The Walpolean

Minutes for the regular meeting of the

Walpole Conservation Commission

Monday, January 4, 2016

Present:  Gary Speed, Tom Beaudry, John Peska, Kelli Wilson, Myra Mansouri (alt.), Peter Palmiotto (alt.), Lewis Shelley, and Alicia Flammia

Not Present:  Sharyn Tullar (alt.), Duncan Watson, Whit Aldrich (SelectBoard representative)

Mr. Beaudry, chair, called the meeting to order at 7:31 PM.

Non-Public session: 

No alternates were needed to achieve quorum.

Minutes

Mr. Speed moved to accept the minutes for the December 7, 2015 meeting as presented. Ms. Mansouri seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.  It was noted that Mr. Peska was listed as both Present and Non-Present.  He was indeed Present at the December meeting.

Treasury/Budget Report

As of November 30, 2015, the balance in the Conservation account is: $53,183.96 and in the Forestry account: $12,347.88 which includes a deposit of $2,000.00.

New Business

1. Mr. Palmiotto is stepping down from his position on the SWRPC. Ms. Flammia is interested in the position.  Mr. Speed moved to recommend Ms. Flammia as the representative to the SWRPC. Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor. Mr. Beaudry will present the recommendation to the Selectboard.
2. Michael Nerrie of Distant Hill Gardens spoke about vernal pools documentation in the Monadnock region. The Ashuelot Valley Environmental Observatory (AVEO) has created a map of currently documented vernal pools: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=00813910980f4b1a931697e2a27c58d6
3. Mr. Nerrie will be holding a class on 4/29/16 to teach how to recognize the obligatory species (mole salamander, wood frog, fairy shrimp).  Details can be found on his website: http://www.distanthillgardens.org/2016-hours-events/2016-workshops  Additional locations of vernal pools are needed.
4. The Stoddard Conservation Commission is against the opening of a trapping, hounding, and baiting season on bobcats by the NH Fish and Game Commission. The SCC invites the Walpole Conservation Commission to join them in protesting this action. Speed, as a member of the group recommending the season, added information:

In 1989, the number of bobcats had decreased so much that a moratorium was put on trapping them. Five to six years ago, the numbers of calls complaining of bobcats attacking bird feeder & pets had increased so much that Fish & Game was asked to do a survey to determine the actual population. The study was done by Fish & Game, UNH, and NH Trappers Association. Although Walpole was not in the original study which caught 24 cats in Cheshire County, a 37lb adult cat was trapped on Brewery Road.  The cats were tagged, had a tooth removed for aging, and released.  The tags broadcast to UNH every time the cat passed a cell tower.  Fish & Game determined that there were sufficient numbers for a limit of 70-75 cats in a season. Since there is never 100% in a hunt, it is likely that only 50 cats of the more than 1,000 in the state will be killed. Every surrounding state has a bobcat season. The cat from Brewery Road ended up being killed 2 years later in Vermont.

The letter from Stoddard had additional references.  Ms. Flammia moved to table the discussion until the next meeting to investigate all the information.  Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor (except Mr. Speed who recused himself).

Old Business

1. Academy Ravine behind the Town Garage would not make a good Scout project. It has been worked on in the past and gets flooded out.  The soils are not conducive to good trails due to the shale slopes. Mr. Shelley will discuss this further with Ms. Tullar.
2. No activity yet in the Water Co. Forest. The deadline is April 1^st.
3. The Vose Conservation Easement is moving forward.

