HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Dog Park Committee - 10/21/2008 DOG PARK COMMITTEE
MINUTES
OCTOBER 21, 2008
The regular monthly meeting of the Dog Park Committee was held on Tuesday evening,
October 21, 2008 at 6:30pm in the small conference room of the Municipal Office
Building.
PRESENT: Lisa Ventriss, Chair; Jaime Heins,Vice-Chair; Joan Jarvis, Secretary;
Howard Goldberg, Claire Williams
ALSO PRESENT: Tom Hubbard, Recreation Director; Derick Read, Krebs&Lansing;
Matt Poirier, Sanborn, Head&Assoc.; Chuck Brodsky, Starr Farm Dog Park
The meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m.
Lisa gave a brief overview on the work of the committee to date for the visitors to bring
attendees up to speed on committee fmdings.
Matt presented an overview of his company-25%of their work is landfill analysis
4 factors on landfills that to be considered
1) landfill gasses
2) leachate-stormwater or/and rainwater
3) settlement of landfill
4) integrity of the cap typically a 2-foot layer of soil over waste
The amount of gas generated needs to be determined-typically what is found is made up
of 45-50%methane& 50%carbon dioxide other issues hydrogen sulfide—displaces
oxygen
If closed in late 80's, early 90's: gasses most prevalent years 1-10 gasses less of an issue
over 10 yr time frame.
Site would be monitored to evaluate current levels of gasses.
Measure gas readings over a 75' grid over the entire site and evaluate data.
Measure gasses&hydrogen sulfide levels. Measure will reveal levels of gas.
Recommends doing testing over 2 different coverage dates,one which has barometric
pressure dropping.
Lechate issue: liquid may leak out to surface-not good for exposure to human or animals.
Will be visually evaluated during gas testing.
Settlement issues: Based on age of site, settlement should be pretty much settled.
Typically: 6"of topsoil& 18"of barrier soil—has permeability.
Claire asked about bringing in water: having spigot for water. Matt indicated that this
would probably not be a problem, and could even be buried in the first 6"of soil, drained
before cold weather.
Joan asked about digging in landfill for fencing-Matt didn't think the digging would be
an issue,he said that we may have to lay a skirt around the posts to protect the landfill
areas around the fence posts. Skirting around fence post could add as much as $100/post
..-� if that is the only alternative, a lot will depend on depth of cover.
Lisa asked about what kind of testing would need to be ongoing-Matt explained that
there should be gas testing/yearly and surface scan of the area perhaps an ANR
evaluation each year.
Matt has a concern about acidity of the area and would recommend galvanized or no-rust
fencing.
Lisa asked Derek how we would know where settlement might be occurring-Derek
suggested start with gravel ¬ rigid surfaces such paving.
Derek wanted to know about handicap accessibility- 5' slope is max for wheelchair
capability.
Derek asked Matt about tree planting and Matt said trees could be tricky. Tree issues
exist because of the roots penetrating the cap. Trees with roots that do not go deep could
might be considered, as well as planting outside the landfill boundary area.
Matt will schedule gas monitoring within the next week to evaluate gas levels at location.
Discussion on the t-shirts, so far have sold about 30. Discussion on sizes of shirts&
possibly adjusting sizes on shirts,possible running some larger sizes in next order.
Discussion with Chuck Brodksy about fording volunteers&recruiting volunteers.
Starr Farm opens at 8 am&closed at sunset hours-no later than 8 pm in summer
Volunteer duties at Starr Farm:
Open&closing of both gates
Change"poop barrels"
A volunteer locks gates at night
Some filling of holes
Joan asked why would a park have to be locked at night?
Chuck stated that the hours were set because of Starr Farm being in a"neighborhood"
and needing quiet times. Discussion on whether we would need to lock at all based on
the area,will be discussed at a future meeting.
Chuck would just evaluate the people attending the park facilities and asking if they
would be willing to volunteer. There are 7 volunteers total at Starr Farm.
Chuck suggested:
Provide phone number for emergency vet facility in Williston somewhere at the facility;
provide police number and/or animal control.
Animal control can write citation from having the license plate number from the car.
Discussion on soliciting potential volunteers starting now so we can build momentum for
when park opens. Lisa suggested coordination with humane society to help volunteers
with what to look for,dog behavior, etc.
Claire suggested having a more formalized ongoing committee"friends of the dog park
committee"established before dog park opens.
The committee will begin discussing preliminary design, and design materials at
November meeting. This will begin to provide some costs for budgeting.
Next meeting date scheduled for November 18t at 6:30 pm.
Lisa asked for a projected time line for next steps. Site analysis work should be complete
this fall which will enable us to proceed to Council for update and approval to begin the
permitting process. DRB review and probably Act 250 will be required and could
hopefully be accomplished over the winter months.
Meeting adjourned at 8:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Joan Jarvis, Secretary