Board Members Present: Arnold Koehler, John Kaufman, Charles Wentworth, Charles Dorman, George Carrington (7:10 p.m.)
Alternate Members Present: Stephen Sackter
Absent Members: None
Others Present: Bill Donovan, Land Use Inspector/Clerk
Chairman Koehler called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Minutes: Motion by C. Dorman, seconded by A. Koehler to approve the minutes of the May 8, 2006 meeting as amended. Two votes in favor with two abstentions. Chairman Koehler cast one vote in favor of approving the minutes as amended. Motion to approve carries.
Communications: (1) Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions, Inc. Annual membership renewal; (2) Mayor Robert Chatfield: Letter with map showing locations of emergency road repairs performed in Prospect on June 2nd as a result of 6+" of intense rainfall; (3) Regional Water Authority: Notice of pending improvements to Prospect Reservoir Dam off of Chatfield Road; (4) Prospect Town Council: Letter acknowledging receipt of letter from Chairman Koehler requesting appointment of proposed new alternate member to commission. Chairman Koehler remarked on the amount of flooding in Prospect resulting from the above mentioned 6" rainfall on June 2nd. J. Kaufman stated his rain gauge showed 7" of rainfall in a 4-hour period of time. He stated the detention basin at the Boulder Brook complex had completely filled to over-flow elevations. He observed a tremendous amount of dark brownish water flowing down Route 68. A large volume of waters from Route 68 and upstream watercourses were flowing into Riley's pond giving that water body the appearance of a fast-flowing river. Conversely, the southern end of town, including Cook Road and the Prospect Estates subdivision, were relatively free of heavy rains. The storm seemed confined to the northwestern portion of Prospect.
Old Business:
a. Dinis & Maria Marques, 12 Woodland Terrace. Filling in wetland -without permit, (continued from the January 9* meeting). Mr. Marques was in attendance. Chairman Koehler stated he observed open holes dug in the area of the fill that showed no presence of unnatural or construction materials. He saw only woodchips and small sections of trees. B. Donovan mentioned the cement and re-bar that were noticed previously have been removed. It was agreed that Mr. Marques is to remove the woodchips and tree sections within the wetlands understanding that the town has also located a drainage pipe and fill cover within this same area that is to remain in place. Chairman Koehler will meet with Mr. Marques to confirm the extent of the area to be cleared.
Chairman Koehler called for a motion to add "'Paulmar Associates", 36, 38 & 40 Union City Road to the agenda under "Old Business" Motion by C. Dorman, seconded by G. Carrington to add "Paulmar Associates" to the agenda. Unanimous.
b. Application 12-02; Paulmar Associates, 36, 38 & 40 Union City Road. B. Donovan explained he has observed an increased storage of piles of mulch on this property that were not included in the original application and approved permit. He asked the applicant to appear at this meeting to describe the changes taking place. Alicia Strileckis of "Curtis Watergardens", who is the tenant at this property spoke for the applicant. Mark Guastafeni, the owner of 36 Union City Road was also in attendance. Mrs. Strileckis stated since 2002 the business has gotten away from the original plan of installing residential water gardens and offering limited supplies of landscaping materials such as mulch. They are now concentrating more on landscape design and sales of landscape plants and materials. Materials are beine stockoiled in the rear of the property in the same general area as the old mobile home that was removed Commissioners reviewed the site plan and were satisfied the business is operating in accordance with th< existing inland wetlands permit approved October 28, 2002. They asked the applicants to prepare i revised site plan showing the storage locations of the mulch and other bulk landscape materials Chairman Koehler and B. Donovan will meet with the applicants to inspect the site and establish boundary limits for stored materials.
c. Application 20-05: Robert & Mark Capanna. Application for regulated activities associated with a proposed residential subdivision at 145, 145A & 147 Summit Road. Ted Hart of Milone and MacBroom represented the applicant. Mr. Hart distributed a letter dated June 12, 2006 describing changes made to the plans for the "Summit Heights" subdivision and also a set of revised plans dated June 12, 2006 as a result of Land-Tech's reviewing letter dated June 2, 2006. Mr. Hart discussed with the commission those changes made. He also described all regulated activities as noted on page 2 of the revised plans "Composite Site Plan & Regulated Activities". Proposed direct wetlands impacts total 920 S.F. The total regulated area disturbance is 81,220 S.F. (1.86 Acres). Chairman Koehler stated his concerns with certain septic reserve areas being less than 50 feet from a wetlands and close to the detention basins. He asked if the septic reserve areas can be located farther from the detention basin. The applicant's engineer responded they must work within the State health code requirements for septic design and placement but would look to see what adjustments could be made. Chairman Koehler suggested placing impervious fill (clay-type soils) between the detention basin and near-by septic systems to delay the migration of ground waters that may contain septic effluent. The meeting was carried over to Jury 15* to receive final comments from the town's reviewing engineers.
