Salem Conservation Commission
Minutes of Meeting
Date and Time: Thursday, May 8, 2008, 6:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: Third Floor Conference Room, City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street
Members Present: Chairperson Kevin Cornacchio, Michael Blier, Keith Glidden, David Pabich
Members Absent: Joseph Furnari, Amy Hamilton, David Summer
Others Present: Carey Duques, Conservation Agent
Recorder: Andrea Bray
Chairperson Cornacchio calls the meeting to order.
1. Approval of Minutes – April 24, 2008 Meeting
Pabich: Motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Glidden. Passes 4-0.
2. Public Hearing – Request for a Determination of Applicability – Patricia and Scott Hanford, 43 Valley Street, Salem
Cornacchio reads the legal public hearing notice, which states that the purpose of this hearing is for a determination of work related to the after-the-fact installation of an in-ground pool, Patio, and associated re-grading at 43 Valley Street.
Patricia states that the permit was issued and they assumed everything was OK, and later learned that the Conservation Commission had not seen the application.
Duques states that the approximate footprint of the pool is on the buffer zone, in the outer 50 feet, and therefore falls under the “conversion of lawn to other uses outside the 50 foot buffer” clause. She concludes that she believe this filing is exempt.
Pabich asks when the outer 50-foot rule came into effect.
Duques states that this is as of 2005.
Cornacchio opens to the public. There are no questions of comments.
Cornacchio states that a -5 determination would apply here.
Duques reads the requirements for the -5 determination, stating that no NOI is required provided the pool and fence are listed. She adds that if any additional work is done here they would only need to file an RDA.
Pabich: Motion to issue a -5 determination, seconded by Glidden. Passes 4-0.
3. Public Hearing – Notice of Intent – City of Salem 120 Washington Street, Salem, MA 01970
Cornacchio reads the legal public hearing notice, which states that the purpose of this hearing is to discuss the proposed remediation and construction of a park at 15 Peabody Street located within a Riverfront Area, land subject to coastal storm flowage, and buffer zone to coastal bank.
Blier recuses himself from this item.
Cornacchio states that this item will be recorded and those members who are absent tonight will listen to the recording and be eligible to vote at the next meeting, per the Mullin Rule.
Susan St. Pierre of Vine Associates states that the design must be completed by June 1, 2008 in order to comply with the rules of the funding grants. She adds that this project will run in tandem with the Harborwalk, and it might be possible to bid the two projects together. She shows the plan and describes the existing condition of the properties, stating that it is an L-shaped parcel with the entire site located in the riverfront area, subject to coastal storm flowage and buffer zone.
St. Pierre says they are proposing the installation of 4 additional piles to extend the walkway out in the same manner as it is at the Mass Electric site. She adds that they propose to keep all storm drainage on site, using the two existing pipes, one of which outflows into the South River. She describes the re-grading plans stating that there will be a low area for water retention and a mounded lawn area. She explains that a railing will be installed along the seawall and, if future funding is available, a dry dock will be installed.
Letitia Tormay from Landworks Studio states that there are two concrete plazas connected by a walkway, a tot-lot with a poured flat rubber surface pitched into the low area, which will accommodate drainage. She adds that the plantings are low maintenance.
St. Pierre shows the plantings, and photographs of the site. She states that there are some hot spots, mainly petroleum, on the site and they will be removed down to three feet.
Tormay shows the sections and describes the varying grade.
Pabich asks for a description of the manner in which the contaminates will be removed.
St. Pierre says they will be implementing best management practices and an LSP will be on site. She adds that hot spots will be dug out and removed to 3 feet and properly disposed of.
Pabich request that they provide further details at the next meeting.
Duques says they estimate 500 cubic yards to be removed and an Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives Report (ABCAR) and insurance document will be submitted and the commission can get copies of these.
St. Pierre states that the landscaping material will be sufficient for this cover and there will be no barrier. Tormay adds that the rubber surface used for the tot-lot will ensure that the children cannot dig in there.
Tormay states that there will be a mosaic wall to block the view of the electric company, and a light-weight roof system to shelter the rain. She adds that the wall can have a movie screen component. She describes the lawn is a mix of 6 fescue grasses, which needs mowing only once a year.
