Open Space & Recreation Committee - Regular Meeting

I will now call the role. Um, Elizabeth Cubny, pres. Travis Mast, I'm here. Bannon Felen here. Stephen Crowley here.

And David Robbins is here. And Ann Marie is absent. She informed us that she had another meeting she had to be at at the same time. And generally kind of difficult for people to be in two places at the same time. So, and I haven't heard anything from Trevor one way or the other. So, let's proceed with our agenda here. The first agenda item I have is the open space and committees action item status report. Let me see here if I can. There it is. Well, hopefully you can see it. This is the This is what I'm proposing to put in you. This I sent out an email in December to all of the action item responsible agencies soliciting their input for the annual status report of the open space and recreation plan action items. Uh this is what I'm proposing to put in for our committee's um status report. Um for the first two action items, nothing's changed. We completed those

and the second two I think last year. Yeah, last year they were both marked in progress. But the but the uh the details have changed on the evaluate existing tax title properties. We have the two tax title properties at 60 ferry and 260 at Upton rear which we've recommend. We forwarded the recommendation to the select board town administrator and other relevant boards. Um I haven't heard anything from them to follow up on this, but this is this is what we did last year on that item. And then the uh fourth item reporting that we successfully got the two Milford road parcels to be placed under concom control at the October town meeting and we've forwarded a recommendation for eight other parcels to the appropriate bodies to see if we can get some action on those. And that's something we I'm sure we will want to follow up on this year to sort of try to keep the fire lit under those. But is there anything else or any anything that you think we should report differently on this?

Dave, that's a lot of work and I just wanted to say I really appreciate it because this is that's a lot to put together. So, thank you. Yeah. Yeah. You're welcome. Happy to do it. And as it happens, much of much of this commentary is repeated in the in the committee's annual report, not surprisingly. Um, I suppose it would be in order for a motion to be made to approve this for as the committee's contribution to the action item status. So moved.

Second. Moved and seconded. Any discussion of the motion hearing? None. Miss Cavney I. Mr. Mast I. Miss Ban I. And Mr. Cowley I.

Mr. Robbins votes I. All righty. So that is taken care of. And along a very similar vein, I circulated a draft of the annual report for the open space and w committee under the heading of accomplishments. Those pretty much the same two things appear. Uh as I did last year, I proposed to include the action item status in the annual report. Uh I have so far received about half of the status reports I'm expecting. Uh so the uh in the draft report here the numbers are incomplete and as I recall what we did last year was we we held off actually approving the report until we had a complete set of numbers for that. Um so at this point u and and I if you want to approve it now with the understanding that the final numbers will be will be put in there that's okay with me or if you want to hold off approval till a February meeting uh when the actual numbers will be available. I can go either way on that. It's really up to up to you guys which way you want to go. I say just just hold off so that you'll only have to submit it once with the final numbers.

Yeah. Yep. And they the what I am told by Cindy is the deadline for submitting annual reports is January 31st, but they always give us some they've always given us some leeway on that. So I don't you know it's it's not a it's not a hard deadline. And so there's really no need for us to vote on this now if we would rather wait till the final numbers come in. And unless I hear differently, I will take it as a consensus of the committee that that's the way we'd like to go. That at best we're satisfied with everything in the report other than the numbers.

Yes. Yes, Dave. Yeah.

Okay. Excellent. takes care of that one. And the uh the next agenda item is an update on protection for unprotected open space. And I pretty much already said where that's at. We submitted our back in December, we submitted our recommendations. And the only feedback I've heard so far is when the select board mentioned it, it was it was included in correspondence at one of their meetings and there was a comment made by either a member of the select board or possibly the town administrator that it seems seems like a lot and they might not want to do it all at once. H

although to my way of thinking it's really no not a whole lot of I think they were thinking more of you is is if if this is going to be like eight eight or 10 articles in a town meeting warrant that might they might want to spread that out a bit but I do I do think it's you I will I will sort of try to keep the keep the heat up under it a little bit. I I was chatting with Fiona the other day and she said something about she was going to be trying to follow up on it a little bit. But that's really I and I think the other thing I that I don't read don't remember if I had it in my notes. I probably did but I remember seeing in Shannon's draft minutes that there was a an institute road parcel that was one of the next the next one that we wanted to look at. So, I haven't done anything with that yet, but uh assuming we're all still interested in looking at that at the next one, we'll maybe get into more detail on that uh at our next meeting.

So, any other thoughts? Can I ask you a question? Absolutely.

