Richmond Pond Association Meeting - Draft Minutes
April 30, 2024 by Zoom
Welcome – Louise opened the meeting at 7:05 pm and welcomed all in attendance.
Approval of RPA minutes of October 24th meeting – Louise made a motion to approve the minutes of October 24th. Minutes were approved.
Approval of RPA Annual Report 2023 – Louise reported that the distributed report had already been incorporated into the Town’s Annual Report, but asked if there were any amendments. No amendments were suggested, & a vote to approve the report was unanimous.
Updated RPA contacts list – Louise asked if there were any changes to the updated list, dated 4-30-24. None were mentioned, though folks present were encouraged to check with others not present & share any updates with Doreen.
Updates from Town Hall – Danielle was not present, but emailed her report which was received after the meeting. Neal Pilson reported that Richmond Town Hall/Library was open. They plan to host a welcome reception, but it is not yet scheduled. They have been busy planning for the annual town meeting scheduled for May 15th. The Annual Town Report should be available to pick up at the Town Hall soon. The kayak dock has not yet been installed and the culvert hole has not yet been repaired. Holly brought up that Alison Dixon’s BRPC report could be used to apply for a grant from the state to repair the Clark’s Brook broken culvert where people could hurt themselves. Linda brought up that a child could fall in the hole and recommended the town at minimum cover the hole with a heavy plate to prevent someone from getting injured. Someone brought up that the fencing at the beach was compromised by a fallen tree. Neal Pilson said he was taking notes on these issues and would discuss them with Danielle.
Danielle’s emailed report is pasted here but was not discussed at the meeting:
“We have pond monitors who will start May 19th we do believe we have lifeguards for the season and are working with them to get certified. They won’t start until school is out.
A boat hit the dock and kayak launch last season and we are still trying to have that repaired. I will let you know as soon as I know more.
The detention basin at camp Russel that was completely gone was rebuilt last and is working well. The camp is handling the maintenance of that as it is private property. The one over by branch farm is working. It is not something that will be fixed in the near future as it is on private property and actually working. We have had numerous conversations regarding that with conservation as well and are all on the same page.
The culvert going to the beach is in need of repairs. We tried to fix it three years ago but was told we couldn't touch it. We are looking to possible less costly repairs however if it needs to be full replacement it will cost close to 1milion dollars and need to be a full bridge. That road may need to be closed this summer for driving we are still assessing the situation. If it needs to be closed it will be foot traffic only.
As far as I know there is no one willing to do the goose management. We had a lot of resident complaints about the town participating so they opted out a couple years ago.
I have been working with Jim and conservation to keep moving forward with permitting the chemicals and draw. And potentially harvesting.”
Financial report – Laura reported that she’s working on the proposed annual budget for FY 2024-25 (July to June) & will have that ready for approval at the May meeting. She shared that we currently have $73,862.65 in our several checking & money market accounts and CDs. No funds were spent on weed treatments in 2022 or 2023, due to lack of permit, leaving us with a higher balance. Apart from these accounts, we continue to contribute $2,000 per year to our Dam Fund to ensure we will have funds available to help with dam expenses if needed. The Richmond Pond dam is owned and maintained by Camp Arrowood on whose property it lies. We maintain the dam fund due to the critical nature of the dam and our desire to help with any problem. If the dam were to breach, we would lose 90 acres of the pond. Expenses this year have included payments to the Richmond Record for advertising, post office fees, zoom fees, Go Daddy website hosting fees, and payment to LAPA West for cyanobacteria monitoring, which came to $915.06 for six sampling and testing visits.
Awarding Committee for Anita Chapman Scholarship Fund– A motion was made & approved for RPA to again participate in this committee & designate Doreen as our representative. Doreen was not present at the meeting but had previously agreed to participate this year.
Appointment of additional alternates – Louise proposed that volunteer Holly Stover be designated as an at-large RPA alternate; this was approved. Louse then proposed that Linda Kay be designated as a Richmond Shores alternate; this was approved. Linda then introduced Jessica Bernow, a resident of Richmond Shores, who was also present on the Zoom meeting and who Linda is hoping will join the RPA in the future. Louise welcomed both Holly and Linda as official members of the RPA board, reminding all that the efforts of our alternates & ex-officio members substantially enhance our ability to accomplish our mission.
Nominations for President – Louise asked for nominations or self-nominations to serve as RPA president. There were no nominations, so the position remains vacant.
Project updates & other development at the pond:
Goose management – Louise asked if there was anyone who wished to volunteer to coordinate this program. No one volunteered, so similar to last year, there will be no goose management effort this year.
