Minutes of November 5, 2008

Acting Secretary Michelle Baughman

Mansfield Parks Advisory Committee

 

Present:   Tom Harrington, Sue Harrington, Jen Kaufman, Ethan Avery, Michelle Baughman, Cindy Weiss.

The Meeting was called to order at 7:40 pm

The minutes of September 3rd meeting were accepted with minor changes, and approved on a motion by T. Harrington and E. Avery.

 

New Business: 

  1. The 2009 Source to Sea Expedition – Michelle Baughman and Sue Harrington committed to do projects on Saturday, May 16, 2009 in conjunction with this event.
  2. Subdivision Application Malek Manor, Lot 4, Crane Hill Road, File # 548-2.  We agree with Open Space and Conservation Committees.

 

Continuing Business

  1. NAV Work days – Work was done at Eagleville Preserve to prepare for WHIP. Autumn Olives were removed so Merrow Meadow could be mowed.  At River Park shrubs were planted by UConn sorority. At Porter Meadow Autumn Olives were removed to improve the view.  (There is no public access to this park).
  2. Management Plan Reviews – Members of PAC were assigned to review the plans of parks as follows:  Merrow Meadow and Shelter Falls by Sue & Tom Harrington; Dunhamtown Forrest by Cindy Weiss, Ethan Avery, and Michelle Baughman;  School House Brook by Michelle Baughman.  Other parks to be assigned to members not present this evening.

 

PAC Reports:

  1. FOMP held two scavenger hunts and four walking weekend events.  Events also held included:  Natural History hike with 65 participants, Wolf Rock Marsh walk with 70 participants, Dunhamtown Hike for Annie Vinton ES 3rd graders as part of  a history of  Mansfield lesson.  There was also a Star Party event on September 20th with Cynthia Peterson of UConn at the Planetarium that was extremely successful.  Due to the success of this event, we plan to repeat it in the future.
  2. For November planned events include a Sunday afternoon Fossil Program.  Future events include:  an Animal Track program in January, a Winter Wonderland walk in February,  and the Natural Reading group is continuing.

 

Staff Reports:

  1. Four properties in the Wildlife Management Program came in under budget, so the excess money will be used for NAV, signage, and to fix bridges at parks.
  2. Jeff Ward of the Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Program is performing most of the WHIP work at Schoolhouse Brook Park.  His research has shown that removing Barberry reduces the tick population because the barberry is habitat for a certain type of mouse that is a tick carrier.

 

Correspondence:

  1. White Oak Condominium septic system repair issue – There did not seem to be any reaction to our proposal to take the effected area (parking and septic portion) out of our Parks Management Plan.  Perhaps we can make the change when we submit our Dunhamtown Park Management Plan to the Town for approval.  The Condo association is putting $15,000 back into the town’s Open Space Fund.
  2. Town Manager’s Report – Committee members discussed the location of the Hillside Environmental Educational Park and its connection to Shelter Falls Park.
  3. Proposed CL&P “Interstate Reliability Project” – Our statement on this issue is that “We encourage CL&P to minimize the aesthetic and environmental impact of the poles on our parks and open spaces”.

 

This meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Next meeting is January 7, 2009 at 7:30 pm in the Mansfield Community Center Conference Room.