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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-05-22 Conservation Commission Minutes ,� "'e� � � Town of Reading - � _ � � �� Meeting Minutes �, ��;` r. �J9:IMfOPWP� L�Q I 'I�� � � II�' CO Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Conservation Commission Date: 2024-OS-22 Time: 07:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Select Board Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: Hybrid Meeting - Conservation Version: Final Commission Meeting Attendees: Members - Present: Martha Moore chair, Andrew Dribin, Brian Bowe, vice chair, Bill McCants, Tony Rodolakis, Walter Talbot Members - Not Present: Carl Saccone Others Present: Chuck Tirone, Conservation Administrator,Annika Scanlon, Will Finch, Kim Honetschlaqer, Jen Hillery, Susan Bowe, Matthew Maughan, Emily Adams, Peter Lenox Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Martha Moore Topics of Discussion: This meeting was held in person and remotely via Zoom. Chair Martha Moore called the meeting to order at 7:08 pm. Hearings Scheduled: None Old/New Business 1. Matt Maughan: Birch Meadow main spine path dedication discussion Chuck Tirone explained the proposal to name the main spine path across the Birch Meadow area after former Conservation Commission member Jamie Maughan. He said that Jamie interviewed Chuck when he was hired. He was a big help to Chuck when he frst started working here. Annika Scanlon, former member of the Conservation Commission, spoke in support of this proposal. She said Jamie was very knowledgeable and also brought his expertise to Town Meeting. Matthew Maughan said that the path represents his father's legacy well. He spoke about going with his father to find tadpoles in Castine Field, playing tennis with him there, Jamie's 15 years on the Conservation Commission and his work in the intersection of Science and Law inspired Matthew to become an attorney. Martha Moore spoke in support of this proposal and Jamie's inFluence in protecting Castine Field's status as a wetland when the Birch Meadow Master Plan was being made. Andrew Dribin moved to support the recommendation to dedicate the Main Spine Path for Jamie Maughan, seconded by Brian Bowe. The vote was 6—0 —0 by roll call vote. Page I 1 Jennifer Hillery requested to take a topic out of order. Mar[ha Moore denied her request. 2. Porchfest at Mattera Pavilion on June 22 from 12 —5. Hosts from the Conservation Commission are needed. Chuck Tirone explained the plan to have 2 bands perform under the new pavilion. He will be there. Brian Bowe can host for some of the time, all other commission members have other plans that day. Chuck said that the idea is that the pavilion will be just completed and this will highlight the property. 3.Violation Notices, yard waste and encroachment on Conservation Land, Foilow-ups 51 Cross Street, 126 Hanscom Avenue, 22, S, Oakridge Road, 38, 34 Bond, 445 Pearl St. Nothing to report. Discussion Items 4. Draft Bare Meadow Stewardship Plan Martha Moore said that the acreage tolal has been corrected. And on the last page of the plan the recommendations are summarized. Do we want to set any priority on the order to tackle these? Brian Bowe said to wait until it is approved before we decide what to address first. Martha Moore said that we have already put the new trail around the field, and Brian Bowe added that we changed the mowing schedule. Walter Talbot ezpressed concern about calling this unceded land in the Land Acknowledgement and suggested removing this section. Tony Rodolakis agreed. Andrew Dribin appreciated it and suggested keeping it. Tony Rodolakis hasn't finished reading the whole document yet. Bill McCants said to speak about land ownership, there is no question legally what its status is. The land was purchased with state and federal money in addition to local moneys. Andrew Dribin said that the report never addresses how the area is being used currently, such as the number of dogs and number of people using it. He liked the Bark Rangers program described in the first draft of this plan. Bark rangers was taken out of the second draft. Martha Moore asked if the statement on page 32 that said the townwide policy was dogs on leash May 1 to August was correct. Chuck asked that anyone with edits, please send them to him. And asked that the next round of edits be our last. Bill McCants said that in light of the petition received by the commission, he found the benefits of not having dogs to be persuasive. It would be interesting to know about the success of no dogs elsewhere. Andrew Dribin countered that there are dogs using the area now and we still have good wildlife diversity. In the Objectives section, shouldn't it include recreation for the Town of Reading? Conservation land is for the use of people. Martha Moore pointed out ihat the leisure adivities are listed above the bullet items. Chuck Tirone said to set this area aside, other areas are opened up. He spoke of elevating this area to be more wild. Brian Bowe said that MACC Guidelines say that Conservation