e e e [Music] foron all right good afternoon good afternoon this is a hearing of the chadam Conservation Commission a special hearing being held on May 30th 2024 in accordance with the Massachusetts Wetlands protection act in the town of chadam wetlands protection bylaw and regulations my name is Janet Williams I serve as the chair today's hearing is being broadcast live on Channel 8 and is being recorded for the on demand archives available on the town's website it's being conducted in person by phone and by video conference the agenda instructions on how to attend and copies of documents for review have been posted on the town's website My Town gov which can be accessed through a link on the conservation division website so to all participants if you're attending by phone or online please stay muted until you've been recognized to speak if you're on the phone you can mute and unmute by using star six and if you're online and you're not a commissioner we ask that you please keep your camera turned off until you've been recognized you can indicate that you wish to speak by using the raised hand feature and when you're recognized please remember to identify yourself for the record so that we have a record of a quorum attending today I will now ask each commission member to indicate their presence uh Vice chair Karen Lon present Bob RS here present Mary Sullivan is not here today leise Gordon present Cheryl mury is also not here today Eric Hilbert present and Associate member Bob Delio is not here today but we do have a quorum uh so I don't need there's no continuances or announcements um because this is a special uh hearing um I want to just start by uh um making a couple of things clear and providing some context for what we're doing today and why we're doing it um we uh we had planned to do this yesterday but um for a number of reasons we had to rescheduled for today um I want to thank the uh airport team for having submitted all the materials in response to the uh materials that came in over the weekend um even though we're not going to be addressing those matters today uh We've distributed both all everything that has come in to all commission members for review and we'll talk about scheduling um a a date for reviewing all that material um hopefully on June the 12th um at the end of the regular hearing um so we'll try to we'll try to do that um and then uh we are aiming to reach uh a decision document by June 26th that's our schedule we're going to try to stick to it um in order to get us there um uh we had a couple of issues to deal with off the bat and so I'm going to turn this over to Vice chair Karen Laton um who has an announcement um and a decision of her own to to talk about Garen all right I received one of the many letters that were sent to homeowners in chatam as a result of the article 40 at the town meeting as a result of that I was not sure whether I needed to recuse my myself or not from this proceeding I spoke with the state Ethics Committee and they told me there were really two issues the first is whether I can benefit financially from the proceedings that we're considering and whether I am immediately affected by this notice of intent I do not feel that I have any financial interest in this proceeding since my home is about 2 miles from the airport and as a result what we're considering is directly around the airport and it is purely wetlands and nowhere near where I would ever have any property concerns so as a result I do not feel I need to recuse myself and I do feel that I can be objective that's it all right thank you um all right thank you does anybody uh have any specific objection to Karen's continuing to participate in this matter hearing none uh we will then proceed to keep going um with Kon participating um I said before I wanted to provide a little context a couple of us have been uh have received questions from members of the community about why we are scheduling this hearing focusing on mitigation um I think it's a two-part question one is they they thought that it was a broader hearing um which it was intended to be but because we had to reschedule we cannot go into the the the broader issues uh that we had planned um so in light of the fact that we have one hour we thought that mitigation um would be a good topic uh the other part of that question had to do with why we were dealing with mitigation when we hadn't resolved the underlying issues yet um and the answer to that is that our our statutory obligations um both under the wetlands protection act and the wetlands protection bylaw the town of chadam um really revolve around the three parts of wetlands protection which is avoidance minimization and mitigation so for example the performance standards for any activities that are being being conducted in buffer zones um they are that those require uh any kind of impact or disturbance um cannot be per permitted without appropriate mitigation um our variance Provisions um provide that we must mitigate we must prepare for mitigations for the impacts as part of that analysis and here we have a number of variance requests so mitigation is very much a part of that and our regulations on mitigation standards in the section 5.02 provide and I'll quote mitigation is compensatory in nature intended to compensate for a proposed Project's impacts to a resource area that are unavoidable and have been minimized to the maximum extent possible so we're not skipping the uh uh avoid and minimize parts we have spent a lot of time