Sutton Conservation Commission (SCC)

DRAFT Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

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

Absent: Jim Morris.

Members of the public present: Ken Milender, Joanna Murphy.

Call to order: Henry Howell called the meeting to order at 6:32 pm.

Previous Meeting’s Minutes:  The minutes from the last meeting on August 9^th were unanimously approved.

Financial Report:

Debbie sent out a financial report before the meeting. We had no expenditures in August, and she urged everyone to submit their bills. There is $6,051 left in the admin budget. The Conservation Fund had a balance of $200,426.69 at the end of July. The King Hill Fund had a balance of $1,605.87. The TD Bank Donation Fund has $101.13. The Capital Reserve is at $69,088.00.

The budget requests for 2023 are due 9/22. As usual, all of our expenses will be coming due at the end of the year. This includes mowing and plowing. Mowing will be done every year, except when circumstances prevent it, such as a wet fall. Henry said we haven’t done much for Special Projects this year. Chuck suggested we figure out what is needed for Special Projects and then ask for the remainder for Mowing and Plowing. So far $720 has been spent this year on plowing.

Trail Maintenance and Development

Trails Advisory Committee Report

KHR donation system – Chuck reported that he created a Blackbaud developer account, built an app, and linked it up. It can pass keys back and forth. Now he needs to work with Hilary Grimes to connect to the town website. The program uses an iFrame and is very high security, so there is no need to worry about breaching the town’s data. In answer to a question from Debbie, Chuck said the donations will be seen in the Blackbaud account, and reports can be run from there to get the banking data. He said there will be work to do to set up the administrative infrastructure.

Wetlands Review

Appointment at 7:00 PM: Chad Poland of Michie Concrete Products LLC, to discuss the bridge replacement on Keyser St. Mr. Poland sent us the plans in advance, and passed around a copy to look at. He said they follow what the NHDES requires, striving for minimal impacts and cost effectiveness. Henry asked if the culvert will be installed so as to allow fish passage. Mr Poland said the bridge will be replaced with a concrete box culvert with an open bottom, while the original culvert has a closed bottom. The footings will be buried. Chuck said that from a wildlife standpoint, the open bottom is preferable. Mr. Poland said the stream was surveyed two months ago and contained 6 to 8 inches of water. He said the culvert has been repaired but is failing. Wally added that a de-watering process will be used to keep the work area dry, with a dam and a pump on each side. Water will be pumped back into the lake, after being held in a settlement basin. The road will have to be closed for about two weeks, but if the culvert failed, that closed period would have been much longer. Some small trees 4 to 6 inches in diameter will need to be cut at the head of the culvert. Don asked if there would be signage in advance about the road closure and the answer was yes. Wally made a motion that the SCC accept the plan as presented, and Debbie seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. Henry signed the permit application on behalf of the SCC.

 

Discussion of prime wetlands designation for the Town of Sutton – Barb prepared a report describing the meaning and significance of Prime Wetlands, and detailing what the process would be if the Town wanted to pursue such designation. It would be a lengthy and costly process. For ecologically significant wetlands, this would be worthwhile, but Barb found in her research that the DES wetlands rules were re-written several years ago, and the protections afforded prime wetlands were weakened. She also consulted with Sandy Crystall, chair of the Bow Conservation Commission, who worked in the DES Wetlands Bureau for many years, and concluded that a prime wetlands designation would not result in measurably better protection for a significant wetland. Given the time, effort and money needed to obtain such a designation, she would not recommend that the Sutton Conservation Commission initiate that process. She pointed out that we already have a 75 foot wetlands buffer in our own town ordinances.

 

Review of Intents to Cut and Logging Issues

• P. Troup and J. Ray, French Rd, 45 acres out of 49, T/L# 9-077-141, Lucas Bevins, logger. No wetlands except at SE corner of parcel.
• Copy of letter from NHDES regarding Forestry Statutory Permit-by-Notification for P. Troup on French Rd, T/L# 9-077-141. Work may commence.
• Copy of letter from NHDES regarding Forestry Statutory Permit-by-Notification for Greatwoods on Eaton Grange Rd, T/L#3-329-058. Work may commence.

