November 19, 2024 | Bonnie Hill Sutton Conservation Commission (SCC) DRAFT Meeting Minutes Wednesday, November 13, 2024 Present: Henry Howell, Chair; Debbie Lang; Don Davis; Lynn Wittman; Yvonne Howard; Joanna Murphy; Jim Morris and Bonnie Hill. Absent: Chuck Bolduc. Others Present: Judy Parkinson. Call to order: Henry Howell called the meeting to order at 6:33 pm. Previous Meeting’s Minutes: The minutes from the last meeting on October 9th were unanimously approved. Financial Report: Debbie sent out a spreadsheet before the meeting. Last month SCC Admin had $3,275 in expenses – $2400 for mowing and $875 for special projects. The balance of the mowing expenses ($575) were taken out of the Sievert Fund. There is $1145 currently left in the admin budget. Our remaining expenses for 2024 will include secretarial expenses, $100 for a GIS license, and $250 for NHACC membership. Here are the Bar Harbor Bank account balances as of the end of October: Conservation Fund: $229,173.02 (sum of all sub-accounts) Conservation Fund Unrestricted: $213,338.01 Sievert King Hill Gift: $14,724.91 Donation Holding Account: $1110.10 Capital Reserve: $79,649.59 Non-Capital Reserve: $1,000.00 Henry met with the BOS and budget committee and presented our revised 2025 operating budget. The total for next year will be $8,871. Mowing & Plowing will be increased from $3000 to $4000. Secretarial Services will be increased by COLA. Dues & Publications will be reduced by $450, and all other line items will remain the same. The budget committee has already approved $7,000 for the capital reserve fund. The non-capital C.R. will also be allocated $1,000. Trail Maintenance and Development Trails Advisory Committee Report Update on the KHR donation system – Bonnie reported that the town website committee has chosen a vendor to create the new town website, and this effort is already underway. It could possibly be done in a couple of months. The committee has been made aware that SCC needs to have a link to the town website from the Blackbaud payment service. Jim said he would contact Chuck to relay this information. Bonnie suggested Crispin Fletcher as a contact person on the website committee. KHR Penacook Path culvert rebuild/replacement – Henry said before having work done we will need an engineering analysis, since this culvert drains the entire Kezar Lake watershed, and we will need to write up a description that could be similar to what KLPA has written up for their Kezar Lake Watershed Plan effort. He asked Lynn what kind of parameters they had to submit in writing. Lynn said she would send Henry the RFQ that they prepared, and she would also forward to him the two proposals they have received so far from engineering firms. She said that although having the watershed based plan will open up grant opportunities for work like this culvert repair, it may not be timely enough, as this would be two years away. Renewal of snowmobile agreement – The agreement will need to be discussed next month, when Chuck is here. Henry said the biggest issue is to ask the snowmobile club (SRR) to put up more and better signage, to make it clearer while the snowmobiles are allowed to go. Jim asked if there is a way to get word to the SRR when someone has a complaint. Henry said Chuck keeps in contact with Aaron Flewelling, the club president. Volunteer Trail Maintenance at KHR – Lynn said Doug Hamilton is very interested in helping with this, but he needs someone to go out on the trails with him to show him where they are and what needs to be done. Henry said he would contact Doug. Review of Intents to Cut and Logging Issues None Wetlands Review Copy of letter from NHDES to C. Fox regarding a Documented Violation involving dredging and/or filling of wetlands on Roby Rd, T/L# 02-020-566. File number: 2024-02405. NHDES is requesting a restoration plan to be submitted by the property owner’s hired Wetlands Scientist, Aaron Wechsler of Aspen Environmental Consultants. New Business NH Wildlife Action Plan survey – Bonnie sent out a link to this as requested by Debbie, on behalf of ASLPT. She will re-send it, as a reminder to fill it out. Feral cats in South Sutton – Joanna reported that a feral cat with 3 kittens was living on the Wells property, and the kittens were sighted around the village. After many days of effort by Joanna and the Wells family, the 4 cats were trapped and taken to Pope Memorial animal shelter. The 3 kittens will be fostered together and should be able to be socialized. The mother cat will be spayed and released back in South Sutton. Unfortunately, there are other feral cat colonies in Sutton, and these have a huge negative impact on the bird population. Hazard Mitigation Plan Committee rep from SCC – Bonnie said she would serve, after having offered the opportunity to the other members. Old Business Status of dog waste station at KHR – Henry said he set this up himself, using a post inserted into a hole filled with concrete. He showed us a picture of the finished station, complete with signage. He brought in two boxes of plastic bags for refilling the dispenser and gave them to Joanna, who has volunteered to maintain the supply. Henry said it probably should be checked once a month. Update on Stockwell property donation – Henry asked Rick Stockwell about this, and they are still waiting for the surveyor. Property Reviews Camp Wabasso – Greg Gill was going to speak tonight, but said he would do so at a later meeting instead, since there are new developments with the property. Don said that he attended one of the meetings with Greg, and he discussed phases for the process. He wanted to get everyone’s vision for the 6 properties and their uses, and discuss how we would be involved going forward. Don said that if the SCC was asked to give money, his answer would be no, as our Conservation Fund money came from a good faith agreement that money from the land use change tax would be used strictly for conservation purposes. He said the Chandler Reservation in Warner is a good example of an organization that is managing conservation land and is not affiliated with the town. Publicity SCC-sponsored community presentation – Joanna read aloud her email exchange with Dave Anderson and Brian Hotz of SPNHF. The members thought Sunday afternoon would be a good time for a winter event. We discussed dates, and selected two alternatives that did not conflict with the Superbowl: February 2nd and 23rd, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, at Town Hall. Debbie said she would write to Andy Deegan, and Bonnie will write to Brian Hotz, to see if they are available on those dates. First, however, Bonnie will check with Julia Jones to make sure Town Hall is available. In past presentations, some townspeople spoke about their own experiences with conserving land, and we discussed asking Gerry Putnam and Andy Jeffrey to speak. Don said Ryan [Sheets] who has the Christmas tree farm on Shadow Hill Road would also be a good choice, since he is an example of someone who brought a property that is already under easement and would be able to give insight into that aspect of land conservation. Correspondence Email correspondence between Joanna Murphy, Dave Anderson and Brian Hotz regarding public presentation in January on land conservation Lakeside, newsletter of NH Lakes, Fall 2024 issue. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM. Next Meeting: Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 6:30 PM, at Sutton Town Hall. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Hill, Secretary