in the last six months at hearings talking about those issues um but today we're going to to focus entirely on mitigation so as we count it up and look at it mitigation is required for the activity the tree removal in an area um that's approximately 2.6 Acres uh maximum and maybe somewhat smaller than that depending on when the when the work is scheduled in the adjacent Upland resource areas that we refer to as auras the aura to the Vernal pool the aura to Beer's Pond the aura to Emory Pond the aura to Black Pond and the aura to the cranberry bog totaling roughly 2.6 Acres of impact so um we've had a couple of preliminary conversations about um the kinds of mitigation that we would consider to compensate for the impacts um I know that the noi um speaks specifically to uh invasive vegetation management as part of The Proposal um and that kind of invasive vegetation man management can qualify um as a as a mitigation effort um I also noted that the vegetation management plan speaks to um an approach that's referred to as integrated uh vegetation management as a long-term approach um that's an interesting thing to us um that would keep that would keep the the obligation the responsibility to maintain the invasive management as a long-term um effort um beyond that uh we had some preliminary conversations about some further measures that we might take into account as mitigation so at this point I'd like to ask Adrien or Mark um if they have anything they uh different or new that they would like to talk about or should we just jump in and go through um the proposals that we've had so far good afternoon good afternoon thank you commission um for the record this is Adrien dunk from GZA we are the environmental consultant for the town for the airport um I think that your summary so far has been very helpful um the mitigation measures that as far as I understand I'd like to confirm our understanding are already settled with the commission are that the town will during construction Implement best management practices related to sediment and erosion control per perform the work during times when Stables are when soils are stable um which is ideally going to be in the winter um because that also observes time of year restrictions that are already established by the Cape Cod Commission for the Vernal pool area um the airport has committed to a review of The Cutting area in the growing season after cutting occurs with some adaptive management around um Native seating if there are bare areas above a certain size um we based on prior experience we do expect the existing native vegetation to grow very robustly but should there be bare areas um Native seed mix would be applied and um invasive species treatment in the aura where cutting occurs um would be implemented with annual monitoring reports submitted to the Conservation Commission for three years um and the Conservation Commission has a um invasive species management plan that we've already discussed um with you all on the record um for your review and finally signage around the Vernal pool regarding that it's a sensitive environmental area so I do want to confirm that those items as far as I understand are existing commitments made by the airport and accepted as part of the mitigation package by the Conservation Commission all right let me um just throw that open i' I that is my recollection as well we've talked about all of those we don't have any problem with those um cor correct there's more but I want to make sure that at this point right let let's is anybody okay I think I think I don't I'm not hearing any objections so I'm assuming I'm taking that as a sign that um that is our Collective uh recollection as well fantastic okay um the two remaining components of the mitigation package um are the um airport committing to manage an equal area of jurisdiction cutting um for invasive species Management in areas outside of jurisdiction so that would be for our year one work an additional 1.4 acres of invasive species management located at least 100 feet from um Wetland resources and then our understanding is that because the town tree mitigation bylaw did pass town meeting that a monetary donation to that um mitigation fund would be accepted by the commission uh yep that was the suggestion that we had made we're glad that that passed for a number of reasons this is just one of those um it seems appropriate um that a payment into a fund called a tree replacement fund seems right um so and and yes uh we talked about um we are happy to to uh see included in Bas of management uh in an area equal to the impacted area just beyond beyond or adjacent to but selected um also with a with a an eye toward areas where invasive vegetation is has already been identified as being present that could possibly move into and threaten the area uh within jurisdiction um I don't know I like to ask you what from your uh review of the site how um how feasible that to be able to come up with say 1.4 acres uh in adjacent Uplands that would be appropriate for invasive management yes so we have developed two draft figures um so I'm sharing my screen okay um this is the runway 6 end so this yellow area that's hatched um that is the cutting area that's within the aura to the Vernal pool and then this little teal triangle and this little orange triangle excuse me excuse me it's the agent um you guys are discussing the case we haven't even opened the hearing officially uh by reading the legal ad so can we do that first before we do anything