Conservation Commission

Laconia Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes April 24th, 2019 6:00 PM Armand A. Bolduc Council Chambers City Hall, 45 Beacon Street East 4/24/2019 - Minutes 1. Call To Order Members Present: Chairman Dean Anson, Marnie Schulz, Richard Christopher, and Wesley Bates. Planning Staff: Evan Rathburn. There are 3 members absent. There is 1 guest. Guest is Amy Lovisek from Laconia Parks and Recreation. No one is in the audience. 2. Review Of The Previous Meeting's Minutes R. Christopher makes a motion to accept the minutes of March 20th, 2019 as amended. M. Schulz seconds. All in favor. The motion passes. 3. New Business 3.I. Perley Pond Improvements Project D. Anson begins the conversation about the Perley Pond Improvement project. Amy Lovisek gives a brief recap of what has been done in relation to the oak in the past. An arborist drew up a report on the Perley Oak in August of last year. The report gives advice on how to prolong the tree's life. Pruning of some of the older branches is recommended to prolong the life of younger branches on the tree. D. Anson says in the past there has been some mention of ants infestation in the tree. D. Anson asks A. Lovisek if the arborist has seen any acorns in the past when visiting the site. She is not sure. A. Lovisek says that Tim Ford from Parks and Recreation will be visiting the site to see how to improve it. E. Rathburn also volunteers to stop by the site to search out for acorns. D. Anson says that the commission needs to see if there are any survey pins for the property lines for the Perley Pond property. E. Rathburn says that he has talked to an engineer at Public Works and they said they should be able to go out and do a survey of the site. A. Lovisek says that 3 of the sides of the property are enclosed by stone walls. D. Anson asks if T. Ford will be able to help with plantings on the property and A. Lovisek says that he will be able to since he has taken the Landscaping At The Water's Edge course. A. Lovisek says that she has concerns about the pond's expanding size and it's impact on the road. She says a retaining wall might need to be utilized in the future. D. Anson says that they should search out the source of the pond. E. Rathburn says an abutting wetland might be feeding the pond. He will go to the property and try to locate the sources for the pond. D. Anson would also like for the engineer from DPW to do a topographic survey of the site also. D. Anson states that there is a drain for the pond to help with overflow. M. Schulz says that the drain is on the side of the pond closest to Blueberry Lane. E. Rathburn will also check with DPW as  Laconia Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes April 24th, 2019 6:00 PM Armand A. Bolduc Council Chambers City Hall, 45 Beacon Street East to where the drain outlets. A. Lovisek suggests again that a retaining wall be installed to protect the road and will not impact the pond. This will help with road stability in case the pond expands to much. This is a proactive approach. She also says that T. Ford will look into plantings that will stabilize the bank but will not block the view of the pond. D. Anson says that they are not sure how much in the case of plantings can be done this year since it has been mowed down in the previous one. W. Bates wonders if they can drain the pond down lower. The conversation shifts back to the oak. D. Anson says the commission would like to rescue a seedling from the oak to preserve its legacy. D. Anson would also like to present the arborist's report as a recommendation to the City Council on how to proceed with caring for the oak. There are various comments on how to utilize branches cut down. D. Anson lists off what the commission needs to prepare for the City Council. He says they need a survey, a report for the City Council, and a list of plantings for the property. D. Anson also says that the commission will apply for a Wetland CUP from the Planning Department when they go to do work as to keep a level of transparency. A. Lovisek says that once they have a plan, then they should move forward with other phases of improving with the property. She also says that someone from the UNH Cooperative Extension should look at the plan to give advice. D. Anson has spoken to UNH and they sent him a list of landscape architects for the commission to use. D. Anson will send the list to E. Rathburn to have in his records. There is some conversation about a parking area for people who wish to visit the property since stopping right on the edge of the road is unsafe. The idea of asking the owner of the Beane Conference Center for a parking easement is floated. There is talk of using plantings to help with erosion from road runoff into the property. A. Lovisek will acquire a cost estimate for how much it would be for DPW to lower the drain in the pond. R. Christopher also thinks the commission should take the photos the arborist has of the oak with what branches need to come off and have them photoshopped to see what it would look like without the branches. The commission thinks this is a good idea. A. Lovisek and the commission both agree that before any progress is made, they should see the edited photos and let the City Council decide what to do. A. Lovisek lists off what she will need to do once she leaves the meeting. She will get a cost estimate to see how much it is to lower the drain and to trim the tree, have T. Ford go to the site, locate a landscape architect, and will have the arborist come back to the site to look at the tree again and take pictures of the tree and edit the photos to show the branches selected gone. D. Anson would also like for T. Ford to identify invasive on the site while he is there and what his opinion of having a retaining along the road would be. 4. Old Business 4.I. Conservation Easements Monitoring Walks The commission has tabled this subject until all members are present. 5. General Business 6. Liaison And Subcommittee Reports There are no reports from the commission subcommittees. 7. New Hampshire Department Of Environmental Services Applications There are no applications for the commission to review. 8. Staff Report E. Rathburn informs the commission that there is a Lay Lakes Monitoring Conference is taking place at the Squam Lakes Association in Holderness on June 20th, from 9 AM to 4 PM.  Laconia Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes The motion passes. April 24th, 2019 6:00 PM 10. Non-Public Session (According To RSA 91-A:3, II) Armand A. Bolduc Council Chambers City Hall, 45 Beacon Street East E. Rathburn has spoken with finance department about what commission accounts can be rolled over. None roll over automatically, but they can be manually rolled over with the City Manager's permission. This is usually done for large projects. E. Rathburn also informs the commission that there is some interest in connecting the WOW Trail to Ahern State Park and partnering with the commission to accomplish this. 9. Adjournment M. Schulz makes a motion to adjourn at 7:16 PM. R. Christopher seconds. All in favor.