. The end result was either repairing the dams and removing the dams.
The recommendation from Pare was to remove Dams 1, 4, 5A and 6, repairing Dams 3&5 and modifying and stabilizing Dam 2. It was also recommended to keep intact Ponds 3&5. Pond 2 will remain. The Commission does not want to revert the area back into a stream
There were numerous abutters present at the meeting and raised the following concerns:
- David Melo, an abutter of 344 Pleasant Street, raised concerns regarding
the State being required to keep the dams there. Dams are registered with the State.
- Nello Bassignani, an abutter of 555 Pleasant Street, informed the Commission that the beaver dam has been breached at Dam 5A.
Pond 5 is down quite a bit and will go down more. Has concerns regarding Pond 4 – a board keeps water there and if kids take it out, Ponds 4&5 will go down quite a bit.
- Ed Szymanski, an abutter of 529 Pleasant Street, requested to be informed as to the expected impact on each of the ponds; i.e., what is expected to change in each pond. Con Com member explained the expectations and intentions of the Commission.
o Brace Rennels, an abutter of 7 Matthew Drive, stated that Dam 5A is at rear of his property. What is access point? How would Commission go about breaching it? Between Dams 5&6 there will be more of a stream.
- Thomas Compton, an abutter of 503 Pleasant Street, expressed the opinion that the water level behind his property is very low – kids getting stuck in mud – mosquitos a problem. Temporary repairs to Dam 5 needed as a safety precaution.
- Charlie Gravina, an abutter of 511 Pleasant Street, questioned the timeframe for this work and can some temporary fixes be made in the interim? How long would this take? Could residents do it?
A Commission member stated that the intention of tonight’s meeting is to obtain a recommendation to give to the Town Council to move forward. Most likely a phased approach will be used. Residents not urged to fix the dams themselves – could create more problems.
- Stephen Cheli, an abutter of 324 Pleasant Street, questioned what the future use of the property is? There are some safety issues regarding the buildings on the site.
A Commission member stated that the desired use of this property is to enhance it and make it more Town friendly, i.e., create walking trails, take down buildings, trim trees. Loop trails would be optimal. Deed restricts forestry and fishing.
- Bryan Digiorgio, an abutter of 13 Matthew Drive, abuts Dam 5 and questioned as to the location of the access road on Matthew Drive. Questioned what is being done on the site to address safety issues? Mosquitos a major problem.
The Commission will discuss a possible temporary fix with Pare Corporation that the Town can do in the short term to stabilize the structures. Town has monetary issues – subject to Town funding. The access plan is just conceptual – nothing definite yet.
The Pare presentation basically has 4 scenarios to recommend to the Town Council. The abutters will receive abutter notification letters regarding this meeting with the Town Council.
Where will the funding come from? A phased approach will make it more cost effective. Commission encouraged community backing in this project. All Town of Franklin residents should be aware of this and community outreach is needed to obtain the funding from the Town Council.
GENERAL BUSINESS
Discussion: 678 Pleasant Street - Doak
Ms. Lauren Doak, homeowner of 678 Pleasant Street, appeared before the Commission for a discussion regarding adding a patio to the single-family house, which is currently being built.
The proposed patio would be 18’x22’ in size. Mr. Alfieri stated that the area is already disturbed. The closest point to the wetland is 75 ft.
Mr. Alfieri stated that the area is within the 50-100 ft. buffer zone.
Conservation member suggested that this be depicted on the as-built plan and keep it 18’x22’ in size and no larger. Mr. Alfieri will add a letter to the file stating this change.
Another Conservation member requested a permeable concrete paver be used for the patio.
Discussion: 598 Pleasant Street – Pond
Mr. Jeff Pond, homeowner, appeared before the Commission to discuss some clearing at his property. He would like to clear out an area, seed for lawn, bring in loam and plant some new trees. This area is riverfront area with a pond. The proposed work would take place 40’-50’ ft. from the pond and 100’-120’ from the riverfront.
The Commission requested that Mr. Pond file a Notice of Intent for this proposed work due to the fact that the proposed work would be located in riverfront area as well as in the buffer zone to the pond.
Extension Permit: Shell Station – 438 West Central Street – SE159-862
Mr. Alfieri informed Commission members that there was an agreement at the last meeting to issue one final one-year extension to the Orders of Conditions for this site. The Extension Permit to the Orders of Conditions was signed.
Extension Permit: Beaver Pond Hydroraking – CE159-940
Mr. Alfieri informed Commission members that the applicant is requesting a three-year extension to the Orders of Conditions for this project. There was a motion to issue a three-year extension to the Orders of Conditions for the Beaver Pond hydroraking project. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 5-0-1; 5 Yes, 0 No, 1 Abstention.
Minor Buffer Zone Activity: 10 Populatic Street
Mr. Alfieri informed the Commission members that the applicant has requested the installation of a new mailbox pad and the replacement of existing chainlink fence.
The applicant is proposing to remove the chainlink fencing and leave the posts in place. He will use non-pressure treated wood. The posts will be cut off at 2 ft. and lattice will be attached and some wildflowers will be planted. No dirt will be disturbed during this work and no posts will be removed. The work will be performed all on pre-disturbed land.
There was a motion to issue a Negative Determination for 10 Populatic Street with the work as described. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 3-3-0. The motion fails.
Permit Decision: Crossway Church - 282 Summer Street - CE159-993
There was a discussion among the Commission members regarding the issuance of Orders of Conditions for this project.
There was a motion to issue State and Local Orders of Conditions for 282 Summer Street with Special Conditions from the Agent’s Report up to and including #33 with corrections to #30, #31 & #32. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote
of 6-0-0.
Certificate of Compliance – 17 Doe Drive
Mr. Alfieri stated that this property is not located in Conservation jurisdiction.
There was a motion to issue a Certificate of Compliance for 17 Doe Drive. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 6-0-0.
Signed Orders of Conditions, Extension Permits & Certificate of Compliance
Orders of Conditions – 282 Summer Street – Crossway Church - CE159-993
Extension Permit – 438 West Central Street – Ayoub Engineering – SE159-862
Extension Permit – Beaver Pond Hydroraking – Town of Franklin – CE159-940
Certificate of Compliance – 17 Doe Drive – Global Development Corp. – SE159-420
There was a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 6-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen Celorier
Conservation Secretary
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