Conservation Commission

PO Box 365

Walpole, New Hampshire  03608

                                                                                   

July 7, 2008

                                                                                   

Present:                        M. Galloway – Chair; T. Beaudry, B. Fletcher, P. Graves, M. Schupack, L.

Shelley, D. Watson (came in late), F. Ernst (alt), A. Lewis (alt), M.L. Montgomery (alt), P. Palmiotto (alt)

 

Others Present: Ben Daviss

 

Mrs. Galloway called the meeting to order at 7:34 PM.  Noting the absence of regular member D. Watson, Mrs. Galloway called upon alternate member M.L. Montgomery to sit in his place.

 

Mrs. Galloway announced that these are public meetings and the public is welcome to attend.

 

Hal Wilkins & Janet Bisson – Pond on Thompson Road and Application to DES:  Mrs. Galloway was unable to contact Hal Wilkins therefore this was postponed until a future meeting.

 

Review Minutes, Edit and Vote to Approve:  Mr. Schupack noted the following corrections:  Page 2, Bensonwood Follow-Up –change last sentence from “letter that he recommended be sent” to “suggested what might be included in the letter”; Page 3, first line, change “this letter” to “about a letter”; Page 3, Mill Pond –at the end of the paragraph, add “and the commission asked Mrs. Galloway to write such a letter”; Page 3, North Walpole –change “Mrs. Galloway” to “Mrs. Galloway and Mr. Schupack” and at the end of the paragraph add “including the Walpole Walks”; Page 3, Elm Trees –Mr. Schupack “did not” meet with the North Walpole Board of Commissioners but rather “Brad Fletcher talked to Pat Kiniry who was going to pick them up”.

Mr. Schupack moved to approve the Minutes of the June 2, 2008, meeting with the above changes.  Mr. Shelley seconded the motion and, with five members in favor the motion was approved.  T. Beaudry and L. Shelley abstained as they were not present at this meeting.

 

D. Watson came into the meeting; M.L. Montgomery resumed her position as an alternate.

 

Fanny Mason Forest Trail Repair – Lew Shelley:  Mrs. Galloway advised that the picnic tables on the west side of the rest area need to be repaired.  L. Shelley looked at the steps and noted that they are old creosote railroad ties.  They may not be needed as the west side of that trail is not steep.  They could be removed but someone will have to dispose of them.  Brush should be removed.  He felt if the logging operation will be done they should wait before doing the work on the trail.  

 

Mr. Schupack would like to avoid any liability issues as they have scheduled the walk through the forest.  Mr. Shelley indicated that the brush can be removed but it will require some manpower.  There was discussion about soliciting and submitting bids to the Trustees of Trust Funds for payment to be taken out of the Fanny Mason Forest Fund for the manpower to clear the trails.

 

Update on Request to DOT for Access to Fanny Mason for Logging:  Mrs. Galloway has not yet heard from Mr. Sawyer about the State granting permission for an access off Route 12 but it may take several months.  She will do a follow-up on this.    

 

Conservation Commission Meeting – July 7, 2008 – Page 2

 

Mill Pond Walk on July 2, 2008 – Check Condition after Storms, Review Procedures:  Mr. Schupack and Mr. Shelley walked around the Mill Pond area.  Because some cutting was done beyond the gate area; Mrs. Galloway will check with the person that was given permission to clear some trees that were already down to see if he had any knowledge of this. Another tree was removed by Alan Johnson following the work he had previously done.  In addition, there is a large sink hole that will require a lot of fill.  ATVs are being run on the property right up to the causeway.  It was agreed that one tree will need to be cleared out before Saturday’s walk.  Mr. Palmiotto will be leading this walk.  Everyone is to meet on the Common on Saturday, July 12th at 8:45 AM; the walk is scheduled from 9:00 to 11:00 am.  Mrs. Mongtomery will make the lemonade and Mr. Palmiotto will buy some cookies.  Mill Pond maps will be distributed.

 

Monitoring of Easements Needed:  Mr. Shelley noted that monitoring the easements needs to be organized; he volunteered to do this.  Mrs. Galloway, Mr. Schupack and Mrs. Montgomery volunteered to assist with the monitoring.

 

Pinnacleview Town Forest – Problems with Campsite, Rubbish and Small Trailer:  Mrs. Galloway and Ms. Hague will walk the area to check on the campsite, rubbish and small trailer. 

