The Walpolean

Roll Call: Present Board Members Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Joanna Andros, Trevor MacLachlan and alternates Bill Carmody and Travis Adams. Absent: Steve Dalessio.

Minutes: Ms. Andros made a couple of typo corrections and added a clarification describing the location of the glamping site on page 3, first paragraph, fourth line. The sentence should read “coming from Wentworth Road, drive to the top of the hill where the driveway flattens out. The glamping sites are to your right, just east of the pond.” Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the amended minutes, Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 7 pm

Unfinished Business:

Discussion of Site Plan Application: Adam Naeck, Alyson’s Orchard, Tax Map 4, Lot 44, 57 Alyson’s Lane, Commercial/Industrial Districts, addition of two-story, post-and-beam building to the farm store and 7 glamping sites around Lilly’s Pond. 

The board gathered to discuss the Alyson’s Orchard site plan application. They agreed they wanted more details and answers about the glamping sites. 

Adjournment: Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. The time was 7:40 pm.

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the February meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine, WPB Secretary 

cc: WPB, ZBA, Town Offices, The Walpolean.

Posted: Inside Town Hall, on bulletin board outside Post Office, http://www.walpolenh.us

Regretfully, the incorrect minutes were previously posted as being the December ones. These are the ones you have been awaiting and we apologize for the mistake. – Lil

December 12, 2023

Town Hall

7 pm

Present: Board members Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrison, Joanna Andros, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Alternate: Bill Carmody. Absent: Alternate Travis Adams.

In addition to Dunkin’s presentation team, there were about 25 residents at the meeting.

Minutes: Review of November 2023 minutes. Mr. MacLachlan made one correction on page 2 in the section on building on Class VI roads. Change RON to IRON. Mr. Marcom made a motion to accept the minutes as amended. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

Call to Order: Chair Jeff Miller called the meeting to order at 7 pm. There was a full board present so an alternate was not needed to fill in. 

Old Business:

Public Hearing continues from October meeting. Site Plan: NGP Management LLC/Walpole Properties, LLC, Tax Map 12, Lot 56, Commercial district, proposes 1815 square-foot Dunkin coffee shop with drive-thru at intersection of Route 12 and Upper Walpole Road. 

Present from TFMoran, the company which is facilitating the building of the proposed Dunkin, were NGP applicant Jim Clifford, architect George Delegas, Attorney Eli Leino of Bernstein & Shur in Manchester and presenter Jason Hill PE.

Tonight’s meeting was mainly about the discussion and concerns of the Board made at the October 10, 2023 Planning Board meeting, which were about traffic. Mr. Leino said the Board received explanations and copies of diagrams explaining Dunkin’s responses to the Board’s concerns. The explanations show different sites, mainly around Manchester that he said had twice the volume of traffic as Walpole and with no signage, showing similar Dunkins with similar situations. He also said there are no Dunkin establishments that have parking for trucks. There were a couple of photographs of Dunkins showing where there is considerable truck traffic. One photograph was of traffic on West Hollis Street in Nashua. The caption says “Located off Route 3, West Hollis is a high traffic street connecting the highway to downtown Nashua. The site is small and there is no accommodation for trucks. The store does a high volume of sales and has no issues with trucks.” Mr. Clifford repeated that there are no Dunkin establishments that have parking for trucks. Considering truck parking, Mr. Hill stated that parking along Route 12 is unsafe because of the limited amount of space and the soft shoulder of the road.

Regarding cut-thru traffic between Upper Walpole Road and Route 12, the applicant agrees to install “No Thru Traffic” signage on the property. However, Mr. Hill said it has been Dunkin’s experience that this is not a problem at other Dunkins and to his knowledge it doesn’t happen that often. Mr. Hill showed a property on Beech Street in Manchester. The site is similar to the Walpole site in that the property is at an intersection. According to his written notes, Mr. Hill says “We have also enclosed a map of the Beech Street, Manchester, NH store. This store is at a high traffic intersection with substantial volume backing up at the light during the day. Traffic cutting through this property has never been a significant issue,” he wrote.       

