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Minutes of June 1, 2000[Approved July 20, 2000] Present: Robert Boisselle, Paul Locke, Peter Mortimer, Nancy Naslas, David Valade Voted: to accept the minutes of 5-18-00 as amended. Correspondence
Mt. Hood Ball Field Bob: We now have a continuation of the Mt. Hood Ball Field. At the last meeting we left with a Request for Determination for Applicability, and the clients wish to have a continuation. Representing this project is Joe Lynch, Deputy City Engineer, Public Works Department. Mr. Lynch: I am here tonight on behalf of the Melrose Park Commission and the City of Melrose at large with regards to the Request for Determination that was before you. At that last meeting it was placed and encumbered upon us to determine the nature of the jurisdiction of the two isolated wetland areas adjacent to the haul road under construction up at the southeast sector of the Mt. Hood Golf facility just south of Melrose Tower. At that last hearing, we said that we would endeavor to determine biologically and with engineering data to what extent those areas may be resource areas, and if they are resource areas, what protection has to be put in place and at the conclusion of that last meeting the commission rightfully so, by the way, put enforcement order issuing a Cease and Desist to the project that Cease and Desist stay in place until such time as erosion controls and a physical barrier be placed at the erosion controlled bottom and top of slope and the physical barrier be placed at the top of slope at which time they were in place we were to notify a member of the commission who would conduct an inspection and determine if measures were adequate and in place, and at that point and time would report back to the commission and the Cease and Desist Order would be suspended, not lifted, and the distinction being that with it being suspended that should there be additional violations to put a Cease and Desist back in place would just be swift and wouldn't require an action of this Commission. That was on a Thursday night, on Friday the erosion controls and the Jersey barrier guardrail was placed at the top of that slope, on Friday night the member of the Commission was contacted, which was David Valade, and an additional action was required to satisfy him, which I believe took place on Monday. The additional action was fortifying the bottom hay bales as there were gaps in it. At the whole time from when the time the Cease and Desist Order was put in place until David was satisfied with the work there was no haul operation anywhere near or past these two areas, and when David was satisfied and reported that satisfaction to Mr. Amirault and reported back to the Commission, then the whole operation was reinstituted, I believe on Tuesday. The whole operation has then been continued up to this afternoon. That is the enforcement action. In the two weeks that have gone by the technical aspects of this project have been deliberately and definitively transferred over to my office and my department for reasons that I think are obvious, but maybe don't need to be restated, but they have been redirected to my office. Camp Dresser & McKee has worked diligently with us in evaluating these areas and recognizing that what we have before you is an RDA and recognizing that the conversation this evening should shift quickly towards the actual resource that we pre-emptively anticipate your Positive Determination regarding the ILSF nature of these two areas based on the information dervied from from Dwight Dunk, our Biologist and Special Wetland Scientist. We put an advertisement in the paper, prepared an NOI, we did the abutter notification, and we wholly expect to come before you at the next meeting to continue a more formal presentation with others present, but recognizing that RDA immediately with shift jurisdiction to NOI, we took the action we did. I saw a newspaper article of the legals being passed around to you. We have prepared for you a Notice of Intent which we are formally submitting this evening for your consideration. I will now ask Mr. Dunk to make a presentation with regards to the resource itself, and then together he and I will be available to answer questions from the Commission, and we certainly will stick around if you open it up for public dissipation. We can be available to answer questions there as well. Bob: This is not considered the official presentation. Mr. Lynch: We understand this. Recognizing that there are people here we think wish to have this information we have no problem making that presentation tonight and we will make it again at the next meeting. Dwight Dunk: Joe mentioned the city contacted Camp Dresser & McKee for assistance on this project and going out taking a look at these two depressions, they are two isolated depressions, they are confined depressions with no observable inlets or outlets. Bob: Just to identify it shows in the rear the depressions he is talking about. Just for our purposes, the southerly depression consider water hole #1 and northerly depression consider water hole #2. Mr. Dunk: We also observed that there are no definable channels within the depressions, that is no intermittent streams within the depression. Therefore the wetlands depressions do not border on themselves, so we determine that they are isolated depressions. We conducted site visits on the 23rd and the 24th after some rain storms. Certainly they both have the capacity to hold ¼-acre feet of water, with an average depth of approximately 6 inches, therefore we believe that they meet the definition of an Isolated Land Subject to Flooding as defined in regulations. Therefore in discussions with Joe we felt that the Commission would issue a Positive Determination of Applicability and that is why we filed a Notice of Intent. As you all know an ILSF does not have a buffer zone, and technically the City would not have to file if they were working within 100 ft. of this ILSF. As we all know, construction of the haul road adjacent to water hole 1 has resulted in incidental deposition of sediment at the toe of slope within the limit of that ILSF. Therefore, we submitted this Notice of Intent to receive authorization on behalf of the City for leaving the sediment in place during the filling and grading operation for the proposed ball fields. After which time, when the area is filled and final graded and access to the work area is no longer needed by large equipment, that being trucks or trailer trucks, bulldozers, etc. the haul road will be reduced in size and reduced in width that would allow regrading of that slope and removal of the sediment that has been deposited below the elevation of 174 which is the extent of the ILSF. The long term solution has also been to grade that slope, cover it with loam, seed it, and install erosion control blanket to permanently stabilize that slope. In accordance with the enforcement order, there has been