Lexington Conservation Commission Approves Boardwalk, Wall Repair, and $11,130 in Trust Spending

LEXINGTON — August 12, 2025 — Lexington's Conservation Commission approved $11,130 in Kiesa Farm Trust expenditures and acted on a dozen permit matters during a marathon August 12 remote meeting. The four-member panel — Kevin Butel, Alex Dohan, Jason Natko, and Tom Whalen — unanimously approved $1,250 for seasonal field mowing and $9,880 to replace a deteriorating split-rail fence along Adam Street, drawing the trust's $14,443 spendable balance to near its limit. The commission also issued a negative determination allowing Kim Vandiver of 3 Peacock Farm Road to repair a 190-year-old dry-stone wall adjacent to a wetland, with conditions barring mechanical equipment from entering the delineated resource area. Arlington Life Scout Connell Sheehy received a negative determination with conditions to replace roughly 100 feet of rotting boardwalk in Arlington's Great Meadows — land that falls within Lexington's jurisdiction — as part of his Eagle Scout project. At 16 Foster Road, the commission issued both a negative determination permitting removal of five trees, conditioned on replanting five canopy trees, and a separate enforcement order requiring the owner to submit a restoration and pheno-marker plan by September 9 and complete all work by October's end after an approved patio was converted to a deck without prior commission approval.