Weed management – Status of permitting initiatives & plans for 2024 weed treatments –Weeds were not treated in 2022 and 2023. Nutrient run off continues to be a major factor but involves expensive road, culvert, and land remediation that was not addressed in detail at the meeting. Over the winter, the RPA worked with a consultant Joe Onorato of Water and Wetland to develop a treatment plan which would be acceptable in light of the Bridle Shiner and Bald Eagles. Jim McGrath submitted a response to Misty-Anne Marold of Natural Heritage’s 2022 letter with the proposed change in chemicals developed this winter and with the continued 2-ft drawdown. This proposal was accepted by Natural Heritage. Chelated copper will not be used due to toxicity and diquat will not be used as the permittable concentration is not high enough to be effective. The chemicals accepted by Natural Heritage are: Clearcast (imazamox) for Curly-leaf Pondweed, Procellacor EC (Florpyrauxifen-benzyl) for European Watermilfoil, and Sonar (fluridone) for Native Tapegrass. The Pittsfield conservation commission requested a 3-year extension on their permits for chemical treatment and drawdown based on the revised and accepted chemical plan.
What is still needed includes an extension on the Richmond combined permit and a possible submission of an NOI for mechanical weed harvesting. Both issues were discussed.
The Richmond conservation commission will need to request a three-year extension on Richmond’s combined chemical treatment and drawdown permit. The current combined permit is due to expire in August prior to the September drawdown. Tom Potter remarked that the conservation commission should consider separating the combined permit into two separate permits, one for chemical treatment based on the revised and accepted chemical plan and one for drawdown. A concern was raised that any effort to submit new NOIs to separate the chemicals from weed harvesting would take time and jeopardize the extension which would need to be requested soon in order to make sure we can do the 2-foot drawdown this September. This was not resolved at the time Jim McGrath had to step off the meeting.
Mechanical weed harvesting was also discussed. Over the winter, the plan made to address weeds in Richmond Pond included possible mechanical weed harvesting with the hope that gaining a permit for weed harvesting would allow for flexibility in our approach. One of the hardest weeds to treat is Native Tapegrass and both the environmentally friendly Sonar which Natural Heritage approved and the mechanical weed harvesting for Tapegrass are very expensive. Due to expense, both Sonar and the weed harvesting would only be able to cover very few acres of the Native Tapegrass. Jim McGrath pointed out that requesting an NOI for mechanical weed harvesting involved hidden expenses and work, including a requirement to notify abutters, a need to hold a public hearing, and a fee to Natural Heritage. Whether or not to submit an NOI for mechanical weed harvesting was not decided at the meeting and was left open whether Jim McGrath would submit the NOI and assist Danielle Fillio to submit for Richmond. This will need to be decided shortly as we have already reserved time with a local mechanical weed harvesting company.
Jim McGrath had to leave the meeting early, but he concluded by saying that in his opinion, Richmond Pond needed a multi-year contract for chemicals and that he would solicit bids for this. There was confusion about which vendor would provide these treatments – Jim recommended that he seek bids from both Joe Onorato of Water & Wetland (the vendor RPA had been exploring using and who had provided free consultative services over the winter) and Solitude Lake Management. Jim McGrath reported that he’s had & still has an excellent working relationship with Solitude which provides all the treatments for Pittsfield’s two lakes. However, Richmond’s experience with Solitude has been very problematic the last two years, characterized by a total lack of responsiveness to overtures from the Town and RPA and a lack of response to Natural Heritage’s 2022 letter, contributing to our inability to treat weeds in 2022 and 2023. Jim McGrath felt he had better communication with this company and said he would be in touch with RPA to share the outcome of the bids. Jim McGrath said he thinks that he has several thousand dollars available from City of Pittsfield to help with the weed cost in Richmond but he is waiting to learn more about what costs Pittsfield might have to incur because of the zebra mussels in Onota Lake. The town of Richmond has approximately $15,000 to contribute to weed treatment ($5000/year unused in 2022 and 2023 and another $5000 for 2024), but Danielle Fillio was not at the meeting and this needs to be confirmed.
Hand-pulling of weeds in the canal was deemed ineffective and overly expensive. It was not done in 2023, & is not part of the 2024 plan.
This discussion ended with some confusion about where we stood & who should take what next steps. The uncertainty is further complicated by the absence at the meeting of the Town Administrator, Danielle Fillio, who would be responsible for initiating some of the action steps, since the weed treatment vendor contract(s) would be solicited by & held by the Town of Richmond.
