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TOWN OF OTIS
CONSERVATION COMMISSION
11/20/2018 MEETING MINUTES
Location: Otis Town Hall, One North Main Road, Otis
Conservation Commission Members present: Dave Sarnacki; Roger Meyer; Domenic Battista and Jeff Laramy.
Conservation Commission Members absent: Bruce Wall and Rene Dube.
Staff and others present: Kristen Brown OCC Admin Secretary; Theodore Kopyscinski; Larry Gould; Paul Truax, with MA DCR; Chloe Thompson and Katie Bednaz with Freshwater Wetland Services; Michael Paulin, with Weston & Sampson; Chris Tryon with BGT.
Opening items/Introduction of Commission members and staff. Dave Sarnacki opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. He noted that the meeting is being recorded. The deadline for applications for the December 18th 2018 meeting is on Wednesday December 5, 2018 @ 6:00 PM. The next office hours, for the December 18, 2018 meeting, is December 5th, from 6:00 –9:00 PM. Dave introduced the members of the commission, and asked everyone to turn down their cell phones for the duration of the meeting.
Minutes: Dave made a motion to approve the minutes from our September 19, 2018 and our October 16, 2018 meetings, with stated revisions; RM 2nd the motion and the commission voted unanimously to approve the minutes from the September 19, 2018 and October 16, 2018 meetings, with stated revisions.
- Public Hearing – RDA – Submitted by Theodore Kopyscinski, Drive C ROW between lots 43 & 44, regarding the removal of 3 dock structures and an abandon/sunken boat, and installation of a new dock for Drive C Right of Way, in the BZ/bank of OR. Dave opened this hearing and invited applicants to address the Commission. Ted Kopyscinski was in attendance as the property owner. Dave asked applicant if there was a chapter 91 for the property, or one in process, and per Ted, yes, the application was received by M DEP, and they cashed the check, but he has not gotten anything back from DEP yet. We advised Ted that he will need to have a decision from this Commission, to be able to be issued a chapter 91, so it will take some time. That being said, Dave asked the Commission if there were any questions stemming from the site inspection and per Roger, no questions, the info included with the filing, along with the site inspection, were sufficient to outline the project, and the removal of the sunken boat from the resource, is only a good thing! Dave asked if any other questions of concerns, and being none, made a motion for a -3 determination with the following standard conditions: no heavy equipment in the resource area; any EC needs to be installed and inspected prior to work start; OCC reserves the right to inspect property for a period of 3 years from date of approval. RM 2nd the motion and the Commission voted unanimously to issue a -3 determination, with the above listed conditions.
- Public Hearing – NOI – Submitted by Weston & Sampson, on behalf of MASS DCR, Tolland Road (Tolland State Forest), map 17 lot 45, regarding the replacement of the current WWTF with a new Title 5 compliant septic system. Dave opened this hearing and invited applicants to address the Commission. Michael Paulin was in attendance of the meeting, along with Paul Truax (MA DCR Project Manager) and Chloe Thompson & Katie Bednaz with Freshwater Wetland Services, in representation of MASS DCR and this project. Dave asked how Katie and her wetlands company were selected for the 3rd party review, when this Commission asked to have Emily Stockman do the review. According to Paul, Emily was not immediately available to do the review, so MA DCR opted to go with the company that Emily proposed, which was Freshwater Wetland Services; Dave said OK to that. Since this NOI was the result of an Enforcement Order issued by this Commission, the Commission is well aware of the project and stages of construction that have been proposed. In addition, and as a result of the EO, MASS DCR has also retained a 3rd party wetlands review, to do a peer review, at the expense of applicant, and is here this evening to review the project from their perspective. Katie did the field work and the analysis of the associated wetlands on the site; and as a matter of record, and professional opinion, this project will not disturb current wetlands. However, the access road that was built prior to this NOI, was indeed within the local wetland boundary. That being said, and because the road is already there, and being worked on from before this NOI submittal, at this time it does not make sense to move the road, and initiate further disturbance to the surrounding wetlands. As a mitigating factor to the disturbance caused by the road, DCR will plant several indigenous plantings, on the border section of the road that passed very close and within wetlands. This will help to set growth of vegetation as an additional boundary to the surrounding wetlands, and will be included as a requirement and special condition of the order issued for this project. Dave asked how they shored up the road and Paul indicated that the access road had become mud due to the rain; as a result of all the mud, they had to bring in 24” of gravel to shore up the road. Mike also indicated that they pulled off approx. 2 feet of mud. The result is that the road is in good repair, and condition, to be used without resulting run off and deterioration, and will be the permanent road that they plan to keep as access. All erosion controls were implemented and installed prior to any work being done on the road, to stabilize it and avoid further degradation. Moving on, they will also be installing conduit, in a small diameter pipe, that is approx. 