Regarding the issue of sight distance of cars coming from the south on Route 12, Mr. Hill provided three photographs, two coming from the south and one from the north on Route 12, showing that a car at the entrance to the proposed Dunkin can be seen from a distance of 500 feet away. He said that was well within the required distance of 325 feet. Another photo confirmed that vegetation along the right side of the highway going towards Upper Walpole Road could be a problem for drivers turning south if mowing is not maintained. That’s up to the NHDOT maintenance which is responsible for mowing, he said. 

What the board was also waiting for was traffic mitigation from NHDOT. Mr. Leino said the department is swamped and Mr. Hill said it could be March before an official letter is received.

Mr. Miller mention another of his concern –  traffic queuing on the east side of the road while waiting to enter Dunkin because there are too many cars in the queue. Mr. Hill said there was room for a queue of 13 cars from the entrance to the menu board and room for another five cars from the menu board to the window for service. That’s a queue of 18 cars Mr. Hill said and he couldn’t anticipate any time it would back up into the shoulder on the east side of Route 12. Mr. Miller wasn’t so sure of this. 

Mr. Hill, Mr. Leino and Mr. Clifford all asked if there couldn’t be conditional approval of the site plan dependent on the ruling from NHDOT. It is not Dunkin holding up final approval of the project. It’s NHDOT. Their hands are tied. It is a slow process. During the time they were waiting for approval, there are things that they could be working on regarding the proposed building and site.

Mr. Dalessio reminded Mr. Hill that he still had to get a letter regarding safety as well as water and sewer conditions from Mark Houghton, water and sewer manager as well as Walpole’s fire chief. Mr. Hill said he has already had some discussions with Mr. Houghton and would follow up on a letter.

So, what to do? Mr. Perron said the only thing holding this up was approval from DOT. Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the Dunkin proposal on condition that the project gets approval from NHDOT. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion. 

Mr. Miller explained why he was not in favor of the project. He described what he sees every morning at the current Dunkin at the Jiffy Mart while driving his grandson to school. At 8:30 in the morning traffic is backed up to the front of the building. He also had concerns about this Dunkin being directly across from Diamond Pizza and the amount of traffic in and out of that their driveway. He didn’t think it was a good place to have another driveway cut on Route 12. He was convinced it was a place where there was a serious traffic accident waiting to happen. In good conscious he was against the project, he said.

A vote was taken on approval of the site plan with the condition that the traffic pattern be approved by NHDOT. The vote was five yes votes and two no votes. Mr. Marcom, Mr. Perron, Mr. Harrington, Mr. MacLachlan and Ms. Andros voted yes. Mr. Miller and Mr. Dalessio voted no. Also a recent email letter from Mark Houghton about water and sewer “requires a valid easement on the 6” water main that traverses this property from west to east in the new deed – is a requirement before construction begins.” 

Public Hearing for Site Plan: Alyson’s Orchard: Adam Naeck proposed an addition to the farm store and seven clamping sites. Tax Map 4, Lot 44, 57 Alyson’s Lane, Commercial/Industrial district.

Mr. Naeck introduced himself. He had a photograph of the location on the Alyson’s Orchard property where he was planning on putting up to seven glamping sites and add a post-and-beam two-story building to the farm store. He said there was already an apartment above the store. He explained that the word “glamping” stands for glorified camping. The glamping sites would be around Lily Pond, which is on top of the road, the entrance to the orchard from Wentworth Road. He already has three glamping sites established. The tents, which are water and fire proof come from Colorado. The tents are 16-feet-by 20-feet and 16-feet-by-24-feet, The larger tent can accommodate two queen beds and a couch. Inside are wash stations and a microwave. Outside are port-o-potties and grills for cooking. There is also a bathroom with a shower about two minutes away in the northern section of the farm store for use only by glampers.  Down the line, he said, he will be adding another septic system specifically for the glampers but it is sufficient for now. However, he said, this is orchard property and he has no intention of creating a campground. Parking for campers is not a problem, he said. There is room around each tent for two or three cars.

The addition to the store of 40-feet-by-56-feet with the second story being a loft in one portion. He plans to sell farm products, have a bakery in the current section and maybe a place to hold birthday parties for kids. 