installation of hay bales at the toe slope and the barrier that was required by the Conservation Commission. Photographs 1 and 2 are provided at the end of Attachment 1, which photograph 1 shows that the hay bales at the toe slope, and photograph 2 shows the hay bale and jersey barrier at the top. The northerly depression, there is also work placement of fill and grading adjacent to that depression. There has been a sedimentation barrier installed along the southerly boundary of water hole #2,to prevent any incidental deposition of sediment in that basin also. So that is the nature of this Notice of Intent. We understand that these are isolated wetlands that contain water during the spring time. So, we also investigated these depressions for the presence of all vernal pool species, assuming that question may come up. We had two wetland scientists investigate the pool on the 23rd and they did not observe any egg masses or other vernal pool species in these depressions. Understanding that many people say the end of May is late for investigations of vernal pools. We are doing work obviously in other cities and towns and on May 22 wetland scientists were doing work in the City of Beverly which involved looking at known certified vernal pools, we did observe egg masses in Beverly on May 22 without any observed hatching. When the salamanders hatch out they usually stay close to the egg masses. There was no observation of any tadpoles hatching in Beverly the day before, but the egg masses were still in tact. Absence of egg masses in Melrose is probably a good indication that there were no egg masses in the depressions. These folks also did not find any tadpoles swimming around either. The area to the east of this depression is the City's composting facility, and beyond that is the active quarry. Generally to the west, south and north of these areas is the Mt. Hood Golf Course, which is the majority open field for that fairway and rough with wooded areas in and around the fairways in rough. In between these depressions there was a wooded area. All in all, because of those conditions, there was not a large undisturbed forest or woods that would provide really great habitat for adults. Kind of putting all the pieces together, it is our opinion that these are not vernal pools. I think that is about it, where we are in our assessment, what we presented in the Notice of Intent and why the City came forth with the notice. Mr. Lynch: Just one last point. Dwight made clear, but I wasn't sure if he glossed over it quickly in a technical fashion, if the Park Commission's project had not had any fill finding its way down to the ILSF, this activity would be allowed without filing an NOI. Where there is no buffer zone to an ILSF, if they are protected and avoided, work right up to the edge of these two areas is permitted without any action of this commission, but it is by virtue of the Park Commission's inadvertent, sloppily if you will, error in allowing that fill to get down into that water hole #1 is why we are here before you with this NOI. There is no other reason. The RDA was appropriate until such time as he breached that erosion control, and once he breached that erosion control it triggered the NOI, and that is why we are here and I am prepared to answer questions. Bob: Any questions from the Commission? Dave: I have three. I know the answer probably to the first one. Did you observe any wetland species in either of the two depressions? Mr. Dunk: Yes, my opinion is that these are under the MA Wetland Protection Act, they are protected. Dave: So there weren't sufficient species to go beyond that protection? Mr. Dunk: Correct, they would be protected under 404 and 401 of the Clean Water Act as isolated vegetated wetlands. Under 310 CMR 10 it is protected as ILSF. David: Between what you call the northerly depression, southerly depression, is there any evidence of a hydraulic connection, any kind of intermittent stream? I know at the southerly depression you can't tell because they filled across there. Mr. Dunk: When you look at the topography as shown on Figure 2, you do see a swale. When you come south of the northerly depression, you see a high spot at 197, 194. That is a little bit of a high spot between the northerly and southerly depression where you see a swale that could probably carry water under severe storm event or saturated soil conditions. The northerly depression has potential rain to fill up to 196.4 and as that fills it starts to spill over, however we did not observe within the other source areas any observable channel in the ground be a stream. We did not see any hydraulic connection and we did not see any vegetated connection in the undisturbed areas. David: The last question I have is on the southerly depression. When I went and observed that the water was I guess a little bit bluish, could the infiltration and sediments that had got into that caused any vernal pool species or eggs to have ceased to exist between the time it happened and when you observed it. Mr. Dunk: They wouldn't cease to exist. There is a potential, I have never seen it in research, as to whether or not covering of an egg mass with a clay could have caused the death or decay of the critters. Whether or not that would actually cause the death of larval form I don't know. However the egg masses themselves would still be present in the area. They are fairly substantial. You can pick them up. Within the week or two of filling, if they were covered, if that did cause the demise or salamanders or frogs, it probably did not cause the degradation of the egg mass. Mr. Lynch: Dwight, could you recite the credentials of the Wetland Biologist for your firm and her experience. Mr. Dunk: Two folks that went out there on the 23rd, the senior person has a Master's in Aquatic Ecologist and does all of our bio testing for what quality that is, taking samples of sediments, water, and macro invertebrates and keying them to species (which beyond my understanding), for rapid bio-assessment of water quality for water shed projects and surface water quality assessments. Assisting her the person has a Bachelor's in Wildlife Biologist who has experience evaluating vernal pools, and while an undergraduate, and with the New York State DEC conducted a trapping census project in New York for amphibians. So I think I have two very qualified ecologists. Mr. Lynch: The reason I ask you to recite those is that had there been any improvements of the bluish color or the sediment encroachment or sediment dispatch into the pool, I would have expected her to have spoken to that as an issue. Mr. Dunk: I was out there the following day myself, and I have master degree in Biology and I have been a wetlands biologist for twelve years, and at that time the sediment barriers had been in place and the barriers appeared to be functioning. We had experienced rain for a while. Everything appeared to be out suspension and the water was clear. I