2026-10-07 - Conservation Commission

All right, good evening everybody. Welcome  to the October 7th, 2026 meeting of the   Conservation Commission. This meeting is being  recorded and streamed by Millbury Public Access   Cable

Television, available live on public  access channels Charter 191, Verizon's 26.   This meeting is also available through Zoom or  by phone. Anyone participating through Zoom or   by phone should

state their name and address when  speaking. The Zoom ID number is 825-8602-0339. We will start off. Mr. Hill will  lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the  United

States of America and to the republic   for which it stands, one nation under God,  indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. All right, first   first order of business this evening is

on  the Lake Singletary notice of intent. We   closed that hearing last meeting Um, and we just  need to do an approval, but we do have somebody   from Lake Singletary who wanted to say a few  words,

so please come on up, introduce yourself. I've got to get the mic. Yeah. Paul Kowalczyk,  the president of the Lake Singletary Watershed   Association. Um, the only reason I did it changed,  you know,

a bit since the last time, which is   fine, you know, there but there was additions and  subtractions and all kinds of red line and you   probably get the same thing. I just got it this  morning. Uh,

two things come to my mind quickly.   We have to register, you know, like a deed,  you know, with the registrar of deeds.   I think last time, and I could be wrong, my wife  remembers it, that that

but I don't know 100%   that Don Flynn mentioned that right you know, you  could register it with the coordinates of the dam.   I mean, you know, I know it's not a typical so  like a construction

project where building a house   on a lot or something like that and I certainly,  you know, no one living on the lake's going to put   their house lot up so it has a lien against it and  you know, it

would have be perpetual lien cuz as   it gets, you know, it as the order of conditions  continues. So, is that something I guess I just   need guidance on that. Um, I would say that  your guidance

should probably come from the   pond association's legal team. Okay. You have  a lawyer Yeah, they that's that's that's talk   to them. Uh, well, he he he did he downloaded the  book and page of the

dam and the land at the Mill   River and so that's probably where it should go.  if that's their recommendation, I'm not going to   be the one to argue with it. So. mean, I don't  think it's anything

that's going to come back   you know, it's not going to come back to you. So,  that's a pretty simple one. And the other one,   I didn't read it in here. Uh, one person  called me tonight and said,

"Oh, you know,   it says in there that the lake association  will install downstream monitoring equipment."   And that's already been taken care of cuz fish  and wildlife agreed to do that on the

visit. Jason   Stalowski said, "Fish and wildlife will do cuz  I told him, you know, we're not like, you know,   hydrodynamic engineers here or something, you  know." You've got that worked out with

fish and   Wildlife. Wildlife were supposed to do that.  So, I just wanted them to before, you know,   someone comes, "Hey, when do What is your  good What is your equipment?" For the For the   For

the record, for your understanding,  for everybody else's understanding,   um because of who the applicant is in this case,  like it has to go toward you there. But, if you're   However you're working

it out is fine. Yeah. We  had a site visit with the with Fish and Wildlife,   and they said, "Yeah." I I said, you know,  "I'm not a hydro I'm not a mechanical engineer,   but that's a pretty tall

order to put on us  cuz the outflow is all irregular, up and down,   and right, you know, it's not like going through  a pipe where you can put a trench a pressure   transducer transducer or

something. And they want  it in cubic feet per second." Yeah. So, you know,   I said I told them I said, "You have to get the  Jared Isaacman on that, you know, director of   NASA." I don't know. He

said He said, "We can do  it." So, Cool. That's all I That's really all I   wanted to came to tell you in case this that was  a sticking point and our our attorney did say,   "Make sense to me to do

the town's dam property  cuz it's kind of what it revolves around."   And I don't think there's any extra I I I just  have one other quick thing. I saw it was that   I know you were right, but I'll

die on your I  just thought of this though. It says in there   that a representative of the lake association  shall you know, operate the dam with the   permission of the town manager of Millbury and

the  DPW director. Well, number one is pretty I don't   I don't know anything about operating a dam. So,  so I will say that that is very likely standard   language from the state on that. Um and

again,  like that is something that I know that we are   all working out and trying to figure out how we're  going to handle this sort of thing. At the end of   the day, as the applicant per se,

that's why it's  reading that way. I would not worry about it.   I Thank you, Jeff. I just you know, by I said,  "What if they said all of a sudden say, 'Hey,   the town manager and the DPW director

decided  you guys are going to run the dam.' Well, like   right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Cool. Thank you.  All right. You're good. right, so yes, as a   mechanical standpoint, we just need to approve

this project and issue the order of conditions.   Does anybody have any other thoughts  on this as we continue on or   otherwise I will entertain  a motion to issue the order. Then I'll jump on it

once. Is there  a second? Yes, second it. All right.   All right, so I'm glad it took us a year to  get this off our our agenda. We've had three   new people since we first saw this, so this is

great. All in favor. I. I. I. It's unanimous,   so thank you very much guys. All right,  next up nine Bayberry Lane notice of intent.   We opened that last meeting. They asked for  a continuance to

the meeting on the 21st.   So I'll entertain a motion to continue the nine  Bayberry Bayberry Lane meeting. Motion to continue   to 21st of October. Is there a second? All  right, all in favor. I. I.

