Conservation Commission Meeting
Old Lyme Town Hall
July 1, 2009, 7:30 pm
Members: Ted Crosby (ex-officio representing Gateway Commission)
Eleanor Czarnowski
Francine Gumkowski
Taffy Holland
George James
David McCulloch
Richard Sattler
Tom Sherer
Michael Sullivan
Attending: Ted Crosby, Taffy Holland, George James, David McCulloch, Tom Sherer, Michael Sullivan
Visitors: Fred Holth and Linda Krulikowski, from Rogers Lake
- June Minutes and Action Items
We met outside the Town Hall for the Rogers Lake discussion, and then moved to the Parish House.
The June minutes were accepted. Taffy will clarify that uncontaminated dredged material is valuable for enriching soil.
- David and George are preparing material for talking to the Board of Finance. David will update the 1999 map with subsequent homes and developments. East Haddam is funding purchase of open space with a five million dollar bond.
- George said Chuck Lee (DEP, Hartford) is available whenever the Town is ready. See Rogers Lake, below. George said Maureen Plumleigh has collected the email addresses of 70 members of the Rogers Lake Authority.
- George said the Gateway Commission outlined conservation zones on their map, and has a set of aesthetic and other guidelines (building heights and designs, keeping trees, adding buffer zones, for example) to preserve the look and uniformity of the Connecticut River. (See www.ctrivergateway.org/GatewayStandards.html ) Old Lyme has adopted all but the waterfront buffer regulations.
- Ted sent the commission members the file for his greenway map.
- We should decide how many buffer planting sheets we need, and where they should go. Linda Krulikowski requested about 20 copies, but will send Taffy a suggested change to the lawn care pesticides section.
George said he has reviewed Chuck Lee’s notes and will summarize them. He will come and talk with us whenever the town is ready, but a feasibility study is required prior to any dredging application.
Dredging costs $100,000 per acre. Five hundred cubic yards would be dredged per acre. We have 20 acres. Testing the sediments by the Department of Agriculture is free. It would help to persuade the town to dredge the lake if costs can be reduced by selling the sand and gravel. We need to develop a specific plan, then bring in Chuck Lee.
Dave said then we should go after state funding.
George said we need an independent feasibility study.
Ted said lowering the lake to repair the dam gives us a good opportunity for dredging. The town is committed to part of rebuilding the dam.
George said Steve Gephardt told him everything is ready from the State’s side. Ted said he thinks some drawings are still needed – possibly of the fish ladder?
Ann Brown said they have all the Federal applications for funding Roger Lake cleanup, but they don’t have all the required materials ready.
Fred Holth said weevils are not effective, and pesticides are probably a “no no”.
Dredging would be limited to the central shallows, where it is only 3 feet deep, and they could get down to the gravel. Ralph Eno said that Lyme and Old Lyme could use the gravel (worth about $10 per ton). Dredging would probably have to be done by the town.
Dredging requires using an auger or suctioning. Relocating dredged material elsewhere in the lake doesn’t require dewatering as it doesn’t introduce new material. In deeper water – 10 feet or more – sunlight penetration is not enough for re-growth.
The dam must be redone. The leak is very far down. Draining depth is limited by the shallow wells. Fred said a community well system would alleviate some of those problems. Ted asked about using a coffer dam. George said the POCD should feature a ten year plan for a Rogers Lake dredging operation. A feasibility study would cost about $20,000. Then we could apply for public financing.
Linda said the drains aren’t being cleaned. She called the DEP, and the town crew came and cleaned them. The town should be responsible for keeping them cleaned. After a heavy rain materials are washed in and reclog them.
Fred said the Lyme and Old Lyme conservation commissions should make planning an important issue. He said the deciduous trees bordering the lake need to be trimmed or cut down – leaves are clogging the lake and creating the substrate for milfoil. Linda suggested that homeowners should clean their own areas – they could collect contributions for incentives.
Fred said he has five of the 10’ x 40’ mats. They can be towed and put down for 30 days. They cost $200 apiece, and the rebar weighing them down costs about $30. Lyme paid for the mats and Old Lyme for the rebar.
David said Wetlands is making vegetative buffers mandatory.
Linda asked how a new house can be built 20’ from the wetlands. It used to be 100’. The house in question has a basement.
George said the Open Space land savers document will be presented on September 18th and 19th by the Old Lyme Historical Society.
George asked how we get the town’s attention. They have $5,000 for developing a POCD. We should prioritize the items on the list.
David said we should add that any house destroyed by flooding must not be rebuilt.
The town is reviewing all of the R10 properties (Rogers Lake, Point O’Woods, beach, etc.) to make sure they meet building codes.
Linda said she would like to become a member of the commission.
- George and David will complete the presentation for the Department of Finance
- Taffy will print a couple of dozen copies of the buffer planting document for Linda.
| 