walked the edges, if work had not been around there yet, in general there are no attachment sites, the southerly one does have some attachment sites. Nancy: Typically an NOI would show a limit of work. How should I interpret your limit of work on this figure. Mr. Lynch: The limit of work needs to be the edge of the erosion controls in both locations, being the teller sole of any fill, though the likelihood of any encroachment west of pool #1 is not likely at all, however to the north it could be somewhat encroached other than we are now, however the erosion controls are still well within that perimeter and to measure any further encroachment down into the water hole #2 to the north has been now surrounded to the west and to the south fully encompassing that area and to the north is remote and over to the Tennessee gas line headed toward the tower and to east is the embankment of the straight access road to the quarry and there would be no activity to the east of pond 2 or to the north of pond 2. However, to the west any activity would be confined by the encroachment controls, sedimentation controls, and that is the limit, no further. Nancy: There are a couple of spurs off the haul road that are south of the area shown on this figure. My question is they do go into almost the golf course in a couple of places and I am not very familiar with that area and if there are any resource areas. Mr. Lynch: When you have a dump truck you need to dump off the back. You can't dump off the front. Nancy: I am not debating the need for them. I just wanted to make sure of the fact that they had been looked into regarding the nearest resource areas because there are some on the opposite side of one of those holes. Mr. Lynch: We didn't make that clear that in this work area we focused specifically on the two areas that we were here for the IVA. There are no other areas. We did in fact walk that to make sure there was no other reasons for us to be here. Mr. Dunk: There are no filling activities that have occurred at least as of the 14th, and I don't know if there has been any since. David: The area you are talking about is adjacent to the 13th fairway. It is just about in between where the compost area is and the 13th fairway. Nancy: Wasn't there something to the south of the 13th? David: There is to the south of the 13th fairway, but it is probably a good 1500 ft. away and there is stuff on the 12th fairway, but that is at least 200 ft. away across the fairway and the other side of the green. Mr. Lynch: There shouldn't be anything on the 12th. David: I am outlining where the wetland areas are. Mr. Lynch: Oh, the wetland area, yes. So with that in mind, the necessity of two haul roads those spurs are to allow trucks to pull in and then back up to the dump area and off load their materials. And those will be removed upon completion of the haul operation. They are getting very close to the point, I would say within a week, of no longer needing the spur roads to be able to get up into the area itself and do all maneuvering in that open area. It depends on the frequency of trucks. It's a catch 22. If they go the distance of haul and that's inefficient time wise, but they also would have the hindrance of maneuvering amongst each other. David: I was impressed. You did a good job on the jersey barrier. Just to check I used my foot to see if it would go flying down the hill. It didn't. Mr. Lynch: A better check is I leaned against it. Nancy: When you come back before us with your Notice of Intent, will we be given any information on the characteristic of the fill because I think we have all been up there and seen the distance, brick and other debris. Mr. Lynch: The answer is yes, but I don't think it is jurisdictional. There is nothing to hide. Yes, we can do that. Bob: Throughout the RDA, we are basically saying it is supposed to be clean fill, virgin fill and according to your comments and receiving papers, you are having all sorts of debris, bricks and hub caps. Mr. Lynch: That's right. I do want to clear up the good reporter's interpretation, which I don't think was far off. The Mayor put a burden upon you people having an environmental monitor up there. What he did say is part of all the contract with Modern Continental in the development is that we are going to put, in addition to a clerk of the works, an environmental monitor in place whose obligation it is to report daily and verbally to me his findings for that day's activities and then bi-weekly will submit a written report both to me and to you people. So we don't expect you to be out there inspecting. We expect you to get copies of the environmental monitor's reports for your files. Bob: In the process of this previous presentation, there is always a question of drainage of materials or drainage of water from the previous area to the new area that was being filled. Will that be shown at the official hearing, the drainage calculation? Mr. Lynch: We have to be very careful. The NOI that is here, and the RDA before it is specific to the ILSF areas in north of the ball fields, in any work within 100 ft. of those areas where there is no buffer zone to an ILSF isn't jurisdictional. But we are prepared this evening and will be prepared at the next meeting again, both to discuss flow tendencies, what sort of measures are going to be placed to make sure the hydraulics of these two areas isn't interrupted to continue to get the water so they can continue to function as they have and based it on the existing topography and geology, and that being the present, the bed rock and initial flow into these two areas prior, and if the fact that the clay layer will have the same tendency west to east to continue the level of water to infiltrate first free treatment if you will, infiltrate first, get into the clay layer and find its way down to the same two areas. The same volume of water will get there, rate of runoff will be controlled and throttled by virtue of infiltration which under some one management standards is not a bad thing, it's a good thing. David: I just want to ask you for a favor on the record as a member of the North Andover Conservation Commission, as someone in the City Engineering Office that know what is going on, please do your best to convey throughout the City Hall that if there are protected areas, even if you are not sure call me, I will walk around with you and look. We had two enforcement orders in two consecutive meetings, I really never want to go through what we went through last week and two weeks ago. I am just asking personally if you could give these people an idea of what is expected of them. Mr. Lynch: David, sincerely for the record, I have my own job and my own work to do every day and the more everybody in the City understands to do things right, the more I am able to do my own job and not worry about having to intervene to solve their problems. I don't mind saying that for the record. Bob: At this time, just to bring you