Commission on Conservation & Agriculture

Chairperson Elisabeth Holder (’22) Commission Vice-Chair Members Brian Gartner (’23) Michael Thomas (’20) Michael Maier (23’) Kate Miller (’23) on Jane Brawerman (’23) David Bauer (’22) James Miller (’23) Bob Daniels (’22) Conservation & Agriculture Barbara Schukoske (’23) Vacant Vacant (’22) Alternates Ellen Lukens (’23) Judy Konopka (’22) Staff James Sipperly, Environmental Planner REGULAR MEETING Minutes DATE: Tuesday, November 16, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. Meeting was held online. The public had access to the meeting by: 1. Going to https://webex.com and joining the meeting using the appropriate meeting number and password 2. Launching the WebEx application and joining the meeting using the appropriate meeting number and password Via telephone at 1-408-418-9388 and the appropriate access code Meeting Number/Access Code: 2346 581 8027 Event Password: Conservation In attendance: Commissioners Elisabeth Holder, Brian Gartner, Bob Daniels, Jane Brawerman, Barbara Schukoske, Michael Thomas, Judy Konopka, Ellen Lukens, Kate Miller and Mike Maier Staff in Attendance. James Sipperly, Environmental Planner. Public In attendance: None. A. Call to Order Chairperson L. Holder called the meeting to order at 7:05pm L. Holder introduced Mike Maier to the Commission as a new member. Welcome aboard Mike!! B. Accept the Agenda Motion: To accept the agenda, moved by J. Miller and seconded by E. Lukens; passed unanimously. C. Public Forum None. D. Approval of Minutes: 1. Minutes of the July 20, 2021 Regular Meeting No action. 3. Minutes of the September 21, 2021 Regular Meeting Motion: To approve the minutes of September 21, 2021 as amended. Moved by B. Daniels; seconded by J. Konopka Approved unanimously Minutes of October, 19, 2021 Regular Meeting Motion: To approve the minutes of October 19, 2021 as received. Moved by B. Schukoske; seconded by B. Gartner Approved with K. Miller and J. miller abstaining E. Request for Comment None F. Officers and Committee Reports 1. Chair’s Report i. Commission membership status If you require special accommodations for any meeting, please call the ADA Coordinator at (860) 638-4540, (voice) or (860) 638-4812 (TDD/TTY), or the Town Clerk’s Office at (860) 638-4910 at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled meeting. Page 1 of 3 L. Holder again welcomed Mike Maier to the Commission. M. Maier stated he is married to Kat owns who was on the commission and lived in town for 110 years. Mike is interested in the environment, particularly, forestry. Mike is taking a test to be a CT Certified Forester. L. Holder read off a list of commission members political affiliations. L. holder reported that we have two vacancies. L. Reed will be asked what affiliation the vacancies need to be. ii. West Street and Middlefield Street J. Sipperly reported that the previous property owner conducted the tree clearing and site grading left a mess at the site which is the main complaints being received. The property just changed hands and the new owner just properly installed silt fence around the entire site and along the Cochinchaug Rver. They are in a transition period and will be moving forward to clear the trees. B. Gartner reported on the site plans for this development that went to the wetland commission. 2. Trails Committee i. Bridges at Guida J. Sipperly stated that there is no need for commission members who volunteer to do work on trails to sign a consent waiver. J. Sipperly indicated that they ready to order the materials for the Blue Trail Bridge. A discussion ensued on when and how this would happen. It was suggested by J. miller that we order them next Monday. J. Sipperly will coordinate this. 3. Agriculture Committee i. Ag Program/Grant B. Daniels reported that progress has been made and he solicited comments from various people on the form. There was an article in the Middletown Press 1 week ago announcing then grant program. The Committee still needs to develop selection criteria and a timeframe for reporting and making site visits. B. Daniels suggested that we advertise it other ways and it should be on the City’s website. 4. Outreach Committee i. Conservation Corner update B. Gartner, E. Lukens and J. Brawerman are working on articles. ii. Other initiatives J. Konopka is looking to get the trails in the trail guide onto alltrails.com and other trails website. M. Kozikowski found some old trails data in the GIS system. He will work on moving forward with assistance on this when the department becomes better staffed. Furthermore, she would like to leverage her facebook page to look for volunteers for various projects. 5. Open Space Management Committee i. Wilcox & Guida Management Plans Discussion ensued regarding how these plans should be updated and implemented. Hiring a consultant was discussed as well as using interns. ii. Management strategies at Guida M. Thomas has been learning more about woodland management and wants to evaluate the Guida property and what the goals are for management of the area. On November 13, 2021, 15 people attended this event which was a great turn out. M. Thomas did a great job talking about the history of the woods from Native American times to colonial times. 6. Open Space Acquisition Committee i. Property Updates (Sunshine Realty, Westlake Drive) J. Sipperly reported that no progress on sunshine Realty due to some ownership issues. The Westlake property was closed on and is now owned by the city. An appraisal is being conducted for the Atkins Street parcel that was rated very high. G. Old Business 1. Tri-town and Land Trust ATV issue proposal Nothing new 2. Red Maple Swamp Environmental Review Team Assessment The CT RC&D staff are working on a schedule to conduct the review. Page 2 of 3 H. New Business 1. Adoption of 2022 meeting schedule Motion: To approve the 2022 meeting schedule; moved by B. Gartner, seconded by B. Daniels approved unanimously 2. Options to consider to conduct meetings in the upcoming year. The commission will follow recommendations from the Mayor moving forward on this issue. I. Member Forum 1. It was mentioned that there is a trail that was recently created at the Landfill. Michelle Ford wrote a grant to make this happen. J. Miller liked the changes to the P&Z regulations regarding farm markets. Josh Eddiginger was helpful at getting this passed through the commission. M. Thomas stated that we are good at buying land, but we need to manage it better. J. Adjournment A motion to adjourn at 8:48 pm , made by B. Daniels and seconded by B. Schukoske. passed unanimously. Page 3 of 3