Minutes of Meeting
June 21, 2012
To: Town Clerk
cc: Members
File
Present: A. Tolland, J. Fournier, M. Allen, J. Livingstone, M. DePoto, A. Riordan,
Associate Member, Nick Alfieri, Conservation Agent
Absent: R. Ballantyne, R. Willis, P. Stolfa, Associate Member
There was a motion to approve the minutes of the June 7th meeting. The motion was seconded and not accepted with a vote of 2-0-3; 2 Yes, 0 No, 3 Abstentions.
Mr. Nick Alfieri’s Agent’s Report has been appended to the minutes.
Certificate of Compliance: 637 King Street – CE159-1019
There was a discussion among the Commission members regarding the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance for this site. Mr. Alfieri informed the Commission members that the site is in compliance with the Orders of Conditions and recommended the issuance of the Certificate.
There was a motion to issue a Certificate of Compliance for 637 King Street. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 4-0-1; 4 Yes, 0 No, 1 Abstention.
Permit Decision: 438 West Central Street - CE159-1035
There was a discussison among the Commission members regarding the issuance of Orders of Conditions for this project.
Mr. Alfieri provided the Commission with 51 Special Conditions for review and are included in the Agent’s Report.
There was a motion to issue State and Local Orders of Conditions with 51 conditions. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 4-0-1; 4 Yes, 0 No, 1 Abstention.
Enforcement: 3 Charles River Drive
Ms. Kathleen Laughran, the homeowner of 3 Charles River Drive, appeared before the Commission on an Enforcement matter at her residence.
Mr. Alfieri stated that an anonymous compliant was received in the Conservation Office.
He conducted a site visit and determined that a violation occurred on her property for the cutting of 2 trees with Conservation jurisdiction without first obtaining a permit from Conservation.
Ms. Laughran submitted photos of the site for Commission review for some proposed plantings for restoration purposes.
The Commission informed Ms. Laughran that the restoration plan must be submitted by the next meeting; i.e., the planting plan as discussed with the applicant must be put in writing and sent in to the Conservation office; the applicant must call the office when the plantings are in and Mr. Alfieri will conduct an inspection. The Commission requested that these plantings be kept 100% viable for at least 2 years.
The Commission also endorsed the Enforcement Order.
Ms. Laughran stated that she will submit the restoration and planting plan to the Conservation Staff within the next 2 weeks.
Public Meeting – Request for Determination – 28 Stewart Street – Sullivan
Ms. Maria Sullivan, the applicant, appeared before the Commission for excavation at the front left of her house to repair a broken watermain under the foundation.
Ms. Sullivan informed the Commission members that this was an emergency project; erosion controls were put in place and still remain. The repair work has been completed, the grass has been reseeded and the area graded.
Mr. Alfieri stated that photos of the site work are depicted in his Agent’s Report.
There was a motion to issue a Negative Determination for 28 Stewart Street with 1 condition that the erosion control shall not be removed until the soils are stabilized and the grass grows back. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Enforcement: 104 Populatic Street
Mr. Alfieri informed the Commission that there is an Enforcement matter on this property stating that it violates 3 of the special conditions in the Orders of Conditions, which is still open.
There are some photos of the work depicted in his Agent’s Report showing that the property owner has filled the wetland area across the street from his house. He is also parking his vehicles in this area and possibly polluting the wetlands.
Mr. Alfieri prepared an Enforcement Order stating the property owner must cease and desist, file a restoration plan by July 12th, have the vehicles removed, remove the fill and the area must be restored back to its original condition.
There was a motion to levy a fine according to our defined fine structure commencing at the Agent’s first reading of the anonymous report. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 4-1-0; 4 Yes, 1 No, 0 Abstentions.
The Enforcement Order was endorsed by the Commission members.
Continued - Public Hearing - Notice of Intent – Franklin High School – 218 Oak Street – CE159-1036
Mr. Andrew Chagnon, Engineer of Pare Corporation, appeared before the Commission for the redevelopment of an existing high school with a new high school, associated fields and parking.
The Commission Chairman stated that a recent site walk was conducted by the Commission members. There were 3 points noted:
- Compost socks were greatly preferred for erosion control as opposed to haybales.
- What will happen to the Facilities Department dumping the grass cuttings next to the drainage ditch.
- There were concerns regarding the safety at the headwalls along the driveways. Could the plan depict optional boulders or guardrails so that if the Town decided to do anything, they would not be required to appear before the Commission for an amendment to the Orders of Conditions.
Mr. Alfieri informed the Commission members that all of his comments have been addressed in this application which are included in the Agent’s Report.
