THESE MINUTES ARE PRESENTED IN DRAFT FORM AND HAVE NOT
BEEN FORMALLY APPROVED BY THE ENFIELD CONSERVATION COMMISSION. OFFICIAL COPIES OF MINUTES, WHEN APPROVED, CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE TOWN CLERK OR PLANNING OFFICE.
ENFIELD CONSERVATION COMMISSION
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2010
A Regular Meeting of the Enfield Conservation Commission was called to order by Chairman LaPlante in the Enfield Room of the Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Tuesday, June 8, 2010. The meeting was called to order at 7:15 p.m.
ROLL-CALL – Present were Commissioners Michael Dynia, Joanne Kneiss, Karen LaPlante, Gretchen Pfeifer-Hall, Richard Szewczak and Kathleen Vose. Commissioners Natalie George and Timothy McGuire were absent. Alternate Joanne Kneiss was seated to vote at this meeting. Also present were Roger Alsbaugh, Assistant Town Planner, and Jeannette Lamontagne, Recording Secretary
Chairman LaPlante stated Commissioner Kneiss will be a regular voting member for this meeting.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Commissioner Kneiss, seconded by Commissioner Szewczak to accept the minutes of the May 11, 2010 Regular Meeting of the Conservation Commission. The vote was 5-0-1, with Commissioner Dynia abstaining.
A motion was made by Commissioner Pfeifer-Hall, seconded by Commissioner Vose to accept the minutes of the May 18, 2010 Special Meeting.
Mr. Alsbaugh noted he included an addendum to those minutes.
Commissioner Kneiss pointed out she was not present at that meeting, therefore, it should be noted that she was absent.
The vote to accept the minutes, as amended, was 6-0-0.
A motion was made by Commissioner Pfeifer-Hall, seconded by Commissioner Kneiss to go into Executive Session to discuss real estate matters.
The vote was unanimous, and the Regular Meeting stood recessed at 7:26 p.m.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Executive Session of the Enfield Conservation Commission was called to order by Chairman LaPlante at 7:27 p.m.
ROLL-CALL – Present were Commissioners Michael Dynia, Joanne Kneiss, Karen LaPlante, Gretchen Pfeifer-Hall, Richard Szewczak and Kathleen Vose.
Real Estate Matters were discussed with no action or votes being taken.
Chairman LaPlante adjourned the Executive session at 7:45 p.m. She reconvened the Regular Meeting at 745 p.m. and stated during Executive Session, Real Estate Matters were discussed with no action or votes being taken.
Commissioner Szewczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Dynia to add a new item to the Discussion section of tonight’s agenda in order to discuss acquisition of real estate. The vote was unanimous.
Commissioner Kneiss expressed her appreciation to Mr. Alsbaugh for bringing this piece of property to the attention of the Conservation Commission. She noted this piece of property is located near the Scantic River, and it’s a significant, cultural and historic piece of property, as well as an asset to the Town of Enfield and the State of Connecticut as concerns Enfield’s greenway. She pointed out this piece of land provides aquifer protection, and the price is within the range of previously acquired open space. She stated her belief this acquisition would be very exciting. She suggested the Commission consider drafting a letter to the Town Council regarding this land.
Chairman LaPlante stated her understanding such a letter would go to the Town Council through the Town Manager.
Commissioner Szewczak noted this is a parcel of land that the Conservation Commission has been interested in for a long period of time. He stated this is also a good opportunity to add more greenway.
Chairman LaPlante stated her belief this is a good piece of land to purchase with open space funds. She noted possibly they’d be willing to forego the appraisal because it’s a reasonable selling price and within the range of what has been paid in the past.
Mr. Alsbaugh stated his belief the Town will require an A2 survey. He noted the commercial grade appraisals are expected to come out of the open space funds.
Commissioner Szewczak stated the Commission could also allude to the fact that they could apply for a grant for this land purchase; however, they could still purchase it ahead of time. Chairman LaPlante stated her belief the spring round of grant money may be the last round, and it’s possible there won’t be another round in the fall. Mr. Alsbaugh suggested there be a note in this file with a timeline regarding the pursuit of a possible grant.
A motion was made by Commissioner Dynia, seconded by Commissioner Vose to go forward with the purchase of the property and recommend to the Town Council the purchase of property within the Scantic River corridor. The vote was unanimous.
