Town of Rutland
Conservation Commission
Minutes: January 15, 2019
Meeting Opened: 7:03 P.M.
Attendance:
Board Members Present: Joseph Dell’Aquila, Peter Craine, Melissa Danza, Shawn Moore, Willard Cannon
Board Members Absent: Eric Bigelow
Guests: Skip Clark, Maria Firstenburg
Application Submissions:
None
Votes:
Motion to accept meeting minutes from December 18, 2018—Motion made by Willard, seconded by Peter; vote unanimous at 7:06 P.M. (Shawn Moore abstained)
Motion to disband Open Space Committee--Motion made by Peter, seconded by Willard; vote unanimous at 7:11 P.M.
Motion made to close the meeting--Motion made by Melissa, seconded by Shawn; vote unanimous at 7:50 P.M.
Hearings:
Under Chapter 131, Section 40:
New England Power Company, 29 Campbell Court & Oakham Town Line—Hearing opened at 7:13 P.M. Motion made to continue hearing to February 5, 2019—Motion made by Peter, seconded by Shawn; vote unanimous at 7:29 P.M.
Notes: Maria Firstenburg presented on behalf of TRC. Four borings are proposed for work needed to finish the design for the larger project, which will include wire and pole replacement. Sections 884 and 933 are within the buffer zone, so the focus for the commission will be on sections 883 and 928. Two of the borings are not in the buffer zone, so a fair amount of matting will be needed due to the wetlands. They would like to complete the work in February under frozen conditions to minimize impact. Melissa inquired about the seed mixes being used after completion of the work--MA wildlife says there are no concerns from them per a letter received by TRC. Melissa also inquired how long the project will take and how long the matting will remain down--Maria estimates about one day per boring and no more than 2 days for the matting.
Melissa asked about brush clearing and replacement of low growing natives—clearing will only take place on the existing access road and right around the structures and a plan is in place to replace the natives. Joe has asked that if matting will be in place longer than 7 calendar days, the commission be notified (this will be added to the order of conditions). Hearing continued to February 5, 2019 at 7:10 P.M. to ensure a DEP file number has been issued.
AMP Solar, Order of Conditions—29 Campbell Court--Hearing opened at 7:33 P.M. Motion made to continue the hearing to February 5, 2019--Motion made by Peter, seconded by Melissa; vote unanimous at 7:33 P.M.
Notes: There are still outstanding notes from the DEP, so board voted to continue the hearing to February 5, 2019 at 7:30 P.M.
Discussions:
Packet of information received in the mail from concerned residents of Bushy Lane regarding the solar project at 90 Bushy Lane. These concerns were previously addressed at the December 18, 2018 meeting and determined to be outside of the commission's jurisdiction.
Reviewed mail
Respectfully Submitted,
Tomeca Murphy
Secretary
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