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Town of Newmarket, New Hampshire
Conservation Commission
September 8, 2011 7:00 PM
Auditorium
Chairman Kiefaber called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm.
1. Pledge of Allegiance
2. Roll Call:
Present: Vice-Chairman Bruce Fecteau, Chairman Drew Kiefaber, Jeff Goldknopf, Fred Pearson, Jessica Veysey, and Stephanie Coster
Absent: Jim Bergeron (Town Council rep), Val Shelton (Planning Board rep), George Hilton
Drew Kiefaber noted that alternates could not be assigned to fill the slots of the Town Council representative nor the Planning Board representative, and as such nominated Jessica Veysey to be an alternate to speak for the final absent member of the commission.
3. Public Comment: None
4. Acceptance of the Minutes:
There was a discussion about the lack of time to review the meeting minutes from August 11, 2011. It was brought up that by NH state law meeting minutes are required to be posted within 144 hours of a meeting. Bruce Fecteau and Fred Pearson requested the meeting minutes to be mailed (by post) for review before the next meeting. It was suggested that several members might prefer this mailed option including: Bruce Fecteau, Fred Pearson, George Hilton, Val Shalton, and Jim Bergeron. The commission decided to postpone approval of the August 11, 2011 minutes until the October meeting.
5. Treasurer Report – Jeff Goldknopf: Jeff noted that it was the beginning of a new fiscal year and relayed information about the budget report. He reviewed his request on behalf of the commission for a format change of the budget to look more like a ledger. One difficulty with this is that the purpose of fund withdrawal and deposit is not always clear to the financial office, and if we want this information included, it should come from the commission. Also the financial office does not identify allotments that have been voted on (e.g. the $250 dollars allotted for Schanda Park plantings and the $5000 allotted toward land acquisition with The Nature Conservancy). We discussed the possibility of the treasurer adding this information to a report.
Jeff also noted that the conservation maintenance fund was equivalent to the conservation commission fund, and that ingoing and outgoing payments are often transferred into and out of the general fund. He also mentioned that when we request checks, we should specify which account in the general fund they come from.
6. Committee Reports – Due to absences, there were no committee reports.
8. Chairman’s Report – Drew Kiefaber:
a) The Nature Conservancy requested volunteers to help with invasive species control at Lubberland Creek for Saturday September 10 from 9 am -1pm.
b) NH local government sent mail about municipal law lecture series.
c) Great Bay Matters is a publication sent out that relays information about the estuary, Fred Pearson and Drew Kiefaber noted they found the publication informative.
d) Town of Newington sent us a copy of a letter they wrote to the EPA regarding nitrogen in the Great Bay. They recognized the need to control nitrogen and as such upgrade wastewater treatment plants, but they urged the EPA to also work on issues regarding other nonpoint source pollution. Drew Kiefaber said he would scan and send out a copy of this letter.
9. New/Old Business:
a) Invasive Species at Wiggin Farm: Drew Kiefaber reported on the successful withdrawal of invasives at the edge of the field on August 13th. He mentioned that the commission needs to return to the site in the winter to burn a pile of debris, and possibly execute further invasive species removal this fall.
Bruce Fecteau asked if invasive species control is possible in the winter, and suggested a follow up removal session when we burn the debris pile.
Jessica Veysey responded that the timing of removal depended on the species, in some cases removal should be accomplished in the fall before the plant fruited, some species are difficult to identify in the winter, and it can be harder to pull plants when the ground is frozen.
Jeff Goldknopf noted that some flags marking invasives were still present.
b) Schanda Park Kiosk: Drew Kiefaber said the glass needs to be ordered and Bruce Fecteau is making a frame.
c) Heritage Festival: Drew Kiefaber noted the festival will be held on September 24-25th, and traditionally the Conservation Commission sponsors a pontoon boat ride and has an informational booth.
Bruce Fecteau said according to the tide chards on Sat. the boat should be able to ride from 9 am – 3 pm and 9 am – 4 pm on Sunday. He suggested commission members were needed to man the booth and in the past we have provided water for the event.
Drew Kiefaber said he had the container for water and would loan it.
Fred Pearson said he has the tents in storage along with the tables and story board and will be there at 8am to set up.
Bruce Fecteau made a motion to spend up to $500 for boat rides at the Heritage Festival. Fred Pearson seconded. All in favor. 5 in favor, 0 opposed.
There was a discussion on how to have commission members sign up to man the information booth, and it was suggested than an email with time slots worked well last year. Jeff Goldknopf said he was available on Saturday, and Jessica Veysey said she was available on Sunday.
