The Walpolean

WALPOLE PLANNING BOARD 

PUBLIC NOTICE 

You are hereby notified of the following Public Hearing to be held on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 7 pm in the Town Hall. The following formally submitted application will be reviewed by the Board for completeness and, if complete, accepted by the Board and the Public Hearing held.

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

All abutters and interested parties are encouraged to attend. To be heard on this matter, you or a duly authorized agent must either attend the hearing in person or submit your comments in writing, prior to the hearing to the Planning Board, PO Box 729, Walpole, NH 03608. 

If final action is delayed or the hearing continued, the application will remain on the agenda for the following Planning Board meeting, or until a decision is reached, without further notice. The application and plans are available for public inspection at the Town Offices. Meeting minutes and public notices are posted inside the Town Hall, on the bulletin board outside Post Office and on the town website, www.walpole.nh.us

Marilou Blaine

WPB Secretary

And your hard copy delivered to the post offices for delivery to you. Another year is now drawing to a close with the holidays approaching. Continuing an almost 50 year tradition in Walpole, everyone is welcome to join the Live Nativity beginning at 6:30 PM on the Common following church services. And all are then invited to warm up in the Town Hall for cocoa and visiting with your neighbors – old and new. Newcomers to Town, please do join in, and enjoy the warmth of the Walpole community. To see the December CLARION – Click this Link

WALPOLE UNITARIAN CHURCH

HOLIDAY FOOD SALE

December 9th between 9 and 11:30 a.m.

In Front of Walpole Post Office

       We will have our popular boxed holiday cookies ready for gift giving. There  will also be holiday breads and desserts,  along with savory items such as  quiches, casseroles, lasagnas, etc. These items will be ready to take home and serve, or kept in the freezer until later.  All of our offerings are homemade  and there are always unexpected surprises that arrive at our table the day of the sale!  Come early to get the best choices!  

CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE

WALPOLE UNITARIAN CHURCH

5:00 p.m.

Our Community Christmas Eve Candlelight service will be held on December 24th at 5:00 p.m.at the church on the corner of Main Street and Union Streets.  This is a service of  Christmas carols and readings – both traditional and contemporary.  Come and enjoy an uplifting service of joy and love.

Giving Tree Project:  Please be sure to return unwrapped, tagged gifts no later than Nov. 30th.  Gifts may be returned to any of the following locations during their normal business hours:  The Hungry Diner, Spencer’s Place, Mascoma Bank, Savings Bank of Walpole (Westminster St), St. John’s Church, St. Peter’s Church, Walpole Congregational Church, or the Walpole Library.  Thank you so much!

Present:  Amy Howard (Chair), Kathy Nerrie (Treasurer), Gail LaHaise, Susan Johnson, Bill Ranauro, Tim Lester, Sarah Mann, Erin Bowen, Jean Kobeski (Recording Secretary), Jane Malmberg (Library Director), Peggy Pschirrer (Selectboard Liaison)

Amy called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. in the library Community Room.  This meeting was recorded.

Amy passed around thank you notes from Jane and Julie for the Volunteer/Staff Dinner and gifts.

Approval of Minutes:  Gail moved to approve the October minutes and Tim seconded.  All voted to approve.  Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report:  Kathy reported that the Friends of the Library covered the cost of the bookshelves for the Children’s Room.  The Board then reviewed library bank accounts and discussed  whether or not they should be adjusted. No decisions were made at this time.

Bills:  Amy moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report and Bills for the month. Gail seconded and all voted in favor. Motion carried. 

Old Business

Town Budget:   Amy reviewed that the stonework on the north side of the library needs to be regrouted and sealed.  It is disintegrating due to salt exposure in the winter. She also stated that, for safety reasons, the front stoop needs to be replaced. The cost of this work will be presented in a warrant article;  Jane is waiting for the estimate of the cost of the stoop work before a final amount for the warrant article can be determined. This will need to be done by December 15, when Jane will meet with the Selectboard to discuss the library budget and warrant article. 

Chimney/Repair in Director’s Office:  Jane reported that the mold inspector came yesterday and will send his report within 36 hours. She also said there has been no further leakage with the new chimney cap.

Board Positions:  Gail reminded the three board members whose terms end this year to go to Town Hall in late January to register to get their names on the ballot if they want to reup.

