Town of Fitzwilliam
Minutes of the Conservation Committee
Date: 10/27/03
Time Meeting Opened: 7:30 p.m. Barbara Green convening the meeting.
Members Present: Katie Metzger, Chuck Roth, Jeanne Sable, Fred Slavic, Rosalind Slavic, Barbara Green, Eleanor Vander Haegen
Minutes of Previous Meeting dated 9/22/03 moved accepted by Fred, seconded by Rosalind. Unan.
Unfinished business:
Budget –Katie and Carmen researched the following history of budgets and expenditures:
Year Budgeted Expended
1998 $1125 $978
1999 1700 500
2000 3000 1000
2001 2000 4000
2002 4000 252
Katie: Our next expenditure should come from Land Use tax fund. Purchase of property would only require a public hearing. Other uses do not require anything.
The proposed budget for 2004 was amended and will be submitted as follows:
Supplies: $100; Salary (90 hrs.): $900; Books: $200; Consultant: $500; Signs: $400; Postage: $50; Dues: $200; Printing/Forms: $300; Photography: $150; Training (GPS) $200; Conferences: $300, for a total of $3,300.
Newcomers’ Bulletin—Katie & Jeanne worked on the draft. The handouts will go to the library and be inserted in the Fitzwilliam newsletter. Fred estimated printing costs and amount was added to proposed budget. Rosalind will check with Arlene Rich about the cost of the insert.
Duties for project were divided as follows: Chuck—Land Use; Katie—Building; Recreation—Eleanor; Waste disposal—Jeanne; Water—Barbara; Layout and printing of document—Fred & Rosalind.
Members will work on their topics for next meeting. Information to include contact numbers and resources for residents planning various projects that could impact the environment. P. 33 of booklet given out at Municipal Law lecture is an excellent resource. Also, blue Land Usage book from Margo’s office.
Land Use Change Tax—May use some of this for GPS work.
GPS—Eleanor will call Keene State College for help with GPS. See Land Use Change Tax item above.
Aerial Photos of Wetlands—Eleanor reported cost is $360. Motion to pay for with funds left in 2003 budget made by Chuck, seconded by Eleanor, passed unan.
New members—Eleanor Vander Haegen will replace Bruce Carroll, who has resigned.
Follow-ups—
Nickerson—Jeanne: Visited site. Mrs. Nickerson said the project was awaiting estimates by contractors and will not start until November at the earliest, or Spring if snow falls before then. She will call Jeanne when they are ready to start.
LaValley—Katie said Carmen viewed this and it appears to be done in compliance with Planning Board requirements regarding wetlands.
Raitto Elderly Housing Rte. 12—Katie: Planning Board has no provisions for condominiums, though we do have for cluster development. They are seeking advice on condo vs. cluster.
Planning Board Report—Katie reported that the proposed 40-lot subdivision on the 275 acre Cushing property was dismissed as scattered and premature development by the Planning Board. Perhaps we should suggest they get a conservation easement on the property.
Addressing Loopholes in WPOD—Jeanne brought up the loopholes we’ve run into regarding additions in the Wetlands Overlay Protection District, which seem to allow encroachment contrary to the spirit of the ordinance. Jeanne will talk to Margo and update members through email. Everyone should try to read WPOD. Chuck will bring in state regulations. Next meeting we will discuss suggestions to the Planning Board for the Master Plan update.
Forest Management—Postponed. Paul (absent) was to talk to forester Charlie Koch, Katie would meet him at town hall to show the map, and Eleanor would walk with him on the property.
Report on Harrisville GIS Workshop—Eleanor: Southwest demonstrated the kind of information available from database. Information on wetlands, land use, etc. can be scanned into it. Property boundaries can be overlaid onto wetlands map.
Site Walks—
Rockwood Pond Rd.—Filipi 3-lot subdivision: Jeanne reported that Fred, Katie and she visited this with the Planning Board on 10/17/03. There are numerous wetlands which were flagged. Proposed structures appear to be outside the protected area, though the location of wells and septic systems was not finalized.
400 E. Lake Rd. cottage—Katie, Carmen, and Jeanne walked the property on 10/06/03. The existing structure is right on the water, and the only place to move it while replacing sills will be farther from the lake. Applicants were advised to use hay bales along shore and proceed cautiously to avoid erosion during construction.
Wild orchids—Jeanne reported that Katie, Carmen, and she viewed reported patch of wild orchids on Jaffrey Rd. Chuck said the type is not especially rare. Katie called Gene Cuomo who said there was no mowing planned this year for the site, but in the future, the highway department would be happy to avoid marked areas to protect rare or endangered plants.
Bowker Pond island protection—Chuck—postponed until he can contact owner.
Hazardous Waste disposal—Jeanne: Eleanor and Jeanne decided we should revisit this issue even though the majority of hazardous waste is handled in Keene, since the Transfer Station still handles waste oil, batteries, etc. Jeanne will have hazardous waste collection days announced in Newsletter and FitzwilliamNet.
Groundwater protection—Eleanor will talk to Jeff Porter again.
New Business:
Maps—Katie and Jeanne will schedule a time to organize maps in Margo’s office.
Signs for town forest(s)—Fred—Will look into white book to see which areas need signs. It appears we will need 5 or 6. Fred will prepare an outline of what the sign will look like.
Ski Area conservation proposal—Katie will ask town about ownership of the area and best approach toward preserving it.
Out of Character suggestion—Fred suggested drafting an ordinance to address properties out of character with surroundings. Katie noted it would be difficult as we can’t tell people what to do with their property.
Workshops and upcoming events—No discussion.
Draft of minutes posted and/or sent out to members: 11/03/03
Minutes sent to Selectmen’s Office: 11/28/03
Meeting Adjourned at 9:35 p.m.. Motion by Eleanor, seconded by Jeanne.
Next Meeting date: Nov. 24, 2003. Chuck will chair.
Signed: Jeanne Sable,
Secretary
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