TOWN OF SOMERS

CONSERVATION COMMISSION

P. O. Box 308

Somers, Connecticut 06071

CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES

4/2/03; 7:00 p.m.

Town Hall

I. CALL TO ORDER:

Chairman Joan Formeister called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present were: Joan Formeister; Dan Fraro; Karl Walton; Lise Wood and Alternate Gus Helberg who was seated for Maurice Rondeau. Also present was David Askew, Wetlands Agent.

II. OLD BUSINESS:

a. Discussion/Possible Decision: Wetlands Application #468, Outdoor Recreation Building with Bathrooms within Upland Review Area, 359 Mountain Road, Worthington Pond Farm

Plans for the outdoor recreating building with bathrooms were reviewed by the Commission at the last meeting. There have been drainage problems on the site - both on the roadway and traveling down to the pond. Mike Mocko, Environmental Consultant for the applicant, presented a drainage plan to David Askew. He proposes a stone-lined swale down to the pond. This drainage plan is satisfactory to David Askew.

Karl Walton made a motion to approve Wetlands Application #468 for an outdoor recreation building with bathrooms within upland review area at 359 Mountain Road. This motion was seconded by Lise Wood and unanimously approved by the Commission.

b. Discussion/Possible Decision: Wetlands Application #469, Agricultural Drainage Improvements within Wetlands, 327 Ninth District Road, Barrett

This application was also discussed at the last meeting. The U.S. Department of Agriculture designed an erosion control plan which consists of two catch basins to collect surface flow which will then be piped to a grass-lined swale - finally discharging into a stream.

David Askew has no other issues with this application except to require a pre-construction meeting with the contractor. Soils will have to be taken out of the wetland and stockpiled during the construction process. At the last meeting, it was agreed to lower the application fee to $75.00 because this project is part of an USDA sponsored erosion control project.

Lise Wood made a motion to approve Wetlands Application #469 for agricultural drainage improvements at 327 Ninth District Road with the condition that a pre-construction meeting is held with David Askew and the contractor. This motion was seconded by Karl Walton and unanimously approved by the Commission.

III. NEW BUSINESS:

a. Wetlands Application #470. 3-Lot Subdivision in Upland Review Area, Hillcrest Drive, Buck Builders LLC

Gerry Hardisty, engineer for the applicant, presented a copy of the subdivision plan to the Commission. The property is located at the southeast end of Hillcrest Drive. The total parcel of 4.293 acres has been split into (3) building lots. Lot #3 is within 100' of the wetlands. There is a brook running through the end of the area. Mr. Hardisty said the construction of this subdivision will not have a negative impact on the wetlands.

David Askew agreed that the grades shown on the drawing are correct. The stream is off the property. The wetland area has been flagged. Mr. Askew recommended that a 25' undisturbed buffer be maintained. This will allow some flexibility in house placement while maintaining stream functions. The bank to the stream is fairly steep - so the homeowner would probably keep away from the stream. There is quite a bit of water run-off on the site and road. There are two catch basins in the area.

David Askew said a condition of approval would be an undisturbed buffer of at least 25' to the wetland.

Gerry Hardisty pointed out the silt fence they propose to install in order to protect the wetland area during the construction period.

A motion was made by Karl Walton to change the order of the agenda and go to Audience Participation; seconded by Lise Wood and unanimously approved by the Commission.

IV. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION:

John and Jennifer Rose, 54 Wynwood Drive, Enfield: They are building a house at 39 Heritage Drive in Somers. They were unable to be on the agenda for tonight's meeting because they just submitted their application today.

This property received a wetland permit that expired in 2000. The location of the house now has not changed from the previously approved location.

John Rose asked the Commission if they would consider having a Special Meeting to accept their application so they could proceed with the approval process at an accelerated rate. They realize that after the application is accepted, there is a (14) day appeal period before the application can be approved by the Commission.

After a discussion, it was the consensus of the Commission that they would be willing to have a Special Meeting - either on 4/9 or 4/16 of this month. The Commissioners will be contacted to see which date will be the best for a quorum.

Elaine Hayes, 176 County Road: asked when the silt and sediment would be removed from her property. She said she has written letters, called the Town Attorney and nobody has responded to her concerns.

Dave Askew said he has spoken to the Town Attorney about the silt accumulation and he said he would respond in writing to Mrs. Hayes latest correspondence.

The Commission returned to the regular order of business.

III. NEW BUSINESS:

b. Discussion: SHS Water Testing Project

A high school teacher approached Joan Formeister and said that her class is applying for a State grant to do water testing in the Shady Lake and Gulf Stream area. She asked if the Conservation Commission would support this type of endeavor. She feels that Conservation Commission endorsement would improve their chance for State grant money.

