Conservation Commission, June 7, 2023

The town published minutes (text) and an agenda, an agenda for this meeting. Those minutes are the record; what follows is a guide to the recording.

legalplanning and zoningpublic commenttown departmentswater sewer

Present: Bob Pease (chair, remote); Rich Bush / Richard Birch (member, remote); Katie Childs (member, remote); Mike larouche (member, remote); Mary Wilson (member (chaired the water district hearing), remote); Rich Tremblay (member, remote); Anna Petrie (conservation administrator, remote); Christopher Ruth (facilities director (presenter), remote); Fran McNamara (water superintendent (presenter), remote). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 16:50Approve the Hickory Hills Lake pre-treatment herbicide plan — moved by unclear, as heardpassed (roll call, all members aye as heard)
2. ▶ 43:55Continue the town beach sand hearing to June 21 and recommend facilities try to reclaim sand from the lake — moved by Bob Pease, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard)
3. ▶ 1:04:22Approve the notice of intent for reconstruction of the home and new septic at 20 Fire Road 19 — moved by Richard, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard)
4. ▶ 1:11:21Negative determination for the Jewell septic repair at 131 Cove Road — moved by unclear, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard)
5. ▶ 3:11:10Continue the water district Hickory Hills well pilot study hearing to June 21 — moved by Mike larouche, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard)
6. ▶ 3:13:56Continue the skatepark hearing to June 21 — moved by unclear, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard)
7. ▶ 3:14:40Continue the Payne retaining walls hearing at 647 Reservoir Road to June 21 — moved by unclear, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard)
8. ▶ 3:29:47Approve the administrative determination for tree removal at 17 Crocker Ave — moved by unclear, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard; chair recused)
9. ▶ 3:33:41Certificate of compliance for 611 Reservoir Road, first order of conditions — moved by unclear, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard)
10. ▶ 3:34:24Certificate of compliance for 611 Reservoir Road, second order of conditions — moved by unclear, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard)
11. ▶ 3:36:11Certificate of compliance for 147 Robs Hill Road — moved by unclear, as heardpassed (roll call, all ayes as heard)

And 1 procedural: adjourn (▶ 3:57:40).

Against the town’s minutes

The town published minutes (text) for this meeting; ours were compared item by item. 12 agree, 4 caption errors resolved by the official reading, 7 substantive differences. The town’s minutes are a full record.

1. differsVote: continue town beach sand hearing to June 21▶ 43:55

   recording Continue the town beach sand hearing to June 21 and recommend facilities try to reclaim sand from the lake — passed (roll call, all ayes as heard)

   town’s minutes —

   Our minutes record a roll-call vote; the official minutes record no vote or continuance for this hearing. Check the official minutes and the recording at this timestamp.

2. differsVote: continue Hickory Hills well pilot study hearing to June 21▶ 3:11:10

   recording Continue the water district Hickory Hills well pilot study hearing to June 21 — passed (roll call, all ayes as heard)

   town’s minutes —

   The official minutes record no vote to continue the pilot study hearing. Check whether it was continued and how the town recorded it.

3. differsVote: continue skatepark hearing to June 21▶ 3:13:56

   recording Continue the skatepark hearing to June 21 — passed (roll call, all ayes as heard)

   town’s minutes “bob asked anna to contact greg to get an update.”

   The official minutes record only a request that Anna contact Greg for an update, not a vote to continue to June 21. Check the recording.

4. differsVote: continue Payne retaining walls hearing, 647 Reservoir Road▶ 3:14:40

   recording Continue the Payne retaining walls hearing at 647 Reservoir Road to June 21 — passed (roll call, all ayes as heard)

   town’s minutes —

   The official minutes record no vote or continuance for this hearing. Check the recording and the official minutes.

5. differsVote: 17 Crocker Ave tree removal, chair recusal▶ 3:29:47

   recording Approve the administrative determination for tree removal at 17 Crocker Ave — passed (roll call, all ayes as heard; chair recused)

   town’s minutes “motion: rb, second: cc to approve removal of the 3 trees. roll call was unanimous to approve.”

   The outcome matches, but ours says the chair recused and the official minutes record no recusal, only a unanimous roll call. Check who voted.

6. differsCorrective actions list for the Hickory Hills applicant▶ 3:12:03

   recording Chair and administrator will send the applicant a list of corrective actions and questions before June 21.

   town’s minutes “mary said she will work with anna to give them a complete list of corrective actions.”

   The official minutes name Mary Wilson (vice chair), not the chair, and give no June 21 deadline. Check who committed and by when.

7. differsFirst-refusal parcel taken up at next meeting▶ 3:55:30

   recording Leominster Road first-refusal parcel to be taken up at the next meeting after a member emails questions.

   town’s minutes “bob asked rich to send him what they needed to find out and put it on the agenda for the next meeting.”

   The procedure matches, but the official minutes label the item the Sunset Road parcel (Elaine Peterson letter), not Leominster Road. Check which parcel it was.

Compared 2026-10-12. Neither record is treated as the referee: a caption error is the same fact heard badly; a difference is for a person to check at the timestamp.

The money

1. ▶ 35:29House Road tenant house kitchen project

   Facilities director's per-project range is smaller than the kitchen cost, so painting goes first.

   as heard:forty thousand dollarsten thousand dollar

2. ▶ 3:38:21Conservation land improvement supplies

   Chair bought tools and ordered lumber for footbridge railings.

   as heard:137 bucks700 worth of lumber

3. ▶ 3:37:19DPW funding for Howard Street driveway

   DPW head to check whether this year's or next year's budget can cover the work.