Other

1. Monadnock Conservancy letter about the Reservoir Town Forest regarding the Hooper Hoppers snowmobile trail. They want to relocate the trail to avoid some wet areas.
2. Per a Selectboard member, the Jack Franks/Avenru Development Current Use money will be paid and the Conservation Commission will get $25,000 for 2015. The $25,000 for 2014 is in question because it was paid in 2015 but it seems likely that WCC should get some of the 2014 money.
3. Tullar wants to start a process of putting an Easement on property that will be coming up for sale on Prospect Hill. This property would almost connect the Academy Ravine with Hooper.
4. Annual dues for NH Association of Conservation Commissions was previously approved for payment and will be submitted to the Town for payment. Nick Coates has resigned as Executive Director; his interim Director Emily Lord has also moved on.
5. The Hooper Institute has taken down a gate and is offering it to the Conservation Commission. Shelley and Mr. Palmiotto believe that it would be useful at the Fanny Mason Forest. The Trustees will be notified of this opportunity; as well as the building of a kiosk at Fanny Mason.
6. Research on Class 6 roads has revealed that Scoville Road was discontinued from Society Gate to the Surry line in 1928 by Maryanne Tatum. Also the Stage Road was discontinued quite a long time ago.
7. Merriam Farms was sold and closed 12/31/15 to Dan Morgan, abutter, except for two 3 acre lots in Surry. He put it all under Conservation Easement.

Mr. Speed moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:59pm.  Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

The next meeting will be Monday, February 1, 2016.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine Heleen, Recording Secretary

NOTE:  These are unapproved minutes with corrections to be found in the minutes of the next meeting.

Minutes for the regular meeting of the
Walpole Conservation Commission
Monday, December 7, 2015

Present: Gary Speed, Tom Beaudry, John Peska, Sharyn Tullar (alt.), Kelli Wilson, Myra Mansouri (alt.), and Duncan Watson

Not Present: John Peska, Peter Palmiotto (alt.), Lewis Shelley, Alicia Flammia, Whit Aldrich (SelectBoard representative)

Mr. Beaudry, chair, called the meeting to order at 7:31 PM.

Non-Public session:
As Mr. Watson arrived after the meeting was called to order, Ms. Mansouri was seated to provide quorum.

Minutes
Mr. Speed moved to accept the minutes for the November 2, 2015 meeting as presented. Ms. Wilson seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Treasury/Budget Report
As of October 31, 2015, the balance in the Conservation account is: $53,179.59 and in the Forestry account: $10,346.87.

Correspondence
Environmental News
Town and City

New Business
Peter Palmiotto is resigning as Walpole representative for the SW Regional Planning Commission. They have quarterly meetings. This will be brought up again next month.

Old Business
NH Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting was attended by Ms. Tullar. The Conservation 101 class was so much in demand that there were 2 sessions offered. The Wildlife Action Plan is now 10 years old and a workshop was presented to bring everyone up to date.
The Conservation Commission Handbook was last purchased in August 2004. Mr. Beaudry will look into ordering some current books.
No activity yet in the Water Co. Forest.
A letter was sent to Terry Knowles. She seems to be in favor of putting on the Conservation Easement prior to the sale of the Hooper.
There was a Public Hearing on December 3, 2015 on Emergency Lanes designation for Derry Hill Road and Eaton Road. The SelectBoard voted to make both of these Emergency Access roads and will be maintained by the Town.
The Class 6 Roads priority list will be finalized and submitted to the SelectBoard.
Cheshire County Conservation District Meeting was attended by Mr. Beaudry and Ms. Tullar. The Keynote Speaker, John Magee was an excellent speaker. One of the things he discussed was a survey of culverts under roads in other parts of the state and then ranked by most prohibitive to least prohibitive. Mr. Beaudry is wondering if anyone might be interested in doing the same for Walpole culverts.
Ms. Tullar was wondering if work should be done to clear Mad Brook in Academy Ravine. Mr. Speed mentioned that this might be good for an Eagle Scout project.
Mr. Speed has taken care of the beaver at the causeway at Mill Pond. The one at East St in North Walpole is still there.

The next meeting will be Monday, January 4, 2016.
Mr. Peska moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:01pm. Mr. Watson seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Heleen, Recording Secretary
NOTE: These are unapproved minutes with corrections to be found in the minutes of the next meeting.

Minutes for the regular meeting of the

Walpole Conservation Commission

Monday, November 2, 2015 

Present:  Gary Speed, Tom Beaudry, Sharyn Tullar (alt.), Kelli Wilson, Lewis Shelley, Alicia Flammia, Whit Aldrich (SelectBoard representative)

Not Present:  John Peska, Peter Palmiotto (alt.), Myra Mansouri (alt.), and Duncan Watson

Guests:  Peggy Pschirrer and Steve Dalessio

Mr. Beaudry, chair, called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.

