MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 7:00 P.m.
Town Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room
302 Main Street
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present
Walter Smith
Nina Garrett
Robert Fish
Emily Grochowski
Richard Esty
Members Absent
Jerry Brophy
Pat Ingellis
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 December 9, 2014 with one correction, on page 3, in the 4th paragraph under Municipal Landscaping Guidance Document Planning, K. Constable will be working in an “adjunct” capacity not “ad hoc”.; MADE by R. Esty; SECONDED by N. Garrett; VOTED IN FAVOR: W. Smith, E. Grochowski, R. Fish, N. Garrett R. Esty; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
B. Correspondence & Announcements
W. Smith announced that the DEEP will be holding two grants workshops; one on open space and land acquisition and another workshop on urban green garden initiatives. The workshop on urban green garden initiatives will be held on Tuesday, 1/20 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. W. Smith offered to attend on behalf of the Commission. If the Commission decides to apply for a grant, the grant application is due 3/1/2015.
The CT Bar Association’s Education & Training for Planning and Zoning CT Land Use Law For Municipal Land Use Boards and Commissions will be held at Wesleyan University on Saturday, 3/21/2015 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
S. Prisloe notified Commissioners that on Thursday, 1/22/15 at 6:00 p.m. at the Essex Town Hall, RiverCOG is holding a meeting to discuss possible uses for the rail line from Old Saybrook to Middletown.
On 1/15/2015, the Land Use Department is submitting a budget for the Conservation Commission. W. Smith said he’d like to discuss the budget at the 2/10/15 Conservation Commission meeting.
C. Sea Level Rise Climate Adaptation Committee
S. Prisloe reported that the SLRCAC continues to meet twice a month. On their first meeting of month they often have a speaker, or Committee members report on their assigned topic. The second meeting is more of a working meeting where Committee members work on environmental, community and economic impacts of sea level rise and climate change. The Committee’s goal is to have a draft report completed in the summer of 2015. They also plan outreach and education for the community.
On 2/12/15 at 3:30 p.m. at the meeting of the CC SLRCAC in the First Floor Conference Room of Town Hall, Ralph Lewis, a former CT State Geologist from UConn, will discuss coastal processes and geology of Old Saybrook. The public is invited to attend.
Committee members asked if S. Prisloe could request that the presentation be video recorded. S. Prisloe said he would check into it.
D. Sustainable Saybrook
R. Fish reported that he held a meeting with First Selectman Carl Fortuna and Town Planner Christine Nelson to find out if there was support to continue the Sustainable Saybrook Committee. Although there is support for the concept of sustainability, at the moment, there is neither enough support nor resources to continue the work of the Committee.
R. Fish is going to post an agenda for a January Sustainable Saybrook meeting to be held on Tuesday, 1/20/15 at 5:30 p.m. in the Second Floor Conference Room of Town Hall, and he is hoping people interested in continuing the work of the Committee will attend.
Commission members discussed website and e-mail issues such as constant contact, the town web site and the idea of making the Sustainable Saybrook web site a non-town run web site, but rather an independent web site.
E. CT Solar Challenge
E. Grochowski said the CT Solar Challenge’s outreach is winding down. It’s carrying itself now. Old Saybrook has hit the 100 kilowatts mark. If the town earns 41 more points, it can earn a 4 kilowatt system.
E. Grochowski said she is willing to take on another project. W. Smith asked her if she would be willing to help line up speakers for a Conservation Commission lecture series to be held at The Kate or Acton Library. W. Smith, N. Garrett and R. Esty all offered to assist E. Grochowski with this initiative.
F. Wetlands and Aquifer Commissions
W. Smith said at the 12/18/2014 Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission’s meeting, Commissioners honored Bill Pollock for his many years of service as he retired from the Commission.
G. OS News and Events – March Topic
3/6/15 is the deadline for the next submission to Saybrook Events. W. Smith suggested the March topic address the management of The Preserve.
R. Esty said March is the beginning of vernal pool season. He would like to move forward on step 2 of his vernal pool study. If a homeowner has a viable vernal pool on his/her property, R. Esty needs to get permission to study the vernal pool because it is on private property. He said that would require that a letter be sent to the homeowner, and he would like to do some education and community outreach on this. R. Esty asked for permission to contact Attorney Cronin to discuss the wording of this letter. R. Fish and S. Prisloe said R. Esty could call Attorney Cronin, and the Commission could discuss the fees at a later date.
H. Election of Officers
MOTION W. Smith and R. Fish will form a Search Committee, and they will bring results to the 2/10/15 Regular Meeting of the Conservation Commission.; MADE by R. Fish; SECONDED by E. Grochowski; VOTED IN FAVOR: W. Smith, R. Fish, E. Grochowski, N. Garrett, R. Esty, ; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
IV. PROJECT UPDATES
An MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) Committee meeting was held to discuss management of The Preserve. There are 3 large pieces of connected land that make up The Preserve. They would like to keep the regulations similar for each piece of land.
The regular Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday, 1/27/15 will be devoted to The Preserve. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the First Floor Conference Room of the Town Hall, 302 Main Street. The intention is that interested groups will discuss and agree upon a plan for management and stewardship of The Preserve.
N. Garrett reported that she and W. Smith went to Essex Printing to discuss the details for the Conservation Commission’s newsletter. For $65.00 per issue, Essex Printing will deliver a PDF, and they will deliver 100 glossy single- page newsletters. They will devise the template as well. Each newsletter will be devoted to one topic. At this point, the newsletter will be quarterly. The first newsletter will be about the mission and purpose of the Conservation Commission and the work they do.
The audience for the newsletter is the general public. N. Garrett suggested including some sustainability tips. Content may come from other sources such as DEEP and The Land Trust with the information tailored for Old Saybrook.
Essex Printing will give the Conservation Commission a draft copy of the newsletter to review before it goes to print.
- Municipal Ecological Landscape Planting Guidance Document
Kacey Constable and W. Smith are working on the document. W. Smith plans to have more to report to the Conservation Commission at their next regular meeting in February.
V. NEW BUSINESS
VI. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Conservation Commission which will be Tuesday, February 10, 2015, 7:00 P.M., Town Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 302 Main Street; MADE by R. Esty; SECONDED by N. Garrett; VOTED IN FAVOR: W. Smith, E. Grochowski, R. Esty, N. Garrett, R. Fish; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none.; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
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