Conservation Commission

City of Laconia Conservation Commission Wednesday, April 6, 2022 - 6:00 PM City Hall in the Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber Approved 4/20/22 4/6/2022 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Dean Anson called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm 2. ROLL CALL Lisa Morin, Robert Harrington, Deb Williams, Dean Anson, Mike Foote, Stacy Soucy 3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG The Commission saluted the flag 4. RECORDING SECRETARY Taylor Daigle, Conservation Planner Technician 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 6.I. Draft Minutes 3/16/2022 Mike Foote motioned to accept the minutes of the 3/16 meeting as presented. D. Williams seconds. All vote in favor. 7. OLD BUSINESS L. Morin requested that Lezama Family Happy Tails Dog Park, located behind the Province Street apartment proposal, be notified of the planning board process. T. Daigle will share contact information with the applicants. D. Anson discussed the master plan goals and requested that the climate change goal be moved to #2 due to its significance. D. Anson also suggested that we share maps and conservation project information with local groups, like the library and Taylor Community, etc. to keep the public involved and aware of our work. R. Harrington discusses spots in the Taylor Community where we could share information and S. Soucy recommends the mail rooms. T. Daigle will see who we can get in contact with and work on sharing materials. M. Foote discusses a trail system in the city and the use of bikes on the trails. L. Morin notes that we will need to consider who will be responsible for conducting and paying for maintenance of a comprehensive trail system. She suggests reaching out to Barbara Richter to get in contact with municipalities that have successfully implemented one and get their input on the process. M. Foote also notes that he will be attending an Outdoor Recreation Symposium this month and will report back to the Commission on what he learns. D. Williams discusses the Lake host grant application. We will hear in May about the grant. Both D. Williams and D. Anson have people interested in the job. 8. NEW BUSINESS  learns. D. Williams discusses the Lake host grant application. We will hear in May about the grant. Both D. Williams and D. Anson have people interested in the job. 8. NEW BUSINESS 8.I. Conservation Easement Acquisition T. Daigle gave a background on the property owner interested in doing a wildlife conservation easement within her neighborhood. D. Anson also discusses his conversation with her. The commission discusses the property and surrounding area, size of the land, and other factors about doing an easement. It is decided that it may make more sense for this to be some kind of non-legal agreement. T. Daigle will look into the possibilities of doing so and if any other communities have something similar. It could be something like an incentive of certificate for doing so. M. Foote discusses that the land north of the Pleasant St. School could be utilized as a conservation easement and open up grant possibilities for the school. It could also be a good place to designate as a wildlife corridor or trail system. T. Daigle will talk to the department about options. 8.II. Stream Restoration Discussion D. Anson discusses the relation between Patrick Black’s intern work and stream restoration across the city. He discusses the idea of damming the old beaver pond area east of Langley Cove in an effort to slow erosion and sedimentation in the cove. The commission discusses that a dam is a major financial and safety situation, and the city would likely not be for it. The alternative might be to contact a private company to evaluate areas on the Brook where we can add woody material to do the same work as a dam. 8.III. Earth Day 2022 T. Daigle shares the Laconia Links advertisement she made. It will be in the next few e-newsletters. D. Anson discusses the plan to help the middle schoolers with garden clean up on earth day. T. Daigle will contact the newspaper to discuss getting some coverage for the event. 9. NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES APPLICATIONS 10. OTHER BUSINESS T. Daigle discussed the VRAP sampling plan with the commission. Currently the plan is to sample 5 times from May to September. She will contact DES about the costs of adding e coli tests to our plan. The commission asks about deep water testing on Paugus Bay. T. Daigle has been in contact with Bob from LLMP about the process and attending our first sampling meeting to help train us. T. Daigle discussed the reconstruction of a retaining wall near Jewett Brook that the DPW director is working on. D. Anson suggests promoting shrub planting to homeowners in that area to help any erosion issues. This is closely related to Patrick’s intern work. T. Daigle will reach out to him and get preliminary maps to share with the commission. 11. LIAISON AND SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS S. Soucy discussed recent planning board meetings. There is the question of how applicants from a homeowners association should be applying to the planning board. It would be best for anyone in an HOA to get the associations approval for a development before getting city approval, as the association could deny the development no matter what. M. Foote discusses the most recent Master Plan Steering Committee meeting. DPW Director Wes Anderson spoke to the committee about their intent to increase density and reduce green space requirements in some areas. W. Anderson told the committee that it will be an expense either upstream or downstream from the changes and would ultimately impact the capacity of our stormwater systems. 12. STAFF REPORT  Anderson spoke to the committee about their intent to increase density and reduce green space requirements in some areas. W. Anderson told the committee that it will be an expense either upstream or downstream from the changes and would ultimately impact the capacity of our stormwater systems. 12. STAFF REPORT 13. ADJOURNMENT L. Morin motions to adjourn at 7:40pm. D. Williams seconds. All vote in favor.