Sutton Conservation Commission (SCC)

DRAFT Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Present: Henry Howell, Chair; Don Davis; Barbara Hoffman; Debbie Lang; Lynn Wittman; and Bonnie Hill.

Absent: Chuck Bolduc; Jim Morris; and Wally Baker.

Call to order: Henry Howell called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.

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

Financial Report:

Debbie sent out a financial report before the meeting. In June we spent $200 on dues for NHLakes and ASLPT. There is $6,680 left in the admin budget. The Conservation Fund had a balance of $199,393.77 at the end of June. The King Hill Fund had a balance of $1,597.60. The TD Bank Donation Fund has $100.60. The Capital Reserve is at $69,088.00.

 

Trail Maintenance and Development

Trails Advisory Committee Report

KHR donation system – There are no new developments.

Planning for trail cleanup & maintenance – Bonnie attempted to check the condition of Webb/Crowell yesterday and found that the trail was underwater. The Hominy Pot trail at KHR was also impassable due to water flowing over it in between the intersections with Lyon Brook trail. Penacook Path was in good condition up to the property line, but there was a lot of Oriental bittersweet on the slope. Henry is planning to brush-hog a path through it. He has compiled a list of trail projects which includes: cut a trail on Maple Leaf property, mow the Enroth/Lefferts parking area (Don still plans to do this), laminate and post Chuck’s trail junction maps at KHR, refresh maps on the existing kiosks, clear the cutoff trail between Penacook Path and the Felch Trail, hand cut saplings on King’s Run off the Nichols Trail (Bonnie will do when weather permits). Bonnie asked about the planned link trail along I-89, and Henry said it is mired in NHDOT bureaucracy. Don suggested that if the embankment from the Nichols Trail to White Rabbit could be smoothed out, it would make mowing easier. He said that his grandson went to KHR and found the gate unlocked, and that it looked like a dirt bike had been ridden in there. Henry said he would check it out. Henry said August or September should bring drier weather and make a Trail Day possible. We will shoot for August 5^th, with rain dates of the 6th and 7th. Bonnie will check Webb/Crowell and Enroth/Lefferts, and Henry will check KHR, for other work needed. Everyone will check the calendars for conflicting events that weekend and report back. Notices will be put in the InterTown Record. Lynn suggested doing a second trail day in September.

 

Wetlands Review

Appointment at 7:00 PM: Ryan Duquette, to speak about his expedited minimum impact wetlands permit application prepared by Aspen Environmental Consultants for T/L# 7-898-518, for driveway crossing from Rt 114. He wanted to get the opinion of the SCC before submitting the application to DES, so that it can be expedited. He said the entrance to the lot is directly across from the N. Sutton post office. There is an existing access road, and he was unable to find out when it was put in. He wants to build a house and septic system on the upland portion of the lot, and needs to widen the driveway and replace the 36 inch culvert with a 48 inch culvert that will withstand a 100-year flood. Henry said it is important that the culvert be installed in such a way that it is not perched, to allow fish passage. SCC members were able to look at engineering drawings from Aspen, which contained descriptions of best management practices for projects in wetlands. Henry read these requirements out loud. He asked about the use of silt soxx, and pump with filtration bag, and about the coffer dam and concrete headwall. The driveway may or may not be paved. Bonnie asked if there are rules about using asphalt paving in wetlands, and the answer is no, though the effects need to be minimized. Ryan said the driveway width is the minimum required for safety. Henry pointed out that even a gravel driveway can release a lot of silt into a wetland. Bonnie asked if the engineering firm would be providing oversight over the project, and Ryan said no, but DES would inspect it. He said the project would start next year, and the culvert replacement should take a couple of days. Barb made a motion that the SCC approve the application, and Lynn seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. Henry signed the application.

 

Copy of letter from NHDES regarding shoreland permit application received from Cerberus Kearsarge Real Estate Trust for a project on Beaver Pond Rd, T/L# 3-022-098, NHDES file number 2023-01669. The SCC does not have the authority to review shoreland permits, but Don said we have a moral obligation to watch out for possible harm being done to this extensive pond and wetland.

