Town of Sutton Selectmen Meeting Minutes

TOWN OF SUTTON

Sutton Conservation Commission

Draft Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Present: Henry Howell and Wally Baker, acting co-Chairs; Don Davis; Barbara Hoffman; Jane Williamson; Debbie Lang; Chuck Bolduc and Bonnie Hill.

 

Call to order: Wally Baker called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

 

Previous Meeting’s Minutes: Barb thought it would be helpful at the beginning of the meeting, and in the minutes, to say whether the alternate members were standing in for anyone and were thus able to vote. As there were no issues found with the minutes from the December 12th meeting, Henry made a motion to approve them and Don seconded. The minutes were approved unanimously.

 

Financial Report:

The SCC town budget report for the end of December showed an overrun of $352.26, or 6.37 %. The account with most of the overage was Special Projects, with some also in Dues/Conferences/Publications. Bonnie said she spoke with Elly about it and Elly said it was all right since other town departments had a surplus that made up for it. Henry said he and Elly were aware of the overage when he turned in his receipts, and Elly told him then that the money could be taken out of the LUCT fund. In light of what Elly said later to Bonnie, this won’t be necessary. Henry said he turned in receipts for $1,836 and Dan spent $1,000 on a steel gate and $100 to transport it, but this does not add up to the full amount of the overrun. Henry said we will need to keep better records henceforth.

 

Correspondence:

  • Letter from ASLPT with copies of 2018 Monitoring Inspection Reports for the Emerson, Enroth and Putnam properties. No issues were observed on the properties. Questions were asked regarding the location of the Emerson lot (off 114 near the New London line), who had done the monitoring (Marjorie Dorr, Dave Brazier, Dave Brazier) and what dates (11/7, 10/23 and 10/23).
  • Notice from ASLPT about the Coverts Project Training Program. Henry said this is a wonderful opportunity to receive comprehensive training at no cost in exchange for a pledge to give back 40 hours of advocacy work to the community. Applications are due March 1st. Both Henry and Debbie have attended this training.
  • Debbie reported that ASLPT will have one of their twice-yearly meetings of all Conservation Commission chairs on 3/28.
  • Henry had a message from Joy Kubit of Kearsarge Climate Action. Sutton now has representation and has been added as one of the towns in the Weatherization Initiative. Joy says let her know if we want a speaker about this topic. Wally asked if there was another program like this and Chuck said NH Saves is involved in the same program. It pays up to 50% of weatherization expenses, and he has personally benefitted from it.

Review of Wetland Applications and Issues:

  • Copy of Notice of Acceptance of Permit Application dated 12/17/2018 from DES for Shoreland Permit Application. File # 2018-03700 for 260 Route 114, T/L #02-663,478.
  • Copy of Request for More Information from DES dated 12/24/2018 for Shoreland Permit Application, File #2018-03700. More info needed to complete the review.

This is for the demolition and replacement of a house of Blaisdell Lake. Chuck said the permit did not come to us because it wasn’t expedited. Barb said she didn’t think we reviewed shoreland permits; only wetlands permits.

 

Review of Intents to Cut and Logging Issues:

  • None

 

Old business

Reviewing Intents to Cut – There was a question about this at our December meeting, and Elly had said there isn’t much we can do even if we suspect a wetlands violation. Don talked to someone from the Cooperative Extension about this, and he said Doug Minor at the Division of Forests and Lands is the person to call if we suspect something. Red flags would be things like: no wetlands permit filed, no forester, and a large wet area on the property. Doug has police power. Wally put Don’s name down as the person in charge of doing this. Wally also suggested contacting the BOS in this kind of situation.

 

Kezar Lake parking issues – Wally asked about the status of the draft letter that Don brought to our November meeting that he was going to send to the BOS. Don said the letter has already been signed by the SCC and KLPA, but before Heidi Thoma signs it (representing the NSIS) she wants to make some updates.

 

New business

Vote on new SCC chair(s) – Debbie made a motion to recommend Henry Howell and Wally Baker as co-chairs of SCC and Chuck seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. Wally said he may not be as conservation-minded as some of the other members, but he knows how to get things done.

Prospective members – Don made a motion, and Debbie seconded, that we appoint Amy Highstrom to the commission as a second alternate member. The vote was unanimously in favor. Don said Amy has researched who lived in the houses whose foundations are visible in KHR, at the time of the Civil War. Henry said he wants to have plaques put up by the cellar holes that contain this kind of information. Wally made a motion, and Debbie seconded, to promote Barbara Hoffman to the status of a voting member, and the vote was unanimously in favor. Wally still needs to submit a letter to the BOS asking to be appointed to SCC. Bonnie was asked to write to the BOS to notify them about Wally and Henry being elected co-chairs, and to recommend that they appoint Amy Highstrom to the SCC.

 

Annual Report – Barb gathered information and wrote a draft article for the Town Report, which she distributed to the members for review. She read aloud the changes that were submitted by some of the members, and the commission agreed that the document, as edited, was excellent. Barb will send it to Elly. Wally wrote Barbara’s name down on his list for doing the annual report from now on.

