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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Minutes - 060826 June 8, 2026 Planning & Development Department 367 Main Street, Hyannis, MA 02601 – Phone: 508-862-4678 Open Space Committee Minutes June 8, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. CALL TO ORDER AND INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS Chair Lev Malakhoff calls the meeting to order at 5:30 PM with an introduction of members: Also present is Barry Sheingold, Town Council Liaison; Kris Clark, Town Councilor; Brady Hill, Conservation Agent; Ed Hoopes, Conservation Coordinator; Kyle Pedicini, Assistant Director, Planning & Development; Alice Marcus-Krieg, Open Space Planner & Grants Coordinator; and Genna Ziino, Administrative Assistant. 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 May 11, 2026 – Cate Gulliver moves to approve. Tracy Pratt seconds. Vote: Aye: Lev Malakhoff, Doug Payson, Elissa Crowley, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gulliver Nay: None TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION New Business • Cape Cod Pathways – Cummaquid: Chair Malakhoff shares a map (document entitled “BoulderRoad-CapeCodPathways- Reroute”) and explains that the main route within Cummaquid has some uncertainty as far as its access. Planning & Development had a title examiner identify that there are no rights to public access for that route. There is a trail and people are using it, but the property owners could disallow that. Given that, staff looked into Boulder Road, which is a private road with public access. At the eastern end, there’s 75 feet of frontage of county land with a lot of upland area, some disused trails. Towards the power lines, there is town Water Department land with disused trails. Could be an attractive option if it were cleaned up to reroute the main trail to the eastern end near Mary Dunn Road. The Rail Trail is also being extended just to the south of Mary Dunn Road. The group discusses the difficulty of easements with private owners and with the state. There’s an issue of keeping the public away from Childrens Cove. Kyle Pedicini shares a map of an alternate route (document entitled “Pathways Alternate Route”). The path of least resistance would be rerouting up to 6A and then down through county land. There is gray area over what the private access roads are. The group discusses that it would make Trayser Trail not connected to the route. About ¾ of a mile on 6A is proposed. Mr. Pedicini says the committee could send a memo to Town Council President Tamash suggesting we ask the 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 county if this could be explored further. Elissa Crowley proposes making the green trail the new red trail to avoid it being on 6A so much, and making that portion of the red trail blue instead. The Chairman asks if Town Council approval is required for changing the trail colors. Mr. Pedicini does not think that would require TC approval. Cate Gulliver moves to develop a memo to Town Council leadership to recommend the town approach Barnstable County for rerouting the pathways program through county land. Tracy Pratt seconds. Vote: Aye: Lev Malakhoff, Doug Payson, Elissa Crowley, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gulliver Nay: None Kyle Pedicini will draft the memo and send to the Chairman. • Walking Weekend – Chair Malakhoff says they had great weather, and there was a successful kickoff event on Friday. He shares photos (entitled “Walking Weekend photos”). Sharon Harrison, a resident, says some of the walks overlapped. Chair Malakhoff reports that most people saw it on social media, and Doug Payson invited people. Doug Payson was inspired by the walkway over the Hudson River, and would like to do a loop like that here with Ocean St., Gosnold St., Sea St., back to Main St. Kyle Pedicini says they could align that with the town’s Great Streets project. Alice Marcus-Krieg says staff and students just launched a floating garden at Eagle Pond. Students came in and did a mock application and got an education about the permitting process. • OSRP update – Kyle Pedicini says the town received conditional approval from the state. The only remaining item is the translation of the action plan into Spanish and Portuguese, which should be done in a week or so. The ORSP should be fully approved by the end of the month. Mr. Pedicini says later in the year, this group can discuss the process by which they’ll go through the plan and keep track of the progress of action items. Alice Marcus-Krieg adds that now that the plan is approved, we can look for grants. Old Business • Potential property acquisitions - None • Update – Outstanding Conservation Restrictions - None • Update – Pathways update including walking library, Trailhead Signs, and Geocaching – Chair Malakhoff says there is a 6- foot-wide swath east of the college that looks like it goes on private property and conservation land. He will send it to Asset Management and Conservation to identify who owns the land. • Report from Tracy Pratt regarding Santuit Preserve – Tracy Pratt says there is nothing going on, and he doesn’t know when the next Santuit Preservation Committee meeting will be. • Report from Farley Lewis regarding Community Preservation Committee Open Space applications – No update. • Report from Town Council Liaison – Councilor Sheingold says they’re going through the operating budget Thursday. TC will be working through its strategic plan. MATTERS NOT REASONABLY ANTICIPATED BY THE CHAIR Brady Hill, Conservation Agent, explains a project he has been working on. He wanted to make trails more accessible and address the lack of green space in Hyannis. He looked at the free public bus system, of which all major lines run through the Hyannis Transportation Center. He saw an opportunity to connect trails to the bus system, so wrote up a proposal to increase access in the environmental justice community. Mr. Hill says Director of Planning & Development Jim Kupfer approached the CCRTA and they were interested and wanted to hear more. He is looking for a letter of support to the CCRTA Advisory Board. Doug Payson asks if they provide access to beaches. Mr. Hill says most buses don’t go to beaches, but there are trolleys and paid systems. Chair Malakhoff would like to see marketing, so people know this exists as part of the program. Cate Gulliver moves to send a letter of support for the project. Doug Payson seconds. Vote: Aye: Lev Malakhoff, Doug Payson, Elissa Crowley, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gulliver Nay: None Kyle Pedicini will work with Chair Malakhoff for the letter. Chair Malakhoff says this is Elissa Crowley’s last meeting after 12 years as a member. This means the Committee has a vacancy. Sharon Harrison is interested. PUBLIC COMMENT ADJOURNMENT Doug Payson moves to adjourn. Cate Gulliver seconds. Vote: Aye: Lev Malakhoff, Doug Payson, Elissa Crowley, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gulliver Nay: None DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING • May 11, 2026 minutes • Document entitled “BoulderRoad-CapeCodPathways-Reroute” • Document entitled “Pathways Alternate Route” • Folder entitled “Walking Weekend photos” 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