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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOpen Space Comm. 03/25/2019Town of Mansfield Open Space and Recreation Committee Minutes March 25", 2019 Present: Perry DiMascio, Chris McCluskie, Sharon Friedman, Diane Simms, Katelyn Gonyer, Christopher George (Recorder), Guests: None The meeting of the Town of Mansfield Open Space and Recreation Committee motioned to order on March 25", 2019 by Member Perry DiMascio, 2nd by Sharon Friedman. Ms. Gonyer says the prior Chair, Colin Cauldwell, was able to walk through Corporal Hardy and Great Woods to establish what work needs to be done with Ken Taylor. They provided Katelyn Gonyer this invoice and she has approved it. This will be the first thing he schedules on his agenda. Ms. Friedman asks if this is allotting all $3,000. Ms. Gonyer says yes but she will be in communication with both Mr. Cauldwell and Mr. Taylor to ensure they stay within budget. Ms. Simms asks about the conversation surrounding utilizing the fallen wood as firewood. Ms. Gonyer says she doesn't think they'll be enough volume for this to be done. Ms. Friedman says it depends on the type of wood and this may be limited to the NRT trails. Ms. Gonyer says if the wood is there, then they don't really fuss about people taking it but it also won't be advertised. Ms. Friedman says in Corporal Hardy that she and Mr. Cauldwell have already cleared most of that area. Ms. Gonyer says yes but there is plenty of overflow areas that could be cleaned up within that cost. She says she has a few Eagle Scout projects coming in and she will see if this is something they're interested in. Ms. Gonyer will provide a further update at the next meeting. II''�, tSu'�p.Fi8t4ti sYphGullkge i(a _ �gn _ Ms. Gonyer says she currently has an intern, Jonas, who is a graduate from UMass Amherst. He is specialized in environmental science. He has been going through existing plans showing wetlands lines and digitizing them. These will be used for internal reference and not for the public. Ms. Gonyer has another potential intern interviewing next week from Wheaton College. Ms. Gonyer fields for questions. There are none. el�mz�0�e+'" _toJ'Jtfl N,m Ms. Gonyer says she will be working with Audubon to utilize a learning module around the government and Science decisions within Conservation called Junior Conservation Commissioners. She says this is great to teach the processes required. Ms. Gonyer sys this will be applicable for grants. Ms. Friedman asks, what grade level this would cover. Ms. Gonyer says between 3 and Fifth Grade. She is planning on doing a shorter presentation module for the younger students. She'll work with the principal to work out timing. N O �^ iJ) ry rU) rat U M si:i U)rn j CD q9 -n a -*t n w r*t M a Ms. Gonyer says the Town has just launched the new website. They would like the Committees to be their own Web Masters. This will be connected to the Conservation Committee but it will be on its own tab under Committees and Commissions. She says there is a Google Does style share system that will allow Committee members to upload PDFs and other files. Ms. Friedman asks what kind of information will be presented on the website. Ms. Simms says there are documents that would be useful such as trail images. Mr. DiMascio says this should include information around hunting areas and other pertinent safety information surrounding Open Space. Ms. Gonyer displays the Town Website for the Committee. She understands the Committee is just getting off the ground and focusing on their Goals, as suggested by Ms. Simms, will help them understand what information will be available on the Town website. Ms. Gonyer says there's a lot of space to provide links to important websites, pictures of Open Space parcels, and other items of interest. Ms. Simms says they could even do an update report after their site walks. Mr. McCluskie says they could include a tick report. Ms. Gonyer says if you see an interesting flyer or map then these are the items she'd like to see on the Town Website. Ms. Simms asks if this will be a standing agenda item. Ms. Gonyer says yes. � -y W P �. e Ms. Gonyer says the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Grant plan is in the process of being drafted. They've been awarded the $3,800 to draft the plan and have found a professional to write it. She says SerpEd and Audubon are putting that document together. She says this will put the Town to the top of the Grant lists for FEMA grants. She says they've missed the Pare Grant as the deadline is February I't 2019. She is currently making a chart of all the Grant deadlines to have a master trail maintenance plan. This is something she would have the new intern work on. Mr. McCluskie asks if the bridge will be expanded as well. Ms. Gonyer says it will require Chapter 91, Army Corp, and financial assistance. She says since they've called out that particular Culvert in the MVP it should be easier to obtain. Mr. McCluskie asks if that's the only culvert in Town being looked at. Ms. Gonyer says no, there is one due on April I" to replace the Culvert over the Rumford River. She said this particular item hit all the checkmarks for that grant. Mr. McCluskie asked how long that project would be. Ms. Gonyer says it's a substantial project but it could start construction