Bradford Conservation Commission Secretary’s Draft Report
May 19, 2020, 7pm via Zoom
Present: George Beaton, J Ann Eldridge, Meg Fearnley, Patty Furness, Scott MacLean, Brooks McCandlish and Doug Southard, all via Zoom.
Secretary’s Draft Report: The draft minutes of 4/08/2020 were reviewed by all. A motion was made by Brooks to accept the minutes as read, seconded by Scott, and unanimously approved.
Treasurer’s Report: Meg stated that the Land Protection Fund CD has been renewed.
ATVs: Doug gave an update on area recreational activity on Class VI roads. Pierce Road was recently extensively rutted by OHRV use during mud season. Hillsboro has reported increased ATV activity, while Warner has closed Class VI roads for mud season. Discussion of updating Bradford’s Class VI road ordinances to protect these valuable public right-of-ways and prevent further damage ensued. Presenting a draft of recommendations on Class VI road ordinances to the Select Board, while bringing mud season closure to the forefront and addressing emergency lane designation, will be done by Ann and Doug in the near future.
Bradford Tall Pines: The copper grounding wires from the tall pines has been stolen. Ann will report this to State officials.
Shoreland Communication: There have been several areas of activity surrounding Lake Massasecum on East Shore Drive, Breezy Hill Road, and Crittendon Road. The ZBA has scheduled a site walk for a variance application on Map 18/Lot 13 at 244 Breezy Hill Road on May 20 at 3pm. There is concern related to the planned increase in impervious surface area and site sloping to the lake, and recommendation of installation of a rain garden may be appropriate.
Jones Road: It has been noted that several of the stored dumpsters have been tipped on their sides. A letter has been sent by the Planning Board to the Naughtons on 5/12/2020 regarding a site plan for the storage of the many dumpster containers in this area of flooding.
Battles Farm: Ann has been in communication with Andy Deegan of ASLPT regarding easement restrictions on additional buildings at Battles. The easement states that no additional buildings can be sited in open fields which would compromise the views. Potential buyers had been questioning the addition of greenhouses.
Fairgrounds Road Non-Permitted Junkyard: The owners of this home property have taken no actions to correct the situation, despite notifications by the Select Board. The town attorney has suggested that the BCC ask the DES to investigate the violations on this wetland property.
Alder Plains Non-Permitted Junkyard: George reported that someone is reducing the size of the pile of junk.
Bog Staircase: The professionally constructed new staircase is installed and functioning, and is a sturdy access to the beautiful views on the platform. Gratitude was expressed for the generous doantion of materials and construction by Colonial Woodworking in Bradford, and to George and Bob Blank for installation. One handrail needed tweaking and will be installed soon.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:40pm. The next meeting will be held Tuesday June 16, 2020 at 7pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Patty Furness, Secretrary