Can they possibly lump them all into one article at town meeting or, you know, or do they have to have a separate article for each property? they could lump it all into one if they wanted to. Um, a reason for them, a possible reason for them to think of not lumping them in is that they the town meeting might say, "We like this one, but we don't like that one. We don't want to do it on that one." So keeping them separate has it's this is pretty hypothetical if you ask me because all of these parcels are basically already dedicated. Yeah. They were always intended to be open space and so this is a strictly a formality which is not which is slightly different than the situation with 27 Milford road because there had been some consideration of using those for as something other than conservation land. I I don't think that consideration applies at all to these. You know, it it might have it might there might be more questions from town meeting attendees about the two tax title properties.

Right. Right. And uh you I think it it might be that a way to streamline this at town meeting might be to put them either you maybe maybe make a group or or but if they don't make a group they could it's what eight eight subdivision parcels and two textile part. So there's 10. They could if they if they feel that it's likely that they will be non-controversial, they might they might include them as separate articles but on the consent agenda. So it's only one act one actual vote, but it gives it gives the opportunity for town meeting attendees to call one out to ask questions.

Yeah. To to put a hold on one. Yeah. that that that that'd be a good middle of the road and you push for that because that would plate most people. Yeah. So if if I was in charge of doing that, that's the way I would do it. Yeah. For some reason, I'm not in charge of constructing a warrant. Although that also emphasizes Sorry, go ahead. I can offer suggestions. Yeah. Yeah. Because that also emphasizes that it's just a formality too, that it's not really of substance.

Yep. There may be Yeah, there may be some some parcels that we uh in the future that we recommend to be protected that may be more controversial or subject to question. But you these for the most part I think are no-brainers,

right? So anyway, I'll take it as kind of a a direction from the committee that uh I should uh sort of tickle the appropriate people to try to make sure that we make some progress on these and so more to come. Anything else on that topic? All right, next one is the open space inventory update. Um, as I do every January, I've uh updated the open space inventory. The changes from last year were relatively few. Let me see if I can put those on the screen.

And Shannon, great job with the uh notes. And I was so prepared this time. Had everything at my fingertips. Thank you. Oh, sure. No problem. I looked at all the open space. I'm like, "Wow, we've got a lot a lot of parcels." Oh, I didn't do that part. Dave did all that with I know, but just pulling it all together in the minutes. Thank you. Sure. I was supposed to be on a plane, but I'm sick, so I got out of going to Minnesota where it's like negative 24. I'm like, I think I'll take the cold over the cold.

Yeah. Well, I I hope it warms up because my wife is heading to Minnesota next Tuesday. Yeah, it's not. Um, it will not be. I'll see her in the airport if we get out. There's a big snow. That's right. That's right. I grew up in Wisconsin and lived in the Minneapolis area for three years. I know that cold all too well. We're going ice fishing, so there's that, too, as a as an activity.

Yeah. So, what I'm sharing in the screen is the changes that were made to the open space inventory since last year. See, as you see, nothing not a whole lot of dramatic. I was able to include the three province road parcels that the town bought at the October town meeting. They they actually closed the deal on that I think within two or three weeks after the town meeting. Um, the other parcels that were added to the open space inventory was the Greater Worcester Land Trust bought 45 Krippy Hill Road and the Grafton Land Trust property at 229 Brigham Hill Road. Uh, I had not previously included that in the inventory and I I double checked with Rob to make sure the status of that and and yes, there was a there is a house on that property, but the back part of that the substantial portion of that lot was set aside by by the land trust as you open space trails and stuff. So, I'm I marked off that portion of it and added that to the open space inventory. It's the Greater Worcester Land Trust.

Yeah, the Greater Wor The Greater Worcester Land Trust got bought 45 Creeper Hill Road. The Grafton Land Trust did the uh owns 229 Brigham Hill Road. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Most of the land most of the land trust property in Grafton is the Grafton Land Trust, but Yeah.

The the Greater Worester Land Trust has it. I don't remember. I think there is one other land trustee either greater Worcester or another one that owns one piece in Grafton. Um, I also updated the conservation commission control of the Oakmont farms open space to reflect the action at the October town meeting. And I found a few dis few other discrepancies between that I had I had incorrectly labeled a couple of parcels in the inventory as con when they shouldn't have been or vice versa. I forget which. But anyway, I I did a lot of that and did and the other things updated parcel geometry, updated chapter 61 parcels, corrected various attributes. I I did a very very thorough and detailed review comparing the status that the inventory was reporting with the actual property histories. also reconciled differences between our inventory and the uh mass GIS protected recreational open space layer. So we had uh I think those corrections changes have been sent back to MGIS. I haven't checked to see whether they've actually updated it yet, but the goal was to have our inventory aligned with theirs as much as possible given that we include a number of things in our inventory that they don't include and they wouldn't be expected to include like our inventory table shows chapter 61 land. They do not track that. And they also do not track land that we classify we consider to be open space, but it's under no kind of protection. So they're only interested in protected open space. So mo most of the changes are really details.