else yes please okay oh right I'm sorry yeah the the okay go ahead problem yeah not these things have a life um so uh on the agenda for today is a notice of intent uh for 248 and 438 George Ryder Road and 1652 Main Street chatt municipal airport maps 9f 240 106 438 uh ad 1652 Main Street parcel 0-2 2481 18- K1 438 5327 1652 Main Street D number SC10 3658 the proposed project includes vegetation management required to remove obstructions within navigable airspace compliance with Federal Aviation Administration FAA regulations thank you all right so apologies for that Paul that was my oversight I didn't have an agenda in front of me today so no I not not a problem J I'm just yep okay Adrian uh you can continue please okay thank you um yes so the areas that are proposed to be cut during the 20124 work that are within the aura is this yellow area with a hatch this teal triangle and this orange triangle um based on a field review we are proposing the additional vegetation management to occur between the Vernal pool AA and the bike path along this length of the bike path past the runway 6 end and connecting into a an area um that's contiguous with the um Beer's Pond Aura um this is because there are there is an area of invasive species down here at the runway 6 end so managing that within um this area bounded by the bike path um would be protective compared to to some other areas near the Vernal pool and then creating this larger buffer to the small Cutting Zone of Beer's Pond again kind of connects in and creates a swath of invasive species management um nearer to the air port and nearer to the resources um so that's the proposed additional vegetation man invasive species management at the runway 6 end um down at the runway 4 end again here in this teal color with hatches those are the cutting areas so we are proposing um an additional area of invasive species management here at the western edge of the cutting um and that is is was selected because it does have kind of a natural break here with the the um access path um which will be more protective of the invasive species management work and it connects in with areas that are not going to be cut so again it can deter um if there's invasive species present um it kind of knocks it back around the edges to be protective of the Interior area um and then this larger invasive species management area around the home that's on the property um was selected because it would benefit both the r to the cranberry bog and the AA to Emory pond so that seemed like a good use of resources to protect both water Bodies Okay um what's the difference between the the I'm sorry the teal and the and I can't tell if the uh I guess it's sort of a pinky color if that's hatched or not cuz I'm struggling to see the monitor yeah it's not clear there so what is it yeah yep the teal is every is the aura yeah um and so and then the pink within that teal is um the portions of the aura that are proposed to be cut so there's exist some existing trails in here that don't have trees so there wouldn't be cutting there um this is the home and the the yard to the home so again there's not trees for cutting um in in those areas so the the teal is the aura y the pink is what will be cut um and then the orange the two orange outlined areas are where we're proposing the additional invasive species management okay so the additional invasive species management is um is it all entirely within areas outside of jurisdiction that are being cut yes okay that's what I thought there's there's nothing up to the to the upper end there that is beyond the cutting area where this is proposed yeah that's correct and yeah invasive species across the site I mean they are present but they are in low densities um and because with the removal of the canopy there can be robust shrub there there's usually robust shrub growth it creates the opportunity for invasive growth so that's why we want to Target cut areas for invasive species management versus other intact areas that would be expected to have um minimal or no change from nearby cutting okay I'm I've I've got a that basically let me open up to questions from Members goad Bob um um yeah the are you going to are you presenting have you or will you be presenting the details of how you'll manage the invasives in those new areas do the invasive species management plan that we provided for the areas within the aura um has been presented to the commission um verbally with slides and then also a written report has been submitted that matches those slides um because this is all Upland we would expect the same species and therefore we would apply those same um performance standards same methods in same reporting that um the commission's already reviewed for AA area to our outside of our areas um so same methods you've seen before just an expanded geographic area the same methods same methods same goals as as I recall as I recall the initial description tell me how it's changed if any was 15 square feet of Barr that's for the seating um yeah so that's the Adaptive Management in terms of if there's 15 square fet of exposed ground um we would be applying a native seed mix which involves shrub which includes shrub species um but for the invasive species management it was going to be a pre-cutting survey to identify where the species are um establishment of monitoring points um at a rate of four monitoring locations per acre that would be state in the field for repeat measurement um treatment through um primarily a cut and