APPROVED 10/10/2012
Sutton Conservation Commission
Meeting Minutes
Wednesday September 12, 2012 @ 6:30 p.m.

Present: Present: Betsy Forsham; Chair, Garrett Evans, Rachel Rupple, Don Davis and Jean LaChance. (Gerry Putnam, Ben Dobrowski, Ricia McMahon and Ron Murray were absent.)

6:30 p.m. Betsy called the meeting to order.

Previous Meeting Minutes:
A motion was made by Garrett and seconded by Jean to approve the minutes of August 8, 2012 as written. Unanimously approved.

Financial:
The Town account, as of the end of August, was $2,161.68, which is 74.28% of the budget. There were expenditures for postage for the educational program. The Conservation Account was $96,752.94, the KHR Fund $10,208.13, for a total in the Conservation Fund of $106,961.07. The LUCT check for $ 8,700 has been credited.

The 2013 budget proposal was discussed. The mowing grants are no longer available which will add to the budget. It was suggested the expenses could be increased by $500 to offset this. Betsy will make the current budget figures available to everyone which the Board will then review for the next meeting.

There is a bill for $2,520 for mowing at the KHR. A motion was made by Garrett and seconded by Jean to expend $300 from the Town expense account to pay for the mowing. Unanimously approved. The rest will come from the KHR subaccount of the Conservation Fund.

Correspondence:
– A resignation letter was received from Ron Murray, dated 09/09/2012. Betsy read the letter. Betsy will offer the open position to Ben.
– A public hearing notice for the Trinity Bible Church for a site plan review with the Planning Board on September 25th.
– A UNH invitation for wildlife map assistance, “Taking Action for Wildlife”. The deadline is September 14th.
– Misc.

Wetlands:
None.

Intents to Cut:
Tom and Kathy Brown, Dodge Hill Road, 15 of 85 acres. Tom is the logger. T/M 04-311,348. There are no issues.

Walt and Vicki Simonds, Route 114, 3 of 4 acres. Adam Mock is the logger. T/M # 09-861,131.

Ted Blachly, Birch Hill and Harwood Roads, 15 of 20 acres. The logger is Paul Mulcahey. Ben investigated and all looks good. T/M # 01-478,395.
Wells/Claroni, Dodge Hill Road, 15 of 46 acres. Allan Oxman of Granite State Forestry Services is the logger/forester. T/M # 04-437,367. This is one of the Wells parcels with a conservation easement on it. It is required to have a management plan and the grantor must inform the easement holder 30 days prior to a cut. Betsy called Jodi Wells to discuss. Betsy found the old management plan done by Steve Lord for George Wells which she passed along to the Oxmans. It has been updated and the cut is underway. The plan will be further updated to reflect a few patch cuts which the owners have requested.

Old Business:
Betsy reported on the educational program presented by Eric Johnson, matching the best logging tools with the goals and objectives of the woodlot, that was held on September 5th. The attendance was good with 25 people, and lots of positive feedback was received..

Betsy noted that Gerry Gagnon has done a nice job mowing the Enroth Gift property. Don reported that he found wire coming out of the ground there which might present a hazard and will look into it further.

There was a report of illegal ATV use on Pound Road. The Police will take care of this.

New Business:
There was a land purchase inquiry requiring no action on the SCC’s part at this time.

SCC Properties:
The mowing on KHR is all done. Dave Carey and Jay Lyon and were the mowers. It took them two days and 36 hours at $70 per hour. Betsy said she already received positive comments about the work. She’ll go look at some of the trails soon.

The warming hut on KHR has become an issue and needs to be demolished. Chipper Rowe might be in the area and may be interested. Don will check with him. Don will also talk to Tom Paul.
A motion was made by Rachel and seconded by Jean to authorize Don to expend up to $300 from the Town expense account for the demolition of the warming hut on KHR. Unanimously approved.

The sign for the Maple Leaf Natural Area will not be made until late fall or next spring. It therefore will not be erected this year. The Board would like to go ahead with a press release. Rachel will make a draft for the next meeting.

Betsy reported she spoke with Seth Benowitz regarding sign making. He can use any wood and he is willing to try large letters freehand. Don will look at the details of existing signs and relay the information to Seth. Betsy will send Don Seth’s email address.

Nothing new has been done to the knotweed at the Sundell location, but Rachel will be going over Friday or Saturday to take some of the cut stalks which have tried to re-sprout to the dump.

Garrett reported he spoke with Kevin Rowe regarding steel trusses for the bridge at the

Webb/Crowell property. Kevin has a couple of names to inquire about. Chipper Rowe has some trusses but they may not be long enough or strong enough.

Betsy said the tree marking paint is in.

Betsy reported Matt Tarr would be happy to walk the Russell Pond field to assess it for bird habitat. A date is tentatively set for Wednesday October 10th at 2 p.m. Betsy will email the Board when it is confirmed. All are welcome to come.

Betsy called Chris St. Cyr who confirmed the 250 hay bale figure.

8:30 p.m. A motion was made by Garrett and seconded by Jean to adjourn the meeting. Unanimously approved.

Respectfully submitted,

Jennifer Swett
Secretary