MINUTES
Open Space Committee January 10, 2007/ 7:30 pm
Eastham Town Hall
Present: Glenn Collins, Bob Cook, Frank Dobek, Laura Freeman, Sue Haley, Sue Horton, Katelyn Merrill and Dave Read
Approval of Meeting Minutes
MOTION: Dave moved and Bob seconded to approve the November 29, 2006 meeting minutes.
APPROVED: unanimously.
Open Space Committee Annual Report Blurb
Glen has put together a summary of the Committees activity over the past year for the annual town report. The
Committee reviewed it and commented on it to develop a final draft.
Community Preservation Act Application/Wiley Park Bridge
The CPA application was presented to the CPA Committee during an interview last month. The application is currently under review by the CPA Committee.
Open Space Management:
Wiley Park Bridge Progress
The bridge is out to bid. Bids are due next week. The CPA funds, if approved will have to pay for the bridge.
Open Space Management Plan
Katelyn updated the committee on the progress made to the Open Space Management Plan. It will be mailed out to the state at the end of the week.
Signage
Dana from Americorps has put together some ideas and quotes for metal signs to put up in the parks. Katelyn brought some examples for the Committee to look at. It would be nice to have some up before summer. The companies Dana has spoken to have relatively quick production times. Discussion ensued with respect to having some coordination of signage between all the various interest groups that need/want signage. It seems to make sense to meet with these groups in the planning stages of getting the signage going. The goal of the next meeting will be to figure out what signs we want and then meet with the other groups.
Land Acquisition
Contact Person-Sheila asked Glen to have the Committee appoint a contact person for land acquisition issues as they may arise.
Next Meetings: January 31, 2007 at our NEW time 7:00 p.m..
February 28, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
Sue Haley moved to adjourn. Sue Horton seconded. APPROVED: unanimously
Adjournment at 9:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by,
Laura Freeman
In 2006, very few parcels were available for review by the Open Space Committee to be considered for acquisition by the town. However, we reviewed two parcels that were presented to the Community Preservation Committee for acquisition. Thos two projects did not meet the criteria for funding through the Community Preservation Act.
We finalized the planning and design stage of the ADA accessible footbridge to be built across the creek between Bridge Pond and Great Pond. This bridge will provide the connecting link for a contiguous 88 acres of open space from Wiley Park to Cottontail Acres. This bridge is in the process of being constructed with its completion scheduled for 2007.
The Committee applied for and received funding from the Community Preservation Act funds by vote at Town meeting for the Glacial Ponds Project. The funds were used to purchase educational materials, maps and improved signage and to purchase and install “mutt mitts” dispensers throughout the Glacial Pond Parks and the South Eastham Conservation Area. The green grant youth council awarded grant money to Eastham which was used for the purchase of the display case at Wiley Park.
We continue to receive assistance from the Americorps program in helping with our ongoing efforts to better manage our Open Space parks. Katelyn Merrill of the Eastham’s Natural Resources Department and the rest of the Department have been very helpful in maintaining our Open Space Areas to comply with the Open Space Plan. Many thanks to all of them. Our Committee accepted with great regret the resignation of our chairwoman, Judy Brainerd who moved to Orleans. We welcome our new members Frank Dobek and Bob Cook.
Finally, we thank the volunteers and walkers who help to keep our open space areas safe, attractive and pleasant places to enjoy.
Respectfully submitted,
The Open Space Committee
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