Invasive plant update – Miles reported on his research about purple loosestrife beetles, which are known to be an effective control measure to substantially reduce, though not eliminate, invasive purple loosestrife. Related permitting requirements were shared by Con Com representative Tom Potter. Miles will consult related procedures, 310CMR10.00, Wetlands Protection Act, & contact Town Conservation Agent Kimberly Wetherell for guidance. As the next step, Miles would need to prepare & submit the required NOI to Conservation Commission(s) (both Richmond & Pittsfield?) for approval to import & release the beetles. Miles is considering this and plans to request advice from the town.
Beach, tributary & cyanobacteria testing update – There was no report on beach or tributary testing. Ken reported that we had received our itemized bill in mid-April from LAPA-West for last year's cyanobacteria testing at Richmond Pond. For six visits, our bill was $915.06. Ken has forwarded the bill to the RPA treasurer for payment. All sample results indicated the presence of cyanobacteria at low concentrations, & at deeper depths, our results were consistently "of low concern," with continued monitoring recommended.
Ken recommended that RPA continue to participate in the LAPA-West cyanobacteria monitoring program for the 2024 season. He proposed the following motion, which was seconded & approved: The RPA will continue to participate in and pay for the LAPA-West cyanobacteria monitoring program visits to Richmond Pond for the 2024 summer season, with visits to occur approximately every 2 weeks.
Ken also indicated that one or two additional boats, with operators, need to be identified, to take the sampler out to the pond's deep hole (53 feet deep) & anchor there for the sampling. While Ken expects to provide his boat for a few of the visits, he will not be in town for some of them. Volunteers were requested. Linda Kay will contact several of her neighbors who have pontoon boats to ask for their help.
Educational initiatives with Richmond Consolidated School students – Louise Brogan reported that a classroom from Richmond Consolidated School will be visiting the pond on May 23 to learn about the pond & its history, wildlife, & pond management. They’ll visit the Branch Farm area including the detention basin and swale and visit the pond's dam at Camp Arrow Wood. Louise asked Cam if the school bus could park at Camp Russell, and he indicated that that was OK; the Camp’s property manager would be alerted. Louise plans to write an article afterward for the Richmond Record about students’ use of Richmond Pond in their studies, including highlights of their field trip.
Camp season plans for Camp Russell – Cam reported that camp season opens June 24, for 8 weeks, ending Friday, August 16.
Camp Season plans for Camp Arrow Wood – Matt reported that this camp season opens June 29 through August 10, with an elite student athlete program August 12-16, and then Northeastern Track for five days. Registrations are ahead of last year at this time, & they plan for a very full season. The camp plans to hire a live in security guard who will actively patrol from 9pm to 2am. They will unfortunately not be able to host the RPA annual meeting/picnic this season. Matt also reported that Jon Millburg is no longer affiliated with the camp, so should be dropped from the RPA board; he will be designating another RPA alternate from the camp. The camp continues to run quarterly inspections of the dam.
Trout stocking – Ken reported that Mass Wildlife had stocked Richmond Pond with trout on March 18 & April 5. Reports indicate that trout fishermen are doing quite well this spring.
LAPA-West spring lake & pond symposium – Ken reported that LAPA-West President, Lee Hauge, had just begun exploring efforts to plan a late spring/early summer symposium with a focus on lake management.
Richmond Shores – Linda Kay reports they are working with Alison Dixon at BRPC on applying for grants associated with municipal vulnerability preparedness to remediate the dirt roads and bridge. To start, engineers will help people design home plantings to prevent run off. The following year, a permeable overlay to reduce sediment is planned for the road.
As the meeting had now gone up until almost 9:00 pm, and we’d already lost some members who had to sign off, Louise proposed that we adjourn the meeting without hearing any of the remaining reports (listed below). The motion was seconded & unanimously approved. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm. Reports not provided were:
· Recent developments around the pond (community association reports – Richmond Shores, Branch Farm, Whitewood, & South Pond Farm) – Doreen, Louise, Jonna, Laura
· Historical records consolidation and storage – Ken
· Pond history book sales update – Kerry
· RPA website - Bruce
· Projects still needing volunteers - Facebook, Richmond Record (articles/photos) – Louise, Ken
Our next meeting will be May 28, at 7:00 pm, by Zoom.
