Conservation Commission — 2018-12-20
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 December 20, 2018 Present: Richard Doucette, Susan Murphy, Aaron Weieneth, Ryan Sloan, Kate Hickey, Zachary Drench and staff Absent: Michael Paiewonsky Staff present: Eric Devlin Members from Public present: Paul Moore, Paul Zanotti, Souren Perperian and Joanne Perperian, Thorsten and Heather Vogel Ms. Murphy opened the public meeting at 7:30pm Minutes- Motion by Mr. Doucette to approve the minutes from October 18, 2018, Mr. Sloan seconded the motion and it was voted 6-0 in favor. Discussion Patriot Way Subdivision 217-0137 and 217-0138 – Paul Zannotti (one of the developers for the project) present, he explained that the other developer Arthur Giagrande passed away last year. The engineer, (David Giagrande) is expected to attend the meeting and explain how the drainage system was intended to work. *This agenda item was briefly tabled shortly to allow for Mr. Zannotti to confirm if his engineer would be able to attend tonight* Mr. Zannotti confirmed that his engineer will not be able to attend tonight. He described to the Commission how he believes the drainage system goes. There are two pipes, one culvert pipe goes under Penney Rd to the wetlands, second pipe goes under patriot way. Mr. Zannotti described the sequence of construction and order the lots were developed. 2005-2006 was the date of the actual start of construction for the site. The last lot was developed in 2015. Ms. Murphy- The detention pond is an unusual design in that it was designed to remain wet, she went on to explain some of the past issues on the site to the other Commission members (Erosion control failures, sediments washing out into the streets and a collapsed retaining wall). One of the neighbors had come in with a design change plan for the detention pond, it was approved but unable to be implemented by the owners. Mr. Vogel(Owner of lot C on the as-built plan)- Under the impression that the detention pond was supposed to drain within 72 hours after a storm. Described a rain event in 2011 where silt entered the detention pond, it was supposedly cleaned out but he is unhappy with the design and function of the detention pond. In 2013 he hired an environmental engineer that recommended an underground system to replace the detention pond due to the standing water. The underground system was approved in 2014 but was unable to be implemented until the other remaining lots were completed and stabilized. Ms. Murphy- Do you still intend to move forward with the underground system? Mr. Vogel- The quotes we have recently received are higher than what was originally specified. Mr. Doucette- Look at Original files to see if the detention pond was supposed to eventually drain or not. Minutes from the 2004 hearing mention infiltration. Drainage report from original filing mentions infiltration as well. Eppy Perperian(Owner of Lot B on the plan)- Moved in in 2016, installed silt sacks on the catch basins downhill from home. Concerned about what maintenance on the drainage system that has been done or not been done. Mr. Zannotti- The detention pond was cleaned on both sides by Penney Realty Trust. The stones were removed from the pond, rinsed and put back in. Catch basins last cleaned in 2016. Mr. Vogel- the detention pond was cleaned in 2014 after the complaints about the silt entering the system. Ms. Vogel- We got quotes from $7,000 to $12,000 for someone to come remove the silt/sediment from the detention pond. Ms. Murphy- We are waiting for some additional information: A report on the status of the drainage system and sediment levels from the engineer/inspection report. Confirmation on the status of the roadway (whether it is an accepted street by the City or a private way). This will be continued to the January 17 meeting. A Commission site visit will take place on Sunday, January 6, 2019 at 2pm. Invoice from Solitude Lake Management – Task 5 + Ell pond and Towners pond add-on monthly phosphorous testing - $2800.00 invoice was received along with the year-end report. Staff explained that Solitude had acknowledged that there was a possible error with the results for at least one of the testing dates. They are checking with lab and possibly may re-run the tests if the samples are still there. The Commission will table the invoice to the next meeting, pending a response from Solitude regarding the testing results. Draft Encroachment letter- Commission members recommended staff attach a copy of the tax map to the letters and put a copy of the letter in the file for each property. This will provide the commission with a history that each property owner has been put on notice of encroachment. Trail Stewards/Map update- Ms. Hickey updated the Commission on the new trail map progress. Final version submitted, staff will get the usual order printed using the new map. Seek quotes from a few other printers for future consideration. Old Business/ Commission Mail- Staff distributed Commission mail for review by the members. 40B Swains pond ave- This is the ANRAD project that was reviewed this past summer. Staff has learned that they are now pursuing a 40B project. They stated that they were under the impression conservation would deny their originally proposed project. This is a misinterpretation, the chair will speak with the applicant. The next scheduled meeting will be Thursday, January 17, 2019 at 7:30 PM. Motion by Mr. Doucette to adjourn. Mr. Drench seconded the motion and it was voted 6-0 in favor. Adjourn 9:00PM adjourn ____________________________ _________________ 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.