Lyme Conservation Commission
Minutes of the 2 May 2005 Meeting
1. The meeting convened at 7:30 PM. The following members of the Commission were in attendance: Dick Jones, Paul Klee, Lee Larson, Laura McDaniel, Vicki May, Adair Mulligan and Matt Stevens. The following members of the public attended the first part of the meeting: Phil Harrison and Jean Behnke (Crossroads Academy) and Rod Finley and Scott Hazelton (Pathways Consulting for Crossroads Academy).
2. The meeting started with a discussion of the issues raised by the Commission in its review and comments on the Crossroads North Campus development project.
a. Lee started the discussion by reviewing the Commission’s general site visit and comment procedures. Dick added that he felt that everyone’s goals were to end up with the best possible results of the proposed development.
b. Adair raised the issue of the fabric and stone dams in the wetland along the cross country ski trail. Scott answered that the dams were temporary measures to control siltation, were “standard engineering practice”, were installed after consultation with DES, and would be manually (no heavy equipment) removed when DES issues the after-the-fact wetlands permit for the cross country ski trail.
c. Lee raised the issue of the Hewes Brook bridge approaches’ lack of erosion control. Phil answered that the contractor was on scene starting this morning to install addition silt control measures on both sides of the brook and a water bar has been installed to prevent flow from the gravel pit area toward the brook. He went on to say that the water bar will remain until the final grade is established directing the flow away from the brook and the approaches will be hardened and designed to prevent siltation of the brook.
d. Laura raised the issue of overall supervision of the contractors. Phil answered that Crossroads was hiring Pathways to provide supervision of the contractors, but that the construction of the cross country ski trails has been a separate process over several years and did not have a provision of oversight of the contractors. He also said that the original contractor had been replaced and had gone beyond the scope of the approved work in grading the ski trails. Dick added that the Town, as part of the site plan review process, would be hiring an independent inspector, at Crossroads expense, to insure compliance with the approved plans and
construction procedures.
e. Lee expressed his concerns about the lack of erosion control around the Hewes Brook bridge and Dick his concerns that no heavy equipment operate in the undisturbed buffer area when establishing the final grade of the gravel pit/developed site. Lee also expressed concerns about who would actually be the responsible person to insure that the project proceed in accordance with the approved plans and construction methods.
f. Laura said that she felt the Commission’s current concerns centered on the eastern portions of the project.
g. Lee concluded the discussion by saying that if the Commission’s comments do not reflect the correct situation, we will make another site visit and further revise our comments. It was agreed that Pathways will mark the centerline of the proposed entranceway and another site visit will be scheduled.
3. The minutes of the April 4th public and non-public sessions, April 11th public hearing and April 11th special meeting were approved as submitted.
4. Brief discussions followed on the following items of “old business”:
a. Post Pond Water Level: The current water level is above the upper limit of the Town’s gage and no requests for a water release have been received. The court case has been inactive except for the state’s “Motion for a More Definite Pleading/Statement”.
b. Vernal Pools Workshop: The workshop will be held on Saturday May 7th and start with a meeting at 2:30 PM at the Academy Building.
c. Trails Day: Trails day is scheduled for Saturday June 4th and will start from the back of the Common at 9:00 AM. Various members of the Commission volunteered to walk the Town’s trails and assess the needed work.
5. Lee reported that site visits and comments had been submitted on the following wetlands permit applications: Crossroads Academy, Bokermann (horse shed in wetland buffer), Dube (proposed deck in wetland buffer), and Weinstein (proposed enlargement of existing pond).
6. Brief discussions followed on the following items of “new business”:
a. Commission Organization for 2005: Adair moved and Dick seconded a motion to elect Lee chair and Laura vice-chair for the ensuing year. Dick went on to suggest that the preparation of the minutes be rotated among all the members other than the chair. There seemed to be agreement to his suggestion.
b. Green-Up Day: Laura updated the members on this year’s green-up day. She reported that there were still a few roads that needed a volunteer for their clean-up.
c. State Fish and Wildlife Maps: Lee showed the members the state’s various “coarse filter” maps and wildlife plan. The Planning and Zoning Administrator has copies of the maps.
d. Natural Resources Inventory: Lee led a discussion on the preparation of a “Natural Resources Inventory” for Lyme. He showed the members a copy of the Gilmanton plan and suggested that the starting point should be preparation of the GIS maps. He went on to say that there was the possibility of obtaining donations to underwrite the costs of preparing maps for Lyme and that this would be the logical starting point. A general discussion followed.
e. Early Spring Trail Use: Lee brought up the issue of how to limit mud season use of hiking trails. In the following discussion it was agreed that although the Green Mountain Club “closed” their trails, that there was little, other than education, that could practically be done to limit use of Lyme hiking trails before they dried up in the spring.
f. Invasive Species: Matt brought up the issue of invasive species. Lee briefly discussed past efforts of the Commission to reduce their impacts through beetle releases and the WHIP grant for the Chaffee Sanctuary. A brief discussion of possible future action followed without reaching any conclusions.
7. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM.
R. G. Jones
Recorder
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