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

MINUTES

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


Administrative Operations
Call to order 7:05

Minutes
Dave motioned to approve February minutes. Duncan seconded. Minutes approved with change to Elliot Burg’s reason for coming to the meeting.
Guests: Elliot Burg

Treasurer’s Report
• Operating Budget: $723.60 as of , January 1
2005-2006 operating budget spent down to $106.41
• Conservation Fund: $17451.27
• Special Projects fund: $1287.98
• Discussion about having a MCC checkbook for the special projects fund to simplify accounting for special projects that don’t need to be pre-approved.

Correspondences
• Tree Warden Annual Meeting for April 25th

Vacancies on the MCC
• Bill will step down and the MCC will need to fill his seat. This is Bill’s last official meeting.

Discussion of Potential Climate Change Action Plan: Guest, Elliot Burg
• 20 towns in the state have a Climate Action Plan.
• Possibilities
o Energy audits for the town
o Energy audits for the school (environmental and cost savings)
o Change a light campaign (Efficiency Vermont have helped with light bulb conversions)
o Grade 5 –6 classroom demonstration of energy efficiency
o Ride share challenge
• Elliot looking to have MCC take a lead in Town wide climate change action plans.
• MCC could set up a sub committee. At town meeting get a name \ address \ contact info for any citizens to sign up on a subcommittee. To get townpeople interested in signing up for a committee to work to set up a Climate Action Plan for the Town of Middlesex.
• Dave to look into inviting Coverts and John Austin to talk about wildlife and land conservation efforts in the Worcester range

Committee Reports
Water Quality Committee: North Branch meeting scheduled for April

Village Action Committee

Conservation Program:
Ott \Steed update…suggest we talk about it at Town Meeting with the efforts around conservation fund use. Forest Legacy, Town Forest, Friends of the Worcesters, North Branch Stream Restoration. Still lots of opportunity to make these connections.

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, Barry, Scott and Jayne Dudley attended a meeting with Montpelier about regional trails Feb 8th Montpelier Town Hall. The purpose of the meeting was to see how the surrounding towns could create a larger connecting trail system.
• Montpelier is working to organize a trails summit of surrounding towns to coordinate the push for adding and connecting recreation trails

Municipal Planning Grant \ Ancient Roads
• The town of Middlesex was granted $5000. from the Ancient Roads Planning Grant Program.
• Dave, and Bill met with the Select board Feb 27. 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 at 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.

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
•

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

Respectfully Submitted
Barry Goodman
Secretary