Darien advisory conservation committee elects vice chair, adopts rotating secretary system and approves summer work plan

Bill Cavers, chair of the Darien Advisory Conservation Committee, called the special meeting to order at 7:00 PM on June 9 in Town Hall Room 119.

The committee reviewed officer duties and elected Peter Harned unanimously as vice chair. Members also voted to adopt a rotating secretary model that will assign minute-taking by alphabetical order of last name rather than electing a permanent secretary; Kristy O’Hagan is serving as acting secretary for this meeting.

Committee members approved a summer work plan to conduct in-person interviews with heads of relevant town departments, boards and commissions. Members were organized into pairs and tasked to complete at least one interview before the next committee meeting (tentatively scheduled for June 24). The timeline includes internal interviews through mid-August, a late-August break, resuming bi-weekly meetings in September to begin benchmarking, and synthesizing findings in October.

The group identified a focused project to inventory and assess conservation easements associated with the town. Stein Amundsen volunteered to lead the scoping assignment, which includes locating easement files across town departments, assessing the number and condition of town-held easements, and reviewing the Darien Land Trust’s electronic database as a possible model. Members asked that findings be reported back to the committee as availability allows.

The chair reviewed the Connecticut Conservation Commission statute as a reference point, noting the statute lists both mandatory and permissive powers and duties — including research on land use and open space, maintaining an index of open areas, advising land use bodies, greenway planning, natural resource inventories, watershed and drought planning, land and easement acquisition, grant applications, and open space management — and said Darien may tailor a local approach.

Committee members also reviewed local environmental actors and partnerships, noting roles for the Board of Selectmen (which serves as the Water Pollution Control Authority and the Holly Pond Management Authority), Planning & Zoning (aquifer protection and coordination with DEEP on coastal permitting), and the EPC (which holds inland wetlands, conservation commission and flood control board authorities). Members suggested listing the Darien Public Schools Eco Citizens Club among external actors for water-quality monitoring and environmental education; nonprofit partners identified included the Darien Land Trust and the Darien Nature Center.

Committee communications ground rules were established: members should use town-issued email addresses for committee business, group emails to more than two members outside a formal meeting may trigger FOIA concerns, whereas direct communications between two members are permissible. The committee noted a special meeting can be convened quickly if urgent group discussion is needed.

No members of the public attended and no public comments were received. The committee agreed to meet on the first and third Thursdays at 7:00 PM for the remainder of the summer (with no second meeting in August) and to accommodate remote participation by Zoom or conference call as needed. The chair moved to adjourn; Priscilla Wong seconded the motion and the meeting adjourned at approximately 8:10 PM.