Commission on Conservation & Agriculture

Chairperson Bob Daniels Commission Vice-Chair Members Vacant Michael Thomas Kate Miller on Jane Brawerman Daniel Penney Barbara Schukoske William Gardner Conservation & Alternates Evan Peterson William Wilson William Harris Vincent Senatore Agriculture Staff James Sipperly, Environmental Planner Corinne Milardo, Administrative Assistant REGULAR MEETING Minutes DATE: Tuesday, January 21, 2025 TIME: 7:00 p.m. Meeting was held in person in Room 208, Municipal Building and via WebEx. In person attendance: Commissioners: Bob Daniels, Barbara Schukoske, Daniel Penney, William Gardner, William Harris. Public: Jeff Hasbrouck. WebEx Attendance: Commissioners: Kate Miller. Public: Krishna Winston, Ashley Rivera, David Winkel. Absent: Commissioners: Brian Gartner, Michael Thomas, Jane Brawerman, Evan Peterson, William Wilson, Vincent Senatore. Staff in Attendance: James Sipperly, Environmental Planner Corinne Milardo, Administrative Assistant A. Call to Order Chairperson B. Daniels called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. 1. Election of Officers B. Daniels informed the commission that Brian Gartner is resigning. i. Chair Motion to nominate Bob Daniels as Chair. No other nominations from the floor when asked three times. Moved by B. Schukoske, seconded by W. Gardner. Passed unanimously: 6-0. ii. Vice Chair Motion to table the election of the Vice Chair until the next meeting. Moved by K. Miller, seconded by W. Gardner. Passed unanimously: 6-0. iii. Secretary 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 5 Motion to nominate James Sipperly as Secretary. No other nominations from the floor when asked three times. Moved by B. Schukoske, seconded by D. Penney. Passed unanimously: 6-0. B. Accept the Agenda Motion to accept the agenda. Moved by B. Schukoske, seconded by W. Gardner. Passed unanimously: 6-0. C. Public Forum Motion to move Public Forum before the Election of Officers. Moved by D. Penney, seconded by B. Schukoske. Passed unanimously: 6-0. Jeff Hasbrouch, 533 Chamberlain Hill Road, spoke about his concerns in regards to the daily salting of Chamberlain Hill Road. J. Hashbrouch believes this is contaminating the wells in the area and becoming an environmental problem. Salting is not the answer. The road needs drainage. J. Sipperly commented that Public Works plans on improving the drainage structures. K. Miller asked if Public Works can use any alternatives to salt. Can they use sand? W. Harris commented that the problem with using sand is that it piles up as you use it and won’t help with the freezing water on the road. W. Harris asked if they can see a plan on what Public Works plans on doing. J. Sipperly answered yes. B. Daniels commented that seeing the plan will help alleviate people’s concerns. D. Approval of Minutes 1. November 19, 2024 Motion to approve the minutes as is. Moved by B. Schukoske, seconded by W. Gardner. Passed: 5-0-1 (K. Miller abstained). E. Request for Comment J. Sipperly reported that the City of Meriden informed him that the proposal to construct an indoor riding rink, which is located on the town line, in which they would have to blast a lot of trap rock for mining is going to come back to Meriden. Once Middletown is notified of this proposal, it will go to this commission, Inland Wetlands, and Planning and Zoning for review. F. Officers and Committee Reports Page 2 of 5  1. Chair’s Report B. Daniels informed the commission that Kate Miller and Dan Penney were quoted in the paper because of the cleanup that’s happening at Pameacha Pond. B. Daniels distributed a hand out from the Farm Bureau which shows the number of farms in Connecticut from 2017 to 2022. Between those years we’ve lost 463 farms. i. Open Space Acquisition Fund Balance J. Sipperly reported there have been no changes. 2. Agriculture Committee i. Agriculture Support for Farmers J. Sipperly reported that as a board member of the Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development Council, they are creating a veterans farming group in Connecticut. There’s a website that shows where these farms are and what they grow and what they raise and you can go and visit. J. Sipperly then let the commission know that Director Kozikowski is working on uploading on the city website the informational resource that Evan Peterson and Bob Daniels worked on for assisting new farmers in Middletown. K. Miller requested having the resource for new farmers on the next agenda to be presented to the commission. 3. Outreach Committee i. Conservation Corner Update B. Daniels stated that a new head of the Outreach Committee will be needed since Brian Gartner resigned. 4. Open Space Management Committee i. Wilcox Management invasive species study J. Sipperly said that he’s waiting on Kate Miller and Jane Brawerman’s review of the language of the RFP. J. Sipperly would like to get this out by April. ii. Open Space Priorities J. Sipperly wants to identify open space properties that are priorities for maintenance. iii. Trail Maintenance Needed – CFPA Wilcox Open Space J. Sipperly stated that Assistant City Planner Gary Middleton walked the Wilcox property and reported that there are numerous dead trees out there that you can’t even walk. G. Middleton suggested hiring someone to go in there and clean it up. This would have to go out to an RFP. Page 3 of 5 K. Miller asked if there should be a conversation with CFPA to discuss either having a trail closure or a property closure until we can get in there to cut away the dead trees. Maybe there should be caution signs posted as well as signs that notify the public that ATV’s are illegal to use on the property. 5. Open Space Acquisition Committee i. 470 Chamberlain Road J. Sipperly reported that this property is still on the table. The owner is still debating whether to sell or not. ii. Country Club Road site J. Sipperly reported that this property is still on the table. G. Old Business i. Trail Guide updating and reprinting and contract – working with Gary Middleton J. Sipperly reported that G. Middleton finished remapping all the trails in town. That information is being downloaded into GIS. They’ll need to verify the descriptions of each of the trails and then give the information to the person who will reprint the trail guide. ii. Ravine Park J. Sipperly stated that he will keep this on the agenda. iii. Nature Gardens – Tree Report- Chris Donnelly J. Sipperly reported that Director Kozikowski and G. Middleton walked the Nature Gardens with Chris Donnelly to identify trees that need to come down and trees that need to be pruned. C. Donnelly wrote a two to three page report on his findings. iv. Right to Farm Signs – 20 Ordered J. Sipperly showed the commission the printed Right to Farm Signs that will be posted along the major thoroughfares coming into the city. They’re thinking about selling these signs to farmers who can post them in front of their property. K. Miller suggested adding a website or link on the sign to direct people to get more info. v. Red Maple Swamp Update David Winkel, 418 Mile Lane, asked for an update on Red Maple Swamp. J. Sipperly answered that the work will begin this Thursday. Once we get the survey, we’ll get the meets and bounds and present it to the Common Council for permanent protection. D. Winkel asked how long it’ll take for the work to be completed. Page 4 of 5 J. Sipperly guessed about a couple of weeks. SLR, an engineering company, got rehired by the State to redesign and re-plan the bike path. J. Sipperly added that the Kaplan Drive development is off the table right now. vi. CCA Annual Report B. Daniels asked the commission to look over the annual report and make any additions or changes to the document and there will be a final draft for the next meeting. H. New Business None. I. Member Forum None. J. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:07 pm. Moved by B. Schukoske, seconded by W. Gardner Passed unanimously: 6-0. Page 5 of 5