Campton Conservation Commission
Meeting minutes September 12, 2012;7:30 pm
Â
Members present: Jane Kellogg, Lea Stewart, Alisoun Hodges, Tammy Wooster
Â
The CC did not meet in August, and a rotating schedule was set to determine who would serve as chair. Jane offered to chair this meeting and the order to follow will be Lea, Jess, and Alisoun. The person chairing the next meeting will be responsible for circulating the agenda before the meeting. Jules was not included as he will be recovering from knee replacement surgery.
1)Â Â Â Â Â July Minutes:
Tammy reviewed the edits of the July meeting minutes and Lea made a motion to approve them. Alisoun seconded the motion and all were in favor.
Â
2)Â Â Â Â Â Campton Group Campground status:
On September 6th the Forest Service held an informational meeting to discuss the future plans of the Campton Group Campground and to solicit input from area residents. Jess attended this meeting and gave Jane a summary to share. The campground sustained significant flooding damage during T.S. Irene and has since remained closed. The proposed plan is to convert the area to day use only with improved trails and possibly a covered pavilion. There is concern that the area could flood again and become unsafe for unprepared campers. Criticism expressed by those in attendance was that there were only 2 other sites available for group camping in the area. Alisoun mentioned that the Campton campground was used regularly by a large group of climbers from around the world who convened in Campton before climbing the Rumney rocks. The Forest Service will be exploring an alternate site for group camping.
3)Â Â Â Â Â Rey Center Nature Nights Program:
The Nature Nights program has ended and the CC is looking for some detailed feedback from the Rey Center. What we do know is that 24 residents participated in the program over the 8 week period. Alisoun, who was not a CC member when the Nature Nights program was conceived, asked what the money raised from area businesses was used for. Jane explained how Audrey Eisenhauer came to the CC last fall to propose the Nature Nights idea and requested financial assistance to cover material expenses and staff time. The Rey Center would promote the program using their own well established media outlets. After the CC voted to make the requested $500 expenditure from the Conservation Fund, the Select Board weighed in as being in support of the program but not of the expenditure. Subsequently a fund raising effort lead by Lea was undertaken and the money was raised by area businesses and private donors.
Alisoun explained how she oversees a well attended similar short term educational program for the Forest Service and gets volunteers to present the program. She went on to say that she thought that the Rey Center should cover their own expenses since they are using our facility. Jane explained that the Rey Center is a non-profit organization and expressed a need for financial help and that the group  agreed that it was a legitimate use of the CF fund since it was an educational program. Since that time we have received a letter from the local Govt Center supporting this notion. Tammy said that the Blair Woodland is not our facility, that it belongs to the town and the Rey Center has been looking to expand their outreach efforts beyond Waterville Valley visitors and to tailor this program to Campton residents. The BWNA seemed to be a perfect fit for this mission and we thought it would bring exposure to the area which is an underutilized town resource. Lea agreed that it was great exposure and having the program run by volunteers would be ideal but would require a huge time commitment. Alisoun said that we should request an accounting of time and expenses from the Rey Center. All agreed that this information is needed in considering future programming options. Tammy will send an e-mail to Audrey requesting a summary of the program and a breakdown of time and expenses. We will then incorporate this information into the letter that Jess drafted to the Select Board along with the Local Govt Center letter of advice.
4)Â Â Â Â Â Livermore Falls Update:
Jane attended the August 23 Livermore Falls  meeting and updated the group on progress made toward resolving the ongoing public safety/littering issues. New signage has been installed at the Rte. 175 parking area detailing fines and penalties imposed for violations. Visitors are finding other places to park such as in the trailer park and across the street along the dirt road to the new power substation. Holderness Police reported that open container citations were down from early summer, perhaps due to the clearing of trees allowing for better visibility. Jane also reported that the idea of forming a “Friends of Livermore Falls “ group is gaining traction. The Plymouth Rotary will be discussing this at their next meeting. Additionally, DRED has a potential position which may devote some hours to working with the Friends group.
A man attending the meeting who was a prior Historical Society member mentioned that he thought there was some great historical photos of the area. Jane agreed it would be great to get some energy behind creating some sort of historical display especially after learning the importance of the only one of its kind in the world Pumpkinseed Bridge. Lea added that she believed the site is also part of the Plymouth Heritage Trail. Jane ended the discussion by saying Shelagh Connelly is managing to keep the ball rolling on this project despite the number of entities involved. The next Livermore Falls meeting is on Nov 15th at 1:30 at the PSU library.
5)Â Â Â Â Â Bog Pond Project:
The CCC has received three more Bog Pond response cards, bringing the total to 10. Tammy reported that three professionals will be coming to our work session next Wednesday, September 19th . Amanda Stone and Malin Clyde are from the UNHÂ Cooperative Ext. and are part of the Taking Action For Wildlife team. They will be bringing to the meeting some poster sized habitat maps and brochures for us to use in our landowner outreach work. Grafton County Forester Dave Falkenham will also attend our work session. Tammy reminded the group that we need to have our NRI at hand for the meeting and all should review the UNH Taking Action for Wildlife website. The meeting is at Jane’s house at 7pm and the UNH group is interested in seeing Ron Reynold’s GIS/tax map overlays. Tammy will e-mail directions to Jane’s house to Amanda.
6)Â Â Â Â Â Other:
Jane suggested that we take a preliminary look at our 2013 budget at our October meeting and begin to generate some ideas. She also learned of a Lakes Region Planning Commission workshop on September 21st which she will try to attend. The workshop is called Making Progress to Protect Drinking Water Resources in the Lakes Region. Mail opened included the 3 Bog Pond response cards, a pamphlet announcing a Municipal Law lecture series, and a DES Drinking Water Source Protection newsletter. The meeting was adjourned at 0853 pm
Â
Next meeting : October 10, 2012;7:30pm
Â
Â