Glidden asks if the low area will be 1.5 feet lower, and St. Pierre says that it will.
Paul King of Vine Associates shows the plan for the water collection area and describes the plan to grade everything into this low area. He states that most of the surface materials will be grass with some bituminous material. He adds that currently the lot has a very flat surface.
Cornacchio asks about he seawall.
King states that there are plans to repair parts of it under the Harborwalk Project.
Glidden asks if there are plans for garbage receptacles.
St. Pierre states that there will be two solar powered trash compactors.
Glidden recommends there be three trash compactors, and Pabich agrees. Glidden asks about snow removal.
King states that there might be snow removal along the concrete walkways.
Glidden suggests a condition that the snow will not be dumped into the river.
Duques asks about the runoff from the adjacent parking lot.
King distributes a plan and explains that the parking lot will pitch toward a gravel area and there is a mound between the park and the parking lot to prevent water flowage into the park.
St. Pierre agrees to ask the bank where they will put their snow.
Pabich states that he wishes to see an erosion control plan and the procedures for the clean up. He adds that many of these details will be conditioned in the NOI.
Cornacchio opens to the public. There are no questions or comments.
The members agree to a site visit at 5:00 PM on May 22.
Pabich: Motion to continue this public hearing until May 22, seconded by Glidden. Passes 3-0.
4. Continuation of a Public Hearing – Notice of Intent – Dana DiLisio, 100 Swampscott Road, Salem, MA 01970
Cornacchio states that this applicant has requested a continuance until June 12, 2008.
Pabich: Motion to continue until the June 12 meeting, seconded by Glidden. Passes 4-0.
5. Request for a Certificate of Compliance – DEP #64-395 – Douglas and Jean Karam, 25 Winter Island Road – Construction of a single-family home
Duques states that the commission held off on the issuance during the last meeting because the commission wanted assurance that the NOI will be filed. He adds that she received an NOI today for that work. Duques states that the City Council needs to vote to allow a landowner to do work on city property.
The members discuss the correct procedure to use with this application.
Duques states that tonight the Karams are looking to close out this item with the hay bales in place because there is a submitted NOI.
Glidden says that if all of the hay bales are removed with the exception of this along the new work site, he has no problem with issuing a Certificate of Compliance.
Property owner Douglas Karam states that he is willing to make a donation to the city to stabilize their land in order to stabilize his own land.
Pabich says there is some concern that the activities that they completed might have exacerbated the erosion problem on the city property.
Jean Karam states that the work that was completed did not impact the city property because they did not raise the grade and they seeded the lawn.
Much discussion ensues regarding the completed work.
Cornacchio states that he has no problem issuing a certificate.
Pabich states that technically they shouldn’t issue the certificate until a new NOI is authorized. He asks the Karams if there is an issue with the issuance of the certificate.
Jean Karam states that this is emotional and she feels that she would like to have it closed, and that she and her husband were the first ones that called attention to the erosion issue on the city property.
Glidden explains the legal guidelines regarding the NOI issuance and the powers of the commission. He adds that the Karams must get all of the signatures on the new NOI prior to beginning any work.
The Karams agree.
Pabich states that this stabilization could be addressed with a softer solution, perhaps plantings. He states that he is OK with issuing a certificate.
Glidden: Motion to issue a Certificate of Compliance, seconded by Blier. Passes 4-0.
6. Renewable Energy Task Force – Saturday, June 14 at Old Town Hall from 10 AM – 3 PM
Duques states that volunteers are needed to man the Conservation Commission table at the fair.
The members discuss possible sites for the turbine.
Blier and Cornacchio agree to attend for some time.
7. Maintenance of Culverts
Duques states that New England Civil Engineering Corp has identified the culverts that need work and some prisoners will remove debris.
Glidden asks who will be overseeing this project.
Duques states that someone from DPW will be out there, and if is the same person that was at the North River, he definitely will not make the same mistake. She says that she is looking for permission for them to work on the selected 13 structures.
Pabich expresses concern about something going wrong if this project is not properly supervised. He requests having a qualified person to watch this project closely.
Glidden agrees.
Glidden: Motion to adjourn, seconded by Blier. Passes 4-0.
The meeting is adjourned at 7:45 PM.
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