NEWBURY CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Special Meeting Minutes June 29, 2006
Present: William Weiler, Deane Geddes, Frank Perrotta, Suzanne Levine, Katheryn Holmes, William Annable; E. Ann Poole. Convened at 4:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building.
Old Business: Conservation Plan.
1. Scope of Services. After introductions, consultant Poole presented her thoughts about how she would like to begin development of a town-wide conservation plan. She asked commissioners to e-mail her any specifics or revisions about plan content they had in mind, beyond those expressed in the Request for Proposal prepared for the project.
2. Timeline. Poole said she would review the project proposal, but would like to have a final draft ready by November, with completion by March. Weiler said she would have to determine what specific mapping services would be needed from the Upper Valley-Lake Sunapee Regional Commission. Poole said she would meet with UVLS by mid-July for a review of maps already in the town Natural Resources Inventory and a discussion of any others that might be available. Geddes and Perrotta said they would attend. Geddes said scheduling the initial step raised the question of progressive payments to Poole. The commission agreed that funds approved for the project should be
disbursed to Poole as she works her way through the job.
3. Other organizations and individuals to contact. Poole said the Center for Land Conservation of the Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests could conduct a public session, explaining for townspeople how land conservation works. The commission agreed that, as a public relations gesture, a meeting should be scheduled soon.
4. Completed conservation plans. Poole distributed a list of regional, state and local conservation plans the commission should review with an eye toward adapting certain specific language from them.
5. Objectives. Poole said the commission and she needed to develop goals and objectives specific to Newbury’s needs. The RFP, while somewhat specific, was too general, she said. She said each commissioner should to develop specific priorities about what they feel should be protect in town. Weiler said the commission wanted her to establish priorities. Poole said she could do that, but she still needed to know what the commission wants. Weiler said one priority would be to identify wildlife corridors. Poole said threatened species were important. Weiler said the plan should identify specific species. Weiler said he was concerned about hiking trails,
specifically Old Province Road; developing town forests, especially Bald Sunapee; the town’s scenic hillsides or “viewscapes”; habitat conservation; and wetlands protection. Holmes said road salt was having a heavy impact on water quality in town. In discussing possible specifics, Weiler mentioned that Newbury’s effort to develop a conservation plan should not be influenced by the efforts of other groups that may be studying similar issues. Poole agreed, saying she was working strictly along lines determined by the Newbury Conservation Commission. She added to the possible list of priorities active agricultural land, water supply resources and water quality in general. Weiler mentioned the town contains a stratified drift aquifer. Poole and Weiler discussed whether the plan should include historic structures. It was decided to note only the historic value of conservation land. Poole said she had sent for federal documentation of the conservation aspects of
the Fells, which is about to be divided. She asked if the town or commission was interested in the land. Weiler said the commission didn’t know and that’s why a conservation plan was being done. Holmes said she has a sincere concern about the proposal to divide the property, as do many Newbury residents and other groups. She said the town needed to be on the alert about the proposal because of the many gray areas involved. Poole asked if expansion of the Mount Sunapee Resort ski area is of concern to Newbury. Weiler mentioned that the expansion plan extended the leased are to the park boundary.
The commission decided to meet again on the conservation plan, in the fourth week in July at 10 a.m., a specific date to be determined later.
Adjourned: Moved Levine, seconded Holmes, 6 p.m.
Prepared by: Frank Perrotta
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