Condensed from approved minutes
Members Present: Jerry Hersey, Tina Cotton, Alan McIntyre, Mary Anne Broshek, Jesse Schust and Paul Currier
Minutes
The December meeting was cancelled so November was the last time the Andover CC met. The November minutes were reviewed and small changes were recommended. Alan made a motion to approve the minutes, Jerry seconded and all were in favor. Alan will send the final version of minutes to Town Office and Beacon.
Correspondence (since November meeting)
White Oak package from Marj Roy requesting input from CC. (Note: The CC input was sent via email dated 12/27/18)
FEMA letter advising of meeting on 12/11/18
GM2/DOT letter (emailed by Marj on December 11) asking for CC input regarding mitigation around future culvert by Fenvale. Tina sent a draft response to CC members for comment in December. Tina sent the CC input to the GM2/DOT consultant 12/28/18.
ASLPT letter requesting membership dues of $100. Jerry made a motion that the CC pay the dues, Alan seconded the motion, and all were in favor.
ASLPT Update – Jesse
Jesse went to his first meeting as an Andover representative on the ASLPT Outreach Committee. He met a number of other representatives and found the meeting very helpful. Bradford CC has done a survey of the class 6 roads which has resulted in a report about the current state and uses of each of these roads. Jesse suggested that Andover might try doing a similar project.
Proposed Changes to Village Districts – (presentation by Paul Currier)
Paul showed us the plans for proposed village district and discussed the maps in great detail. He used a projector and laptop to project maps on the wall. This proved very helpful in understanding the proposed village district. Paul explained that the reason the Planning Board was proposing an expansion of the current village district zones is to encourage the development of village areas that correspond with the town master plan.
Mary Anne will submit the CC comments on the expansion at the 1/22/19 public hearing. Member are encouraged to attend.
QGIS Mapping
Paul showed us how he uses shape files and layers in QGIS, a free GIS mapping software, in order to produce maps of many different types. In addition to reviewing the proposed village districts, we reviewed a number of locations of relevance to the CC. These included: Andover wetlands, White Oak pit, Bog Pond, Elbow Pond, and Bradley Lake. Paul’s work with QGIS uses data sets that are similar to those used by Laura Alexander and Harvey Pine (for their work with the CC). Jesse hopes to learn more about how to use QGIS and Paul has offered to share some of what he’s learned about how to use the tool.
Shoreland Protection –
Jenny Bodwell is currently is working on a Beacon Article and letter to Andover property owners with shore frontage on lakes and rivers covered by the Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act. There have been several recent tree cuts that violate the Shoreland Protection act. Jenny pointed out that the DES information is complicated and these rules could be written in a clearer way to ensure that landowners know how to follow the rules. Hopefully this guide will help prevent further violations of the Shoreland Protection act in Andover. Paul offered to provide us with a map of shoreland water quality protection zone in Andover. Tina suggested that we plan another presentation this summer about lakes and water quality like the one we held in the fall as requested by residents who attended the fall program. A summer program would allow more seasonal residents to attend. NH Lakes and DES both seemed open to the idea. We are also planning a summer workshop on rain gardens.
Eversource Update –
Jesse has been in touch with Eversource and the NH Division of Historical Resources with regard to the Eversource tower replacement project. The project took a different route than planned on the section powerline immediately east of Bridge Street. The CC was not notified of the change, and the new route went through an area of potential archeological sensitivity. In addition, a stone wall was removed on the east side of Bridge Road. The CC was not notified of this. Eversource has offered to escort representatives from the CC along the route to allow us to see if any additional changes/impacts exist along the route. Jesse will organize this. The Division of Historical Resources also contacted Eversource and were given assurances that the stone wall would be restored. The Division of Historical Resources told Jesse that the new route is unlikely to have damaged archaeologically significant land due to the specific location. Additionally, there was an Eversource related vehicle crash on the access route very near to Kearsarge Mountain Road. The crash resulted in a diesel fuel spill and some hydraulic fluid leakage. The DES sent an emergency team to inspect the situation and take measures to limit the impact on Mountain Brook. Mary Anne contacted DES and received an initial report from Robert Bishop. This report was forwarded to Marj Roy. Jesse has had reports that neighbors smelled diesel fuel in the vicinity of the brook the following day. Jesse will ask Eversource if they are willing to offer well tests to residents with surface wells nearby
DES Wetland Rules
The rules for Wetlands are currently under review and dramatic changes have been proposed. The shortened timeline from receipt of an application to permit approval will make it harder for the local conservation commissions to have a role in reviewing proposed wetland impacts. Mary Anne has been working on this and has submitted comments. The deadline for comments is January 18th. The NHACC has also submitted comments.
Outstanding Items from 2018
Update of the Town record of the Andover CC members and their terms was reviewed for the town report.
Mary Anne will be trying to ensure that the newer members of the CC understand where the resources and files of the CC are and how to use them.
Wetland Markers
Jesse arranged for wetland marker signs and 25 delineator posts from the NH Department of Corrections. They came to a total of $450. Specifically, this is $199 for 100 printed reflective 4”x4” wetland marker signs ($1.99 each), a $25 one-time digitizing fee, and $226 for 25 galvanized 7’ sign posts ($9.04 each). The signs will be reusable.
Revised Bog Pond Vision Statement
Mary Anne and Paul Currier have met to discuss where the line should be drawn for a conservation easement on town property by Bog Pond. Mary Anne circulated a revised December 2018 vision statement for Bog Pond. We are using this as our guide to the next steps in exploring a potential conservation easement on land adjacent to Bog Pond.
Review and Revision of the 2018 CC Town Report
Tina will take into account the suggestions and submit the final version.
Current Use Penalty Distribution
The research sent in November was reviewed by the Town Office. David Blinn requested and received an opinion from the town auditor. Any current use penalty distribution will now be happening monthly.
Other Business
Alan reported that the dredging of Proctor’s Pond is proceeding now.
We were not able to review the goals of 2019 during this meeting – we will try to cover this in the next meeting. Members were asked to come up with ideas for the February meeting.
It was noted that the meeting went longer than expected and this was likely the result of the cancellation of December’s meeting and Paul’s very helpful presentation of mapping information.
Mary Anne met with the Budget committee on 1/2/19 to discuss the CC budget for 2019. The final budget report was distributed to members.
Jerry made the motion to adjourn, was seconded by Alan and all were in favor. Meeting ended at 10:20 PM.