CONNECTICUT RIVER GATEWAY COMMISSION

 

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

 

December 06, 2007

 

Present/Absent:    CHESTER                  Margaret Wilson, Martha Wallace

                               DEEP RIVER             Amy Petrone, Nancy Fischbach

                               EAST HADDAM         Logan Clarke, Robert Boulware

                               ESSEX                       Fred Vollono, Ed Marlowe

                               FENWICK                  Chuck Chadwick

                               HADDAM                   Scott Thompson, Susan Bement

                               LYME                         Kevin Mazer, J. Melvin Woody

                               OLD LYME                 Rudi Besier, Ted Crosby

                               OLD SAYBROOK      Madge Fish, David LeMay

                               CRERPA                    Steve Williams 

                               MIDSTATE RPA        Raul De Brigard, Stasia DeMichele

                               DEP                            David Blatt

                               STAFF                        Torrance Downes, Dorothy Papp,

                               TIDEWATER              Judy Preston

 

Call to Order

            Chairman Vollono called the regular meeting of the Gateway Commission to order at 7:30 pm in the CRERPA meeting room. 

 

Approval of Minutes

Nancy Fischbach moved to approve the minutes of October 25, 2007. Martha Wallace seconded. All were in favor.

 

Guests

            Citizens for the Historic Preservation of the CT River Valley came to express concerns about the possible upgrading of the DEP owned railway line along the CT River to carry freight.  Ed Munster, Ken Gronbach, Harvey Clew, Brooks Heise, Jr., and Jay Verne were present to urge the Gateway Commission to apprise itself of the situation and possibly go on record against what the citizens believe would require extensive upgrades to accommodate using the overgrown rail line for carrying heavy freight.  They also expressed concerns about the use of the herbicide diuron along the rail right of way.  They have attempted to get information about the times and frequency of spraying to no avail.  David Blatt said that he would look into the situation with the DEP and report back to the Commission.

   

Staff Report

Torrance Downes reported the following correspondence:

·         Holiday party invitation from attorneys Gerraghty and Bonnanno, on Dec. 13, 2007

·         Newspaper article regarding official approval of the former CT Yankee Nuclear Power Station property in Haddam for public use.  Peggy Wilson recalled a discussion with CT Yankee representatives several years ago exploring the possibility of gifting some or all of the property for open space.  Martha Wallace brought up the possibility of using the property as a wind power generating site.  Satsia de Michele said the company seems to have different answers on different days as to their plans.  Torrance said he would search the minutes from previous years to see if he could find any specific information from past discussions.

·         DEP/OLISP Notice of Tentative Determination for Approval of a Residential Dock and Boat Lift at 73 Joshua Lane in Lyme.  The Commission took issue with the potential visual impact the dock would have.  Melvin Woody moved to send a letter of concern to the DEP with a copy to the Lyme PZC.  Martha Wallace seconded.  David Blatt suggested that the letter should be phrased as specifically as possible to maximize its impact.  All were in favor.

·         DEP/OLISP Notice of Tentative Determination for Approval for a Municipal Boat Ramp at the end of Main Street in Essex Village

 

Treasurer’s Report

Peggy Wilson reported that she met with Joe Wollack to go over the FY07 audit on November 13, 2007.  She passed out copies and noted that the assets have grown and expenses were down due to minimal attorney fees last year.

Bills to be paid covered October and November, 2007 totaling $2800 from Tidewater, $3,967.97 from CRERPA, $4,300 for the audit, $1862 for insurance, $1.70 for color copies, and $25 to the Secretary of State for the Land Trust’s annual report fee.   Melvin Woody moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report and pay the bills.  Steve Williams seconded.  All were in favor.

           

Referrals

            Torrance presented the referrals by locating them with pictures from the Virtual Earth program.  The Commission was enthusiastic about the ease of understanding the individual applications with the help of the program and Torr’s laser pointer:

·         The McCane Property application in Haddam is still incomplete.  No further information has been received despite repeated requests.  A letter of opposition due to lack of information will be sent.

·         A second referral on the Teran property at 68 Landing Road was received.  Though there appears to be little impact from this application to resituate a shed, the Commission will take the opportunity to send a letter expressing concern that the Teran’s dwelling across the street was demolished with only a single wall left standing, contrary to explanations presented to the Gateway Commission by the Teran’s architectural team at Centerbrook Architects.  Copies will be sent to the ZBA, PZC, applicants, and the architectural firm.

·         A request to subdivide property at Injun Hollow and Ben Clark Hill Roads is a significant distance from the river but given the slope, tree clearing is a visual concern.  The Commission will write a letter requesting minimal tree clearing essential for site development.  The letter will also include a reminder to the ZBA that Gateway regulations require measurement of structure height from existing grade, not the grade after site improvements are made.

·         The Town of East Haddam sent a courtesy referral to construct a barn on the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse site.  A thank you note will be sent in response.

·         Chester’s zoning officer called wondering if an application by the Middletown Yacht Club to dredge 5000 cubic yards from the CT River with upland disposal had to come through the Gateway.  Torrance advised her that the Gateway Commission was not involved but a Coastal Site Plan Review is in order, urging particular attention to the placement of the dredged material in order to protect the health of upland trees and vegetation.

 

 

Tidewater

            Judy Preston had a conflict and was not able to attend this month’s meeting.  Peggy Wilson asked that Judy update her monthly time report for the Commission.

           

Adoption Status of 2004 Standards

The public hearing for the Gateway Standards in Old Lyme has been set for December 10, 2007.  Torrance will call Ted Crosby and Rudi Bessier to urge them to encourage as much public support at the hearing as possible.

            Fred Vollono reported that he started a significant discussion at the Essex Democratic Town Committee meeting when he said that Essex is now the only Gateway town that hasn’t passed the standards.  The newly elected ZBA Chair is interested in getting several copies of the standards.  Torrance will provide them.           

 

Status of Gateway Owned Properties

            Torrance had the paperwork to transfer the Balleck property to the State ready.  Nancy Fischbach moved to pass a resolution to transfer same.  Steve Williams seconded.  All were in favor.

 

Other Business

            Torrance announced the sad news that Joan Hoezel of DEP passed away last Monday with grace and humor, leaving 8 and 10 year old children.

            Torrance also suggested that he would like to start educating Gateway area planning and zoning boards and officers as to the Gateway mission and standards, and that he would like to include the ZBAs as well.

 

Adjournment

There being no further business, Nancy Fischbach moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:25 pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Dorothy Papp

 

The next meeting of the Gateway Commission is Thursday, January 24, 2008.

 

Happy New Year!