Conservation Commission

City of Laconia Conservation Commission City Hall in the Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber Accepted 05/19/2021 5/5/2021 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Dean Anson called the meeting to order at 6:07 PM. The commission saluted to the flag. 2. ROLL CALL Dean Anson, Deb Williams, Mike Foote, Stacy Soucy. Staff in Attendance: Assistant Planner, Robert Mora. Recording Secretary: Mackenzie Theberge 3. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 3.I. Acceptance Of Minutes From April 7 D. Williams motioned to accept the minutes from the April 7th meeting. M. Foote seconds the motion. All voted in favor. 4. OLD BUSINESS 5. NEW BUSINESS 5.I. 808 Weirs Blvd (MBL 199-248-6) Applicants Kalyan Verma and Manish Arora both property owners and Brandon Gallagher of Blue Print Landscaping were present. B. Gallagher went over the plans. Currently, there are several impervious surfaces and compacted areas that are contributing to stormwater runoff. Aside from trying to develop the property to safely access it, they are also trying to address the issue of lack of infiltration. All impervious surfaces are being removed and replaced with a pervious surface as well as adding rain gardens and plantings. A total of three rain guards proposed their locations were sized through the NHDES. Introducing slopes of 8% so it is ADA accessible for wheelchair access. There are permeable that will still result in some runoffs. The rain garden that is closer to the shoreline is catching the water running off the bottom of the patio. The rain garden along the southern line will have drained directly to the primary resident. Another rain garden in the middle of the property addresses the existing motel. Proposed Cottages are going to be moved out of the 20 ft setback and the existing garage will be replaced with permeable pavers. Plantings are also to help the runoff. Plantings are introduced where there was no developed space. Reducing the impervious surface from 55% to 33% range. Shoreline plantings were specifically chosen for specific shoreline stabilization. They are sparing plants along the shoreline. Trying to keep the environment in mind while keeping the property fully accessible. There will be arborvitaes to provide privacy. Dead trees will be removed, and any other trees removed will be replaced to maintain the 25-point system through NHDES. Dogwoods will be planted for ‘wet feet’, Silk Sock to be planted for erosion control. The roofs of the buildings will be slightly pitched back east. The name of the business will be changed to Lakeshore Luxury Living and will be a year-round business as opposed to seasonal. Planning to do radiant heat for the winter season to reduce salt, to melt the snow in the walkways and parking lot as well. Will be changing from 200 AMP to 1600 Amp  There will be arborvitaes to provide privacy. Dead trees will be removed, and any other trees removed will be replaced to maintain the 25-point system through NHDES. Dogwoods will be planted for ‘wet feet’, Silk Sock to be planted for erosion control. The roofs of the buildings will be slightly pitched back east. The name of the business will be changed to Lakeshore Luxury Living and will be a year-round business as opposed to seasonal. Planning to do radiant heat for the winter season to reduce salt, to melt the snow in the walkways and parking lot as well. Will be changing from 200 AMP to 1600 Amp with Eversource and changing from propane to electric. Hopefully plan to have weekly – monthly rentals as opposed to nightly; there will not be a check-in, it will online. The commission recommends to add more plantings. Double silk socks, or include utilization of stump grindings with silk socks. The distance between silk socks will be left at the discretion of the Conservation Technician. D. Williams Motions to accept the plan, M. Foote seconds the motion. All voted in favor. 5.II. Rain Gardens Rain Gardens that were identified were right outside of City Hall and two at Robby Mills. One is in the fenced area on the northern end of parking lot there is a retention basin that has a raised drain, so the water does not come into the drain until it is two feet high and there is native vegetation growing in it. Fifty Irises are ready to be planted, plan to plant there and along the fence that is along the Meredith Center roadside. 5.III. Perley Pond Property Plan to determine where to plant Irises over on Perley Pond. There is a lot of pollution floating out around the edge of it, the city was out there with a Vactor truck to rake stuff recently and it should improve the situation. Plan to come up with a design of planting for Perley Pond. The city does plan to move forward with Perley Pond but it is not in the budget for this year but next year. The location of the wetland would be ideal for the Irises. Wherever they plan to plant will not interrupt the mowing. Stakes or plant markers will be placed for where they plan to plant. 6. NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES APPLICATIONS 6.I. 1345 Old North Main St NHDES Wetlands PBN D. Anson reviewed and signed the application. 6.II. 88 Morningside Dr NHDES Wetlands PBN D. Anson reviewed and signed the application. D. Anson mentions that they don't sand frequently, sanding can be done every seven years. 6.III. 1144 Weirs Blvd Expedited (EXP) Minimum Impact Wetland Permit Application D. Anson reviewed and signed the application. 7. OTHER BUSINESS D. Williams received $1200 grant from NH lakes for Lake Hosting at Opechee for this Summer to hire somebody there, as D. Williams is moving to Winnisquam. D. Anson called NH lakes to get clarification as to when they can start training and other information to supply, still awaiting a reply. M. Foote discussed observations made during a nature walk on his property. D. Anson and M. Foote agreed that atributary could be added behind the sewer pump station on Rollercoaster Road.  supply, still awaiting a reply. M. Foote discussed observations made during a nature walk on his property. D. Anson and M. Foote agreed that atributary could be added behind the sewer pump station on Rollercoaster Road. The Winnisquam watershed network has an intern that is available to us, R. Mora thinks when the city hires the new Conservation Tech, we can have them work together. They can be trained virtually or in-person to be able to use those meters. The acceptance of the data is up to DES. Winnisquam watershed network with EPA and DES have hired two consultants to do the watershed management plan for Winnisquam, there is going to be a public information session on the 18th of this month from 4:30 – 6 PM, that is open to the public live on Zoom. D.Anson will send the notification; you must register and there is a survey. There will be five breakout sessions: Septic systems, Stonewater management, municipal planning, land conservation, rode erosion, and other water quality concerns. There will be an opportunity for public comment. 8. LIAISON AND SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS S. Soucy attended the Planning meeting for 645 Union Ave, Cantin's, they are developing a parking lot for employees and are taking care of the drainage issues as well. 9. STAFF REPORT R. Mora explains that the planning board approved the expansion of the Historic District Overlay, which is going to go before the City Council. The Conservation Technician job opening for the city closes on Friday. 10. ADJOURNMENT M. Foote motions to adjourn, D. Williams seconds the motion. All voted in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM