WESTMORELAND CONSERVATION COMMISSION

June 7, 2007

The meeting convened at 7:10 p.m. with Marshall Patmos, Walter Derjue, Dick Schmidt, and Jeff Smith in attendance.

In view of the fact that the County Jail will be moving to Keene in a few years, Marshall proposed that we, as a Commission, should be pursuing a Conservation Easement for the County Farm property.

Other than accrued interest, Marshall said there was no change in the Conservation Fund.

We then temporarily adjourned to the 2nd floor of the Town Hall where we removed a potential fire hazard in the form of a bird nest from a light fixture in the auditorium.

Marshall announced that “Open Barn Day” will be held this Saturday, June 9^th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the County Farm.

Marshall said he had received “Best Management Practices….” notices from the NH Dept. of Environmental Services (DES) addressed to H & H Investments, LLC of Francestown and Susan Mittorton of Westmoreland for timber harvest. No action required.

Marshall reported that we had received a copy of a permit from DES for the application of rip-rap to the bank by the septic lagoons at the County Farm to protect them from further erosion. The permit, dated April 30, 2007, was addressed to Barry King, Facilities Manager, for the County Farm.

Marshall reported that Gary Hudson, Road Agent, had expressed concern about the dam at Owl’s Hill. The current dam has been made artificially high to provide better ice-skating, but if breached, it could be a potential problem down stream. After some discussion, it was voted in the affirmative to tell Gary it would be appropriate to reduce the height of the dam to its original height as created by the beavers.

It was noted that large piles of stone are being placed along the bank of the Connecticut River approximately 1 mile south of the Westmoreland/Chesterfield town line. Dick said he would contact Tom Dutton of the Chesterfield Conservation Commission to be sure they are aware of the situation.

Marshall said we had received a solicitation from the Westmoreland Historical Society to place an ad on a souvenir placemat at a cost of $20.00. It was decided not to do it at this time as money had not been budgeted for this purpose.

Marshall received a form to fill out from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) regarding the “New Hampshire Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan” for communities throughout New Hampshire. Marshall said he would fill it out and return it.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Jeffrey P. Smith, Secretary

UNAPPROVED MINUTES