Committee reports: volunteer engagement, water, energy, materials, land use

[Jim Snyder-Grant]

You can ask questions about these committee reports at tonight's (July 6) Green Acton meeting at the Arboretum

(https://groups.google.com/g/green-acton-announcements/c/dpDyW-VOM8w/m/6XiKf42yAAAJ )

or use the contact emails listed with each report

Volunteer Engagement Committee

The Volunteer Engagement committee is currently Chris Edwards and Jim Snyder-Grant. We can be reached at volunteer-engagement-contact@greenacton.org

We participated in the first Green Acton 101 introductory session last month, where we went over Green Acton basics with some newer members.  When the next one is scheduled, we'll let everyone know: everyone is welcome..

Our main work is contacting people when they sign up at events and/or fill out the 'Join' form at https://newview.org/join (Filling out the Join form is only necessary for folks who want to work on committees: you don't need to fill out the form to attend our monthly meetings).

When we contact new folks, we thank them, let folks know about upcoming general and committee meetings (if they have expressed an interest in particular committees), and offer to answer any questions they might have.

We'd like to do more, such as more targeted outreach for new members, so please let us know if that might interest you.

We sometimes get asked how big is Green Acton?   Here are some metrics:

Directors and/or officers: 9

People on committees: 46

committees, including the committee announcement lists: 105

Filled out the 'Join' Form: 145

The discussion list: 150

The announcements list: 284

Green Acton Water Committee, July 7, 2024

Kim Kastens

water-...@greenacton.org

The Water Committee has not met since the June report.  Our next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, July 21, 2:30-4:30 at East Acton Village Park or by zoom in case of excessive heat or stormy weather.

Our committee's biggest accomplishment this month was to collect water samples from Acton brooks to be analyzed for total phosphorous, in collaboration with OARS.  Phosphate is a nutrient that encourages plant growth. When too much phosphate enters freshwater brooks and ponds, it can cause an excess growth of aquatic plants and algae and a consequent decrease in dissolved oxygen in the water from all the decaying plant matter.   

Our ten samples span the Nashoba Brook and Fort Pond Brook watersheds.  Nashoba Brook drains southern Westford and northern Acton, while Fort Pond Brook drains southern Acton.  They merge near the intersection of School Street and Rt 2, and the combined brook flows across the town line into Concord and immediately into Warners’ Pond.  

To provide context for the following data summary, OARS uses 0.05 mg/L total phosphorous as the threshold for healthy aquatic ecosystems.  Immediately upstream of the confluence, the total phosphorous level in Fort Pond Brook was above this threshold,  0.066 mg/L, whereas in Nashoba Brook the level was lower, 0.040 mg/L, suggesting that the Fort Pond Brook system may be more of a contributor to the eutrophication of Warner Pond than the Nashoba Brook system.  A site immediately upstream of Ice House Pond had low relatively low phosphate, 0.043 mg/L.  The highest measurement in the survey, 0.129 mg/L, was in the Heath Hen Meadow Brook tributary, which drains extensive wetlands.  The lowest measurement in the survey, 0.030 mg/L was in the Coles Brook tributary, at a site which Green Acton’s prior work had show to be seriously polluted with salt. 

Energy

energy-...@greenacton.org

A.  Gas Leaf Blower Phase-Out - Marketing Approach

  1. Carolyn & Alan have contacted 11 BLB landscapers with 3 willing to work in Acton

  2. Plan is to publicize info

B. Solar project update - Auto Auction is next prospect for solar canopy email

C. MA electric grid investigation - Richard reported on GMAC webinar. Complicated issue with national impact

   

D. Hanscom expansion - great news that MEPA said DEIR is inadequate and needs major revisions

 

More details in minutes 

Green Acton Materials Committee Report

material...@greenacton.org

Our July meeting was cancelled. Our next meeting will be Monday, August 5, 2024 at 7 PM via Zoom.

Our only discussion was regarding recycling of batteries. The Town of Acton website instructs residents to drop rechargeable batteries off at an approved facility or municipal hazardous waste day. A suggestion from David Schumaker on Green Acton Discussion list serve was to post on the Town website that Staples will take not only rechargeables, but single use alkaline batteries under 13 pounds. Question: should we ask the DPW to post this on the Town Recycling Information website?

Rob Gogan

Materials Committee Chair

Land Use

Land use meets the 4th Wednesday of the month

landuse...@greeenacton.org

A brief report from Land Use committee member Danny Factor:

LUC is making progress on three fronts 1) Understanding the town's evolving plans regarding potential land clearing limit bylaw(s) to possibly be put on the 2025 town meeting warrant 2) Coming up with a draft revision for our GA Housing Principles per everyone's comments at our last meeting. More on both of these items in September, with any position that LUC wants to take on either of these matters to be decided by the directors. 3) A new matter: discussing with Kristin Guichard (Planning Director/ Zoning Enforcement Officer) the unlawful cut down of dozens of trees on wetlands (alongside a large pond) on the Bellows Farm property, just over the border from the Briarbrook Village property at 11 Davis Road. (Full disclosure, I live at 11 Davis.)  According to Kristin, Bellows Farm Condominiums has admitted to cutting down the trees without a permit as an attempt to control beavers. The matter will be next heard at the July 17th Conservation Committee meeting. Both Kristin and ConsCom have made site visits to the property. It sounds like the town wants Bellows Farm to pay to replant trees. I plan to be at the Cons Com meeting. The more tree advocates at that meeting, the merrier, I say. That said, we may not have all the facts, so I am not advocating for GA to take a position on the matter (if it even wants to) until we hear what both sides have to say. I am also willing to recuse myself from any future possible GA discussion and vote on the matter since I am an abutter. Coincidentally, LUC had actually, before this incident took place, just begun to discuss the matter of beaver control. At this point, we are just trying to educate ourselves about this matter.