Dublin Conservation Commission
Minutes
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Attending: Jack Lewis (chair), Karen Bunch, Suzan Macy, Selectman Sterling Abram and Jerry Branch
The minutes of the meeting of Wednesday, December 12, 2007 were reviewed and approved. It was noted that there was no formal meeting of the Commission in January 2008. Jerry Branch was welcomed as a new alternate member of the Commission.
Handling Signoffs: The Commission discussed formalizing the processes by which the Commission supported, agreed to, or expressed reservations about development and other activities which had potential impacts on the natural resources of Dublin. The Commission agreed that it would be a good idea to provide a standard structure to the signoff process.
Initial consensus included: 1) It was appropriate to rely on the Code Enforcement Officer to refer to the Commission permit situations where there might be a need for Conservation Commission review. The Code Enforcement Officer has been conscientious about referring such cases to the Commission. 2) The Commission would try to have at least two Commission members or alternates review through a site visit each referred local permit request, each case where a variance is being requested of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and each NH Department of Environmental Services permit which requires Conservation Commission signoff for expedited approval. 3) Each site visit would result in a written report covering the categories shown in Karen Bunch’s draft checklist. This would become a
part of the Commission’s records. 4) If none of the on site reviewers found a reason for concern about the action being contemplated by the permit request, one of the reviewing Commission members would be able to sign off on the permit. That sign-off would be reported to and recorded at the next regular meeting of the Commission. 5) If one or more of the on site reviewers found reason for concern, all Commission members would be notified of the concern by e-mail, and they would be given an opportunity to inspect the potentially affected area. The Commission would discuss the situation at their next regular meeting and vote on the action to be taken at that time. If circumstances were such that quicker action by the Commission was desired, the Chair of the Commission would attempt to set up a special meeting of the Commission to deal with the situation. 6) Any time something more than a permit signoff was required (e.g. a letter of
support for or opposition to a specific variance request or enforcement action) the Commission would discuss the situation and vote on the action to be taken.
Given the complexity of the consensus recommendations, the Commission decided to postpone formal action on formalizing the process until it had a chance to see the results of the discussion in written form. The Commission agreed to adopt a set of procedures concerning review and sign-off at its next meeting.
Coordination with Dublin School: The Commission discussed the excellent session it had had in December with Sara Doenmez and Chris Riley from Dublin School. Commission members agreed that we had thrown a lot at the Dublin School representatives. The Commission agreed to try to help limit and focus the joint efforts. They agreed that the Mud Pond property would probably be the best site to focus on because it is of manageable size and yet has lots of potential as an educational, recreational and ecological record keeping site. Commission members felt the site could have such things as signage describing habitats and activities, recreational features, and historical records tracking how the flora, fauna and activities changed over time as the site developed.
Commission members also thought that Beech Hill could be of interest to Dublin School, given its proximity to the school. Jack Lewis volunteered to broach the subject of Dublin School involvement in the development of the property as a conservation site with the Beech hill /Dublin Lake Watershed Association, the current owners of the site.
Beech Hill Clean Up: Jack Lewis reported that the Beech Hill-Dublin Lake Watershed Association is actively negotiating with a possible buyer for the Platt House property.
Open Space: Jack Lewis handed out a draft of the Open Space Plan for perusal by the Commission, and said that the Open Space Planning Committee was planning to provide draft copies of the plan at the 2008 Town Meeting, and to have another Public Information Meeting shortly after Town Meeting. Commission members recommended adding a section to the draft plan which would describe the Open Space Planning Committee and list its members.
Dublin Lake: 1) Lake Host: Karen Bunch reported that Bill Goodwin has agreed to act as Point Person for the Lake Host program for 2008, and that the program already has several potential Lake Hosts, including the two people who shared the job last summer. Karen will be completing the application for a Lake Host program grant within the month. It looks like financial support from the Conservation Commission will be no more than it was last year.
2) Water Testing: The 2007 Report on water quality form The Volunteer Lake Assessment Program (VLAP) has just come in. We’ve been sent two copies of a thick book with data from last summer and recommendations and observations about what was found. Much of this information will appear in the Dublin Pond annual report on the VLAP website this spring. Since we switched from UNH to VLAP only this past year there is not much historic information in the report, but the reporting itself is quite comprehensive.
Easement Monitoring: Jack Lewis asked the Commission members to consider volunteering to monitor the LCIP properties and the few other properties in town on which the town or Conservation Commission holds an easement. Jack agreed to provide the Commission members with a listing of the non-LCIP properties for which the town is responsible to someone else for easement monitoring.
Invasives Control: The Commission discussed 2008 invasives control programs other than the Lake Host and Weed Watch programs. Commission members were eager to participate in the release of Galerucella beetles to control purple loosestrife. This program is being run by Commissioner Sue Yarger. They were also interested in beginning a program to control Japanese Knotweed (bamboo). Commission members recommended developing a handout on how to control knotweed to provide to landowners who have knotweed infestations. The idea of providing black plastic smothering materials to landowners was also discussed. No conclusion was reached, and no volunteer came forward to head this potential program. Jack Lewis agreed to resurrect the listing of knotweed
infestations that the Commission developed several years ago, and to provide it to the Commissioners.
Bridge Replacement: Sterling Abram reported that the Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) did not agree that the replacement of the washed out bridge on Old Marlborough Road could be permitted with an expedited Dredge and Fill permit. They required the submission of a Standard Dredge and Fill permit application. NHDES also did not like the dredging technique being proposed for removing the gravel dumped into Charcoal Brook by the collapse of the bridge. The town’s engineering firm is currently recommending that the town ignore the damage done to the stream by the gravel from the bridge collapse in its bridge replacement plan.
Frost Pond Dock: Jack Lewis reported that he had heard nothing from NHDES on the Frost Pond dock situation discussed at the December meeting.
Meeting Schedule: The Commission decided to continue to meet at 7 PM on the second Wednesday evening of each month. The next meeting scheduled for March 12, 2008.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 PM.
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