is to protect land, water, and biological resources of their communities. Walter Talbot said that conservation means that humans don't use it. Sustainability means let humans use it but don't make it worse. Tony Rodolakis said that most of the projects we approve include some restoration. This plan is a chance to restore Bare Meadow to what it could be. Andrew Dribin said that National Parks allow dogs. We want to re-wild our grassland. A culturai grassland is not pristine. Chuck said that much of the National Parks are left to rest when recovering. Walter Talbot said that National Parks and Forests were not set up for human use, rather for conservation, not until Nixon opened them up. Andrew Dribin said that John Muir wanted to protect Hetch Hetchy, Teddy Roosevelt overruled him. Brian Bowe said we should not go back 100 years. New information is what these policies are based on. Dogs off leash are the worst, dogs on leash still have problems and may displace birds. Concern about fragmentation of populations. Page I � Tony Rodolakis read from the act of 1916 by Woodrow Wilson and not Teddy Roosevelt. Chuck said that Andy's dog was ezcited because it sensed the wildlife there and he argued that we don't know how much impact the dog has on wildlife. Andy said that people have an impact. Chuck said that every dog marks its territory. This is what stresses the wildlife. We might have more woodcock if we cut out the bisecting paths. Martha Moore asked Chuck to put pages 32 and 33 on the screen and directed attention to Audubon's No Dog Policy. Public comment: Martha Moore asked speakers to limit their comments to 3 minutes. Jennifer Hillery asked which draft on the website is the most current dreft?Which will be discussed in the future? Chuck Tirone said that the commission would need to vote if we want to add something from the f rst drak back in. Susan Bowe said that she and Jennifer Hillery were walking in Bare Meadow. Someone put a piece of inetal and wood on top of a post, she and Jen removed it. A deer stand in the wrong area is still there. She asked if we worked with Mass Audubon on the placement of the bluebird houses because the new trail is right next to bluebird houses that are in use. She asked if loud music at the pavilion will be best for the animals? These changes contradict the activities that we are suggesting should happen. Will Finch said that there has been a decrease in woodcocks over time and it is perceived that this is due to the increase in dogs. Commerciai dogwalkers are in there. He recently saw 7 dogs in nearby Marion Woods. Dogs are not allowed on trails in the National Parks, only on paved trails and roads on leash. Bare Meadow is unique as the only open meadow in town. Why not accept the opinion of scientists about dog impact? As Chuck mentioned, dogs mark their territory. Bluebird houses have not been maintained. Weddings have been held at Mattera. Emily Adams 725 Haverhill St. spoke via Zoom She moved to the area because she loves the green space. She walks there daily with her dog on leash with her poop bags and her toddler. They rescued an owl. She would be happy with a one dog on leash policy. Peter Lenoz 722 Pearl St. spoke via Zoom. He is a 61 year resident. He moved there in t994.Kids used to rip it up. Most users are dog walkers and are respectful. The new [entrance] signs are attracting more people. Most dogs are on leash and are well-behaved. His 2 dogs love Bare Meadow. Andrew Dribin said that the woodcock information is what is missing from the report. He stated that people have a bigger impact on wildlife than dogs. He moved that pg. 52 of the drak should read adopt and implement a Dog Policy, not a NO Dog Policy, and the signs to educate should also say Dog Policy. He later withdrew the motion for now. He asked have we posted signs at Bare Meadow? Martha Moore asked how do we get the message out to people who are NOT walking their dogs there and would like to bring their toddlers? Chuck said that we could get 400 people here, it is not a popularity contest, it is about how we manage the land. The beneft of one connected piece of property outweighed the impact on one bluebird house. Chuck Tirone said that we are not required to post signs at Bare Meadow. This is about how we manage the land. As to the bluebirds, eliminating the path through the center of the grassland will oulweigh the harm to the bluebirds from the path around the edge. Kim Honetschlager suggested that we should clearly separate acceptance of the study we commissioned by an expert from implementation of lhe dog policy. They are two different things. She reports that she has been bitten by a dog in Bare Meadow. She suggests that we could possibly allow dogs on one trail. Andrew agreed that we don't approve the land use policy on the same day that we approve the plan. Page I 3 5. Bare Meadow Land Use discussion Bill McCants said that he doesn4 see how we separate the two topics. How do we move on to 5 without having settled 4? Chuck replied that it is similar to the Open Space policy, it gives us something to strive for. Brian Bowe presented proposed changes to the current Rules and Regulations for use of Town of Reading Conservation Lands. In Rule 1, it would add, "All visitors must remain on marked paths." (to minimize vegetation and wildlife disturbance off the path). In Rule 13, dogs on leash and on marked paths at all times, that owners pick up after their dog, a limit of 3 dogs per dog walker, and No dogs allowed in Bare Meadow. Walter Talbot said that the phrasing "with one exception" is confusing. He suggested that it say, "with the ezception of' something. 