Report on NHDES proposed wetlands rules hearing of June 30^th – Barb attended this hearing and said the DES folks explained the changes to the audience. She said Debbie’s concern about a permitting change for docks turned out to be moot. The NHACC suggested that instead of removing permission for concoms to inspect projects, that DES add a box to the permit forms giving property owners the option of allowing concoms to inspect their sites, and Barb said DES seemed to like this idea. Barb submitted a letter with her comments, and she will watch to see what happens. The comment period closed on 7/10, and the next step is for JLCAR to comment on the proposed rules.

 

Review of Intents to Cut and Logging Issues

• None

   

New Business

Status of town recycling committee – Barb and Debbie advertised the formation of this new committee, and have received responses from several people interested in joining. The first meeting will be in late July.

Camp Wabasso – Henry said the camp is going to be put up for sale. Betsy Forsham sent him an analysis of the parcels owned by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, with their sizes, assessed values and lake frontages. There are 6 parcels. The one with frontage on Blaisdell Lake is assessed for $3.16M. Henry said there is a meeting scheduled for members of the Blaisdell Lake Protective Assoc. to meet with ASLPT and Jenn McCourt to discuss this.

Report from ASLPT outreach meeting – Barb and Bonnie attended since Chuck was away, and they are both willing to continue. Barb said she was interested to hear that Wilmot CC is surveying their town wetlands to determine if any should be designated as prime wetlands. Once designated as prime, a wetland cannot be developed. Barb is going to research this further and report back at our next meeting. She said it is a long process, requiring DES involvement.

Signage for raised garden beds at Kezar Lake Natural Area – Henry passed out copies of a write-up he did that can serve as the text for a sign next to the raised beds. It talks about why pollinator gardens matter and what plants are good to include. It acknowledges the groups that donated money and goods to make the gardens happen: Kezar Lake Protective Association, SCC, and the Kezar Lake Running Club. The sign will be metal and have white or yellow text on a brown background. There will also be small signs in the beds that identify the plants.

Kezar Lake Protective Association Annual Meeting – Lynn said this will be July 15^th. Speakers will include Doug Darling, who will talk about Tucker Pond’s efforts to mitigate cyanobacteria , and Joe Schmidl, discussing plans for dam management during extreme drought. She said that Joann Sigua has agreed to represent Kezar Lake in the NH Lakes Lake Advocates Network.

Old Business

Update on road salt reduction – Doug King of NHDOT replied to Jenn McCourt’s inquiry by saying that the public hearing has not been scheduled yet, as the Department is short on staff. He is hoping that they can get this scheduled within the next couple of weeks.

 

Meeting with ASLPT in September – Andy Deegan will come to our meeting to discuss updates to the ASLPT conservation plan.

Correspondence

 

• NHACC June eNews, with article about community solar power, notice of NHACC photo contest, news of other ConComs, announcement that work is beginning on a new edition of Good Forestry in the Granite State, grant opportunities, training programs.
• Letter from NH Lakes thanking us for the $100 contribution
• Letter from ASLPT thanking us for the $100 contribution, with a certificate.
• Letters from ASLPT with easement monitoring reports for town-owned land and for land for which the town is the backup easement holder. The town-owned lands were Enroth/Lefferts, KHR sections 1 through 4, Maple Leaf, Russell Pond, Webb/Crowell and the Bean Quarry.

  ASLPT asked the SCC to let them know about any plans to expand snowmobile access at the Bean Quarry, so they can monitor potential impacts. They also pointed out that the monitor for Webb/Crowell noticed a large pile of gravel in the parking lot.

  The private properties monitored included Emerson, Enroth, Putnam, and O’Neil. No issues were reported with these properties.

   

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 PM.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 9th, 2023, at 6:30 PM, at Sutton Town Hall.

Respectfully submitted,

Bonnie Hill, Secretary