Town of Fitzwilliam
Minutes of the Conservation Commission
Date: 5/26/03
Time Meeting Opened: 7:30 p.m. Name of Person Convening the meeting: Barbara Green
Members Present: Barbara Green, Paul Kotila, Fred Slavic, Rosalind Slavic, Carmen Yon, Jeanne Sable
Members Absent: Katie Metzger, Chuck Roth, Bruce Carroll
Minutes of Previous Meeting Dated April 28 were reviewed and corrected.
Motion to accept minutes as amended made by Fred, seconded by Paul. Vote tally 4 in favor, 1 abstention.
Unfinished Business and old recommendations not taken care of:
Reports on site inspections: Van Valkenberg, Rt. 119 W—proposed deck was referred to Planning Board due to close proximity to wetlands.
Greer property on Scott Pond —proposed enclosed porch covering walkway was found to have no further impact on wetlands.
PLP proposed addition was re-inspected, found to be OK. (See forms on file.)
Discussion on best days/times to hold site inspections: Paul said weekends were best for him. Late afternoons might work on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays.
Construction activity site near Rhododendron State Park—Apparent stone and gravel stockpiling appears unsightly but does not seem to fall under our jurisdiction.
Gap Mountain Road complaints—road being torn up. We will include area in our next site walk.
Ten Year Plan—status of newsletter article on riparian areas, Forest management, Biodiversity conservation, tabled until Chuck returns.
Report on last Planning Board meeting—Carmen: Camera project—Carmen will speak to Margo about who gets cameras to photograph what we want to preserve in Fitzwilliam, and what we want to discourage. Carmen will attend meeting May 27 on use of cameras.
Communications Tower behind Concord Industries, Rt. 12—waivers were granted for a 135-foot tower, as location seems to impact only one lot’s mountain view, which is not yet cleared.
Veterans’ home on Pierce Rd.—preliminary discussion.
Report on Cheshire County Conservation District annual meeting—Jeanne: Meeting was helpful in stressing the importance of maintaining farmland in agricultural use in order to preserve open space and rural character of town. Stonewall Farm in Keene has a Young Farmer’s program, and CCCD has a program that helps link prospective farmers with available farmland. Jeanne will look further into these. FCC discussion ensued about Fitzwilliam’s farmland, which is listed in our Inventory. Are farms all in current use? How can we be alerted when farmland goes on the market? Perhaps we could put retaining farmland into our 10-year conservation plan and suggest it be included on the Town Master Plan. Jeanne will photograph farms as part of the camera project.
New Business: Expiring terms--Of the three members’ expired terms: Barbara wishes to be re-appointed, Chuck was absent, but indicated a couple months ago that he wished to remain an alternate. Bruce indicated via email that he may be moving, so would like to turn his post over to someone else but remain on as an alternate, attending meetings as time permits. Carmen declined taking over Bruce’s position, as he wishes to remain an alternate. We still need a couple more people. Jeanne agreed to post a notice over FitzwilliamNet, and Rosalind will put something in the Newsletter.
Recommend a member to the mountain advisory board for Selectmen to appoint: No one present was able to volunteer.
Wetlands Bureau proposed wetlands rule change: Paul read note from Marjory Swope, which needs clarification. He will check with her about it.
CD Rom on Smart Growth—Jeanne will look at it first.
New 100-foot tape measure is available to us for site inspections. Jeanne stored it in a box in the second drawer of the filing cabinet in Margo’s office.
Shoreland protection—Rosalind: How can we better inform people about not cutting trees along shorelines? Newsletter one option. Group discussed our creating a conservation flier for newcomers buying property here, to be included with information they receive from the town. It could include regulations about tree cutting, beaches, docks, etc. Barbara will find out who is in charge of the existing information packet.
Wetlands Identification Workshop June 5—No one on committee able to attend. Barbara will check on whether the program will be offered again.
Status of Town conservation land—Rosalind: Would like an update. Also, how much money do we have in the kitty?
Minutes sent out to members: 5/29/03
Minutes sent to Selectmen’s Office: 6/26/03
Motion to adjourn by: Barbara, seconded by: Paul
Meeting adjourned at: 9:15 p.m.
Next Meeting date: June 23, 2003
Signed: Jeanne Sable,
Secretary
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