Present: Larry Siebert, Pam Smillie, Hank Dresch, Jess Wilson, Mike Dufilho, Brian Byrne, Dave Matesky
The meeting convened at 5:30pm.
Review of Minutes: Two names were misspelled in the December minutes. A motion was made to accept the minutes from December 10, 2012 with the spellings amended; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Finances:
A motion was made to ask the Town of Jackson to raise and appropriate $2000 for the Conservation Commission 2013 General Operating Expenses. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
A review of the commission’s 2012 expenditures included: $1898.46 to North Country Soil Services for the Ice Pond Brook work and the wetlands restoration; $483.00 to Forest Land Improvement for blazing the property boundary between the Lyons property and the Prospect Farm boundary; and $812.50 to Forest Land Improvement for the creation of two view cuts along the Gray’s Inn Property Trail. It was noted that the revenue generated from the sale of timber from Prospect Farm in 2013 should be placed in the Baker Trust for the future management of Prospect Farm. A motion was made to ask the Town of Jackson to appropriate $8980.98 from the 2012 timber sales to the Baker Trust. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Naming of the Trail on the Gray’s Inn Property: In December, the Kindergarten and First Grade classes from the Jackson Public School took a hike on the new trail along with Larry Siebert, Deb Siebert, and Dave Matesky. After the hike, the classes were given an opportunity to submit trail names for consideration. Runners up included “Slippery Slope Trail” and “Ups and Down Trail”. The winning name was the “Mystery House Loop”, which was named after the large, unknown foundation around which the trail loops. The commission thanks the kindergarten and first grade school kids and their teachers for exploring the trail and for their naming creativity.
The commission discussed the creation of laminated interpretative signs for several points along the trail, including Ice Pond Brook, the apple orchard, the mystery foundation, and the tennis court. Once the trail is mapped, the commission plans to create a map/brochure for the trail.
Town Report: The commission reviewed a draft of the Conservation Commission Report for the Town Report. A few additional items of note were suggested; Larry will include them and send another draft to the commission members via email.
SPNHF Monitoring Reports: Commission members with outstanding easement monitoring reports assigned to them are asked to drop off the completed forms to Larry this month.
Jackson Falls Management Plan: An Action plan for the Jackson Falls Recreation Area Draft, compiled by Greg Howard of North Country Soil Services, was distributed to the commission members. Greg Howard conducted an on-site evaluation on December 12 with Larry and Pam. The action plan makes recommendations relating to public safety, scenic value, habitat quality, and water quality. Commission members will review the draft in order to discuss during the February meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 6:28pm
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