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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Minutes - 071425 July 14, 2025 Planning & Development Department 367 Main Street, Hyannis, MA 02601 – Phone: 508-862-4678 Open Space Committee Minutes July 14, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. CALL TO ORDER AND INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS Acting Chair Farley Lewis calls the meeting to order at 5:32 PM with an introduction of members: Also present is Kris Clark, Town Council Liaison; Grayce Rogers, Property Manager, Asset Management; Margeaux Doran, AmeriCorps volunteer; Lindsey Counsell, Chair of the Community Preservation Committee; Kyle Pedicini, Assistant Director, Planning & Development; and Genna Ziino, Administrative Assistant. Chair Lewis welcomes new member Dave Gorrill to the Committee. NOTICE OF RECORDING This meeting of the Open Space Committee is being recorded and broadcast on the Town of Barnstable’s Government Access Channel. In accordance with MGL Chapter 30A §20, I must inquire whether anyone else is recording this meeting and, if so, to please make their presence known. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • June 9, 2025 – Doug Payson moves to approve the minutes. Tracy Pratt seconds. Vote: Aye: Farley Lewis, Liz Lewis, Doug Payson, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gulliver, Dave Gorrill Nay: None TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION New Business • Cape Cod Pathways update – Grayce Rogers, Asset Management and Margeaux Doran, AmeriCorps volunteer Margeaux Doran explains that her main project this year was inventorying Cape Cod Pathways: going through existing documentation and existing conditions of the trails. Grayce Rogers walks through a presentation (document entitled “Cape Cod Pathways Update 2025”) and explains that the original intent of Cape Cod Pathways was to create a continuous walking pathway from one end of the cape to the other, in hopes of enhancing access and fostering preservation. The plan was approved in 2003 by Barnstable’s Town Council and used to have all cape towns on board, but over time not all towns implemented the plan. The town received a grant from the county to implement. Ms. Rogers spoke with the county and was told that they have since abandoned the plan. Fortunately, they have some leftover Cape Cod Pathways signs that they’ll be giving staff to put up. Over the last decade, Barnstable has had AmeriCorps work on this project but the Barnstable segment is not complete yet. They want to move away from private easements. Member Present Absent Lev Malakhoff – Chair X Farley Lewis – Vice Chair X Elizabeth Lewis X Douglas Payson X Elissa Crowley X Anne Rowland X Tracy Pratt X Cate Gulliver X Dave Gorrill X Ms. Rogers walks through the goals and objectives of the plan, with the main goal being to identify an east-west walking route. She shows currently what we have for mapping, which they’re looking to update with GIS. Ms. Doran provides an update on trail conditions, with the main concerns being kiosks and blazes. Many kiosks are damaged and/or outdated, and the QR code on the signage just leads to the homepage of the town website, so it’s not helpful. The colors of the blazes are also not clear for walkers. Grayce Rogers walks through the results of the stakeholder feedback survey she organized. This survey was just to get a general pulse about trails. She sent it to 40 people and got only 6 responses. Signage and parking issues came up in responses. Regarding the issue of lacking capacity to manage trails, she is considering bringing back the Friends of Barnstable to be land steward volunteers for all trails. The main contact for pathways is currently Ms. Rogers but she wants to continue that discussion. Ms. Doran walks through their recommendations: improve trail blazing and signage; improve kiosks; create a stewardship guide; update the open space page’s links and remove Barnstable Land Trust as the main contact; and create additional parking areas. Doug Payson says he was part of the original trail steward group and also finds issue with the trailhead signs. He thinks the town of Harwich is a good model, using the same signage for both town and land trust trails. Ms. Rogers says the Grants Coordinator has been coordinating getting funding for trailhead signs, so that should come to fruition soon. Ms. Rogers says regarding passive recreation, the approved 2003 Pathways Plan is only for walking. But this Committee could redraft a plan to include other forms of passive recreation and put