Conservation Commission

City of Laconia Conservation Commission Wednesday, June 15, 2022 - 5:00 PM City Hall in the Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber Approved 7/7/22 6/15/2022 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair D. Anson called the meeting to order at 5:06 pm 2. ROLL CALL Dean Anson, Deb Williams, Lisa Morin, Robert Harrington, Ruth O’Hara 3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG The commission saluted the flag 4. RECORDING SECRETARY Taylor Daigle, Conservation/Planner Technician 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Dean Trefethen, Planning Director Wes Anderson, DPW Director Taylor Daigle, Conservation/Planner Technician 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 6.I. Draft Minutes 5/18/22 D. Williams motions to accept the minutes of the 5/18 meeting with a few spelling corrections. R. Harrington seconds. All vote in favor. 7. OLD BUSINESS 7.I. Lake Host - Messer Street D. Williams discussed the Lake Host program for Messer Street. No one has been hired yet but there are interested people for the paid and a volunteer position. 8. NEW BUSINESS 8.I. Presentation - Patrick Black Patrick Black, of Antioch University, presented his GIS work that he has been working on with the city in conjunction with his capstone project. P. Black discussed how the project came to be. D. Anson and T. Daigle served as contacts for him in the city. P. Black analyzed a selection of flood-prone areas in the city for the size of their micro-basins, flow accumulation, and runoff calculations. The data and tool will be updatable for the city and allows the department to look at how landcover changes in particular basins will impact runoff volume. It should also help staff identify parcels and areas of concern to investigate stormwater/runoff mitigation projects.  Patrick Black, of Antioch University, presented his GIS work that he has been working on with the city in conjunction with his capstone project. P. Black discussed how the project came to be. D. Anson and T. Daigle served as contacts for him in the city. P. Black analyzed a selection of flood-prone areas in the city for the size of their micro-basins, flow accumulation, and runoff calculations. The data and tool will be updatable for the city and allows the department to look at how landcover changes in particular basins will impact runoff volume. It should also help staff identify parcels and areas of concern to investigate stormwater/runoff mitigation projects. 8.II. Taking Action For Wildlife Conservation Cohort D. Anson discussed the “Taking Action for Wildlife Conservation Cohort” program. The program requires 3-5 people for a cohort that can attend all the training sessions in the fall and work on a project focused on wildlife. D. Anson, D. Williams, R. O’Hara and T. Daigle are interested in participating. T. Daigle will apply for the group. Possible project ideas include identifying a prime wetland in the city and education/outreach material regarding wildlife habitat. 8.III. Conservation Easement Monitoring T. Daigle discussed the remaining conservation easements to be monitored. D. Anson and T. Daigle will walk the two in Southdown on 6/21. Charland and Awka easements will be walked in the fall when there is less dense vegetation. 9. NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES APPLICATIONS 10. OTHER BUSINESS L. Morin discussed the Unitarian Universalist Church and their Green Sanctuary Congregation. They will be having a climate change committee and are looking for people interested in joining it. L. Morin will share updates on their activities with the commission. D. Anson and T. Daigle discuss possibly adding tributary monitoring on Opechee Bay. A number of potential sampling sites are discussed. T. Daigle is hoping to hear from DES about any historical testing sites. R. Harrington discussed the environmental group at the Taylor Community. He notes that management is not very involved with the group and presents a hurdle for them conducting environmental work on the property. D. Anson suggests that we meet with someone from management while we conduct the conservation easement walk in July. Kurt Beswick will be on the walk and we will discuss with him. 11. LIAISON AND SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS 12. STAFF REPORT 13. ADJOURNMENT D. Williams motions to adjourn the meeting at 6:38pm. L. Morin seconds. All vote in favor.