RVSAH Question:  Jean asked if River Valley Seniors at Home could hold a program in the library early on a Saturday afternoon after regular library hours. Jane said, as long as she is around, she can change her Saturday work hours in order to be on the premises during the program. 

Operations:  Jane would like to rework the Behavior Policy to read more positively. Susan asked what the most frequent problem they have in the library is and Jane responded it is cell and Zoom usage (though not frequent).  She said patrons should take/make calls or Zoom meetings in a private area such as the Community Room, if it is available.    

Sarah and Jane are working on a special children’s program focusing on celebrations of light from around the world.  It will take place on December 2.  More information to follow.

Friends of the Library: Jane reports that the Friends made over $6,000 from the book sale.  The Friends will meet again in March.

Adjournment:  With no further business to discuss, Gail moved to adjourn the meeting.  Erin seconded, and all voted in favor. Amy adjourned the meeting at 4:55 p.m.

The next meeting will be January 9, 2024 at 4:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary

** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the January 9, 2024 meeting.

Members Present:  John Peska, Peter Palmiotto (Co-Chairs), France Menk, Lewis Shelley, Wendy Grossman  

Members Absent:  Alicia Flammia, Steven Dumont

Alternates Present:  Kara Dexter, Nicole Adams

Visitors Present:  Michael Nerrie, Jean Kobeski (Recording Secretary)

Call to Order:  Peter called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.  This meeting was recorded.

Review and Approval of Minutes:  Wendy corrected an error in the first sentence of page 3.  She asked that it read:  Peter sent a letter requesting the $5,000 for the RTP Grant from the Fanny Mason Fund.  He did not send the letter to the Trustees of the Trust Funs as stated in the October minutes.

Lew questioned the name in the sixth and seventh sentences on page 2 under Cranberry Meadow.  John stated it should read:  Mike (not Mark) Hubbard.

Peter asked that the second sentence under 2024 Budget heading on page 1 be changed to read:  He added $1500 for Rail Trail Maintenance and $1,000 to the intern budget line. Peter said the Commission has $2650 for Dam Fees and $2000 earmarked for Dam Maintenance in their budget.  He asked if fees and maintenance could be paid from the town’s General Fund rather than the WCC budget.  The answer is no. In fact, the Commission recently received an invoice for dam fees for Mill Pond, Cranberry Meadow, and Reservoir Dams.

With those corrections, Lew moved to accept the October 2, 2023 Minutes. John seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.

Public Business

Report from the Chair:  Peter reported that the Property Stewardship Committee (formerly known as the Easement Monitoring Committee) met November 6 at 5:30. They discussed monitoring town-owned lands, easements and other properties for which they are responsible.  Their goal is to gather information on each of these properties so they can map them and answer questions anyone may have about the properties. Peter said they are working on this but, “We aren’t there yet”.

France asked that someone write a short, interesting article about this for the WCC website.  She said it is important to educate the public about what the Commission does. She asked that a picture accompany the article, if possible.

Michael Nerrie asked if the money for the intern would go for projects like this. Peter answered that the Commission has several projects on a priority list, such as reassessing town wetlands and rewriting the town conservation plan, that an intern could help with.  Michael asked if the Commission wants to involve Antioch students in projects like they have in the past and Peter answered they would.

Financial Report:  John said he does not have the breakdown of funds that the Commission is used to receiving monthly.  He said he would meet with Rich Kreissle to set that up.

Correspondence:  The Commission received a thank you note from Savannah Anderson, recipient of the scholarship for Barry Conservation Camp. John said he talked to Justin Cassarino about accelerating the selection of the next recipient because the name needs to be submitted by mid-December. 

The Commission received the Monadnock Conservancy Newsletter with a solicitation for a donation.

The NHACC sent a letter asking the Commission to renew their membership. The renewal amount was not included in the letter, so Lew said he would contact Barbara Richter for that information. The Commission will vote to pay next month.

Kate Buckman of the Connecticut River Conservancy will attend the December meeting to discuss the BF dam relicensing.

New Business

Dam Relicensing Fees:  John presented the invoice for dam relicensing. The fees are:

​Mill Pond Dam​​  $750

​Reservoir Dam​ $1500

​Cranberry Meadow.  ​  $400

Wendy moved to pay the $2600 for dam fees.  France seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.

