MIDDLESEX CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Thursday February 1, 2007
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Middlesex Town Offices
Middlesex, VT

MINUTES

Commissioners Present
x Barry Goodman
  Judy Keyes
x Duncan Nichols
x Rick Paradis
x Bill Rossmassler
x Dave Shepard
x Scott Gurley

Administrative Operations
Call to order 7:05

Minutes
Duncan motioned to approve January minutes. Dave seconded. Minutes approved without changes.
Guests: Tim Murphy, Mike Kline, Jane Dudley

Treasurer’s Report
• Operating Budget: $723.60 as of , January 1
2005-2006 operating budget spent down to $106.41
• Conservation Fund: $16376.27
• Special Projects fund: $1237.98
• Rick noted that we will have dollars to pay Middlesex Occasional, and make a contribution to Rumney School library fund

Correspondences
• Checks were received from town folks for the conservation fund. Rick put together a letter of thanks for contributions.
• Vtrans sent a letter noting that the Middlesex Vtrans Enhancement Grant was not approved for funding.
• Notice from the D.E.C. Feb. 22 @ 6pm Worcester Town Hall for meeting about the North Branch of the Winooski

Vacancies on the MCC
• The Select Board has approved Scott’s position on the MCC.
• Dave contacted Katie Farber, and she expressed interest in filling one open vacancy. Dave will follow-up
• Bill will step down and the MCC will need to fill his seat.

Website Discussion: Web Master, Tim Murphy. Tim builds and maintains the site, but does not do content. He welcomed the MCC to submit a full reporting on activities of the MCC.

Committee Reports

Water Quality Committee: Guest, Mike Kline (works with D.E.C.) Mike runs the river science and protection programs for the state.
Great Brook: Update on current status / recent assessment work. 2002 Documented the status of the Great Brook with land slides (called mass wasting) and the streambed digging down.
Potential Future Actions:
• Friends of the Winooski doing a geomorphic assessment of the North Branch. Windshield survey
• This summer, 2007, grant from State to do physical assessment of the North Branch and its tributaries.
• Trout Unlimited: looking at restoration of feeder streams for the Winooski.
• Looking to build database for erosion hazard maps and possible restoration projects.
• Suggest MCC and Select board let DEC, Trout Unlimited and Friends of the Winooski know we are interested in the data and follow-up for erosion hazard and restoration projects.
• Identified a problem with a bank failure across the road from the Rumney School
• Suggest we look for the Geologic assessment of the Great Brook that was done as a grant in 2002 as well.
• Possible to look at the Great Brook as part of the Flood Hazard Zoning for the Winooski.

Village Action Committee
The Scenic Byway has gotten permission to use the little schoolhouse near the dam on the Moretown line. Barry will work to disseminate information about the byway to MCC members.

Conservation Program

Resource Planning Committee \ Recreation Trials Committee
Zoning
• The Town Plan is not ready to be presented for Town Meeting in March. It will be put off probably to November.
• Currently documents are available on pdf and excel sheet on Crane Assoc. web site about the public comments and analysis from the public survey as well as two maps of trails in Middlesex.
• Dave contacted Montpelier trail committee to set up a meeting to see about potential for current or future trails linkage. Dave, Jane, Duncan and Bill expressed interest in the meeting.

Municipal Planning Grant \ Ancient Roads
• The town of Middlesex was granted $5000. from the Ancient Roads Planning Grant Program.
• Dave, Scott and Bill met with the Select board Jan 30. The Select board is interested in identifying the class 4 roads on the map clearly. The MCC is ok’ed to work on the Ancient Road project
• The MCC needs to present a blurb to Town Meeting
o Talk about grant and process
o What ancient roads are
o Strategy, town plan, trails, regional effort on trails
o 1st to identify class 4 roads and create some opening criteria, then once we start looking into maps, then see if we’ve missed any specific criteria.
o Suggest March 1 meeting to lay out the criteria. And presentation to town meeting…and criteria for the select board to present to select board March 13th.
• 3 ways to find ancient roads
o Anecdotally
o On the ground
o In the records, tax maps and minutes

Community Forestry Update

Wildlife Monitoring Committee

MCC Display Space and Presentation about Conservation Fund at Town Meeting.
• Article to vote on Conservation Fund.
• Judy to follow up on presentation board and what will be presented.

Other Business
• Meeting with Montpelier about regional trails Feb 8th Montpelier Town Hall.
• Elliot Berg contacted MCC to see if any interest in

Adjournment 
Duncan made a motion to adjourn, Scott seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 9.05 pm.

Respectfully Submitted
Barry Goodman
Secretary