 

Bensonwood Application – Review of their Protection Plan and Use of Hazardous Materials.  Letter to Planning Board?  Mrs. Galloway reported that the Pollution Prevention Plan was received from Bensonwood and it looks good.  Mr. Watson advised that if they use Best Management Practices he did not see anything on the list that was a concern. 

 

Discuss and Vote on Letter to PB on Bensonwood:   Mr. Schupack would like to have a letter written thanking Bensonwood for coming to the WCC meeting and to advise that the WCC reviewed their Hazardous Materials list and nothing stands out provided they use Best Management Practices.  Mrs. Montgomery felt the draft letter written by Mr. Ernst would be appropriate.  She suggested using paragraph 1, leaving out paragraph 2 and modifying paragraph 3.  There was a consensus to have Mrs. Montgomery modify the letter that will be sent out with Mrs. Galloway’s signature as the WCC Chair. 

 

Ben Daviss came into the meeting.

Conservation Plan and Master Plan, Planning Board Discussions:  Mr. Schupack referenced a section of the Planning Board meeting minutes from their June 10th, 2008 meeting with reference to the Master Plan Update.  He noted statements that were made by Selectman Sawyer and Mr. Fletcher.  Currently 13.7% of the town’s land is in Conservation Easements.  If a goal of 25% is reached it would total 59 acres.  Mr. Daviss called the Forest Society to question the 25% figure; they feel this is a minimum number rather than a maximum number.  There was discussion as to whether or not the Planning Board will wait for an opinion from the SWRPC on the compatibility of adopting the Conservation Commission documents that include, the Comparative Land Values and Farms, Forests, Streams Inventory, into the Master Plan.  Mrs. Galloway and Mr. Schupack are planning to attend the Planning Board meeting tomorrow night.     

 

Land Out of Current Use and Addition to Conservation Fund:  Mrs. Galloway asked the Selectboard to have the Change in Current Use money transferred into the Conservation Commission account.  This is in connection with the Jeff and Karen Michaud change.

 

 

 

Conservation Commission Meeting – July 7, 2008 – Page 3

 

Budget Hearing:  Mrs. Galloway attended the mandatory Budget Hearing that the Selectboard scheduled.  They are concerned with rising expenses.  Purchase orders now need to be filled out for everything.  She has the purchase orders for the WCC.    

 

The Town Treasurer now wants the meeting minutes and the vote before she will write a check.

 

OTHER BUSINESS:

Mill Pond Trail:  Mrs. Galloway acknowledged receipt of a letter from Eloise Clark who thanked the WCC for the work that was done on the Mill Pond Trail.  A copy of the letter will be sent to Alan Johnson.

 

Old Home Days:  Mrs. Galloway thanked everyone that helped during the Old Home Days activities. It went very well.  Mrs. Montgomery was pleased with the number of people that picked-up the maps and expressed interest in the walks.  It will be interesting to see what the feedback is from the Monadnock Conservancy on their conversations with people that stopped by their space.  Mrs. Montgomery had an inquiry about people in wheelchairs going on the walks.  The members felt this is not feasible at this time but it would be nice to use some of the funds in the Fanny Mason Forest Fund to develop such a trail.  Mr. Watson thought it would be helpful to find out who that person is to get their ideas on what is reasonable and doable.  This will be a future agenda item.

 

Expanded Room:  Mrs. Galloway asked the WCC to think about approaching the Selectboard regarding the expansion of this meeting room.  This room is now shared by the Planning Board, Zoning Board, Trustees of Trust Funds, and the WCC.  With desks, file cabinets, tables and chairs it is quite crowded; there is no place to display maps, etc.

 

WCC Walks:  Mr. Schupack hopes that members from the Commission will take the walks.       

 

Correspondence:  A brochure was received from the USDA, dated June 2008, entitled “Nomination Form for County FSA Committee Election”.

 

Next Meeting:  The next meeting was scheduled for Monday, August 4th, 2008, at 7:30 PM.

 

Mrs. Galloway adjourned this meeting at 8:38 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

 

 

(Note:  These are unapproved minutes.  Corrections, if necessary, may be found in the minutes of the August 4, 2008, Walpole Conservation Commission meeting.)