TOWN OF SUNAPEE
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
TOWN HALL
August 14, 2006
PRESENT: Selectmen Emma Smith, Stephen White, William Roach, Richard Leone and Frederick Gallup. Town Manager, Donna Nashawaty
OTHERS: Rebecca Kelley, Kelly Petrin, Buzz Rollins, Michael O’Mara, Robert & Tammy Gonyo, Tony Bergeron, David Beck, Mark McDonough, Pete Blakeman, Anne Nilsen, Judy & Paul Quitadamo, Petroula Dodouras, and Carolyn Dube report from Argus.
The meeting was opened by Chairman Emma Smith at 7:00 PM.
E. Smith asked if anyone present wished to speak on any matter other than Depot St./Paradise Rd. All stated they were there for the slotted appointment.
1. APPOINTMENTS
Depot St./Paradise Rd. – Self Storage Units
Rebecca Kelley brought with her a video of the damages to abutting properties by the construction of the self storage units. Donna Nashawaty distributed a map indicating the abutting properties and their numbers. R. Kelley pointed out the color of the water. The water contained silt. She also pointed out where and who owned the abutting properties. The pictures were taken on July 22, 2006. Roger Landry stated that the silt fence was actually doing its job but it was overflowing because of the excessive amount of water. R. Kelley also videoed Young’s Hill and where it was washing out onto her property. Tony Bergeron asked what time of day the video was taken. R. Kelley stated that it was approximately 4:45 PM. E. Smith asked
Roger Landry, Zoning Administrator and Tony Bergeron, Road Agent if they could give the Board any input on the matter. R. Landry stated that he took pictures of the project on July 13, 2006. He noted silt fence failures and that the ditches were filled with excessive rainfall. He contacted Peter Blakeman, the engineer for McDonough. P. Blakeman stated that repairs to the site would be made. In the time being, the State of NH DOT approved the project. Tony Bergeron stated that severe rains were received this year and in the last three months over 29.22” of rain was received. This is 50% over the amount received in 2005. He furthered added that because of the excessive rains, the ground is saturated and just can’t hold anymore. E. Smith asked R. Kelley if any pictures had been taken of how the property looks today. R. Kelley stated that her father-in-law still can’t mow her yard
because it is so wet and she was told by the State that the silt is clogging the ground so the water won’t drain quickly. The water will drain eventually but she is worried that it might kill the grass. Kelley Petrin stated that her yard is wet and contained
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silt. She is concerned that one of her white birch trees may die. R. Kelley showed pictures of K. Petrin’s yard. She also showed pictures of where the silt was over 11” in height in front of the culvert. D. Nashawaty pointed out a culvert that runs under Depot Road and Paradise Road. Buzz Rollins pointed out where the blow out occurred. He stated that he came to the town either July 1 or 2. He didn’t have a problem with the project until he could not mow his lawn and it is still wet now. The silt went into his garage. Discussion was held on the amount of rainfall in October 2005 vs. the amount this year to date. B. Rollins reported from information he received that in October 2005 there was 14.85” of rain and in July 2006
there was nothing close to that. He stated that in October 2005 the project was not there and the vegetation that existed on the property protected the abutting properties.
E. Smith asked R. Landry to continue with an explanation of what he witnessed. R. Landry explained that he received phone calls so went to investigate. He took pictures and gave them to the Town Manager. The pictures were taken on July 13th. There were a couple of properties that he felt were not damaged because of the site. R. Landry stated that there were a couple of silt fence failures which produced more water into the Depot Road ditch, this ended up going through the Depot Road culvert, down Paradise Road ditch, into the Paradise Road culvert ditch leading to the Petrin property. He stated that Tony Bergeron gave permission to put out some bales of hay to minimize the amount of silt that was coming through. R. Landry stated that he walked the property several
times with Mr. Stevens of Stevens Contractors. He also walked the property with T. Bergeron and some of the neighbors. He contacted Peter Blakeman, engineer, to inform him of the problem. He also walked the site with the McDonough’s, the property owners. R. Landry believes that the problem occurred because of the design system. The system has since been revised. Stevens can now fix the blow out area. The State DES also got involved because of calls from neighbors. They got together with the McDonough’s and were told what they could do and could not do. Once the State was brought in there was no need for town involvement because the State was controlling what the McDonoughs could do.