Mr. Chagnon informed the Commission that he is agreeable to changing the erosion control measures to a silt sock. The Commission members stated that they are requesting a compost sock as opposed to straw waddles and non-treated burlap as well.
Mr. Chagnon stated that he will depict these boulders or guardrails on the plan.
The Commission members asked what is the long-term plan for the dumping of grass clippings and what is the designated location? Could there be a condition that they should be removed?
Mr. Alfieri recommended a condition that they have to be removed or placed someplace outside of Conservation jurisdiction. The School Facilities Department could then be notified of where they should be placed.
The landscape architect for the project gave the Commission a detailed overview of the plans for the rain gardens around the school.
Mr. Alfieri questioned if the plantings came from the Best Development Practices Handbook.
A Commission member questioned if there is specific information in the Maintenance Plan on how these plantings will be maintained?
Mr. Chagnon stated that this is addressed in the O&M plan which is included in the Stormwater
Report.
The Chairman stated that he will keep the hearing open to obtain the Stormwater Management Plan and have Mr. Chagnon make the requested changes to the plan and submit at the next meeting.
There was a motion to continue the hearing until July 12th. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
GENERAL BUSINESS
Discussion: DelCarte Fence
There was a discussion among Commission members regarding the fencing for both
Dams 3 & 4 over the spillways. The type of fencing needs to be approved by the Commission.
Mr. Alfieri informed the Commission members that pressure treated wood was originally proposed by Tighe & Bond to be used for the fencing as it was the least expensive material.
The Commission members requested that some type of black powder coated steel fencing material or chain link fencing be used for the DelCarte site.
Discussion: DelCarte Name/Sign
Mr. Alfieri stated that the Town wants to move ahead with the playground on the site. Signs need to be put up denoting the name of the site.
The Commission recommended that they would like “DelCarte Recreation Area” be appropriate for the sign as Ernest DelCarte donated the parcel to the Town.
Discussion: Lot 4-7 Penny Lane
Mr. Jason Coras, representative of Eastern Management LLC, and Mr. Donald Nielsen, Engineer of Guerriere & Halnon, both appeared before the Commission for a discussion regarding the permitting for this lot.
Mr. Nielsen informed the Commission that this lot is part of the Strawberry Fields subdivision approval. The Order of Conditions has expired; some work has already been done on the site except for the construction of the house.
Mr. Nielsen requested that the Orders of Conditions be amended to allow the continuation of the house construction. There is no current Orders of Conditions open for this work; it has expired so an amendment would not be an option. There is no Certificate of Compliance issued for this lot.
The pavement of the driveway remains to be done within Conservation jurisdiction.
The Commission members requested that the applicant file a Request for Determination for the completion of this work.
Discussion: 95 Chestnut Street
Mr. Donald Nielsen, Engineer of Guerriere & Halnon, appeared before the Commission for a discussion regarding this parcel. The property was permitted with a Request for Determination for adding a deck with a Negative Determination.
In the rear of the house, there is a 5-6 ft. high retaining wall. On the other side of the property the retaining wall has collapsed. The applicant has requested to file a Request for Determination to eliminate the wall and grade the area. He would like to bring the grading away from the 25 ft. buffer zone to accommodate the retaining wall collapse. The area would be planted with shrubs and ground cover beyond where the wall was located.
Mr. Alfieri informed the Commission that he has had previous discussions with the homeowner regarding the removal of the wall and grading the area. He informed him that he needed to file a Notice of Intent for this work approximately 2 years ago.
The Commission members will conduct a site walk of this property on Thursday,
June 28th at 6:15 p.m.
Elections: Chair & Vice Chair
There was a motion to nominate Regan Ballantyne as Chair of the Conservation Commission. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
There was a motion to nominate Raymond Willis as Vice Chair of the Conservation Commission. The motion was seconded.
There was a motion to nominate Jonathan Fournier as Vice Chair of the Conservation Commission. The motion was seconded. The vote to nominate Mr. Willis as Vice Chair was 5-0-0.
Signed Orders of Conditions, Enforcement Orders, Certificate of Compliance & Determination of Applicability
Enforcement Order – 104 Populatic Street – LeBlanc
Enforcement Order – 3 Charles River Drive – Laughran
Orders of Conditions – 438 West Central Street – Ranieri - CE159-1035
Determination of Applicability (Negative) 28 Stewart Street – Sullivan
Certificate of Compliance – 637 King Street – Pell – CE159-1019
There was a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen Celorier
Conservation Secretary
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