Leverett Town Seal

Massachusetts

Leverett

Town of Leverett
9 Montague Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Town Clerk: (413) 548-9150
Tax Collector: (413) 548-9666
Assessor: (413) 548-4945
Town Hall Fax: (413) 548-1035
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Conservation Commission

Monday, September 10, 2018, 7:15 pm until 9:00 pm
First Floor, Town Hall, 9 Montague Rd
A meeting of the Conservation Commission

Meeting of Conservation Commission

Members: (Quorum)

  • Absent: Ralph Tiner
  • Absent: Jono Neiger
  • Present: Andrew Young, at 7:15 PM
  • Present: David Powicki, at 7:15 PM
  • Present: Isaiah Robison, Chair, at 7:15 PM
  • Present: Laurie Brown, at 7:15 PM

Also Present:

  • Chug Holmes (Laurel Hill Property Owners' Association)
  • Denzel Hankinson (77 Depot Rd)

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 7:15 PM

Meeting closed: 8:07 PM

  1. Meeting Preliminaries

  2. Continuation of Public Hearing for Notice of Intent

    • 7:20pm: Chestnut Hill Brook Impoundment - Dredging and Installation of Dry Hydrant (200-0188) - Laurel Hill Property Owners' Association

      General Discussion...
      As a bidding contractor for the project, Isaiah Robison recused himself from the discussion. David Powicki assumed the position of Acting Chair in his stead.
      The Laurel Hill Property Owners' Association has submitted an amended narrative for the NOI. The amended narrative removes the request to install a sluice gate, and instead includes information on the installation of a dry hydrant.
      Isaiah reported that he has not been able to find any regulatory information that requires dredged material to be dewatered before transported over public ways.
      There were not enough voting Commissioners to constitute quorum to deliberate on the filing. The Commission requests that the applicants provide more information on the installation of the dry hydrant, and recommends that they contact the local Army Corps of Engineers office to determine whether a filing is required.

      MOTION, moved by David Powicki, seconded by Andrew Young: To continue the public hearing until Monday, October 1 at 7:15pm. .

      Pass: Aye: David Powicki, Andrew Young, Laurie Brown. Abstain: Isaiah Robison. Not Present: Ralph Tiner, Jono Neiger.

  3. Public Inquiries

    • 7:31pm: Herbicide Discussion

      General Discussion...
      In July, the Select Board forwarded an inquiry from a resident concerned about the use of glyphosate in Leverett. The Board of Health and the Highway Department were invited to the meeting to discuss the matter.
      The Highway Department was unable to attend the meeting, but reported that "The highway dept. once in a while will use roundup, in an area we have to work that is infested with poison ivey[sic]. That is the only thing we use it for" and "We have not sprayed anything this year. We lost our employee who had the [pesticide applicator's] license, we have an employee that is getting one."
      As such, it is unlikely that the spraying that the resident was concerned about was related to the Highway Department's activity.

    • 7:52pm: Potential Eversource Easement in McIntire Conservation Area

      General Discussion...
      The agent drafted a memo expressing the Commission's disapproval of the sale of the easement, based on the lack of clarity under Article 97 regulations. David Powicki suggested specifying which existing ROW should be used by Eversource, and recommended that "utilize" should replace "consider" as a stronger verb.
      Denzel Hankinson expressed his approval of the memo. The agent will send this memo to the Select Board.

      Denzel also voiced a concern that the waterways on both sides of Depot Rd had developed a rusty color and gelatinous masses in the past two weeks. He has discussed the matter with the Board of Health, and is looking to get the water tested for potential toxins. The Commission does not know what could be causing the color, but suspects that it may be due to iron bacteria in the water.

      1. Memo_EversourceEasementProposal-McIntire.docx

  4. Administrative Matters

    • 7:34pm: Gordon King Property Mowing

      General Discussion...
      The Highway Department is planning on mowing the northern section of the Gordon King property this year. David Powicki suggested that we ask if they can also cover the southern portion, so that we can ask Rocky Adriance to focus on the areas around the bushes. The agent will follow up with the Highway Superintendent.

    • 7:35pm: Potential Commissioner Candidates

      General Discussion...
      Isaiah invited a potential candidate to the meeting, but s/he was unable to attend.

    • 7:36pm: MACC Fall Conference - Saturday, October 20 - Leominster, MA

      General Discussion...
      The Agent will plan to attend the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commission's Fall Conference. One of the workshops of interest highlights accessible trails.

    • 7:37pm: OSRP Updates

      General Discussion...
      The next Open Space and Recreation Plan meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 9/20 at 7:30pm. The OSRP subcommittee is working on the second draft of Section 4: Environmental Inventory and Analysis.
      Ralph Tiner is sharing a large dataset of wetlands GIS points from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The agent and Eva Gibavic are working with him to compile this data into maps and information that would be useful to the Plan.

    • 7:39pm: Projects without Certificates of Compliance

      General Discussion...
      Mark Stinson notified the Commission that DEP#200-0145 (2 Laurel Hill Dr, Peter Longiaru) was an incomplete file. A Notice of Intent was submitted for the construction of a home in 2005, but an Order was never issued. This is presumably because, during the permitting process, the applicants decided to move the home outside of the Riverfront Area. Work in the driveway would still have been within 200' of Chestnut Hill Brook, but David Powicki recalled that a driveway had pre-existed the filing.
      Since the property is likely stable, and it would be burdensome to re-open a case from 10+ years ago, the Commission will not pursue the closure of the file.

    • 7:47pm: Fund Transfers from MA DCR

      General Discussion...
      The treasurer notified the agent that the Town has been receiving transfers of funds from the MA DCR, but does not know why. The agent has been contacting the DCR to investigate what these funds are for.

  5. Old Business

    • 7:49pm: FRCOG Building Permits - 434 Long Plain Rd (John Warriner)

      General Discussion...
      No resource issues.

  6. Other New Business not considered as of the date of this notice

    • 7:50pm: Request for Certificate of Compliance - Access Road to Leverett Pond Dam (200-0187) - Friends of Leverett Pond

      General Discussion...
      Through Salvini Associates, the Friends of Leverett Pond have submitted a Request for Certificate of Compliance.
      The agent will set up a site visit with the applicants to assess the work.

    • 8:02pm: Agent changing office hours 9/17 to AM

      General Discussion...
      In order to accommodate a property monitoring on the Cave Hill property, the agent will change her office hours on Monday, 9/17 to 9:00AM - 12:00PM instead of the usual afternoon hours.

  7. Meeting Wrap-up

The listing of matters is those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.

Minutes prepared by Miho Connolly, Conservation Commission Agent

Minutes approved on Friday, Oct 5, 2018