June 172009 Minutes

MINUTES Bradford Conservation Commission Meeting June 17, 2009 Attendees: Members: Nancy Jones, Dick Bolander, Sandy Price, Gary Tillotson, Barbara Kulzyck, Nikki Darling (ad hoc) Others: John Hanzas, Jared Pendak, Kate Burleson, Monique Priestley, John Chandler Minutes of June 3 were approved as written Finances Voted to Pay: • • • •

$79.50 payable to Upper Valley Trails Alliance, payable from FOWM Fund for 3 trail markers $83.51 payable to Jenny Copeland, payable from FOWM Fund, for food for the Devil’s Den Celebration $76.20 payable to the Journal Opinion, payable from FOWM Fund for DD Celebration Ad $200.00 payable to Keith’s II Sports, Ltd., payable from WRSB Conservation Fund account for 25 embroidered hats

Tree Planting Grant John H. reported that ½ of our $1400 grant has been received; Sandy will use her accounts at Brown’s and JM to get 3 purple robe locusts to be planted on Copeland land on S. Main St. and 2 red-flowering horse chestnuts to be planted on Swarts land on N. Main St. State Forester Dave Wilcox has pre-approved the planting sites and species. John Chandler volunteered to help dig holes and help with planting, possibly on Saturday, June 20th. Stewardship Committee Recap of events – It was agreed that the June 6 & 7 events were well done, but attendance was disappointing; discussed discontinuing DD Celebration for a while, but probably keep a National Trails Day Event. Future Plans - voted to allocate up to $300 from FOWM Fund for a display that Gary plans to make at the cabin, using “tree photos” and plexiglass. Possible trail work late summer/early fall discussed. Gary reported over 230 volunteer trail work hours so far this year. Energy Committee Walk-Through of the BA has taken place, with Dick, Ed, Jon Haenel of Foam Tech and Brian Sager of ARC. It was revealed that a lot of air is being lost through crawl spaces and openings high up in the building. Foam Tech’s Presentation to explain the science of an energy audit, what it can/ cannot do for us, will be held on June 29th in Selectboard room at 7 pm; Nancy & Ed will invite all Town Board & Committee members and Town staff . On June 24th at 10 a.m. John Murphy from Cell Tech in St. Johnsbury will meet with interested parties at the BA re. services that his company can provide.

Funding for Energy Audit - Nancy reported that funds for energy audits from TRORC will not be available until Fall. Nancy will seek a letter of commitment from TRORC, and then the BCC will pursue a loan from either the BA maintenance fund or revolving loan fund in the amount of $2400 to cover the cost of the blower door test. 2nd Annual LEAF will take place on September 26. Energy Committee will meet on June 23 to brainstorm ideas for workshops, vendors, speakers, field trips, etc. Park and Ride Grant – the best option seems to be to expand the existing Park and Ride; will seek donation from abutting landowner to provide for additional spaces. Staff from TRORC has agreed to assist with grant application. Conservation Fund Committee Land abutting Wrights MT Lands – owner seems ready to donate part & sell part; cost will be approx. $70,000; voted to commit up to $45,000, plus ½ the cost of an appraisal, from Conservation Fund for this project. Will seek balance from VHCB; need to convince VHCB of the worthiness of this project; need to find an appraiser who is available to do an appraisal within 6 weeks. Upper Valley Land Trust will be meeting with VHCB in the next week and will present our case. Voted to amend 2009 priorities, under Land Conservation #5 – change to “Pursue purchase/conservation of parcels abutting Town-owned property “ Burgess Land – new State Budget includes cuts to VHCB’s Budget, but some funds will still be available for the Burgess project to proceed. Voted to amend 2009 priorities, under Stewardship #4 – change to “Pursue Trail Easement on Sweet & Burgess Land “

Bradford Municipal Forest - according to Trust for Public Land Staff (TPL), it is not too late for the Town/Water Board to accept TPL’s offer to purchase the 580 acres to be added to the Brushwood Community Forest Initiative. Voted to submit a letter to the Selectboard recommending that this be re-visited. 2010 Calendar – Nikki and Nancy will begin work on this. Field Trips/Workshops/Films Kate presented a description of a Nature Awareness Class she would like to lead on the DD land. Dates available are July 26 or any week-end in August; Monique and Nancy will work on a plan for a series education workshops, fims, field trips to be done in conjunction with the Bradford Public Library. Others are invited to join in this process. BCC Website & Facebook Page Dick will post what he has done so far on the BCC’s link on the Town’s Website for comments (bradford-vt.us). Monique will create a Facebook Account for us. Tire Disposal – tabled until next meeting Other • June 23 BCC Energy Committee Meeting, B.A. 6:30 pm

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UVLT Monitoring July 1st ; meeting at Nancy’s house at 9 a.m.; all welcome Next LocalFirst meeting July 9, in Haverhill July 10, 11, 12 Solar Fest, Tinmouth, VT; Energy Committee is planning a car pool to this

Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 1, 6:30 PM