Conservation Commission — 2017-04-06
Minutes
CITY OF MELROSE CONSERVATION COMMISSION City Hall, 562 Main Street Melrose, Massachusetts 02176 Telephone - (781) 979-4312 Fax - (781) 979-4290 Melrose Conservation Commission Minutes for April 6, 2017 Present: Kate Hickey, Zachary Drench, Susan Murphy, Michael Paiewonsky and Kevin Anderson Absent: Aaron Weieneth and Richard Doucette Ms. Murphy called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. Minutes: Motion by Mr. Anderson to approve the minutes from March 02, 2017. Ms. Murphy seconded the motion and it was voted 5-0 in favor. Public Hearings: Notice of Intent by Pine Banks Park Foundation - 217-0198- Kara Silwoski and Brea Arvidson, SOLitude Lake Management were present. Ms. Silwoski- The pond is small, less than 1 acre. Treatments are proposed to address purple loosestrife, waterlilies and cattails, a potentially invasive, native plant. SOLitude proposes to treat with Sonar(a systemic herbicide) and leave option open to hydro rake in the future. Hydroraking is not planned for this season but the pond has been hydroraked in the past 10 years. Approval is sought for Glyphosate and Diquat herbicide application to address the coontail, pondweed and loosestrife. Ms. Silwosky will assess the vegetation and water conditions on her first visit and apply the Sonar treatment, followed by monthly visits to assess whether further spot treatments are necessary. Treatment will occur between the months of April-September. There is also a small stand of Phragmites on the pond that could be hydroraked. Staff had some concerns about potential spread of Phragmites from hydroraking. Special condition could be added to address this such as Phragmites shall be treated with an appropriate herbicide prior to hydroraking. Motion by Ms. Hickey, seconded by Mr. Paiewonsky and voted 5-0 to Close the Public Hearing for Pine Banks Pond. Motion by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Drench and voted 5-0 to Issue an Order of Conditions with Special Conditions. Request for Determination of Applicability – Ell, Swains and Towners Ponds- Melrose Conservation Commission- SOLitude Lake Management submitted a proposal for annual nuisance aquatic vegetation management in the three ponds the Commission manages. The Commission previously review and accepted the plan. Motion by Mr. Paiewonsky, seconded by Ms. Hickey and voted 5-0 to Issue a Negative 2 Determination. Request for Determination of Applicability – First Pond/ Mt. Hood- Melrose Parks dept.- SOLitude Lake Management discussed the proposal, Clipper (state registered herbicide/ Algaecide) to be used only 1/3 at a time. No chemical treatments proposed for 2nd or third ponds, only first pond. Ms. Murphy- Proposed treatment seems consistent with past treatments conducted. Motion by Mr. Drench, seconded by Mr. Anderson and voted 5-0 to Issue a Negative 2 Determination with special condition of 48 hour notice before treatment. Discussion Items: Third party Ponds Treatment Review/Assessment– Staff updated the members on status of the project. An RFP has been submitted to several consultants and an estimated budget was received from one consultant. The estimated budget received was greater than the amount previously allotted to the project. Staff will contact Saugus River Watershed for information on water quality monitoring on Towners and Swains ponds. The Commission may need to re-examine options, High school lab equipment could possibly be available to use. This item will be on the agenda for the May meeting for further discussion. 423 Pleasant Street- Tom Obrien (General Contractor for project) and Sabira Beg explained to the commission that the conservation parcel on the site is currently pavement. He brought photos of the current parking lot. Mr. Paiewonsky explained what Article 97 is to Mr. Obrien and Ms. Beg. Mt. Hood had a similar issue in the past, a revocable license for the continued use of the property for parking was discussed. Staff will draft and circulate to members and send to interested parties, copy sent to City Solicitor. Motion by Mr. Drench, seconded by Ms. Hickey and voted 5-0 to issue a revocable license for the continued use of the parcel for parking. Outdoor Classroom- The Commission is willing to donate planting and make the wooden interactive signs that were previously discussed in late spring/early summer (May/June). It was discovered last year that the appropriate plantings were unlikely to be available until late spring/early summer. Staff will contact Hoover School principal and update. Open Space Projects update - No new updates on open space projects at this time. Draft Master Plan - The Draft Master plan has been submitted for comments. Ms. Murphy has several comments and wishes to gather further comments from the commission. An informal meeting next week was suggested, location TBD. Staff will post open meeting notice if a quorum is expected. Next Meeting: The next scheduled meeting will be Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 7:30 PM. Adjourn At 9:00 PM Ms. Murphy moved to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Anderson and it was voted 5-0 in favor. ____________________________ _________________ Approved Date. Pursuant to the ‘Open Meeting Law, ‘ G.L. 39, 23B, the approval of these minutes by the Commission constitutes a certification of the date, time and place of the meeting, the members present and absent, and the actions taken at the meeting. Any other description of statements made by any person, or the summary of the discussion of any matter, is included for the purpose of context only, and no certification, express or implied, is made by the Commission as to the completeness or accuracy of such statements.