January 28, 2021 ~ Conservation Commission Meeting

2021-01-28 · Conservation Commission · 55:25 · watch on YouTube →

The Conservation Commission met over Zoom with a long informal agenda and no applications before it. Roberta (?) reported on the River Park stone wall, where the mason who built it says it has to be taken apart and rebuilt at $3,500 to $3,800, and the commission set that aside for now. Most of the meeting went to a state tree-canopy grant of roughly $4,000 to $10,000 per town, due March 12, with Sam and Joe agreeing to attend the program workshop the following Wednesday and Sam to ask the program contact when awarded funds must be spent. Members also discussed paying for invasive plant removal, starting a commission Facebook and Instagram page, an Earth Day event at River Park, clearing the River Park garden bed, and reviving the action plan Zach and Juliet had begun. The meeting closed with a motion and roll-call vote replacing the co-chair arrangement with a single chair, Sam, and set the next meeting for February 25.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 0:17
   Opening and chairing

   Sam opened the meeting, said she was chairing the commission but was open to a co-chair, and asked for a volunteer to take notes in Kit's usual place. Attendance built over the first half hour as Joe, Kit and Zach joined.

2. 0:17
   River Park stone wall

   Roberta (?) reported meeting Joe Crowley, who built the wall at the front of the river park, and who told her it now needs to be pulled apart and rebuilt rather than patched. He had wanted it wider, shorter and curved into the driveway, and put the cost at $3,500 to $3,800, though Roberta (?) said she was not sure he wanted the job.

3. 5:18
   Invasive plant removal

   Roberta had contacted Rebecca Gallery, who heads invasive plant control in Harpswell. The Maine Natural Areas Program runs an initiative offering free invasive species management plans in some counties but not in Androscoggin County; a contractor, Eric Lima of Basswood Environmental, quoted $800 a day working alone and $1,200 a day with a crew, and members estimated the visible loosestrife at the high-use parks as about a day's work.

4. 5:18
   Harpswell's volunteer model

   Harpswell handles continuing removal through a partnership of its Town Lands Committee, Conservation Commission, Rec Committee, Mitchell Field Committee and Garden Club, using volunteers for physical removal. Members thought that model worth looking at for long-term maintenance in Durham.

5. 10:46
   Tree canopy grant explained

   Joe (?) described the grant as paying towns to plant trees in their parks and on town property, usually $4,000 to $10,000 per town, with a 50 percent match that he believed could be in-kind. The application includes a three-year maintenance plan and a description of the project with a measurable work plan and timeline.

6. 10:46
   Possible planting sites

   Members raised the river park and Crossman's Corner, town-owned land off Route 125 with a large wetland complex and some invasives. Joe (?) suggested improving the small field there to create a gradient from wetland to upland habitat and planting native species or shade trees; a natural playground area off one of the trails was also floated.

7. 16:06
   Spreading the project across sites

   The discussion turned to fruit trees for a natural playground and to whether the application could cover several sites, including the grass patches at the Eureka Center. Ruth cautioned that people park on the grass there, so trees should stay clear of the parking area.

8. 16:06
   Grant mechanics and match

   Ruth (?) said matching funds are available but that the commission would have to ask the select board for permission both to apply and for the match. Awards are paid on a reimbursement basis, which Ruth (?) said is how all the town's grants work, and in-kind labour can supplement the match. Nobody present had written this kind of grant before.

9. 16:06
   Deadlines and maintenance

   The workshop was set for the following Wednesday at 1 p.m. and the application is due March 12. Members identified watering and maintaining the trees through the first seasons as the hardest part of the commitment.

10. 21:43
    Androscoggin Land Trust

    A representative of the Androscoggin Land Trust, understood to be its new director, could not attend and asked to come to the February meeting. Sam (?) said she would confirm the date and send an introduction; the meeting is normally the last Thursday of the month, the 25th.

11. 21:43
    Maine Trails Coalition trail contest

    Sam had contacted the Maine Trails Coalition, which has not yet picked a winner in its "ugly duckling trail" contest. She said the announcement was expected soon.

12. 21:43
    Commission social media page

    Members revisited an earlier idea of a social media presence and discussed a Facebook and Instagram page for the Durham Conservation Commission. Ruth (?) explained that anything for the town's own Facebook page, website or news blast goes to Kathy, the town's public information technician, and noted the town has obtained a .gov domain and expects to be several weeks switching everyone's email over.

13. 26:56
    Social media policy

    Asked whether a town committee has rules to follow, Ruth (?) said the town has a social media policy and that she would look it up and send a copy. Members said they would use a page mainly to put out information rather than to engage in disputes.

14. 26:56
    Earth Day event

    Members discussed an in-person outdoor Earth Day event, most likely a trail cleanup, with masks and distancing, and possibly planting a tree with everyone adding a scoop of dirt. A portable fire pit on the grassy area at River Park was suggested.