dab using herbicides um that are identified by mdar as more um sensitive and then removal of cut material with proper disposal the disposal site would be identified by the herbicide by the by the invasive species contractor to the Conservation Commission agent prior to um beginning work so then yeah cut and dab with remove of invasive species material and then monitoring at those um predetermined monitoring locations with a meander survey um the performance standard would be invasive species at existing or decreased levels um and we had proposed to complete the monitoring with annual reporting by the end of each calendar year to the Conservation Commission for three growing Seasons or until um the performance standards are met okay so in the event now go ahead oh in the event that a um a monoculture establishes and a foler application would be more appropriate than the cut and dab those areas would be demarcated on a map and again provided to the Conservation Commission for review prior to performing foler application all right so the Meander part of it is where could you describe that part of it yes so the the plot surveys are would be following the um you know the Army Corps standards for different thresholds so they would be looking at and characterizing invasive species within different radii to a point um but then the rest of the area would have a walkover survey to document if there's other populations of invasive species that would require any additional management um generally characterize which Native species are growing and which invasive species um and be and be used to guide any future um invasive Fe management if necessary so we want to establish the plots so that we can look at Trends over time but then the Meander survey because we don't want to be tied to only a few points and and you know Miss Miss a patch of multifloor rows because it's around the corner okay all right so and no mechanical removal um the there would be cutting um prior to you know for a cut and dab um to decrease the biomass and decrease the amount of herbicide needed but that would be that would be the mechanical um would be the cut we are trying to avoid ground disturbance right okay um all right I I have another thought but I'm gonna I'm gonna let someone else speak while I'm gather that thank you thanks Bob please I'll just follow on something that needs to be clarified for me the cutting you're going to do you say it's mechanical weren't we going to do hand cutting or was that only selective hand cutting we had proposed hand cutting um when we believe that no herbicide was allowed um however as was clarified to us herbicides other than glycos fate are allowed for use um and because that is more effective with a a cut and dab versus repeated cutting and it decreases the number of incursions into this area by humans and um we selected uh we're recommending the cut and dab method versus a pure cut okay on on the I know we don't have this on the the screen but on the ver in the Vernal pool area what that'll probably be handcut correct that was going to continue to be um cut and dab um using natural heritage endangered species program protocols for herbicide application near and Bas near vernal pools um so that guid document is attached to the invasive species management plan and they developed that guidance document for vegetation Management in rights of way near vernal pools with rare salamanders um we do not have rare salamanders here but we still want to be protective so we're going to follow their guidance perfect around the Vernal pool and Adrian thank you for your patience on the repeat questions from before I really really appreciate it this is probably going to be another another one of those um when we talk about the seeding in those bare areas um we've talked about seeding versus planting I had that question before do you have any feel for when you do use seeding that has the mix that includes the bushes and all that stuff hopefully how long does that take to actually establish do you have a a timeline for that kind of growth the seed mix typically has a variety of species so it has some very quick establishing grasses to stabilize an area and avoid erosion um and then it has other species which sometimes take a winter stratification um before they establish so it's variable rates um typically there is quick establishment by some seed seeded species um with longer term establishment by other species okay and the bushes that are going to be freed up from the canopy that are already there will grow to their great height as we've talked about before too right that has been the observation at other airports yes okay thank you Hi how are you doing um I just want to clarify as at the present there are have you identified any invasive species or is this going to be the you have we have not mapped where they are but during our field efforts we have identified um low levels of invasive species throughout the area so we've not identified um you know an area where you just look and you go oh wow that's a huge stand of fragm or that's a huge stand of multiflor rows but there is some there are some invasive species throughout primarily what we've seen is the Asiatic Bittersweet um honeysuckle um multiflor Rose is certainly present and which side is this I in the Vernal pool area I didn't really there's throughout yeah it's throughout the but also you're also considering the invasive species that will grow after the trees are cut right correct so there's some invasive