Stephanie Coster asked if there was interest in the invasive species display of last year. Jeff Goldknopf said there was interest and he will collect some for this year.
Stephanie Coster asked if this was an appropriate venue for distributing information about nitrogen in the Great Bay and how we could help limit nitrogen pollution. Jessica Veysey said she would ask our guest speaker about informational brochures to hand out.
Fred Pearson asked if we had a brochure explaining what the Conservation Commission does. Drew Kiefaber suggested we did and he would check to see if there were enough copies.
Jeff Goldknopf asked if we had a map of the trails at the Piscassic/Loiselle property, to try to encourage people to use it. He then amended this to ask about the map of the conservation commission lands. Stephanie Coster said she did have this, and she would send it to him.
Bruce Fecteau suggested next year perhaps having a hike at the Loiselle property during Heritage Festival to encourage town residents to use the property.
d) 14 Bayview Drive: The Commission received a Standard Dredge and Fill Application on August 3rd from Mark West on behalf of the applicant: The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The work is proposed at 14 Bayview Drive off of Bay Road. TNC wants to demolish two camp buildings on the site. A small technical review committee consisting of Val Shelton, Jeff Goldknopf, and Fred Pearson reviewed the application and felt it posed little impact to the Bay and therefore supported the application.
Jessica Veysey had several questions. She asked a) the distance of the structures to the Bay, b) if they were using silt fencing to reduce runoff, c) if they were planning on taking the waste materials off site, and d) if they were to seed it afterwards.
Jeff Goldknopf and Fred Pearson responded: a) the home was ~ 40 ft from the Bay, the shed ~75 ft, b) yes silt fencing would be used, c) yes materials would be taken off site, and d) they were going to seed the property.
Bruce Fecteau asked about checking the structures for toxic materials such as asbestos or other hazardous material and if it would be disposed of properly. Jeff Goldknopf and Fred Pearson did not notice anything regarding this topic mentioned in the application. Bruce Fecteau suggested we bring up this question to The Nature Conservancy.
Drew Kiefaber made a motion that the Commission will send a letter to DES saying there are no objections to the dredge and fill application with a note regarding proper disposal of potential toxic waste.
Bruce Fecteau seconded. All in favor. 5 in favor, 0 opposed.
e) Nitrogen Information Meeting: To be held in the Town Hall auditorium on September 26 at 7 pm. There was a discussion about whether or not coffee should be provided. Bruce Fecteau said he would look into the logistics of this. It was suggested to make a flier about the meeting and publicize it at the Heritage Festival and at the Town Council meeting.
d) Easement Monitoring: Drew Kiefaber suggested scheduling easement monitoring of the Piscassic/Loiselle property in early October. He proposed Sunday October 16th at 1pm.
Jeff Goldknopf asks if there is any opposition to him doing some trail maintenance at the Piscassic/Loiselle property. There was general support and encouragement for this.
Stephanie Coster asked about Nostrum Farm monitoring, wondering if that too should be monitored in the fall. Drew Kiefaber mentioned he and Jeff Goldknopf found the management plan for Nostrum Farm, and that the buffer around the wetlands and the restricted area should be easily located by orange markers. There was a discussion on how to locate the markers. Jeff Goldknopf suggested there should be 6-8 markers. Bruce Fecteau didn’t remember seeing the markers last year. Drew Kiefaber said if the markers are absent then the commission should put new ones in.
Jeff Goldknopf said he will contact Val Shelton and ask if they can locate the markers with the landowner then the commission can schedule the stewardship monitoring.
e) Change of use Tax. Stephanie Coster inquired about the progress on tracking down how and when the change of use tax applies. Jeff Goldknopf said this was not overseen by the financial office and that it must go through some other office. Drew Kiefaber said he would talk to Val Shelton about this.
f) New Action Items: Following are new action items that arose at this meeting:
1) Amend treasurer report to note allotted funds.
2) Organize commission members for Heritage Festival, supply invasive species information, and information about nitrogen in the Great Bay, print and distribute maps about town owned lands, and post flier about the nitrogen talk.
3) Order glass and construct frame for Schanda Park Kiosk.
4) Send out letter to DES regarding 14 Bayview Drive.
5) Inquire about change of use tax.
6) Organize meeting with Nostrum property owners to locate wetland markers, and schedule monitoring walk.
Drew Kiefaber announced the next meeting was to be held Thursday October 13th at 7pm.
Motion to adjourn at 8:17 pm, by Bruce Fecteau. Drew Kiefaber seconded. All in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephanie Coster
Conservation Commission Alternate
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