Non-Public session: 

As Mr. Shelley & Ms. Flammia arrived after the meeting was called to order, Ms. Tullar was seated to provide quorum.

Minutes

Mr. Speed moved to accept the minutes for the October 5, 2015 meeting as presented. Ms. Wilson seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Treasury/Budget Report

As of September 30, 2015, the balance in the Conservation account is: $53,175.07 and in the Forestry account: $10,345.99.

Correspondence

1. Cheshire County Conservation District 70^th Annual meeting will be at the Keene Country Club on November 5, 2015. John McGee, Habitat Biologist will be the Keynote Speaker. Tracie’s Community Farm is the 2015 Cooperator of the Year. Susan Meehan is the 2015 Educator of the Year.
2. Forest Laws for Municipal Officials will be Nov. 9th in Auburn and Nov. 10th in Lancaster.

New Business

1. Mrs. Pschirrer and Mr. Dalessio are present as Hooper Trustees to give an update on the sale of the Hooper Golf Course. Bob Kimball went to the Trustees because most of his investors have pulled out.  He has some ideas of trying to get the additional monies needed and has an excellent business plan for the property.  In the meantime, the Hooper Trustees would like to present to Terry Knowles a plan to close on the Conservation Easement before the sale.  Mr. Speed moved to have Mr. Beaudry draft a letter from the Walpole Conservation Commission in support of having the Hooper Trustees complete the Hooper Conservation Easement prior to the sale of the property. Ms. Flammia seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.
2. Marcia Galloway has noticed a beaver dam at the causeway at Mill Pond. Speed has been asked to take care of it.

Old Business

1. Garland Lumber has sent in a deposit. They will be waiting for the ground to freeze.  They will work on the road and landing in the next couple of weeks. When this is finished, then the Hooper Forest will be marked.

Other

1. Per Mr. Shelley, Nancy Sloan on Barnet Hill Road has put 50+ acres into Conservation Easement through Monadnock Conservancy. They will email the file to Mr. Palmiotto so he can update the Conservation Land Map. Also the Perley Lund property is to close very soon.
2. Shelley submitted an invoice for repair to the brush cutter. The chain saw was not worth repairing.  Both are locked up in the Town Shed.
3. Shelley was approached by Emily Haig, Monadnock Conservancy about an illegal camp that was discovered on the Merriam Forest. Although it was quite elaborate, it has been dismantled.
4. There will be a Public Hearing on December 3, 2015 on Emergency Lanes. Although Eaton Lane/Maple Grove Road, Derry Hill Road, and the end of Reservoir Road are acknowledged as Emergency Lanes, there had not been a Public Hearing designating them as such.  This Hearing is merely procedural to finish off the process.
5. The gates are up on both ends of Cold River Road.
6. Speed discovered that there is some Town owned land in North Walpole off of E Street behind Dunning. It is 55 acres.
7. Tullar attended a Pollinator Summit. It was very well attended with 250 participants and very well put together. The focus was on bees although there are other pollinators. A statement was made that New Hampshire has too many trees.  Landowners should be encouraged to plant more shrubs and native plants for the pollinators.
8. On November 14, 2015, the Monadnock Conservancy is having a program at the Hastings House on Farms and Community Connections.
9. DES is having a couple of Hearings on permitting. A session in Keene will be the 2^nd.

The next meeting will be Monday, December 7, 2015.

Mr. Speed moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:32pm.  Ms. Flammia seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine Heleen, Recording Secretary

NOTE:  These are unapproved minutes with corrections to be found in the minutes of the next meeting.

Minutes for the regular meeting of the

Walpole Conservation Commission

Monday, October 5, 2015

Present:  Tom Beaudry, John Peska, Sharyn Tullar (alt.), Lewis Shelley, Gary Speed, Myra Mansouri (alt.), Kelli Wilson, Whit Aldrich (SelectBoard representative)

Not Present:  Alicia Flammia, Peter Palmiotto (alt.), Duncan Watson

Mr. Beaudry, chair, called the meeting to order at 7:37 PM.

