Tuesday, October 10, 2017


UNAPPROVED MINUTES OF THE BETHANY CONSERVATION COMMISSION, Sept. 14, 2017

 

 

Present: Bruce Loomis, Brian Eitzer, Cathy Rives, Matthew Popp, Patricia Winer

Absent: Shaukat Khan

 

The meeting was called to order at 8:03. Approval of the August minutes was the first order of business. Patsy moved to accept them, and Bruce seconded with two corrections. In paragraph five "as part for" should be "as part of", and "Darrylyn" should be spelled "Derrylyn." The minutes were approved as amended.

 

Bruce asked for nominations for Chair, as we had not acted on this at the last two meetings. Matthew nominated Bruce, and Patsy seconded. The vote was unanimous. Bruce agreed to accept the position.

 

There were no bills. In correspondence there was a thank you letter from Evan Whitman, one of the BCS students who received a conservation award from the commission, and a letter from CACIWC asking the commission for the annual dues for membership. Brian moved to pay the annual fee, and Matt seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Brian then moved to reimburse any member who attends the annual conference, and Bruce seconded. All were in favor.

 

We discussed the joint meeting with P&Z that took place before their September meeting. Members thought we made progress in impressing them with our concerns. These included the process of referring applicants to the Conservation Commission for discussion of their proposals for open space, the subject of waiving the requirement for open space and the issue of how strongly to press for a fee in lieu if the applicant does not want to set aside land. P&Z will include consultation with the Conservation Commission on their checklist for applicants. The first test will be Mr. Woodward's new application for a subdivision on Mesa Drive. P&Z must refer him to us even though the Commission will conclude that he does not need to set aside additional land, since the set aside for the whole parcel has already been made.

 

There was a discussion of the traffic sign issue. Bruce and Patsy brought the other members up to date on the Selectmen's meeting of September 11, where Derry Gorski said the selectmen will evaluate the signs and will have another meeting where the public can have input.

 

We discussed the COY charities list and the criteria for an organization to be on it. It should be Bethany based, should be the end user of the money and should be a conservation oriented organization. There was a consensus that there should be a cash award. There will be further discussion of the criteria and of which organizations should be on the list at the next meeting.

 

The issue of the open space appendices was tabled.

 

Brian brought up the issue of moving the Quinnippiac Trail at the end of Downs Road as requested by the Regional Water Authority, as he is now the local representative for Bethany. The Commission discussed the location but without having a detailed map of the trail. There were no serious objections.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05. Brian moved to adjourn and Matt seconded. Unanimous approval.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia Winer, Secretary Pro Tem