All right, unanimous.   Next up 56 Davis Road enforcement discussion. This  is not a meeting. This is nothing we have to vote   on. There's no new news here, but we're keeping  it on the agenda until

we hear otherwise. New   business. People who are paying attention to their  agendas will see 40 Auburn Road notice of intent.   That is being withdrawn and will be reissued at  some point soon, so we

do not need to worry about   that and we are moving on. 23 Maple Street.  We will be opening We are opening this one.   Where is my notes? I have 10 minutes. This is  on my notes. I don't know where

my notes went.   Okay. Nope, that's fine. We're good. All right, so  the Mowbray Conservation Commission will conduct a   public hearing on Wednesday, October 7th, 2026  at 6:30 p.m. at the Municipal

Office Building,   127 Elm Street to act on a notice of intent for  the construction of a detached 24-ft by 28-ft   garage on the developed residential lot at 23  Maple Street, Millbury. Sidewalk

falls under the   jurisdiction of the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL  chapter 131, section 40. Jeff Raymond, chairman.   Um I will do a roll call vote to open this  hearing. Mr. Hill? Aye. Ms. Reed?

Aye. Mr.   Iacobucci? Aye. Ms. Callery? Aye. All right,  great. And they have asked for a continuance to   the 21st, so I'll entertain a motion to continue  to the 21st. Motion to continue to the

21st. Is   there a second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye.  All right, we'll continue. Question. Yes. Do we   know what the town ordinance is regard- regarding  um adding new structures? Uh what's the

size of   the Like this is a 24 by 28. What is the town  ordinance on that? Does anybody know? No idea. Outside of my knowledge area. Mhm. All right. to  know what it was, but I don't know now. Yeah.

So   next I'll bring it up in the before next meeting.  There we go. So next up, notice uh this is for the   um downtown phase three notice of intent. Um the  Millbury Conservation Commission will

conduct a   public hearing on Wednesday, October 7th, 2026  at 6:30 p.m. at the municipal office building,   127 Elm Street, Millbury, Mass to act on a  notice of intent for phase three of the

downtown   revitalization project on North Main Street, Canal  Street, and Elm Street in Millbury. Sidewalk falls   under the jurisdiction of the Wetlands Protection  Act, MGL chapter 131, section 40.

Um for people's   knowledge, the first two phases of that were  the new town center and the roadways going   away from the hill. This is for the project that's  going down the hill and I believe ends

toward the   um toward Windle Field. Um we have four people  from BSC BSC on the line, so I'm going to hand it   over to any one of you uh kind of give us a little  bit of a better overview. Hi, thank

you so much.   Um we've prepared a short PowerPoint. Can I share  my screen? Please. Okay. Good. You should be good.   Okay. Oh, you have to request it first. I'm  sorry. Yep, there you go. Okay.

Okay. Um Yep. And then you'll probably have to do it one more  time. Uh okay. There you go. Cool. Okay. Great.   Okay. Pop up on the right screen. Okay. Um Well, hello. Um my name's Hana Ishihara. I'm

the  project manager at BSC Group. I'm here tonight   with McKenzie Morrison, Diana Walden, and um  Jared Weiss on behalf of the town of Millbury.   Um So, as previously mentioned, the project is

here in downtown right outside on Elm Street,   Canal Street, and North Main Street. Um  the scope includes roadway improvements,   pedestrian accommodations, um drainage and  stormwater improvements.

Um and I'll be pro-   focusing primarily on the portions of the project  um within existing resource areas and proposed   work within riverfront area specifically  um and work near the Blackstone

River. So, here's um a bit more detail on  the environmental resources here.   Um the work is primarily the work in the proposed  resource areas is down here on Elm Street. Um and since you're

familiar with  the downtown right outside the door,   um we want to show you these  photos of the Blackstone River   and the existing stormwater outfall  um down south of Elm Street. Um and then

really quickly on Elm Street,   um, the project includes downtown streetscape  amenities such as bike parking, benches,   waste, and street lights. And that will all  be part of the work in the

existing corridor. So, on the plan view, we have selected to  show you the pages where the project overlaps   the commission's jurisdiction. So, this pink  here, um, shows the outer 100 to 200 ft of

the   of the riverfront area, um, which contains the  vast majority of the proposed work. So, again, the   area is already developed and consist of existing  roadway, sidewalks, driveways, and