T. Bergeron stated that in June he inspected the McDonough property with K. Petrin. They walked along the ditch lines and checked culverts on Depot Road and Paradise Road. He did see some silt in the ditches at that time. K. Petrin asked if there was something she could do. She bought some bales and when he checked on the site two weeks later, they were helping the problem. T. Bergeron explained that there was significant rainfall in the month of July 2006 (9.31”). In that three month period, the town received 29.22” of rain. The town’s annual rain fall is approximately 38-40 “, so the town received ¾ of the annual rain fall in that short period of time. The continuous rains have compounded the problem. T. Bergeron explained that Josh
Stevens cleaned out the silted ditches twice.
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Paul Quitadamo asked if this project had not been done, would the neighbors be dealing with this same problem. T. Bergeron stated that it probably would not have but there would have been some problems with silt considering the amount of rain that the town has received. S. White stated that he did not feel that the Board can answer that question. The matter is out of the town’s jurisdiction. R. Kelley stated that the Town did not contact the State. The neighbors had to, and wish that the Town would have gotten involved. They feel that the Town was protecting the McDonoughs and did not like R. Landry telling K. Petrin that she should not call the State in because she was excavating in the wetlands and this is against state laws. R. Landry stated that
he did view the excavations on the Petrin property and told K. Petrin that she should handle the case lightly because if the State viewed the excavation, she could be fined. R. Landry stated that K. Petrin did not consult a wetlands scientists. She consulted instead with a water quality expert. R. Landry stated that the water quality expert is incorrect with the assessment of the Petrin property. When he told K. Petrin she could be fined he was only trying to caution her. He stated that a large amount of the neighbor’s property, with the exception of the Rollins’ property, is called NA soil and has 0 to 1.5 feet ground water. That means very low absorbency in that particular area. Water will run over that type of soil if the water table is high, and according to what T. Bergeron explained with the amount of water the town received there is no place for it to go. Whether or not the silt would have been there without
the project, he could not answer because the town officials are not scientists. K. Petrin said the State told her they did not consider her property as wetland. R. Landry disagreed and told K. Petrin that whoever told her than was wrong.
R. Kelley distributed minutes of the June 2nd Planning Board that discussed the McDonough application which stated that Mr. Blakeman said the property does contain some wetlands but is not considered wetlands by the State. Peter Blakeman stated that he said some of the property is wet and it is a wet lot. He hired a wetlands scientist to determine if it was in the jurisdiction of wetlands and they said it was not. R. Kelley asked about the Petrin property and why it was considered wetlands. P. Blakeman responded that wetlands are determined by the soil type. P. Blakeman explained that he developed the plans that were used for the project and when problems started on the site, he redeveloped the plans recently. He agrees with T. Bergeron that there was little absorption
due to the heavy rains. P. Blakeman stated that the heavy rain fall is only part of the picture as the rains were very intense and created a lot more run off. David Beck stated that when the town had the heavy rainfall in October 2005, his property handled it very well. He believes that if the project had not been ongoing, the neighbors would have not received damages. P. Blakeman explained that when the heavy rains occurred in July, the property was at its most vulnerable condition. The earth had been moved around and a lot of fill brought in. The erosion protection that is designed and installed is not going to withstand the types of rain that the town has had. The silt fence installed
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was not the type that could control that much run off. There is no way anyone can predict what the weather will be when designing a project. P. Blakeman explained that
the infiltration basin which had blown out, sat for a long time for a good reason because they needed to understand why it blew out. Action is taken so that when it is rebuilt it will insure it is done properly so it does not blow out again. They also had to wait some time for the storm tech who manufactures that system. They did visit and are redesigning the system and these will be incorporated into the plan. P. Blakeman stated that they have been in touch with the State and did come up with a plan to stabilize the site. The best protection for erosion is vegetation and that is what the State wants them to do. The State is involved right now, primarily because of the Site Specific Permit as over 100,000 sq. ft. of area was disturbed. The
original plan was a little over the 100,000 sq. ft. and when they went through the site plan process, the building had to be changed because of the fire code. Also the whole over all site was changed to just below the 100,000 sq. ft. so they did not have to apply to the State. When it was started to be built, changes were made at that time which put the plan over 100,000 sq. ft. R. Kelley asked how many sq. ft. were in the original plan. P. Blakeman responded that the undisturbed area was just under the 100,000 sq. ft. R. Kelley asked how much sq. ft. has been disturbed. P. Blakeman responded that he did not have that information with him. D. Nashawaty stated that the entire parcel is 2.44 acres which is 120,000 sq. ft. R. Kelley asked if anyone from the town inspects these projects. R. Landry stated that it was up to the contractor to abide by the erosion control plan. S. White
asked if someone goes over or alters there plans what steps should the Selectmen take. R. Landry replied that he does not get involved with square footage or excavation. It is not a part of zoning. Most large projects hire engineers to police it to insure that it does not exceed the approved plan.