it back before Town Council for approval. Doug Payson mentions that he frequently sees dogs off-leash on trails, so correcting that should be a focus. The group discusses that they would like to have a pathways mailbox similar to the existing tab for “report a problem,” but for trails. In the meantime, Grayce Rogers can be the main contact for that. Councilor Clark relays that Lev Malakhoff had contacted an originator of the Pathways Plan who told him that the plan was not intended for walking only—their thought was to leave it to each town to decide based on how the land was purchased. Grayce Rogers says the approved plan says walking only, and that’s the only documentation they have. The group discusses that the approved plan should be on the website. • Open Space & Recreation Plan Kyle Pedicini says staff sent around a draft survey for the Committee’s review. He reads the feedback he received from Lev Malakhoff (document entitled “OSRP Survey Feedback from Lev”). The group is on board with all the suggestions except adding “during the summer season” to question 2. For question 7, Farley Lewis suggests adding snow shoeing. Dave Lafreniere, a representative from New England Mountain Bike Association, recommends adding a column to allow responders to say “not aware of this area,” to question 3. Liz Lewis recommends adding what village each conservation land is in. The group thi nks that options “rarely” and “once a year” are redundant. The group would like to add, “If there are specific areas you avoid, what are they and why?” The group discusses the challenge of quantifying how often they use areas —Mr. Pedicini will discuss with the consultant. Kyle Pedicini says staff is meeting with the consultant on Thursday to make updates, then they will go through town channels to get the survey out to the public. They plan to have hard copies as well as online, and they will leave it open for at least a month. There will be a QR code. The first part of the process is the survey, then they will plan public meetings in the fall. Mr. Pedicini is hoping to have a more concrete timeline by the next OSC meeting. Councilor Clark asks if there could be an incentive to fill out the survey. Kyle Pedicini will ask Director Jim Kupfer. Tracy Pratt moves to accept the survey for the OSRP. Cate Gulliver seconds. Vote: Aye: Farley Lewis, Liz Lewis, Doug Payson, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gulliver, Dave Gorrill Nay: None • Open Space Acquisition Forum: Councilor Clark says it was suggested to her to mimic the forum that Harwich hosted recently. Theirs was done with the Cape Cod Compact of Conservation Trusts and was a general primer about the benefits of open space acquisition. Barnstable has done something similar in the past but it’s been a while. If this committee wanted to host, it could be held at town hall and could be shown on the town website/podcast. She recommends waiting until after September. Councilor Clark says if there’s interest in the idea, it can be shared with Lev Malakhoff when he’s back and go from there. The group discusses potential speakers (leaders from the fire/water district, town councilors, Mark Robinson of the Compact, Janet Milkman of Barnstable Land Trust). Old Business • Centerville Cranberry Bog - None • Potential property acquisitions - None • Update on Cummaquid Woods - None • Update on outstanding Conservation Restrictions - None • Update – Pathways update including walking library, Trailhead Signs, and Geocaching – Liz Lewis reiterates that signage and maps need to be improved. • Report from Tracy Pratt regarding Santuit Preserve – Tracy Pratt says Mashpee improved an approach to the big bog that used to be steep so it’s more conducive now. Dan Kent was there with volunteers on a weekend to do it. • Report from Farley Lewis regarding Community Preservation Committee Open Space applications – None • Report from Town Council Liaison Kris Clark - None MATTERS NOT REASONABLY ANTICIPATED BY THE CHAIR PUBLIC COMMENT ADJOURNMENT Tracy Pratt moves to adjourn. Doug Payson seconds. Vote: Aye: Farley Lewis, Liz Lewis, Doug Payson, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gulliver, Dave Gorrill Nay: None Meeting adjourned at 6:34 PM. DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING • June 9, 2025 minutes • Document entitled “Cape Cod Pathways Update 2025” • Document entitled “OSRP Survey Feedback from Lev” Respectfully submitted, Genna Ziino, Administrative Assistant Further detail may be obtained by viewing the video via Barnstable Government Access Channel on demand at www.town.barnstable.ma.us