Conservation Commission

3/26/2018 3/21/2018 - Minutes CITY OF LACONIA CONSERVATION COMMISSION MEETING 45 BEACON STREET EAST 3/21/2018 - Minutes 1. Call To Order Chairman D. Anson calls the meeting is called to order at 6:00 PM. Members present: D. Anson, D. Williams. R. Christopher, L. Morin Late members: M. Foote (M. Foote arrives at 6:10 PM after minutes have been accepted and a motion made) There are currently no alternates. Staff/Recording Clerk present: E. Rathburn There are no guest or members of the audience present 2. Pledge Of Allegiance/Handicap Exits/Silence Cell Phones 3. Establish A Quorum A quorum was established with all members present. 4. Review Of The Previous Meeting's Minutes L. Morin makes a motion to accept the minutes as presented. D. Williams seconds the motion made to accept the minutes as presented. All In Favor: Aye: 4 Nay: 0 The motion carries. 5. Old Business 5.I. Milfoil Management E. Rathburn gives an overview of what he discussed with the City Manager and where the current milfoil treatment effort is. The upper parts of Paugus Bay (Pickerel Cove and Moulton Cove) has been selected for herbicide treatment by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) along with select spots for DASH (Diving) to eradicate the milfoil that is currently located in those areas along with some work being done in Langley Cove near Christmas Island. The amount of grant money that the City of Laconia has received from NHDES is less than previous years because price of services for milfoil removal has increased and NHDES needs to spread the funds over the entirety of the state. D. Williams inquires whether any work will be done in Lake Opechee and E. Rathburn answers that no work has been predicted for that body of water. E. Rathburn explains what areas will be receiving what work along with what the prices for the work will be. D. Anson asks about Spinnaker Cove and E. Rathburn explains that might be a possibility for work to be done there. L. Morin explains that Spinnaker Cove has been hesitant in the past when approached about funds. She also says that it would be a good idea to visit some of the marinas and discuss funding with them. https://www.laconianh.gov/AgendaCenter/GenerateMinutesFile?id=509&agendaID=658 1/3 3/26/2018 3/21/2018 - Minutes D. Anson says that he will speak with Scott Myers about control around Lake Winnisquam. S. Myers states that he will entertain the idea of funds being used for Lake Winnisquam and will speak with the City Council about it. 5.II. Water Testing For Lakes And Tributaries D. Anson states that NHDES and Pat Tarpey have coordinates for water testing that was done last year and that he will ask for the coordinates for lake and tributary sampling. He says he will forward the coordinates to E. Rathburn. D. Williams asks whether the equipment for testing will need to be calibrated at NHDES and E. Rathburn says that it should still be accurate since it was not used last Autumn. D. Williams also tells E. Rathburn to keep an eye out on the NHDES website for VLAP and VRAP classes in the future. 5.III. Brownfields Sites D. Anson states that the LRPC has Brownfield money for sites that are contaminated with petroleum. E.Rathburn has compiled a list of possible sites and requests that anyone that has any additional sites to send them to him so he can compile a list and send it to Jeff Mayes at LRPC. The subject of the State School is brought up and D. Anson informs the commission that there is a separate investigation of contamination for that property. 5.IV. Lake Hosts D. Williams informs the LCC that the Lake Host grant has been applied for the Opechee Ramp. The qualifications for Lake Host has been changed. There are co-point people now involved along with a data personnel position. 5.V. Interns For Projects Discussion commences about hiring interns for the LCC activities. The subject of having a part-time person or a full-time person is debated. D. Anson is going to contact the Center For The Environment at Plymouth State University to see if they have any environmental students who would be interested in interning. D. Anson stated that if the WWN acquires grant money then they will coordinate with LRPC to fund an intern. 6. New Business 6.I. Black Brook Candidate Sits For Habitat Improvement D. Anson gives a recap of what was gone over at the Stream Restoration Workshop in Meredith. D. Anson spoke with Colin Lawson at the workshop and discussed using woody debris to improve parts of Black Brook and prevent erosion etc. C. Lawson stated that he is available for this project. D. Anson asks whether the Black Brook Study is available on the City's website. E. Rathburn states that it should be but if it is not, then he will add it to the LCC page. D. Anson will contact DES to see if the City can acquire the funds from the DES ARM fund that was stated by a developer in the past to be used for wetland projects in Laconia instead of being put into the ARM fund. 6.II. Woody Debris Rehab See above section. 6.III. Durkee Brook Debris Cleanup L. Morin goes over an email that was sent by a concerned citizen about snow plowing dislodging granite slabs from the end of their street and the slabs falling into Durkee Brook. The citizen is concerned about flooding issues due to the location of the slabs. D. Anson and L. Morin took a site visit to the area in question. L. Morin has sent the email to Public Works and they are currently trying to figure out what/who is responsible for the movement of the slab. The LCC thinks that this could be a good time to educate the public about erosion issues when it gets to the point of resolving this issue. 6.IV. Garbage Recycling Discussion begins about the current state of garbage and recyclable removal. E. Rathburn gives an overview of the conversation he had with Ann Saltmarsh at DPW since she oversees the garbage/recyclable efforts in Laconia. There are multiple recyclable bins in Laconia. D. Anson will approach A. Saltmarsh with the concept of a garbage/recyclable subcommittee. The LCC would also like to explore the possibility in the future of https://www.laconianh.gov/AgendaCenter/GenerateMinutesFile?id=509&agendaID=658 2/3 3/26/2018 3/21/2018 - Minutes educational events/information about recycling. The LDPW site also has information about recycling on their section of the City of Laconia website. 7. Liaison And Subcommittee Reports There are no permits currently before the commission. D. Anson would like for E. Rathburn to invite the Code Enforcement and Planning Director to the next LCC meeting to speak about the Master Plan and milfoil. L. Morin informs the commission that there is a summer New Hampshire Farm To School and Sustainability institute coming up this summer for selected communities and Laconia is one of the selected communities. A team has been put together and will be submitting an application to the institute even. Discussion begins about the recent sludge subject in other towns. The LCC entertains the idea of doing research into the subject of sludge and maybe presenting their findings to the City Council. 8. Other Business The Laconia Conservation Commission will send their comments for the NHDES Wetlands Administrative Rules overhaul to E. Rathburn and have him send them to NHDES as a packet. 9. Adjournment L. Morin makes a motion to adjourn at 8:00 PM. M. Foote seconds the motion made to adjourn. All In Favor: Aye: 5 Nay: 0 The motion caries. https://www.laconianh.gov/AgendaCenter/GenerateMinutesFile?id=509&agendaID=658 3/3