DRAFT

Town of Newmarket, New Hampshire

Conservation Commission

October 8, 2009 7:00 PM

Town Council Chambers

Chairman Bruce Fecteau called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.

1. Pledge of Allegiance

2. Roll Call

Present: Jim Bergeron, Chairman Bruce Fecteau, George Hilton, Jr., Drew Kiefaber, Val Shelton

Absent: Fred Pearson (excused)

3. Public Comments

Joan DeYoreo representing the Girl Scouts noted she was present tonight to ask about service projects the Girl Scouts can do for the community in exchange for the use of the Town Hall for their meetings and award ceremonies. She suggested Fred Pearson noted he takes care of Heron Point. She walks her dog in that area and has noticed it has become overgrown. She suggested the trails would be more welcoming if they were groomed. She suggested the Girl Scouts could do a blitz and clean up the area. She suggested this could be done twice per year; in the spring and fall. She suggested fall clean up may be tough this year as some troops have not started yet.

Val Shelton felt this was a great idea. She suggested the Girl Scouts can partner with the Conservation Commission and take on Heron Point as their project. She suggested the Girl Scouts can notify the Commission of major clean up days so the Commission can participate. She noted the Nature Conservancy has tools and resources available for invasive species removal.

Vice-Chairman Bergeron suggested Ellen Snyder may be available to help teach the Girl Scouts about invasive species. He added the Town has been receiving a lot of requests for community service projects. He suggested the Commission should come up with a list of projects whether they are individual one-time projects or an “adopt-a-spot” scenario.

The Commission agreed to partner with the Girl Scouts for Heron Point.

Chairman Fecteau noted the Commission has received an application for membership by Jeff Goldknoff.

Jeff Goldknoff of Ash Swamp Road explained he is interested in becoming a Conservation Commission member. He uses Wiggin Farm often.

Chairman Fecteau noted he would write a letter to the Town Council endorsing the application. They would hold a vote at their October meeting. He thanked Jeff Goldknoff for volunteering.

4. Approval of Minutes

            a. August 13, 2009

Motion: To approve the August 13, 2009 minutes.

Motioned: Jim Bergeron

Seconded: Drew Kiefaber

Val Shelton noted on page 4, line 3 the sentence should read “the construction work is being done by the Town and will be complete in time for the Heritage Festival.” On page 5, line 16, Shepherd had been misspelled. Also on page 5, line 27 “park” should be “decking.”

Vote: All in favor

            b. September 10, 2009

Motion: To approve the minutes from the September 13, 2009 meeting.

Motioned: Drew Kiefaber

Seconded: George Hilton, Jr.

Vote: All in favor – Jim Bergeron and Val Shelton abstained.

Jim Bergeron and Val Shelton abstained from voting because they had not been present at the meeting.

5. Mike Provost

Chairman Fecteau noted he had hoped someone from the Riverwalk and Main Street to discuss the cost the Commission would help to defer for the work on the park. Reimbursements have not yet been requested. He suggested he would put this item on the agenda when he receives the reimbursement request.

6. Treasury Report

Jim Bergeron noted there have been a few new expenditures including trail markers, the deposit for the fence at Loiselle and the pontoon boat rental. He noted at the August 13, 2009 the Commission had discussed creating a maintenance fund with a $100,000 balance.

Val Shelton noted there are no dates on the expenditures. She added she had forwarded to Finance Director Don Parnell the motion the Conservation Commission approved at the August 13, 2009 meeting. Finance Director Don Parnell forwarded that information onto the Department of Revenue Administration to determine whether a separate account could be set up. Once he hears back the Commission will know whether they can proceed with a resolution to set up the account. Finance Director Don Parnell recommends the Commission approve expenditures through motions at the meetings and then send that information to him for supporting documentation.  Motions must be made to transfer funds between the two accounts for tracking purposes. She suggested she would draft the resolution. Administrator Wojnowski would send the resolution to legal counsel for review. She will follow up with Finance Director Don Parnell for the next meeting.

7. Committee Reports

            a. Planning Board

Val Shelton explained the Water Resource Chapter of the Master Plan was adopted at the September meeting. There were minor amendments made to the final draft including rewriting the language relative to the aquifer recharge and the fact the voters voted the project down. The mill application will be before the Board at Tuesday’s meeting. The Technical Review Committee has been meeting with the applicant and engineers. The next Technical Review Committee meeting is Tuesday. There will be a strong recommendation relative to the installation of the storm water management system.  The Town has received the Shoreland exemption which was incorporated into the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act. Specific to the mill redevelopment project, the applicant has agreed to no pesticides and landscaping plans for the waterfront to include native plantings and grasses.

