Conservation Commission Meeting Notes 4/8/2010 and 6/10/2010

The Conservation Commission meets on the second Thursday of every month. There was no meeting in May due to lack of a quorum. The April meeting was held Thursday 4/8/2010 and there were many topics of discussion including the proposed Arawana Golf Course, the City's Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) intended to be a useful guiding framework document, National Trails Day and the progress on updating our City's Trail Guides. Bob Dobmeier of Public Works Department was present to answer questions about the Melilli lot improvement project, timeline and status. Mr. Dobmeier explained water quality upgrades and the vortecnics unit to clean runoff water. A discussion ensued regarding pavers and porous or permeable materials, as well as BMPs (Best Management Practices), which the Commission wants to see implemented to the maximum extent possible.

The June meeting of the Conservation Commission was held on Thursday June 10th. Katchen Coley reported on the possibility of funds becoming available from the State of CT for open space preservation. Money in bonding has been authorized, but funds may or may not be released. Katchen will stay in tune with what is happening on that front and keep the Commission informed so that we may continue to maximize all funding sources available to acquire and preserve open space for the benefit of the City.

The Commission was asked by the Army to review the wetland mitigation plan for the Army Base. A letter was sent to the Commission from the Army expressing a request for comments on the wetland plan. More information is available from previous EYE reports. Matt Dodge from the Department of Planning, Conservation, and Development and Jane Brawerman of the Commission are reviewing the plan. Mitigation is needed due to disturbance of 1 1⁄2 acres of wetlands within Sawmill Brook watershed. Boardman Lane offsite mitigation will be completed in the same watershed, including meadow improvement, riparian planting, invasive species control and box turtle habitat. There will also be some onsite mitigation at Cucia Park (the site of the Base construction). A discussion ensued about fencing to be installed that could impact wildlife including box turtles.

The public comment period for the Wetlands Mitigation Plan has not begun yet. First the Army must complete their Environmental Assessment which is expected to be done in the next couple of weeks. Once the comment period starts there will be 30 days at that point to submit comments.

In other news, Eric Mosher has finished all maps for trails and city walks and submitted them to the Department. Updating the current Trail Guide is the next step and also the maps will be posted online. The text and production of the Guide is ready to commence and will be a project in itself. Eric Mosher will remain involved in the trail guide production and will follow-up with Department staff and coordinate with the Commission.

And finally, with all of the above mentioned business discussed, still the most time consuming and longest discussion involved the review of the Commission's Bylaws. The Commission is obligated to review the bylaws annually and the newest member, Joan Liska, has taken great initiative in spearheading the effort to conduct a thorough review. The outcome is a document that has been improved by removal of duplicative language, updating of outdated terminology, and addition of language for clarity. The updated Bylaws document is still in draft form and has not yet been finalized or adopted.