Sutton Conservation Commission (SCC)

DRAFT Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Present: Henry Howell, Chair; Don Davis; Chuck Bolduc; Barbara Hoffman; Debbie Lang; Jim Morris; Lynn Wittman; Wally Baker and Bonnie Hill.

Call to order: Chairman Henry Howell called the meeting to order at 6:31 pm.

Previous Meeting’s Minutes:  The minutes from the last meeting on December 14^th were unanimously approved.

Financial Report:

Debbie sent out a financial report before the meeting. In December we spent $1,153. This represented salary expenses, GIS license fee, map printing costs, ad costs, and a small portion of the Webb Crowell gravel costs. For the year, the entire budget was spent, and we had to spend $1347.42 out of the Conservation Fund on gravel for repairs to Eaton Grange Road. The Conservation Fund had a balance of $193,599.78 at the end of December. The King Hill Fund had a balance of $2,074.51. The Capital Reserve is at $57,581.34. $500 will be taken out of the KHR Fund to cover mowing costs.

Trail Maintenance and Development

Trails Advisory Committee Report

KHR donation system – Chuck resolved the revolving fund question with Town Counsel Laura Spector-Morgan, so there is no need to have the town vote on a warrant article. In her email she attached the text of the state laws governing Charitable Trusts, and she wrote:

“Thank you for speaking with me earlier today. Here is the document from Charitable Trusts that I referenced. As I understand the plan, we will not be establishing a revolving fund, but instead will continue to allow donations to accrue in the “donation account,” go to the selectmen quarterly for them to accept the donations under RSA 31:95-b, and then move those funds to the conservation fund, where they can be spent for the purposes for which the donations were made.”

Chuck said we will use the donation account that Jim established to accrue donations. Quarterly,we will get the accrued donations approved by the BOS and the funds will be transferred to the Conservation Fund. Internally, we will have to track these donations as they are specifically for the upkeep of KHR. Donations under $10,000 don’t require a public hearing, which shouldn’t be a problem.

The existing KHR fund doesn’t have enough solid information behind it to use for the purpose of donations. The simpler solution is to use the Conservation Fund and track the donations. We can spend down the KHR fund and close it to simplify our accounting. Chuck did some research and found out that a concom should only have one fund, which is the Conservation Fund. Since the donations will all be for the same purpose, i.e. KHR maintenance, they can be bundled together in the tracking. The BOS only needs to know the purpose of the money and the amount.

Jim made a motion to go forward with the donation system using the recently created TD Bank account to receive the donations and having them approved by the BOS on a quarterly basis before depositing them into the Conservation Fund. Chuck seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Jim said now we need to set up a donation receiving system. The service provider will be Blackbaud, which is well established and organized and has very high security. Our account will be at the lowest level of service, which has no fee other than the per-transaction costs, which are 2.5% plus 30 cents. It will accept payments via PayPal, ApplePay, Google, and Venmo. There will be an administrator on the account, and other members will have read access. Chuck has a friend with the expertise to set this up. He said we will need to test the system internally before deploying it. Debbie asked whether it will send automated thank-you messages. Barb made a motion that we spend down the KHR Fund on KHR maintenance, and then close the account. Debbie seconded, and the vote was unanimously in favor. The members thanked Jim and Chuck for all their work in setting up the donation system.

Maintenance of Keyser St parking lot owned by Muster Field Farm (MFF) – Bonnie said she sent an email to Elly asking her to contact MFF about maintaining this lot. Elly replied that MFF has no interest in doing anything with the parking lot. She said the town needs a formal maintenance agreement in order to take over the maintenance of the lot, and that this would probably have to be voted on at Town Meeting. MFF is not interested in entering into a maintenance agreement with the town. The road agent refuses to plow the lot because of its poor condition. Wally said he thinks this is something the town should take care of, and he will talk to the road agent. He said it might just need a $300 load of gravel put down. Barb said that perhaps the town should take the lot by eminent domain.

