Conservation Commission

City of Torrington CONSERVATION COMMISSION Meeting Minutes July 25, 2024 Regular Meeting 1. Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 6:31 pm Members present in person in Room 215 of Torrington City Hall unless otherwise noted. Roll Call & Announcements: Members Present in Person:, Christine Altman (Chair), Karen Svetz, Jeremy Spitz, and George Craig, Members Present Via Teams: Members Absent: Dan McGuinness (Vice-Chair), Michael Kanab, and Erin Stelma (Secretary) Staff: Nate Nardi-Cyrus – Assistant City Planner Members from the Public: Ken Hrica, P.E. 2. Minutes: a. June 26, 2024 Special Meeting MOTION to approve the minutes was made by Mr. Craig, seconded by Ms. Svetz. All commissioners voted aye. 3. New Business: No new business was on the agenda. 4. Old Business a. Torrington Fair Plaza Easement Discussion Mr. Hrica, P.E., and Mr. Nardi-Cyrus again provided background on the request from the Torrington Fair (Walmart) Plaza owner, to clear trees and restore a lower growing native plant community on a conservation easement held by the City of Torrington. A site visit was held on July 10th for Commissioners to observe current conditions and ask clarifying questions to Mr. Hrica. Further discussion of this request ensued during the meeting. MOTION to deny the request for proposed activities within the conservation easement held by the City of Torrington was made by Ms. Svetz, seconded by Mr. Craig. All commissioners voted aye. Motion caries. b. HVA Crossing Assessment – Schedule Visits  The group agreed to schedule the second inspection for August 22nd @ 5pm at the Drakeville FD, with 2-3 sites to be assessed. They also scheduled another date for September 19 at 5pm at the John Brown Historic Site trailhead. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will again share the map of those sites and data collection forms via e-mail. c. Bannon Street Food Forest The group discussed the scheduling of upcoming events surrounding the Bannon Street food forest planting. They agreed there would be 2 events, (1) an informational/clean-up on Sept 21st from 10- 11 AM and (2) a planting date in October. There was a considerable amount of discussion regarding the replacement of rhubarb with another ground cover. Ideas included Calaoo, asparagus, or some type of South American perennial crop. The group also came up with an idea to give away raspberry canes as a gift to participants. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus indicated he would bring these ideas to Cynthia and report back to the Commission on her thoughts. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus said he would explore donated printed signs advertising the event with Write Way. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will circulate the list of Bannon street neighbors to Mr. Spitz, who offered to format addresses for printing mailing labels. Ms. Altman will reach out to her contact at Café Sol to ask about volunteer translation and to bring friends. d. Staff updates i. Red Mountain Trail Grant – Nothing new to report. ii. Urban Forest Management Plan – Nothing new to report iii. Open Space Inventory – Next site visit will be the Open Space in the Greenbriar subdivision. The group agreed to defer this site visit until October, given how unpleasant a summer site visit would be at this location. Discussion of easement enforcement ensued. 5. Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Craig, seconded by Mr. Spitz. All commissioners voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 7:47 pm. Nate Nardi-Cyrus Nate Nardi-Cyrus, Assistant City Planner Staff to Conservation Commission