Stewardship Committee
Newton, NH
Minutes for Meeting 9-29-05
Location of Meeting: Upper Town Hall
Members on Committee: Mary Marshall- Chairperson; Nancy Slombo-Vice Chair; Mike Seacamp-Treasurer; Trisha McCarthy-Secretary; Pat Wonson
All Members present for meeting
Call to Order at 9:00am
Minutes from January meeting read.
Mary made motion to accept
Pat seconded
Trisha abstained
All in favor.
The Annual Report:
1. Requires boundary walk. It was decided we would wait until the weather gets a little colder.
2. We discussed how many meetings should we have a year, Re: Annual report. It was decided to have two regular meetings a year. One in early Spring and one in late Fall. We will give two weeks notice for the two regular meetings. We will call any other emergency meetings as needed.
Review of easement relative to Landowner questions.
The Easement Language was reviewed in section of “reserved rights” and also the “Farmstead Area section B” regarding buildings that can be on the property. The
Homeowners Questions were;
Can he build a spring- house?
Can he build a sugar- house?
Can he build a pig/pen house
Can he build a new chicken house?
We talked about what is prohibited. We decided that he could build the above-mentioned items according to easement language.
Review Draft of Bylaws:
In that the Stewardship Committee is charged with monitoring and annual reporting upon the easements held by the town. The committee will be established and function with the following bylaws.
1. The Committee members will be appointed by the Board of Selectmen which may receive recommendations from the committee.
2. The Committee will be made up of at least five members.
3. Each member shall be appointed for five years and may be re-appointed at the end of that time period.
4. The terms will be staggered so that one appointment is concluded every year. Currently the stagger will be as follows:
a. Mary Marshall, Chairperson will expire in 2006
b. Nancy Slombo, Vice Chair will expire in 2007
c. Mike Seacamp, Treasurer will expire in 2008
d. Trisha McCarthy, Secretary will expire in 2009
e. Pat Wonson, will expire in 2010
4. Committee will have the following officers see above
5. The Committee will have the following officers:
Chair: Shall conduct each annual meeting, arrange for the annual landowner interviews and site walks and prepare the annual reports for amendment or approval of the Committee at the annual meeting.
Vice Chair: Shall carry out any of the duties of the Chair in the event the Chair is unable to perform the duty.
The Treasurer: Shall keep track of the Stewardship Endowment Fund.
The Secretary: Shall take minutes at the annual meetings. These minutes will be posted to the website as draft minutes until their approval at a subsequent meeting.
6. There shall be at least two meetings annually. The schedule of the meetings will be at the discretion of the committee. The Meetings will be posted. Total of two meetings, one after winter (early spring), and one in fall. We will have two weeks notice. Special meetings may be called with short notice if necessary.
7. Each property for which the Town holds an easement shall be monitored with the site walks annually. For each property/easement a report will be submitted to the Board of Selectmen and the Holders of Interest.
8. Members of the committee shall meet with the landowners annually and with new landowners when a property changes hands. The Committee will stress the importance of being kept informed about any changes in ownership. With this in mind it was decided that prior to signing any contract, the successor would be supplied with a copy of easement and have opportunity to meet with Stewardship committee.
9. In the event the Committee discovers that the easement is not being upheld, recommendations shall be made to the landowner for correcting the infraction. If efforts fail to correct the situation, the committee will recommend to the Board of Selectmen a course of arbitration if so specified in the easement and /or legal action. Legal proceedings shall remain the function of the Board of Selectmen.
NOTE: The Committee needs to find out how to amend the easement language as reflected in item 8 of the Draft of Bylaws concerning a transfer of property to a new landowner.
Motion made to continue meeting on 11-3-05 at 8:30am at Upper Floor of Town Hall
Nancy made the above motion
Pat seconded
All in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Trisha McCarthy, Secretary
| 
