Conservation Commission

City of Torrington CONSERVATION COMMISSION Meeting Minutes April 27, 2023 Regular Meeting 1. Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 6:40 pm Members present in person in Room 215 of Torrington City Hall unless otherwise noted. Roll Call & Announcements: Members present: Steve Ivain, Dan McGuinness, and Christine Altman (Chair). Via ZOOM: None Members Absent: Michael Kaneb Staff: Nate Nardi-Cyrus – Assistant City Planner Members of the public: Tom Kandefer and Tamera Christensen Tomasz Kalinowski has formally resigned from both the Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions. 2. Minutes: a. March 30, 2023 Regular Meeting A motion to approve the minutes was made by Mr. McGuinness, seconded by Mr. Ivain. All commissioners voted aye. 3. Old Business: a. World Clean-up Day / Earth Day planning The Commission celebrated the successful Earth Day event, that brought over 50 volunteers to clean-up major trash hotspots in the City. Commissioners told stories about the day and agreed the fall clean-up will be focused on the city properties associated with the Red Mountain Trail. Ms. Altman would like to update maps with a new contact number or e-mail, as that was an issue. b. Red Mountain Trail Update Mr. Nardi-Cyrus announced the City has been awarded its request for funding to construct the Red Mountain Multi-Use Trail, behind the Ocean State Job Lot Plaza. Details will be forthcoming but the project will include redesign of the trail route, improvements to traffic signalization and sidewalks, and construction of the multiuse trail. c. Orphaned TTC Properties  Mr. Nardi-Cyrus explained the Mayor has taken all the Commission’s recommendations for properties to be retained for conservation purposes and he again requested that some proceeds from the sale of other properties should be returned to the City open space fund. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will be presenting the values of these properties to City Council when he returns from leave. d. 53 McDermott Ave P&Z Application Review Mr. Nardi-Cyrus explained the Planning and Zoning Commission did not require the applicant to provide a public access trail/parking easement as a condition of their approval. Trail access and parking will be attempted via an easement over the OSJL plaza. e. 2023 food forest planting prep / Food security The Commission discussed potential food forests sites for 2023. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus shared a map of city-owned lots that might be good for food forest development. The Commission agreed that the Cook Street Property, adjacent to Coe Park, would be an ideal location. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will research and get back to the commission on the status of the property. The Commission agreed that they should 1) secure access to an ideal site and 2) ID partners to plant and maintain the site over time. f. OSI/NRI Progress Mr. Nardi-Cyrus updated the commission on inspections and status of projects. Ms. Altman and Mr. Ivain explained what they saw during their last two site visits on 4/26/23. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will digitize sheets and follow-up with necessary enforcement. The Commission agreed the next site visits will be May 10th from noon-2pm, with the group meeting at the Big Lots Plaza. Mr. Nardi- Cyrus will provide datasheets and maps. The commission should flag major areas of debris dumping (including old silt fences) and schedule workdays to clean-up. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus showed the Commission an early draft of the Torrington NRI online story map and will keep the commission up to date on its development progress. g. Silicon Ranch Environmental Intervention This item was not fully discussed but will be added to the next meeting agenda. 4. Adjournment: Because Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will be out on leave for May and most of June, the May meeting will be cancelled, and the June meeting will be rescheduled to June 29th. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. McGuiness, seconded by Mr. Ivain. All commissioners voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 7:45 pm. ___________________________ Nate Nardi-Cyrus, Assistant City Planner Staff to Conservation Commission