8ill McCants suggested that the US Inflation Calculator could give us a new value for the $100 fne adjusted for inflation. He plugged in $100 for 2008. It suggests that $146 is the answer, which we could round up to $150. Bill McCants also asked why the limit is 3 dogs. Brian Bowe said that some people walk a neighbor's dog, but he does not want to open it up to commercial dog walkers with 7 —8 dogs. Martha Moore said that also we felt that it was hard to keep track of and pick up the feces of more than 3 dogs. Brian Bowe asked us to think about if a $150 fine is enough of a deterrent. Andrew Dribin said that he was not opposed to changing the limit to 2 dogs to match the Town Forest Committee. Public comment from Jennifer Hillery: She has a letter signed by over 50 people. We would lose the stewards if no dogs were allowed in at least some portion of the land. Try for a happy medium. Empower those with dogs to do right by the space. We want people to come to Bare Meadow as evidenced by the Community Garden, the Cabin, and the Porchfest. She asked us to think about an intertnediary step before no dogs. Chuck Tirone asked her why is Bare Meadow so important when this is not a townwide policy and the commission is not closing off other properties? Jennifer replied because I love Bare Meadow. Eliminating people from being able to bring pets will eliminate stewards. She cited the Trustees work which has 3 great words. She likes the variety of walking in the Town Forest, Kurchian Woods, Bare Meadow, and other towns. She feels safer with her dog. Brian Bowe said that if the meadow were separated from the forest and if the meadow were off Iimits,Then it would be similar to other conservation lands in town. Chuck Tirone said don't forget the 6 vernal pools where the conservation commission has actual jurisdiction. Jennifer Hillery suggested different uses for different parts of the property. Emily Adams suggested signage, reach out to the community. Could she be allowed to post on the kiosk? The only reason she knew about this was that she ran into someone in the woods. Other people might want to be in on the discussion. Chuck said that the kiosk is the domain of the Trails Committee. She agrees with compromise, divide into 2 areas. It is the quickest way to get to school and not on Main St. or Haverhill. She is sorry about the person who was bitten. Motion to report repeat offenders? Chuck Tirone stated that we have no infrastructure for policing. Andrew Dribin said that I know we can't afford a park ranger. Page I 4 Chuck Tirone suggested that the most immediate action would be to form a neighborhood patrol. Every time he is there, there is an issue. Form a Friends group. Tony Rodolakis suggested that we try that at another parcel. Chuck Tirone said that here we are segmenting Bare Meadow into Larger pieces. 6. DPW meeting in May was cancelled. Brian and Martha are available to attend the June 4 meeting. 7. The dedication of the Lot 5 Parking Lot on Grove Street will take place on June 13 at 1 pm. This parking bt happened because Chuck Tirone and then Conservation Commission chair, Annika Scanlon, proposed that the town exercise its frst right of refusal on the property. Martha Moore and Brian Bowe will speak at the ceremony. The land will be turned over to the Conservation Commission. Engineering, DPW, both current and former town managers, and Meadow Brook Golf Club all helped out. 8. Friends and Family Day on June 8: Walter Talbot can help from 9— 11 am, Brian Bowe can be there the whole time. Martha Moore can bring a 100-foot extension cord, help set up, and come back in the afternoon. Chuck Tirone will ask about table and chairs and will print a new map. Brian Bowe said we brought folding chairs last year. 9. Bills approved, None 10. Administrative report Lobs Pound Mili Keller Williams Red Day Volunteers cleaned up this area off of Mill Street. Opened up the Parking Lot, Left a huge pile of vegetation. DPW will remove it in a month. Will Finch helped with the project and finished up the sign painting. It looks good. The river was just stocked with Brook Trout. There is a lot of water. Thank you to Keller Williams. 11. Minutes for approval: 5/8/2024 Andy said the vote on the second motion to close 0 Forest Street was 5—0—0, not 5—0 - 1 Move to approve by Brian Bowe Seconded by Andrew Dribin Minutes were approved 6 —0—0 ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 9:25 pm by Mr. Bowe, seconded by Andrew Dribin voted 6-0-0. Paqe I 5