ORDER-2023-37 : Appointment of Emily Anderson, of 106 East Foster Street, to the City of Melrose Conservation Commission for a three-year term, said term to expire the last day of February 2025.

Transcript (~8 min @ 1:39)

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▶ 1:31 Robb Stewart: Okay rules are suspended the first item on our agenda is order 2023-37. This is an appointment of Emily Anderson of 106 East Foster Street to the city of Melrose Conservation Commission for a three-year term said to term to expire on the last day of February 2025, Mr.

▶ 1:53 Paul Brodeur: Mayor. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee would be remiss did not say Happy Thanksgiving. I am dazzled by console a carmichetti support of USA soccer. Penalty kick and I'm just saying anyway, again, my apologies. So I'm here before you this evening with an outstanding nominee for the Conservation Commission. Emily Anderson Emily as you can see from her resume is a professional engineer. My brother is a professional engineer. I can tell you it is no easy task to get that to get that qualification in the work that she does in her professional life is exactly the kind of work that is done by our Conservation Commission. If you had a chance to review her qualifications, you will know that she appears before conservation commissions and other permitting and Licensing authorities to do this exact kind of work. So her qualifications are exemplary and they include a civil engineering degree from Northeastern University and again, the professional Background in experience that I hope you will find to be outstanding and without much further Ado. I'd like to introduce Ms. Anderson so she can say a few words and answer any questions you may have

▶ 3:20 Speaker 2: Good evening counselors. Thank you. Good evening counselors. My name is Emily Anderson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor for introducing me as he said I've been a civil engineer for about seven going on eight years now and received my professional licensure about three years ago. So I've sat on the other side of the table from the Conservation Commission on multiple occasions presenting projects to them and I've always been interested in the process. from the kind of town side and City side of things, so I'm very interested and would like to be a member of the Conservation Commission happy to answer any questions.

▶ 4:03 Speaker 1: Come charity.

▶ 4:05 Manjula Karamcheti: Well first thank you so much for being interested in being on the Conservation Commission. It looks like you haven't be it. Haven't been in Melrose for too long and just that you're willing and able to volunteer your time to be a part of this is really appreciated. I'm the counselor for Ward one and we are actually a neighborhood that has a lot of development happening right now and some of that development impacts. In the butts Conservation Area, so I'm just super interested sort of in reading your resume and looking at it that you're part of design and permit for plans and such in your role as on the Conservation Commission. How do you see yourself being involved in development? And

▶ 4:47 Speaker 3: I'd love to learn more.

▶ 4:48 Speaker 2: Sure. So I've like I said, I've been presenting to conservation commissions for several years now. So I'm familiar with the regulations from the development side of things. And I know that the Conservation Commission has purview over. Floods flooding areas Wetlands as well as there's conservation land in Melrose. So as far as development goes can only really look at the projects that come across the table. So and see if they meet the standards of the wellness protection act, Massachusetts stormwater standards on. big pretty comfortable reviewing that kind of plan and if it meets it, that's really all the Conservation Commission can look at

▶ 5:31 Speaker 3: thank you so much.

▶ 5:33 Robb Stewart: Any of the questions from the committee? I am

▶ 5:36 Speaker 4: a member of the Oh.

▶ 5:38 Robb Stewart: Yes, you are console Williams. Thank you.

▶ 5:43 Ryan Williams: You have been across the table. From conservation commissions. What was your least favorite part of that experience?

▶ 5:54 Speaker 2: um waiting some of the meetings can go a bit long as you know, depending on your place on the agenda, but no, it's It's more just kind of the public speaking part of it took some practice getting used to defending yourself. Even if you feel confident in the design of something being able to say it. like exactly why you're comfortable with that design and speaking in front of A board such as yourself and you know just kind of putting yourself out there. It was a leap for me when I first started doing it. So it's something I practiced over time. Yeah, and even

▶ 6:30 Ryan Williams: though it's not a part of the Conservation Commission, I'm interested in your thoughts on slow protection with regard to particular your expertise on Water Management runoff stormwater management erosion the value or need for these things.

▶ 6:47 Speaker 2: Sure. definitely

▶ 6:51 Speaker 2: extreme constraint in a lot of places like the maximum slopes that you can do. A lot of places we tried to minimize steep slopes so that you know, you can still access any stabilized slope for like mowing mowing it I find when you go any steeper than like a three to one slope. So that's like Three feet of run one foot of Rise. It can be more difficult to maintain or it has just a really kind of To put it plainly ugly look to it. But and then you know between that kind of slope and then At one to one slope is just a wall. So a lot of people try to avoid walls because they're more expensive but sometimes they're more practical than doing like a really steep slope. And in terms of erosion control, there's techniques you can do. To manage the erosion most the most preferred is just seating it. with sod or you landscape plants but

▶ 7:57 Speaker 2: mostly just dependent on the conditions of a particular site.

▶ 8:02 Ryan Williams: Do you feel that the regulations that apply to Conservation Commission go far enough?

▶ 8:08 Speaker 2: few years about expanding the kind of definitions of floodplain talking more about sea level rise, which even though Melrose is not particularly like on the ocean. It would still apply to some areas floodplains get higher over time. so I think it is going in that direction and I'm excited for it to go in that direction. It's important to kind of protect the resources. We have against climate change.

▶ 8:40 Speaker 4: Thank you. Nothing further. Thank you very much. Any other

▶ 8:42 Robb Stewart: questions?

▶ 8:46 Jack Eccles: Console echos. Well, thank you very much for stepping up. I was going to make a motion to recommend to the full Council second.

▶ 8:51 Robb Stewart: We have a motion to recommend by counselor Eccles seconded by Council camchetti. all in favor opposed alright, so this will be recommended to the full console which will come before so I believe later on this evening. You don't need to stick around if you don't want to. Unless you really enjoy watching the process are so you should be all set at this point. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman members

▶ 9:19 Robb Stewart: of the committee. Appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, the second item on our agenda is an informational order on Melrose Kind day Consular Eccles.