in 2021. Mr. DiMascio asks if this falls under the Town purview. Ms. Gonyer says yes this is entirely under the Town and not the State. She says there is a lot more people working on the grant process and this has helped considerably. MIN l7%urusssnielPire4�reiu__ �+uP1�2fhuat wf; s__?srrY3 GQ. Ms. Gonyer says due to Aaron Roth leaving she has not followed up on this. She recommends the Committee attend a meeting. Ms. Friedman asks what their charge is. Ms. Gonyer says they're an ad hoc committee that promotes water quality, ran lectures, workshops on clean water, Zone 2 information, and other related items. She says they're not a regulatory committee. Ms. Simms asks what the next step is. Ms. Gonyer says she will outreach to them and attend one of their meetings. Ms. Gonyer has tabled this. She has received permission to order the signs and would like the Committee to approve them. She will email out the Final Draft of these signs. Mr. DiMascio asks about "No Hunting" signs. Ms. Gonyer says she ordered a bunch of "No Hunting" and "Hunting" signs and if any committee members notice missing signs to let her know. Ms. Simms asked if hunting is allowed in both parcels of Great Woods. Ms. Gonyer says no, because Judy Lane is disqualified due to its size. Ms. Simms asks if that are can have a "No Hunting" sign. Ms. Gonyer says it's a State run hunting area. She will contact a representative of the State on this. Ms. Gonyer says she would like to have this organized and posted. She asks if there is a specific area to schedule a walk for right now. Second Wednesday of each month at 6pm is agreed upon. Ms. Gonyer asks for a location to start with. Ms. Simms suggests Plymouth Street; off of the Rec Fields. Ms. Gonyer says there are wetlands surrounding that area and a lot of things to examine. It's agreed to do Plymouth Street. Wednesday, April 17'h at 6:OOpm at Plymouth Street is agreed upon. Ms. Gonyer asks if anyone has taken a look at the Google Doc Folders. She explains Open Meeting Law and explains how "BCC" works in email communications. She asks Ms. Simms if Google Does is ready to submit maps and other information to. Ms. Simms says yes, she has a file system in place. n ANNYWO Mill Ms. Gonyer says there are five goals and objectives. Ms. Simms has compiled these from the Charge of the Committee. Ms. Gonyer says this list is from 2015 and she would like to see it as more of a revolving document. Ms. Friedman says she read the Charge and went back to the Master Plan. She says the Master Plan has the OSRC plan in it and was updated in 2008. She says it's supposed to be updated every ten years, so she went back to compare the OSRC plan and has some questions. Ms. Gonyer says the Goals and Objectives don't come from the Master Plan. Ms. Friedman asks if the Town's Master Plan is being revised then that she should look at it. Ms. Simms says this is a good point and who should this be communicated to. Ms. Gonyer says she'll have a hand in that. She says the essence of the OSRC plan is the same but the goals themselves have changed. She says there was an update in 2013. Ms. Simms asks if it's supposed to be every 5 years. Ms. Gonyer says they've increased it to 7 years. Ms. Simms goes over Item 1. She would like to make sure the Committee keeps any additional parcels listed and updated. Ms. Friedman asks if there are any areas of critical environmental concerns. Ms. Gonyer says yes and they have a digital overlay of all aspects of Open Space within the ACEC (Area of Critical and Environmental Concern). Ms. Simms asks if it falls within ACEC it comes before Conservation Committee even if it's not a wetland. Ms. Gonyer says no, the Conservation Commission only has jurisdiction of wetlands and its borders. Ms. Simms asks who within the Town ensures if a project is being proposed and is covered under an ACEC. Ms. Gonyer says it will fall under the Planning Board. Ms. Gonyer says the only time you'll see an ACEC, on the Town level, is through Conservation. Ms. Gonyer says ACEC doesn't have any jurisdiction for the Planning Board. Ms. Friedman asks what the purpose of ACEC is. Mr. DiMascio says it falls under the Conservation Commission. Mr. DiMascio says that first it's identified and then it's proposed. Mr. DiMascio says because Ms. Gonyer has the overlays then it can fall under scrutiny of the Town. Ms. Gonyer says to first look at what the intention of the ACEC designations were and how they came about. Mr. DiMascio says it starts with the consultants who certify a plan. Ms. Simms says then they are putting their credibility on the line. She will provide a FAQ to the Committee to provide further information on the ACEC. She will also provide this to the Conservation Committee. Ms. Gonyer says there is currently a donation of 30 acres of land off of Jennifer Lane. She's working with Town Council on this. She says it has several vernal pools. The Town Council was going to take some property off of Pratt but it is held up as there is currently a garage on the property. They've received around 17 acres in total. Ms. Simms asks if these were under a CR. Ms. Gonyer says yes. Ms. Gonyer says on the other side of Cabot Pond there is a parcel. She says there is another parcel south of Willowdale. She says there has been slightly over 100 acres donated over the last few years. Ms. Simms says