Middlesex Conservation Commission
Minutes of Meeting March 4, 2004
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Middlesex Town Hall
Middlesex, Vermont

Attendees*
Duncan Nichols
Judy Keyes
Heather Furman
Bill Rossmassler
Rick Paradis
Barry Goodman

Guests: Ron & Anita Krauth

Call to Order
7:16 pm

Approval of Minutes
February minutes were approved unanimously after brief discussion. Heather will send these to Tim Murphy to be posted on the Middlesex town website.

Treasures Report
  No reported change since last month: Conservation Commissions budget: $1974.59. Discretionary budget 941.88
  Heather, Bill and Judy submitted receipts for photocopies and mailing of postcards for the Conservation Fund, and Tree Grant material.

Correspondences
  Bill announced the AVCC Annual Meeting to be held on April 3, 2004 in South Royalton.

Committee Reports
Resource Planning
  Please see “Other Business/Upcoming Meetings”

Village Action Committee
  Heather gave a brief overview on the status of the Design Charrette report, which was completed by Diane Gayer this week. A copy of the Report was on display at Town Meeting. Several Commissioners were provided with copies, and hard copies and CD’s are available for distribution. 
  Bill mentioned that the Vermont Design Institute would like to do follow-up on the Middlesex Village Charrette.
  There was considerable discussion on how best to promote the recommendations in the Charrette as the town moves forward with the Village Needs Analysis. Heather and Bill agreed to draft a letter to the Selectboard as cover to copies of the Report. Commissioners also discussed writing summary letter to send to the Monthly.
  Heather gave a brief update on the Moretown quarry proposal that could bring as many as 80 trucks per day through the village. She encourages the Commissioners to log on to the Mad River Neighborhood Association website www.mrna.org to view details about the proposal. The proposal is scheduled to be presented to the Moretown Development Review Board (DRB) in March. Once the proposal is outlined, Heather will summarize the report and draft a letter of concern for the Selectboard/MPC/MCC review.
  Heather and Judy will begin to work on village landscaping.

Community Forestry Committee
  Judy has submitted the tree grant to the Department of FP&R. The grant is to conduct and inventory of trees on the Morse property. This information will also be presented to the Selectboard for informational purposes as related to the Need Analysis for the village. Grant award recipients may be notified as early as March 20th, 2004.

Wildlife Monitoring
  There was discussion on the upcoming spring salamander crossing season. Last year, John Austin and Annie Greensfelder helped coordinate a phone tree to alert interested parties when early spring rains bring salamanders out onto the roadways. It is anticipated that this effort will be coordinated this year as well.

Friends of Worchester
  The Friends of the Worcester Range held their Quarterly Meeting in late February at the Elmore Town Hall. At Elmore Town Meeting, a Conservation Commission was officially established and now all 6 towns in the Range have a Commission. As a result of Town Meeting, 3 of the 6 towns in the range have Conservation Funds, including Middlesex.
  The Quarterly Meeting was well attended, particularly by those in Elmore. The major issues that were covered included the establishment of sub-committees, and possibly hosting a Land Trust Summit for various parties that can help facilitate the work of FWR.
  Bill will send a thank you letter to the Elmore Store for providing refreshments for this meeting

Conservation Fund
  Thank you to the voters of Middlesex for supporting the Conservation Fund! Bill did a commendable job explaining the purpose and potential use of the fund to town voters. 
  There was considerable discussion on what we heard at Town Meeting from the community, and their points of concern. Public access was an overriding theme that will need special attention when putting together a set of criteria for review. There is also a need for continued education and outreach regarding how conserved land relates to taxes. Several individuals expressed their concern that conservation parcels would raise taxes. There have been a number of studies done that show that conservation land actually has the potential to reduce taxes.
  Several Commissioners have gathered information from surrounding towns on how their Conservation Funds are used. A sub-committee will be established in the ensuing months to review this material and begin outlining how the MCC Fund will be used. Members of the public, the Selectboard, and Planning Commission will be invited. Commissioners were also asked to come to the next meeting with names of people who might be interested in serving on this committee.
  Heather will either draft or ask John Austin to help draft a Thank You letter to the town to be published in the Middlesex Monthly.

Water Quality/Great Brook
  There was no report from the Water Quality Committee this month.

Conservation Education
  There was no report from the Conservation Education Committee this month.

Waste Management
  There was no report from the Waste Management Committee this month.

Recreation Trails
  There was no report from the Recreation Trails Committee this month.


Other Discussion/Upcoming Meetings
  Sandy Levine will attend the April meeting, Commissioners should review the resources related sections of the Interim Zoning by next month.

Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 9:04pm

Approval of Minutes
Respectfully Submitted,


Heather M. Furman, Secretary