up to date, they are going for an NOI . This was just a short presentation of what you see in front of you and the official presentation will be occurring at the next meeting. Right now we have members of the public. I would like to open it up to the public, and again I would like to inform you this is not the official hearing for this particular project. The official hearing for this project will occur at the next meeting after it has been advertised in the paper to give the people a wider selection to be here. Mr. Lynch: Just for the record why we gather input is so we can become better prepared to answer questions at the next meeting as a matter of efficiency. Bob: There are some people here who want to get some questions out right away, and if you get it now we can have them prepared next week at the official hearing. Is there anyone that would like to say a few words? Alderman John Dunne - The reason I start out with "Alderman John Dunne" is we have not appropriated a dime to hire this corporation nor has there been a vote to fund this, nor is there any official capacity at this time. I find it amazing at what is going on. We were told, just for the record as an Alderman, it was represented to us that the Conservation Commission had viewed the area two to three weeks ago, when I first found out about this. Obviously, not true. More concerned again is the idea that the City Engineer, a gentleman named McKay, he applies and approves these things, not somebody else, not his assistant, unless he has been assigned by Mr. McKay. I don't see Mr. McKay's signature on any of this stuff. This entire process has been bounced one to the other to the other without getting a single straight answer. We are told here is the notice. I always thought that had to be done in the City Clerk's Office, just along with everybody else. I think it is time this Conservation Commission took that same attitude. There are processes to follow. The difference between leaning backwards once and say look, that was a mix-up, but in each individual time here, I will repeat a homily about the guy who finally went on a tour of Europe and called home to find out his cat was dead and so upset he couldn't speak for a couple of days. He finally called back and said you shouldn't have broken it to me that way. You should have broken it to me easier and said the cat went out on the roof. The next question was how is mom and the brother replied well, mom climbed out on the roof today. This is how this project is going. With each thing we start out with virgin, almost a virgin, it may have been a great song, if it has now gone from virgin to almost a virgin one has to ask who has been screwed here. I think it is the people of Melrose and the citizens in this City by lack of process. I would also like to bring to the attention of the Conservation Commission and I know it is something that normally would not come up, I think it was a comment about trees. Part of the process that is going on up there again without authorization, around $30,000 or $35,000 worth of lumber was being taken up. To do lumber removal requires stumpage and notification of the Conservation Commission. Bob: John, would you state the regulations of the forestry. Alderman Dunne: It is Chapter 132, Section 42 and 43, actually I believe 40-43, "every owner of land who proposes to cut forest products on land voted to forest purposes or to such forest to be and heading to the line, have they notified the abutters and the office of forestry and the Conservation Commission." There is no such plan on file, they have never bothered to do it. It is a requirement, it is requirement of law. Every question here is filled in already, it's already done. I don't know, we are hearing about pools, maybe what we are seeing here is proof that frogs don't particularly like big trucks because you take a huge area and run trucks through them and then say well, confine it. Well, maybe you found a lot of flat frogs in the clay, or whatever it is. Again, I submit to you the portion of the regulations read to the notification of the Conservation Commissions. Yes, Mr. Chairman, you have been notified and to set any hearing date for any other process to allow to go forward until you have been notified as to the cutting of trees, the plan there, and the whole package put together, I don't think you should do it. Thank you. John McDonald - 219 Laurel Street. From time to time I walk in the Mt. Hood area and I was surprised to go up there and see a lot of the trees missing and I am reading it in the paper. I believe that there should be more open space in the community. I don't believe we need more soccer fields or baseball fields or whatever they are planning to put up there. More than that, from what I have heard about what is going on with the process, it sounds as if it is the classic case of planning after implementations. It sounds to me as if there is some kind of good old boy deal that was struck between a couple of people. Somebody had some fill down in Boston and he knew somebody that had some room up in Melrose and they worked out this deal and now they are coming in after the fact and trying to legitimize it. I would ask the biologist here were there any vernal pools under the fill? Did you check under the fill? Could the fill be removed so that you could track it next Spring? David: Can I address that. In 1996 as part of the planning, it didn't include this project but part of the planning to upgrade Mt. Hood, mostly around the golf course. A wetland biologist, Michael Howard, reviewed the site and he found nine areas that were like this. Two were reviewed to be found vernal pools certified as such, but based on his finding the only two areas are the ones we have in question here and neither of them at that time supported any species that would certify that as vernal pool. Mr. McDonald: Was there a master plan done for Mt. Hood and is this part of it? David: This is not part of that. There was a master plan done for upgrades to the golf course. This is not part of that plan. Mr. McDonald: Then the question I would have is how did this get in? Bob: Part of the master plan according to the records indicated placement of a ball field or soccer field at Mt. Hood. The exact location was not identified at that time, but the records are basically in the master plan to indicate that and the open space plan. Mr. McDonald: Maybe I could finish by saying that if there is anything the Conservation Commission can do to stop this project I would like you to do it. I think the project should be stopped dead in its tracks because I don't think any kind of formal process has been followed yet and when I get one Commissioner asking a City employee a courtesy question, that is truly discouraging as far as what the Conservation Commissioners are doing. There are laws. This is not a courtesy. Mr. Lynch: Let me speak for Dave. Dave asked me, recognizing that I am a fellow Conservation