Mr. Miller reminded the public that this was a public hearing for only the seven glamping sites and the addition to the form store. Any other projects, such as a tree house which he mentioned, he must come back to the Planning Board. Mr. Naeck agreed.

Mr. Dalessio said since it’s a site plan it should have a lighting plan, a parking plan and a landscaping plan. Mr. Naeck was asked if he could get that together for the January meeting. Mr. Naeck said that right now he was focusing on the orchard and was withdrawing the project.

Mr. Miller asked for a motion to adjourn. A motion was made to adjourn by Mr. Marcom, seconded by Mr. Harrington and the rest of the board agreed. 

These minutes are unapproved and will review next month for omissions, corrections and/or additions.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

WPB recording secretary

cc: WPB, ZBA, Town Offices, The Walpolean.

Posted: Inside the Town Offices, on the bulletin board outside the Post Office, http://www.walpolenh.us

​

Present: Board members: Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Joanna Andros, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Alternates: Travis Adams and Bill Carmody. Absent: Board member Jeff Harrington.

Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 7 pm. He asked Travis Adams to sit in for the absent board member.

Minutes: Review minutes of September meeting and September workshop meeting. 

Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the September meeting and workshop minutes as written. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion passed.

Old Business:

Public Hearing:

Site Plan: NGP Management LLC/Walpole Properties, LLC, proposes 1815 square-foot Dunkin coffee shop with drive-thru at intersection of Route 12 and Upper Walpole Road. 

Mr. Jason Hill, project manager for TF Moran on the Dunkin in Walpole proposal, submitted some changes in response to comments made at the initial meeting last month. To repeat, the location of the Dunkin coffee shop is at the point on a piece of property that is bounded on the east side by Upper Walpole Road and on the west side by Route 12. Mr. Hill said the parking lot has 16 parking spaces for customers who want to go inside. There are also two handicap spaces.  The truck parking for unloading Dunkin products will remain the same at the upper northeast side parking lot. It may also be for employees. There is room for 13 cars to queue up in the drive-thru lane. According to Mr. Clifford, in terms of the average time in the queue per vehicle, that is typically about 30 seconds. 

There are two windows on the pick-up side of the building. The purpose of the second drive-thru window is entirely to speed up the rate that cars get serviced and exit the property. All ordering and payment happens at the first window. If someone has an order that is taking longer than usual, that person can pull up to the second window allowing cars behind to continue being serviced at the first window. The second window is only there to provide efficiency. The second window is primarily there to maintain the average flow.

The picture of the landscaping shows that more trees and plants have been added to the property – more trees along Route 12 and additional plants by the transformer, cooler and along the drive thru. There is going to be signage at both the Upper Walpole Road and Route 12 entrances to the property. 

Mr. Hill had spoken with Mark Houghton and it was agreed that the movement of fire trucks through the property was approved. Mr. Hill and Mr. Houghton still have to get together on other safety measures as well as water and sewer issues.

Regarding the actual building, the trim has been painted white and will have gray siding. Board members asked about the picture they received of the building with a cupola and Mr. Hill said he didn’t know about that. It will probably be discussed further with the architect.

Mr. Miller asked about trucks entering the property for service. He noted that at Dunkin’s  current site, which offers diesel fuel for large trailer trucks, there are drivers who go into that building for coffee. Mr. Hill said that there is no parking for large trailer trucks and Mr. Clifford said they have 120 Dunkins and not a single one is designed for truck parking.

Mr. Hill has also spoken with NH Department of Transportation and expects approval soon of the driving pattern. The third lane, which will act as a turning lane and is still part of the project. He will contact the Department before the next meeting to see where approval for the cut stands. 

Traffic Report

Mr. Robert Duvall, also an employee of TF Moran, spoke about traffic. He said traffic from Upper Walpole Road will be for parking patrons only and will not have access to the drive-thru lane. On the Route 12 side of the property, there will be one lane in and one lane out. Drivers come into the property may go to the parking lot or access one of two lanes. The inside drive-thru lane is for service. There is an additional lane that bypasses the pick-up window and goes directly to the exit on Upper Walpole Road or back through the parking lot in order to exit onto Route 12.

