Vassalboro Conservation Commission Meeting
August 9, 2018 at 7pm at the Civil War Monument Park
Attendees: Betsy Poulin (Chair/Secretary), David Jenney, Steve Jones, Laura Jones, Holly Weidner
Absent: Dylan Dillaway, Chris French

Agenda:

  1. Meeting Minutes
  2. Town Forest
  3. Kayak Launch on Kennebec River
  4. Town Park?
  5. Maine Farmlands LLC Auction
  6. Civil War Monument Park

Meeting Proceedings:

  1. Meeting Minutes
    1. Members voted to approve minutes from June meeting
  2. Town Forest
    1. $300 budget to went to more bog bridging from Tukey’s Lumber in Belgrade. Selectman John Melrose picked up material and delivered it to the park
    2. Installation of bridging in October? Erskine Students?John Melrose cleaned up trails with bush-hogging and chainsawing
    3. Morton Moesswilde is willing to walk through the Town Forest with Conservation Commission members to discuss options. A possible date could be after 3pm any day but Monday. Holly, Steve, Laura and Betsy are interested in a walk through.
  3. Kayak Launch at Kennebec River
    1. Gene at Public Works, notes that they do not maintain the road past the houses
    2. Residents at the end of the road have expressed interest in purchasing the land owned by the town, they have concerns about unsavory activity occurring in the area. Commission members are not interested in pursuing a sale, as this is the only town owned access to the Kennebec River. The landowner who donated the land to the town wanted it used for recreation.
  4. Town Park?
    1. Jody welch expressed interest in donating land across Route 32 from the Country Store for a town park/parking. Discussion and research regarding the parking space possibilities indicates that due to the proximity to the intersection, parking spaces could be problematic and might not be possible. This was discussed with Jody Welch and did not diminish the interest in the space being used for a park (greenspace).
  5. Maine Farmlands LLC Auction
    1. Town residents bought all 5 lots of land, each parcel had 2-3 bidders
  6. Civil War Monument Park
    1. Upgrades to park which the Commission supports include:
    2. Removal of dead trees
    3. Removal of stumps
    4. Removal of chainlink fencing between historical society park land and Civil War monument park land. Posts can be cut off at the ground to not disturb soil near the water
    5. Removal of one dying Norway Maple
    6. Planting of new canopy trees along boundary between historical society park and Civil War monument park land
    7. Clear brush along the stream/lake shoreline to improve views and remove invasive plants. Land between chainlink fence and outlet stream should not be touched.
    8. Installation of demonstration LakeSmart shoreline planting
  7. Notify Town Manager and Selectmen of support for above projects

 

October 11th at 7pm is the next meeting.