Commissioner in my own home town, as a courtesy was asking me what I thought of it and what I would do to uphold the interest of this Commission. Mr. McDonald: That is nothing to do with what's here though. Dave: I agree with you from the prospective that there are certain things that could be interpreted and probably should be if we are not following the letter of Conservation law. This is two Cease and Desists in a row. There is a separate project related to the tennis court. Mr. McDonald: So can you stop the project because the laws have been violated? David: That, I am not sure. Mr. McDonald: Could you have them remove the fill so that they could check for vernal holes. Mr. Dunk: I would like to make a few comments. No. 1, yes the true master plan of the entire golf course was walked by a wetland biologist and he identified nine potential areas. Two should be certified and shown in figure 2 which is map of Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. No. 2, we looked at these two depressions. No. 3, the topography is shown in figure 3, showed that within the area to the fill that has been cleared to be filled, there are no other depressions. There are high spots, there are general low flat areas, but the topography is such that they do not hold water. It's only these 2 depressions that we called out that have the authority to hold water. Mr. McDonald: As far as I can see it looks like this thing is being run by the Conservation Commission. Bob: Let me tell you it is not being run by the Conservation Commission, by the Park's Department.. Mr. McDonald: It is sad to sit here and listen to him say that this guy couldn't get down here because he was too busy on another project while he is bringing truckloads of stuff in. Mr. Dunk: It had been a short time between the time we were called by the City and the day we conducted our field work here. But what I was saying is that other work in Eastern Massachusetts and in that community we still found egg masses the day before we were here. Mr. McDonald: So you came in as soon as you were called by the City people. Mr. Lynch: Sir, let him answer the question please. Mr. Dunk: What I was referring to that for, is that when I conduct the vernal pool program I start it in March and we do work through April because it is during that time that the amphibians lay their eggs. Once we observe breeding in the early spring, their normal time frame of laying eggs, we usually cease our program, or we may continue to observe that they hatch out. Typically the end of May is when these amphibians are hatching out. In fact you may not see them hatching anymore when you get into the end of May. And I put into evidence that egg masses are still present in Eastern Massachusetts as of the 22nd and 23rd of this month that they had not hatched out but they were still visible last week in Beverly in two certified vernal pools. Mr. McDonald: Did you not begin in March on this project? Mr. Dunk: Joe called us in on the 24th, right after this meeting with the RDA. You called in Friday the day following after the RDA we pulled out the plans of the areas that are in the aerial photographs and then we got to work right away. Mr. Lynch: I think Mr. Dunk made it clear, but the linkage to Beverly was an effort to show this is not going to find the study to the Mt. Hood areas that didn't show egg masses, he went to another client, another area where they were working by showing that egg masses existed there, that the climate this particularly Spring has been such that the amphibians have not hatched out yet. It has been cold. It has been damp. It hasn't been warm enough for the amphibians to go to tad poles, so that is the linkage to Beverly to further indicate that if masses could have existed they would be still prevalent. Mr. McDonald: Could you build the fields in Beverly? Mr. Lynch: I think they have plenty of fields sir. Terry Waugh: When you were up there, did you hear Peepers at all? Mr. Dunk: We were there during the day. They generally chorus in the evening time. Terry Waugh: I have heard them in the daytime. Mr. Dunk: You do sometimes, but with the activity that is going on up there, they generally wouldn't be chorusing. Mr. Lynch: I have heard them at night. Mr. Dunk: The information that is out there is part of the literature from the State for certifying vernal pools. Vernal pools species are rated as facultative and obligate species. Spring peepers are considered facultative species. Wood frogs and spotted salamanders are obligate species. So the presence of spring Peepers may be an indication, but it is not a definitive indicator. Dave: Could you explain the difference between your two terms facultative and obligate. Mr. Dunk: The vernal pool obviously is a ephemeral pool of water that remains present long enough during the spring and early summer that allows the water species such as amphibians and reptiles to breed in that pool of water remains sufficiently long enough so that the egg masses can hatch out the tad poles, the tad poles can grow and metamorphose to adults and lead a terrestrial life. This means that the isolated depression and is free of a fish population that would normally eat the egg masses, eat the tad poles, and you don't generally find the obligate vernal pool species in a lake or in a pond or in a perennial river that have fish and other species that would prey on them. So obviously they (obligate species) are found in isolated, temporary pools all the time, up to 99% of the time. Facultative species means that they do use vernal pools, but they are also found and use other water bodies for mating or breeding. Spring Peepers are facultative and you may find them in permanent bodies of water. So they are not in definitive vernal pool indicators. Linda Benezra - 340 Porter St.: First I would pursue the discussion about the underground stream connecting the two water sites. Prior to the 23rd when I was there and before the metal plates when to make the roadway for the trucks to come across, down by the gasoline, which is right in between where the water bodies are, there was a big hole and there was a piece of equipment, then it was full of water, and I didn't understand what it was. It may have nothing to do with it, but it just gives me a level of discomfort. I wonder if you would be able to, by your next meeting, take a look at the engineering drawing for whatever was done with those plates and find out what was there and where the water came from. Mr. Lynch: The engineering for the crossing of the pipeline is set by TENNECO, the line was covered by steel plates. That was the under the direction of TENNECO. The physical observation of while that work was being done there was absolutely no water there, none. When, in fact, the hydraulic connection that may have been suggested earlier would be the way of water hole 2. The normal flow would have built up under extraordinary storm events and then find its way down