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Link Name:	Minutes	Description:	
Subject/Title:	September 26, 2006	Subtitle:	
Keywords:		Review on:	
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CONSERVATION COMMISSION
MINUTES OF MEETING
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

PRESENT:	Sally Underwood-Miller, Stephen Shatz, Don Deno, Joseph DeGiorgis

ABSENT:	Cathy Plakun, John Hart, George Shippey

The Chairman wanted to recognize the loss of member John Pensivy who was the longest serving Conservation Commissioner in the Commonwealth.  He served as a commissioner since its beginning in 1960.  He has been a Commissioner Emeritus since 2002.  She stated that he will be strongly missed in Town.  He was also voted Commissioner of the Year.

Call Meeting to Order/Adopt Minutes - The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.  Member Shatz made a motion to adopt the Minutes of August 22, 2006 as presented and the Minutes of September 12, 2006 as corrected on Page 2 (it should read 20 units instead of 10 for the Kripalu hearing.)  Member DeGiorgis seconded the motion and all voted in favor.

Interlaken Land Trust, Interlaken Rd/Larrywaug Crossroad - NOI Continuance - Michael Kulig of Berkshire Engineering appeared on behalf of the applicant.  He stated that T. Eucker went back out with Chris of his office and they redid the lines based on additional test pits.  They will have to come back.  M. Kulig spoke with John Peyron about the house configuration and he did not have it figured how he wanted to lay it out yet.  They will come back with an actual layout of the house and garage instead of a building envelope.  He submitted a plan which shows the new wetland lines.  There will a bit of a crossing up front which they will keep as tight to the property line to minimize the impact to the wetland there.  They will pick an area for replication once they get the layout of the house figured out.  They will pick an area where there are not too many trees.  The proposed house will be approximately 38 ft. from the wetland.  The Chairman stated that the Commission has rarely ever permitted anything within 50 ft. of a wetland.  T. Eucker asked what square footage of wetland there was and M. Kulig stated it was approximately 1,800 sq. ft.  The Commission will want a permanent marker as to where the edge of the lawn will be with relation to the wetland.  T. Eucker asked if they could put the driveway on the outside to get the house over more and M. Kulig stated they have a 35 ft. zoning setback that the applicant cannot go beyond.

Betsey McKearnan, 21 Interlaken Crossroad - NOI - Shannon Boomsma of White Engineering appeared on behalf of the applicant who has had instances of driveway washouts during heavy rains and then started to do repair work when the Commission became aware of it and put a stop order on it.  They have filed an NOI to bring it into compliance with the regulations to the extent possible.  There are currently open trenches with piles of soil.  They would like to replace the culvert under the driveway so that is passable and dig trenches to divert the water that is coming off of the road into the culvert under the driveway and into the intermittent stream that eventually goes into the wetland that is on one side of the driveway and behind of the house.  They propose to dig two trenches, which were not original stream channels, to put perforated pipes embedded in stone and wrapped with filter fabric and feed the water coming off of the hillside into the intermittent stream.  The Chairman asked S. Boomsma if she was defending the fact that it is an intermittent stream and S. Boomsma said yes because the watershed is less than 100 acres.  The Chairman indicated that there is a lot of water there, there is a lot of connectivity there where there is a lot of water coming down off of the mountain that feeds into that and water that feeds into the Stockbridge Bowl, there is the pond and wetlands associated with it.  Member DeGiorgis asked if it ever dries up and the Chairman indicated that Mr. McKearnan stated in a previous meeting that it does not and said that it runs all the time.  So with the testimony of the landowner as well as the observance of members of the Commission it has been deemed to be a perennial stream.  S. Boomsma stated that the only thing she will change is the method of doing the work.  She stated that if they cannot complete the work during dry conditions they will have to divert the stream.   There is currently an 18-inch culvert there now that is not adequate to hold the water so they propose a box culvert that will meet the Army Corps of Engineers' stream crossing standards.  It will be 6-feet wide and 2 1/4 ft. high and open with 1 1/2 ft. embedded.  They propose to restore the area of stream channel that has been disturbed to a vegetated swale.  The pond is not jurisdictional in size but is spring fed, feed feeding into the stream with the overflow pipe.  S. Boomsma did not see any fish or critters.  The Chairman noted that the pond, though man-made, is protected under the Town Bylaws.  S. Boomsma responded to DEP's comments based on White Engineering's determination of it being an intermittent and their watershed calculation.  They will make the changes and resubmit to DEP.  They will submit an additional fee of $500 for a stream crossing.  They have the bank shown on the plan and their restoration is to improve the channel and make it wider.  They will put down erosion control fabric and wetland seed mix.  The Commission will allow them to mow the lawn area at the top of the slope.  They want to stabilize the site before winter.  The disturbance of the bank 54 linear ft. of alteration in one area and there is 162 linear ft. of bank on the property, so they are greater than 10%.  They will also submit an additional $750 for the Riverfront Area.  Member Shatz made a motion to close the hearing, seconded by member DeGiorgis and all voted in favor pending receipt of the additional fees and modified plan.

Steve Morawski, representing TENNECO, appeared to discuss a proposal for an alternative to the existing access to their right-of-way behind the Vincent Cardillo property off of East St. (Rte.7 North).  Their maintenance crew is looking for an easier access.  They propose to put in a 16-ft. wide gate with two posts of metal.  They will replace the existing fencing with a gate that will be in keeping with the Town's aesthetic bylaw.  There is a culvert with a swale in stone there currently.  He met with Mass. Highway to get their standards.  He stated that Mass. Highway, Mass Wildlife and the Nature Conservancy will also have easier access.  The gate will be 21 ft. from the edge of the pavement on Rte. 7 to the existing gate.  The Commission recommended two 4 ft. by 4 ft. locus posts painted in red.  S. Morawski will file an RDA.

S. Boomsma of White Engineering, representing the Goldberg property (Lot 1, Brookside Lane), appeared to discuss the possibility of rotating the house which would put it outside of the Riverfront Area and Buffer Zone.  The proximity to the wetland is the same.  They are currently working on the bridge.  Member DeGiorgis made a motion to accept the revised plans, seconded by member and all voted in favor.

The Chairman reported that she did a visit to the Rosalyn Levitt property on Mahkeenac Heights Rd. and feels that it is within the Commissions purview to look at it as far as the run-off issue which was exacerbated by the sewer being put in.  The Chairman will respond to Ms. Levitt and also alert the Selectmen that it needs to be addressed.

With no further business, the Commission adjourned at 8:40 p.m.


							Respectfully submitted,


							Denise A. Schneyer, Secretary