Chairman Fecteau asked about hazardous plans for the mill redevelopment project.

Val Shelton noted that would go through the Building Inspector.

Val Shelton added there will be an application for renewal of an excavation permit for the Rosa Pit on the November agenda. Town Planner Diane Hardy has a copy of the plan but had been unable to get a copy to Chairman Fecteau in time for this meeting. She suggested the Commission needs to submit comments as part of the process. Town Planner Diane Hardy would like these comments in time for the November Planning Board meeting.

Chairman Fecteau noted he would stop at the Town Hall on Monday to get the information and would circulate the information throughout the Commission. The pit has been active for years; he suggested it may be a good time for a site walk.

            b. Town Council

Jim Bergeron explained the Council is finalizing the McIntosh agreement for the well.

Chairman Fecteau noted he attended last night’s meeting. He understood there were piezometers installed that would watch the well levels, but there are at least 75 wells in the area. He felt there needed to be something in place in the event a resident’s well goes bad as a result of this new well coming on line.

Jim Bergeron noted there is no specific action plan in place. If the new well affects a resident’s well the Council would need to address that.

Val Shelton noted the well would need to meet DES Water Bureau standards. She asked if any waivers have been requested.

Jim Bergeron answered no waivers have been requested. Everything was being done according to their specific regulations.

Jim Bergeron noted the Town Council has been receiving a lot of requests for community service. He and Drew Kiefaber helped Linked Together on the Piscassic River Park to remove brush, repair the fence and open the park up. He suggested the Town Council could work in partnership with the Conservation Commission to see where there may be community service projects available. He suggested the Commission has a lot of areas that could use maintenance. He suggested creating a list of tasks that could be done.

George Hilton, Jr. suggested roadside clean up.

Chairman Fecteau asked Commission members to bring a list of ideas for the next meeting.

Jim Bergeron asked if there is a plan in Newmarket for an adopt an area clean up program.

Val Shelton suggested George Hilton, Jr.’s comment could be brought to the Town Council through Jim Bergeron.

Jim Bergeron noted a lot of the community service project requests deal with children. He did not feel road side clean up would be a safe option for children because of the traffic as well as the debris that may be on the side of the road. He suggested it would be nice to have a list and a schedule so it is clear what needs to be done and what needs to be maintained. He liked the adopt a spot idea because it became an ongoing service project.

Val Shelton noted a couple meetings ago the Commission had discussed assigning a commission member to each conservation area in an effort to better maintain each property.

Chairman Fecteau suggested that to be done at the next meeting.

Drew Kiefaber noted he would email a list of all the conservation spots to each member.

8. Chairman’s Report

Chairman Fecteau noted Ron Klemasczyk has suggested Wiggin Farm would be a tough area for any further management plan.

Drew Kiefaber noted there had been a suggestion of releasing the Hemlock thicket.

George Hilton, Jr. suggested it may be worthwhile to get a second opinion. Any wooded parcel will have water issues. He suggested if the Town waited until the ground was frozen there would be no problem. It is good forest management practice to take out the mature stuff.

Val Shelton suggested UNH would have a list of foresters. The Commission could try to get someone local.

George Hilton, Jr. noted he would call Charles Marino.

Drew Kiefaber noted Ron Klemasczyk provided a copy of a management plan as a sample.

Chairman Fecteau noted the monitoring plans for Wiggin Farm and Loiselle are due by the end of the year.

Val Shelton noted she would call Ray Ilg from LCHIP to inquire about the forms.

Chairman Fecteau noted the Commission has waited until November in the past to do the monitoring. He suggested both properties could be done in one day.

Val Shelton asked about hiring a consultant to help with the monitoring of the properties and filing of the reports.

Chairman Fecteau noted there are four properties that need to be monitored like this regularly; Schneer, Wiggin Farm, Loiselle and Nostrom. He suggested setting dates at the next meeting.

Chairman Fecteau thanked the Conservation Commission for their participation with the Heritage Festival. He noted the weather had not been cooperative.

George Hilton, Jr. noted there were ten boat rides on Saturday and five on Sunday.

