Conservation Commission

City of Laconia Conservation Commission Wednesday, July 20, 2022 - 6:00 PM City Hall in the Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber Approved 8/3 7/20/2022 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair D. Anson called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm 2. ROLL CALL Lisa Morin, Robert Harrington, Deb Williams, Dean Anson, Mike Foote, Stacy Soucy, 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 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 6.I. Draft Minutes 7/6/22 D. Williams motioned to accept the minutes of the 7/6/2022 meeting. M. Foote seconded. All vote in favor 7. OLD BUSINESS 7.I. Meeting Frequency The commission discussed changing the meeting frequency in the remaining summer months. If there is nothing for the agenda and no applicants, the meeting will be cancelled a week in advance. L. Morin motions to continue as we have in the past, cancelling a meeting one week ahead of time if there is nothing substantial for the agenda. D. Williams seconds. All vote in favor. 7.II. Opechee Sampling Update T. Daigle updated the commission on the setting up of Opechee water monitoring. The LOPA is working with an Opechee resident to conduct the deep-water samples this summer in coordination with NHDES and the VLAP program. The commission notes that the LOPA should pay for this sampling going forward. T. Daigle will be finalizing the sites for VRAP monitoring on Opechee soon as well. 7.III. Master Plan Goals Discussion D. Anson discusses the plan for working on the natural resources master plan chapter goals. L. Morin asks if we have ranked the goals and actions. T. Daigle notes that the goals are in order but not the actions. T. Daigle notes that the commission members can help a lot with the educational components of the goals - providing ideas, resources, and contacts for places to advertise materials. D. Anson asks  7.III. Master Plan Goals Discussion D. Anson discusses the plan for working on the natural resources master plan chapter goals. L. Morin asks if we have ranked the goals and actions. T. Daigle notes that the goals are in order but not the actions. T. Daigle notes that the commission members can help a lot with the educational components of the goals - providing ideas, resources, and contacts for places to advertise materials. D. Anson asks members of the commission to review the goals before the next meeting and get an idea of what they would like to or be able to help with. L. Morin and S. Soucy discuss the importance of the educational components of the goals and implementing them in schools. L. Morin also notes that she can help with developing an outreach plan in the future. 8. NEW BUSINESS 8.I. Paugus Woods Temporary Access Road - CUP Application Representatives for the application addressed the commission. They are asking for relief from the 100- foot vernal pool buffer. Luke Powell and Jon Rokeh discussed the temporary access road and the need for it in order to start the next phase of construction at Paugus Woods. The temporary road will be made for fire access and maintained indefinitely, as sewer and water lines run directly underneath. They will widen the road by 6-feet on the north side and add 12 inches of crushed gravel. Some vegetation and a handful of trees will need to be removed. The representatives note that the vernal pool was manmade years ago from the construction of the sewer line. D. Anson asks when the final access road would be built. J. Rokeh says hopefully by the end of 2023, but it is uncertain. S. Soucy asked about the widening and length of the road. They will widen it by 6 feet along the north side of the existing road and it is approximately 500-600 feet long. L. Morin asks about possible erosion along the bend of the road. J. Rokeh says it shouldn’t be an issue as that area is already well established. D. Williams suggests a double silt sock and snow fence along the area. L. Powell notes that he would be hesitant to use any type of permanent fence near the pond due to wildlife travel, but delineator posts will be used with reflectors. D. Williams also asks that they place an education sign about vernal pools nearby so that it is recognized as a sensitive resource. M. Foote motions to support the application based on the existing infrastructure on site and the need for a secondary access for safety and fire. D. Williams seconds. All vote in favor. 8.II. 406 Court Street - CUP Application The applicants addressed the commission. A gazebo was constructed in a previously paved parking area, which removed three spots from their parking lot. They want to use an already disturbed graveled area within a stream buffer as three replacement parking spots. D. Trefethen noted that this will not involve any more impact than has already occurred and the spots will not be paved. D. Anson asked the applicants what landscaping might occur near the gazebo. They plan to have drip stone, grass, and perennials. D. Williams motions to support the application. R. Harrington seconds. All vote in favor. 8.III. 14 Reagan Way - CUP Application A representative for the applicant addressed the board. They are looking to cut some trees in the wetland buffer on their property to create more of a level yard. They will leave the root systems and grind the stump down to grade. D. Anson asks how many trees will be cut. Representative says maybe 6-8 but he is not entirely sure. D. Anson asks him to flag the trees that are to be removed for T. Daigle to go take note of. M. Foote clarifies that there are no trees being cut on the neighbor’s property. S. Soucy asks why they want to cut in the buffer. The representative mentions that that area is the most level spot in the back yard and the rest is heavily sloped. The commission proposes the following conditions: there will be no filling, paving, additional structures, compaction of soils, or fertilizers used in the buffer area. M. Foote motions to support the application with the discussed conditions and contingent on T. Daigle visiting the site to verify the number of trees being removed. R. Harrington seconds. All vote in favor. 9. NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES APPLICATIONS  The commission proposes the following conditions: there will be no filling, paving, additional structures, compaction of soils, or fertilizers used in the buffer area. M. Foote motions to support the application with the discussed conditions and contingent on T. Daigle visiting the site to verify the number of trees being removed. R. Harrington seconds. All vote in favor. 9. NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES APPLICATIONS 10. OTHER BUSINESS D. Williams shares that they now have a lake host at Messer Street working Friday through Sunday. D. Williams also discusses that they have found one water chestnut at the Water Street ramp this year. M. Foote notes that he has a few sites in mind for use of the GIS program created by Patrick Black, when we have access to the program. R. Harrington asks if there is any information on which stream overflowed during the rainstorms last week. D. Trefethen believes it was Jewett Brook T. Daigle shared that the Laconia group was accepted for the UNH Taking Action for Wildlife program. She will confirm their participation with UNH and share more information as it comes. She will also add L. Morin to the project. 11. LIAISON AND SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS S. Soucy provided an explanation for why the previous application, 224 Endicott St E, did not have the three units on their original plan. The applicant was aware of the wetland buffer rule changing and wanted to wait to present the third unit until after the buffer rule was changed so that it would not be an issue. D. Anson notes that he is not happy about this and that it is deceptive for an applicant to not present the entire site plan at the time of the first approval. 12. STAFF REPORT 13. ADJOURNMENT L. Morin motions to adjourn at 7:45pm. D. Williams seconds. All vote in favor.