The site names in some cases were aligned. Uh so that's basically it. you won't see much you won't you won't see much change on the map and more change in some of the columns of the table. So that's where we're at. Assuming assuming we're all comfortable with that, I'll get I'll get these posted on our our web page. Yes.

Any questions? Dave, can I ask you a question about um chapter 61? Just to pick your brain for one second. Um the other day someone someone said to me, "Well, chapter 61 is protected because it can never be it's never going to be developed because no one's ever going to pay the back taxes." Um what are your thoughts on that? Uh that's it's probably not a safe assumption that no one will pay the back taxes. We do occasionally um have property owners withdraw their land. Typically a a parcel is withdrawn from chapter 61 when the owner finds someone who is willing to buy it. And usually the sale price either in somehow includes the back taxes the most recently the the the Robinson parcels along Silver Lake there were two four like altogether eight that we've acquired over the several years and those were all chapter 61 parcels and you know the Robinsons basically found found someone who was willing willing to execute a purchase and sale agreement for those parcels. You know, I think we did four at one time, then two, and then two. But you find what to in order to in order to withdraw from chapter 61. basically occasionally someone will just change the use and I don't think that's sort of a separate deal but you you have to the owner has to find someone who's willing to um purchase the parcels and then that purchase price becomes the price at which the town has the opportunity to

purchase the parcels. So you it's kind of from from the perspective buyer's point of view, it's like why do I go to the trouble of why would I go to the trouble of making an offer to buy this land if the town is just going to buy it out from under me? But it it happens often enough and I I don't know what goes through the mind of the those prospective buyers. Maybe it's someone who is who knows they're not actually going to get it or is willing to take the chance that maybe the town won't take it, but for whatever reason they're willing to they're willing to commit the money uh to make a p bonafide purchase and sale agreement. So they it may not be common, but it uh it it does happen and you can expect a potential to happen in the future. So that's I mean while the parcels are under chapter 61 they're certainly protected from development. They basically are preserved for use under which whichever of the three chapter 61s they're registered as agricultural or forestry or recreation. So, they're kind of protected, but

there's always the prospect that someone will will want to give up ownership and that's one way to do it is to withdraw from 61 by finding a buyer and then the town has the opportunity to acquire the land for the same price. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. So, anything else? Everybody comfortable with this open space inventory? Yes. Looks good, Dave. All right. And I'll take it as a consensus of the committee that it's we can release it for publication as it were. Sounds good.

Yes. All right. And our last agenda item is the meeting minutes from the last meeting which was November. Yeah. November 7 27th, I think. Um, November 19th. November 19th. Yes, I was close. Yep. So we need a motion to approve these minutes would be in order along with any corrections that anybody wishes to make or changes.

Motion to approve. Second. Any discussion? Any anything anybody thinks ought to be changed hearing? None. I will put the put the motion to a vote. Shannon I. Travis, yes. Elizabeth, yes. Stephen,

yes. And Dave votes yes. Motion carried unanimously. So, Shannon will take care of getting these minutes finalized and filed with the town clerk. And uh I I haven't really given much thought to when our next meeting should be. Just quick consult my calendar here. I think we'd be normally we look at the uh the third week of the month but as always happens the third week of February is school vacation week which we try to avoid the meetings. So

well and based on the leeway that they give for the reporting structure we'd probably want to push it towards the end. Yeah. So, I think if we wanted to go with a Wednesday, mid to late February, we we could go with either the 11th or the 25th. I don't know if everybody knows now what their schedules are going to look like. I'm out the 11th, but the 25th works. Yeah, I'm out the 11th also. Okay. Works for me. So, all right. We'll plan on the 25th then for our nextth

and I will let Cindy know that uh a a a report is on its way but we we will be unable to get it completed prior to the 25th. Okay. So that's that's that then I guess I guess maybe a motion to adjourn would be in order. So moved. Second. Moved and seconded that this meeting be adjourned. Elizabeth, hi. Shannon, I Steven, I. Travis, yes.

And Dave votes yes. Motion carried unanimous.