Non-Public session: 

No Alternates needed seating

Minutes

Corrections to the minutes: another instance of Scout name misspelled: Benjamin Haefner under Old Business. Mr. Speed moved to accept the minutes for the September 14, 2015 meeting as corrected. Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

New Business

Maeve Perron attended the Barry Conservation Camp at the end of July 2015.  She brought a poster of pictures she had taken and reported on her activities. She very much enjoyed the shooting and the canoe trip.  Maeve won an award for the canoe trip and many counselors commented on how well she did on that trip, especially her leadership in helping the other students. Her canoe was the only one not to tip over.

Treasury/Budget Report

No reports available

Correspondence

1. Supply Line newsletter
2. Environmental News
3. NH Association of Conservation Commission meeting November 7, 2015.

New Business, cont.

2016 Budget- no Actual YTD spending report available.  After discussion of the upcoming expenses, it was agreed to level fund for next year with no changes.  The budget was submitted to the Mr. Aldrich to pass on to the Town Treasurer.

Old Business

1. On the Bensonwood letter, a question about the “conditional uses” was clarified as being from the Well Head Source Protection Ordinance. Peska moved that the letter as amended by Ms. Flammia be signed by Mr. Beaudry and delivered to Bensonwood.  Mr. Speed seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.
2. Eagle Scout projects – Mr. Shelley: Adam Terrell’s project was approved; he will do from the parking lot out to just before the reroute section but Mr. Shelley will recommend that it be Spring before this takes place. Benjamin Haefner should also wait until Spring to do a kiosk and the reroute around the damaged areas.
3. Water Co Timber Harvest – nothing has been done. Mr. Beaudry will call Garland to see what the plan is.
4. KSC trails mapping- No update
5. Class 6 Roads Subcommittee met October 5 @7pm. Mark Houghton, Water Dept; Mike Symonds, Highway Dept; Dick Hurlburt, Fire Dept; Peggy Pschirrer, Selectboard,  John Peska, Conservation; and Lew Shelley, Conservation were in attendance.  They reviewed the list as established by the Conservation Commission on March 26, 2014 and will be sending recommendations within the week for priority regarding fire safety, usability, and recreation.
6. The NH Supreme Court has ruled that the variance case between the Town of Surry Zoning Board of Adjustment and Merriam Farms Inc. must go back to Cheshire County Superior Court. Merriam Farms wants to build a single family house on property that is on a Class 6 Road. The Town denied the application for a variance. It is up to the property owners to decide if they want to continue to seek the variance.
7. Shelley took tools belonging to the Conservation Commission to Pinnacleview for cleaning. This included a chain saw and a (very heavy) brush cutter. Several hand tools, such as axes, picks, etc. are missing. Once they are replaced, they should be kept in a locked box.
8. Hooper Golf Course sale is waiting on investors to come through with their pledges.
9. Timber Harvest at Hooper Forest will be done after the Reservoir harvest. Peter Rhoades has been told to start marking the trees this winter. Funds from the Hooper Forest harvest will go to the Hooper Trust and they will pay Mr. Rhoades for that work.

Other

1. The Fanny Mason Forest will need to be cleared out in the Spring since it is not possible to be done currently.

The next meeting will be Monday, November 2, 2015.

Mr. Peska moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:29pm.  Mr. Speed seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine Heleen, Recording Secretary

NOTE:  These are unapproved minutes with corrections to be found in the minutes of the next meeting.

Minutes for the regular meeting of the

Walpole Conservation Commission

Monday, September 14, 2015

Present:  Tom Beaudry, John Peska, Sharyn Tullar (alt.), Alicia Flammia, Lewis Shelley, Gary Speed, Peter Palmiotto (alt.), Duncan Watson

Not Present:  Myra Mansouri (alt.), Kelli Wilson, Whit Aldrich (SelectBoard representative)

Mr. Beaudry, chair, called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.

