Open Space Committee
Open Space Committee meeting minutes for September 12, 2023
Present: Deb Cary, Rick Gardner, Laura Reynolds, Annie Charrette, Karen Rossow
Excused: Susan Downing
The meeting began at 7:00 p.m.
Minutes from the August meeting unanimously approved.
Valuable Parcels analysis continues. North County Land Trust representative Anna Wilkins could not attend tonight’s meeting due to an unexpected conflict, so we’ll begin our next meeting with this topic in detail. Anna confirmed she can attend on October 18th and we invited Tom Sullivan from PLT as well. Deb met with James McCarthy of MA fish and Game, and Rick and Deb sent James some ideas for combining properties for new wildlife management areas (WMAs) or for expansions to existing WMAs. Deb will attempt to repeat this process with DCR. We also want to contact a few of the corporate landowners (BBT and NorthSea among others) to see what their goals are.
Goodnow Park update: The sign for Goodnow Park is ready but requires a vote to spend $295 on it. We must clear the trails again as they are sketchy again now. Rick and Susan will organize a clean-up day this fall and once that’s done and we have the sign in place we all agree it would be nice to have an opening celebration for it. If need be, Laura has AMC contacts who could help with clearing trails. VOTE: To appropriate $295 for the sign; unanimously approved.
Nature walk series: Deb has reached out three times to prospective naturalists and two (Tom Sullivan and Laura Reynolds) have agreed to do them this fall. Deb will reach out to Andrew Vick and Barry Van Dusen a fourth time. Deb and Rick are interested in extending the fall series into November and possibly the winter. Given that the process will extend beyond the original timeframe, Karen opts out of assisting with this round. Susan and Rick will organize and manage the sign-ups and communications.
Hey Day and Princeton Day coverage for OSC representation: Rick will man a table at Hey Day on September 23rd from 11:00 until 4:00 (with some volunteers from Princeton Hikes! participants and PLT).and has created a new poster for this year. Laura can print it and get it to Rick and he’ll mount it on plywood. Deb will provide cards we have with information about Princeton’s hiking trails. Annie and Deb will coordinate coverage for Princeton Day on September 30th from 11:00 until 3:00.
Master Plan review: The Phase I portion of the new Princeton Master Plan is complete and committees interested in reviewing these three chapters will be sent an email in a week or so with instructions for the chairs. Each member of OSC will be asked to provide feedback which will be collected by the chair or another designated representative and forwarded to the Master Plan Steering Committee. Comments will be due by the end of November.
Thomas Prince Trails: Our sign has been relocated and trails cleared prior to the first day of school. There is an eagle scout interested in replacing some boardwalk and overlook portions but this is separate from the bridge repair. The process includes some recommendations by a carpenter and opinion from Brian Keevan on water/soil/habitat protection for the project. Whether or not a NOI will be necessary depends on how disruptive the project will be. Rick will provide information to Annie and Deb on the process, as they are leading this work. We are all in agreement that the bridge is a separate challenge, although, if we find that the boardwalk and overlook will have to go through the wetlands protection protocols it makes sense to bundle them with the bridge rather than duplicate this complex process. VOTE: To appropriate $200 for the anticipated permitting process for the eagle scout project; unanimously approved. There is a new group in the school called the Outdoor Spaces Committee and they intend to rely on parent involvement as well as historical assistance (us, Wachusett Meadow, highway dept.).
Stern trail: Signage is ready but requires a vote to pay for it. VOTE: To appropriate up to $200 for signage for this trail; unanimously approved. Rick will order the signs.
Hikes for Kids: Annie plans on holding one on November 4th and Karen is available to assist. The next one will be on Earth Day.
Princeton Hikes! continues to be successful.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 18th, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in the large conference room of the town hall annex. We hope to use the first hour to present to North Country Land Trust and possibly Princeton Land Trust.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Tasks: Susan and Rick will work on logistics for Goodnow Park trail clearing and celebration. Susan and Rick will manage fall nature walk series; Annie and Deb will continue relationship with Thomas Prince School related to trails; Annie and Deb will represent us at Princeton Day; Annie and Karen will hold a kids’ hike in November; Deb will continue to communicate with potential nature walk leaders; Deb will talk with a DCR representative about key parcels; Rick will man a table at Hey Day; Rick will provide information to Annie and Deb related to replacing boardwalk at TPS; Rick will distribute Master Plan Phase I chapters to the committee members for their feedback on them.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Rossow