Present:
- Jamie Minacchi, Chair
- Michael Nathan
- Charles Kenny
- John Loiodice
- Roxanne McCaffrey
- Mosquito Control Program halted per vote at Town Meeting
- SBSC is now a Town Commission and will seek a secretary for taking and posting minutes
- Weed Harvesting: Notice of Intention (NOI) to harvest weeds in the Bowl approved by Conservation Commission. Con Com will now prepare the Order of Conditions. Following is a 10-day appeal period for review and comment by DEP (Commonwealth Dept of Environmental Protection) and NHESP (Commonwealth Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program). Following the approvals, the harvesting can commence.
- Michael Nathan expressed concerned about the slow process so that weed harvesting will not be done until late July/early August. He wondered if the engineering company or the Commonwealth agencies were responsible for the lag time. He questioned whether the process could begin earlier and allow harvesting to be done earlier?
- McCaffrey said this process will result in a three-year contract and therefore harvesting could take place earlier in the next two years.
- McCaffrey said Stockbridge Bowl Association wants to move one of the areas in which there will be testing for milfoil. She did not say why, but that would alter where harvester could be used. It must avoid test areas and remain 100 feet away from them.
- Harbor Master will place buoys around test areas. Harvester will use GPS to indicate where they harvested weeds.
- Dock harvesting will be a single pass only.
- Kenny would like to invite Hilary Snook, an environmental scientist, to speak about cyanobacteria and general conditions on lake. For example, The Bowl is in a marble infrastructure creating hard water.
- Mike Buffoni and Pat Kennelly from SOLitude did water testing and will have analysis later.
- Nathan awaiting report from GZA (consultant) on dredging.
- ConCom requested an aquatic plant study to be done by Tom Coote (Bard College faculty) in July or August.
Editor’s notes: Coote is the environmentalist who documented the absence of milfoil last year. Are the control and test areas potentially being moved in search of milfoil?
