Conservation Commission Meeting Notes 11/12/2009

The Conservation Commission meets on the second Thursday of every month. The November meeting was held on 11/12. There were two members of the public present to address the Commission.

David Bauer addressed the commission to say that it has been nearly a year since we celebrated the 90th birthday of Artie Schiemann, who so generously donated land to the city's Open Space program. Mr. Bauer would like to see a continued annual recognition of Mr. Schiemann, which the Conservation Commission is happy to participate in.

Mr. Bauer also presented a conceptual idea for use of the 252 acres of CVH property in the Maromas section. This land is currently under consideration for several uses, including a golf course, a home for ARTFARM, hiking trails and others (many previous articles in the EYE). Mr. Bauer presented his idea as an undeveloped concept with the overall objective of restoring agriculture to the lands, as they were once used. This would provide multiple benefits by stimulating the local economy with new jobs, encouraging local farming, providing new sources of healthy local food for Middletown residents, and promoting collaboration among many local groups. It was discussed that the Conservation Commission is not in a position to take any direct action on this idea, which would require a great deal of work to develop.

On the same subject, the Commission discussed the need to follow-up with the Economic Development Commission concerning the use of former CVH lands. There has been no response to a letter sent requesting that public input provided during many public hearings held over a two-year period be incorporated into any plan of development for this property. The Commission will send a second letter to reiterate our request, and also express concern about entering into a 99 year lease, which all agreed seems excessively long for any active land use or applicant.

Cindy Jablonski Pashley addressed the commission to indicate her desire to preserve her property as City open space, either through an outright sale or by selling the development rights. The Commission is currently scheduling site walks for several properties that have been offered to the City and are under consideration for preservation as open space, and will include this property in the site walks. Properties are evaluated using a scoring system that provides a consistent way to rank the properties, and determine which properties to pursue for acquisition.

The Commission is working on an update of the current Middletown Trail Guide that will have more accurate maps and include new properties acquired since the last guide was published. The Commission is considering options for presenting the trail guide in various formats and media (online, print), and ways to make the online guide more interactive.

Concerning the Army Base, the Army is currently evaluating several properties as possible wetland mitigation sites. The Commission would like to know if there is any opportunity to provide input into this process and the selection of an appropriate wetlands mitigation site and will follow-up with City staff (none were in attendance).

There are plans in the works for upgrades to the Melilli Plaza parking lot behind Main Street Market and next to the City Hall. The Commission would like the parking lot design to be as low impact as possible and incorporate elements that allow for infiltration and treatment of storm water runoff. As an example, suggested changes that were made by the Conservation Commission for the design of recent improvements to the Palmer Field parking lot on Washington Street were taken into account and are helping to reduce the impact of the lot on the Coginchaug River. The Commission will seek a response to a letter sent to the City recommending changes to the Melilli parking lot design.