Conservation Commission

City of Laconia Conservation Commission Wednesday, January 4, 2023 - 6:00 PM City Hall in the Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber Accepted February 1, 2023 1/4/2023 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Call to order 6:13PM 2. ROLL CALL Stacy Soucy (Planning Board Liaison), Deb Williams (Vice Chair), Dean Anson (Chair) Michael Foote, Ruth O’Hara, R. Harrington 3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG 4. RECORDING SECRETARY 4.I. Recording Secretary Sheena Duncan, Zoning/ Conservation Planning Technician 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Dean Trefethen, Director of Planning and Development Sheena Duncan, Zoning/ Conservation Planning Technician 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS D. Williams motioned to approve the minutes, with 2 corrections of the spelling of “Morin” and one correction of the use “that” where it should have read “than”. Seconded by R. Harrington. All in favor 6.I. Draft Minutes 7. OLD BUSINESS 7.I. Old Business M. Foote noted that the owners of property at Roller Coaster Road (Ranch Roller Coaster LLC, MLBU 3/191/3) should be dealt with strictly for the illegal wetland crossing that was created. It was not the first offence by this property owner. He mentioned that during rain events, water clarity at Foote Pond had seen a questionably higher rate of turbidity since the work had been done, and that the road work on the property was meant to allow for a dump truck to pass- the road being constructed of large pieces of rip rap. D. Anson asked if there was a suitable site for tributary sampling nearby, M. Foote said that on the north side of Roller Coaster Rd. there was a location adjacent to a pump house. D. Anson asked D. Trefethen if Con Com had comment on the DES Permit for the property- D. Trefethen said that they had. D. Anson spoke about the recent storm event just prior to Christmas. He took several pictures that showed a seriously swelled Jewett Brook, highlighting recent concerns with the Union Ave bridge’s  D. Anson asked D. Trefethen if Con Com had comment on the DES Permit for the property- D. Trefethen said that they had. D. Anson spoke about the recent storm event just prior to Christmas. He took several pictures that showed a seriously swelled Jewett Brook, highlighting recent concerns with the Union Ave bridge’s capacity to tolerate a 25 year storm. He said that this project (outlined in the Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis of Jewett Brook) would be reasonable to begin researching and planning, saying that he had spoken with D. Trefethen about it, and the need to involve DPW to at least keep them up to speed on any developments. D. Anson said that on January 5, at 9:30AM there would be a brief discussion about the creation of a rain garden at the park on Gale Ave, presented by Cindy from the Winnisquam Watershed Network. The project was mentioned in the Lake Winnisquam Watershed-Based Plan, and will be largely grant funded through the Watershed network. D. Anson said that he had spoken to Carol from the Gilford Conservation Commission, who identified some of the projects that they had already done with Black Brook. She said that she thought a collaborative effort would be a good decision, and that she would be available to meet in February. D. Williams said that the Cohort had a zoom meeting that day, at which they discussed the signs they were planning to erect on the WOW Trail. The Cohort plans to meet in February to discuss grant funding. She also expressed interest in getting help to set up QR codes for the website so that additional information about conservation/ environmental topics could be explored in greater depth. 8. NEW BUSINESS R. Harrington said that the Taylor Home Community had a visit from the new City Manager (Kirk Beattie) who discussed the State School Property. D. Trefethen said that the developer hoped to have ownership of the property by September 1, and may begin remediation work on the site soon after. They may begin seeking permits and begin the planning process as soon as this spring. R. Harrington discussed efforts to map and remove invasives on the Taylor Community property, saying that some of the residents would be happy to help removed them, and that the grounds keepers could be trained to identify them and remove them early on. D. Trefethen reminded the Commission that on the night of January 17 there would be a presentation regarding the “Right to Know Law” at 5:30 in room 200 A, encouraging them all to come. S. Soucy asked D. Trefethen if it would be possible to walk the Sate School Property after a rain storm to better understand storm water issues on the site. He said that it was still considered a public property, and that they could. He mentioned that the wetlands on site had been delineated last year as part of the agreements the state made for the sale of the property, and that he could provide a link to the State’s website that allowed the public to view that data. The January 18 meeting will be dedicated to Cohort business. 9. NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES APPLICATIONS 10. OTHER BUSINESS 11. Other Business 12. Non-Public Session 10. OTHER BUSINESS 11. Other Business 12. Non-Public Session Motion by D. Williams to enter a nonpublic meeting for discussion of the acquisition of real property, seconded by R. Harrington. Meeting Closed to the public at 7:10 PM. D. Williams motioned to renter public meeting, seconded by R. Harrington, all in favor. Public meeting re- entered at 7:24PM Motion by M. Fotte to seal the minutes of the nonpublic meeting. Seconded by D. Williams, all in favor. 13. LIAISON AND SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS 14. STAFF REPORT 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by M. Foote to adjourn, seconded by D. Williams, all in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:26PM.