Mansfield Parks Advisory Committee

Minutes of June 1, 2005

 

Present: Sue Craig, David Silsbee, Jennifer Kaufmann

 

I.                    Minutes from the April 6 meeting were approved.

II.                  New Business

  1. Walking Weekend – Sue will see about a Willimantic River Greenway walk, Keith Johnson will do a walk at Coney rock co-sponsored by PAC, and Sue will do a program at the Mount Hope Park pond.

III.                Continuing Business

  1. PAC members – no news
  2. PAC reports – discussion postponed until next meeting
  3. Staff reports

1.      Natural Areas Volunteers

a.      Work Days -- Jean was not present, but Jennifer reported on work days.

b.      Butterfly Monitoring – Training will be Thursday, 7/14, and the actual census will be Saturday, 7/16

2.      Friends of Mansfield Parks

a.      Nature Center proposal progress – Sue is still collecting and compiling information from the survey of other nature centers around the state.

b.      Summer environmental education programs – Sue will be working at Holiday Hill this summer, and will get back to Jennifer about fall programming.

c.      Walking Weekend – discussed above under New Business.

3.      Development  -- Progress is continuing on the online trail guide and the design for the Plains Road area.

IV.               Other Parks-related Town business – Four subdivision applications were discussed, comments were as follows:

  1. PZC file #1230 – Fellows Subdivision: We see the potential for this property to help with a protected corridor connection between the Moss Sanctuary and Schoolhouse Brook Park.  It also is a part of the Schoolhouse Brook watershed, which should be protected.  The proposed open space dedication seems to serve both of these purposes well.  We urge PZC to be sure about the connections between the open space and adjacent town property.
  2. PZC file #1214-2 -- Smith Farms: The trail behind lot 1 appears to be very close to the house in lot one.  A wider open space corridor would help screen the trail from the house, and moving the house a little further from the back of the lot would also help.  Both solutions appear to be quite feasible given the acreage of the lot.  The trail should also be placed further back from the lot lines wherever possible as it makes its way around the development.  There appears to be enough space between the lots and the wetlands that it could be moved back a little in most areas.  Finally, we can’t see on the map that the trail connects to the trail on Phase I of the subdivision, but it is important that this connection be made.
  3. PZC file # 1229 -- Baxter Rd: We were concerned about unnecessary removal of large trees and stone walls along the road, which would greatly change the character of the road.  There are also historical foundations along the road which are not noted on the maps – provisions should be made to protect these.  The open space dedication appears to serve no useful purpose.
  4. PZC file #1231 – Ross: We agree with the comments of the Open Space Committee and the Conservation Commission.  The open space should be a Conservation Easement rather than town owned land.  A road rather than the proposed shared driveway would be preferable and would better serve the needs of the residents.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:30

 

Next meeting September 7, 2005