Non-Public session: 

No Alternates needed seating

Minutes

Corrections to the minutes: the Planning Board reviewed the Merriam Farms proposal but should not be considered “tentatively in favor”.  Scout names misspelled: Benjamin Haefner and Paul Beliveau. Mr. Speed moved to accept the minutes for the August 3, 2015 meeting as corrected. Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

New Business

    Bensonwood representative, Randall Walter reported on updates for the land on Huntington Lane next to Chamberlain Machine.  In 2008, Bensonwood came before the Conservation Commission for consideration of a proposal of a production building on Map 12, Lot 4-3. The Recession happened and progress stopped. In 2009, the Planning Board approved a Lot Line adjustment to take land from the adjacent lot 4-2 and add it to lot 4-3 (creating a 25.60 acre lot).  This lot was then put into Current Use.

Bensonwood now plans to put in an assembly and manufacturing facility for the cutting and assembly of wood products (most of which will arrive on site in a prefinished condition). Since the natural death of the Pignut Hickory, the building will change orientation and the chicken coops will be dismantled. The building will be around 56,000 sf with 175,000 sf of impervious surface which is about 17% of the 25+acres. There will be parking for around 35 cars with about 20 employees.  They will heat with gas fired wood boiler and have a propane backup source.

A letter of support from the Conservation Commission shall be drafted.  Mr. Speed moved to send a letter to Bensonwood stating no opposition to the plan as briefed and for the conditional use as presented.  Mr. Watson seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Treasury/Budget Report

As of 8/31/15, the total amount in the Forestry account was $10,345.14, and in Conservation account was $53,170.70.

Correspondence

1. Request from the NH Association of Conservation Commission for payment of $296 for 2016 Annual Dues. Watson moved to pay the Dues of $296 to the NHACC at the beginning of 2016. Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.
2. Town & City Magazine
3. Thank you note from Maeve Perron for sending her to Barry Conservation Camp. She will be invited to a future meeting to report on her experiences.
4. Highlights, the SWRPC newsletter
5. Reminder of the Pot Luck dinner to be held at Stonewall Farm in Keene September 15, 2015.

New Business, cont.

1. Budget for the next year is due mid-October. It will be added to next month’s Agenda.
2. All members are invited to follow The Walpolean. If interested, go to https://thewalpolean.org/ and register.
3. NH DES letter regarding the Pine Street dredging just says “Note conditions”. The approval date was 9/1/2015 and TransCanada has until 9/1/2020 to complete the work.

Old Business

1. A letter was sent to the Rockingham Conservation Commission listing the waterfall names acceptable to the WCC and the Walpole Historical Society.
2. The letter by the Mason Conservation Commission regarding the Kinder Morgan Pipeline project has been compiled and sent on to all appropriate parties.
3. Eagle Scout projects–Mr. Shelley: Paul Beliveau will not be doing trail work for his project; Adam Terrell will do from the parking lot out to just before the reroute section; this will include retaining wall structures. Benjamin Hefner wants to do a kiosk and the reroute. Both of these are subject to approval by the Scout leaders.
4. Water Co Timber Harvest-Garland Lumber had wanted to be there in August. Beaudry and Mr. Speed will look at end of Reservoir Rd to see what has been done.
5. The Land Map update is almost ready, just waiting to see if one final easement can be included.
6. KSC trails mapping- Ms. Flammia heard from Professor Bream. The fieldwork is completed, the data is in some state of data entry and but just waiting for the finished product.
7. Class 6 Roads Subcommittee will meet October 5 @7pm.
8. Hooper Golf Course sale has not gone through due to a major investor pulling out.
9. Timber Harvest at Hooper Forest will be done after the Reservoir harvest. Peter Rhoades is expecting to start marking the trees this winter. Funds from the Hooper Forest harvest will go to the Hooper Trust and they will pay Mr. Rhoades for that work.
10. Dam maintenance may need to be increased in the next budget discussions. Peska moved to take Conservation power equipment to Pinnacleview for service. Mr. Shelley seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Other

1. High Blue gate is being circumvented. Mr. Shelley will talk with the Land Steward about this. A cross-country trail has become an ATV track.
2. Sidney Craven & Monadnock Conservancy will host an event recognizing Conservation people of Walpole. Invitations will be out soon.
3. Shelley will be presenting a workshop at Pembroke Academy the 1^st Saturday of November.