DISCUSSION RE: ENFIELD PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Commissioner Kneiss questioned if the ultimate recommendation is not to accept the POCD until there’s another re-write. Mr. Alsbaugh suggested that if there is an approval, it be conditioned on certain revisions. He noted they need to be clear and concise about all concerns so that they will have to clearly address those items. He stated they would want such items to be part of the record. He referred to one particular section, especially about the expansion of industrial zones. He noted the Conservation Commission is specifically asking that no expansion or change in present industrial zone demarcations occur until prime farmland soil issues and farmland preservation issues are resolved within the POCD.
The Commission reviewed Policy 1.6 and agreed it should read as follows:
Action 1.6.1 – “Streamline the permit approval process – The Town of Enfield should simplify and streamline the permit approval process. There should be a clear outline of the permits required for each kind of project, the departments, boards or commissions that review and/or approve each permit and the order in which each board or commission is required to issue a decision. A complete application for each commission should be submitted and reviewed by staff to insure that all information required to provide a decision is included. A historic preservation review should be formally integrated into the permit approval process.”
Discussion followed regarding how the Conservation Commission’s comments would be submitted to the POCD Committee.
Mr. Alsbaugh stated the Conservation Commission could prepare their comments as quickly as possible, and it can be submitted to P&Z with a request that it be copied to all members of the POCD Committee.
Mr. Alsbaugh suggested if anyone has any other concerns with the POCD document, they can forward those concerns to Jose Giner with a cover letter indicating that there are several areas of concern, and that the whole document is severely flawed and needs to be edited in depth. He suggested the Conservation Commission’s comments be submitted before the meeting, and it should be insisted they be included in the record.
Environmental Community Grant Program, Spring 2010
Chairman LaPlante stated their grant was rejected, and this relates to the little kiosk at the river. She noted they were encouraged to apply for the Fall 2010 round. She noted they had received many eligible applications for this grant.
Enfield Conservation Commission Meeting June 8, 2010 Page 4 of 5
Chairman LaPlante stated it’s possible they could get Building & Grounds to build this kiosk. Commissioner Dynia suggested this might be a good Eagle Scout project.
CORRESPONDENCE
Commissioner Dynia stated there was a newspaper article about a citizen’s group in Suffield challenging power line construction.
Commissioner Kneiss referred to an interesting article in the June 7th Journal Inquirer entitled, “Farmers’ Dilemma”. She noted this related to harvesting tomatoes in Florida at a loss or letting them rot. She stated her belief this is a sad article if they’re thinking about letting food rot on the vine.
Mr. Alsbaugh referred to the minutes of May 18th and Chairman LaPlante’s comments from the State Plan of Conservation and Development regarding the acquisition of real property and non-point pollution. He questioned if this should be incorporated into the review about the cultural resource assessment and the archaeological items. Chairman LaPlante agreed.
A motion was made by Commissioner Szewczak, seconded by Commissioner Pfeifer-Hall to send the synopsis of the review done by Mr. Alsbaugh on the Ragner Report for the Scantic River Bridge to the Town Council with a copy to CHIPO. The vote was unanimous.
Commissioner Dynia provided his liaison report on the Scantic River Watershed Association as follows:
- There was a hike on Saturday. The event included the character of Colonel Hazard along with some Union troops and they set off a canon to commemorate the people who died in the powder mill over the years.
- This Sunday there will be a canoe/kayak trip starting at 10 a.m. at the lower boat landing.
- There have been a lot of issues along the Scantic River due to clear-cutting taking place in Somers. This has caused the water to be very muddy. A meter will be purchased so they can test the water.
- The Watershed is going to present a scholarship to a student.
A motion was made by Commissioner Pfeifer-Hall, seconded by Commissioner Szewczak to add an item on the agenda regarding a Certificate of Appreciation presentation to Roger Alsbaugh for his service to this commission. The vote was unanimous.
The Conservation Commission presented Roger Alsbaugh a Certification of Appreciation, which reads as follows:
“A Certification of Appreciation awarded to Roger W. Alsbaugh in recognition of his years of dedicated service to the Town of Enfield as Assistant Town Planner and Staff Liaison. The Conservation Commission hereby expresses their sincerest appreciation for his knowledge, integrity, leadership and passion that have helped guide our Commission in the preservation of natural resources, historic treasures, farmland and open space.”
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Commissioner Dynia, seconded by Commissioner Pfeifer-Hall to adjourn. The vote was unanimous, and the meeting stood adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
The next meeting is scheduled for July 13, 2010.
Respectfully submitted,
Gretchen Pfeifer-Hall, Secretary (Acting Secretary signature)
(Please print Acting Secretary name)
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