Hollis commission to draft friendly letter to Amherst on Golden Valley application; minutes approved and nonpublic session authorized

Commissioners discussed an email thread about a Golden Valley application that is scheduled before Amherst planning on Aug. 5 and considered whether Hollis should weigh in. One member said he was concerned DES might not have full information about trout in Witches Spring and proposed the commission draft a friendly letter to the Amherst planning board to ensure the state and Amherst have the facts.

Speaker 2 (agriculture representative) said he would draft a letter, circulate it to commission members for review and try to get it out before Amherst’s meeting; the body agreed that a direct request from Amherst planning would be different, but that Hollis could supply a polite, evidence-focused statement of local concerns. Members also discussed jurisdictional limits — that Hollis has no direct authority over Amherst applications — but emphasized the civic value of ensuring regulators had complete environmental data.

Before moving to nonpublic session, the commission handled routine business. Speaker 7 moved to accept the nonpublic minutes from June 17; Tom Davies seconded and the motion passed by voice vote. Tony Fowler then moved to accept the public minutes from June 17, seconded by speaker 7, and the motion passed unanimously.

Chair then moved the meeting into nonpublic session; members confirmed verbally when called (Joe, Tony Fowler, Holly, Tom Davies, Mark, Paul, Peter), and the commission proceeded to nonpublic business.

Next procedural steps: Speaker 2 will draft the Amherst-facing letter for commission review; the commission will circulate the draft and aim to submit it prior to Amherst’s meeting on Aug. 5.