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[0:07]
You are alive.
[0:08]
Thank you so much. Appreciate
[0:09]
you. Hello. Town of Groveland.
[0:14]
It is the recreation committee
[0:15]
at 7:04 p.m. on Thursday,
[0:18]
September 3rd. Um, I'll make a
[0:21]
motion to open the meeting.
[0:23]
A second. Second.
[0:24]
All in favor? Aye aye aye. Um,
[0:28]
motion is open. Um, I do know
[0:31]
that Emilio is going to be out
[0:33]
today. Um, I'm not sure if
[0:35]
Kate's on her way or not. I
[0:36]
sent an email over so that, um,
[0:39]
if she if she is on her way,
[0:41]
then she knows that we're.
[0:44]
We'll wait a little bit, but
[0:45]
we're gonna at least get
[0:48]
started. Get started anyway,
[0:50]
uh, so first thing on the
[0:53]
agenda is, uh, the trail
[0:57]
enhancement 2025 Trail
[0:58]
Enhancement Project status. And
[1:01]
I have a quick update on that.
[1:03]
Um, I did talk with Mike
[1:05]
Dempsey. Uh, the, the bridge
[1:09]
extension, um, where it's going
[1:11]
to connect the rail trail to
[1:13]
the Center Street Greenway. Um,
[1:15]
I believe all the permitting
[1:17]
and the the permits that were
[1:19]
required have been granted and
[1:20]
given. And what he tells me is
[1:23]
he believes that they will do
[1:24]
work on this at the end of the
[1:25]
month. And we think that it
[1:28]
should be a pretty short
[1:29]
project in the in the terms of
[1:31]
the actual building. So like so
[1:33]
many things, a lot of a lot of
[1:35]
the red tape has to get handled
[1:36]
first. And then when it comes
[1:37]
time to actually, you know,
[1:39]
putting, um, putting nail in
[1:42]
board, uh, it doesn't take as
[1:43]
long as people might think. So.
[1:45]
Uh, I'm optimistic that the
[1:48]
bridge will be open this time
[1:49]
sometime this year, and
[1:51]
certainly, uh, you know,
[1:53]
certainly before next spring.
[1:54]
But I do believe it may be as
[1:56]
soon as the end of this month,
[1:57]
uh, that we'll have the
[1:59]
connection live and available
[2:00]
there, which is going to be
[2:01]
awesome because, uh, the
[2:04]
traffic on the rail trail is
[2:05]
very good. And every time I
[2:07]
pass by, um, I think the
[2:10]
parking lot that they've added
[2:12]
or the parking spaces they've
[2:13]
added off Main Street, um, have
[2:15]
been really have been well
[2:16]
utilized. There's some, but
[2:19]
less traffic, um, parked cars
[2:21]
on the side of the road. So
[2:22]
that was a goal that was um,
[2:24]
mentioned by the select board
[2:25]
and doing that as well. So, uh,
[2:27]
I say kudos to them for
[2:29]
providing some more access.
[2:31]
Just a quick question on that.
[2:32]
Is there going to be signage on
[2:34]
either the rail trail or the
[2:36]
Greenway saying access to.
[2:39]
Well, so that's a great
[2:40]
question. Um, one of the six
[2:43]
kiosks that we're going to be
[2:44]
putting on is going to be put
[2:45]
right there. So you'll see that
[2:47]
there is a, that it's it's a
[2:49]
separate trail and that, you
[2:51]
know, as you go off the bridge,
[2:52]
you'll know that you're in a
[2:53]
different place. Okay. Um, so
[2:55]
that is, that is absolutely
[2:56]
planned. Uh, I don't know when
[2:58]
it's when the, when the kiosks
[3:00]
are going to be installed quite
[3:01]
yet, but I do believe most of
[3:04]
them have been made or made.
[3:07]
Um, you know, mostly made or
[3:10]
are very close to being
[3:11]
completed. Uh, and so, um,
[3:13]
citing we've, we've kind of pre
[3:15]
sighted one kiosk per trail and
[3:18]
we have six trails. So um,
[3:21]
that's generally what it is.