to pond #1, which even today is quite below any breach of elevation would have made that connection take place. Linda Benezra: Absolutely not, there was no water, or absolutely we could not for the records. Mr. Lynch: First of all there are no records in regards to what TENNECO supervised across their own pipeline, and second any water that may have been seen by you has never been seen by me in the location that you just suggested. I would only venture a guess what it might be, would have been during a rain event what was trapped onto itself just like today, the very head of the fill area today is trapping water as the fill moves in, the very same water that will find its way down across the clay layer and down to these areas upon completion as we move the clay and it acts as an impoundment. Linda Benezra: Secondly, Mr. Boisselle, you reference one of the master plans saying specifically ball fields and I wondered which one you were referring to. Bob: This is the master plan that Park's Department committed about four or five years ago to us as a part document and I took this out of the master plan that was submitted to us, and that was on a presentation at the Mt. Hood Golf Course Park Department. Linda Benezra: You took it from a 1995 Master Plan for Mt. Hood. I reread that. I don't believe there is any specific language to ball fields. It very clearly repeats probably five to six times passive recreation in the areas beyond that of the golf course. I just bring that your attention. Bob: I will look up the records again to verify it. Linda: Thank you. Thirdly, I notice at this public hearing Mr. Lynch is talking about specific water bodies, but there are some of us who have concerns about other areas of the golf course that will be impacted by what is going on here. Now there is no good record here that we shouldn't bring it up now and put it on the table from what we have already learned to why we are all here tonight. My concern is, as you come up the haul road, the first spur that goes out, it is just about where the compost area is. The spur goes out, initially it goes over to the old car path, and down to the 13th hole. Beyond the spur going out for the trucks to turn around, if that is what the intent was, there has been a fan that has opened up, so it is a substantial amount of land. I am hard pressed to understand how all this fill isn't going to bring more water down onto the golf course and perhaps impact what may or may not be a resource area. So I would ask you Commission people to go out and take a look and see if, in fact, this is an area beyond wetland grass. Mr. Lynch: This is on the golf course itself? Linda: Right, it goes out onto the golf course. It is the one that backs up to where Waste Management now keeps the big container. It backs up to the property and it goes off the haul road. Mr. Lynch: That is not a temporary spur. The temporary spur is further up heading towards pond #1 and veers off to the left. What Linda is describing is actually a permanent alteration, permanent feature for tees on the golf course itself. Nancy: But that is the same clay. Mr.Lynch: It is the same clay, and it is not at all near any wetlands and I am certainly to be invited to go up and look at it, and look at the original topography. Nancy: That is the same area I was asking about earlier regarding where is the nearest resource areas. Mr. Lynch: From the area Linda is just describing, the nearest resource area is down towards Smyly Buick and towards Penney Road which was an intermittent stream the BVW2 and it dumped a thousand ft. away, certainly not within 100 ft. of the jurisdiction of this Commission, however the work upon that area certainly will be jurisdictional of the Park Commission itself. David: There is another area adjacent to this 12th fairway, but that is still outside of the 100 ft. buffer zone. If they change something that affects the resource Linda, we only have jurisdiction over the 100 ft. buffer zone on a resource area. We have jurisdiction after the fact if something they do causes a problem in the wetland area, but at this point and time we don't have any jurisdiction over that. Mr. Lynch: Those questions are to be raised to some other forum probably, but not to this forum. Linda: Well, it looks like we are getting the forums after the facts. I think we need to put as much on the table as we can. When Nancy asked the question about the spurs, I believe that you said the spurs were coming out. She talked about three, you just told me one is not coming out, but the other two are definitely coming out? Joe: There is only one other spur and a secondary spur beyond that, and I was speaking specific to the application here before us tonight, never thinking for a moment you were referring to another area of the spur, which it is not. The other areas are as you are coming up the road from the compost area, the compost area can get back, actually Linda knows the compost area more than anybody besides myself here. The high area, small high areas with the old stump dump area, just beyond that it veers off to the left, that is the turn around, that is the temporary spur that will be coming out. A little beyond that there was another V veered off, which at this point now has a jersey barrier and hay bales around it. That was used as a temporary turnaround, it has not already been abandoned, and once the project is completed it will be taken out as well. Jerry Benezra, 340 Porter Street: I noticed, Joe, when you talk about not wanting to having to go to the last meeting there were smiles around the table and since I am one of the people who probably made that uncomfortable, I would like to start by thanking several people. I would like to thank the Chairman for arriving at my home personally with the tape/CD, and I would also like to thank the two members who made the offers and afterwards were able to answer questions for me and actually trudged through, and probably ruined a pair of shoes with me, but I really want to thank those people. I had not had the pleasure of working with these people before and I want to thank you. Last time I was concerned that the system wasn't working. I wasn't aware until that meeting that was the second meeting in the row where you issued Cease and Desist again to the City and I think the fact that you people are doing that means the system is working. I just want to thank you. I felt my time was well served and I appreciate the time that was put in by members of the Commission. Just a few things, I am curious as to when Camp Dresser McKee (CDM) was first contacted on this project. I have had my chance to document with you and to see the scope of work. Joe: That should be redirected to me. The reason why I say that is CDM is a massive firm with various division. We brought in the wetland biology department of CDM as a result of a discussion at the last meeting, and CDM landscape architectural team, is the same team that has been