Georgetown Conservation Commission
Meeting Minutes
May 5, 2014 – Town Office
I. Meeting called to order at 7:03 pm
Quorum determined. Present: Robin Moore* (Chair), Kathy Gravino*, John Hagan*,
Jay Holt*, Kate MacKay**, Bill Plummer, Ruth Indrick of KELT, and one member of
the public.
(*=Conservation Commission member; ** Associate Member).
Motion was made, seconded and passed to approve minutes of the February 2014
Conservation Commission meeting as presented. Motion was made, seconded, and
passed to approve minutes of the April 2014 Conservation Commission meeting as
amended. Minutes of the March 2014 Conservation Commission meeting were not
available. Discussion and approval of the minutes of that meeting were tabled until the
June meeting.
II. Project Updates

Project Canopy Grant – John Hagan, Kate MacKay, Robin Moore
Agenda item was moved to New Business.

Marsh Migration Team (MMT) and Sea Level Rise Project – Renamed the
Climate Change-Sea Level Rise Project – Kate MacKay
No Conservation Commission member is available to attend the three day Climate
Change Preparedness Conference in late May to which Liz Hertz of the State
Marsh Migration Team sent the Conservation Commission an invitation.

Climate Change-Sea Level Rise Project – Kate MacKay, John Hagan
The Commission has not received the edited final written report from the UNH
student team. Kate MacKay will contact Nancy Kinner about this. John, Kate,
and Kathy will draft a Georgetown Vulnerability Assessment summary report for
the Georgetown community over the summer.

KELT Water Monitoring Project - Ruth Indrick
First volunteer training this season is May 15th, with testing to start the following
week and continue through October. More volunteers are needed. KELT is also
sampling water in Phippsburg, and will do comparative analysis. Please contact
Ruth Indrick to volunteer.

MACC - Kathy Gravino
The Annual Meeting of the Maine Association of Conservation Commissions
(MEACC) will be on Saturday morning, May 17, 9:30 am – 12:30pm at the Curtis
Memorial Library in Brunswick. Kathy will attend part of the meeting. MACC
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has sent information about the Maine TREE foundation opportunities for summer
learning.
III. Old Business
 Conservation Commission membership. - all
Associate member Rosalie Paul is resigning from the Commission. Kate MacKay
will ask her to submit a letter of resignation to the Board of Selectmen. Ruth
Indrick is interested in becoming an associate member of the Conservation
Commission. Her name will be submitted to Mary McDonald in the Town Office
to meet with the Selectmen for approval.

Turtle Crossing Sign Project – Kathy Gravino
Turtle Crossing signs have been posted and are looking good. Bill Plummer
volunteered that when they are taken up in the fall they can be hung in the
Community Center until they are needed next year.
IV. New Business:

Conservation Commission 2014 – 2015 Budget Proposal – Kate MacKay
The proposed Conservation Commission 2014 – 2015 budget has been approved
by the Board of Selectmen and will go on the Town Warrant for adoption at Town
Meeting in June.

Project Canopy Grant (School project) – John Hagan
The final Project Canopy report is due to the grantor by June 30th. John will write
it, with help from others as requested. Money left from the award will be spent on
signage for the student plots in the Round the Cove forest. John and Robin will
discuss signage prior to the June meeting. The Commission will continue to work
with students from the school, as requested, to monitor tree growth and natural
ecological processes in the plots after the grant ends.

Condition of wooden bridges in Round The Cove forest – Robin Moore
Robin Moore reported that a couple of the wooden bridges on the RTC trail have
deteriorated and are safety hazards. If they can’t be repaired they should be taken
out. The Commission recommended that dollars remaining in this year’s budget
(approximately $700) be used to repair the bridges. Robin will ask Bob Trabona
to make a parts list of materials needed to repair the bridges, and Jay and Kathy
will help get a work party together. Materials must be purchased before the end of
June, if money from this year’s budget is used.

Project Canopy Grant (Ipcar Natural Preserve Forest Management
Recommendation) – John Hagan
John Hagan reviewed the work on this project to date and thanked the
Commission for a job well done. After lengthy discussion, Jay Holt moved, John
Hagan seconded, and the Commission unanimously approved a letter, drafted by
John and as amended, to the Board of Selectmen that recommends an “Option 1”
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forest management approach in Ipcar Natural Preserve with the rationale for that
recommendation. The recommendation will be given to the Selectmen at their
meeting next week.
V. Next Meeting:
June 9 at 7 PM.
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:09 PM.
Submitted by Kathy Gravino, acting for Secretary Nancy Kinner
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