Minutes of September 6, 2001

[Approved 10/4/2001]

Present: Bob Boisselle, Paul Locke, Peter Mortimer, Nancy Naslas, Bruce Rider

Voted: to accept the minutes of August 16, 2001 as edited.

Voted: to pay the Secretary $96 for her services rendered in August 2001.

From the Auditor's office, fiscal year 2002 budget, we have $23,770 for expenses for this coming year. We have $20,920 for contractural; supplies and material $1,250; and other charges which include dues, membership, conventions and meetings $1,600, totaling $23,770.

Correspondence:

From: Sally A. Kielinski, Ph.D., Executive Director, and Sheryl Waddick, Esq., Education Program Coordinator of Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions (MACC), informing the Board of Selectmen of Melrose that Bruce Rider, member of the Melrose Conservation Commission, successfully completed MACC's Fundamentals for Conservation Commissioners training course and received a Certificate of Achievement. A press release for our local newspaper announcing Bruce's achievement was enclosed. Also enclosed were Fundamentals course brochures to encouragement other commissioners to enroll.

Mass Wildlife News included the following: Antler less Deer Permit Numbers are being drawn; Connecticut River Fish Passage Numbers news; Backwoods Survival; Early Goose Season; Recreation Map; Bear Season which opens September 4 through September 22 in the West Central and Western MA.

New England Wildflower Society: Courses titled Invasive Plant Management and Control Methods Workshop at the Hitchcock Center tomorrow or the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Sudbury Friday, September 14. The fee is $40. The commission will sponsor anyone who is interested in going to the workshops.

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary has a Wetlands 2001 Workshop. The first one is 9/29 "The Wetland Connections", and a "Vernal Pool Certification Workshop" (companion workshop) will be scheduled in the spring. Fee is $19 for non-members. If you are a Mass Audubon member fee is $16.

Bob: Does anyone wish to speak from the public at this time.

No response.

Bob: Public discussion is closed.

Pine Banks Rugby Field
Nancy: I received a call from a concerned citizen regarding the Pine Banks area Rugby field that is being constructed. He was concerned about a tree. It looks like it was going to be taken down, and in fact it will be taken down. I went up and took a look at it. It is a big cottonwood, a 100 plus yr. old tree. It is in the area where the field is going to be and it had a couple of big branches that had fallen off of it, so it wouldn't have been a safe tree to leave there with people playing sports underneath it.

Bob: On the first presentation, we asked that question stating that if you want to take down trees, trees should be replanted, and he mentioned there would be a couple of trees that would be taken down but where not in the buffer zone.

Nancy: There were several on the plans, but this one was not on the plan and it is quite large, and I am sure it is already gone. It was after the hearing where we had given them their negative finding on their determination of applicability. I explained to him his only recourse was if he had problems with our finding, he could appeal to the DEP, and he did mention he felt the wetland delineation was incorrect, and I told him we agreed with the plans the way they were presented to us. He thinks the wetlands extended towards the field, and in doing so the 100 ft. buffer zone would have been bumped over and that tree would have been within the 100 buffer zone, but as I said it was outside of our jurisdiction. We have given the negative finding and had agreed with the wetland delineation presented to us on the plan. I just wanted to be sure he knew he did have recourse if he so moved. I haven't heard anything since then.

Mt. Hood
Nancy: My second comment is I have heard that there is a bunch of terracing going on up at Mt. Hood, presumably to prevent excessive erosion on the soccer field clay pile up there in preparation for winter. They don't have any plans to cover it up, but they do have a lot of gravel they were going to use to at least shore it up. I would suggest if you have the time between now and our next meeting, just go up and take a look and we can talk about it then.

Bob: It is time for a trip up there.

Nancy: I think they are starting to take the Haul Road back a bit, remove it, which is the one next to the ILSF. So all that area is being terraced and pulled back.

Voted: to adjourn at 7:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Pritchard Commission Secretary