Signed agreement with Sutton Ridgerunners (SRR) snowmobile club – Henry has the signed document and will file it. He read the list of agreed-upon maintenance obligations out loud, and Chuck gave their status. Culvert items A and B are done. Culvert item C was handled by clearing out the existing culverts. For item D, Aaron Flewelling used an excavator to grade and even out the gullied swale. Item E, brush cutting, will be done later in the winter when snowmobiles can access the trails. Chuck said he is satisfied with the work that was done.

Wetlands Review

Copies of two letters from NHDES to Peacock Hill Road LLC and Chuck Rose Inc regarding slash in wetlands on East Sutton Rd T/L# 01-173-097. File Number 2022-03035. The first was in regard to a Reported Alleged Violation, the second was a Letter of Compliance. A third letter, a copy of a Notice of Complaint Received, was received for the same property. File number 2022-03408. Wally said a Cease and Desist order has been issued.

Copy of letter from NHDES to J & R Sigua, 51 Penacook Rd T/L# 01-173-097 stating that a Standard Dredge & Fill Wetlands Permit Application was received and is administratively complete. File Number 2022-03327. Lynn said she talked to NHDES about the KLPA’s concerns.

Comprehensive Wetlands Training program for conservation commissions presented by the NHACC starting January 27^th and continuing for 6 more sessions into June. Several members are planning to attend.

Wetlands-related training sessions from LSPA at its Center for Lake Studies: Watershed Planning on Jan 18, Road Salt issues on Jan 24. Lynn is planning to attend these.

New Business

Warner River Protected Instream Flow Study Report Informational Hearing and Meeting – Debbie said the report relates to how NHDES wants to regulate the flow of water to the Warner River in times of drought, through releasing water through the dams on Kezar, Blaisdell and Todd lakes. There will be an informational session on January 24^th at 7:00 PM and a public hearing on February 23^rd at 7:00 PM. Both will be at Warner Town Hall. Debbie notified LSPA about it. She said that when the water level of Lake Todd has dropped, there have been problems with cyanobacteria.

Old Business

Review SCC Report for Town of Sutton 2022 Annual Report – Barb emailed her draft report out to the members for our review, and some changes were suggested at the meeting. Barb will update her report tonight and submit it to Elly.

Horse Beach Parking Plan Update – Wally said Peter Blakeman is working on a new plan. According to Heidi Thoma, NSIS president, the NSIS, the KLPA, and the town are all supposed to contribute to the maintenance of the parking lot. Wally said the road agent has not been plowing the parking area at the Kezar Lake Natural Area (KLNA). Lynn said that Alexis DelVecchio, a landscape architect, is drawing up a plan for that parking lot.

New KHR Trail Map – Chuck sent out his draft map to Amy Highstrom, Glenn Pogust and Anne Payeur and got their feedback. He will make a few more changes and then get it printed. This will be posted on our website, in addition to on the kiosk. Lynn will post a copy on her KLPA kiosk as well. The pdf file has geo-location info, so if people download it to their phones, it will show their current location as a dot on the map. Chuck said he will print out a map of Webb/Crowell to post on the kiosk there, as well. Wally suggested that these maps be displayed at Town Meeting, along with information about the KHR donation system.

Miscellaneous

Term Expirations – Henry said that the terms of three members (Henry, Chuck and Barb) are expiring this year. If they want to continue to serve, they need to notify Elly in writing of their intent.

NH Coverts Project – Henry said that the NH Coverts Project is accepting applications from new volunteers interested in participating in the 2023 NH Coverts Project volunteer training program. He said it is a wonderful program, and urged people to apply. The deadline is March 1^st.

Correspondence

• NHACC December eNews, with news from other concoms, training opportunities, grant opportunities.
• Email from Chris Guerrette offering to volunteer for trail maintenance at KHR and Maple Leaf trails.
• Email from NHACC announcing the Leave No Trace Land Manager Summit, a free virtual event on Jan 19^th.
• Letter from Friends of Mt Sunapee asking for donations and announcing the release of the film The Forgotten Forest Primeval. The members agreed to donate $50.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 8th, 2023, at 6:30 PM, at Sutton Town Hall.

Respectfully submitted,

Bonnie Hill, Secretary