[3:23]
There might be a little bit of
[3:24]
wiggle because we've already
[3:25]
got some signage, good signage
[3:26]
on the rail trail. Um, but the
[3:29]
uh, the Center Street Greenway
[3:30]
is getting a, getting a kiosk
[3:32]
there. Um, additionally, I
[3:37]
talked to to Mike about the
[3:38]
status of the maps, and, uh,
[3:40]
where we have we've placed all
[3:43]
we've now placed all the, the,
[3:45]
uh, stakes where the new, uh,
[3:48]
signposts are going to be. Uh,
[3:50]
and one of the things that we
[3:51]
did was, as we placed them, we
[3:53]
geo located them. So the data
[3:56]
is going to be going to be put
[3:58]
to the maps and sent to the to
[4:00]
the fellow in West Newbury,
[4:01]
who's helping us put together
[4:02]
these maps. Uh, he's doing it
[4:04]
gratis. So we're really
[4:05]
grateful for that. Um, and so
[4:08]
my hope is that we will be able
[4:09]
to have some maps, one or more
[4:13]
of the maps completed by, say,
[4:15]
Pumpkin Fest, which I'm not
[4:17]
sure offhand what the date of
[4:19]
that is, but I, I'm sure it
[4:20]
will be sometime in October.
[4:22]
Um, and, uh, we will, uh, we'll
[4:25]
follow up on that, but I think
[4:27]
that's something we'll be able
[4:28]
to provide at that time. Um.
[4:31]
Tober 22nd.
[4:32]
It's October 22nd. One of the
[4:40]
one of the issues that we'll
[4:41]
talk about in a little bit is
[4:43]
website marketing outreach.
[4:45]
And, uh, and so I will
[4:47]
definitely will raise this
[4:48]
there about sometimes the
[4:51]
website doesn't match up with
[4:52]
what the information is or has
[4:54]
or has outdated information. So
[4:56]
that's a situation where we
[4:57]
definitely need to make sure
[4:59]
that the that pumpkin fest is
[5:00]
put on on the website and get
[5:03]
given some more. Um, some more
[5:07]
notice. Um, anything else about
[5:11]
the trail enhancement project
[5:13]
at this moment?
[5:14]
Not yet. At this point where
[5:16]
you need a group to help with
[5:18]
anything?
[5:18]
Yeah, I mean, right. And we've
[5:20]
talked about that a bit. Uh,
[5:21]
we're we're not quite there
[5:23]
yet, but I know Emilio has, uh,
[5:26]
has volunteered his, his trench
[5:28]
or his digger and, uh, you
[5:29]
know, so that is.
[5:30]
Something.
[5:31]
That will be a huge help.
[5:33]
I mean, right.
[5:34]
I mean, uh, grabbing some
[5:36]
sturdy folk to help, you know,
[5:38]
manually do some of that is
[5:40]
possible, especially in some of
[5:41]
the more remote spots. But to
[5:43]
the extent we can use machinery
[5:45]
to get this done in a more
[5:46]
efficient way, I'm all about
[5:48]
it. And I think I think there
[5:49]
will be a time and place, you
[5:51]
know, to get that square. Uh,
[5:52]
what? I will say one thing I
[5:54]
will say to add to the
[5:55]
enhancement project is, as you
[5:59]
guys know, and maybe not not
[6:00]
the folks out, uh, in town know
[6:03]
we've been looking back at some
[6:04]
of the old meetings because
[6:06]
there there are some meetings
[6:07]
from back in 24 and 25 that
[6:09]
don't have meeting minutes. And
[6:10]
we're trying to make sure that
[6:11]
our, um, our record is a little
[6:13]
more complete, even before, you
[6:15]
know, some or most of us were
[6:17]
even on the committee. Um, so
[6:19]
one of the things I did was I
[6:20]
looked back most recently at a
[6:22]
meeting in 2024 and June 2024,
[6:25]
and one of the nice things is,
[6:28]
uh, they were talking about
[6:29]
some needs in town, and, gee,
[6:31]
wouldn't it be nice if we had,
[6:33]
uh, a trail enhancement project
[6:35]
to handle some of these things?