working on this project since the formulation of the mass plan itself who has worked on various aspects of this for the past number years. CDM landscape architectural team has been looking at this ball field operation on the first day that we appointed Modern Continental to them and said look, you want to bring the fill in, we think we want to use the field, does this work? And that was the very first day. I can't tell you what day that was. Jerry Benezra: Is there a scope of work or documents surrounding those things that you just outlined, Joe? Mr. Lynch: We have had a couple of meetings that I have been involved with and I know a number with Amirault before that with the feasibility of the whole field. It is going to continue to evolve during various public hearings of user groups, neighborhood groups, and the various people that the Mayor has met with in the past three weeks, people like yourself who all have an opinion of what should be there, what shouldn't be there, how it should be done and what shouldn't be done and all of which the Park Commission will then render a decision of what is the appropriate use for that land. Jerry Benezra: My apologies. I am sure I was inarticulate. Is there a document that you could identify the purpose of making an agreement, information at request that refers to the meeting that you say you had with representatives of CDM regarding the ball field. Mr. Lynch: There is not. Jerry Benezra: I would hope that whatever documents can be found at the next meeting, it would be helpful to get them in advance and people would have an opportunity to see them before the hearing. Mr. Lynch: Both documents have been filed this evening for your approval. Bob: Right, we just received them. Mr. Benezra: The minutes requested you indicated that perhaps they would be in advance before coming into the meeting. Bob: What we do here we receive the documents and then put them on display in the Planning Office for the public at that point. We receive them first before the hearing and then we have a two week time period for the public to come in to review it. Mr. Benezra: I am just saying if there is any new information I would appreciate it. Also, if I can because I don't want to leave the records incorrect, I would commend CDM for the work they did on the master plan. It was an excellent job, as a matter of fact, I mentioned to one of the Commissioners if we were going to go and hire somebody, I actually contacted one person who was going to contact another, and when I heard CDM was involved, I felt comfortable we didn't have to do that so you saved us some money. But I do want to say that I believe you were in error, Mr. Chairman, and just want to make it clear that I will put my personal objection on the line that I have read that master plan. That master plan has no reference to ball fields. To the contrary, it talks consistently about the fact that it is interested in only seeing passive recreation in the area. That report also indicated that they were concerned at the time about access even for golfing and proper use for golfing, so I just want to make sure the record is clear that matter up. And just lastly I have heard a couple of times about these weather events, I am on the side of the developer, we always have plans with a 100 yr. storm and we always have plans for those events, so it sounds like it is something we don't get concerned about. And lastly, there was a reference again tonight to a contract, and for the people here I just want to make clear that there has been a repeated request for the contract with Modern Continental. I have a letter telling me I was going to receive the contract. I received a three page document. If there is a contract then I think everybody should see it. Even though it may be outside here, we were told again tonight there was a contract, there have been statements at various public hearings, but there is a different representative for the City from the Mayor for this ground role who now is Mr. Lynch, and he was not being provided this promise that there is a written contract and I would like the record to be clear on that to the extent that we were told there was a contract of protection, but there isn't, and I think one of the issues some have raised, I have raised that that is another issue. This issue is after the fact. The only reason I raised it tonight is because I didn't put it on the table, but I don't want to leave any misimpressions. It is not my intention to stop the ball field. I am not anti-ball field. My wife has been Mrs.Ballfield like she has been Mrs. Trash and Mrs.Compost. So I just want to make clear again, my interest and the people I represent, and my wife, and family is in the process. We just want the process to be followed, and you have proved when it is followed, it works. There are other instances here where it has not been followed. I am glad to see Mr. Lynch taking over as he has. Steven Spencer - resident of Melrose and an employee of DEP. I work for the Environmental Strike Force and I wasn't aware of this situation until it was brought to my attention at my office with the Strike Force, but I come here primarily as a resident of Melrose, but obviously it intermingles with my work. The only other thing I would like to add to this and sort of echo what Jerry said is the respect for the process. The Park Department and its goals, omissions, and by the nature what it does, it seems like it ought to more closely dovetail with what the Conservation Commission does, and to that extent it seems like all this biology work should have been done before anything was done. Why did you go ahead without doing this kind of work beforehand? Mr. Lynch: The Park Dept. began with haste absolutely. Should they have done it more openly? Should they have gone to the community, citizen groups? Absolutely. Should they have come here? Not necessarily, because on strength of the wetlands report that was filed with this Commission, making the determination for the vernal pools as well as the other resource areas, the Park Commission erroneously took for granted that although the areas in four years could have changed, fortunately it didn't, but they could have, and they were lucky, and by virtue, by simply putting the erosion controls in place properly at the very beginning and boarding these areas by virtue by coming up to the edges, that project wouldn't need to be before this Commission. By virtue of the encroachment into the wetland in one area is the reason that triggered it. It is the ironic reason that we have the storm to talk about. No other storm has offered such an admirable discussion, so hasty, absolutely, should it have gone through different channels, probably, but this Commission has done what it was supposed to do and the applicant has done what it was supposed to do and we are here now with the encroachment in place, seeking the NOI to allow us to continue, and the NOI speaks for itself. It