Minutes of the Old Lyme Conservation Commission
Christ the King Church
October 3, 2007, 7:00 pm
Members: Ted Crosby (ex-officio representing Gateway Commission)
Eleanor Czarnowski
Paul Dean
Taffy Holland
George James
David McCulloch
Agnes O’Connor
Marianne Pfeiffer
Tom Sherer
Attending: Ted Crosby, Paul Dean, Taffy Holland, George James, Agnes O’Connor, Marianne Pfeiffer, Tom Sherer
1. Minutes from September 5
The group voted unanimously to accept the September 5th minutes.
2. Dock Information
The Harbor Commission has received a new set of regulations from DEP/CRERPA, submitted to the harbor commission for their comments.
3. Sound View Proposal
George said WPCA looked at their septic plans. Ron Rose said the plans were incomplete, and are being revised.
4. Dog Ordinance Proposal
Dave is not present, so this has moved to the next meeting.
5. Open Space
George said that he will no longer report on open space, but that Diana will email Ellie with the minutes of the open space meetings. Ellie invited Diana to the next meeting.
6. Commission Input to Town Report
Paul will find out when input for the next Town Report is due. We should read through our minutes and the 2006 contribution to the Annual report for material for the next issue.
(The town website link to the Conservation Commission’s section for the 2006 Annual Report doesn’t work. See appendix to these minutes for the final draft of our submission.)
7. CACIWC Meeting and Wind over Wings
Ellie sent the group a link to the announcement for the Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions meeting on Saturday November 10th. Janet Bechtel is going, and has offered to drive anyone else who wants to go.
The Wind over Wings reception is on Friday night in Old Saybrook.~ Ellie said we have been given seats for two.~ George has the invitation.
8. New Business
· End of Year Report
See item 6. This is a list of our accomplishments to be sent to the selectmen. It’s due the end of December. Commission members should think of items. Group members mentioned the Trails Pamphlet, Marianne Pfeiffer’s book, pesticides films and lectures, and input to the Town Hall design.
· WPCA – Rogers Lake
George said WPCA has established two new test sites, one at the bridge (at Jewett), and one at the state launch site. Agnes said we should do something about clear cutting. Maureen Plumleigh got the DEP interested in taking photos of properties that slope directly into the lake, but DEP has no funds for a follow through.
· Drought Management
George said there is no Town ordinance about water use – no official preparation for severe drought.
· Fall Lawn Care and Leaf Mulching
The dump is running out of space for leaf collection. George asked if the commission wants to take this on – promote mulching and composting. Remind people not to blow leaves into the road so that the town must collect them.
Ted said we should make recommendations to the selectmen to inform the town. Some of the leaf mulch could be used to cap the dump.
George said the Gerr property would be perfect for a leaf composting operation. It could be a profitable business. People also suggested the McCulloch horse farm, and Tiffany’s farm, which is looking for ways to raise money.
Paul said we should write to the selectmen about our concerns. He will call John Roach and ask if there’s a plan for dealing with leaves next year.
Marianne said she sees lots of junk along Whippoorwill Road. Ted said he would alert the Green Crew about it.
· George said there is a plan to put up signage for all of the town landings, and to do some minimal upkeep. He listed the town and state launch areas.
· George discussed a publication from David about ways to develop a green school. The booklet, NY-CHPS High Performance Schools Guidelines is available from the following link: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/facplan/NYSERDA/nychps.html . Tom took one copy to study. David has several more copies that he will give to people involved in
designing the new school.
· Post-meeting info from David: He spoke with both Steve Gephart (DEP) and Heidi Wallace about the recent mosquito spraying. Neither of them were aware of what was being used. Hopefully they will follow through. The DEP is planning to send a speaker to the Selectman’s Pest Control group to discuss spraying pesticides on the new playing fields.
Assignments
· Paul will find out the deadline for the Town Report, and this year’s theme.
