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CONSERVATION COMMISSION
MINUTES OF MEETING
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2006

PRESENT:	Sally Underwood-Miller, Stephen Shatz, George Shippey, John Hart
		Joseph DeGiorgis, Cathy Plakun

ABSENT:	Don Deno

Call Meeting to Order/Adopt Minutes - The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  Member Shatz made a motion to adopt the Minutes of March 14, 2006 as presented, seconded by member Shippey and all voted in favor.

Highway Dept., Yearly Maintenance Update for GNOI - Highway Supt. Clinton Schneyer appeared to give the Commission an update on projects he is working on covered under the GNOI.  He stated that if it dries up enough he will replace the culvert under Ice Glen Rd. which will entail damming it for a day.  He plans to have the Town engineers cover the Glendale landfill.  He will resurface Cherry St., Glendale Middle Rd., Willow St., Christian Hill Rd. and Dugway Rd.  The triangle on top of Mahkeenac Heights Rd. will be blacktopped with 4 ft. of blacktop because when the sewer was put in it wasn't widened as much as it was before.  They will do the yearly weed harvesting.  They will gravel along side of where all the blacktop was put down last year.  He will realign the old culvert on South Hill Rd.  He will fix the sidewalk on Church St.  He will clean out storm drains on several streets in Town.

Highway Supt. re. Stream from Culvert on Hill Rd. and Trask Lane - Highway Supt. Clinton Schneyer appeared at the request of the Commission to address the issue of the amount of water coming down and flooding the back yards of abutting properties.  Mr. Schneyer stated that when the Town put in the culvert 10 to 12 years ago it was able to handle the flow of water but now with new construction on Hill Rd. there is probably too much water for the culvert to take.  Mr. Schneyer stated that the water shed from that area The Chairman suggested that the culvert may need to be cleaned out and fallen trees be removed.  Abutter John Boyce stated that he was there when they put in the system and when they funneled the new drainage.  It is a roaring stream by the time it heads to his property.  Mr. Schneyer will work with the neighbors to correct the problem.  Mr. Boyce will speak with neighbor Tilo Kaufman for his approval of going onto his property.  The stream continually runs when it rains.  Most of the time of the year it dries up.  Abutter Robert Edwards stated that his driveway has collapsed twice from the water.  The neighbors will contact others on the street to attend a site visit that was scheduled for Saturday, April 1 at 8:00 a.m.

Town of Stockbridge, Water Dept., Averic Rd., NOI Continuance - Michael Buffoni appeared on behalf of the Water Dept.  He read the Army Corps of Engineers' section that would possibly pertain to his project and as it relates to fish bearing waters which does not pertain to the project.  Some of the culverts to be put in for the next logging project will require installing portable bridges.  They would like to put in two 2-ft. culverts side by side where the beaver dam is.  He would like to take all of the debris out it there.  They will put in a 24-ft. portable bridge during construction.  A new NOI filing will cover the beaver dam which they will do in the summer when dry.  The Town crew will do the culvert work and it should take only on day or so.

Timothy Cage, 54 Lake Drive, NOI - Steve Mack of Foresight Land Services appeared representing the applicant who would like to raze and reconstruct the existing house on the same footprint and install a waste water tight tank.  The proposed work is in a buffer zone to a BVW and an inland bank.  Proposal is 55 ft. from the current water level.  They will repair the falling foundation, replace the existing shed and build a small garage.  The proposal will be no closer to the lake.  The Chairman read into record DEP's concerns.  The BVW is along the shore line and a small area along the road.  The Commission needs a copy of the Chapter 91 approval or filing thereof.  The house consists of 1,784 sq. ft. plus a screened porch.  Tri-Town Health Dept. gave a signed contract if the alarm goes out which the Commission needs a copy of.  The tight tank will hold 2,000 gal. per bedroom.  A site visit was scheduled for Saturday, April 1 at 8:45 a.m.

Al & Laurie Richman, 3 Oak St., NOI - Sarah Schultz of S&K Design appeared on behalf of the applicants who wish to replace an existing fence, construct a pedestrian path to the lake, clear a path to the lake, install a temporary seasonal dock and do vista pruning to the lake.  The proposed work is within the buffer zone of the mean annual high water line of Stockbridge Bowl, within the LPOD and within the NHESP.  The new fence will be four-ft. tall and kept within the same limitations of the existing fence.  When doing the vista pruning they will put in a stone paved path to the lake.  They will put down 6 in. of wood chips.  They will put in a hand rail along the corners of the fence.  A temporary small (10-15 ft.) floating dock is proposed.  The vista pruning is just maintenance to the underbrush.  The proposed path will be 6-6 ft. wide.  A site visit was scheduled for Saturday, April at 9:00 a.m.