4 to 5 feet deep. Dave also asked how they chose the location of the route for the road, which runs directly through the buffer zone. Per Mike Paulin, they did not realize originally, and apologized for not filing prior, and per Mike, they did not see any wetland areas, because nothing was wet, and all was dry. Not so the case when the rains came, which is why the Commission issued the EO, and required the 3rd party peer review for the resulting NOI submittal. Per Katie, when she did her field work, and delineated the site, she looked at the soils, and found dry soils very close to the pinch in the road that encroaches onto the wetlands (flags WA118 – WD112). According to her complete review, she feels that the small disturbance caused by the road, will be mitigated by afore mentioned plantings, to be done at the area that borders closest to the BZ. All in all, Katie feels that the only area that was compromised, was the small area of the permanent road, and that area will be mitigated with plantings, as mentioned above. With all that being said, Dave asked the Commission if they have concerns that need to be addressed prior to making a motion. At this point Paul Truax indicated that they would stay in close contact with this Commission, and alert when the project is completed, for full inspection, to ensure that all parameters of the Order of Conditions are observed, and so complied. Domenic then asked who would be monitoring the system once completed, and per Mike Paulin, that is done by call-out service, that immediately directs calls to the appropriate personnel, with an additional 3 back-up numbers. Also, the water usage is metered, like any other business. Dave again asked if there were any other comments or concerns with the project before he makes a motion, and with that being said, Roger indicated for the record, that he felt that MA DCR went too far with breaking ground, without one word to this Commission, and that if an everyday property owner were to behave in the same manner, they would likely be required to return the area to original state. Further, Roger feels that MA DCR is breaking the rules that they made, and are forcing everyone else to follow. Dave asked again if there were any other comments or concerns, other than Roger’s understandable comments; with none being stated, Dave made a motion to approve and issue an Order of Conditions, to condition the work proposed in the NOI submittal, and as discussed by this Commission, with the standard conditions and special conditions as needed. Jeff 2nd the motion, and the commission voted: Roger voted NO, and Dave, Jeff and Domenic voted YES, so the motion passed 3 to 1, to issue an OOC, with standard and special conditions as required.
- Public Hearing – RDA – Submitted by James Marlor, 6 Blandford Drive, map 18C lot 59, regarding the stabilization of seawall with existing stones on property, all by hand, in the BZ of OR. Dave opened this hearing and invited applicant to address the Commission. No one was in attendance, and the Commission could not do a site inspection due to a tree being down, they could not get to the site; so therefore, Dave made a motion to continue this hearing until the next Commission meeting in December 2018. Roger 2nd the motion and the Commission voted unanimously to continue this hearing until the December 2018 meeting. KB will contact applicant to remind that their attendance is required at the next meeting.
- Public Hearing – RDA – Submitted by Berkshire Geo-Technologies, on behalf of Cheryl Wright, North Main Road, map 2 lots 56-57-58, regarding the construction of a new 3 bedroom house & garage with septic and well, in the BZ of Hayden Pond. Dave opened this hearing and invited applicants to address the Commission. Chris Tryon with Berkshire Geo-Technologies, was in attendance of this hearing on behalf of applicant. Chris outlined the work as proposed on the plans submit with the RDA; Dave asked the Commission if there were any questions stemming from the site inspection and per Roger, nothing was flagged out on the site. Per Chris, he apologized and said that the applicant does not own the property as yet, and the filing was done to see if the RDA would pass before the applicant purchases the property. Dave stated that in the future, there will be no approvals issued if the sites are not flagged appropriately prior to the inspection. That being said, Dave made a motion to issue a -3 determination with the following conditions: any EC to be installed and inspected prior to work start; no heavy equipment in the resource area; all debris to be removed immediately, or covered away from the resource area; OCC reserves the right to inspect property for a period of 3 years from date of approval. RM 2nd the motion and the Commission voted unanimously to issue a -3 determination with the above conditions.
- Public Hearing – RDA – Submitted by Larry Gould, ROW between 40 and 48 Moody Goodman Rd., between map/lots 17B/2 and 17B/1, regarding the removal of 4 dead & 1 dying Hemlock trees, in the BZ of OR. Dave opened this hearing and invited applicant to address the Commission. Larry Gould was in attendance on behalf of owner(s). Dave asked the Commission if there were any questions, and Roger asked how they would be getting the trees out of there, and Larry stated that they would drag them out with a small exc. And the stumps will be cut flush with the ground. Dave made a motion for a -3 determination with the following conditions: no heavy equipment in the resource area; debris to be removed immediately; OCC reserves the right to inspect the property for 3 years from date of approval. RM 2nd the motion and the Commission voted unanimously to issue a -3 determination with the above conditions.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Enforcement Orders/Letters:
Emergency Certifications:
Forest Cutting Plans:
Extensions of Orders of Condition:
Certificate of Compliance Requests:
Unanticipated Business:
Next office hours: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 from 6-9 p.m. at Otis Town Hall.
Next meeting: Tuesday, December 18, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. at Otis Town Hall. Meeting adjourned at 7:57 PM.