CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Town of Monterey, Massachusetts
MEETING DATE: 3/14/18
Present: Claudia Crane, Marion Simon and Mark Little
The meeting convened at 6:00p.m.
Timlege - 26 Mt Hunger Rd – SMA18-05 - clear trees for horse pasture and create area for exercising horses (M. Simon is the project manager)
Beth Timlege was present to review the project details. The project with the exception of the 60x60 area is a partial cut. One question that has come up is how the cutting will affect the wetlands. The Commission has consulted with the DEP and the logical next step is to have the wetlands delineated and moving the area slightly to avoid encroaching on the wetlands. The hearing was continued to the April meeting to allow Ms. Timlege to have the wetlands delineated.
452 Main Rd – Monterey Library DEP#230-0290 redevelop the existing library building and site to better serve the community (C. Crane is the project manager)
Present were Mark Makuc, Mickey Jervas, as well as the library’s project manager, architect and site engineer. Mark provided a history of the property which was originally a mill and became a library in 1931. Planning and design has been going on for the last 3 years – the Commission inquired as to why the library didn’t come in for an informal talk regarding their proposal during that time. The proposed project and site restrictions were reviewed. The septic upgrade is not considered new construction and has been approved by the Board of Health. The Commission inquired about the percentage of the site being converted from lawn; this answer was not readily available. The project is double the size of the current building. As required there will be a specified
amount mitigated on a separate site at Gould Farm. This project is being submitted as a redevelopment project and Claudia had questions about that as this site was not being improved. Questions that arose where whether the 2:1 mitigation was enough and would like to see what the alternate site proposals are. Suggestions made were to look into reducing the number of parking spaces, removing the ramp and the deck and potentially increasing mitigation to 4:1 because the current proposal does not improve the site from a conservation standpoint. The Commission also requested a more detailed planting plan for this site and the mitigation area. The applicant did not see the site plan changing and said that the requirement for mitigation is 2:1 and did not see the MBLC (Mass Board of Library Commissions) lowering their requirement for 10 parking spaces. One alternate site proposal is on Fox Hill Rd which wouldn’t be visible from the Main Rd and
neighboring properties have hostile signs erected that may deter people from visiting the library. This site would also require a well to be drilled which would be considered a public water supply and cost the town a considerable amount of money. The other site was on the Community Center property which also had monetary challenges. The hearing will be continued to the April 11 meeting.
For Discussion:
- Mail was reviewed.
- Minutes from Feb were approved as written.
- Allison Dixon, Berkshire Outreach Manager for the Housatonic Valley Association (watershed organization) came in to discuss a potential stream assessment on the Konkapot. Dennis Lynch invited Allison to attend the next MVP working group meeting on the 27th.
Meeting adjourned at 9:15pm
Submitted by: Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
cc: Conservation Commission Board Members
| 