[6:36]
And so it's nice to see that
[6:37]
there's carryover from want
[6:40]
discussion, action, plan
[6:42]
action. And so, you know, I'm
[6:45]
grateful that, um, that
[6:46]
everybody who has been involved
[6:48]
has been so helpful. And it
[6:50]
does look like we're getting
[6:51]
we're making some traction
[6:52]
here.
[6:52]
That's awesome.
[6:55]
Where the bench is the last of
[6:56]
the materials that needed to be
[6:58]
ordered.
[6:58]
Bench the last things that need
[7:00]
to be ordered are the benches,
[7:02]
the dog waste and waste
[7:05]
baskets. Um, and also some of
[7:09]
the individual markers for the
[7:11]
signs. Um, so, you know, the
[7:14]
the trails have names. So, you
[7:16]
know, you need a sign that
[7:18]
says, you know, this is the
[7:19]
Bald Eagle Trail or this is the
[7:21]
this trail, you know, so, um.
[7:23]
Especially in town forest,
[7:24]
there's like ten trail names.
[7:26]
Yeah, 100%. So it's, uh, it's
[7:28]
definitely that, uh, we did we
[7:30]
did finish all the all the
[7:32]
markings, though. I think it
[7:33]
was the last meeting. We hadn't
[7:34]
quite finished all of them. Um,
[7:36]
but, uh, but. Yeah. So those
[7:38]
are, those are the those are
[7:40]
what's kind of left as far as
[7:41]
materials. I think we have to
[7:43]
buy some concrete to put, you
[7:44]
know, to put these, these
[7:46]
benches and footings in and
[7:47]
whatnot. And, uh, you know,
[7:49]
some of that stuff. But we're
[7:51]
getting we're getting over the
[7:52]
hump and it's, it's exciting as
[7:54]
far as where things are. Um, I
[7:57]
don't have I don't have a
[7:58]
substantive update on the
[7:59]
recreation, uh, lighting
[8:01]
project at this point. I know
[8:03]
we have a CPC meeting coming up
[8:05]
in a little bit. I know, um,
[8:07]
Adam Haywood and Rebecca
[8:08]
Oldham, who are also working
[8:10]
with me on that project, are,
[8:12]
uh, we'll have a lot more
[8:13]
information at that point. Uh,
[8:15]
what I, what I can what I can
[8:17]
say is that it's a phased
[8:18]
project, so it's not something
[8:19]
that's going to be completed
[8:21]
this year. This is more of a
[8:22]
long term deal. And the idea
[8:24]
was to complete the the things
[8:26]
that could be things that could
[8:28]
be completed without, um, you
[8:31]
know, without waste. Meaning if
[8:33]
you did these, these series of
[8:35]
things, it wouldn't be wasted
[8:37]
money because you could just
[8:38]
add on the next sort of module
[8:40]
of stuff, you know, at the next
[8:42]
interval. So, um, I'm excited
[8:45]
to see, you know, some of this
[8:46]
get done. I know it's like
[8:47]
design and maybe some of the
[8:49]
electric work is the first, the
[8:51]
first year of it. So, um, when
[8:53]
I hear more, I will update you
[8:55]
guys more, um, particularly on
[8:57]
that. Um, future CPC projects,
[9:02]
uh, paved accessible walking
[9:05]
path at Pines. Michelle.
[9:08]
Yeah, no major updates on that.
[9:09]
The proposal has been
[9:11]
submitted. And Annie did
[9:13]
confirm that she's going to put
[9:14]
it in front of the CPC, so
[9:17]
nothing more from that right
[9:18]
now.
[9:18]
So are you planning to go to
[9:19]
the next meeting and, uh, kind
[9:21]
of present on that and see
[9:22]
what's going on?
[9:23]
Um, I can I.
[9:25]
I think that would be a great
[9:27]
idea. As a member of the CPC.