the first objective references appropriations and asks who makes the decision on this. Ms. Gonyer says she does. Ms. Simms asks if that covers maintenance. Ms. Gonyer says yes but on top of maintenance there are more costs required as it's under State Trust. Ms. Simms says they would like clarification on how this spending can be used. Mr. DiMascio suggests they ask Town Council to look at the statute and to see if there have been any actions. Ms. Gonyer says this is a good idea and will ask. Ms. Friedman asks to look at Open Space and Passive Recreation and does this include spaces for Public Art installation. She says this is in regards to building a Cultural District downtown but they might want to make a broad look for space for public art. Ms. Gonyer says the details required would be who would manage this. Mr. DiMascio says we're talking about natural space and a there may be push back with including a man-made art installation. Ms. Gonyer says this is a judgement calls for the individual Boards. She believes planning board would cover this. She doesn't believe it's applicable for Open Space but definitely for Recreation. Ms. Friedman says in the old Master Plan they discuss a community center with indoor swimming. Ms. Gonyer says she hasn't read that Master Plan but will be involved in writing the new Master Plan. She says a lot of comments she's seen talk about an indoor swimming pool. She says it hasn't been picked up but it is in the plan. So, if there is ever funding for something like that it could happen in the future. Mr. DiMascio says it's very expensive to operate a community pool. Ms. Gonyer says there are a lot of liabilities around it as well. Ms. Simms asks if when they talk about Green Belt if they could see that. Ms. Gonyer will get it into the Google Does for the Committee. Ms. Simms says this would be good to have on the Town's website. She says 2C and 2D seem repetitive. She asks if there are any plans for the Land Grant Acquisition. Ms. Gonyer says they'll be going for the Pare Grant or the Land Grant next year. She says she will be providing copies of this to the Committee for next year's Grant process. Ms. Simms says on "Ongoing Reviews of Open Space" if the OSRC is also responsible for recreation areas. Ms. Gonyer says that land that coincides with Recreation would fall under OSRC. She said she's worked with Recreation for trails from the Library to the Tennis Courts. She says it's more likely to happen when parcels are adjacent. She asks how many trail spaces are under Town ownership. Ms. Gonyer says about 7-8. Ms. Simms said it'd be great if twice a year someone could walk and detail report conditions of the trails. Ms. Gonyer says this is a great idea and to always feels free to make notes to her. She says this is a great way to take inventory. Mr. DiMascio says to integrate these with the monthly walks. Ms. Gonyer will make a worksheet for the trails for use on these monthly walks. Mr. McCluskie asks about putting something on the website for the general public to report issues on the trails. Ms. Gonyer says this is a great idea and the Committee agrees. She will also inquire about the creation of an Open Space/Conservation Facebook page for another method of reporting issues. Ms. Simms asks, for item 1F, if this is something Ms. Gonyer's intern Jonas would do. Ms. Gonyer says yes but this is something she'll also be doing herself. She says the next step would be to continually update trails with the GIS unit. She says the maps are good but having these overlays would be helpful. Ms. Simms asks if they should save #2 for next month. The Committee agrees to this. Ms. Gonyer asks if anyone is interested in what the Mass Trail application looks like. Item tabled for next meeting. Ms. Simms asks about the Trespass issue from the October 29t' Minutes and would ask if they can be on the next Conservation Committee meeting agenda. Ms. Gonyer says she has brought the first Trespass issue up with the Town and her higher ups. She says she will pull together reports for these. Ms. Gonyer will put together a package of information for the Conservation Committee. Ms. Gonyer overviews the National Lumbar Trespass issue via projector. Ms. Friedman asks who owns that patch of land. Ms. Gonyer says the Town owns it. Mr. DiMascio says this is a considerable area. Ms. Gonyer uses the Overlays to estimate it around 5000 sq/ft. Mr. McCluskie asks if there is a way to sell them that land. Ms. Gonyer says it's not possible to sell any land under a CR. Mr. DiMascio asks if the Town can lease the land. Ms. Gonyer says she's not sure if it can leased if it's a CR. She will direct this to the Water Department. She will pull the deeds for the land. Mr. DiMascio says if it doesn't pose an immediate threat to the water structure then the Town should claim revenue from it. January 28 h Minutes *Motion to approve the January 28`h Meeting Minutes made by Mr. McCluskie, 2"d made by Mr. DiMascio Vote 3-0-1 PASSED Ms. Gonyer calls for a reorganization of the Committee. She calls for nomination of Chair. *Motion made to nominate Diane Simms as Chair of the Open Space & Recreation Committee made by Mr. McCluskie, 2"d by Mr. DiMascio. Vote 4-0 PASSED *Motion to adjourn at 9:11pm made by Ms. Friedman, 2nd by Mr. McCluskie Vote 4-0 PASSED 0 �,m,�, Signature of Chair Date Approved 5