is based on science, based on fact, and it is based on the walk, and I guess it is ironic that we are here because of the encroachment. Mr. Spencer: You are saying that you did not have to put out a Notice of Intent prior to beginning the project? Mr. Lynch: That is correct, had it not been for the encroachment, an NOI would not have been required. Mr. Dunk: These depressions are, in my opinion, not Bordering Vegetated Wetlands, but these depressions under the Wetland Protection Regulation are, in our opinion, Isolated Land Subject to Flooding and then they are protected under the Wetlands Protection Regulations. There are no buffer zones to ILSF. An applicant is required to file a Request of Determination of Applicability at a minimum or a Notice of Intent when work is proposed within an area subject to jurisdiction, or when it is subject to review by the Conservation Commission i.e. that work is within the buffer zone. These depressions do not have a buffer zone and what Mr. Lynch is saying is correct and under the law and regulations had they kept fill out of there they would not have to file. Mr. Spencer: You could have been more forthcoming and maybe acted in a more preventive way. David: I agree with what Mr. Lynch said as a member of this Commission. It is good though that we do get the RDA to say yes, we agree with you, it helps prevent misunderstandings. I agree there was nothing you had to do, but at the same time someone could have interpreted it differently, and the purpose of the idea is just so yes, we agree, so we can avoid some of what we are going through now. Priscilla Hook: This is just general comment about Michael Howard. I think the Commission should really question his expertise. He seems to show up at a lot of these walk-throughs. A few years ago there was a question of a vernal pool behind Terry Waugh's house and it was on the Cefalo property, he was adamant that it was not a vernal pool until the DEP came in and during the summer months it was dried up, declared it a vernal pool. I don't know why he shows up so much, but his expertise should be questioned and even perhaps the report he did four years ago. I just want it on record. Public participation is closed. Bob: The review of the Notice of Mt. Hood Haul Road will be rendered next meeting. Voted: We find a Positive Determination of Applicability. New Books
Invoices
Voted: To accept a Negative Determination for the Amtrak Right of Way. This is- the yearly clearing of the railroad track area and it is not close to anybody's water. It starts past the armory and works it way up just about behind the Roosevelt School. There are no changes from any past proposals and they are supplying us with the request for a Negative Determination. There is no proposed work within wetland resource area, the vegetation controls are conforming to the guidelines set forth in MA Right of Way Management Regulation, and also within the Wetland 33CMR Right of Way Management, using approved application of herbicide. A Notice of Intent was presented for the next meeting regarding a Negative Determination on the project of planting trees within 100 ft. buffer zone for community enhancement and for the planting of native species in the area. Rich Amirault, Tree Warden will present this project . Voted: that we cover this project at the beginning of the next meeting. New business: David: I informed Bob that when I drove out to look at the ball field at Mt. Hood, coming down Penny Road I noticed an area that is part of the intermittent stream that is basically behind the green on the 14th fairway, runs along Penny Road and then in behind the Anderson property where it connects with the Penny Road subdivision that is going on. So I brought it to Bob's attention and Bob and I both talked to Rick Amirault. What they had done, when the water comes down, there was a pipe that had been crushed somehow, they replaced the pipe. What happened during the winter is it would freeze up, the water would spill out onto Penny Road and it caused an ice hazard there, so they had redone the pipe and then they had put riff raff at the end of the pipe so they could prevent erosion, and I was concerned about it because I knew it was part of an intermittent stream there. Nancy: So we brought it to their attention, and are we expecting some paperwork on it now, or should we request such? David: We probably should. My belief is that this originates up above somewhere around the 16th green. There is a wetland area up there, and when it is wet enough it builds and it flows down. It would probably be good if he gives us some outline as to what occurred. I don't think what he did was wrong. I suggested to Rick that I would be very happy to walk with them the beginning of every year and discuss what they are planning on doing there and let them know which ones we think we might want to look at so they could avoid issues, but he might want to let us know exactly what they did. Nancy: We should ask for that in writing then. Bob: Okay, I will have our legal group do it. Nancy: So we brought it to their attention should be expect some paperwork. Linda: Regarding the Ell Pond Extension. I remember back when I was on the Park Commission and the riff raff wall was put in, and the Conservation Commission has been very strong in making sure that the riff raff wall was to be cleaned out. I went by there the other day and there is all kinds of growth in it. This is near the gazebo. Bob: The reason for the high weeds is that I am trying to maintain them high basically to prevent the geese from coming up. Geese have a problem, they need a long runway to take off and they try to stay in an open area. Where you have brush and other areas of high weed, etc., they try to stay away from it. I think it is to our benefit, we may have some high weeds in that area, but we are trying to lower the aspects of the geese population from coming into that area. That is my goal and every year I am trying to do that and someone comes in with a work team and cuts everything, so we haven't had one full year of brush for the geese to stay off the property. David: I don't think the geese would take off from the ripp rapp area, would they? Nancy: They have the part lawn and they hit the run and go straight out to the water, and actually you don't think of it as brush so much as a natural barrier. It is actually a documented conservation technique to keep the geese from fouling on the lawn, which in turn runs right back into the pond. Linda: They aren't fouling on the pond, they are fouling on the path. David: That is the idea. Because they are fouling on the path, if we could stop them from getting on the path, you don't have the runoff from the path into the pond. A reporter from the Free Press was present this evening. Voted to adjourn at 9:10 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Respectfully submitted, Nancy Pritchard |
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