[9:28]
Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, I'm
[9:30]
happy to to kind of pitch my
[9:32]
idea for sure.
[9:33]
Do you have do you have, um, do
[9:36]
you have sort of in your brain
[9:38]
an idea of what it might look
[9:39]
like?
[9:39]
I do, yeah, yeah. For the most
[9:42]
part, I kind of feel like using
[9:45]
the Riverside Park in Haverhill
[9:47]
is kind of the inspiration. Um,
[9:50]
I'm kind of going off of that
[9:51]
and all of those enhancements
[9:53]
that they did recently with
[9:54]
kind of extending the path out,
[9:56]
and there's some nice greenery
[9:57]
space and some planter boxes
[10:01]
that are maintained by, I
[10:02]
believe, the Haverhill Garden
[10:03]
Club. Um, so I kind of
[10:05]
envisioned something like that
[10:06]
where you just have a very
[10:09]
flat, walkable path around a
[10:11]
nice nature filled area with
[10:14]
some learning opportunities for
[10:16]
the community.
[10:16]
That is not that is not
[10:18]
immediately adjacent to a busy
[10:20]
parking lot.
[10:20]
That is not immediately
[10:22]
adjacent to a very busy
[10:23]
pipeline. Exactly. Got it. Yes.
[10:26]
Well that's cool. I, I, I mean,
[10:28]
you know, you don't have to,
[10:30]
but, uh, certainly if you're
[10:32]
interested in participating in
[10:34]
the CPC meeting, I would reach
[10:35]
out to Adam Haywood and just
[10:37]
say, hey, listen, you know, I'd
[10:38]
like to come in and present,
[10:39]
and he would be thrilled. Um,
[10:41]
okay. And so, yeah, that's.
[10:43]
That sounds awesome.
[10:44]
With that next, the next
[10:45]
meeting, the needs hearing,
[10:46]
would that be the most
[10:46]
appropriate?
[10:47]
I mean.
[10:48]
It seems like the next meeting.
[10:49]
Honestly. Right. Honestly, it
[10:50]
can be any time. Um, you know,
[10:52]
the there's there's always time
[10:54]
to to vet ideas, and this is a
[10:56]
good idea, you know, and this
[10:57]
is an idea that, you know, it
[10:59]
doesn't seem as if it would be,
[11:01]
you know, extremely expensive.
[11:03]
And if there was a, you know, a
[11:05]
limitation on finances, you
[11:06]
could you could, you know,
[11:08]
scope the project based on the
[11:10]
finances you have, you know, so
[11:11]
it definitely could be
[11:12]
something that, you know, could
[11:15]
either be phased or, you know,
[11:17]
like, you know, could be the
[11:18]
whole thing in one fell swoop.
[11:20]
Also, um, you know, so that
[11:22]
would be, you know, that's
[11:24]
that's interesting. And I think
[11:25]
it's, I think it's a great idea.
[11:28]
Uh, remind me, when's the next
[11:29]
CPC meeting?
[11:30]
Uh, 21st, I believe.
[11:32]
21st.
[11:33]
I can confirm.
[11:37]
Yes, you would know.
[11:40]
I don't have it listed at.
[11:41]
The 21st.
[11:41]
So you maybe you know.
[11:42]
About it, I.
[11:43]
Put it, you might know. You
[11:44]
might know.
[11:44]
It better than I get, like a
[11:45]
nerve. Um, I have it on my
[11:48]
calendar.
[11:48]
Oh, I do, I do. It is 630 on
[11:50]
the 21st, actually. Absolutely.
[11:51]
I do have it. So 630 on the
[11:53]
21st. Um, I, I'm happy. Um, I'm
[11:57]
happy to let them know that you
[11:59]
would like to come. If you
[12:00]
would like to go. Yeah.
[12:02]
Let me just triple check that
[12:03]
and then I'll let you know.
[12:04]
For sure. For sure. Um, next.
[12:08]
Any other questions on that at
[12:09]
this point? No. Okay. Shanahan
[12:12]
field, open up the few
[12:13]
accessibility up to the river.