species now and so we want to um manage the invasive species either at the same time as the cutting or early or you know in in the growing season right after the cutting so that the existing native species have a a competitive Advantage so that we're we're cutting we're removing those invasives and allowing the native population which is robust there to to grow and continue to um established yeah another question U when you say robust on the on the low growing Shrubbery in the Vernal pool what what is robust from considering where what they are now they are um robust would be that we do expect them to grow both outward larger shrub beer and also taller um so they are primarily High Bush blueberry and um uh sweet pepper push and so those can grow up to Heights of of 10 feet or more and so we do expect them to reach those kind of larger growth rates um when they have more sunlight okay thank you okay thanks Eric oh Karen has her go ahead Karen when we're talking about invasive species management you are if there's invasive species in the area that's within the aura you're taking care of that and this is in addition to anything that might be found in the area that is targeted for any cutting and and manage other management correct correct okay and at one point we had said in addition to you know invasive species management and contributing to this um tree fund that that would there be a consideration to put to plant any under story trees or something as well um in areas that might be as you say you know 15 Square ft of exposed area is that now not being considered we are proposing seating in those areas um versus planting again studies of other airports have shown that the um when plantings have been required they are um often outcompeted by already established native species so we are hesitant to go out there and plant shrubs and then have some type of um survival performance standard 80% have to survive and then they're getting out competed by by existing blueberry and we don't want to you know cut the existing species to meet our standards so there's there can be some some conflict there um which is we're proposing the seaing um so it it provides for um you know it it limits erosion it provides ground cover and then if there's not other shrubs growing into that area we are including shrubs in the seed mix they would establish and grow but if it just takes a couple years for the the existing shrubs to grow and expand into that area we're not setting up direct competition um by going out and planting things and then and watering them and mulching them and cutting other things back and doing um additional management efforts when being a little more hands-off would lead to the same or better result okay thank you okay thanks Karen did you think of your question I do it's really it really it really was that that was the thing that I kept chewing on my head is I thought we had originally discussed the idea and I thought we had a positive reaction from the concept of planting y one story trees I'm not talking about shrubs I mean I understand your your position on not putting in shrubs that would compete with shrubs already there but the idea was whether we could plant understory trees you know think Shad Bush Serviceberry types of things which are would not uh around here at least grow to the too high so that they become obstructions but yet would provide some sort of lower canopy to the area that wouldn't have to be done where there's bare ground they could be planted wherever wherever we've cut down trees basically just in between stumps as as it were so that was what I thought we that's I guess that's what I thought we would be seeing a little of in in your in your new or additional offer I thought we had talked about that and cutting putting other trees is the same conflict as putting other shrubs you know we would if there's already shrubs between the trees that are being cut so if we were to go plant other trees even if they were shorter trees we are still in planting vegetation that experience says will be outcompeted by native shrubs well I'm I'm not sure I mean I'm going refer to the plant people up here but to me an understory tree takes up about a square foot and uh even if there are shrubs at its base it's not going to provide a competitive problem for it it's designed to grow above the adjoining Shrubbery so uh to my Layman's perspective it seems like it's a it would be an appropriate addition to the amount of mitigation that's being offered and performed there any just down here um no I I appreciate that down here at the Vernal pool end the maximum allowable Heights are pretty short so if our shrubs that already are there grow to 10 or 12et for a lot of the area around the Vernal pool that is 10 feet or 15 feet is the maximum allowable height it's 20 feet right along the edge of the Vernal pool um but that does not create a lot of uh stratification of layers for for a tree species to be um you know distinct from the shrubs the shrub layer right okay I get that well if there are other areas besides around the Vernal pool maybe that's an option down at the other end at the other um at the runway 24 end the trees are allowed to be quite a bit higher which does mean that more trees will be left intact um so again we are expecting more of a canopy to remain um because some of our Mac maximum allowable Heights down there were 55t um so we do expect some trees to remain in the um these areas near the Cranberry Bogs and then again there's a a