MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
Wednesday, April 14, 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
Pat Ingellis
Emily Grochowski
Richard Esty
Members Absent
Nina Garrett
Jerry Brophy
Robert Fish
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 March 10 , 2015 as presented.; MADE by R. Esty ; SECONDED by E. Grochowski ; VOTED IN FAVOR: W. Smith, E. Grochowski, P. Ingellis, R. Esty; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 4-0-0.
- Correspondence and Announcements
The State of CT is measuring the fishways. Steve Gephard sent the first report for the year. The fishways will be open soon.
- Sea Level Rise Climate Adaptation Committee
The group is hoping to have the draft report with their findings and recommendations completed in a month. Education and outreach efforts will be discussed at the next meeting which is Thursday, 4/23/2015 at Town Hall, 1st Floor Conference Room at 3:30 p.m.
On Saturday 4/18/2015 at 12:00 p.m., there will be a focus group held at the Fenwick Clubhouse on Nibang Avenue with the topic being the communication of storm information in advance of a storm. This event is being sponsored by the Sea Grant’s Coastal Storm Awareness Program.
D. Sustainable Saybrook
Green Up Day will be held on Saturday, 4/25/2015. R. Esty would like to have his laptop computer set up so people can see pictures of the vernal pools.
The scholarship essay question has been accepted. There will be an awards night on 5/28/2015 at the Old Saybrook Senior High School.
S. Prisloe has been working with R. Fish to update the Sustainable Saybrook website. There will a section added on Green Up Day.
- Wetlands and Aquifer Commissions
The April meeting has been cancelled.
On 4/30/2015, there will be a special meeting held regarding updates of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Regulations.
R. Fish and W. Smith discussed a slate of officers: Walter Smith as Chairman, Richard Esty as Vice Chairman and Nina Garrett as Secretary.
MOTION to accept the slate of officers as follows: W. Smith as Chairman, R. Esty as Vice Chairman and N. Garrett as Secretary.; MADE by E. Grochowski; SECONDED by P. Ingellis; VOTED IN FAVOR: W. Smith, E. Grochowski, P. Ingellis, R. Esty; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 4-0-0.
G. The Preserve
The Trust for Public Land held an event at the Saybrook Point Inn to celebrate The Preserve. It was well attended, and many volunteers were recognized. The Trust for Public Land reported that they met their fundraising goal. Many of the donors were not from Old Saybrook.
A Preserve Management Committee has been formed. Parks & Recreation will be convening the meeting. There will be representatives from many of the Boards and Commissions. The first meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. on 4/23/2015 at the Parks & Recreation Building.
IV. PROJECT UPDATES
N. Garrett and Essex Printing have communicated to finalize the newsletter template. At this point, content is being submitted. The newsletter will be posted on the Old Saybrook, CT website on the Conservation Commission page. Requests will be sent to all who signed up for the Sustainable Saybrook website to ask them if they would like to receive the newsletter via e-mail. Future newsletter topics will include sea level rise and native landscaping.
- Municipal Ecological Landscape Planting Guidance Document
Casey Constable talked with W. Smith, and they plan to meet to discuss the document next week.
R. Esty distributed a document on Vernal Pools, Identification of Obligate Species. This includes information on wood frog eggs, American toad eggs, spring peeper eggs, grey tree frog eggs, spotted salamander eggs, blue spotted salamander eggs, Jefferson salamander eggs and fairy shrimp.
R. Esty and a volunteer high school student were out in the vernal pools this past weekend, and R. Esty plans to go out again next weekend.
S. Prisloe worked with R. Esty to draft a letter to homeowners who have vernal pools on their property requesting permission to have access to the property to confirm the existence of a potential vernal pool, verify its location and assess its health.
R. Esty updated Commissioners on the butterfly gardens. He talked with Ray Allen from Parks & Recreation. Plants have been ordered for the berm area at Saybrook Point Park near the old railroad tracks. R. Esty ordered New England aster, lavender, St. John’s wort, red chokecherry, honeysuckle bush and elderberry. He plans to reach out to the schools and to the Estuary Council for Seniors to ask for potential volunteers.
E. Grochowski talked about having one big event with multiple speakers instead of multiple events with one speaker. There would be vendors, educational tables and break-out sessions with specified topics being presented. She has reached out to a number of potential presenters, and she has received a positive response. The topics would be varied to attract a diverse group of people. She would like to hold this event in the late summer of 2015.
W. Smith asked S. Prisloe to talk with M. Momparler from the CC Sea Level Rise Climate Adaptation Committee to see if he would be interested in having a table at this event.
E. Grochowski will keep Commissioners updated about the details of this event with e-mails.
S. Prisloe shared information about a Bright Idea grant which can be used for an LED bulb swap where citizens can swap their regular light bulbs with LED bulbs. The Town is eligible to apply for the $5,000.00 grant. S. Prisloe will speak with R. Fish about following up on this.
V. NEW BUSINESS
A. Conservation Commission Award: Discussion
W. Smith talked about the idea of creating an annual Conservation Commission award to give to a group or individual who deserves to be recognized for their outstanding conservation work. He will write up a proposal to discuss with Commissioners at their next meeting.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m. until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Conservation Commission which will be Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 7:00 P.M., Town Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 302 Main Street; MADE by R. Esty; SECONDED by P. Ingellis; VOTED IN FAVOR: W. Smith, R. Esty, E. Grochowski, P. Ingellis; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none.; APPROVED: 4-0-0.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
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