Joan Formeister wrote a letter indicating that she, as Chairman of the Conservation Commission, approved of this project and would bring it up at the next Conservation Commission meeting. She asked that if the project goes forward, the teacher and class members attend a Conservation meeting to discuss the results of their water testing.

Joan Formeister said the project is an attempt to have students participate in "hands on" projects. It was the consensus of the Commission that this is a great idea and definitely has the support of the Commission.

c. Discussion: Ordinance Establishing Fines for Violations

David Askew reviewed an ordinance recently passed in South Windsor that allows fines to be imposed by the Conservation Commission and/or Wetland Agent for violations of the Wetlands Regulations. South Windsor uses an Administrative Hearing process to review proposed fines.

The Commission also discussed charging a higher fee to those violators who defied the Wetlands Regulations and finally apply for a wetlands permit - after the fact.

The Commission was in favor of investigating a similar ordinance for Somers - which would give enforcement power to the Conservation Commission.

Karl Walton made a motion to have David Askew pursue the possibility of a Somers Ordinance for fines to be levied against Wetlands Regulations violators. This would require approaching the First Selectman, the Town Attorney and going through the ordinance process - which would ultimately lead to approval at a Town Meeting. This motion was seconded by Gus Helberg and unanimously approved by the Commission.

David Askew also suggested a review of the Wetlands Regulations - which has not been done since 1997. Perhaps an additional fee could be added for "after the fact" wetlands applications and chronic violators of the Wetlands Regulations.

The Commission also asked that David Askew check with other towns to see if our fees are in line with area towns. This should probably wait until the Selectmen indicate their approval of this type of ordinance being brought before the public.

d. Discussion: Logging Regulations:

David Askew initiated a discussion as to whether the Commission would like to re-activate the proposed logging ordinance that Joan Formeister and her committee had put together a few years ago. This ordinance would apply only to large parcels of land involved in a logging operation.

The DEP initially thought that the towns should handle their own logging regulations. Then the DEP said they were going to compile their own logging regulations that could be adopted by the towns. Nothing has been done for five years.

Dave has discussed this problem with Doug Emerthal, the forester in this area. The town can not legally prevent what the State allows a landowner to do. Somers requires a harvest plan, however; a logger can harvest 50% of the timber in a wetland area. Right now, a logger can clear cut right up to the bank of a stream.

A discussion evolved about adding to the single page to the existing "Guidelines for Logging in the Town of Somers, CT". Although these guidelines can not be enforced at this time, hopefully the loggers will try to adhere to the Town's recommendations. David Askew will work on a second page of guidelines.

V. STAFF/COMMISSION REPORT:

David Askew reviewed his Wetland Agent's Report with the Commission. The following are highlights of his report:

County Road: David has been inspecting the 4-lot subdivision site on a regular basis to be sure that proper erosion control measures are employed. A considerable amount of erosion has occurred on County Road unrelated to the subdivision.

Lloyd Gravel Pit, Battle Street - David investigated a stockpile of logs on the property to see if a logging operation was taking place. He was told these logs come from Stafford and are just being stored temporarily.

Broadway - the Commission approved a house site last year adjacent to a wetland. During his Certificate of Occupancy inspection, David noted sediment deposits within the wetland and instructed the owner to remove this sediment by hand.

David has been conducting erosion inspections at all construction sites in town to be sure that the erosion control measures that are in place are adequate for the spring season.

David reviewed (6) new permits and (14) Certificates of Occupancy since his last report.

David has taken steps to become a Certified Soil Scientist and also certification as a professional erosion and sediment control inspector. The Commission commended David for his efforts.

David showed a book on vernal pools - written by Mike Klemens - to the Commission and said he would lend the book to anyone that might be interested in reading about vernal pools. David mentioned that there is $700.00 in this fiscal year's budget to be used for a conservation project. This money could be used for a vernal pool investigation in Somers. The investigation could include aerial photographs and use of the GIS system to place these pools on different properties. The Commission will review this suggestion and comment on it at a future meeting.

Lise Wood made a motion to accept David Askew's Wetland Agent Report; seconded by Karl Walton and unanimously approved by the Commission.

VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND BILLS:

One bill for payment of dues to CACIWC in the amount of $60.00. Lise Wood made a motion to approve payment of this bill; seconded by Karl Walton and unanimously approved by the Commission.

All Commissioners and Staff members signed a letter to Simon Lipton thanking him for his service to the community in the field of conservation.

VII. MINUTES APPROVAL: March 5, 2003

Page 1 - line 3 - correct the spelling of "Formeister"

Page 2 - 6th paragraph; change "feet" to "fee"

Lise Wood made a motion to approve the 3/5/03 minutes, as amended. Karl Walton seconded the motion which was unanimously approved by the Commission.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT:

Motion to adjourn was made by Karl Walton; seconded by Dan Fraro and unanimously approved by the Commission. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Lise Wood, Secretary

Connie Carenzo, Recording Secretary