LaValley Invoice:  Kara presented Steven’s $248 invoice for materials purchased at La Valley for the bridge in Fanny Mason Forest. Peter moved to reimburse Steven the $248.  John seconded and all voted in favor. Motion carried.  John said he would see Rich about paying this invoice and the dam fees.

Old Business 

Adopting Meeting Norms:  Peter reviewed the norms previously compiled by the Commission.  Peter moved to adopt the norms.  France seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.  Peter said the norms should be reviewed annually.

Walpole Gateway:  Kara proposed that the gate be closed on November 15. France will contact Steven for Gateway information that she can put on the WCC website. 

WCC Website:  France is now working on the website and asked for photographs (with identification).  She also wants Commissioners to send her information about what Commission projects they have been working on. If anyone has additions or corrections to the website, these can be done via France.

Fanny Mason Clean-up:  Before anything more is done, Commissioners need to determine if the individual who was cleaning the area wishes to continue and what the payment structure was. Was it hourly, fixed price, monthly, annually?  How was the town invoiced? 

Cranberry Meadow Update:  John emailed the dam bureau with the letter of deficiencies and asked what the Commission’s requirements regarding the deficiencies are. He learned that, if machinery is used for the clean-up, a permit is needed. 

John said he contacted Mike Hubbard about the clean-up but has not heard back.  John presented a back-up plan if Hubbard is unable to do the work.

Kara asked Wendy if she had researched the deed to the land.  Wendy reported she had but stated no one has found a deed showing the Knapps gave the meadow to the town.  It is not in the Cheshire County Register of Deeds. Sarah Downing has also looked several places for it. Wendy checked the tax parcel but it was very confusing and did not provide the information she was looking for.  She said she would also look through the files that Lauren returned hoping she might find some useful information there.

Nerrie Easement:  Michael Nerrie reported that the completion of the easement of the their property has been moved to 2025. A discussion ensued about when the Commission should pay the Monadnock Conservancy the $7500.  It was decided to table further discussion until the December meeting when Ryan Owens from the Conservancy will be present to explain the process and answer questions.

Lew said he would email the most recent information on the Nerrie Easement  from Ann McBride to the Commissioners.

Prioritizing Future Projects:   Prior to the meeting Kara read the RSA for Conservation Commissions and stated that the projects the WCC has been undertaking are in line with state requirements. After a brief discussion of future projects, the Commissioners agreed that the top three areas to focus on are:   

​​​Property stewardship 

​​​Trails

​​​An updated Conservation Plan 

Wendy shared copies of the Municipal Conservation Commissions Handbook and Conserving Your Land.

Kara offered to write the annual report for the Commission once again.  She asked for ideas to include and France suggested engaging more with the community.  It was decided to table this topic until next month’s meeting to give Commissioners time to think about what they feel should be included in the report.

PFAS:  France attended the recent meeting about PFAS arranged by the Chickerings and shared the discussion.  It included PFAS research, personal experiences with PFAS, and what is being done around the country.  France has information that she can email to the Commissioners. She also offered to find out about the proposed NH PFAS regulations that were due out in November.

Recurring Business

Walpole Trails Subcommittee:    Next Tuesday will be a work day to build the Fanny Mason bridge. Trail work at Mill Pond will take place next year.  

Rail Trail:  ​1.  Wendy thanked Lew for for the work he did to complete the RTP Grant work.

​​2.  Wendy said several volunteers did a variety of jobs.

​​3.  Next step is to complete paperwork and financial reports.

​​4.  There will be a guided walk on the Rail Trail on November 19.

​​5.  Wendy will write an extensive report on the Rail Trail for the Clarion. 

​​7.  Wendy and Lew stated there is an increase in Rail Trail usage.

Lew stated he contacted the Bureau of Trails for the return of the bond money.  He then gave a report on the work he did.  

Wendy would now like to have a discussion about what the town wants from the Rail Trail long term. How do they want to develop it and how might they go about doing it? Wendy proposed that she and Will put together a presentation for early next year for the Commission and Trail Committee to discuss this.

Property Monitoring:  Wendy offered to do the Graves and Ballam Farms. She offered to help someone else with the Aldrich property.

Kara asked that Commissioners get agenda items to her by the Tuesday before the meeting. 

Kate Buckman and Ryan Owens will attend the December meeting. The next meeting will be Monday, December 4, 2023.

Adjournment:  With no further business to discuss, Peter adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary

** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the December 4, 2023 meeting.

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