CONSERVATION COMMISSION
MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
October 10, 2006, 6:00 P.M.
31 Pecks Lane
Newtown, CT
PRESENT: BARKMAN, CRAMER, FERGUSON, HOVIOUS, WILSON AND WRIGHT.
Public Participation
None noted
Minutes Approval for 9/26 meeting
Ferguson made a motion to accept the minutes of September 26, 2006, second by Wright
Discussion:
Barkman said that Barkman signed up for the Ecology Club and not Wright"
Wright said that on the discussion on 7 Obtuse Road it should say, "A trail was shown on the map" not "cut through the property".
The motion to write a letter to Julia Wasserman was second by Ferguson and the vote was unanimous.
All voted in favor of approving the minutes with corrections.
Barkman made a motion to add Green Buildings Discussion to the Agenda as New Business item #3. The motion was second and unanimously carried.
Ferguson moved to add discussion about sending a letter to July Wasserman regarding fee in lieu of open space as New Business item #7., second by Wright and unanimously carried.
Old Business
1. Budget proposal for next fiscal year
Rob Sibley presented the following numbers for next year's budget
$2.000 office supplies
$1,500 non-reoccurring for laptop and projector
$2.000 Education for public and the commission
There was some discussion about figures on annual indexing of open space.
Sibley offered to come up with a number of parcels in town that need to be marked, so that the commission could have a better idea on how much they would need for next year's budget. This discussion is tabled to the next meeting.
2. Discussion on 7 Obtuse Road
Wright said that the proposed open space is not appropriate for a passageway; Sibley said that at a pre-application meeting he brought to the applicant's attention that basins or drainage should not be in the open space.
There was some discussion about the access to the proposed open space. Wright said that the applicant would try to offer fee in lieu of open space in Brookfield, she also said that the NFA parcel is not adjacent to 7 Obtuse Road.
Barkman made a motion to go along with staff recommendations and not accepting what is proposed, second by Ferguson.
Wright suggested changing it to "we endorse the staff recommendations and have the same hesitation about the open space"
Wright made a motion that the Conservation Commission has the same concerns for the open space listed, that including the narrow strip and drainage are
Barkman withdrew her motion; Ferguson withdrew his second to the motion.
Wright made a motion that the Conservation Commission has the same concerns the staff listed, including that the narrow trail and the drainage in the open space are not acceptable, second by Barkman. Ferguson amended the motion to say that it was the desire of the Conservation Commission without reference to the staff, second by Wilson. All voted in favor of the amendment to the motion. All voted in favor of the Original motion.
3. Plans for NEMO presentation
The presentation will be October 24, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. on a modified version of the municipal training for natural resource inventory, with about one hour of question answer after the presentation.
4.~Coalition report
Barkman reported that the next coalition meeting had been scheduled for October 21, 2006 at 9:00 a.m.; she said the group has been active reviewing plans for Dickenson Park, for landscape, wetlands, education; and reviewing plans for Rams Pasture.
Ferguson made a motion for the Conservation Commission formally adjoin the Roots For Newton Coalition; which is a ad hoc of like minded environmental groups affiliated within Newtown, Wilson second the motion; all voted in favor.
5. Education subcommittee report
Barkman said that the subcommittee had had discussions on the requirements that the students would meet. She said that the students would attend some of the Conservation meetings and have duties outside the Conservation Commission and perhaps acting as liaison with other groups. The subcommittee also worked on ways of educating people of Newtown in conservation practices, especially in protecting the aquifer and the watershed.
There was discussion about the Rams Pasture project in conjunction with the Cemetery Association.
6. Finalize listing of Potential Projects
~This discussion is tabled to the meeting of November 14, 2006.
7. Discussion on Letter to Julia Wasserman about Fee in Lieu of Open Space
Julia Wasserman had been contacted about changing the statutes to require the developers pay the fee in lieu of open space up front; Wasserman recommended that the Chairs of Conservation Commission & Planning and Zoning write letters. William O'Neil, as chairperson of P&Z said he would be happy to write a letter but would like to bring it up for discussion to their next regular meeting. At the said meeting, the Planning & Zoning Commission voted against approaching this issue. The State requires 10% open space, there could be a chance the town would have to change their requirements from 15% to 10%.
New Business
1. Annual report status
Rob Sibley distributed the Conservation Commission annual report, there were some grammatical changes; the report listed the responsibilities on the Commission as they are described in the Ordinance.
There were some changes to the timeline and reasons on the separation of the Inland Wetlands and Conservation Commission.
Motion was made and unanimously carried to accept the 2006-2007 annual report to be submitted to the Town Clerk.
2. New Scott Sharlow spreadsheet
The updated spreadsheet with data from the Tax Assessor's Office was distributed in a CD-Rom. There was discussion about the CD-Rom previously distributed, containing Assessor's Maps and Open Space Map.
3. Green Buildings
There was material distributed about green buildings; Barkman said that the subcommittee was looking for the town new buildings to be ecologically sensitive to protect the aquifer. There was some discussion about the need for further research on the matter. Wright said that there were many other environmental practices to look at and try to educate the residents about. This discussion is tabled.
Executive session property updates
Barkman made a motion to go into executive session to discuss possible acquisition of property at 7:21 p.m., second by Cramer, all voted in favor.
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