Hooksett Conservation Commission Meeting - December 8, 2025
Hooksett Conservation Commission Meeting - December 8, 2025
The Hooksett Conservation Commission met on December 8, 2025, at 4:30 PM. The meeting included a detailed presentation on the Heads Pond trail access improvement project, approval of several routine items, and discussion of a wetland restoration case at 325 Hackett Hill Road.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of November 10, 2025 Meeting Minutes: Unanimously approved (voice vote, all in favor). The minutes were accepted as a fair representation of the prior meeting.
- Consent Agenda: Approved by voice vote. The agenda included a DES renewal permit for Manchester Sand and Gravel's cement plant (air quality permit, reviewed as informational) and a note that the commission reviewed the material.
- Invoice from Moosewood Ecological: $1,000 interim payment for the Quimby Mountain stewardship plan, approved by voice vote (motion and second, all in favor). This is an already-budgeted expense.
- Donation from Catherine Rice Family: $1,000 from a Fidelity Charitable Donor Advised Fund, accepted by voice vote (motion and second, all in favor). The commission will send a thank-you card.
- 2026 Meeting Schedule: Commission agreed to hold the October 2026 meeting on Monday, October 5, 2026, at 4:30 PM. No formal vote needed.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made during the meeting.
Discussion Items
- Heads Pond Access for All Project: Dan Tatum from Stantec Engineering presented the proposed trail realignment at the Heads Pond trailhead. The existing 16% grade (steep) would be reduced to a maximum of 8.33% over a segment under 200 feet, meeting USDA recommendations for trail construction (not ADA). The preferred alignment (Option 1) keeps the trail start near the kiosk, minimizes tree clearing and grading, and avoids state right-of-way encroachment (saving time and money). The trail would be 10 feet wide (down from existing ~14-16 feet), surfaced with crushed gravel and stone dust (or three-eighths pack at a member's suggestion). The project does not require Shoreland permitting (confirmed in writing from DES). Commission members raised questions about drainage (potential culvert under railroad bed), vehicular access for maintenance and emergency vehicles, handrails (not needed due to slope), and impact on existing washout. Dan Tatum agreed to: (1) refine the plan to potentially keep the kiosk in place, (2) evaluate adding two ADA-paved parking spaces near the kiosk, (3) incorporate drainage improvements (including a possible culvert under the railroad bed), (4) use erosion control fabric (jute matting) with hydroseed, and (5) provide a revised plan set for the January 2026 meeting. Commission expressed general approval and will vote to send the plan to bid at the next meeting.
- 325 Hackett Hill Road – Wetland Restoration (Fraggle Rock): The commission discussed a wetland restoration plan submitted by the property owner, who has multiple zoning violations (filling wetlands, creating berms that diverted water). The property owner seeks a special exception for an access road to an unapproved warehouse, but no site plan has been submitted to the Planning Board. The commission received background from the town planner. Members expressed concern about the lack of a complete application and the improper sequence. They voted to table any comments until after a site walk (to be scheduled by the Planning Board/Zoning Board) and until a formal site plan application is submitted. The commission will participate in the site walk to assess the impact.
- Warrant Article – Combined with Parks & Rec: Town officials suggested combining conservation commission and Parks and Rec warrant articles to reduce the total number of articles. The commission will provide user-friendly language, with the request being $20,000 (conservation) and $50,000 (Parks and Rec) – both going into separate reserve funds. No vote needed, but the commission will submit wording to the town.
- Clay Pond Easement Monitoring: The gate at the Plausawa (candy) side was damaged by ATV operators. A game camera captured vehicles going around the gate. The commission will ask DPW to place a large rock in the spring to block passage. The other gate (with camera) is functioning.
- Riverwalk Trail Bridge Damage: DPW indicated they will help repair the bridge in spring 2026. The trail is safe with plywood covering the damaged area.
- Riverwalk Encroachment Survey: Letters to adjacent property owners about encroachments were drafted but not yet signed by the town attorney; follow-up is pending.
- Informational Items: (1) Primex legal review required for any contracts signed by the commission. (2) Conservation funds summary (reserves for land purchases can be used for appropriate projects). (3) Invitation from Bow Conservation Commission to share best practices; a member will coordinate.
Key Outcomes
- Heads Pond Project: The commission directed Stantec to finalize the preferred trail design, include ADA parking, evaluate drainage, and prepare for a January 2026 vote to bid construction. Timeline: bid in January for spring construction, with a 30-day construction window to minimize trail closure.
- Hackett Hill Road: Motion passed (all in favor) to table commission comments until after a site walk and formal site plan application by the property owner.
- Donation: $1,000 from Rice family accepted; thank-you card to be sent.
- Meeting Schedule: October 5, 2026, confirmed at 4:30 PM.
- No further votes on consent items; all approved by voice vote.
Note: Bob Barker announced his resignation but later decided to remain on the commission.
Meeting Transcript
Attendance. Sheena, we'll start with you. Oh, sorry. Sheena Gilbert, planning board represent. Bob Barker, member. Joe Carroll Woodburn, co-chair. Alan Stein, co-chair. Well, a better alternate. John Peroni, alternate. Not official. I'm gonna chair the meeting. Okay. Um, so this is the uh December 8th, 2025 meeting of the hoax of conservation commission. And uh we'll go ahead and start with the uh approval of the minutes of the November 10th, 2025 meeting. Can I please have a motion to approve those? I'll make that motion. I'll second it. Is there any discussion about the minutes? They are in the packet. I did review them. Our minutes editor is excused today, so I always think they are pretty fair representation of what was said. Minutes are not meant to be an exact transcription. They're meant to represent what was said. Any discussion? That's good. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Are there any abstaints? Okay, I'm gonna go a little bit out of order here. We have a special guest tonight, Dan Tatum from Stantec Engineering Design here to talk about the scope and fee for the heads pond access for all project. Can you just say your name and who you work for, Dan, and tell us what you got to say? Good evening. My name is Dan Tatum. Uh, for the record, work for Stantec Consulting. Uh we were hired by the Conservation Commission to evaluate uh a potential access modification to the Heads Pond trail access, uh which is located uh north of here on Route Three across from Greens Marine. Um project started, we met with Alan out at the site at least a year ago, I'm thinking, and we walked at the existing trail access, which connects the parking lot and that the there's a kiosk right there at the parking lot with a gate down to the railroad bed is approximately 16 percent. And most of the rail bed trail is nice and flat. It was an old railroad, so it's very accessible. Um there had been complaints and and frustrations with how steep that was for folks who uh were not as able as as others, and uh the the ask was that we could create a realignment of that access to uh to make it flatter so it's more accessible. So the first thing I'd like to call your attention to is the eight and a half by eleven that I handed out. There's one highlighted line, and this comes right out of the USDA publication for recommendations for trail construction. So it's a national publication, nationally accredited and accepted. And if you look at the highlighted line, this is a trail segment that is 200 feet or less. Um it would it can be between one and twenty and one in twelve, which is five percent with a maximum of eight point three three percent, and that doesn't require any resting spots. So if you go steeper than eight point three three percent longer than two hundred feet, you should incorporate a resting area and and a lot of the benches that are out on the riverwater project would be a good example of a resting area. You don't need a bench, but uh an area where you could basically move to the side, take a break, grab some water, catch your breath while other folks are walking back and forth, so you're not stopping on the trail. It's really just for for trail flow continuity. Um this corridor that we've created is is under 200 feet, so there are no resting areas, and we held the 8.33 right to the exact slope, actually.
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