Tuesday, October 10, 2017


Bethany Conservation Commission
May 11, 2017
Approved Minutes
 
  1. The meeting was called to order at 8:08 by Bruce Loomis.  Also in attendance were Brian Eitzer, Patsy Winer and Matthew Popp. Absent were Shaukat Khan and Cathy Rives.
  2. Matthew Popp was appointed as a voting member in place of Cathy Rives for this meeting.
  3. Bruce noted that in the future all minutes need to state if they have been approved or are unapproved.
  4. Patsy moved to accept the minutes of the April 13, 2017 meeting, Brian seconded.  It was noted that in the first line Shaukat was misspelled.  With that correction, the minutes were approved unanimously.
  5. The only correspondence was a letter from the USGS-FEMA about an upcoming RISK Map meeting (meeting date 5/23/17) dealing with flood risk in the Housatonic watershed.
  6. No current bills, though it was noted that the bills for the Bethany Community School awards and the Conservationist of the Year award would be arriving soon.
  7. Bruce reported on the budget hearing which he and Patsy attended where the amount to transfer to the Open Space fund was raised to our requested $100,000.  There was then a discussion of the budget and the upcoming town meeting.
  8. Bruce gave a recap of rid litter day.  He noted that he didn’t hear about the results from the organizers but heard elsewhere that not as much was collected this years as in years past.  He also noted the passing of Stu Horton who had worked on this issue.
  9. Bruce gave a recap of events from the recent Planning and Zoning Committee meeting.  He was unsure if the lighted sign hearing was closed or continued but the issue would be carried forth next month.  The Bethany Airport Hanger is caught in the sign issue as their sign went up before receiving a permit.  Planning and Zoning would like to meet with the Conservation Commission prior to their next meeting on June 7.  Bruce agreed to check on an alternate date as several members of our commission could not be there on that date.
  10. Bruce tabled the issue on the Open Space Appendices.
  11. Bruce initiated a discussion on next year’s Conservationist of the Year award and whether we wanted to create limits on whom could receive the donation that goes with the award.
  12. Patsy suggested we all read the cluster development article in The Habitat prior to the next meeting so that we can advise P&Z when they update their regulations.
  13. Patsy moved to adjourn at 9:00 Matthew seconded and the motion passed.
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
Brian Eitzer
Secretary pro-tempore