The next meeting will be Monday, October 5, 2015.

Mr. Peska moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:49pm.  Mr. Speed seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine Heleen, Recording Secretary

NOTE:  These are unapproved minutes with corrections to be found in the minutes of the next meeting.

Minutes

For the regular meeting of the

Walpole Conservation Commission

Monday, August 3, 2015

Present:  Tom Beaudry, John Peska, Myra Mansouri (alt.), Kelli Wilson, Sharyn Tullar (alt.), Alicia Flammia, Lewis Shelley, Gary Speed, Whit Aldrich (SelectBoard representative)

Not Present:  Peter Palmiotto (alt.), Duncan Watson

Mr. Beaudry, chair, called the meeting to order at 7:36 PM.

Non-Public session: 

No Alternates needed seating

Minutes

Mr. Peska moved to accept the minutes for the July 6, 2015 meeting as presented. Ms. Wilson seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Treasury/Budget Report

As of 6/30/15, the total amount in the Forestry account was $10,343.39, and in Conservation account was $53,161.67. The budget has a credit for the Youth Conservation Camp on 5/6/15 as well as payment on 4/30/15.  Mr. Beaudry will look into this.

Correspondence

1. Town & City Magazine
2. NH Assoc. of Conservation Commissions 45^th Annual Meeting: 11/7/15, Pembroke Academy, Pembroke, NH. Shelley will be presenting.
3. Monadnock Conservancy update on projects in the Monadnock region.

New Business

1. CT River Joint Commission Invasive Species program River Runners was held 6/16/15 and attended by Ms. Flammia. She reports that it was a program was to train volunteers to look for certain numbers of invasive species and place markers so that State personnel can take care of them.
2. Northeast Energy Direct natural gas pipeline project—a letter was sent to all NH conservation commissions requesting signatures of opposition that will then be sent to the Governor, federal & state Representatives and Senators, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Concerns about the use of eminent domain, displacements of conservation easements and the impact of wetlands were discussed.  Speed moved that members of the Conservation Commission be encouraged to sign the letter.  Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.
3. Merriam Farm- Mr. Shelley reports that there is an interest in the purchase of the Walpole part of the Farm. The Planning Board is tentatively in favor of the ideas presented. The Class 6 road is still an issue since most of it is down to bedrock.
4. NH Timberland Owners Association request for dues. Flammia moved to not renew membership in NHTOA.  Mr. Speed seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.
5. NH DES Emergency Authorization/Verification. A dive inspection has discovered a 6’ deep scour hole underneath the spillway of Bridge Pier 4 of the Dam.  Emergency work is going to be done to figure out what is wrong and try to stabilize the site starting August 17.

Old Business

1. DES work has begun replacing 24”galvanized culvert with a 24” plastic pipe next to Pole 21 on Route 12.
2. Shelley was contacted by 3 Scouts looking for Eagle Projects; Adam Terrell confirmed that he is interested in work at Mill Pond. Benjamin Hefner will be meeting with Mr. Shelley soon and Paul Melville expressed interest in Mill Pond as well.
3. Water Co Timber Harvest-Garland Lumber sent a letter to the SelectBoard indicating the upgrades that are to be done to the Class 6 road in preparation for the harvest. However, the Intent to Cut has not yet been received by the SelectBoard.  Garland Lumber and Mr. Rhoades were notified of this deficiency.
4. NH DES has sent a letter requesting additional information on the TransCanada Hydro dredging project.

