Minutes: Minutes of November 9, 2011 were approved.

There was no Treasurer's Report:

Communications:
The town’s attorneys sent a digest of municipal law updates, including changes to the Surface Water Quality Protection Act (SWQPA).

The state has established a new Water Sustainability Commission to report to the governor in 2012. Its task is to ensure that the availability and quality of the state’s water will be as good in 25 years as it is now.

Carol and Terry Wallace on Crescent Lake received a DES Shoreland permit to replace a garage.

The New Hampshire Association of Natural Resource Scientists offers special membership rates for Conservation Commissions. See www.nhanrs.org

Intents to Cut Received from:
Kirkman Frost on Keyes Hollow Road; 100 acre lot, 100 acre cut. This operation is in process, with logging equipment traveling out through Lempster. Lempster required the posting of a road bond; a Lempster neighbor has expressed concerns. Matt Apgar from the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands viewed the logging site.

Allen Britton; 150 acre lot, 50 acre cut on Coffin Hill Road; this operation is complete.

Peter Rhoades; 43 acre lot, 6 acre cut on Rhoades Road; another 88 acre lot, cut 5; same location.

Nellie Bernstein 2 acre lot, 2 acre cut on Cold Pond Road.

Forests:

Forester Peter Rhoades has blazed and flagged some of the boundaries of the Gove Forest Extension, but is waiting for surveyor Bill Lawrence to set one marker pin. Debby Hinman will ask Stella Herpel to send Bill Lawrence a letter from the Planning Board (and ask the Desbiens to sign the letter also) to remind him that this work must be completed. Peter Rhoades has spoken with the logger on the Allen Britton logging operation to clarify a boundary encroachment between Britton’s woodlot and the former Desbiens piece. Sue Paton noted that an old stone foundation we visited earlier is within the property boundaries of the Gove Forest Extension (formerly Desbiens lot).

Helen Frink attended an all-day free workshop on Forestry Law held in Newbury, NH on December 8th. She will send a summary of notes from this workshop.

Land Protection:

Debby Hinman is drafting a letter to landowners whose conservation easements we are responsible for monitoring. A reply from them stating that there have been no changes in their property will serve as documentation of our stewardship, as per recommendation from Steve Walker, who receives easement monitoring documents for old LCIP properties (the Clark and Roy easements).

Sue Paton reported that the town has received a check for the Mooseplate Grant, reimbursing $4999 for expenses associated with the Gove Forest Extension purchase. The total cost of the entire project was $138,801.95. The total appropriated by the 2009 town meeting (including private donations and Conservation Commission funds) was $138,500. Debby Hinman moved that we use an amount up to $1,500 from our Forest Management Fund toward expenses related to this purchase billed by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Gretchen Abendschein seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The amount which needed to be raised by taxes is therefore just under $60,000.

New Business:
We discussed how to best inform new property owners in town about such issues as zoning, logging regulations, and the requirements of the new SWQPA law. New owners on Crescent Lake do receive such a letter, and Gretchen Abendschein will verify that it goes to all new owners in town, not just along the Lake. It would also be advisable to send such a letter to current owners, for example with their property tax bills.

Debby Hinman raised concerns about erosion caused by Bowers Brook behind the church in South Acworth, and noted that the state has postponed plans to replace the bridge across that brook on Route 123A. This area is threatened with serious flooding in times of high water.

Gretchen Abendschein requested that Debby Hinman and Sue Paton visit the houselot owned by Jim and Cheryl Pokorny on Route 123A to verify that their application for a building permit to replace their present house meets necessary setback requirements from Honey Brook. They have received a DES permit. Debby Hinman will call the Pokornys to set a meeting time.

Rob De Valk raised questions concerning the use of ATVs on the town’s Class VI roads. These regulations are found in RSA 215 A: 6:
http://maisonbisson.com/nhrsa/rsa/215-a-6-operation-of-all-ohrvs/

The meeting adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Respectfully Submitted, Helen Frink