He has the numbers on the amount of traffic that visited the current Dunkin, which is located further north on Route 12 on the opposite side of the highway at the Jiffy Mart and gas station. Traffic was calculated in the morning from 7 to 9 am, in the afternoon from 4 to 6 pm and on Saturday 11 am to 1 pm. On weekdays there were 150 trips in the morning, 75 in and 75 out. The afternoon peak hours were less than the morning hours at 71 trips and Saturday tallies were a tad higher than peak morning hours at 160 trips. Of people traveling on Route 12, 90 percent passed by and 10 percent turned into Dunkin.  

Accident Evaluation

One table in the Traffic Reports shows that the crash frequency by intersection over a 6-year period. There were 17 total accidents at the North Meadow Plaza location, four with injuries and no fatalities. At the Upper Walpole Road there were 12 accidents over the same period of time, two with injuries and no fatalities. The accidents mainly occurred at the afternoon peak hours and some with Saturday  hours. 

Speed Study

The traffic report study was conducted at the location of the Diamond Pizza driveway. The observed speed on a weekday was 44 mph in the northbound land and 47 mph in the southbound lane. On Saturday it was 44 mph in the northbound lane and 49 mph in the southbound lane. The posted speed is 35 miles per hour. However, it was noted that speeds in excess of 70 mph have been clocked on this highway.

Sight Distance

Opinions on sight distance differed greatly from the experiences express by members  on the Planning Board and what Mr. Duval reported. The largest discussion focused on driving north on Route 12 and up the hill to Upper Walpole Road and seeing the entrance to Dunkin. Mr. Duval said it is 460 feet from Upper Walpole Road to the Dunkin Driveway. But, according to board members it is uphill and you cannot see the Dunkin driveway until you get to the crest of the hill. Another complaint was that if a driver were coming out onto Route 12 from Upper Walpole Road and wants to turn left there is a problem with vegetation growth on the west side of the road that blocks the driver’s line of sight making it harder to turn left. DOT is responsible for maintaining this space and should be notified of the problem, one board member said. There is also a larger wait time at this location than other locations entering onto Route 12. It’s about a 39 second wait time in the am peak time if you are turning left. 

Regarding cars exiting Dunkin onto Route 12 and then heading north and south are as follows:

WBL means westbound left turn to head south onto Route 12 and WBR means westbound turn right heading north on Route 12: 

AM Peak : WBL is 17.7 seconds and WBR is 10.5 seconds.

PM Peak: WBL 21.6 seconds and WBR 10.8 seconds.

Saturday Peak is WBL is 21.4 seconds and WBR is 10.8 seconds.

Several people at the meeting spoke about their experiences with driving this portion of Route 12 and Upper Walpole Road. The people who spoke live in the Upper Walpole Road area, Huntington Avenue or travel the road daily to and from work or to Alstead or Fall Mountain High School. All said they were worried about an increase in traffic in this area and the speed of some of the cars and possibly additional of trucks. One woman ended her passionate statement about additional traffic saying that even one more accident is one too many. Another suggested that Police Chief Justin Sanctuary come to the next meeting and give his opinion of traffic regarding both roads. A state trooper, who lives on Upper Walpole Road, was at the meeting and he said while he doesn’t cover this territory he’s seen speeds of 55 to 60 mph. 

Mr. Dalessio asked about the cars turning into Dunkin from Upper Walpole Road. The people driving those cars cannot get to the coffee shop unless they park in the parking lot because there is a barrier for that lane to turn into the drive-thru lane. He predicted this will become a popular cut-thru for those drivers wanting to head north on Route 12

Snowmobile Trail

There is a snowmobile trail that cuts through this property, north of where the proposed Dunkin will be. The members of that group maintain that trail during the winter. Mr. Miller reminded Mr. Clifford to get in touch with the leader of the snowmobile group and discuss their trail. Mr. Clifford said he would.

Mr. Miller closed the tonight’s public hearing. It will be continued next month. Mr. Dalessio asked Mr. Hill for a lighting plan at this meeting. The architect will probably present his change and Mr. Hill will hopefully have more information on where the project stands with the NH Department of Transportation. 

Workshop this month: Tuesday, October 24: Carol Ogilvie – Continued discussion of Natural Resource section of Master Plan. 