shrub layer there that's predominantly um Native with low density invasives okay are are we going to talk that's fine I I your argument is not it it it makes some sense so whether I agree or not still makes sense um are we going to talk about how much it how much you're contributing to the tree fund P tree that's that that gets us right in there because it's a Rel it's actually related um because I think we've reached agreement uh conceptually anyway that it would be a um the the the inventory of the trees that have been removed once that's prepared and we understand that it's we prepared afterwards under the monitoring etc etc um and then ratios apply to the extent that they're relevant to that to yield the number of trees however one one thing to keep in mind is that if you were to reach the conclusion that understory trees are feasible in in some of these areas especially on the Burnal pool um that a planting of those trees a tree would offset any amount that you have to you know that you can chw you can make a combination of a payment to the tree replacement fund and or planting of understory trees in any way that makes the most sense that we could agree on so it's it's connected to but let's talk about that yes um so I think our first question we've we've talked quite a bit about um what the tree replacement fund um donation could be but is there guidance in what passed um for dollar value or for considerations um we just want to yep be clear about what did pass before we kind of make up new or different standards I will send you the there's a about a five-page um tree protection bylaw that passed the tree replacement fund is a is a corollary bylaw that goes with it they're related to each other as far as I recall the the replacement fund doesn't have specifics in it about amounts um it is simply a a revolving fund that is set up to provide for the purchase of trees and the planting of trees for projects um particularly where um trees cannot be planted on site as mitigation so um it's just a it's a way of funneling money to get the planting done in other locations okay so in in light of that um the airport is um would like to offer as part of the com the mitigation package um a donation to that fund of 7500 $0000 per acre of buffer zone um clearing or AA clearing so here in in the 2024 work that's 1.4 acres um so they would be offering an $1,000 contribution to that fund if you know in the the year 3 to five work you know prior to implementing that work that's 1.2 Acres so they would um donate another approximately $10,000 um prior to undergoing undertaking that cutting effort okay so it's not the payment is not then going to be tagged to the number of trees that are removed it's I was wondering about that whether it's on a square footage acreage or number of trees basis um because of how this is all funded um and any mitigation is part of the grants that are applied for for certainty in in grant funding to the town um we are proposing an area based contribution versus a tree stem based contribution I will uh I will I will turn to local horiculture expert and plant um acquisition expert um about whether what is the yeah whe what does what would $1,000 uh not much um the uh how many do have you calculated how many trees per you know area approximately we had discussed that at our last meeting I mean we have a couple example plots where we were looking trees but it was very much a rough estimate right um so I believe we were looking at at our estimate indicated I believe 200 trees but I would have to pull up the report it's in that that tree survey report I just don't have that in front of me right now more I think that it we uh based on the the plots and then extrapolating from that to the larger area um they came up with about two about 200 for the aura to the cranberry bog an additional 23 in the aura to the Vernal pool that was most recently submitted in the Vernal pool tree survey um and then another nine in the aura to the Emory Pond that gets me to 239 of varying sizes so at that point um but I think in that number the minimum is three 3 in dbh right we don't we're not counting anything below in and then the Verno pool they really didn't have a count right cuz we have 23 we just looked at that closest Edge yeah just yeah right once you get further up the the hill we we lose it so so what is that average 200 230 240 let call 250 250 at the moment and the average caliber is they range um they range I would say most the trees um they they do range most of the trees were in the 3 to 15 in dbh you can't buy a category but right you can't even buy a 15 inch you know usually it's four 4 in 6inch calipers um yeah I don't really have what what's the price of an oak tree at wholesale 4 in so price of a 4 to 6 foot tall native tree from New England Wetland plants is about $16 a tree which I know sounds very low we were shocked but that's what's on gosh where is that tell me I'm GNA write that down so it's New England Wetland plants in Hadley they're a native plant nursery um nwp.com and what's the caliper that you buy for that they have it as a vertical height um oh they don't talk about calipers the money's in the caliper so they you know if we look at a red maple of Sixt Tall Tree is $15 yeah with you know they could be a one in or a/ inch caliber well anyway it's it's about the caliber it's not you know that's I mean yeah you can go out and you know buy little tiny trees to replace for $15 but it's not a you know it's you're talking a lot of Cal