Wilton Conservation Commission – Minutes of 13 February 2006
Present: Les, Spencer, Laurence, Alan, and Lynne.
- William McKay, Lot C-044, 148 Davisville
Road: William McKay met with the
Commission regarding a dug pond on his land that has filled in over the
years. The pond was
dug in 1987, behind the house where he now lives. The water is provided
by a brook, variously known as “County Farm Brook” or “Mill Brook”. According to Mr. McKay, since beavers in
the area were trapped out 3 or 4 years ago, the
pond has been filling in with silt, etc., until now it is, as he describes
it, “a big mud puddle breeding a lot of mosquitoes.” He has filed a dredge and fill permit
with DES, and notified the abutters with certified mail. His intent is to dig out the pond,
restore the field to where it used to be, and put a hydrant on his lower
driveway. WCC reviewed all the
material and photos presented by Mr. McKay. This land is downstream from Burton
Pond, upstream from the Old Reservoir, and is in the Watershed
District. After much discussion Les
made the motion that we speak to the Planning Board at their upcoming
meeting (16 February) regarding Mr. McKay’s request and check with them
regarding setbacks in the Watershed District. Seconded by Alan. Passed unanimously.
- Review Minutes: Draft minutes from October, November
and December 2005 were reviewed. Spencer moved to accept the minutes;
seconded by Les. Passed
unanimously.
- 2006 Budget: Spencer and Lynne met with the Budget
Committee, supported by Brian Sullivan from
Planning Board and Michael Dell’Orto from the
Heritage Commission. After much
questioning and discussion, Budget Committee voted to accept the budget as
presented.
- New
Spartan Properties/Quinn Subdivision off Abbot
Hill/Abbot Hill Acres Road/Proctor Road. At the January
Planning Board meeting, Tom Quinn stated that they want common ownership of the
14.75 acres of open space land to be by the homeowner association. We had understood, from our meeting with Mr.
Quinn at the 10 October 2005
Conservation Commission meeting, that this land would
be offered to the Town or to the Conservation Commission. New Spartan Properties still intends to give
the Conservation Commission an easement to access the river. After much discussion, Spencer made the
following motions: (1) That we recommend
a 20-foot right-of-way corridor to the river, parking for 2 to 4 vehicles, and
use the same language and procedure as used for the riparian way easement on Intervale Road (Campbell/Carmen subdivision). Seconded by Alan. Passed unanimously. (2) That we reaffirm our original
recommendation as stated at our original meeting with Mr. Quinn, regarding a
20-foot right-of-way under the power lines on the property as part of the
potential multi-use trail and Corridor 13 trail system. Seconded by Les. Passed unanimously. Spencer and Lynne will attend the February
Planning Board meeting and see what transpires.
-
Planning Board 2006 changes to regulations
and ordinances. Spencer and Lynne have been attending these
meetings. Two items of interest for
WCC: driveway
regulations, and new gravel pit ordinance. Regarding the driveway regulations, there is
a problem with steepness of driveways, for instance the new one next to
South
Yard
Cemetery, and another new one behind the log cabin house on
Wilton Center Road near Marden Road. Both of these have
caused drainage and erosion into the paved road. These driveways should be
assessed for safety and runoff into the road. But, is the real
problem that Planning Board approves driveways which are too steep, or that the
developer does not conform to what Planning approves for them? Since there is no code enforcement happening,
we should take this up with Planning or with Selectmen. Regarding the gravel pit ordinance, after
discussion Spencer moved that we recommend and support all articles regarding
the gravel pit ordinance. Seconded by Alan. Passed unanimously.
- DES Hearing of 15 December
2005 regarding
Granite State Concrete (unpermitted
generator on site): Still no
answer from DES at this time.
- Trails: Les stated that his sons have opened up
two more trails on their family land on Kimball
Hill Road.
The trails are currently open to the public and connect to the Heald Tract.
One trail goes to Temple
and the other to the pond on Russell Hill Road
- Dam Fee: Spencer stated
that the dam fee has been paid to the NH DES Dam
Bureau.
-
Clearing Field
Edge: Alan has been working on clearing
out the field edge. He has 4 brush piles to burn; he needs to finish clearing the
spillway.
-
Frog Pond Study: Spencer noted that everything is fine as far
the wildlife study goes. We need to
finish the dam project; that is, get the design ready to send to the Dam
Bureau. The permit must
be signed off by the State. In
the meantime, we need to have a certified engineer review, certify and sign the
plan, which has been designed by Les. We should also ask if they would know the
budget for the project.
- Four Corners Farm: Spencer stated that we need to talk with the Selectmen about the
asbestos on the property and get them to write a letter to the property
owner.
- Carnival Hill: Spencer noted that during the monitoring
walk of Carnival Hill, LCHIP and the NH Department of Agriculture were
very unhappy about the manure pile on the property. They feel the abutters should not be
throwing the horse manure onto Carnival Hill property and that it needs to
be properly composted in order for the hay field
to stay healthy. Need to speak with
Selectmen about this issue as well and
have them write a letter to abutters regarding the problem.
-
Changes and
corrections for the Roads and Hydrology Map are about 80% complete. All hydrants and ponds have
been identified.
-
The
Historic/Cultural/Recreational Features Map just came in this week, so will
work on that one next. Need to get a
copy to the Heritage Commission for them to mark-up with their information.
- Hoover Easement: No activity.
Meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM.
Minutes Submitted by
Lynne Draper
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