Joint Hybrid Meeting, September 28, Hybrid

Present from ConCom:

• Ron Brouker, Chair
• Joseph H. DeGiorgis
• John Hart
• Jay Rhind
• Jamie Minacci
• Charlotte Underwood Miller, Secretary

Present from SB:

• Roxanne McCaffrey, Chair
• Patrick White
• Chuck Cardillo via Zoom

1. Brouker called meeting to order.
2. Minutes from last meeting approved.
3. John Davies discussed wall repair on Yale Hill. Approval of construction delayed pending site visit on October 2.
4. Brent White for 2 Lakeview Drive—addition. Approval postponed pending site visit October 2.
5. 4 Cove Lane (sound interrupted or interfered with)
6. Brent White for 23 Mahkeenac — certificate of compliance approved.
7. Many issues are continued because no representative appeared before the ConCom; e.g., Berkshire Gas and its replacement of existing pipeline. Hart objected to this and asked if there was a method for requiring appearance and clearing these items
8. Forsythe for BSO/Tanglewood — Storm water management {Phase Two, building an irrigation pond). Concerns included that it has a chain link fence; the fencing does not allow access for wildlife, and they have not managed invasives as indicated.
9. Bret White for 8 Mahkeenac Terrace — approval for driveway and “slightly larger house” — approval pending site visit in 2 weeks.
10. 2A Interlaken Crossroad — remove 5 dead or dying trees at request of abutter Kat Whitney. The trees are 3 ash and 2 elm — no replacement plantings proposed.
11. Stockbridge Bowl Association (SBA) President Pat Kennelly re: moving testing sites for Eurasian Milfoil in 2022. In order to find test areas, divers will conduct an underwater survey in early spring to try to find Eurasian Milfoil before selecting new test areas. SBA went to Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and asked to move test areas. DEP told SBA to check with SB and ConCom. Therefore, the joint meeting. Issues that arose:
    1. All agreed that DEP does not allow harvesting in test areas. Town has an order of conditions for harvesting and SBA has an order of conditions for testing. McCaffrey said SBA would have to come to SB next spring with new test areas and obtain SB consent. Kennelly disagreed. It was her opinion that SB had no power to consent or withhold consent, it was more a matter of SBA informing SB so SBA and SB could coordinate their orders of conditions.
    2. Brouker was displeased that SBA keeps changing testing sites. He recalled SBA came before ConCom and assured them that they selected the correct sites only to continually change them because they did not meet DEP specs. (see “e” below)
    3. However, they have not been able to replicate that finding in 2019, 2020, 2021
    4. White concurred. Both White and Brouker recalled that SBA, through their consultant SOLitude, surveyed the lake in 2018 and presented 160 data points that showed Eurasian Milfoil, an invasive, was dominant over native plants, and therefore, it required a “whole lake solution” — herbicide in entire lake. Based on that data they received a whole lake permit.
    5. However, DEP required that more than 50% invasive be found in test areas to justify fluoridone treatment and the result was never confirmed or replicated. So SBA wants to move the test areas again in 2022. To assure finding test areas with more than 50%, SOLItude wants to test in spring to find an area that will test 50% or more and then select that test area. There was uniform objection to this “shopping” for one spot that has 50% or more Eurasian Milfoil because they are requesting a whole lake treatment.
    6. Finally, White recalled DEP said that herbicide treatment (fluoridone) and dredging cannot happen in the same season. Kennelly disagreed. White asked her to please check with DEP, and if it is true, decide if SBA would prefer the herbicide or dredging. Kennelly said she thought they could do both.

Meeting adjourned.