Adjournment

Mr. Adams made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

The minutes of this meeting are unapproved will be reviewed at the November meeting for corrections, omissions and additions.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

WPB Recording Secretary

Present: Board members: Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Joanna Andros, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio, Trevor MacLachlan.

Conservation Commission members: Wendy Grossman and Peter Palmiotto.

Facilitator: Carol Ogilvie, planner with Southwest Regional Planning Commission.

Topic: Update Natural Features chapter of Walpole’s Master Plan. 

The meeting began at 7 pm. Ms. Ogilvie had previously updated and edited the document and it had been sent to the Planning Board and two Conservation Commission members. She said the first 17 pages of the document were an inventory of Walpole resources. It includes information on topography, slopes and development capability, soils (sand and farmland), water resources (aquifers, watersheds, watercourses, water bodies) construction materials, conservation and preservation techniques. Maps, drafted by Henry Underwood at SWRP,  accompanied each main topic. He also provided the group with two maps on Wildlife Action Plans.

With the exception of three pages at the end of the document that was devoted to a list of current or recommended protected lands, the rest was a list of goals and objectives that were made when the document was first drafted and approved in 1998. Many of these goals will be continued, some were obsolete (management plan for Connecticut River as a new plan goes into effect) and several have been adopted (road agent approval for driveways) and have now become part of the site plan or subdivision regulations that are required in the current application. 

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 7 pm in the basement conference room.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

WPB Recording Secretary

Posted: Inside Town Offices, on bulletin board outside the Post Office, http://www.thewalpolean.

cc: WPB, ZBA. Town Offices, www.walpole.nh.us

Present: Board members: Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Absent: Board member Joanna Andros and alternates Travis Adams and Bill Carmody.

Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 6:57 pm.

Minutes: Review minutes of August 2023 meeting and workshop minutes. Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the regular August meeting minutes and the August workshop minutes as written. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Old Business:
Public Hearing: Site Plan: Adam Naeck, owner of Alyson’s Orchard, application for up to seven campsites and a future two-story, 56-foot-by-40-foot-addition to the farm store. Tax Map 4, Lot 33, Rural Agricultural District.

Mr. Naeck did not come to this public hearing. Abutters will be notified if and when there is a new public hearing date. 

Public Hearing: Subdivision: Robin Sanctuary, two lots into three lots. Tax Map 8, Lots 8 and 8-1. Residential A District. Old Keene Road and Hooper Road.

Surveyor Joe DiBernardo presented the subdivision. He said that Lot No. 1 will have 334.01 feet frontage on Old Keene Road and will now be 1.01 acre. The driveway will come in from Hooper Road. Lot No. 2 will now be 3.01 acres with 200 feet of road frontage on Old Keene Road. Lot 3 will be 3.83 acres with 265.03 feet of frontage on Hooper Road.

A couple of people commented on the steepness of Hooper Road. Mr. DiBernardo said that according to John Tarmey Hooper Road is a town-approved road. 

Abutter Lucy McVitty Weber said her property abuts Lot No. 2 and she was concerned about the back of the property and the drainage of water onto her property. The land there is quite steep and she wanted it noted that if the new owners planned to place a house there they should be aware of and sensitive to a potential water problem on her property. The land runs straight down toward her house and she already has a huge concern about excess water.  She also said she remembers when this property was originally divided into two lots, there was a promise not to divide the property again.

Mr. DiBernardo said he did not find any covenant in the deed stating that was the case. 

Abutter Mr. Richard Paul said he was concerned about the size of the lots being proposed. Lots in that area are at least 2 to 5 acres, Mr. Paul said. His house abuts Lot No. 3. He assumed the old house on Lot No. 3 will be torn down and was concerned about where a new house would be situated on the lot. His house is up on a hill and didn’t want a home built right in front of his place. Mr. DiBernardo said this hearing was a request for a subdivision and had nothing to do with a site plan.

The public hearing was closed and the board discussed the subdivision. Board members’ concerns were the steepness of the road and the concerns about water and drainage.

A motion was made to approve the subdivision contingent upon approval of all the driveways by Walpole’s road agent.  Also, that contingency would be placed in the approval letter as well as concerns and sensitivity of drainage of water onto other properties. The motion passed unanimously.