   

Appointment at 7:15 – Andy Deegan of the ASLPT, to discuss their Conservation Plan. Andy reminded us that he had met with us before to discuss this, and that it is now a finished product. In accordance with the Land Trust Alliance, ASLPT has a “30 by 30” goal: to conserve 30% of the land within its area by 2030. They are concentrating on three towns that are short of that goal, and one of them is Sutton. They would like us to come up with a plan to identify landowners who might be interested in putting their land into conservation, either through a sale or an easement. Wally said it is important to educate people, and let them know that they can still use their land for logging and agriculture even with a conservation easement. Andy said it is important to establish relationships with people. The goal is for them to feel good about the decision to conserve their land. Joanna Murphy asked if the ASLPT was looking at specific types of land, such as wetlands and wildlife corridors. Andy said they use a co-occurrence map, which is a way of consolidating a whole list of criteria such as unfragmented forest, good soils, etc, and producing a map that shows all of those criteria in the form of data layers. The darker the color on the map, the more criteria that piece of land fulfills. This is the science-based part of the process. The other part is human input, based on what we feel are important pieces of land. Henry described a couple of land parcels that he recommended looking into. He asked about how landowners can divide their land when they actually live on it. Andy said that a couple of acres where a house is situated can be left out of the easement. A survey is necessary to do this. He said public access to conserved land is part of the conversation to have with the landowner. Conserving land protects the public benefit of the that land, but does not necessarily have to provide public access to it. Don said it has been a long time since we had a public presentation about conserving one’s land. He said we could invite some people to speak who have gone through the process. Andy added that it would also be good to talk to some second owners, i.e. people who bought property that was already under a conservation easement. He said the other aspect of these educational outreach efforts is to give people the resources to manage their land properly, even if they are not interested in conserving it. A discussion ensued about how to finance the purchase of land. LCHIP grants are very competitive and involve a lengthy wait before the money is received. The Conservation Fund provides loans that can buy time for an organization to raise money after a purchase. Wally said the question that always comes up regarding land conservation is the loss to the town of taxable property. Joanna pointed out that open space is more tax efficient for a town than developed residential property, because of the increased demand for community services. Barb said there is also the societal problem of not having enough affordable housing. The members discussed possible hybrid methods, in which a part of a large parcel of land could be conserved at the price of allowing some lots to be carved out for development. It was decided that ASLPT will hold a workshop for Sutton landowners in the early spring.

Don told Andy that he thinks we have missed the boat on an opportunity to create a wildlife crossing under Rt 89, with the paving work that is going on. Andy suggested discussing this at the next ASLPT outreach meeting.

 

Old Business

Update on road salt reduction – Debbie reported that NHDOT says they will hold the public hearing this month. .

Turtle Crossing Signs found – The turtle crossing signs were picked up and stored by Joanna Murphy.

Signage for Horse Beach pollinator gardens – The sign that Henry designed and had made has been installed by the flower beds. Signs will be added next spring to identify the plants.

New Business

House site development in Warner River corridor – Ken Milender is chair of the Warner River Local Advisory Committee (WRLAC). WRLAC assists local governments in land use and planning in the river corridor, which extends for one quarter mile to either side of the designated river. He came to ask if we knew anything about what was going on with a lot within this buffer. One of his river watchers reported that they saw a well-drilling rig and what looked like septic system installation at the site, with fill being brought in. Henry asked if people were allowed to develop land within that buffer, and Ken said yes, but it is important to monitor what is going on. Ken had asked the Sutton town officials for info but did not get any, so Wally said he would look into this and report back to Ken.

Status of town recycling committee – Barb said the committee met on 8/24 and some of the members visited the Warner transfer station afterwards. Warner has a compactor and baler and recycles certain plastic items of type 1, 2 and 5. A lot of work is involved, and it is not clear whether it is worth it. The committee members are researching various topics and learning about other options for reducing plastic waste.

Report on Kezar Lake Protective Assoc. annual meeting – Lynn said that Doug Darling spoke about Tucker Pond’s efforts to deal with cyanobacteria blooms. The pond has had this problem now for 4 years and property values have dropped by 25%. She said that Kezar Lake needs a Watershed Based Plan (WBP) to help prevent it from getting into this situation. A committee has applied for a state revolving loan to fund the creation of a WBP, and it looks like it will come through. This is a loan that does not need to be paid back. With a WBP in place, grants may be obtained to address sources of pollution in the lake. In answer to Debbie’s question about what cyanobacterial blooms look like, Lynn said it looks similar to a buildup of pollen at the water’s edge. Joanna said that cyanobacteria exposure has been linked to ALS.

Resignation of a valued member – Barbara Hoffman announced that she is moving away from the area and will be resigning from the SCC.

Correspondence

• Email from Town Administrator informing all departments that Hilary Grimes will be administering the town website and all posts must be submitted to her.
• Email from NHACC announcing the fall Lunch and Learn Zoom series.
• NHACC’s August eNews with news of other concoms, training opportunities and grant opportunities.
• Email from NHACC announcing that Good Forestry in the Granite State is being revised. Interested parties are asked to complete a survey to provide input.
• Lakeside, summer 2023 issue of the NH Lakes magazine.
• Letter from the Sutton Planning Board notifying the SCC of a public hearing to discuss a conditional use permit for a driveway on T/L# 03-022-098.

   

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:47 PM.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 11th, 2023, at 6:30 PM, at Sutton Town Hall.

Respectfully submitted,

Bonnie Hill, Secretary