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Town of Old Lyme, CT Open Space Commission Minutes
Town of Old Lyme Meeting Minutes Friday, May 20, 2016
In Attendance: Diana Atwood Johnson, Chairwoman, Amanda Blair ,Peter Cable, Bruce Baratz, George James, William Dunbar, Land Steward Lisa Niccolai, Gary Gregory,
Meeting was called to order at 9am.
- Naming of voting alternates: none
- Chairman’s Report
- Land Acquisition Account Chairwoman Johnson spoke with Tim Griswold and he has made an arrangement with Webster Bank for .9% interest on Land Acquisition account as opposed to the current .3%. The security with the FDIC remains the same. No concerns were expressed by the members of the Commission.
- Approval of Minutes of April 8, 2016 Motion to approve by William Dunbar, seconded by Peter Cable, motion approved unanimously.
- Land Steward Report Ms. Niccolai has been trimming trails and has noted going into Ames from Whippoorwill road there is a population of invasives which she has trimmed and treated. Ms. Niccolai noted someone did some trimming at that location. Map boxes have been ordered and installed with paper maps inside which people are using and reports no issues with this yet. Ms. Blair suggested posting the web address at the site of the map box for the public to be able to download the maps directly to their devices. Ms. Niccolai notes that the web address is very long and difficult to find at the Town’s website, also, that work with the MyTownTrails contact has not been going well. The members discussed various other ways of posting the link to the maps and online posting of the maps as well. Discussion was had
by the members about the possibility of putting a call out to the public for future clean up days and whether social media or other publications could be used.
- Executive Session: Potential Property Acquisitions 9:14 am motion to enter executive session
and include Ms. Niccolai in same made by William Dunbar, seconded by Peter Cable. Motion to come out of Executive Session at 10:24 made by Peter Cable, seconded by William Dunbar, approved unanimously.
- NECImpact of r/r on Old Lyme Open Space Chairwoman Johnson and Mr. Cable
both
a
indicated they do not feel as threatened about the proposal now that the tunnel has been proposed. Mr. Cable did contact Ralph Lewis and he is willing to consult on any specific questions there may be. Mr. Cable noted that his opinion is to wait until the FRA comes back in September with more information before taking any additional steps.
- Machnik agreement Chairwoman Johnson has not heard back from Todd, but wrote
letter to him regarding a continuation of the agreement he had prior. This letter was sent to him to review for any changes before being sent to the Town Attorney. The terms would be that the agreement may be cancelled at any time with thirty days notice, requires pasture to be used strictly for cow pasture and no other activity allowed, no changes made to the land above and below ground and no structures built. This agreement expires when Mr. Machnik and/or his cows cease to use the property, he will maintain fencing to keep cows from wandering onto Open Space Property and will carry insurance that assumes all responsibility for liability. Finally, OS reserves the right to annually cross his property to be sure all in compliance.
- Maps in Old Lyme Events First Selectwoman Reemsnyder informed Chairwoman Johnson that the town will be paying the costs associated with color printing of the maps in the Old Lyme Events publication. The maps will be included as they are able.
- Staging area at DEEP for r/r bridge Chairwoman Johnson read the approved plan for rebuilding of the bridge. They intend to use a portion of the DEEP area for the staging, but does not appear they are going to clear any new area for the staging. Mr. Cable suggested contacting the DEEP, Mr. Patterson, for the information they have available.
- James complaint to First Selectwoman/Commission response to First Selectwoman
- Open Space Property Checklistsupdates
- Champlain North and South – Mary (Vulnerable to railroad)
- Ames (Noyes) – Peter and Amanda (Vulnerable to railroad)
- BartholomewEvan
- Eklund – Bill, Bruce, Diana (??vulnerable to railroad)
Planning CommissionSalt Marsh Advancement + Sea Level Rise Workshop – June 9, 4:30.
Meeting adjourned at 10:30.
Minutes submitted by: Suzann Gintoff Vautrain
NOTICE: Messages to or from the Town of Old Lyme domain are subject to the Freedom of Information statutes and regulations.
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