[12:14]
All right I do have I for both
[12:16]
of the ones I was looking at I
[12:18]
have had some discussions.
[12:20]
Awesome. So I have a little bit
[12:22]
of information. So it was
[12:23]
mentioned at one point I think
[12:25]
when, um, Mike Dempsey joined
[12:27]
our meeting this over the
[12:29]
summer, he had mentioned, oh, I
[12:30]
think somebody did a project
[12:32]
around that once or submitted
[12:33]
it. And I did find that there
[12:35]
was a project in, um, approved
[12:38]
in fiscal year 2008. It was
[12:41]
both looking at something with
[12:42]
the Shanahan field like the
[12:44]
like, Riverside area. And I
[12:46]
think at the time, expanding
[12:48]
the soccer fields. I think
[12:49]
there was fewer soccer fields
[12:51]
space or they only had the one
[12:53]
field or something. Um, so
[12:54]
there was a project, um, in
[12:57]
which 12,000 of it was, um,
[13:00]
allocated for landscaping to
[13:02]
create a waterfront park, and I
[13:04]
did I reached out to Annie and
[13:07]
then she she could she found a
[13:09]
couple things, but she
[13:10]
recommended I do a, um, a, um,
[13:13]
like a public records request
[13:14]
to the town clerk. So I did,
[13:16]
and I think it was. She said
[13:18]
Mike Dempsey was the one who
[13:19]
found this information, and he
[13:22]
said his recollection was at
[13:23]
the time that Park Piece did
[13:25]
not move forward because of
[13:26]
neighbor objections. So to me,
[13:31]
I mean, that is that's
[13:33]
something and it has to be part
[13:34]
of the discussion. But, I, um,
[13:37]
if if I found out that it was,
[13:39]
oh, there are conservation or
[13:41]
some kind of prohibitive, you
[13:43]
can't touch that land reasons,
[13:44]
then I wouldn't want to move
[13:45]
forward.
[13:46]
Well, you would think Mike as
[13:47]
head of conservation, would
[13:48]
have that in his brain.
[13:49]
Exactly. And when we talked to
[13:51]
him, he kind of he seemed open
[13:52]
to the idea. And I know, like,
[13:54]
looking up the rules. There is
[13:56]
a 200 foot, um, buffer zone
[13:59]
along the Merrimack River,
[14:00]
right?
[14:00]
Absolutely. Which isn't an
[14:02]
absolute prohibition.
[14:03]
Right. Just to go through
[14:05]
conservation, we obviously need
[14:06]
to be very careful with that.
[14:07]
And as we've said in previous
[14:08]
meetings, we're not looking at
[14:09]
clear cut or anything like
[14:10]
that. We want to preserve some
[14:13]
of the nature, but is right now
[14:15]
it's overgrown. I mean, you're
[14:16]
down there. It's it's overgrown
[14:18]
with this, um, bittersweet all
[14:20]
through. There's all sorts of
[14:21]
weeds. There's some dead ash
[14:23]
trees and all that. So I think
[14:24]
even outside of making a park,
[14:26]
maintaining that would be in
[14:27]
the best interest of the town.
[14:29]
Honestly. Right. Um.
[14:30]
So one one tricky caveat to
[14:33]
that. That's a, that's a red
[14:35]
flag word. Maintain. Right. So
[14:37]
with CPC funds, they can't be
[14:39]
used for maintenance. But um.
[14:42]
create a park. Right? I mean,
[14:44]
there needs to be in the plan
[14:46]
like a function, you know, some
[14:47]
sort of, uh, thought about how
[14:49]
maintenance would happen and
[14:50]
who would do it, and, you know,
[14:51]
that sort of stuff. So there's
[14:52]
definitely that piece of it.
[14:54]
But yeah, it's it's a situation
[14:56]
where, especially with the
[14:57]
parking lot there now that can
[14:59]
house a lot of a lot of people,
[15:01]
you know, to have a place where
[15:03]
people can congregate in
[15:04]
multiple ways. You know, it
[15:05]
sounds like, you know, I mean,
[15:08]
I would love to see a, you
[15:10]
know, a stage there or
[15:11]
something like that looking out
[15:13]
on the water, watching the
[15:14]
boats go by. Like, I think
[15:16]
people would love it, but but
[15:18]
uh, but yeah, that sounds
[15:19]
awesome.
