MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 7:00 P.m.
Town Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room
302 Main Street
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present
Robert Fish
Richard Esty
Kimberley Gallagher
Emily Grochowski
Pat Ingellis
Walter Smith
Jerry Brophy
Land Use Department Staff Present
Sandy Prisloe, Environmental Planner
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
III. REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Minutes
MOTION to approve the minutes from the Conservation Commission’s Regular Meeting of September 10, 2013 as presented.; MADE by J. Brophy; SECONDED by R. Esty; VOTED IN FAVOR: R. Fish, W. Smith, E. Grochowski, P. Ingellis, R. Esty, K. Gallagher, J. Brophy; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 7-0-0.
B. Correspondence and Announcements
W. Smith went to the Selectmen’s Meeting today. There was a presentation by Barbara Guenther and Judy Preston about Founders Memorial Park. W. Smith distributed a pamphlet from the meeting entitled, “Founders Memorial Park Return of the Natives.”
Dr. David Shearer from the Route 1 East Task Force also gave a presentation at the Selectmen’s meeting about Route 1 East. W. Smith shared with Commissioners the report entitled “Mariner’s Way Gateway to CT River Recreation - a vision to improve the Route 1 connector between Saybrook Junction’s Town Center and Ferry Point’s Marina District”, dated August 2013.
W. Smith would like to ask D. Shearer to come and present to the Conservation Commission. Commissioners agreed.
W. Smith noted that the November 12, 2014 meeting is on a Wednesday instead of a Tuesday because November 11, 2014 is Veteran’s Day and Town Hall would be closed.
MOTION to adopt the Conservation Commission meeting schedule for 2014 as presented.; MADE by R. Fish; SECONDED by K. Gallagher; VOTED IN FAVOR: R. Fish, R. Esty, W. Smith, E. Grochowski, P. Ingellis, K. Gallagher, J. Brophy; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none.; APPROVED: 7-0-0.
- Committee, Representative & Staff Reports
W. Smith has talked with all Commission members about where Conservation Commission has been and it’s direction for the future. He thanked R. Fish for his leadership and his service to the Conservation Commission.
S. Prisloe is going to follow up on phragmites treatment. Phragmites were successfully treated last year through a CT DEEP program.
W. Smith and S. Prisloe went to look at a parcel of open space on Bokum Road near the Essex town line. They also went to look at the Cornfield Point road ending.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
A. NEW PROJECTS
Butterfly Garden
R. Esty talked with Ray Allen from Parks & Recreation about creating a butterfly garden in the Saybrook Point area. R. Esty took photographs of the area to determine the best spot to place a butterfly garden. R. Esty spoke about the best types of plantings to use for the butterflies and the landscape. He would like it to be easy and low maintenance with signage which would provide a great opportunity for outreach and education. He’s going to draft a proposal, bring it to the Conservation Commission for their review, and then submit it to R. Allen who will bring it to the Parks & Recreation Commission for their approval.
B. OTHER PROJECTS
CLEAR Training Opportunity: Land Use Academy Basic Training
W. Smith invited any interested Commissioners to register for Land Use Academy Basic Training which will be held on 10/26/2013. He noted that C. Nelson requested that Commissioners pay for the conference, and the town will reimburse them.
CACIWC Annual Meeting 11/16/2013
The CT Association of Conservation and Inland Wetland Commissions (CACIWC) annual meeting is going to be held on 11/16/2013. W. Smith plans to attend. He asked members to let him know if they’d like to attend, so they can carpool.
Plan of Conservation and Development
W. Smith has been seeking input from Land Use Department staff and Conservation Commissioners about potential updates to the Town Plan of Conservation and Development.
Board Member Recruitment
W. Smith asked Commissioners if they had any suggestions for a new member to replace K. Gallagher who is moving out of state.
W. Smith thanked K. Gallagher for her service to the Conservation Commission and to the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission.
Updates
In discussion with other Conservation Commission members, W. Smith found their priorities were outreach, education and stewardship of existing properties. The Old Saybrook Land Trust, Parks and Recreation and the Conservation Commission are part of the MOU (memorandum of understanding) group that works together on these issues. He’s going to follow up with them to discuss how everyone can best support each other in meeting these common goals.
V. OLD BUSINESS
Vernal Pools
R. Esty submitted an article to Saybrook Events about vernal pools. In early to late winter, he’d like to send a letter to those residents with vernal pools on their properties to get their permission to study the vernal pools. There are also a number of already identified vernal pools on municipal properties. He’s going to have 3 pairs of waders for people to use, and he’s hoping a series of people will volunteer to go out into the vernal pools in the early spring. He’s hoping to have volunteers from the high school and/or the local colleges to help with this project. P. Ingellis offered to help R. Esty coordinate this.
Sustainable Saybrook, River Cog Memo
E. Grochowski reported that Family Day was a big success. A lot of people stopped by the Sustainable Saybrook table to sign up on the e-mail list. They are now up to close to 225 e-mails, and they gave out a lot of Sustainable Saybrook t-shirts, bookmarks and Natural Heritage tour maps. Some people even filled out their Sustainable Saybrook surveys at the table.
E. Grochowski wrote a response to the River Cog memo based on the Sustainable Saybrook survey results. Many residents are interested in CSAs and community gardens as well as regional emergency infrastructure planning and hazard mitigation planning. There was also survey support for using the CT River as a future power supply.
S. Prisloe suggested that the Conservation Commission ask that River Cog continue to offer the household hazardous waste collection, and that Commissioners find out more about the River Cog’s Regional Agricultural Commission.
W. Smith is going to respond to Catherine Flanagan, the Secretary of the Planning Commission and representative to River Cog, with a carbon copy to C. Nelson.
Regional Trailways
S. Prisloe said he received the data from BL. He has been working to extract the trails from that data. He will be meeting with J. Brophy to work on this.
Lecture Series
W. Smith applied to the Rockfall Foundation. He said if they were chosen, they would have to fill out the entire application in January. This would allow for 3 lectures. W. Smith said if the Rockfall Foundation were not able to fund it, he would still like to pursue the lecture series with funding from different sources. E. Grochowski and W. Smith will meet to choose the topics.
Water Quality Presentation
W. Smith made a presentation to the Planning Commission on water quality. He received a lot of helpful feedback afterwards.
Cornfield Point Scenic Walkway
P. Ingellis talked to First Selectman Carl Fortuna about the Cornfield Point Road Ending. He also spoke to C. Nelson who was going to talk with Don Ranaudo, a Planning Commission member who lives in the Cornfield Point area.
P. Ingellis would like to get another bike rack for the Cornfield Point Road Ending, replace the benches, delineate the area more clearly, and ask if the Department of Public Works staff can help clear the brush and maintain it. P. Ingellis will follow up with C. Nelson, C. Fortuna and D. Ranaudo.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m. until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Conservation Commission which will be Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 7:00 P.M., Town Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 302 Main Street; MADE by K. Gallagher; SECONDED by P. Ingellis; VOTED IN FAVOR: R. Fish, R. Esty, W. Smith, E. Grochowski, P. Ingellis, K. Gallagher, J. Brophy; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none.; APPROVED: 7-0-0.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
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