Minutes of Lake Beseck Environment Committee April 11, 2016
Lake Beseck Environment Committee
Special Meeting Minutes
Monday April 11, 2016, 7:00 PM
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.
2. Members Present
Ed Bailey, Amy Poturnicki, Rob Poturnicki, Randy Bernotas, Craig Lundell, Jim Irish, Daria Vander Veer
3. Approval of Agenda
Motion to approve the agenda without changes made by Ed Bailey and seconded by Rob Poturnicki; passed unanimously.
4. Approval of November Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes of the November 23, 2015 made by Ed Bailey and seconded by Rob Poturnicki; passed unanimously.
5. Public Comment
No members of the public were present.
6. Chairman’s Report
The lake is finally filled; Amy reported that we were not able to act on some of the ideas of the November meeting as far as testing the cutting of the terrestrials because the water levels were too high.
Mark wants to do a quantitative study of the plant community, now that the lake is full; Amy approached the BOF for the $1500 needed. Jim Irish indicated that amount will be added to the $8,000 budget request.
7. Mark June-Wells Report
Tabled in Mark’s absence. Amy indicated that Mark is not sold on the aeration system that John Tucci had showed us, and recommends consulting with one of two chemical limnologists (Ken Wagner or Bob Cortman) that can engineer an aeration system specific to Beseck Lake. These specialists would also be who we would want to consult with to weigh out an aeration system vs an alum treatment.
8. First Selectman’s Report
We received the National Diversity Database analysis that was one of the required factors for getting permission to treat the terretrials with herbicides. Mark June-Wells has recommended we give DEEP a few weeks to process before checking in with them. The original target was to get this information to the state by March; with luck we could have a permit by the end of June. Two endangered plants may be present in the lake that (Vasey’s pondweed and northern arrowhead) that we would need to be careful not to treat. Mark has indicated that he has not seen these in the lake.
9. STEAP Grant
State issued a request in December for applications. The application will be to replace & stabilize the culvert that runs under Lake Shore Drive, install a particle separator and widen the road. Estimated cost: $500,000. Ed has engaged our state rep and senator to help move the application forward. Grants are awarded in batches; we were not in the initial group so will have to wait and see. Ed went over additional details of the proposed work to repair the culvert.
Ed passed out the 2015 summary report from Aquatic Ecosystem Research and indicated that Mark can go over the report at the next meeting. Amy has passed some of these numbers to some people who want to look into other possible systems for filtering the water.
Jim Irish indicated the BOF has a “good appetite” for continuing to fund the activities of the committee. He indicated the board recognizes the lake as an asset to the town and Amy has done a good job of explaining the ongoing maintenance needs.
10. Outreach for Earth Day
Jim Irish suggested a feature-length article for the Town Times on the lake’s recent challenges with terrestrials, phosphorous loading, etc., and the committee’s efforts to effect improvement. Amy will have Mark June-Wells draft up an article and Daria offered to help edit.
Motion to ask Mark June-Wells to write an article for the Town Times made by Amy Poturnicki and seconded by Randy Bernotas. Passed unanimously.
11. Misc.
Ed mentioned that the town will be using salt going forward rather than sand on the roads, in part because of the difficulty in cleaning up and disposing of the tailings afterward. It was agreed, however, that the town needs to improve the method of laying down the salt since it is currently being put down very heavily.
12. Adjourn
Motion to adjourn made by Rob Poturnicki and seconded by Craig Lundell. Meeting adjourned 8:12pm.