[15:19]
So yeah. And like some of the
[15:20]
terminology I thought was
[15:21]
really nice because I was
[15:22]
talking about restoring it back
[15:24]
to its natural habitat for
[15:25]
wildlife and a naturalized park
[15:27]
for passive recreation and a
[15:28]
place for scenic river views. I
[15:30]
think that matches very much
[15:31]
with what we've we're talking
[15:33]
about. And this is from 2008.
[15:35]
So, you know, this is 18 years
[15:37]
ago. They were talking about
[15:38]
very similar things. Sure. And
[15:39]
so I'd love to. So my plan is
[15:42]
to fill out the eligibility
[15:43]
application and, and present it
[15:45]
at that CPC meeting.
[15:47]
The one that's coming right
[15:48]
out. Yes. Outstanding. Yeah.
[15:50]
Um, the the other thing that I
[15:52]
would recommend is take a look
[15:54]
at the current master plan and
[15:56]
see how it sort of how the your
[15:58]
idea sort of jives with it,
[15:59]
because the 2008 master
[16:01]
planner, you know, like those
[16:03]
sorts of things. Um, are, you
[16:05]
know, might be outdated
[16:06]
relative to what you'd find in
[16:08]
the new in the new plan. Um, I
[16:10]
would I would be hesitant to
[16:13]
say that it should only be used
[16:14]
for passive, okay recreation in
[16:17]
the sense that, I mean, like,
[16:18]
if you had a stage there, you
[16:20]
would have plays there. And
[16:21]
that's not passive recreation,
[16:22]
you know. But but but I mean,
[16:24]
uh, certainly a mix of, of
[16:26]
active and passive like, you
[16:28]
know, um, in like, just like
[16:30]
you're saying you're not we're
[16:31]
not looking at clear cut it.
[16:32]
And you know, you know, put and
[16:34]
pave it, pave it away. It's
[16:36]
it's, uh, how can we have
[16:38]
another place in town where
[16:40]
we've created this great access
[16:42]
where people can use it for a
[16:43]
whole slew of good reasons?
[16:45]
Yeah. Like I think I've said in
[16:46]
these meetings for, like, the
[16:47]
town only owns so much
[16:48]
riverfront land. Right? So it's
[16:50]
a shame not to take advantage.
[16:51]
Of it 100%.
[16:52]
I think for the neighbors, I
[16:53]
mean, I think we can have that
[16:55]
discussion as it moves forward,
[16:56]
but I know the town owns behind
[16:57]
a few of the houses and I
[16:58]
wouldn't want to propose. Oh,
[17:00]
yeah. We're going all behind
[17:01]
your house along the river. I
[17:02]
would like it to be in line
[17:03]
with the soccer field. So it
[17:05]
kind of maintains that
[17:06]
separation leaves that buffer
[17:08]
zone for those abutments.
[17:09]
And it's 20 years hence. So the
[17:11]
neighbors might be different
[17:12]
neighbors. Very true. So so I
[17:14]
mean, you know, it's a at a
[17:16]
minimum exploring it is is
[17:18]
super appropriate. And yeah
[17:20]
okay. So maybe it doesn't get
[17:21]
done as exactly how you might
[17:23]
want to do. Or maybe there's
[17:25]
some barriers. But you know,
[17:26]
it's certainly the kind of
[17:27]
thing that is worth the
[17:28]
discussion. We're talking
[17:29]
about. Worth seeing what can be
[17:32]
done. And even if you know, it
[17:33]
can't be full bore, exactly
[17:35]
what you know, you or we or you
[17:37]
know, any subset of people
[17:38]
might want something can be to
[17:40]
do something. You know, I would
[17:42]
be I'd be shocked if we
[17:43]
couldn't. We couldn't have
[17:43]
something to improve that
[17:45]
really great space. Um, I mean,
[17:48]
you know, already already
[17:50]
having the parking there made
[17:51]
it easy for, like, the
[17:52]
fireworks, you know, is a
[17:54]
really good. And it's looking
[17:55]
to be an annual thing. Um, so,
[17:58]
you know, it's it's definitely
[17:59]
a spot. And I can say for a
[18:01]
certainty that the master, the
[18:03]
current master plan, talks in
[18:05]
great detail about trying to
[18:06]
maximize the value of the
[18:07]
things that we have already.
