Commission on Conservation & Agriculture

Chairperson Brian Gartner Commission Vice-Chair Members James Miller Michael Thomas Michael Maier Kate Miller on Jane Brawerman David Bauer Liz Holder Bob Daniels Conservation & Agriculture Barbara Schukoske Vacant Vacant Alternates Ellen Lukens Judy Konopka Staff James Sipperly, Environmental Planner REGULAR MEETING Minutes DATE: Tuesday, August 16, 2022 TIME: 7:00 p.m. Meeting was held online and in person in Room 208, Municipal Building. 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 Webinar Number/Access Code: 2331 497 3309 Webinar Password: Middletown Panelist Password: openspace In attendance: Commissioners Elisabeth Holder, Brian Gartner, Bob Daniels, Mike Thomas, Barbara Schukoske, Jim Miller, David Bauer, Kate Miller, Judy Konopka, Kristen Rzasa Staff in Attendance. James Sipperly, Environmental Planner. Public In attendance: None A. Call to Order Chairperson B. Gartner called the meeting to order at 7:00pm B. Accept the Agenda Motion: To accept the agenda as received. Moved by B. Daniels, seconded by L. Holder, passed unanimously. C. Public Forum None D. Approval of Minutes: 1. Minutes of the June 21, 2022 Regular Meeting Minutes of June 21, 2022 were reviewed. L. Holder questioned the sentence “The divestment of open space” and recommended “This is a divestment in open space”. Motion: That the minutes of June 21, 2022 be approved as amended. Moved by D. Bauer; Seconded by L. Holder Approved unanimously with K. Miller abstaining. E. Request for Comment None F. Officers and Committee Reports 1. Chair’s Report Brian Gartner reported that there has been much discussion regarding the removal of the Pameacha Pond dam. B. Gartner said that he understands that there will be a public information meeting hosted by the Public works department and CT DEEP. When that meeting is set staff will notify everyone. 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 B. Daniels asked about the proposed sewer project and how they are related. B. Gartner responded that those two projects are not related and described the sewer project as he is on the Water Pollution Control Authority as well. More discussion ensued and it was agreed to wait until the public session to gather more information in order to make comments. B. Gartner stated that he has the agricultural grant contracts and cover letters he will sign tonight. He thanked B. Daniels, the committee and staff for all the work they put in to make this happen. B. Gartner is also looking into the bylaws as well. He mentioned possibly forming a “friends of the CCA” group for members who have to step down but want to remain active. B. Gartner also spoke about commission members term limits relative to the new policies established by the Charter Review Committee. He is working with Linda Reed to establish a list members and their appointment dates. K. Rzasa asked about a NDDB study that will be done for the Pameacha Pond project. J. Sipperly explained what a NDDB study actual reviews and how. 2. Trails Committee i. ATV use on Lamentation Mountain/Land trust properties – David Brown L. holder stated that there nothing to report. ii. Katchen Coley Trail Sign J. Sipperly will look into if Public Works can restore the sign using open space funds and ask Mark if those funds can be used. 3. Agriculture Committee i. Ag Program/Grant B. Daniels is grateful that the Ag grants are moving along. Now that there is a process it will be easier in the future. B. Daniels then discussed the need for Ag lease agreements for farmers as he received a call from a farmer Hyjack who cuts hay on city property and is being delayed because of the lease agreement protocol. J. Sipperly explained what that problem was and that he tracked it down for Mr. Hyjack. It was discussed that there should be detailed language and should be some sort of oversight as well. D. Bauer stated that all leases are approved first by the Mayor and then approved by the Common Council. K. miller stated that this Commission should be included in the preliminary discussions of this process when open space lands are being used. 4. Outreach Committee i. Conservation Corner update J. Konopka was going to do an article but didn’t do it yet. It will be about the makeup of the commission and its members and why they are serving on the commission. Judy would like everyone to send her a paragraph or two and will put something together. ii. Other initiatives B. Gartner mentioned that in September there will be a Source to Sea Cleanup and he would like to sponsor a cleanup and this would give the commission some good press exposure. He mentioned that Amy Vallencourt from VHB wants to do a cleanup at Veterans Park. 5. Open Space Management Committee i. Wilcox Management Plans It was discussed whether Public Works crews could do some of the things that need to be done out there like removing trash and improving signage. There has been no response from Eric Hansen who did the plan. Tree companies are so busy with hazardous tree removals. J. Sipperly will start on a RFP to put out there to hire a firm or individual to implement the plan. Perhaps our city contactor J&J Tree may be able to do this. Mike Maier, Jane Brawerman and Kate Miller are on this committee. 6. Open Space Acquisition Committee L. Holder said that they are in a holding pattern right now. The Harvey property is stalled for now. It was mentioned that a sign is up on Newfield Street on the Vinci property and Liz will follow up with Mark on this. Page 2 of 3 G. Old Business 1. Red Maple Swamp Environmental Review Team Assessment The CT RC&D staff has scheduled the site visit for the team on June 22, 2022. The field visits are completed and the reports are being prepared. 2. Trail Mapping Update Mike Thomas said he mapped the Guida Trails last year using GPS. As staff has mentioned earlier, a GPS device was purchased that will allow members and volunteers to map all the trails accurately. Members should think about what trails they know well and would want to walk for mapping. H. New Business 1. Open Space Land Inventory for Agricultural Uses J. Sipperly said that G. Middleton, the Assistant Planner started to put together a list of Ag properties that would be good to choose from our open space parcels that we could offer to lease to farmers. 2. Tri –Town Lamentation Open Space Acquisition Plan (map and list of properties) J. Sipperly stated that his office is working with James Mahoney in Berlin on this. A list of properties and a map was developed. This was attached by a hyperlink to the agenda. This will be worked on in the future. K. Miller asked how will these properties be ranked and how will the other towns do it. J. Sipperly explained that we would use the existing ranking criteria here in Middletown and the other towns would do a similar evaluation. Then the best parcels in all towns would have to be looked at and possibly incorporated in an application to the state. I. Member Forum B. Gartner mentioned that on the agenda moving forward we should include a partner’s report section. Staff said this could be added under Public Forum specifically. J. Adjournment A motion to adjourn at 9:10 pm, Moved by B. Daniels and seconded by B. Schukoske passed unanimously. Page 3 of 3