ATTENDEE LIST:
Directors present (voting): Louise Brogan (vice-president, Branch Farm), Laura Rosenthal (Treasurer, South Pond Farm), Jonna Gaberman (Assistant Treasurer, Whitewood), Miles Garfinkel (At-Large), Kerry Hamilton (At-Large), Ken Kelly (independent cottages), Matt Linick (Camp Arrow Wood), Cam Stockton (Camp Russell)
Ex-officio present (non-voting): Jim McGrath (City of Pittsfield), Tom Potter (Richmond Conservation Commission)
Alternates present: Linda Kay (Richmond Shores, newly voted in at this meeting), Holly Stover (At-Large, newly voted in at this meeting), Cricket Nardacci (Whitewood), Bruce Wintman (Whitewood)
Guests present: Jessica Bernow (Richmond Shores), Suzanne Cassidy, Carl Foote (Branch Farm), Neal Pilson (Selectman), Chris Thomson, Laiken Rapiscrele, Chris Visher
Directors absent: Doreen Donovan (secretary, Richmond Shores)
Ex-officio absent: Danielle Fillio (Richmond Town Administrator), Ron Veillette (Richmond Conservation Commission)
Alternates Absent: Kais Abderrahim (Camp Russell), Gordon Dinsmore (South Pond Farm); Brian Grebeldinger (Richmond Shores), Barry Kellogg (Richmond Shores), Kitty Levitan (Whitewood), Tim Mason (independent cottages), Joe McGovern (Camp Russell), Al Nardacci (independent cottages)
Richmond Pond Association Meeting Minutes
October 24, 2023 by Zoom
Welcome – Louise opened the meeting at 7:05 pm and welcomed all in attendance.
Approval of RPA minutesof September 26th meeting – Doreen made a motion to approve the minutes of September 26th. Minutes approved.
Updates from Town Hall – Danielle was not present. Neal reported that he did not have any new updates. Jonna asked it the eroded pipe on Town Beach Road, by Clark’s Brook had been addressed. Carl had sent pictures of the pipe to Danielle. He asked Carl to send them to him. Neal thought that overall, the beach was maintained better than previous years. They will begin the hiring of boat monitors and life guards in the spring.
Proposed meeting date for 2024- Louise read the proposed dates for 2024. Doreen noted that the first meeting, April 23rd is the 2nd day of Passover. Discussion was held for an alternate date. The meeting dates for 2024 are, 4/30, 5/28, 6/25, 7/23, 8/27, 9/24 and 10/22.
Financial report – Laura reported that Carl has merged the funds as voted on last month. Balances in the book account and the canal fund were added to the RPA money market /savings account. Linda Kay had questions about the dissolution of the canal fund and if there was a way to track the money that was in the fund. Carl responded that the information was in QuickBooks.
The intention is to move $2,000 from our Savings account to the Dam Fund account, but that account is in a CD so Laura will go to Berkshire Bank to see if this can be done.
The filing of form PC as required by the MA Attorney General’s office is completed. The report was done on line which avoided a lot of paper work, mailing, etc. The form was accepted. Carl put the numbers together and Laura did the review.
The interest on our CDs plunged this month. Instead of earning roughly $180 / month, we are now earning $4.00 / month. She will meet with Berkshire Bank on this.
We have about $25K in liquid accounts (checking and money market) and about $45K in CDs. Our overall assets grew by about $800 this month, attributable to donations and dues.
Changing the authorized signatures at the bank will be done. The changes will be to add Jonna and remove Ken and Carl.
Discussion and action on proposed amendment to RPA Bylaws, Article 4.03 – Ken read the proposed amendment that was stated at the last meeting. The hope is that this amendment will open up more candidates for the position of President by including members of the RPA board, an alternate or ex officio member of the RPA. He made a motion to adopt the amendment to the Bylaws. Motion was passed.
Nominations and Election of President– Doreen asked if there were any nominations or self-nominations for the role of President. There were none. Louise thanked Ken and Carl for their years of service to the RPA. She clarified her role as vice president and what she is able to do in that role. The Board will be supportive of helping to fill the void until a new president is elected. Ken noted that if a candidate for President comes forward before the first scheduled meeting in 2024, per the bylaws, a special meeting can be called. He will share this bylaw with Louise.
