July 17, 2024 | Bonnie Hill Sutton Conservation Commission (SCC) DRAFT Meeting Minutes Wednesday, July 10, 2024 Present: Henry Howell, Chair; Debbie Lang; Lynn Wittman; Yvonne Howard; Jim Morris and Bonnie Hill. Absent: Chuck Bolduc; Don Davis; Joanna Murphy. Call to order: Henry Howell called the meeting to order at 6:31 pm. Previous Meeting’s Minutes: The minutes from the last meeting on June 12th were unanimously approved. Financial Report: In June we spent 547 on secretarial services and $200 for membership dues for ASLPT and NHLakes. There is $3419 left in the admin budget. Here are the TD Bank account balances as of the end of June: Conservation Fund: $227,145.15 (sum of all sub-accounts) Conservation Fund Unrestricted: $211,920.18 Sievert King Hill Gift: $15,121.11 Donation Holding Account: $103.86 Capital Reserve: $79,649.59 Non-Capital Reserve: $1,000.00 Debbie reported that she met with Joanne Lord, the new Town Treasurer, who would like to move our accounts from TD Bank to Bar Harbor Bank, which is where the other town accounts are located. Debbie made a motion to move our accounts to Bar Harbor Bank, and Lynn seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Bar Harbor offers a higher interest rate, 3.4%, but it wasn’t clear whether this is a savings account or money market rate. The group discussed moving at least some of our money into a higher-interest-bearing vehicle such as T-bills or CDs. Or money market, which can offer up to 5% interest now. Short term CDs are at 5.4% and 3 month T-bills at 5.3%. Debbie will set up a meeting with Joanne to find out what the rates are that Bar Harbor offers, and to find out if Joanne would be willing to support us in using vehicles that require more maintenance, such as CDs that need to be renewed frequently. (By RSA, our accounts need to be handled by the Town Treasurer.) The group also discussed how much of the money should be moved, and there was a general consensus for having half of it in a money market fund. Trail Maintenance and Development Trails Advisory Committee Report Update on the KHR donation system – Jim has not been in touch with Chuck regarding this; the last he knew we were waiting for the link to the town website to be set up. Update on KHR Putnam Trail renovation – Henry said the Kezar Lake Running Club has put up flagging to mark the new trail route, and they are looking to get planks for bridges across some wet areas. He wants the access to the the Putnam Bridge on the Town’s side to be made more accessible, perhaps with a small boardwalk. He would like to see this done on a Volunteer Day. KHR Penacook Path culvert rebuild/replacement – Henry said according to Anita Blakeman, Penacook Path is actually a town road (Class 6), and a watershed study should be done before replacing the culvert, as there is potentially a tremendous amount of water coming down the hill. The Town does not maintain Class 6 roads. Lynn wondered if this might be a project suitable for a Moose Plate Grant. The culvert is in the Kezar lake Watershed, and she has asked Adam Hurst if he has any culverts in the watershed that might be eligible. Henry said he would ask Adam if he already has a culvert in mind, and tell him about this one. Either KLPA or the SCC could apply for the grant, as long as they have a specific project. Henry said the repair would cost at least $25,000, which is around the maximum for a Moose Plate Grant. Chainsaw authorization for volunteers – Henry tried to contact Cheri Birch at the NH Timber Owners Association to find out about chainsaw classes, but got no reply. Schedule Volunteer Work Day – Henry would like two projects to be undertaken. One is making the Putnam Bridge at KHR more accessible, and the other is a general trail cleanup at Webb/Crowell. The March snowstorms brought a lot of trees down at Webb/Crowell. Since there is no one else authorized to do the chainsawing, Henry will go there and cut the trees to the point where they can be carried off the trail by volunteers. People can also start working on the Red Trail. He suggested Saturdays July 20 and July 27 from 9 until noon, with raindates on the following Sundays. Publicity will be done by re-purposing past flyers and posting them around town, by putting notices in the InterTown Record, and by contacting the Friends of the Trail people in Henry’s Facebook group. Lynn said she would mention it at the KLPA Annual Meeting, and Jim suggested mentioning it at the picnic for town volunteers. Review of Intents to Cut and Logging Issues R Dwyer, Eaton Grange Rd, T/L# 01-247-514, 20 acres out of 27.3, Brian Caron logger. J Wells and S Claroni, Dodge Hill Rd, T/L# 04-323-231, 35 acres out of 41, Eric Oxman, forester. This had to be stopped last winter due to mud and will be starting up again soon. M & W Grimes, Kearsarge Valley Rd, T/L# 07-210-231, 21 out of 25.38 acres Wetlands Review None. New Business Old Business Update on Stockwell property donation – The Stockwells are still waiting for their surveyor. Dog waste at KHR’s Hominy Pot Trail and Penacook Path – Lynn said there is a sign at the Clark Lookout Trail in New London that explains how dog waste harms the environment, and she is going to take a picture of it so we can use similar wording on our own signs, to help educate people about this issue. Henry said that bag dispensers would cost around $150, and a roll of 2000 bags around $81. He made a motion that the SCC spend up to $500 on two bag dispensers, two bag rolls for each dispenser, and signage, out of the Expenses line item in our admin budget. Jim seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. We will also need signage about requiring dogs to be leashed on the Lyon Brook and Hominy Pot trails. 5 year review of SCC Strategic Plan – Since Jim has been away for a while, Henry explained to him what we have been doing with this. Members have been looking at the various data layers in the plan, explaining to the group what their significance is, and trying to determine whether they need to be updated. Jim said that anything we do should have some value and not just be an exercise. Henry explained that the results become our guide for conserving land. Jim said he would look into numbers 8 and 9 on Henry’s data layer list: drinking water protection areas and high quality stream watersheds. Henry said once you look at drinking water areas in town, then you can look at the state’s Wildlife Action Plan (WAP) to determine if any of these areas are under risk. He said Sutton has specific drinking water protection areas, at the schools and the golf course. Part of the aquifer under the golf course is protected by NH Fish & Game, but the other part is under threat of development. If we look into where our most important aquifers are, we may want to raise a red flag. The WAP is currently doing its own 5-year review. Report on driveway issue adjacent to our Russell Pond property – Bonnie said the issue is that an abutter’s driveway encroached on our property after the land was conserved. The landowner was told about the encroachment, and ASLPT has a record of this. The land has since changed owners, and ASLPT would like to know whether the Town has been able to get acknowledgment of the encroachment from the current neighboring landowner. Correspondence Email from Betsy Forsham informing us that Ernie Brake mowed the entrance at the trailhead for the Enroth Gift, and that she would trim around the sign herself if he did not do that part. Email letter sent to NH DNCR with comments regarding the proposed parking lot expansion at Mt Sunapee. June Enews newsletter from NHACC with info about photo contest, news from other concoms, grant opportunities and training opportunities. SRKG Summer 2024 newsletter. Letter from NH Lakes thanking us for our $100 membership renewal. Letter from ASLPT, with certificate, thanking us for our $100 membership renewal. Forest Notes, magazine of the NH Forest Society, Spring 2024 issue. Property Reviews – Henry Howell made a motion that the following discussion be conducted in a nonpublic session per RSA 91-A:3,II. The motion was seconded by Debbie Lang. A roll call vote was taken, with the following commission members voting Aye: Debbie Lang, Henry Howell, Jim Morris, Yvonne Howard, Lynn Wittman and Bonnie Hill. There was no one opposed. A discussion was then held. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 PM. Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 14th, 2024, at 6:30 PM, at Sutton Town Hall. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Hill, Secretary
