Mashpee Conservation Commission
Minutes of February 4, 2010
Public Hearings
Mashpee Town Hall
Commissioners: Vice Chairman Ralph Shaw, Jeffrey Cross, Brad Sweet, Lloyd Allen and Mark Gurnee
Staff Present: Drew McManus (Conservation Agent) and Kris Carpenter (Administrative Secretary)
The meeting was called to order with a quorum by Vice Chairman Shaw at 6:55 pm.
There was no public comment.
Pre/Post Hearing Agenda
- Approval of Minutes from January 7, 2010
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of 1/07/10.
- AFCEE Well Installations Request – Mike Minior
Mike Minior explains that the progress of the plume remediation is shown on the hand-out that he dispersed to the commissioners and he states that the plumes have gotten smaller and there is no contamination in some areas. They would like to install three more monitoring well locations to sample ground water and receive more information on what remains on the lower part of the Fuel Spill 1 Plume. The wells will give them a much clearer picture of what is going on. They already have good estimations but still have over a decade to go as far as pumping and cleaning the ground water. These wells are “micro” wells; they are very small rigs that utilize a small 1½” pipe into the ground. Vice Chairman Shaw asks at what depths the testing will take place and Mr. Minior responds
that they will test at multiple depths; every 10’ once they reach the water table. The pipes will be left in the ground so that they can sample periodically. There will be no pumps within the pipes as the pumps are brought in when testing.
Mark Hilliard from CH2MHill explains that the pipes will be placed about 200’ below ground surface for ground water sampling. The wells are all on Conservation land but still outside any 100’ wetland buffer zone. They will be flush mounted and be placed as far away from the traveled road as possible. It is stated that these wells will be in place indefinitely and believed that they will be the longest ones in place because they are within the main body of the plume which is expected to exist for the next 6-10 years.
Agent McManus recommends the installation of the wells as it is in the best interest of everyone to monitor the plumes.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to approve proposal on installing wells for Ground Water Sampling
- Trustees of Reservation: Steve Nicolle – MOU – Mashpee River Woodlands (Map 68 Parcel 2)
Steve Nicolle from the Trustees of Reservations is the Operations Manager for the Southeast Region and he is proposing a Memo of Understanding for a partnership on the Quinaquisset parking lot. They use the parking lot to gain access to Mashpee River Reservation and they would like to add signage with the Town’s and the Trustee of Reservation’s logo and also the name of the two properties. They would also like to put in a bulletin board as the one that is there is in bad shape and would also like to include a map of each property with brochures.
Agent McManus mentions that the trail steps need work and re-grading so he suggests that maybe they can add an amendment to add the steps by a joint cooperation in obtaining materials and labor. The agent also mentions the removal of the split-rail fence because of the bad condition it is in and possibly placing natural borders as in boulders or plantings. The fence is an on going maintenance problem. The agent suggests reading through the agreement and if there are any suggestions then they can be forwarded to Mr. Nicolle to finalize for the next meeting. Vice Chairman Shaw agrees and will have it entered into the agenda for the February 18th meeting.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to continue until February 18 for Commission review.
- Administrative Approval for 8 Chart Way (SE 43-2557); Pool and Grading Change
Jack Vaccaro from Vaccaro Environmental Consulting is representing for Shane Caiazzo and states that there had been a 2nd approval for a design change of the pool last September. At that time, it was requested to change the design from a rectangular pool to more of a free form pool and adding a spa. The pool has been installed although the patio has not. This request is to re-align the pool as it is very close to the house and the owner would like a little more space between the two. They would like to rotate the pool out a little bit which would result in an increase of approximately 250’ of patio that was previously approved for lawn and add about 500 sq.ft. of additional mitigation planting. Some of the grading has changed because of the construction of
the house so they are also asking to remove a retaining wall that was previously approved and restore and stabilize the coastal bank. They would like to put on record the plan showing the new grade contours along with the new planting plan
Agent McManus states that this is a man made coastal bank created from brought in land fill so the project can not be determined on typical performance standards of natural coastal banks. He recommends approval because it is a significant enhancement and they have followed all regulations in regards to erosion and adhering to the plans that were first brought forward and the project still meets the performance standards.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to approve the Administrative Request of SE 43-2557.