New Business:

NGP Management, LLC Site Plan for a Dunkin coffee shop, Town Map 12, Lot 56, Commercial District. 

Jason Hill of TFMoran, an engineering and surveying company in Bedford, NH, presented the Dunkin site plan. The property is located at the intersection of Route 12 and Upper Walpole Road. It is currently undeveloped with a baseball field on the property. The Dunkin building will not affect the  baseball field at this time. The building, parking lot and supporting land will be on one to one and a half acres. He requested a public hearing for October.

Mr. Hill said the proposed coffee shop would be 1815 square feet with an entrance to the building on the north side of the building and two drive-thru windows on the south side. There is full-length bypass lane along side the drive-thru lane. 

Access is proposed by two full-access driveways, one located on Route 12 and one on Upper Walpole Road. Access to the coffee shop is via Route 12. There will be a regular right-turn lane into the property a well as a new left-turn lane making the road at that the entrance point three lanes plus 4 foot shoulders on both sides of the road. Once on the Dunkin property there is a left turn into a parking lot for employees and the public with two-handicapped parking spaces or drivers can continue in the lane for the drive-thru.

To mitigate any increase in stormwater runoff generated by the additional pavement and building, an infiltration basin is proposed at the south end of the property. The infiltration basin will detain and recharge captured runoff, Mr. Hill said. Any discharge of captured stormwater will be directed in the same manner as in the existing condition with no increase or impact to off-site properties.

Mr. Hill showed a drawing of the building that was gray and black. The building was of no particular style of building and no mention of its siding. Mr. Hill was reminded that the first time he was before the board a drawing of a New England Colonial style building was submitted. Mr. Hill received a copy of that building again. Mr. Perron suggested Mr. Clifford look at the Dunkin in Claremont. Mr. Miller also pointed out that the landscaping was sparse.

Mr. Miller was most concerned about the traffic and safety. He said that across the road is a pizza restaurant. In-house seating dining is no longer available, so all customers go through a drive-thru. Mr. Miller said from about 4 pm to about 8 pm customers are in a line on the shoulder of the road waiting to turn into the parking lot. Mr. Hill said the new 11-foot middle lane should mitigate that issue. This will require restripping Route 12 in front of the Dunkin site. Mr. Hill said the permitting from the NH Department of Transportation will be submitted this week.

Mr. Dalessio asked about tractor trailer parking. Mr. Hill said that the parking at the top left is where a tractor trailer delivering Dunkin supplies would unload there. There is room for two tractor trailers there. There was concern about how it was going to work with cars passing the trucks. Mr. Clifford said trailer truck drivers would never deliver in the morning when it’s busiest and only deliver once or twice a week and during off-peak times

When asked if the project had the required 30 percent green space, Mr. Hill said based on it being a five-acre property, there was plenty of green space. 

Mr. Miller also reminded Mr. Hill to contact Fire Chief Mark Houghton to have him check the building.

A motion was made and seconded to hold a public hearing for the Dunkin project in October. The motion carried unanimously.

Alyson’s Orchard

Mr. Robert Miller, an abutter to the Alyson’s Orchard property, spoke for a group of people who were at the meeting for the orchard public hearing. He said there are a lot of changes going on at that property and he wasn’t sure if they were following zoning and planning regulations. He recommended the planning and zoning boards make a site visit to the property. The concerns were about the camping sites and other changes to the property. Mr. Dalessio said Mr. Naeck is aware of all the rules, regulations and codes on this type of camping as well as on the restaurant that is open on weekends. He’s following them and there are no health and safety issues at this time. Abutters will be notified if and when there is a for a new public hearing.

Adjournment

Mr. Marcom made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Workshop this month: Tuesday, Sept. 26: Carol Ogilvie – Discuss draft of Natural Resource section of Master Plan. There is a new draft.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

WPB Recording Secretary

Roll Call: Present: Board Members: Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Joanna Andros, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Alternate: Travis Adams. Absent: Alternate Bill Carmody. Also at the meeting were Jessi Dussault, Griffin Dussault, John Sheldon, Adam Naeck and Marilou Blaine.

Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 6: 57 pm.

