Pittsfield Conservation Commission (PCC)
January 24, 2013 Meeting Minutes

Call to order: 7:00 PM, by Vice Chairman Brian Mika.

Present: Members: Vice Chairman Brian Mika (BM), Chris Hill (CH), Secretary Diana Westgate (DW), Visitors: Sheila Ward

Treasurer’s Report: $47,278.90 remains in the Conservation Fund. Our PCC budget is currently $321.59 over budget. BM will look into a couple of the charges including the Mitchell Municipal Group PA Greeley Property charge of $330.90 to see if they should be coming out of the PCC operating budget.

Meeting Minutes: The minutes of the December 17 meeting were reviewed and accepted.

Public Input: At our invitation Sheila Ward, the learning opportunity coordinator at Pittsfield Middle High School attended our meeting so we could share ideas about learning opportunities that PCC might provide to high school students. CH mentioned an invasive species inventory and the Big Tree program where people can enter tree measurements to see where the largest trees are. He also mentioned a natural resource inventory. Sheila described some of the limits and requirements of her program. We agreed to meet again and perhaps invite one or more of her students to attend that meeting.

Old Business
1. Thompson Forest. CH attended a January 3rd meeting of the snowmobile club in Barnstead. The club is happy with the state of the forest and the trails. The trails are marked and in use. The club can help with trail gates and signs for ATVs. PCC has made the signs for Berry Pond Farm and Thompson Road areas.
2. Committee Search Effort There are three applications in the works.
3. Sign for Berry Pond. Signs marking the Berry Pond Farm and Thompson Road areas are being made. The PCC needs now to determine the best way to affix them in a durable manner. Perhaps some local companies would be willing to donate hardware to make this happen. NH Public Service has generously given $100 for signs.

New Business
New Officers. We unanimously elected Chris Hill as Chairman and re-elected Brian Mika as Vice Chairman.

PCC Forward looking Effort
The PCC will prioritize a list of what it wishes to accomplish in 2013. One of the goals is to walk the properties.

Adjournment: 8:45 PM.

The next meeting will be Thursday February 28.

Submitted by: DW, Secretary