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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Minutes 041023 April 10, 2023Planning & Development Department 367 Main Street, Hyannis, MA 02601 – Phone: 508-862-4678 Land Acquisition and Preservation Committee Minutes April 10, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. CALL TO ORDER AND INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS Chair Ann Canedy calls the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Also in attendance is Genna Ziino, Administrative Assistant; David Anthony, Director of Asset Management; and Jaci Barton representing the Cotuit Fire District. NOTICE OF RECORDING Please note that this meeting is recorded and broadcast on Channel 18. In accordance with MGL Chapter 30A §20, I must inquire whether anyone is taping this meeting and if so, to please make their presence known. APPROVAL OF MINUTES February 13, 2023 – Phyllis Miller makes a motion to approve the minutes. Tracy Pratt seconds. Vote: Aye: Ann Canedy, Farley Lewis, Phyllis Miller, Elizabeth Lewis, Douglas Payson, Elissa Crowley, Anne Rowland, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gulliver Nay: None March 13, 2023 – Phyllis Miller makes a motion to approve the minutes. Doug Payson seconds. Vote: Aye: Ann Canedy, Farley Lewis, Phyllis Miller, Elizabeth Lewis, Douglas Payson, Elissa Crowley, Anne Rowland, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gulliver Nay: None TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION New Business  Report from Chair regarding update from Grayce Rogers of Asset Management David Anthony, Director of Asset Management, provides an update about the path behind the Coast Guard Museum: The New England Mountain Bike Association proposes to help re-create a multi-use trail. They will be providing labor and most of the materials for the trail, which will involve a 4-foot wide surface that lies on the ground (approved by CONCOMM staff) to allow the wetlands to repopulate. There will be signage put up to inform people of the new trail. Installation should be easy. Chair Canedy asks if the boardwalk will float if the area overflows, because seasonally the area gets very wet. David Anthony says the boardwalk will be 6-8 inches off the ground, and the weight of the boardwalk will stop it from floating. Doug Payson feels strongly that when the new trail is delineated, it should close off access to the vernal pool. It is also important to be high enough to allow wildlife to pass under it.  Discussion of Cotuit School Land Conservation Restriction David Anthony provides background. In 2009, the Cotuit Elementary School closed as part of a school reorganization. The school department voted to determine it surplus to their needs so it became a municipal property. The Asset Management Advisory Committee, made up of 5 town councilors, made the school a priority because it’s a large parcel. The liability was $1 million to tear it down and it would’ve been $4 million to renovate. The Committee and the village of Cotuit’s thought was that the 13-acre parcel Member Present Absent Ann Canedy – Chair X Farley Lewis – Vice Chair X Phyllis Miller X Elizabeth Lewis X Douglas Payson X Elissa Crowley X Anne Rowland X Tracy Pratt X Cate Gulliver X would be divided into 2 pieces. The entrance from Main Street to the tennis courts and ball field are remaining as town property. There is a well on the property, so the Cotuit Fire District became interested in the opportunity to create a water treatment center. The town began to plan for 8 acres to go to the fire district and 5 acres to be retained by the town for recreation purposes. They would grant each other access across each other’s property. They developed the CR, along with Mark Robinson, Cape Land Compact, to work through issues including the leach field and the private utility poles. It has been reviewed by Legal and they are doing an Approval Not Required (ANR) through the Planning Board to split the parcel. Jaci Barton is one of the members of the Asset Management Advisory Committee. She says they’ve gotten almost unanimous support from the community. Their efforts are to develop something that protects the wellfield and also allows recreational uses. This is the biggest piece of open land in Cotuit, but as a district they don’t have the resources to care for recreational land, so they came to an agreement with the town that the town will care for the land. The CR also prohibits chemicals that would negatively affect the environment. There is no decision about the school building yet—that discussion has not begun. The district will have to decide what to do next and how to make changes without a negative impact. As more times goes by, it becomes more likely the building will eventually be torn down. The Committee asks David