4. ▶ 3:24:40Gasoline for mowing pollinator habitat

   DPW permitted weekly gasoline for conservation mowing.

   as heard:five gallons

5. ▶ 2:20:13Pilot study length and tank rental

   Engineer said rental cost of the temporary tank shortened the pilot from over a year to a shorter run.

   as heard:six to nine months

6. ▶ 3:43:33Title searches on tax title parcels

   Town manager said title searches would be done one at a time until money ran out.

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 33:00Marshall Park trail plans tabled because the Parks Commission was not told it was on the agenda.
• ▶ 33:47Tenant at the Conservation house will keep a shared Google doc log of monthly hours for the commission.
• ▶ 2:14:51Water district confirmed daily site checks during the pilot study, twice daily if needed.
• ▶ 3:12:03Chair and administrator will send the applicant a list of corrective actions and questions before June 21.
• ▶ 3:22:31Election of officers to be placed at the end of the next meeting agenda.
• ▶ 2:54:54Water district and Woodlands to be included in site visit notices.
• ▶ 3:55:30Leominster Road first-refusal parcel to be taken up at the next meeting after a member emails questions.

Public comment

1. ▶ 3:52Chair asked for public comment at the start; none offered.
2. ▶ 1:05:02Asked how plans are enforced if an owner builds beyond the approved plan; chair described certificates of completion and a roof ordered removed. — Don LaBelle, as heard, resident
3. ▶ 1:15:51Read a statement for the Woodlands Village condominium saying it was not properly notified as an abutter of the water district pilot study and asking for postponement; later objected to the tanks, asked for soil testing for PFAS and presented sample data. — Joan Pease, as heard, Woodlands representative
4. ▶ 1:47:57Asked about the pilot schedule, PFAS breakthrough testing, leak and freeze risk, and criticised the lack of notification to Woodlands residents. — Renee m key, as heard, resident, 6 Iris Court
5. ▶ 1:52:53Said a majority of direct abutters were not notified; asked about drywell depth and capacity, pilot duration and design. — Andy stravaski, as heard, resident, Wintergreen Court
6. ▶ 1:57:45Asked that the notice of intent be updated with specific details before any approval. — Don LaBelle, as heard, resident, 102 Royal Fern Drive
7. ▶ 2:01:34Raised the weight of the water tank and a hydrogeology report on lake levels. — John Fortune, as heard, Hickory Hills landowner, 50 Hemlock Drive
8. ▶ 2:02:36Concerned about erosion and runoff to the lake near the tank and drywell. — Bobby turkington, as heard, resident, 110 Royal Fern Drive
9. ▶ 2:04:47Asked about alarm systems for malfunctions. — Jack Denny Brown, as heard, resident, 15 Wintergreen Court
10. ▶ 2:07:58Asked about noise and whether test results would go to the commission. — Donald Monroe, as heard, resident, 12 Wintergreen Court
11. ▶ 2:10:03Asked the engineer for a list of recent PFAS pilot study towns and for a schematic of the system. — Dave McDonald, as heard, resident
12. ▶ 2:31:20Asked who is liable if something goes wrong. — Michelle letter, as heard, resident, 130 Royal Fern Drive
13. ▶ 2:39:42Asked how truck traffic would affect wetlands. — Debbie Richie, as heard, resident, Wintergreen Court
14. ▶ 2:52:27Water district staff asked why they were not told about the site visit. — Christie schwinger, as heard, water district

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• public comment139 min · 59%
• water sewer120 min · 51%
• legal120 min · 51%
• planning and zoning84 min · 36%
• personnel10 min · 4%
• roads and dpw9 min · 4%
• facilities4 min · 2%
• recreation4 min · 2%
• town departments4 min · 2%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:03Opening script, roll callinformational · 3:49 long
2. ▶ 4:15Hickory Hills Lake herbicide pre-treatment planvoted · 12:57 long · planning and zoning
3. ▶ 17:1240 Laurel Lane dock and stairs, preliminary discussioninformational · 11:48 long · planning and zoning
4. ▶ 29:00Marshall Park trail planstabled · 3:40 long · recreation, town departments
5. ▶ 32:40House Road tenant and building repairsinformational · 4:10 long · facilities
6. ▶ 36:54Town beach sand requestvoted · 11:37 long · planning and zoning
7. ▶ 48:31Fire Road 19 home rebuild and septicvoted · 19:01 long · planning and zoning, public comment
8. ▶ 1:07:32Cove Road septic repairvoted · 4:29 long · planning and zoning
9. ▶ 1:12:01Water district Hickory Hills well pilot study notice of intent, abutter notice disputecontinued to June 21 · 1:59:59 long · water sewer, public comment, legal
10. ▶ 3:13:16Skatepark and Payne retaining wall hearings continuedvoted · 2:24 long · planning and zoning
11. ▶ 3:15:42New and old business, officer election timing, hay licenseinformational · 9:48 long · personnel
12. ▶ 3:25:42Crocker Ave trees and certificates of compliancevoted · 11:18 long · planning and zoning
13. ▶ 3:36:58Violations, DPW driveway, conservation land improvements, committee reportsinformational · 9:02 long · roads and dpw
14. ▶ 3:45:59Leominster Road Chapter 61 first refusal parcelno resolution · 10:55 long · planning and zoning
15. ▶ 3:57:15Closing comments and adjournmentvoted · 1:05 long

What the captions could not carry

• Who made several motions, as the captions do not always name the mover.
• Exact application dates and quantities for the sand approval three years ago, which speakers disputed.
• Exact PFAS lab figures shown on screen by a resident versus the district.

Written 2026-10-12 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/conservation-commission/2023-06-07-poKKF_ot4rA.json — 5,474 caption segments, sha256 5e9622456699…. All recorded meetings.