· Commission members will gather items from old minutes for the End of Year report.
· Paul will call John Roach about plans for dealing with leaves. Then he will call Tim and tell him about our concerns.
· Paul will tell Ellie to send the Graybill letter.
Appendix - Input to Annual Town Report
(Draft of Final Copy submitted to the Annual Town Report)
Old Lyme Conservation Commission, December 2006
The Old Lyme Conservation Committee meets the first Wednesday evening of every month at Memorial Town Hall. We are active participants in reviewing subdivision plans, we are helping to ensure Old Lyme meets the State mandated Stormwater II initiatives, and will be working on the next update to our Plan of Conservation and Development, also required by state statute.
The Conservation Commission salutes the worshipers in town who have organized groups to address conservation issues that help to maintain the wonderful quality of life in Old Lyme.
A Gardening Committee was formed at Christ the King Church in the summer of 2005 with the goal of reclaiming neglected trees and shrubs on the rectory ~property that were overcome with vines and invasive species. It was a daunting task, but the result is that some very beautiful and unusual tree specimens have been saved.
St Ann’s Episcopal Church has an active Environmental Concerns Committee that meets monthly, open to the public, to discuss such issues as reducing the electrical costs at the church and other church buildings. They have speakers and exhibits, some of which included Bill Burt’s bird photographs and a discussion about the marshlands with John Mitchell.
The committee for the environment at the Old Lyme Congregational Church was formed to engage the congregation in environmental matters. Members write articles for the church newsletter, they sponsor speakers at the adult forums and an Earth Day book fair. The committee worked with the board of trustees who voted to buy clean, renewable electricity for all church buildings.
The Pesticide subcommittee gave a film and lecture presentation at the Old Lyme DEP. This was a first public effort to educate the Town about the dangers of pesticides (herbicides, inorganic fertilizers, and other toxic chemicals), especially to children and pets. We can loan films and other materials to anyone interested, and we urge parents of school children to learn about alternatives to using hazardous petrochemicals.
Through our subdivision review and recommendations we encourage best practices for managing storm water runoff, and we recommend outdoor lighting fixtures that comply with the International Dark Sky Association’s specifications to help keep our nighttime sky free of light pollution so that we can enjoy the stars.
We submitted a letter to the Town Hall Renovation Committee with a list of features we would like them to consider. These included energy conservation measures, solar collectors, pervious (unpaved) parking and driveway surfaces, shielded exterior lighting, and buffer plantings to protect the wetlands.
We continue to support the Old Lyme Open Space Committee’s recommendations for acquiring open space.
We developed, printed, and distributed a brochure for homeowners describing how to grade property and plant deer resistant buffer zones to protect lakes, streams, and wetlands from runoff of lawn care and other household products. The booklet is available free at town hall. We also produced and published a trail booklet of open space areas in town where the public can take a walk or hike and enjoy the out-of-doors. These booklets are also available at town hall for free.
As conservation commission Chairman Ellie Czarnowski attended the Land Use Leadership Alliance training program. This was a terrific opportunity to learn about new methods for encouraging smart growth development. As a coastal community there are increasing pressures to develop all of our land. The LULA training is designed to educate the town commission members in new laws and regulations, train them on how to encourage open discussion of development projects with all interested parties, and provide resources for them to be used after the completion of the course.
Commission members participated in the International Beach Cleanup by cleaning up the litter at the Bunt Karter Watch Rock Park, and National Trails Day with a hike on the beautiful Lohmann-Buck-Twining Preserve overlooking the Lieutenant River.
We continue to support local efforts to convert the school buses to Biodiesel, and to relocate the bus parking area to a non-residential area.
We have encouraged a Conservation subdivision regulation change that would reduce infrastructure costs, promote the preservation of open space and allow for the clustering of housing units for homeowners who want to minimize their yard maintenance responsibilities, and retain a rural atmosphere to their neighborhood.
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