Anthony several questions. In response, he explains:  the plan is to have the oil tank out before May, and it is a relatively easy process  there is a provision in the CR that the leach field could be removed if the building came down, and it’s likely that the septic will be either abandoned in place or removed as part of the demo of the school  there will be no more impervious pavement added, except if they expand the tennis courts (for which they would need a particular type of surface)  parking around the school might also be reworked, but it would be gravel and not blacktop Jaci Barton explains that essentially they are protecting the land from future development, except for recreation purposes. Phyllis Miller makes a motion to accept the CR as written and recommend approval from Town Council. Ann Canedy seconds. Vote: Aye: Ann Canedy, Farley Lewis, Phyllis Miller, Elizabeth Lewis, Douglas Payson, Elissa Crowley, Anne Rowland, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gu lliver Nay: None Chair Ann Canedy will write a letter on behalf of LAPC, recommending to CPC and to Town Council that the 18 acres in West Barnstable be purchased and/or protected for water quality purposes. Old Business  Update on status of outstanding Conservation Restrictions - Harju, Amaral, Prince Ave, Silvia Chair Canedy says Silvia has been recorded. Harju, Amaral, and Prince are still at the state.  Update on proposed committee name change (to Open Space Committee) Chair Canedy met with Town Council President Matt Levesque about the proposed name change. Matt plans to discuss this further with Town Attorney Karen Nober. Chair Canedy’s goal is to get this in front of Town Council before Councilor Jessica Rapp Grassetti’s term expires. Councilor Clark says Town Council meetings are very full—they may have to wait until budget season is over for this.  Update - Pathways Project and Trayser Bridge Construction Proposal David Anthony provides an update: Regarding the BLT Pathways Project, a month ago, Barnstable Land Trust approached the town about two potential standalone trails. The town is currently doing a feasibility study to see if the trails can be implemented. One of the trails is to satisfy a grant for BLT, and is located in Marstons Mills and does not connect to existing pathways. The sec ond trail is in conjunction with school and conservation property. Chair Canedy requests that Farley Lewis (or a member Ms. Lewis delegates) be involved in these discussions going forward.  Update – Walking Weekend and Walking Library Farley Lewis updates: the Walking Library is moving along. For Spring Walking Weekend, they have 4 walks planned over Saturday and Sunday. The group discusses potential walks and leaders, and potential places to advertise. Genna Ziino will finalize the pamphlet and submit it to Barnstable eWeekly.  Update - Centerville Cranberry Bog Litigation is pending.  Update - Twin Brooks Project No update.  Report from Phyllis Miller/Tracy Pratt regarding Santuit Preserve David Anthony provides some background about why this project has stalle d. The loss of Chris Gonnella has affected the project, and they’re struggling to reinvigorate it. Additionally, the Deputy Director of Asset Management position will not be filled, so the department has lost 20% of its manpower. Despite this, Grayce Rogers is working on this and is trying to pull together a meeting. There has been a request from Phyllis Miller to reshape the Barnstable contingent . Tracy Pratt may succeed Phyllis as the LAPC representative. Still needed is the partner from DPW (needed for funding purposes, as well as expertise. David Anthony says if they can get a member from Mashpee and a member from Barnstable, they can start planning —the state will probably approve as long as both towns agree. The group discusses problems that arose in the past. They then discuss the original agreement and current management plan; both can be found online.  Report from Farley Lewis regarding Community Preservation Committee Open Space applications LAPC’s letter of recommendation was received. CPC have engaged an appraiser and are looking for an engineer to evaluate.  Report from Town Council Liaison Kris Clark No update. MATTERS NOT REASONABLY ANTICIPATED BY THE CHAIR PUBLIC COMMENT None. ADJOURNMENT Phyllis Miller makes a motion to adjourn. Cate Gulliver seconds. Vote: Aye: Ann Canedy, Farley Lewis, Phyllis Miller, Elizabeth Lewis, Douglas Payson, Elissa Crowley, Anne Rowland, Tracy Pratt, Cate Gu lliver Nay: None DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING February 13, 2023 and March 13, 2023 minutes Cotuit School Land Conservation Restriction Respectfully submitted, Genna Ziino, Administrative Assistant Further detail may be obtained by viewing the video via Channel 18 on demand at http://www.town.barnstable.ma.us