Mark McDonough , one of the property owners, stated that Mr. Blakeman did prepare the site plan within the 100,000 sq. ft. disturbed area. It took several months to get the approvals in place and to begin construction. A concrete contractor was needed to be found that would provide them with a retaining wall which was going to be built into the burm. Several months passed since the time of the approval and the time construction began. They could not find a concrete contractor so they decided to go with a landscape burm that would enable them to pour a slab. M. McDonough stated when they changed plans he did not realize it would impact the site plan. He does think that there was minimal foliage impact that the landscape burm made. The State DES is aware that they have
increased the impact over the 100,000 sq. ft. P. Blakeman and his staff are taking care of all of the paper work so that they can be in compliance with the State. M. McDonough feels the biggest issues are on the Depot Road side. The impact of over 100,000 sq. ft. is on the Route 103 side of the property.
Tammy Gonyo stated that an environmental survey should have been taken before the project exceeded the 100,000 sq. ft. She stated that water drainage in the area were inadequate before the project was started. M. McDonough stated he was not an engineer
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but thought it was strange that drainage from the state road is being run into town culverts and onto private property. M. McDonough stated that he and his brothers were very
sensitive to the problems the neighbors are facing and are trying to stabilize the project area. He stressed that the town has had significant rainfall during the past few months that has caused property damage. This is not only occurring in Sunapee but throughout the State.
Buzz Rollins asked Peter Blakeman if he ever notified the State about the project. He quoted from minutes of the Planning Board. P. Blakeman and M. McDonough responded that because the final approval of the project did not exceed the 100,000 sq. ft. Site Specific approval did not have to be applied for. M. McDonough added that DES for Site Specific approval is now involved. The project has been stopped until they can stabilize banks and repair infiltration beds and hopefully no longer impact the neighbors.
S. White asked if M. McDonough felt he did impact the neighbors. M. McDonough replied that he did not know. S. White stated that he believed that the amount of dirt that washed off of the property would not have, had the site not been disturbed.
Rebecca Kelley stated that she did not realize that no one from the town policed these types of projects and feels this is something that should be addressed. S. White suggested that this might be able to be addressed in an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance.
Judy Quitadama asked that since the project has been stopped, what will be done to stabilize the site. D. Nashawaty read an email she received from DES. The letter outlined what needed to be done on site before a Site Specific permit could be issued. M. McDonough stated that he and his brothers wish to be good neighbors and will work cooperatively to be in compliance.
William Roach stated that he understood that when the project was approved, disturbance to vegetation would be less than 100,000 sq. ft. He stated that when the project was being worked on, somebody must have known it exceeded 100,000 sq. ft. and asked why the project was not stopped at that time. He stated that apparently there was no foresight by the contractors and engineers. He believes that when it exceeded the 100,000 sq. ft., the owner was obliged to go through State processing procedures. He stated that vegetation stops erosion and it seems to him that there is absolutely no vegetation left on the site. He believes that a lot of the silt came from the Depot Road side where a large banking was created. He also believes that when the permit was exceeded, a violation occurred.
Fred Gallup stated that he believes measures need to be installed to prevent more erosion.
He would like to see some sort of schedule and plan showing what is going to happen from this time on. He would like to know when the site will be stabilized to prevent further material from leaving the site. He believes that M. McDonough and brothers
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should work with the neighbors to assist in the clean up of their properties. The most important thing is to get the site stabilized.
Richard Leone asked who monitored these types of projects. Roger Landry stated that when a project is changed or goes beyond what is permitted, the applicant generally comes back and alerts the Planning Board. R. Landry stated that the McDonoughs were unaware that they should have come back to the Planning Board. If they had done so, the Planning Board would have noticed that the project was exceeding the 100,000 sq. ft. minimum. D. Nashawaty stated that the town didn’t know until DES visited the site, that the project was over 100,000 sq. ft. R. Kelley stated that M. McDonough knew he was over the 100,000 sq. ft. and should have applied for the permit before this time.
Stephen White suggests that the builder sit down with the neighbors and discuss plans to stabilize the site. R. Kelley asked who oversees the Planning Board should someone have a complaint. Emma Smith stated that the Board would refer to the State Statutes. S. White responded that the Planning Board is an elected body.
