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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOpen Space Comm. 06/24/2019Town of Mansfield Open Space and Recreation Committee Minutes June 24, 2019 RECEIVED TOWN CLERKS OFFICE Present: Chair Diane Simms, Chris McCluskie, Allen Bryer, Perry DiMascio, Katelyn Gonyer (CoJONvA.Wn2�AenJEA C� 5b Christopher George (Recorder), tlANSFIELD Guests: None MASSANUSETTS The meeting of the Town of Mansfield Open Space and Recreation Committee was called to order at 7:03pm by Chair Diane Simms. Ms. Gonyer displays a generic sign for "Mansfield Conservation Areas". Ms. Simms asks if the Committee would like to wait for Ms. Friedman; given that she has a history with this item. The committee agrees to this. Item tabled. Ms. Simms says there are a few committees that they do not have representatives on. She fields forvolunteers to represent Open Space with Keep Mansfield Beautiful. Mr. McCluskie says he can do Keep Mansfield Beautiful; if they meet at night. Ms. Simms asks if Mr. Bryer would represent the Open Space on the Master Plan. Mr. Bryer says yes and that he has other interests in the Master Plan. Ms. Simms gives the floorto Mr. Bryer. Mr. Bryer says he attended the Recreation Commission meeting. He says he was received well and will be an item on their July agenda to discuss this further. He says he has specific questions that he'd like to address with them. "How would you rate our parks?" "What are some of the biggest issues the park face?" "What is the biggest request of the parks?" "How common are inquiries for use?" "Are they planning on upgrading their website page?" Ms. Simms asks if there is any overlap with the Recreation Commission on utilizing the trails. She asks if the Recreation items are items that have facilities on them. Ms. Gonyer says it's looked at as separate despite certain places being in the same area; she provides the example of the Plymouth Street Trails and the Ball fields. Ms. Gonyer says there are plans to integrate support staff between Recreation and Open Space. Ms. Simms suggests one of Mr. Bryer's questions should be "How do they bring these spaces together?" Mr. DiMascio says in the case of Otis Street and Plymouth Street fields that it's the Mansfield Youth Soccer and Mansfield Little League because they have control over those fields. He says that the fields are leased from the Town and they're self- supporting. Ms. Gonyer says there is jurisdiction under Open Space to include Recreation and there should be more overlap. Ms. Gonyer says this is something to consider when they look at the Open Space Plan. Ms. Simms says that a lot of Recreation items are focused towards children but they should be utilized for adults too and she'd like to see more advertising towards it. Ms. Simms asks how Mr. Bryer is planning on keeping the committee informed. Mr. Bryer says he requested them to keep him on as a standing agenda item and he can relay the information, as needed, to the Open Space. Ms. Simms says that on trail walks that there isn't a lot of message there. She says she keeps track of how many people are attending. Ms. Gonyer asks if she'd like to have more focus on the trail walks; such as the vernal pool examination at Corporal Hardy. Ms. Simms says not at this time. Mr. DiMascio suggests about having an interface with the school about having some of the teachers bring students out on the trail walks. Ms. Gonyer agrees with this and will connect with the Council on Aging too. Ms. Simms says her metric with the NRT is to get historical information on the trails. She says they provide a lot of insight. She says she plans to meet with them every other month. She says she will log the concerns and then report back to the NRT. She says that there are items at Conservation Commission meetings that she will also report back to Open Space. Mr. DiMascio says that they met with Mark Cook. He says they've acknowledged that some of the items under the Open Space were under the jurisdiction of the DPW. He says that safety issues were considered the top priority. He says the only concern is that Mr. Cook is overburden with work and there are a lot of competing interests. He says Mr. Cook will start addressing safety items in July. Mr. DiMascio says he has provided hard copies of the items from the Google Drive to Mr. Cook. Mr. DiMascio says he will provide the physical documents to Mr. Cook and then will request what items have been