Val Shelton thought someone from Channel 13 had videotaped one of the rides.

Drew Kiefaber noted Joe Schanda narrated the rides and did a wonderful job.

Val Shelton suggested sending a formal thank-you from the Commission to Joe Schanda and Pauline Pearson.

Drew Kiefaber noted there had been interest about the rain barrels, but due to the weather none had sold.

Chairman Fecteau noted he and Drew Kiefaber have spoken about combining the Open Space Commission and Conservation Commission because of the Town Council’s desire to streamline committees, lack of membership between committees and similar goals. He had spoken to the Town Council in favor of combining the two commissions.

Drew Kiefaber noted he had been unable to attend last night’s meeting but had submitted a letter in favor of combining the two commissions.

Chairman Fecteau felt the Tree Committee could also be included. The new group would be considered the Conservation Commission.

Jim Bergeron agreed with combining the three groups.

Chairman Fecteau noted the Conservation Commission is a seven member board with three alternate positions. He asked if the Planning Board representative and Town Council representative counted towards the seven regular members. He also asked if Val Shelton and Jim Bergeron needed to be sworn in specifically for the Conservation Commission or being sworn in for the Planning Board and Town Council sufficed.

9. Old/New Business

Val Shelton asked for a discussion on eliminating handing out plastic water bottles at future festivals as it did not seem to be conservation minded.

Drew Kiefaber agreed stating providing water is a good thing, but providing the water in plastic bottles was not. This year there was not a great demand on water, so the extra bottles were given to Club Chameleon. He suggested doing water in coolers with cups.

Val Shelton suggested not allowing the animals near the creek. She expressed her concern with the animals waste becoming a non-point pollution issue because they were located next to the water way. She suggested meeting with the Heritage Festival Committee to discuss further.

Drew Kiefaber noted he went on the Great Bay Boat Tour of the Piscatiqua River through the Estuaries Program on September 12, 2009. There were two people from the estuaries laboratory that spoke to the group about storm water run off and eel grass quality in the bay estuary area. It was a nice tour, but he personally would have liked to have seen a more educational component while on the boat. He believed the tour would be offered again next year and recommended participation.

Jim Bergeron noted a 50% payment has been made to fences unlimited for the fence at Loiselle. The sign at the property has been placed at the far end of the parking lot and is not visible from the road. He suggested moving the sign to the patch of Scotch Pines alongside the driveway on the left.

Chairman Fecteau noted at the last meeting, the Commission had discussed doubling the sign and turning it to show both sides. He suggested it may be worth a site walk in that area. It would be important to comply with setbacks and to check with the abutters.

Jim Bergeron noted he had received a quote for the granite fencing at Schanda Park. For three 7”x7” granite posts and the black chain installed the cost would be $1,368. This would match what is already there. To secure the installation date 50% payment is required. There is $2,956 in the fund currently.

Motion: To authorize the expenditure of $1,368 to install granite fencing at Schanda Park.

Motioned: Jim Bergeron

Seconded: Drew Kiefaber

Vote: All in favor

Jim Bergeron noted he found a company that could produce picnic tables for less than the last company. The new picnic tables would be ADA compliant although they would not have a wooden top. The new tables would have a black painted metal top and would require assembly. He noted he would resend the email to the Commission members. The tables are very heavy at 400 pounds each.

Jim Bergeron and Chairman Fecteau will meet Tuesday at 6:00pm at Loiselle to look at the signs. All other Commission members are invited to attend.

Jim Bergeron noted the roof still needs to be finished on the kiosk. The Commission can reiterate to abutters about the fencing and can flag where the fence will go. There will be no disruption in visibility. The stakes Doucet Survey put in will be replaced with 8’ high poles for blue bird houses. The Boy Scouts made the blue bird houses.

Chairman Fecteau noted the Commission had held a clean up day with the Boy Scouts last year which had been very successful. He asked if it was too late in the year to hold another one.

Jim Bergeron believed that event had been held close to Thanksgiving. He will mention the idea to the Boy Scouts leader. They did Wiggin Farm last year. Ellen Snyder had been very helpful with the identification and removal of invasive species.

10. Adjournment

Motion: To adjourn at 8:46pm.

Motioned: Jim Bergeron

Seconded: Val Shelton

Vote: All in favor

Respectfully Submitted,

Erica Spechuilli