Donald Murphy/Kelly Barr, Brookside Lane, Lot 1 - NOI - Shannon Boomsma of White Engineering appeared representing the applicants who seek permission to construct a single-family house with a driveway and site work.  The proposed work is in the Riverfront area and buffer zone.  Part of the driveway is already cut in.  There is a BVW along the stream.  The house will be constructed on a full foundation.  They will connect to the Town sewer.  A concrete slab will be built over the culvert.  The Commission requested soil tests be done.  The driveway will be of gravel.  Ms. Boomsma will speak with Marshall White about the weight of the culvert.  They will not be doing anything to the stream itself.  They will do planting along the stream and wetland to mitigate for the new area of red maple, oak, pussy willow and dogwood stakes.  They would like to remove by chain saw a tree that fell on top of the beaver pipes.  There will be no effect to the root system near the culvert.  Abutter Robert Bugley gave a history of the property.  Most of the development is in a protected area.   He stated that the Targums or McVeys houses should not have been permitted, as they tried to dig a full foundation and couldn't. The seasonal high water table to his property is less than 2 ft. under the ground; thereby his house should not have been permitted, but was built before the regulations were in place.  The sewer was installed as a private line serving the subdivision and doesn't come under the purview of the Towns maintenance and inspection routines.  The Sewer Commission found that there was infiltration coming into the line, the manholes were not place as they should be and the 4-inch PVC pipes that go under the road were not pressed fully together.  The Town did a camera of the line to find where the infiltration was coming in and the pipes are still not pushed together.  The W&S Commission demanded that the line be pressure tested which it has been but Mr. Bugley feels that the line will not hold.  The road that was installed to service the subdivision is encroaching the impervious surface.  The ground water went into the pipe.  The pipes are 2 to 3 ft. deep.  The Commission needs documentation of such.  A site visit was scheduled for Saturday, April 1 at 9:15 a.m.

Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 W. Stockbridge Rd. - RDA -   David Carl?? representing BBG, Walter Cudnohofsky and Vic Stanard, contractor for the project were present to present a plan to install water supply lines connecting the Visitor Center and Exhibit Hall to the Town water main on Lukeman Lane.  The State said that the Gardens potable water should be a public water supply.  They submitted an updated proposal which gives an alternative route which puts the lines further away from the wetland resource area, thereby not requiring a silt fence.  They will be 75 ft. from the buffer zone.  Member Shatz made a motion to close the hearing, seconded by member DeGiorgis and all voted in favor.  The Commission signed a Negative Determination.

Haldor Reinholt, Mahkeenac Rd., Amended Order of Conditions - Jeff Randall of Hill Engineering appeared on behalf of the applicant who was previously permitted for an 18 ft. road with a swale on each side.  They were going to replicate 3,000 sq. ft. under Section 5.4 of the Subdivision Regulations.  This change will be less if an impact that the first proposal.  The Commission stated that they only approved the Subdivision road.  The Commission needs a copy of the SWPPP.  They also need a copy of the yearly maintenance agreement showing revisions.  Member Shatz made a motion to accept the Amended Order of Conditions with provisions of the updated maintenance plan submission.  The motion was seconded by member Shippey and all voted in favor.  The 21 day appeal period will start upon receipt the approved updated maintenance agreement.

Michael and Beth Nathan, 14 Lake Drive, Amended Order of Conditions - The applicants appeared to request permission to put in a bluestone patio in gravel.  They wondered if it could be included in the present Order of Conditions.  It would be 35 ft. by 8 ft. by 15 ft. by 17 ft.  The house is now 84 ft. from the lake and up 71 ft.  The Commission felt it was insignificant enough and are requiring no amendment to the Order of Conditions.

The Chairman informed the Commission of Town Counsel's opinion that the Town Bylaw Ordinances should have been included in the Susser Order of Conditions.  The Commission felt that by revising the Order it would segregate it from all others that were not cited under the Bylaws.  The Commission will include it in the future.  Member Shatz will speak with Town Counsel tomorrow.

With no further business, the Commission adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

					Respectfully submitted,

					Denise A. Schneyer, Secretary