here it's a few hundred dollars to buy a 2 to 4 in caliper oak tree um but anyway that's all I have to say to that all right you you you said 100 no it would be a few hundred to buy a two to 4 in caliber Oak easy so remind me what was the total amount of estimated over the project to be contributed to the tree fund 21,000 21,000 21,000 okay um so let's just say so that's um and we're talking you're you're rough roughly estimating 250 trees yeah I'm using 250 okay and I'm looking at uh I mean obviously if they had to pay what they're really worth they wouldn't have any money left but you know you got to have some kind of compromise I guess per tree8 per tree where that's that's the math oh that's Hang on we're looking trees yeah I see what you mean they're they're only they're only listed here in terms of height which which is we we've we run into this problem a lot when replacement trees are are are offered for mitigation purposes and um trying to understand uh the difference between caliper and height and or bucket size or any other ways that uh and I will say you know many you know when towns plant shade trees or other trees they do right their planting them for the purpose of of their canopy of the shade of of those specific services so a larger tree is often selected at a park you know a large tree is usually selected a large caliper size um in restoration plantings however trees do establish um better not when they're so tiny as like such as you know a whip small trees small trees do establish as far as the value goes better not Replacements well remember that this is the the free replacement fund is designed to purchase trees to plant so um so with and it's a town doing it so they're not going to go to Crockers you know they're not so the the the town would not be charging they would the labor would be free the labor would be free so the labor there would be no labor costs to plant and care for the trees because oh yeah they could use um they normally use americore well the labor will be certainly more than the $15 tree right that's my that's my where I'm going a lot less labor than if you had to plant a 2 to four inch caliper tree is there a hidden is there an additional cost here that we're not considering well if the town ising if they're averaging 80 something or dollars for a tree that that would include for a little tree that include labor for a little you know not not going to take much to plant that it's it's the watering over three years watering yeah yep so I have a question on the the number of trees described in the buffer zone to the cranberry bog section of what we got in Dropbox um from your sampling Adrian you looked at approximately 207 trees to remove from your from your um review 69 would stay and an additional 115 would be determined in the field so that 115 could result in another 75 0 to you know it would be a0 to 115 additional trees so I wonder if there should be something indicated that final determination of the contribution would be based on actual removal or do we just go with the 250 trees it's a question right I I thought we were heading ultimately towards a post project tree removal count yes we are proposing to provide you with a full post project tree removal count right at which point we could theoretically determine contribution to the tree fund more accurately at least if we went with it per tree cost yes the comp complication is that because the town is seeking grant funding from Mass do and FAA they put in a Grant application and receive that funding and it's very challenging to go back and say well we told you the mitigation was 11,000 but actually we need 13,000 right okay so that's that's why the airport prefers an area based um contribution so that they can get the money once with the least administrative effort and cost for the town since ultimately um it's the the town going to that to get the grant funding and the town dispersing that money to this tree fund okay understood I do though in my head is is the question of what the total oops what the total cost of planting carrying for the tree might realistically be yep there's a document that we did reference um from it's posted on mass.gov it's from the citizen Forester from the Department of Conservation and Recreation um and it says that uh the total preparation unloading and planting costs for a tree um is approximately $11 um these costs are low we feel um so we did not good not propose that um value um there are 2018 not 2024 um and even some of those say you know there's certain estimated cost per hour for planting and and so we're proposing a value um much higher than $111 uh you know the only thing that concerns me is this the president because if someone violates and cuts down trees on their Coastal Bank for a view right and then you know when they're in violation they're cutting down you know trees and then what do we tell them okay they have to replant trees on their property but yeah but they it's it's a 1in caliper tree they can buy for $15 well Ian that's what we have there's a lot of back and forth about the size of those replacement trees you've been anticipating in some of that as we push back on right some of the whips that are proposed I always thought it was the pr the the value of the trees that would be cut yeah there's a lot of I would like sorry I just would like to interject because obviously this is an important question um but we do have a full mitigation package here this is not a we are only doing the donation right