completed and what items have been scheduled. Ms. Gonyer says she's planning on informally checking in with Mr. Cook as well. Mr. McCluskie asks how many safety items there are. Ms. Gonyer provides a print out of the issues to the Committee. Mr. DiMascio says about 8 (eight) items. Ms. Simms asks Mr. Bryer about the Master Plan Committee. Mr. Bryer says they don't meet again until September. Ms. Simms says they should consider positions they should advocate for or against. Ms. Gonyer says the biggest thing she hears is identifying and managing the existing land for the public's purpose. She says there are a lot of new residents in Town and outreaching about the land availability is a high priority. Ms. Simms says they should provide resources for ADA compliance. Ms. Gonyer agrees with this and that some of these needs require minimal work. Ms. Simms would like to add a conversation around Open Space's needs in the Master Plan for the late August meeting. Ms. Simms fields for questions. There are none. Ms. Gonyer says she's met with Rick Alves over the construction to be done at Fulton's Pond. She explains the project as explained to her. She says the landscaping is the only item still not decided on. She says there is a rough sketch provided by a member of Keep Mansfield Beautiful. She says she has another potential Eagle Scout project that may be able to assist with kiosks, benches, or picnic benches. Ms. Gonyer says she'll be meeting Mr. Alves, on sight, tomorrow during the day. Ms. Simms asks if they could do a butterfly garden. Ms. Gonyer agrees with this idea but they would need to find someone to maintain the area. She says there is a lot of collaboration that can go into this. Mr. Bryer asks if they'll be permeable pavers. Ms. Gonyer says yes. Ms. Gonyer says that they're trying to make it safe but also attractive. Ms. Gonyer says she is looking to get a grant for a Land Management Plan. She says this would help them with maintenance. Mr. McCluskie asks what will happen to Kingman's Pond when the Police Station is sold. Ms. Gonyer says that they shouldn't expect any expansion. Mr. McCluskie asks if it could be turned into a beach area. Ms. Gonyer says May 13, 2019 Meeting Minutes *Motion to accept the minutes from May 13, 2019 made by Mr. DiMascio, 2nd by Mr. Bryer, VOTE 3-0-1 PASSED Ms. Gonyer explains that she receives a newsletter from the state in regards to train ings occurring. She says a lot of them are for staff but some are open to the public. She says a lot of these will help link the committee to other organizations that might have more information for them. She says she is planning on attending the next meeting. Mr. DiMascio asks about an Open Space Workbook he saw mentioned. Ms. Gonyer says this is available and explains its purpose. She offers to provide this to the Committee. Ms. Gonyer asks if the committee has a copy of the Open Space plan and offers to provide it to the committee members. Ms. Gonyer says there are a lot of violation issues they're working on. Ms. Simms asks for an update on the VAM litter issue. Ms. Gonyer explains that she's been attempting communication and is not having her communications returned. She is escalating the situation. Ms. Simms says they need to update their Vegetation Management Plan. Ms. Simms asks Ms. Gonyer for an update on the Trespass issues. Ms. Gonyer shows Ms. Simms the property in question asking if she's aware of which property it is. Ms. Simms asks Mr. DiMascio. Mr. DiMascio asks if there's any stakes. Ms. Gonyer says no. She says there are only three parcels they (the Town) own on Otis Street and she believes she narrowed it down to just the one. Ms. Gonyer says she's looking to outreach to the resident before connecting with Town Engineering. She says after this is done she should have the backing from Town staff to install property markers. Ms. Gonyer displays the map and explains the letters she's provided to National Lumber in regards to their trespass issue. She asks the Committee what a responsible timeframe to wait for a response is. Mr. McCluskie suggests a timeframe of 30 (thirty) days for a response. The Committee agrees with this. Ms. Simms says she's talked to the Conservation Commission about parcels that are not trails under Open Space and that she has placed this on an agenda for next year. *Motion to adjourn at 8:29pm made by Mr. McCluskie, 2"d by Mr. Bryer. Vote 4-0 PASSED 1a LZLn, (ehal 1 Signature of Chair Date Approved U