- Approval of Proposed 173 Regulation 1: Prohibited Activities on Mashpee Conservation Lands
Agent McManus read for the record the changes to Regulation 1 of the Chapter 173 Conservation Land Bylaw which states Regulation 1 is general provisions of 173-4 Prohibited Activities on Conservation Lands. Mr. Sweet asks the Agent if this compares to the regulation in Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge Partnership property and Waquoit Bay Estuary property because the reason he is asking is if the same regulation applies to the properties so as not to be legal in one and illegal in another. Agent McManus states that he would like to present this to the next wildlife partnership meeting to see if they can
implement “across the board” continuity for this regulation. Also, it was confirmed by the Town Manager that protection on town owned open spaces can be added to this regulation and Mr. Gurnee mentions that statement should go into the heading which the Agent agrees and will make the change.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to approve 173 Regulation 1 with changes.
- New Business: Willowbend Glen Aquatic Control: To be placed on 2/18/10 pre-hearing agenda - Willowbend Glen Aquatic Control representatives will be present for the next meeting on February 18, 2010 to talk about the management plan for a “lined” man made pond. The permit is an RDA that has a perpetuity statement that is a standard clause in all RDA Permits which states that it is valid for the duration of the plans on file. Agent McManus is concerned because after a prolonged amount of time, even a man made pond can take on characteristics of a wetland resource area and hence come under jurisdiction.
- Updates:
- Americorps and Tribal Members: Herring passage clean ups; Santuit, Mashpee and Quashnet Rivers (late February/early March) – Americorps and some Wampanoag Tribal members will be getting together towards the end of the month or beginning of March and walk the Santuit, Mashpee and Quashnet Rivers and clear debris for Herring passage. It is a yearly project that is taken on by different entities and this year will be handled by Americorp and Tribal members which Agent McManus states he will be involved also with Americorp.
- Ace Arboriculture – Mike Hope: New trail steps at Fitch Property (Map 53 Parcel 81) - Mike Hope who is the owner of Ace Arboriculture had asked if there were any community projects that his crew could work on for extra hours that could be applied towards his accreditation with a landscape organization. Agent McManus didn’t hesitate in mentioning trail steps at the Fitch property conservation areas. Currently, it is just a sandy hill causing hazardous conditions in the summer when the sand becomes soft. There were no wetland issues and total material costs to Conservation was approximately $400 as labor was offered free of charge.
- Proposal to Recreate Trail at Lopez Property (Tom Fudala & Americorps) – This parcel had a trail that has been neglected for some time to the extent that it has completely grown over and Agent McManus can barely find the trail where it once existed. He suggests that this could be another project to be looked at to re-establish the trail.
- New Gate at Santuit Pond Conservation Area – There will be a new gate installed and should solidify access restriction to the parcel and hopefully put an end to illegal dumping.
- Conservation Fund Donation - Conservation received a check for $350 from David & Billie Kapp of 15 Bonwood Drive in Mashpee as a donation for our Conservation Fund.
Hearing Agenda
7:00 Jamie Shone SE 43-2600 (49 Tide Run) – Demo / Rebuild Fire Damaged Home NOI Continued to 3/04/10 @ 7:03pm
Applicable Resource Area: Flood Zone
It was read for the record that the applicant requested a continuance to 3/04/10 at 7:03 p.m
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried for a continuance until 3/4/10 @ 7:03 p.m.
7:03 Katherine Tracey (17B Riverview Avenue [Cotuit Bay Condos]) Removal of existing deck/replace with larger deck RDA
Applicable Resource Area: Santuit Bay River
Katherine Tracey explains that she would like to remove her existing 2nd story deck and replace it with a larger “L” shaped deck which will have three support sono tubes.
Agent McManus states the project is within the buffer zone and being approximately 35-40’ from the top of the bank. A letter was received from Brian J. Wahl from Troy Wahl Associates who is the law firm that represents Cotuit Bay Condos and in which Agent McManus read for the record. The letter states that the Board of Trustees are aware of the owner’s application and at their meeting last week, the Trustees voted to approve the proposed deck configuration.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried for a Negative Determination
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Kris Carpenter
Administrative Secretary
| 