[18:09]
And Shanahan field is is a gem
[18:11]
in our town. So I think that's
[18:13]
great. You said you you looked
[18:15]
on two both things.
[18:16]
Yes. Both things. So the um,
[18:18]
the shade structures at Bagnell
[18:20]
I um similarly I talked to
[18:23]
Annie about that, um, because I
[18:26]
know they had just done the,
[18:27]
um, the shade structures at the
[18:30]
Pines. Um, and she did, um,
[18:33]
because one of the questions I
[18:35]
had was about maintenance, and
[18:36]
she said the ones they bought
[18:37]
for the pines do require the
[18:39]
fabric to be removed at the end
[18:40]
of the fall and then put back
[18:41]
up in the spring, which makes
[18:43]
sense. And she sent me a link
[18:44]
to some of the, like, the
[18:46]
company that they had used,
[18:47]
which obviously has gone to bed
[18:48]
and all that, but at least
[18:49]
gives us a guideline and
[18:51]
there's a bunch of nice, um,
[18:53]
examples of how it works with
[18:55]
the it can work with
[18:56]
playgrounds and such. And I was
[18:58]
trying to find websites that
[18:59]
showed you, like the directions
[19:01]
of the sun and different times
[19:02]
of the day to try to get a
[19:03]
feeling for that. So similarly,
[19:05]
I think there's still more
[19:06]
research to be done there, but
[19:06]
I'd like to put the application
[19:08]
the the eligibility application
[19:10]
in and talk to that at the
[19:13]
upcoming CPC meeting to start
[19:14]
moving that forward.
[19:15]
Yeah. These are these are
[19:16]
great. These are great plans.
[19:17]
All three of them. And you
[19:19]
know, I think they're going to
[19:20]
you're going to be met with a
[19:22]
lot of support at the CPC
[19:23]
level. And you know what I can
[19:25]
say. You know putting on my
[19:26]
CPC, um, member hat for just a
[19:30]
second is that, you know, one
[19:32]
of the things that we just
[19:34]
desperately crave is for the
[19:35]
proponents to be active about
[19:37]
their projects and for people
[19:38]
to come in and say, hey, you
[19:40]
know, I've done this work.
[19:43]
Look, what should I do next?
[19:45]
How can I make this better?
[19:46]
What are some, you know, do you
[19:47]
see some problems with it? How
[19:49]
can we work? You know, how can
[19:50]
we collaborate to, you know,
[19:51]
surmount them and have a
[19:53]
project that is complete ready,
[19:55]
and, you know, very, um, very,
[19:59]
you know, a layup to, to make
[20:01]
it a town meeting, you know,
[20:02]
is, is, you know, how I sort of
[20:04]
think about it and I think my,
[20:06]
you know, the other members
[20:07]
there would, would say
[20:08]
similarly. So, uh, great job
[20:10]
taking the initiative. That's
[20:11]
awesome. And uh, when Emilio
[20:14]
comes back from the next
[20:15]
meeting, we'll talk about bike
[20:16]
lanes and all that good stuff,
[20:18]
and that'll be awesome as well.
[20:19]
Yeah, I'm hearing early good
[20:21]
reviews about the basketball
[20:22]
court that was installed about
[20:23]
now as the it was just done
[20:26]
this summer. Yeah, as a
[20:27]
project. We approved the town
[20:29]
meeting this spring, and the
[20:30]
kids are all excited about it.
[20:31]
It's nice, fenced in, and they
[20:33]
were already out there playing
[20:33]
basketball on the second day of
[20:35]
school, so.
