Conservation Commission

Laconia Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes- Nov. 15, 2023 Meeting called to order at 6:00pm Roll call: Dean Anson, Rick Ball, Mike Foote, Lisa Morin, Bob Harrington, Deb Williams Salute to the Flag. Acceptance of minutes from Nov. 1, 2023: Mike F. made a motion to accept minutes, Rick B. seconded. Unanimously accepted. New Business: This was a working meeting. We looked at the NRI and Master Plan. There was a discussion about re-doing these. We discussed what should be included in our letter to the City Council. We have two large developments coming; the State School property and Langley Cove. Both encompass delicate areas that include steep slopes and close proximity to water sources. Mike F. asks about Performance Zoning. Is this a way around project restrictions? Dean A. states that the commission is starting to see more new permits. Dean A. talked about the Lafayette St. property that is city-owned and has a vernal pool. We discussed our lack of information concerning our budget, the water-testing budget, the milfoil budget. Are we receiving the Land Use Fund? Dean A. will see about getting our budget info. Dean A. discussed asking the Council to remove the cap on our budget. We are not receiving information mainly because we don’t have a Conservation Tech. Dean would like to approach local colleges to advertise the opening. Lisa M. asked if the city is using the contractor check-list we developed. Mike F. says he got to walk the property across from Funspot with the new developers of that property. There are 22 acres and there will be 34 units. They are leaving much of the property undeveloped and will allow trail access. Dean A. went over our goals we want to include in our letter: - Protect groundwater/aquifers - Wetland & Vernal Pool protection - Invasive species; land & aquatic - Water Quality Monitoring - Climate Change Mitigation- flooding, water storage, streams - Inter-agency Cooperation- Communication, Watershed Man. - Conservation Land Acquisitions- Habitat Conservation - View-shed Protection- Scenic Rd. designation  Rick B. talked about his interview with the City Council before his appointment to the Con. Comm. It’s a new procedure- a short interview with one city tech. Lisa M. asked if we should look into a grant to update the Dubois & King report on Black Brook. If we hired an intern they could write the grant. Lisa M. talked about the availability of soil evaluations for farmers. We discussed the BioBiltz presentation at the NHACC Conference. It would be fun to do at Prescott Farm with families. Master Gardeners will have a training there next year-maybe we could coordinate. Lisa M. and Deb W. discussed a PFAs presentation they attended on zoom. Bob H. reported that Taylor Community maintenance team has been busy with their leaf blowers. Bob H. said there may be some folks in his community that would volunteer with us. They do have a compost area by their garden. Lisa M. motioned to adjourn our meeting at 7:30pm. Mike F. seconded. All voted yes to adjourn. Minutes respectively submitted by Deb Williams.