there's costs um to the airport for mitigation related to the additional invasive species management um and then those other um the invasive species management within the aura um the reporting and monitoring so it's not that you know the the tree cost is not the only um mitigation component on the table right okay um Karen has her hand up go ahead Karen have they already applied for this Grant and put in that 11,000 or 21,000 as you know what they need for the mitigation for the tree fund no yeah oh okay no so they yes the grant will be submitted after permits are issued because um the grant needs to take into account the cost of construction or the cost of the tree removal and so it does need to involve things such as um you know hand cutting certain areas and you know other other considerations in the order of conditions okay well I have two thoughts one is first of all trees that are in the ndz 0 to 50 we have a 2:1 ratio for that so for each of those trees technically two other trees need to be planted or accounted for and my I'm wondering if when we have a real count of the number of trees that are being removed let's say they say they're and we accept they're contributing $21,000 to the tree fund can the airport or the airport commission then if we determine that more needs to be done given the amount of trees that have been taken out and where they were located which determines our 2:1 or one:1 ratio could they then could we at that point deal with how to manage the fact that there's a gap um I would defer to mark on that I'm not sure about going back for state or federal funding versus the town allocating additional funds hi this is mar terano from Gail Associates um this is something that we'd have to discuss with the FAA and mass do um if that were to come up um you know get concurrence from the town and the airport commission for any of that so we can't make any guarantees on what might happen post construction for any funding but we can certainly have a discussion about that but uh we we at this point we can't uh really make any guarantees on that but if we are going to our own commission airport Commission in our own town and our own I understand airport FAA maybe has to get involved but the airport and maybe they do for the airport commission if we're going to two entities that are within our own town they have to go back to the do and FAA so I don't want to get into too far into the sort of the monetary part of the airport commission but anything you know the airport commission is a budget and anything above and beyond that they would need to talk to the town about and I am not right up sort of up to date on the financials of the airport commission so I'm I'm not going to speak about that today you know so I I know what I know and uh I'm gonna I'm G to stick to that I I'm just floating it as a question slash idea well I think there's a number there's a number of unknowns that you have in with terms of what the FAA and do would allow similarly we have an unknown that we're you can hear the concerns that if we were to agree on a per acre and then having done some calculations that you know at 250 trees 20,000 uh at $80 a tree gets you the 20,000 and that feels about okay but if it turns out that there were $800 trees removed then we have this Gap that we can't figure out a way to to close um so I think we need to uh also talk to some Town folks about that somehow this gets very circular um so uh I'm looking at the clock Adrian I believe you have a commitment at 2 o'clock I do so I would like to just um yeah summarize quickly it sounds like the Conservation Commission is accepts the proposed areas of additional um Nona vegetation manage uh invasive species management so we will in revise the draft invasive species management report to include this total area um and resubmit that as a final invasive species control plan okay and then um the Conservation Commission will continue to consider um this other $7500 per acre um contribution to the fund and we will reconvene on that at the next yep yep hearing um but that this is the so with all of the item items that are already agreed upon the additional invasive species in the contribution that is the full mitigation package being proposed understood at this time understood we have that okay with that I think we will try to have to continue to June 12th which is our next available date we do have some other matters uh pending on that date which we will schedule first so um you'll be notified uh where we think that you'll be coming up on the agenda so you don't have to uh sit through an hour or two of other matters um and then uh see if we can finish this up on June 12th to get ready for a decision by the 26th which we are still working on that schedule okay great thank you all right Karen do you want to uh yes I move that we continue this notice of intent for the airport to June 12th 2024 Gordon second roll call Bob hi leas hi Eric hi Karen hi I and I vote I so that is uh six six 612 okay um we will all uh think about this and we will also um come together to to review um all the submissions that have come in in the last few days bringing us back to those original questions of what is the scope of the project and the impact and things like that um and try to finalize all that as well all right all right um thank you all very much see you on I move we adjourn Gordon second hi I moved we adjourn okay we hi hi ER hi Karen all right we're Jour thank you everyonee bye bye guys bye [Music] [Music]