Conservation Commission

Laconia Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes March 20th, 2019 6:00 PM Armand A. Bolduc Council Chambers City Hall, 45 Beacon Street East 3/20/2019 - Minutes 1. Call To Order Members Present: Chairman Dean Anson, Vice Chair Deborah Williams, Marnie Schulz, Michael Foote, Richard Christopher, Wesley Bates, and Lisa Morin Planning Staff: Evan Rathburn No members absent. There are 3 guests. No one is in the audience. Michael Foote arrives at 6:05 Wesley Bates arrives at 6:45 2. Review Of The Previous Meeting's Minutes L. Morin makes a motion to approve the minutes with amendments. D. Williams seconds. All in favor. The motion passes. 3. New Business 3.I. PL2019-0028CUP(Wetland) 575 Endicott East Jennifer McCourt from McCourt Engineer begins her presentation for 575 Endicott Street East. They are applying for a wetland CUP for driveway impacts to the 50-foot buffer around a wetland abutting the property. The commission asks why the applicant needs to move the driveway. Ms. McCourt states that the driveway is a very risky areas to turn into the property right now and is a danger to traffic and physical risks to vehicles with low clearance. D. Anson asks whether they have done borings to see what the materials underneath the ground for this property is. Ms. McCourt replies that they have not. D. Anson asks whether anything will be done to the existing two-story garage at the bottom of the driveway. Ms. McCourt says that there will be nothing done to that structure. R. Christopher makes a motion for the conservation commission to support the wetland CUP for 575 Endicott Street East with the changes/revisions requested by the conservation technician's comments at TRC 1. M. Foote seconds.  All in favor. The motion passes. 4. Old Business There is no old business to go over. 5. General Business There is no general business to go over. 6. Liaison And Subcommittee Reports 6.I. Milfoil Subcommittee R. Tilton, Chairman of the Milfoil Subcommittee, and Paul Goodwin of Watermark Marine begin their presentation about what the Greater Paugus Bay Watershed Association intends to do going forward. They are an association that was created out of the need to create a central group to help combat milfoil in Paugus Bay in parallel to the City of Laconia's efforts. They have partnered with the City of Laconia to help fund milfoil treatment, herbicide and DASH, and promote education and outreach in relation to all things going on in and around Paugus Bay. R. Tilton went over how much the organization has raised for funds to help the City pay for milfoil treatment this year and intends to continue raising money to have funds available next year too and the year after that. The GPBWA will be using a donation system on their website to generate funds through donations since they are a 501-c3. Donators would potentially receive a plaque from the City and GPBWA that is signed by officials giving them recognition for helping out. There are also some merchandise items that Mr. Tilton would like to have for the public to purchase and all funds will go towards the general fund for the group’s activities. L. Morin says that if the GPBWA needs more funds then they should also look at drinking water grants that the State of New Hampshire DES might have. The commission discusses which areas of Laconia to target for asking for donations/outreach with Mr. Tilton and Goodwin. Mr. Tilton also informs the commission that they would like to hold fundraiser activities and that the Margate Hotel will let them use their outdoor facilities for free to host these events. Mr. Goodwin states that they need to educate everyone about the long-term effects of not treating milfoil and treating it. There is also discussion about putting an article in the paper to help bring attention to the problem of milfoil in the lakes and how people can help fight it. E. Rathburn will draft up a letter and have the commission review it before sending it to the paper. Mr. Tilton also shows the commission the letter that Scott Myers received from him about what was done in the previous year to combat milfoil and all the associated statistics. There is discussion about launch ramps in the City and Mr. Goodwin says that he has given milfoil divers access to the lake from Watermark's launching dock. There is discussion about education at launching docks around the City for milfoil removal. The commission tells Mr. Tilton and Mr. Goodwin that if there is anything they wish to talk about, to have E. Rathburn put them on an agenda to come to a commission meeting and that if they need help then they would be more than happy to help with anything they can. 7. New Hampshire Department Of Environmental Services Applications 7.I. 18 Endicott Street N. The commission reviewed the NHDES wetland application for 18 Endicott Street North and has no comments. The chairman has signed the application. 7.II. Scenic Drive MBL 110-234-10  The commission reviewed the NHDES wetland application for Scenic Drive MBL 110-234-10 and had no comments. The chairman signed the applications. 8. Staff Report Staff had no new information to report. 9. Adjournment R. Christopher makes a motion to adjourn at 7:55 PM. D. Williams seconds. All in favor. The motion passes. The commission adjourned at 7:55 PM. 10. Non-Public Session (According To RSA 91-A:3, II)