Project updates & other developments at the pond:
Detention basins and runoff mitigation at Camp Russell-Holly has spoken with Ron Veillette and Danielle about working on a contract with the Boy’s Club for the maintenance of the detention basins. She will provide the ConCom with the original engineering plans and the contract for the maintenance. Holly has identified problems with drainage and run off from the roads in the Camp. The Boy’s Club has been unresponsive to her requests to meet. The goal is to have a site visit that would include representatives from the Town, ConCom, RPA and the Boy’s Club. Holly plans on discussing this at a BOS meeting and Con Com meeting. Jonna thanked Holly for giving a few members of the RPA a tour and history of the detention basin
Weed management planning update – Jonna relayed that several of the RPA leadership team recently had a Zoom consultation with Jim McGrath, to get his advice on how to move things along with Mass Heritage with regard to dam draw-down permitting for both towns and development of a Natural Heritage-approved weed treatment plan. Jim recommended that we reach out to a pond management consultant that he's used, with excellent success, to help us frame a comprehensive pond management plan, which would include a multi-faceted Natural Heritage-approved weed treatment plan for Richmond Pond. Jonna has reached out to this CEI consultant, Bob Hartzel, and has scheduled a Zoom meeting with him for Wednesday evening, November 1, at 7:00 pm. She has invited Danielle and Tom Potter to attend along with the RPA Board members. Jonna asked if a special meeting would be needed to approve funds for this if we were to move forward with hiring Bob. Carl responded that there is already money allocated for weed management.
Update on Camp Arrow Wood – Matt was not present.
Update on Camp Russell – Cam was not present.
Identification of winter projects: staffing of and designation of a convener for each- Louse identified the projects that will continue over the winter months;
Recent developments around the pond (community association reports):
Richmond Shores- Doreen relayed that the Shores is working on contracting a provider for plowing services.
Branch Farm- Louise reported that the eagles are rebuilding a nest in a different area in Branch Farm. The cottages are closing for the year. There is more erosion on their roads which may be related to the changes in the road that happened with the rebuilding of the O’Brien’s cottage. The road has lost their swales and water is now eroding the road and driveways. Louise will follow up with this.
Whitewood- Jonna reported that Bruce is now an alternate for Whitewood along with managing the website. The roads at Whitewood have also been eroding more. They hired an engineering firm and have a plan to help with their road maintenance.
Linda spoke about the erosion of all the dirt roads around the Pond and wondered if there could be a long range plan that included funding from the RPA to help offset the cost of road maintenance with run off and erosion. The roads are in the water shed. Applying for a grant and matching funds were mentioned.
South Pond Farm-Laure reported there are fewer residents now as we move towards winter. They are working with the Pittsfield ConCom on permitting to remove some trees that are within the buffer zone of the Pond.
Website & Facebook enhancements – No new updates.
Odds & ends:
Winter draw-down: The winter draw-down of the Pond is expected to begin on November 1st.
Richmond Record – Ken reminded us that the changes to the Record are captured in last month's minutes. He shared that past Editor Lauren Broussal was recently awarded this year's Charles & Mary Kusik Citizenship Award, at the Richmond Land Trust's recent Pie-nic, and that was covered in the October issue of Richmond Record.
He also asked for additional volunteer writers for the Richmond Pond Update column in Richmond Record; Kerry Hamilton and Ken are tag-teaming this but having another person would be helpful.
Other announcements: Ken noted the beaver dam at Nordeen Marsh's outflow into the canal at Town Beach Road, that had been breached, substantially reducing the water level of the marsh, has been rebuilt by the beavers.
Book sales – Ken will be selling pond history books and distributing the handout "How to write you Pond's History Book" at Mass Wildlife headquarters in Westborough on 10/30 at the MA Watershed Association's data management workshop and the watershed-related presentations. This event is co-sponsored by LAPA-West, and only 5 minutes from his home.
Meeting Adjourned at 8:15 pm
ATTENDEE LIST:
Directors present (voting): Louise Brogan (vice-president, Branch Farm), Doreen Donovan (secretary, Richmond Shores), Laura Rosenthal (Treasurer, South Pond Farm), Jonna Gaberman (Assistant Treasurer, Whitewood), Ken Kelly (independent cottages,) Miles Garfinkel (At-Large),
Ex-officio present (non-voting): Alternates present: Cricket Nardacci (Whitewood). Gordon Dinsmore (South Pond Farm),
Guests present: Holly Stover, Dick Stover, Ernie Smith (Conservation Commission) Carl Foote (Branch Farm), Neal Pilson (Selectman), Linda Kay
Directors absent: Matt Linick (Camp Arrow Wood), Cam Stockton (Camp Russell), Kerry Hamilton (At-Large),
Ex-officio absent: Danielle Fillio (Richmond Town Administrator), Jim McGrath (City of Pittsfield), Tom Potter (Richmond Conservation Commission),
Alternates Absent: Kais Abderrahim (Camp Russell), Brian Grebeldinger (Richmond Shores), Kitty Levitan (Whitewood), Joe McGovern (Camp Russell), Jon Millburg (Camp Arrow Wood,) Barry Kellogg (Richmond Shores), Al Nardacci (independent cottages) Tim Mason (independent cottages).
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