Tammy Gonyo stated that good neighbors admit to doing something wrong and will try to correct it. She feels that if the project had not begun, the meeting tonight would not have to take place. She stated that the trees in front of her house were supposed to stay and she is afraid that the trees will not survive with all of the fill that is around them. T. Gonyo stated that the original plan did not show a mound of dirt in front of her house. She is also concerned that the building is to be a two story structure and will be extremely high. She stated that the McDonough’s need to admit they damaged neighboring properties and the neighbors need to be appeased. She is particularly concerned that all of the dirt and silt has affected the root systems of the trees and if
they should die, this will affect her house. Kelley Petrin stated that she feels the neighbors are upset because they thought they were doing the right thing by calling the town. She began calling in May and this continued through June. She was never directed to call another agency and no one took notice until July. She stated she was so exasperated that she called DES. She and the neighbors feel they were ignored by the town. She said they don’t understand why they had to call the State and the town would not.
Richard Leone stated that he was concerned over the breakdown of communication and asked if R. Landry might start consulting with the Municipal Association for guidance on how to handle a matter like this. D. Nashawaty stated that she and R. Landry attended a meeting of the Lake Sunapee Protective Association recently. This meeting was attended by several of the surrounding communities. They learned of the zoning regulations in other communities and will make some suggestions to the Planning Board for possible amendments to the Sunapee Zoning Ordinance. Of great concern are drainage problems.
M. McDonough stated that he would like to appeal to the abutters to have some patience and allow him to finish the Depot Road side. The grades and elevations will be finished
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and back to the way the plan was approved. There will also be additional landscaping on the Depot Road side. When K. Petrin called him the first time, he met with her on the
site. He would like to get the project completed in a timely fashion and will avoid any further issues on Depot Road.
Tammy Gonyo asked if there were any way to get the survey to find out where the water should go. K. Petrin stated that the neighbors would like to see the town require the McDonough’s to upgrade the drainage in the area so the run off from the site does not affect the properties.
Emma Smith stated she hopes that M. McDonough will be able to resolve the issues presented tonight with his neighbors in the hopes that he can be a good neighbor. She does not feel that the Board of Selectmen can take definitive action, but feels they have learned a few things. She feels satisfied that everyone has had a chance to speak.
Michael O’Mara, Paradise Road, wished to address traffic on the road. He wanted to know how many units are going up and how will it affect the traffic. M. McDonough stated that he believes that storage units have very little impact on traffic. The entrance to the facility will be from Route 103. M. O’Mara is concerned for the small children in the area and the constant use of Paradise Road as a shortcut. S. White suggested that O’Mara contact the Sunapee Police Chief to ask him for the use of the speeding sign. E. Smith stated that she believes the Planning Board determined that the project would have little affect on traffic.
Emma Smith closed the appointment at 8:45 PM.
2. ITEMS FOR SIGNATURE
Please see agenda attached to the file copy of these minutes.
3. TOWN MANAGER REPORTS
D. Nashawaty reported that she received a call from a group that is looking to blaze a hiking trail up Ski Tow Hill. Ron Verblauw, from the Riverway, took them up the river walk and they would like to put up a couple of the white blazes that it is the continuation of their trail. They have gone in front of the Conservation Commission and the commission approved of the plan. She wants to make sure the Board is aware of this as they will begin on Wednesday and asked if the Board had any objections.
Roger Landry advised the Board that Verizon is coming before the Zoning Board of Adjustment on September 14, 2006 to install a 100 foot tower on top of the Wiggins property.
If ZBA approval is received, they will have to go before the Planning Board for Site Plan Review.
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William Roach reported a silt fence is blown out next to his property on Perkins Pond.
R. Landry will check into this.
Fred Gallup brought up the new out side light installed at the Information Booth. The light is very large and too bright. D. Nashawaty is taking care of it.
D. Nashawaty reported on the progress of the renovations to the interior of the Town Hall. She explained the plans that have been drawn up.
Stephen White stated that the committee appointed to study the County Apportionment is a wonderful committee. He was happy to see that all members had input that was relevant and they understand the issue. He believes that the committee will come up with some good solid information.
The meeting adjourned at 9:25 PM.
Submitted by, Darlene Morse Approved____________________
Emma Smith, Chairman Stephen W. White, Vice Chairman
Richard Leone William Roach
Frederick Gallup
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