CONNECTICUT
RIVER GATEWAY COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES (Amended as approved)
May 22, 2008
Deep
River: Amy Petrone,
Nancy Fishbach
East
Haddam: Logan Clarke, Robert
Boulware
Essex: Ed Marlowe,
Fred Vollono
Fenwick: Chuck Chadwick
Haddam: Scott Thompson, Susan Bement
Lyme: Kevin Mazer, J. Melvin Woody
Old
Lyme: Rudy Besier, Ted Crosby
Old
Saybrook: Madge Fish, David
Lemay
CRERPA: Steve Williams
Midstate RPA:
Raoul De Brigard, Stacia DeMichele
DEP: David Blatt
Staff: J.H. Torrance Downes
Tidewater:
Judy Preston
Call
to Order
Vice-Chairman
Melvin Woody called the regular meeting of the Gateway Commission to order at
7:35 pm in the CRERPA meeting room.
Approval of Minutes
Nancy Fischbach moved to accept the minutes from April 24,
2008. Ed Marlowe seconded. All were in favor.
Guests
Stanford
Brainerd of East Haddam was present out of personal interest.
Staff Report & Correspondence
· Torrance informed the Commission that Wini Olson resigned from CRERPA today after 40 years of service. Commission members expressed appreciation for all her years of service. Torrance noted that in recent years she has served as the agency’s historical memory.
· An ACOE Public Notice on a North Cove, Old Saybrook dredging application was received. Dredging will be done when State funds become available.
· Campbell Hudson continues to pursue a scenic easement on behalf of Timothy Mellon at the Goodspeed Airport property. DEP previously refused to consider it during ongoing litigation.
Treasurer’s
Report
Peggy Wilson recommended that the Commission appoint Joe Wollack as auditor for the 2008 fiscal year. Nancy Fischbach so moved. Ed Marlow seconded. All were in favor.
A proposed expense budget for the upcoming fiscal year was distributed. Though the Commission is not mandated to pass a budget, the Commission is in the habit of looking at the probable coming year’s expenses. The biggest line item change is in Investment Fees which are projected at $12,000, since the Commission has moved some of its investments into a managed account with Merrill Lynch. It was pointed out that designating the camera purchase as a “contribution” is confusing. Melvin Woody pointed out that the Insurance expense should go down as the Commission relinquishes property. The Commission’s trailing average fiscal policy provides for spending up to $74,113. Budgeted expenses for the coming year are $50,835. Peggy Wilson moved to approve the budget as proposed. Susan Bement seconded. All were in favor.
Ed Marlowe moved to pay the month’s bills for $1096 to CRERPA and $1120.00 to Tidewater. Nancy Fischbach seconded. All were in favor.
During the Tidewater report, Nancy Fischbach moved to extend the time for spending $6435 approved in September, 2007 for Tidewater to be expensed in FY 0809. David Blatt seconded. Peggy Wilson requested a detailed accounting of hours at the end of the project. All were in favor. Nancy Fischbach moved to amend the Gateway Budget to add $6435 to the Tidewater line. Rudi Besier seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
Referrals
There were no variance referrals nor Special Exception reviews to report this month.
Tidewater
Judy Preston updated the Commission on Riparian Buffer Regulations. She reviewed the proposed Senate Bill 362 which got further in the legislative process than expected. An important aspect of the Senate Bill was that the proposed regulatory authority would be with municipal Inland Wetlands Commissions. Members thought that the Statutes were not written to give the Gateway Commission a statutory relationship with Wetlands Commissions but the Statutes should be researched on this matter. David Blatt discussed the difference between inland and tidal wetlands. The CT River is considered tidal at least as far as Middletown. Judy is also researching the complexities of regulating clear cutting for water quality and/or visual preservation reasons, as well as protection of intermittent streams in addition to the CT River main stem and tributaries. Judy’s next step is to develop language suitable for towns to use for areas not in the Gateway Area. A significant priority of the grant is education. Judy is looking into subtle ways of infiltrating the education process into regulations for example. Raul de Brigard suggested the possibility of using a site plan review tool in a riparian area to keep guidelines in a zoning purview. Martha Wallace pointed out the strength of a visual dvd educational approach.