d. Application 21-05: Peter and Carolyn Mulholland, 43 Cambridge Drive for an in-ground pool within a regulated area. Chairman Kohler stated a site walk occurred on May 23rd. He noted the commission asked for the installation of a dry well and tying roof leaders into the footing drain rather than have them discharge at ground level. The applicant at the site walk indicated he plans to install a new system for the house drainage that would satisfy the commission's request. Fill from the pool area would be used to level off the area to the rear of the pool. Motion by G. Carrington, seconded by C. Dorman to approve Application 21-05 with conditions that roof leaders discharge into footing or other connected drainage system and a dry well be installed for pool water discharge or backwash for cleaning or drainage purposes. Unanimous.
e. Application 22-05: Steven McLean, 59 Plank Road for a garage addition within a regulated area. Chairman Koehler stated a site walk occurred on May 23rd. Commissioners stated they did not detect an impact to wetlands from construction of the proposed garage. However, they noted that the applicant has a large pile of exposed fill used as an ATV jump ramp. This tall pile of soil is within the regulated area and threatens the near-by stream with sedimentation during a storm event. The commission asked that the applicant place hay bales along the stream embankment to protect the stream from sediments eroding off this huge pile of dirt. Motion by C. Dorman, seconded by G. Carrington to approve Application 22-05 with the condition that hay bales be placed along the stream bank as noted. Four votes in favor with one abstention. Motion to approve carries.
New Business:
a. Prospect Cemetery, 166 Union City Road. Application for a new cemetery within regulated area. Roger Allen represented the applicant/organization. Mr. Allen stated Prospect has only a limited amount of area remaining for new grave sites within the one existing cemetery in town. This new cemetery would answer the town's need and desire to have available land for future burial sites. Mr. Allen stated there are no direct wetlands impacts with this application. Wetlands are located within 75 feet of a portion of the proposed cemetery driveway. Motion by C. Wentworth, seconded by J. Kaufman to accept Application 23-05 of Prospect Cemetery and waive fees as this is a non-profit organization. Unanimous. A site wall was scheduled for Tuesday, June 27th at 6:00 p.m.
Public Participation: Charlene Spreda, 35 Candee Road queried the commission on the status of Mr Beausolieu's plans to restore her pond as a result of sedimentation deposited in her pond that came iron his subdivision development on Cook Road. She noted this problem first came to the commission's attention in October, 2005 following heavy rains and the consequent heavy deposits of sedimentation in her pond. Mrs. Spreda also questioned if the four standpipes requested by the commission to monitor ground water movement and flow monitoring of Sanford Brook have been installed, and whether Juliano Engineering is checking the weir at her pond entrance following storm events of '/£" or greater as directed. She presented rainfall records obtained from the Regional Water Authority indicating there have been several Y2"+ rainfall events since 2005. She asked if there is a bond in place or to be put into place to ensure Mr. Beausolieu meets his obligations to restore her pond as required and also as he said he would do. Chairman Koehler stated there is no member on the commission qualified to determine if the sedimentation in her pond came only from the Prospect Estates development, and what would be required at what cost to remove those sediments to levels prior to October, 2005. Land-tech consultants did inspect the pond and indicated they, as the town's consultants, are also not qualified to prepare a job estimate on restoring this pond. They recommended a limnologist, who is a specialist in pond and lake management and restoration, as the better professional to contact. Mrs. Spreda asked who would pay for this specialist. She expressed her feelings that her pond keeps getting placed behind other matters before the commission. She would like to have a commitment on when the restoration work is to begin and would like to see it happen this summer or early fall during the dry season. The Chairman indicated that an eroded driveway to the rear of 209 Cook Road is a potential threat to the pond. C. Wentworth also mentioned excavation at 27 Candee Road as an additional potential threat.
Land Use Inspector's Report: Bill Donovan presented copies of a recent court decision involving the Bethel Inland Wetlands Commission vs. Toll Brothers, Inc. The Bethel IWC denied the Toll Brothers application for regulated activities associated with a proposed elderly housing development. The court over ruled the Bethel IWC's denial in this matter and directed that commission to issue an approved permit. Bill encouraged the commissioners to read through the court's reasons for overturning Bethel's denial.
Adjournment: Motion by C. Dorman seconded by G. Carrington to adjourn at 9:55 p.m. Unanimous.
Arnold Koehler, Chairman