streetscapes.   And then down here, we wanted to call  out, uh, this little purple bit, um,   that shows the impacts to riverfront  area in the inner 0 to 100 ft, um,   and 30 sq ft of impacts to

bordering land  subject to flooding. Um, so the work down   here is a proposed stone pad and plunge  pool at that existing stormwater outlet. And we also wanted to call out, um, this  slide here

showing the intersection of Elm   Street and Canal Street, which is, um, one of the  roadways, um, within the outer riverfront area.   This intersection will be reconfigured to  improve pedestrian and

vehicle safety. Um,   and again, from a permitting standpoint,  this is all redevelopment within the   existing developed streetscape. Um, with  no, uh, additional impervious surface.   Um, and most

of this roadway work  would typically be considered, um, or defined as minor activities with exac-   with the exception of the larger drainage and  stormwater improvements that are proposed. And

McKenzie will, um, discuss a little bit about  the drainage and storm water improvements here.   Good evening, everyone. As Hannah said, for the  record, my name is McKenzie Morrison. I'm a civil

designer at BSC. Um and so, we have three bio  retention areas proposed along Elm Street, and   each are designed with a paved sediment forebay,  which will allow pre-treatment. And then, we have   a

fourth, larger bio retention area proposed at  the intersection of Canal and Elm Street, which   will capture runoff from the proposed parking lot  at Windle Field. This bio retention area has also

been designed with a paved sediment forebay to  provide treatment prior to infiltration. Um and   all four of the bio retention areas are designed  with outlet control structures, which will direct

overflow back into the closed drainage system,  which ultimately discharges at that Blackstone   River outfall. Um we also have an underground  infiltration system proposed below the park   parking

lot at Windle Field, and a catch basin  will capture runoff from Canal Street, and um that   catch basin is then directed to a water quality  unit. The water quality unit has been designed   with two

outlets. One outlet is set at the  elevation associated with the water quality storm   event, sending only this event to the subsurface  system via a 4-in low-flow pipe. And then, the   second outlet

is proposed at a slighter slightly  higher elevation, um and it will be directed   back into the closed drainage system, which also  discharges at that Blackstone River outlet. Um and   as Hannah

mentioned, this outlet's been designed  with stone outlet protection. We also have um a   few locations where we've proposed permeable paver  bands. Um and that's about it for storm water. Um and

then, finally, we wanted to show you  this table, which summarizes the resource   um the wetland impacts um or the resource area  impacts. So, as mentioned before, majority of the   work um is within

the riverfront area, in that  outer 100 to 200 ft um, area. So, that's 25,768   sq ft. Um, and with only that small area uh,  permanent impacts within the 100 ft buffer   of the riverfront, um, which

is also overlaps  with bordering land subject to flooding. Um,   the stone will be installed at the plunge pool.  The stone will be installed at or below existing   grade, so the work does not result

in a loss  of flood storage volume. And again, no direct   impacts to vegetated wetlands are proposed. So,  we just want to thank you again for your time,   um, and on behalf of the town Millbury, we

respectfully request that the commission issue   the order conditions authorizing the proposed  work, and we'd be happy to answer any questions.   Great. Um, so just for folks who don't know the  area

as well, um, you can see the Blackstone River   right from that road whenever you're in  any of the parking lots, um, but, you know,   none of this work is going to really be,  except for that one

little 30 sq ft thing,   which was a nice little touch. I appreciated that.  Um, so, you know, I know, um, our agent is not   with us this evening. He is out sick, um, but  I had did speak with him

earlier today. He has   no qualms with this whatsoever. Um, the town of  Millbury is the applicant. Um, our director of   roads, whatever we're his title is, is kind of  the project manager on it. So,

I don't have any   additional questions on it. Go ahead. Um,  how many net parking lots and parking spaces   uh, net loss or net gain are we from  this project that we're getting? Um, I'll have to

look into that, unless one of  my colleagues knows that answer. That's yeah,   that's not quite your area of expertise  on this project, correct? Mr. Chairman,   if they're being replaced by rain

gardens,  then it involves us. So, I just want to know   how many parking spots are we losing this  time as compared to the first time? And Yes.   Um so, I'm Jared Weiss, um the the main designer  on

this project. Um I can get you an exact number.   I think we are losing uh a handful, um but we  aren't losing any to actual rain gardens. Um   Basically, the areas that we've um you know taken  up um

were unused areas anyway. Um but, I can get   you an exact number um of how many we've lost. I  want to say it's around three or four in total. Are they being replaced in other spots? Yes.  Yes, so

we've tried to move Uh yeah, we've tried   to essentially maintain um the parking that's out  there. And when we've gotten rid of a spot, we've   tried to replace another area, but I think overall

the project is losing around three to four spots. Thank you. Any other questions, then Commissioner? All right, hearing none, I'll entertain a motion  to close the hearing. Motion to close the

hearing.   Is there a second? Second it. All in  favor? Aye. Aye. That's unanimous.   Uh all right, so I will um entertain a  motion to approve um this notice of intent.   Motion to approve. Is there

a second?  Second. Any further discussion?   All in favor? Aye. Aye. And that's unanimous.  All right, easy peasy, guys. Thank you very much.   Best of luck with it. Thank you. Looking forward  to it.