 

Review the draft DES wetlands rule changes towards submitting comments – Barb attended the meeting between DES and the NHACC about the new wetlands rules changes, and she reported that with the changes, CC’s will no longer be in the loop for many wetlands projects. Twelve new kinds of projects will be made eligible to be processed via Permit by Notification (PBN), and the processing time for PBNs will be cut down to 5 days, with CC review and abutter notice eliminated. Comments on the rules changes will be accepted until January 18th. Henry pointed out that some projects are more of an issue than others. Chuck added that CCs will still be reviewing the expedited projects. Don presented the talking points put forth in a letter from the NHACC to the DES. Barb explained that towns (the BOS) will still receive notice of wetlands projects, but the CCs will not. She said some attending the session suggested that certain types of projects, for example bank stabilization, be removed from the PBN process. She also said there is a bill in the legislature to allow the DES to increase their permit fees, which would provide more money for oversight, and we can comment on that as well. Henry said the simplest thing to do would be to send a letter to DES saying that we, as a commission, agree with the points in the letter from NHACC to the DES, and that we support them raising their permit fees. He asked Barb if she would write a letter to that effect, and she agreed to. Don said we used to be a lot more involved in the permitting process than we are now. He understands that this causes delays, since we only meet once a month, but there is something lost by not having this local oversight by people who know the area. Wally said, since the town will get notice of the permits, we can ask Elly to send us copies. Debbie pointed out that we can just look at the selectmen’s agenda when we get the email notification about it. Don asked Barb to say in her letter that we support the idea of having PBN applicants meet with the SCC as an alternative to doing an expedited permit. Bonnie was asked to monitor the mailbox more frequently to catch notifications. Henry made a motion to have Barbara write a letter to the DES and send it, and Don seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor.

 

Organizing ourselves – Henry said he will post agendas to the S. Sutton Post Office and Don will post to North Sutton PO. We need to post the agenda 24 hours in advance of the meeting, in those places and on the town website. Henry showed us the NHACC handbook, which he said is very good. If anyone wants to order one from NHACC, the $10 cost can be charged to SCC. He said having Barb watch over legal issues is very helpful, and Debbie has volunteered to watch over our finances. He said there is info in the handbook regarding this, and Debbie mentioned the recent NHMA webinar. Don will be in charge of publicity and community relations. Chuck will take care of arranging the mowing of KHR. Henry will continue to lead trail development and maintenance. Jane and Wally will collaborate on Kezar Lake parking issues. Bonnie is representing SCC on the Hazard Mitigation Committee. Henry would like someone to take on promoting photovoltaic arrays on town buildings. Every month people can give reports on what’s happening in their areas. Henry distributed a handout describing the duties of the SCC.

 

Updated 2018 Strategic Conservation Plan – Henry said at our next meeting we will discuss how to implement this. Bonnie will forward Dan’s final version to everyone. Henry read aloud some of the recommendations at the end of the report. He proposed that we invite Dan to the next meeting to talk about the report with us. Debbie mentioned that Dan had said he was going to present the report to other town boards, notably the Planning Board. Henry wrote a letter recognizing Dan’s achievements and thanking him for his work, and we all signed it. Henry will ask the BOS to sign it as well.

 

Chris Schadler’s coyote presentation with KLPA – Jane is aiming to have this on Friday, 2/22 at 7 PM or Sunday, 2/24 at 3 PM, at the Free Will Baptist Church in North Sutton if it is available. The cost will be split with the KLPA, and the total for the speaker’s fee, advertising and church rental should not exceed $200 for each co-sponsor. Ads will be placed in the Shopper and the InterTown Record, and Jane will also put up posters around the community. Wally made a motion to authorize SCC to spend up to $250 to co-sponsor Chris Schadler’s talk, The Real Eastern Coyote, with KLPA. Henry seconded, and the vote was unanimously in favor.

 

SCC Properties

 

Winter Trail Maintenance – Henry is planning to bring tools, including a chainsaw, to the Hominy Pot entrance at KHR on Saturday, 1/19 at 10:00. Anyone interested may join in. Jane will replenish the map supply at the kiosk. Jane sent Henry photos of debris on other trails that needs to be cleaned up. She said there is a big tree down at Maple Leaf, though the trail could probably just be re-routed around it.

 

Trail signage & kiosk design and construction – Henry now has all of the materials needed for building 3 kiosks (for Webb/Crowell, Maple Leaf and the Bean Quarry) and will be setting up a kiosk-building party at some point. Kits will be constructed, and the kiosks will be installed in the spring.

 

Winter Trail Access – parking for KHR – Bonnie was contacted by a town resident who hikes at KHR and would like to know how to access the trails in the winter, since parking is no longer allowed at the end of the plowed portion of King Hill Rd. Someone asked if the town can plow up to Maple Leaf, but the answer was no, since that is a seasonally maintained Class 5 road. The Angelis have “no parking” signs at the end of the plowed road. Someone said that the Angelis plow that road, not the town. Wally suggested we ask the highway department to plow out the Hominy Pot Rd entrance. He said we can ask Elly if we are allowed to park on the plowed section of King Hill Rd.

 

Miscellaneous – Barb said there is a guided tour of the DES GIS mapping system being offered Friday in Concord from 10 to noon.

 

Adjournment: There being no further business, Barb made a motion to adjourn, and Debbie seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 13th, 2019, at 6:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Bonnie Hill, Secretary