15. 32:04
    Freshening the gravel at River Park

    Zach had priced gravel for the area around the structure and gardens at roughly $89 a yard, under $100, for about a yard and a half, and members recalled the cost was already in the budget. A suggestion was made to ask public works to pick it up and dump it there.

16. 32:04
    Earth Day date

    Members put Earth Day at April 22, with the 24th and 25th as the weekend after, and noted little will be in bloom that early. No date was fixed for the event.

17. 32:04
    Plant sale and bulky waste day

    The plant sale is normally held the third Saturday in May alongside bulky waste day and did not happen last year. Ruth (?) said she hopes bulky waste day goes ahead this year and that the plant sale could be held outside with adjustments.

18. 37:13
    Clearing the River Park garden bed

    Members discussed gutting the stone-circle bed to the left of the building, which has thin soil and a number of established saplings, rather than saving the perennials. The suggestion was to ask public works to take out the saplings with a backhoe, clean up the bed and border before Earth Day, and plant in May.

19. 37:13
    Action plan

    Zach (?), returning after an absence, asked where the action plan he and Juliet had started stood. It had been set aside after the group found it difficult to continue without them; Juliet (?) said the select board is not currently asking for a presentation, and members agreed to bring it back at the next meeting.

20. 42:29
    Shared document and contact list

    Members discussed putting the action plan on a Google Doc so it can be edited between meetings, and whether to wait for the new town email addresses. Ruth advised using personal Gmail accounts for now, and members agreed to send her an email address and a phone number so she can assemble one contact list.

21. 42:29
    Single chair rather than co-chairs

    Zach (?) asked whether the co-chair arrangement was required by the bylaws. It is not; it was set up early on so someone would always be available to chair. He argued a single chair would make it easier to track action items.

22. 42:29
    Nomination and roll call for chair

    A motion was made and seconded to nominate Sam as chairperson, and Sam called a roll call. Roberta, Juliet, Kit, Joe, Zach and Sam all voted yes; Jess was told she could not vote yet.

23. 47:56
    Scheduling around the grant

    The next regular meeting was confirmed for February 25 at 6:30. Members discussed an additional working session on Thursday February 11, after the workshop, to leave about four weeks before the March 12 deadline; Ruth (?) said such a gathering can be held as a workshop but should still be announced so residents can tune in.

24. 47:56
    New member

    Jess was asked whether she still wanted to join the commission and said she did, subject to being sworn in. She offered to take the notes she had made and compile the minutes.

What was decided

• 0:17
  Agreed to set the River Park stone wall rebuild aside for the immediate future, having established what it would take and what it would cost.tabled
• 10:46
  Agreed that Sam would email the tree canopy grant contact about when awarded funds must be spent and attend the program workshop the following Wednesday, with Joe attending as well.passed
• 21:43
  Setting up a Durham Conservation Commission Facebook and Instagram page was raised and nobody objected, but no vote was taken and nobody was recorded as assigned to create it.outcome unclear
• 26:56
  Ruth to look up the town's social media policy and send the commission a copy.passed
• 32:04
  Earth Day planning carried over to the February meeting, with members to bring ideas; no date, format or budget was settled.tabled
• 37:13
  Agreed to ask public works, through an email reminder to Ruth, to clear the saplings from the River Park garden bed and to pick up and deliver the gravel.passed
• 37:13
  Agreed to put the action plan back on the agenda at the next meeting and to present where it stands.passed
• 42:29
  Agreed that members would email Ruth the address they want used and a phone number, so she can compile a single contact list, and that personal Gmail accounts would be used for the shared document rather than waiting for the new town email.passed
• 42:29
  Motion, moved and seconded, to nominate Sam as chairperson. Roll call: Roberta, Juliet, Kit, Joe, Zach and Sam all voted yes; Jess did not vote, not yet being sworn in.passed
• 47:56
  Next regular meeting confirmed for February 25 at 6:30.passed
• 47:56
  An extra working session on the grant on Thursday February 11 was discussed and Ruth (?) confirmed the date was free, but it was left conditional on what the workshop produces and was not fixed.outcome unclear

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Worth knowing

• 0:17
  The mason who built the River Park stone wall says it cannot be patched and has to be dismantled and rebuilt, at $3,500 to $3,800, and may not want the job himself.
• 5:18
  The Maine Natural Areas Program's free invasive species management plans do not cover Androscoggin County. A contractor quoted $800 a day working alone and $1,200 a day with a crew for removal.
• 10:46
  The tree canopy grant runs about $4,000 to $10,000 per town, needs a 50 percent match that may be in-kind, is paid only as reimbursement, and closes March 12. Applying also needs select board permission for both the application and the match.
• 42:29
  The commission dropped its co-chair arrangement and elected Sam as single chair by roll call. Jess, attending as a prospective member, was told she could not vote because she has not been sworn in.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 1 passage of motion language, against 11 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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