Thank you. Okay, bye-bye. All right. All right, so thank Thank much. Um all right. Um  Let's see. On the agenda, the Trails Committee,   we're still working on figuring out some stuff on  the donation

that we talked about last meeting.   Um, nothing to report tonight, but we'll  on that? I wasn't here. Absolutely. Oh,   you weren't here. So, um, they did a presentation  last meeting. They, among

other things, requested   some money for a new golf cart. Um, but also they  were doing some grant money for 20 They were doing   a fund raise for $25,000. And they requested that  we contribute to

it, and we chose to We voted to   give them an additional $4,600 to get to their  goal. To trigger everything. So, we just got to   We're just trying to make sure we're dotting all  the i's and

crossing the t's correctly. Yep. So.   Um, Mr. Flynn is not here tonight,   as I mentioned earlier, so we do not have an  agent's report. Um, but I do see that Robin We'll vote on it vote on it once

we know what's  going on. So, that Yeah, apologies. So, we did   not actually vote on that $4,600 yet cuz we're  still trying to figure out if we can do it. Um,   so, um, he did submit to us a um, a

draft version  of his notes. Um, and when I spoke with him this   evening, he'll go over anything specific with us  next meeting as it goes. Um, let's see here. Um,   we have minutes in the drive. Has

anybody  been able to review the minutes? And if so,   will you I can entertain a motion to approve  those. Do we have Can we approve them as bulk,   or do we have to approve each one of  them? do

each one individually. Yeah.   Can I vote since I wasn't at these meetings?  That is a question that I can't remember. All right. So, I will entertain  a motion for the June minutes. Motion to approve

the June  17th Yeah. minutes. But,   I didn't memorize which ones I was  seconded. All right, further discussion?   All in favor? Aye. Aye. And then we have July  ones. June 3rd. June 3rd. Oh, that's

right. Yep.   Motion to approve the June 3rd minutes. Is  there a second? Was I at that meeting? Uh I think you were. I missed  two meetings that month. Sam wants I would check, but my internet  has

stopped functioning. Thank you, Robin. Where were we? Yes, we were  here. Okay. I'll second. Thanks. All in favor? Aye. Aye. That's unanimous.  And then 7:15. And now the July ones.   7:15. Okay.

Entertain a motion to accept  those minutes. Motion to accept. Second.   All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. And that's unanimous.  Unanimous. All right. unanimous? Is that it? More?   We do have August

27th. Can I bring up Ron's  record? Motion to approve August 19th minutes.   Is there a second? Second. All in favor? Aye.  Aye. All right, thank you. it? Okay. we had three.   I'm losing my mind.

Yeah, okay. Hey, we're  caught up on minutes, almost, sort of. Yeah.   Um all right, we do have some mail. Um I noticed  there was one thing that wasn't in there. We did   get a um a communication

regarding the  lantern flies that we're dealing with,   but um there's anything else in the mail? So,  we do have a notice of a remote consultation   session happening tomorrow regarding the

connection of four existing wells to the   Jacques water treatment plant. Uh the the meeting  is tomorrow with the um as MEPA, Massachusetts   Environmental Policy Act office. Uh tomorrow  from 2:00

to 3:30 p.m. there is a Teams meeting.   Um, and comment is welcomed from officials,  citizens, or agencies. So, if anybody would like   to make comments on that, we can get them that  information.

What time is that tomorrow? This,   uh, from 2:00 until 3:30 tomorrow. It's a Teams  meeting. Um, and just briefly, so this is under   the 301 CMR 11.034B1. It is a new withdrawal or  expansion in

withdrawal of 100,000 or more GPD   from a water source that requires new construction  for the withdrawal. But, they they emphasize that   there are no new drillings that will be taking  place. These

are simply existing wells. Um,   that's that is that mail. And then, as far as the  lantern fly, I got a chance to read through that   pretty thoroughly. It's there's there's somebody  in town whose

name is in the email, uh, who has   been working, apparently, vigorously to deal with  the spotted lantern flies as much as possible in   town. And it was a request to the commission to  do some sort

of recognition for their efforts, uh,   and that they can give us the information later  if that's something we wish to pursue. Great.   Thank you. mail. Um, anything else to come before  the

commission? All right, I will entertain a   motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn. Second. All  in favor. Aye. Aye. Have a good night, everybody.