Judy is organizing a boat trip whose cost has gone up to $25/person. Gateway has already committed $250. Judy will ask Rockfall to commit $250 and local land trusts. Comfortable capacity is 40 persons.
Judy reminded the Commission that they had approved funds of $6435 in September, 2007 for special projects including a new Gateway brochure. She would like to extend the time for expending those funds to the new fiscal year. The Commission agreed to extend the timeline for expenditure of the funds.
Adoption Status of 2004 Standards
No update.
Status of Gateway Owned Properties
No update.
New Business
Raul de Brigard reminded the Commission that they had previously decided to schedule a visit to the CT Yankee site. Torrance will look into it.
Susan Bement reported thanks to Stanford Brainerd for his participation in a 50+ acre contribution to open space abutting Gateway property in Haddam. Stanford Brainerd returned the thanks to Susan’s role with the seller.
Torrance reminded the Commission of the means of accessing current CT Yankee information.
Adjournment
There being no further business, Ed Marlowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Dorothy Papp
The
next meeting of the Gateway Commission is Thursday, June 26, 2008
Gateway Items of Interest
May 22, 2008
Staff Report/Correspondence/Updates
1. ACOE Public Notice: Deadline for Comment, May 30, 2008
Maintenance Dredging of the
North Cove Federal Navigation Project, Old Saybrook
Similar Public Notice issued for substantially the same project in 2003. Additional deposition has increased volume to be dredged to 320,000 CY from 252,000 CY. New part of request by DEP – use approximately 75,000 CY as capping material for Norwalk Harbor dredging material in Central LIS Disposal Site. The dredging work is “to be accomplished in the year(s) in which funds become available…”.
Project is still largely unfunded.
2. Goodspeed Airport, LLC – Scenic Easement
Campbell Hudson, on behalf of the airport, has opened the dialogue once again regarding the offering of a scenic easement. The DEP indicated no interest in the proposal as long as there was ongoing litigation between the Airport and the State of Connecticut. With the release of the CT Supreme Court’s decision in Commissioner of Environmental Protection v. Timothy Mellon, et al on April 29, 2008, Mellon is interested in pursuing the assignment once again. In the letter Hudson indicates that the revised version of the easement “incorporated the changes recommended by the CT River Gateway Commission”.
Variance
Referrals
None.
Reports on Staff Reviews of
Special Permit Applications
None.
Status of 2004 Gateway Standards
No update.
Status of Dock Standards Effort in Old Lyme
J. H. Torrance Downes of CRERPA/Gateway, David Blatt and Marcy Balint of DEP/OLISP, and two members of the Dock Standards subcommittee of the Old Lyme Harbor Management Commission met on May 7th to further refine and modify a draft addendum to the Town’s Harbor Management Plan. The addendum is written to include standards that will more effectively manage private residential docks in Old Lyme town waters. Currently, certain draft standards that concern enforcement issues and application criteria are being formatted for potential inclusion in the Town’s body of ordinances using the more substantial Milford ordinance as a model. In separating the issues into those that appear in the draft HMP addendum (requiring DEP approval) and those that would only appear in town ordinance (and therefore don’t require the approval of the DEP), the Old Lyme Harbor Management Commission hopes to succeed in being the first Connecticut municipality to include guidance and standards for private residential docks in their own waters.
Gateway Commission
Meeting
Tidewater Institute
Report
Presented latest version of Riparian standards, combining language from: Gateway cutting standards, Eightmile Watershed Overlay District, the state proposed Waterfront Protection legislation, and the New Hampshire Comprehensive Shoreline Protection Act. Substantive changes include creation of a 50' primary setback from the shoreline (waterfront buffer), and 50' woodland buffer, and recommended 50-point scoring system to determine how many trees to leave standing or add to the buffer. The point system is based on caliper size and total trees within a 50' x 50' area. Definitions also included: "natural ground cover", natural woodland buffer", "sapling", "shrub", and "tree". Outline of final recommendations format were also included in presentation.
Comments from commission: take into account slope and cover; how to advise relative to trees that are topped, and work on replacement vegetation recommendations (what plants/trees to recommend).