Open Space, Natural Resources, and Trails Committee

OPEN SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND TRAILS COMMITTEE Wednesday, October 29, 2020; 7:00 p.m., Virtual Meeting Present: Jonathan Sherwood, Chair, Pascal Rettig (Planning Board), Vanessa Johnson-Hall, Stephen Thiel (Conservation Commission), Councilor Nick Wheeler, Angela Cleveland, Director, Community & Economic Development for City of Amesbury Approval of September 23, 2020 Meeting Minutes Motion to approve minutes P. Rettig, 2nd S. Thiel. All approved Review 12-month OSRP Action Plan • Chapter 61 Right of First Refusal (ROFR) Draft Policy for City of Amesbury (Johnson-Hall) - V. Johnson-Hall summarized Chapter 61/a/b and Right of First Refusal to municipalities. Policy as drafted adds provision for review of notices by OSNRT, Rivers & Lakes Committee, Parks & Rec Department, and DPW-Drinking Water Supply. - A. Cleveland described impetus for policy and value as an educational tool; said will be reviewed by Town Counsel KP Law. A. Cleveland will follow up with City Council. - Committee will wait until next meeting to vote as not all committee members received draft. • Sherwood/Johnson-Hall: Presentation for City Stakeholders - J. Sherwood said that the presentation is on the agenda for the Dec. 8th City Council meeting. Will share draft presentation with OSNRT at Nov. meeting • Rettig: Survey summary-visual, for use with stakeholder/public communications - P. Rettig shared summary of public participation survey for OSRP; definitely showed high percentage of support for open space among Amesbury residents who participated in the survey (300+). Connected trail system and lakes & waterways were very important to a large number of survey respondents. Residents are happy with recreational opportunities for toddlers & elementary school aged kids, but are much less satisfied with recreational opportunities for high-school aged kids, people with disabilities, and for elders. Lake Gardiner one of most actively used open spaces but people the least satisfied with its maintenance. Woodsom Farm and Riverwalk stood out for their high % of recreational use by respondents. Open Space could use better publicity. Residents place a high priority on protecting existing open space. Many of the written comments discussed the need for an off-leash dog park. - S. Thiel recommended pairing results with demographic statistics cited in OSRP, e.g., high percentage of elder residents in Amesbury paired with dissatisfaction with recreational opportunities for elders. - P. Rettig will work to convert highlights to a graphic for Jonathan & Vanessa to incorporate into their presentation to the City Council. Member updates: • Sherwood: Amesbury Rail Trail Connector – Coastal Trails Coalition – MA DOT - Jerry Klima has worked with the City to submit necessary paperwork to MVPC and MassDOT to create safe rail trail crossing at Elm Street. Hopefully it can be shoehorned into existing plans to improve Elm Street. • Sherwood/Cleveland: OCED review of city-owned parcels for conservation  - A. Cleveland reported to J. Sherwood that she is working with John Lopez and Nipun Jain to assess all City-owned properties (not just those under the care & custody of the Cons Comm) for permanent preservation for conservation purposes. Review of meeting schedule for remainder of 2020: Next meeting Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020; December meeting canceled. Motion made - N. Wheeler, 2nd V. Johnson-Hall Motion to adjourn 8:33pm N. Wheeler, 2nd S. Thiel. All approved. Submitted by, Vanessa Johnson-Hall