Dublin Conservation Commission
Minutes
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Attending: Jack Lewis (chair), Anne Anable, Jerry Branch, Karen Bunch, Suzan Macy, Selectman Charlie Champagne
The minutes of the meeting of Wednesday, April 9, 2008 were reviewed and approved.
LCIP Property Monitoring: Five members of the Commission reviewed a number of LCIP properties on April 19. The properties included some on the west side of Mud Pond that had been visited in 2007 plus the LCIP properties on Mud Pond just south of Route 101. The team also visited the properties north of Route 101, including the Mud Pond dam, which feeds the MacDowell Reservoir. On April 26 two members completed the LCIP review by visiting the LCIP properties south of Goldmine Road along Route 137 and Craig Road. The reviewers found no evidence of inappropriate use of the LCIP properties, but did find several pieces of discarded lawn furniture and one large upholstered easy chair on the property which abuts the property used for the Gas Engine Meet held each September. The minor encroachment noted last year on the Craig Road property appears to have been corrected.
Iorio Property Review: Two Commission members walked a good deal of the Iorio property in response to a request for the Commission’s signoff on a driveway permit for the property. Sue Yarger and Jack Lewis found that the path of the driveway crossed two sizable wet areas. However, the proposed driveway followed mostly the path of the previous roadway, and the plans provided with the permit application detailed work which would significantly improve current drainage problems. The commissioners agreed that approving the permit was appropriate, and that bringing the application to the full Commission rather than simply reporting on the situation wasn’t needed.
Dublin Conservation Easements with Forest Society Backup: The Forest Society has asked us to hold off on review of the Spencer #2 and Edelkind properties until they send us a set of 2008 review forms. Suzan Macy and Jack Lewis will inform the Commission when dates for review have been set with the property owners involved.
Open Space Plan: The Commission confirmed its April vote to accept the Open Space Plan. Members, in their reviews, had not found any problems with the draft plan submitted.
Dublin Lake: Karen Bunch reported that the Dublin Lake Preservation Committee is gearing up for the summer season. Karen will be going to VLAP (Volunteer Lake Assessment Program) training on May 17, and Bill Goodwin and Kelsey Nyland will be attending Lake Host training in the near future. Karen will also let the Commission know when the first Weed Watch is scheduled.
Nancy Markuson, who weekends on Howe Reservoir, has asked how she could help with water testing on Howe Reservoir, and Karen said that she would provide information on what testing entailed when she returned from the VLAP program.
Knotweed Control: After a continued discussion of what kind of knotweed control program would make sense for 2008, Suzan Macy volunteered to take an initial shot at putting together a pilot program. She will be back to the Commission at its June meeting.
Other Business:
· There were no takers for the UNH Extension Service’s week-long program of training people to be Natural Resources Volunteers
· Jack Lewis mentioned that the State has indicated that it would be logging Leighton State Forest, which is on Route 101 west of Howe Reservoir, and which borders the Monadnock –Sunapee Trail
· On Beech Hill, the original mansion and surrounding 12.9 acres have been sold, and steps are under way to put the other 62 acres of the property under conservation easement.
· The Commission received a letter from the NH Department of Environmental Services stating that there was no formal complaint on file about the condition of the deteriorating dock on Frost Pond. Charlie Champagne said that he would make sure that the Code Enforcement Officer took the necessary steps to make sure that NHDES got involved
· The possible availability of several potential conservation properties was mentioned. These properties, each of which falls within an area designated as high value by the Open Space Planning Committee, have been brought to the attention of that committee
Meeting Schedule: The Commission will continue to meet at 7 PM on the second Wednesday evening of each month. The next meeting scheduled for June 11, 2008.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM.
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