Minutes
Town of Holderness, NH
Conservation Commission Meeting
November 14, 2006
Town Office
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m by Chairman Spencer.
PRESENT: Larry Spencer, Anne Packard,
Nancy McDonald, Janet Cocchiaro and Reggie Pettit
OTHERS PRESENT:
Anne Abear,
Municipal Secretary
MINUTES:
Minutes of the September 20, 2006 were approved as written. Minutes of October 10, 2006 were approved as amended.
PERMITS &
OTHER MATTERS:
1. Mr.
McLoud (Map 241 Lot 020) – Mr. Spencer read the
letter received from NH DES regarding the
minimum impact permit for this parcel. Mr.
Spencer indicated he met with Mr. McLoud to discuss what he would like to
accomplish at his property. The Board
will not take any further action on this issue and will wait for DES
to confirm the items required to be addressed in their letter have been taken
care of.
2. Mr.
& Mrs. Reynolds: (Map 221 Lot
006) The Board discussed the standard
dredge
and fill application that
according to a letter from NH DES has been
administratively accepted and complete.
The Board discussed a letter that the Commission drafted in which will
be sent to NH DES requesting they refuse the
request to issue a permit as this area is recognized by the Town of Holderness
as a seasonally flooded area (as many as six times per year) and an important
groundwater recharge area. The area is
within the Squam Lake
watershed and within view of two designated scenic roads (Perch Pond and
Beede).
Further, a Blanding’s turtle was
discovered in the area of the proposed project.
This turtle was identified by NH Dept. of Fish and Game. The finding is noted to be the northernmost
sighting of this species in New Hampshire. Blanding’s turtles are rare and currently
endangered in some northern states.
Their preferred habitat is a wetland with standing water. The primary threat to this rare species is
fragmentation or complete loss of habitat.
Area residents report a vernal pool in the area of the proposed
excavation. On the maps prepared for the
Town by the Lakes Region Planning Commission the co-occurrence values in this
area are high.
The Reynolds’ application
addresses only a small portion of the overall wetland and does not consider the
impact on the wetland as a whole or areas downstream. The Commission believes that filling in part
of this wetland will result in increased flooding in the rest of the area and
damage downstream.
Anne Packard
moved and Reggie Pettitt supported sending the
letter to NH DES regarding the Reynolds
property as presented. Vote was
unanimous (5-0) Motion passed.
3. Mr.
Spencer recommended the Conservation Commission
consider meeting with the Planning Board in
the near future to review the Zoning Ordinance.
4. Mr.
Spencer acknowledged receipt of a memorandum from Town Administrator Walter
Johnson dated 11/13/06
regarding intent to cut notifications and the law that must be followed by the
Board of Selectmen regarding the issuing of the permits.
5. Mr.
Spencer discussed an email that was forwarded to all members from Earl Hansen and
the Waukewan Watershed which is the Town of Meredith’s
drinking water source. The article
addressed the concern of oil storage containers. Mr. Spencer will request this article to be
placed up on the Town’s website.
UPCOMING MEETING:
1. November 18, 2006 – rivers
meeting in Concord at DES
OLD BUSINESS
1. Butternut
Lane – Mr. Spencer advised he received notification from Mr. Francesco
indicating the landscaping at the Angela Francesco property on Butternut
Lane has been appropriately covered and seeded.
2. Pilote
Property Progress – Mr. Pettit will discuss this further at a future
meeting.
3. Moose
Grant Application - Mr. Spencer announced that it is too late this year to
submit for this grant, but he has been in communication with Stacey Luke of the
Squam Lakes Association who recommends the funds be used in the future to
locate all vernal ponds. The Board felt
this to be a great idea for the funds and an inventory should be established. Mr. Spencer also discussed marking the
locations of the Town’s conservation land by purchasing signage.
4. GIS
Program update – Mr. Pettit discussed the involvement that the Holderness
School is hoping to have with the GIS
program. Mr. Pettit has purchased a
school and library license for the current program being used by his
organization. Mr. Pettit advised Mr. Johnson is checking into a lease of
license that could be used for cooperative purposes. Mr. Spencer recommended the park near the Holderness
Prep School be the first area to be
reviewed with the new software.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Report
of the NHACC Meeting of 11/4/06
Mr. Spencer indicated the meeting
was the best meeting that he has attended in quite some time and gave the Board
an overview.
2. PSU
Meeting of 11/8/06 Mr. Spencer discussed the proposal of PSU for
an all well center that will be located within the current field house and
along River Street. The renovated facility and new addition will
encompass a skating rink, new pool and other wellness activities that will be
available for the community.
3. Pilote
Forest: Mr. Spencer discussed the meeting to be held
between himself and Mr. Tom Stepp on the Pilote
Forest on Friday, the 17th
of November.
4. 2007
Budget: Mr. Spencer reviewed the
current expenditures for the year 2006 and made a proposal for the 2007 budget
for the Board to review. Anne
Packard moved, Janet Cocchiaro supported and the vote was
unanimous to request the amount of $2,950 for the year 2007 budget for the
Holderness Conservation Commission. Mr. Pettit discussed adding additional funds
to the Conservation Commission budget to
assist in the GIS program being
developed. Mr. Spencer advised he would
speak with Walter Johnson to see if additional
funds needed to be added to the conservation budget for that purpose.
Members of the Board discussed the
land use change tax revenues which are scheduled to go into the capital reserve
account designated for the year 2007.
The Board encouraged the Selectmen and the Town to follow through with
this appropriation. Mr. Pettit discussed
using the funds within the capital reserve account to educate the
community.
OTHER BUSINESS
1. NE
Storm Water Technology Workshop: Mr. Spencer discussed a show in Massachusetts
entitled NE Storm water Technology Workshop scheduled for December 13, 2006.
2. Conservation
Signage: Ms. McDonald discussed the
need to clean and straighten the E. Holderness Road
sign. The Board requested Ms. McDonald
contact Peter Furmanick to see if this could
be taken care of by the highway department.
ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Spencer moved and Mr. Pettit supported
adjourning the meeting at 8:25 p.m. Vote was unanimous (4-0)
Respectfully submitted,
Anne M. Abear
Municipal Secretary