Minutes of the July 2023 meeting: Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Old Business:
Public Hearing: Site Plan: Change of Use: Dussault Property Management LLC, Jessi Dussault, wants to put three apartments in the former Head Start School. The building was the original carriage house adjacent to the Drewsville Mansion, 4 Common Road, Drewsville. 

Ms. Dussault said she and her husband own 18 properties in the Fall Mountain area and have a long list of people interested in renting a residential apartment. The Dussaults recently purchased the Drewsville Mansion and the Carriage House, which is in back of the mansion. The mansion already had five occupied apartments and the former carriage house was converted to a Head Start school several years ago. The school served 25 pre-school students each year for many years. The Dussaults’ vision is to put three one-bedroom apartments in that space.

The plan is to divide the space right down the middle of the first floor. There are already two entrances, one on each side the building. The basement of the building will be the third apartment. Entrance would be from the pond side and entry would go into a kitchen with a bedroom to the south. An egress window will be needed in that room. There are no plans to change the outside of the building, so it will keep its historical value, Ms. Dussault said. However, some of the trim is rotten so that needs to be replaced, Ms. Dussault said. Water is from a private well. Currently the building is tied into the mansion septic system. They are planning to upgrade the system and are talking to two septic companies with a larger tank. Ms. Dussault said there was plenty of parking and more than a dozen parking space. When the building gets a little closer to being ready, she said she will submit a parking plan.

Mr. Miller said that the Dussaults need to contact Fire Chief Mark Houghton and have him look at the space. While they may get site plan approval tonight, final approval is contingent on a letter from Mr. Houghton approving the project. Mr. Miller closed the hearing.

Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the Dussault’s site plan. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the Board voted unanimously to approve the project. 

New Business:

Site Plan: Adam Naeck, owner of Alyson’s Orchard, site plan application for new campsites and a future addition to the farm store. Request for a public hearing.

Mr. Naeck put up a map of the property. He said there are three ponds on the property and currently there are three campsites around Lilly Pond, which is the largest pond. It is at the top of hill if you are entering from the Wentworth Road side of the property. His intention is to eventually have six or seven “glamping” sites here. Glamping is a term meaning “glorified camping.” 

There are port-o-potties here now but in the future, on the advice from Fire Chief Mark Houghton, there will eventually be a separate bathroom facility for these camp sites. This would need an entirely new independent system. Currently the guests use the bathroom in the farm store for showers.  The camp sites have been filled on the weekends and the reviews have been good, Mr. Naeck said, but during the week it’s “so-so.” He did have two families who stayed on the premises while they were they there. They swam in the pond, used the playground, ate at the restaurant and participated in the music, he said. However, the other lodging on the property has had a capacity of 70 percent compared to previous use of 12 percent. Mr. Naeck said he only uses Airbnb. They do a background check of the people and properties they advertise and according to Mr. Dalessio also pay the rooms and meals tax.

The addition to the farm store will be on the south end or if you are facing the store – the left side. The plan is for it to have its own foundation. It is a 40-feet-by-50-feet two-and-a-half story post-and-beam building. There will be a loft, 30-feet out from the building. The building will have a couple of bathrooms and the flow will be into the current farm store space. The event space accommodates up to 250 to 300 people and the septic system is currently for this building and the farm store. The siding will be ship-lap, metal roof, barn like with a nice entrance, Naeck said. 

Mr. Perron made a motion to hold a public hearing in September. Mr. Marcom seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Mr. Naeck was asked to bring a plan of the building to the next meeting, along with pictures of the campsite and a parking plan for the new farm store.

Workshop 

Mr. Miller said that Southwest Regional Planning Commission has been short of staff lately and that is why they have consistently canceled their appearances for workshop meeting the fourth Tuesday of the month. However, there will be a workshop this month on August 22.  The agenda will includes discussion and corrections or additions of the Master Plan section titled Natural Features.

In September, Carol Ogilvie will attend and Natural Features will be discussed and a final decision made on that section of the Master Plan. 

Mr. Harrington made motion to adjourn. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

These minutes are unapproved minutes. The August minutes will be reviewed at the September meeting for corrections, omissions and additions.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

WPB Recording Secretary