Other

1. Brian Fletcher will no longer be available to mow at the Reservoir Dam and Knapp Cranberry Meadow since he sold off some equipment. The optimal option would be to find someone who has a brush head on an excavator. The budget for Dam maintenance is $1,500/year.
2. Holly Green’s intern requests another copy of last year’s report on the Ballam Farm Monitoring. Speed will forward that report to her.
3. Speed is concerned that the Reservoir water level is dropping more quickly than expected. He admits that it has been dry lately but it shouldn’t be dropping so much.  He will check to see if the Golf Club is using that water to irrigate the course.
4. Aldrich reports that it is his belief that the Hooper Sale will be complete by the end of August.
5. Shelley will contact Mike Reyns to arrange for brush hogging in the Fanny Mason Forest.
6. Shelley accompanied Al Stoops on a search for Champion trees. They were unable to find the Black Ash behind Boggy Meadows Farm but agreed to try again in the winter when the leaves are down.  They did find the State Champion Black Cherry north of Derry Hill Road.

Mr. Peska moved that the next meeting should be Monday, September 14, 2015 due to the Labor Day holiday. Ms. Flammia seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Mr. Speed moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:35pm.  Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine Heleen, Recording Secretary

NOTE:  These are unapproved minutes with corrections to be found in the minutes of the next meeting.

Minutes

For the regular meeting of the

Walpole Conservation Commission

Monday, July 6, 2015

Present:  Tom Beaudry, John Peska, Duncan Watson, Myra Mansouri (alt.), Kelli Wilson, Sharyn Tullar (alt.)

Not Present:  Alicia Flammia, Lewis Shelley, Gary Speed, Peter Palmiotto (alt.), Whit Aldrich (SelectBoard representative)

Guests: Peter Bergstrom

Mr. Beaudry, chair, called the meeting to order at 7:34 PM.

Non-Public session: 

Ms. Mansouri was seated for Ms. Flammia.

Minutes

Mr. Watson moved to accept the minutes for the June 1, 2015 meeting as presented. Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Treasury/Budget Report

As of 5/31/15, the total amount in the Forestry account was $10,342.54, and in Conservation account was $53,157.30.

Correspondence

1. Farm Service Agency notification re crop insurance for Stonehome Farm, LLC.
2. DES Wetland Routine Roadway and Railway Notification; replacing 24”culvert with plastic pipe next to Pole 21.
3. Public Informational Meeting to be held Thursday, July 9, 2015 5pm in the Town Hall to discuss the Westminster Bridge Repair, up to 16 weeks of one lane alternating traffic.

New Business

1. Peter Bergstrom, Rockingham Conservation Commission, was present to give more information regarding the waterfall next to Village of Bellows Falls. The Abenaki name “Kitchee Pontegu” means Great Falls. The VT State Library Board must approve any name as well as the US Board of Geographic Names. Mr. Peska will check with the Walpole Historical Society to be sure that they approve “Great Falls” as well.

Old Business

1. Adam Terrell met with Mr. Beaudry and was told to contact Mr. Shelley to confirm the Eagle Project work at Mill Pond.
2. Welcome to new members: Kelli Wilson and Sharyn Tullar.
3. Water Co Timber Harvest – Mr. Beaudry met with Peter Rhoades, Roger Garland, and Jack Pratt. The Class 6 road goes past Mr. Pratt’s barn & apartment and it was pointed out the trees that needed trimming. The road will need some upgrading and Garland will get a letter to the SelectBoard regarding this. Work is anticipated to begin August 1^st (depending on weather) and is expected to take 30-45 days.

Other

Minimum Expedited Permits for Wetlands

1. Ken Burns wants to put up a Solar Array past the orchard behind his house. A conduit is needed that will go through 60’ stretch of Wetlands. The conduit will be buried and the wetlands restored.  Watson moved to approve the Expedited Wetlands application.  Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.
2. Ken Burns wishes to put in a culvert 12” x 30’ across the swale to allow better access to the field. Peska moved to approve the Expedited Wetlands permit. Mr. Watson seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor.

Mr. Watson moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:09pm.  Mr. Peska seconded, and the motion passed with all in favor. 

The next meeting will be Monday, August 3, 2015.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine Heleen, Recording Secretary

NOTE:  These are unapproved minutes with corrections to be found in the minutes of the next meeting.