Conservation Commission

February 13th, 2018 LCC Minutes CITY OF LACONIA CONSERVATION COMMISSION MEETING February 13th, 2018 45 BEACON STREET EAST Call to Order The Laconia Conservation Commission convened at 6:00 PM on the 13th of February, 2018 in Room 200A on the second floor of Laconia City Hall. The members that are present are as follows: Dean Anson, Deborah Williams, Marnie Schulz, Lisa Morin, and Richard Christopher. Staff present: Evan Rathburn. The commission has 1 member seat unoccupied. There are currently no alternates. There is 1 guest. A quorum was reached. New Business Weirs Beach Revitalization Project Update Presented by Kevin Dunleavy, Parks and Recreations This is an update session. K. Dunleavy gives an overview of what the Weirs Beach Revitalization project is to the commission. Photos of Weirs Beach over the years and sources to replenish the beach along with two reports on the revitalization project were passed around for the members to review. There is a link to the project on the Laconia Parks and Recreation’s project page on the City of Laconia website. Additional to the problem of the beach eroding away, the eroding sand has started to collect near the Naswa Resort and is causing boats to bottom out. Laconia Parks and Recreations has been working with New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to replenish the eroding sand that makes up the Weirs Beach located in the Weirs, Laconia, NH. A preconstruction meeting has been held with NHDES this previous December. The Army Core of Engineers is also being contacted to explore the possibility of working in conjunction with them to also fulfill the ACOE’s 10-year goal of the channel maintenance. D. Anson asks about whether the sand they will be using from local sources will be searched for Milfoil. K. Dunleavy says that the sand will be checked for invasive plant life but this project will happen during a narrow chunk of time. K. Dunleavy gives a brief history of Weirs Beach from when it was first constructed into the 1950s to the present. He also explains the hypothetical solutions to replenish the beach and avoid erosion. All this information is located on the Parks and Recreation’s city website page. R. Christopher asks whether a barrier out in the water could be a solution. K. Dunleavy answers that that has multiple factors that make it non-viable. R. Christopher also asks about a perched beach but K. Dunleavy says that is also not possible due to safety reasons. K. Dunleavy explains that NHDES is having them perform mitigation since they are indeed filling in wetlands with this project. An idea that has been proposed is to create a man-made wetland near the public docks and have local swales and outfalls that flow into the lake flow into this wetland and treat the water before it goes into the lake. There is currently no treatment for the outfall water. The LCC expresses desire to be a part of this project if it is utilized instead of the default option of paying into the NHDES A.R.M. fund. The LCC also would like to be a part of this project going forward even if it is just ears and not taking any actions. Page 1|3 February 13th, 2018 LCC Minutes February 13th, 2018 LCC Minutes Non-Public Session concerning land acquisition per RSA: 91: A: II (d)– (“roll call vote required”) D. Anson requested entering Non-Public Session concerning land acquisition per RSA: 91: A: II (d). A roll call vote was made with Dean Anson, Deb Williams, Lisa Morin, Richard Christopher, and Marnie Schulz all voting to enter non-public session. Mapping the tributaries of Lake Winnisquam Discussion begins about mapping where the tributaries of Lake Winnisquam. D. Anson would like to use the new GPS device to map where the tributaries are to have an idea of where the sources of Milfoil might be coming from. Milfoil in Lake Winnisquam Discussion begins about the current state of Milfoil of Lake Winnisquam. D. Anson has spoken with Amy Smagula of NHDES and she is going to be putting together the cost to treat the lake based on her data she took last Fall. D. Anson says that a tentative amount will be around $40,000. D. Anson lists of the towns that are contributing. Discussion takes place about only using money to treat Laconia’s shoreline for Milfoil or contribute money to treat other towns also. L. Morin has concerns about contributing money to other towns since the money will be coming from the taxpayers of the city. It is agreed that the city will only contribute money to their shoreline since the city has enough Milfoil to worry about along our shoreline and not concern ourselves with other towns. D. Anson states that treatment will be in September of this year and all abutters to the treated areas will be notified at that time. Black Brook Water Testing during Irwin Marine boat storage construction The engineering company, Dubois and King has requested parameters from the LCC on what to test for in the Black Brook during the boat storage construction taking place this year. After discussion it is decided that the two main things to be tested for will be turbidity and phosphorus in the water. NHDES Wetland Administrative Rules Overhaul E. Rathburn reminds the LCC that NHDES will be performing a major overhaul of their administrative rules to make the permitting process more streamlined and to consolidate some of the definitions they currently have. The LCC has been sent links to the drafts and the summary of the proposed changes. D. Anson also said that there will be a public input session on the 1st of March in City Hall, Room 200A that he will be speaking at that is open to anyone interested. Page 2|3 February 13th, 2018 LCC Minutes February 13th, 2018 LCC Minutes Liaison and Subcommittee Reports Milfoil Subcommittee No Updates Agricultural Subcommittee No updates Permit Subcommittee A permit submitted on behalf of the Laconia Parks and Recreations Department was submitted for review to the LCC. The permit is to rebuild/repair the retaining wall on the Winnipesaukee River between Church Street and City Hall. The LCC signed the permit with no additional recommendations. Other Business The Belknap County Conservation District is going to be holding a Stream Restoration workshop on the 14 th of March. NHDES will be partnering with BCCD for this event. They request that you sign up for the workshop through Eventbrite. The Lake Host grant information has been sent out and D. Williams is working on acquiring the money for Lake Hosts to be present at the Laconia public boat ramps. R. Christopher makes a motion to adjourn. M. Schulz seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM. Recording technician/clerk Evan Rathburn Page 3|3 February 13th, 2018 LCC Minutes