Open Space Committee
Open Space Committee minutes for December 15, 2020
Present: Rick, Cary, Susan, Deb, Kelton, Karen. Meeting began at 7:04 p.m.
Minutes of last meeting approved unanimously.
Budget: Rick proposes increasing our annual budget from $500 to $1,000 for the next fiscal year. He will have to submit this request soon. This year we will only spend about $75, we anticipate a need for more money next year for signage. Improved signage on town trails was a priority in the feedback we received on our trails survey and would be a benefit to the town. Princeton Land Trust would be financially responsible for the cost of signage on their properties. We may also need funds for trails promotion in the spring. We will look into cost of trail heads, flagging and intersection signs.
Survey: We will promote it one more time on NextDoor Princeton and in the Redemption Rock News. Currently about 100 people responded. Kelton views the data as not particularly valid as it represents such a small percentage of residents. While we agree, we have done our due diligence in attempting to involve the community in our activities and be guided by their feedback. It is likely that the respondents are those most likely to use trails. The results indicate that we can improve trailhead signage and add more parking. Making connections to different areas, such as East Princeton to the center of town or Calamint Hill Conservation Area to other locations were identified as beneficial. Documentation was listed as needing improvement (although it could mean informing folks about where the documentation is located, not flawed documentation). More on that below.
Trail Around Princeton (TAP) progress: Deb has received feedback regarding signage recommendations and will forward to this committee. Rick has as well and will coordinate with Deb. Cary has had two meetings with the Documentation and Promotion trail sub-committee and they will de-construct the OSC trail page, streamline it and make a simpler landing page for it. This winter they’ll complete identifying components of the documentation, how it will look, then roll it out with the spring trails summit.
We have decided that the goal of promotion of Princeton trails is to inform town residents and not share them with the general public. This is to provide quieter alternatives for local people than the currently overcrowded popular locations, resulting in a more serene experience. We want to connect to nature, not Covid-19.
The Landowners Concerns sub-committee has designed the information for everyone with a very clear plan to protect their interests and permissions to vary depending on the landowner. Also want to keep promotion of our trails to Princeton. We should work on strengthening the Trail Stewards group so that the landowners will be confident in our ability to carry out our guidelines. Their next meeting will be in January.
Calamint Hill Conservation Area is essentially complete. The bridges were paid for by the Conservation Commission. They were costly (approximately $700 apiece) but substantially reduced the replication work that has to be done where they were installed. That is the last step on these trails.
Rick sent an invitation to the five abutters of Goodnow Park with only Christian and Laura Gal responding with interest in a walk-through. Once Rick works out a date and time he will let us know in case anyone can join them. Sarah Gardner is enthusiastic about putting in a Storyboard Walk in this park. Karen will look into the one currently being loaned around the state, although we could certainly create our own.
Worcester West Trails: Rick has filed an RDA which ConCom will discuss momentarily. Deb suggests that the town create a policy on how signage looks for our trails on private property. Rick will check with some other towns to see how they manage it. The WWT will need clearing soon.
Regarding the AllTrails app, while it has pros and cons and was tempting to employ on our website, we’ve concluded that it would make our town trails too public. We can put their map on our web page but will not use it for our trails.
Princeton Hikes! Program moving along. Not many joining the senior hikes. Once the new Council on Aging director is in place Rick will see about promoting it more. The Saturday series continues to be at capacity.
Next meeting tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, January 13, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen