← Boards & Commissions Committee · 2026-03-30 · Boards & Commissions Committee
Reappointment of Jason Jancaitis, 16 Tappan Street, to the Melrose Conservation Commission for a three-year term, said term to expire on the last day of February 2029.
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
B. (ID # 2026-448): Reappointment of Jason Jancaitis, 16 Tappan Street, to the Melrose Conservation Commission for a three-year term, said term to expire on the last day of February 2029. Motion to Recommend made by Councilor Finocchiaro Seconded by President Freeman All were in favor and motion passed RESULTS: PASSED [UNANIMOUS] TO: City Council AYES: Cal Finocchiaro, Elizabeth Kowal, Christopher Park, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams, Bradley Freeman NAYS: None Comments and Discussion: Jason Jancaitis discussed his experience serving since 2020, highlighting both administrative tasks and hands-on work including water chestnut removal and pond cleanup efforts. The biggest challenge identified was leveraging limited resources and volunteers, with particular focus on understanding new permitting requirements for future pond projects. The Council discussed the Community Preservation Act as a funding source for conservation and park improvements. 2
Transcript
▶ 9:42 Ryan Williams: Next up, we have ID 2026-448, the reappointment of Jason Jankaitis, 16 Tappan Street to the Melrose Conservation Commission for a three-year term, said term to expire on the last day of February 2029. Thank you again for coming in.
▶ 9:59 Speaker 1: Good evening, everyone. I've been on the Conservation Commission since about 2020, so I did one term during COVID remotely, and now have done a second term meeting in person. So yeah, echoing a lot of things that Charlie said. It's a nice mix of, you have some administrative tasks, looking at order of conditions, RDAs, but then some hands-on stuff, getting out on a kayak, pulling out the water chestnut, and being involved in the L Pond cleanup was really rewarding when we had the grant that the state rep got. So we had the Hydro-Rake out there, and that really made a huge difference. So it's been rewarding to see the improvement in the pond over the past few years. Thank you. Any questions, comments from councilors? Councilor Park.
▶ 10:54 Speaker 2: Thank you. Just to repeat the question that I had asked your colleague, Charlie, what do you see as the biggest challenge right now facing the conservation committee?
▶ 11:04 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's similar to what Charlie said. I think it's just trying to make the most out of our resources, leveraging volunteers. But I mentioned the L Pond, that wouldn't have been possible without the earmark that the state rep got. So, to do something like that for Counter's Pond or Swain's Pond, there's actually been some new regulations going on that you need a different permit than what we would've had to do a few years ago. So we're trying to understand the ramifications of that and what it would impact, both the timeline for the permitting as well as what the available funds would be. So that's something we've been doing some investigations on.
▶ 11:54 Speaker 1: Thank you.President Freeman.
▶ 11:56 Bradley Freeman: Thank you very much for your service and volunteering for the city. I have a quick question. I used to serve on the Park Commission, and we used to talk a lot about the pond up at Mount Hood. And I apologize, I don't know which one it is, I don't remember the name of it, but I know that there was a lot of talk of dredging it, given that it is the main source of water for the golf course. And I think it does a nice job keeping the golf course running without utilizing city or state water. Just want to talk a little bit about, I know your Conservation Commission is very involved in whatever's going to happen there. Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about what the long-term vision is for dredging that? Because I know it is reaching that critical phase with invasive species where it may not be possible moving forward.
▶ 12:34 Speaker 1: Right. Yeah. Dredging would be a significant undertaking, even more so than the removal of the water chestnuts on... So yeah, that's something we've had some discussions with the Park Department, I think, because the ponds are connected. It overflows one pond at the Parks Department, and it goes down to Towner's Pond- Mm-hmm ... which is a Conservation Commission purview. So, yeah, that's something I think we're at the point where we're investigating what the options are and what the commitment, financial and the impact of what we can do there. But, we certainly want to take into account where they're so close to each other and one flows to the other. Yeah, we definitely want to involve the Parks Department as
▶ 13:21 Bradley Freeman: Thank you. Just please keep us updated on that and anything we can do as a council to help- ... mitigate that would be great.
▶ 13:26 Speaker 1: Yeah. Thank you. Will do.
▶ 13:32 Speaker 3: Make a motion to recommend. Second. And thank you.
▶ 13:36 Ryan Williams: Motion to recommend by Councilor Finocchiaro, seconded by President Freeman. On discussion, we have talked for a long time about the Community Preservation Act, members of the council, members of the Affordable Housing Committee, it's come up. I know that members of the Conservation Committee are supportive of this, and it's one of the best ways to finance conservation purchases, direct land purchases, as well as parks and fields upgrades and improvements. So, for anybody that is watching this recording in the future, since apparently there's nobody online- ... look into that because it's a great way for us to have a targeted source of funding that goes specifically to those needs. Mm-hmm. Yep. Okay. Vote time. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Nobody's opposed. Thank you very much again for coming in. Thank you. Really appreciate your time.