[20:35]
I haven't seen it. I mean, I've
[20:37]
heard on there.
[20:38]
I haven't been.
[20:38]
Back there. That's so cool.
[20:40]
I want to go back there and do
[20:41]
some measuring, but I obviously
[20:42]
can't. I'm not gonna do that
[20:43]
during school hours. Be a
[20:44]
frequent measuring tape. Okay.
[20:46]
Well, good news. Uh, this
[20:48]
weekend is Labor Day weekend.
[20:49]
There's plenty of time to go
[20:51]
sweet. And right over there.
[20:52]
There won't be any.
[20:53]
My wife works at the school, so
[20:54]
she's going to take some
[20:55]
pictures of the shade for me at
[20:56]
different times during recess.
[20:58]
Yeah.
[20:58]
That's awesome. They said
[20:59]
recesses go from 1030 to 130 so
[21:02]
he can focus. Obviously pick of
[21:03]
the day, try to do some math on
[21:07]
angles and maximize.
[21:08]
But what about the different
[21:09]
times of year two?
[21:10]
Well that's the thing. Yeah.
[21:11]
Yeah, right.
[21:12]
The sun is in a different. spot
[21:14]
than it.
[21:14]
Is true. And it is.
[21:15]
Like October.
[21:16]
And it's like they said like
[21:17]
the kids say, like starting
[21:19]
those first sunny days in
[21:20]
April, they're all underneath
[21:21]
the slide because that's the
[21:22]
only shady.
[21:23]
Spot, the playground.
[21:24]
So it's it's I think, um, I
[21:28]
think that'll be an interesting
[21:29]
discussion. Like, do we want to
[21:31]
cover playground equipment or
[21:32]
just provide a space for kids
[21:33]
to get out of the sun? Right. I
[21:35]
think those are two good
[21:36]
approaches. So it may be more
[21:39]
cost effective to kind of do
[21:41]
that ladder where it's a place
[21:42]
to get out of the sun. Um, but
[21:44]
also there's an argument to
[21:45]
protect the equipment from UV.
[21:48]
rays and sun. damage to
[21:49]
maximize the lifespan of that
[21:51]
as well. So.
[21:52]
I mean, I've definitely if
[21:53]
there's some equipment that
[21:54]
seems like it gets hotter than
[21:55]
others.
[21:56]
No.
[21:56]
You're good. You know, maybe
[21:57]
focusing on that. Um, whereas
[21:59]
like, like if the slide gets a
[22:01]
little bit hotter compared to
[22:03]
the, there's like a little like
[22:04]
climbing structure, right. Then
[22:06]
maybe.
[22:06]
It's like.
[22:07]
Yeah, we leave.
[22:08]
The climbing to slide.
[22:09]
It's hot in.
[22:09]
The sun. Yeah.
[22:10]
Yeah. So maybe that there's an
[22:11]
opportunity there to kind of
[22:12]
focus on the, the hotter items.
[22:16]
Yeah. I think that that makes
[22:17]
sense and stuff. Maybe the, the
[22:19]
plastic things that do break
[22:20]
down early like sooner and
[22:22]
yeah. You know trying to
[22:23]
maximize though that also is a
[22:24]
CPA project a few years ago. So
[22:27]
maximizing our investment in
[22:29]
the playground equipment.
[22:30]
I'm also trying.
[22:31]
To picture I haven't been back
[22:33]
there in a little bit, and I
[22:35]
know it's mostly cement. Right.
[22:37]
And I know that there are some
[22:38]
trees lining the in between the
[22:42]
field and the cement, but is
[22:44]
there any other opportunities
[22:45]
to plant natural shade?
[22:47]
That's a good question. Um.
[22:50]
I mean, we can't do it,
[22:51]
obviously right in the middle
[22:51]
of the park. Right, right.
[22:52]
Because it's the same cement.
[22:54]
They put down that like that
[22:55]
spongy stuff. Um, yeah. Yeah.
[22:57]
So that's the, the other, the
[22:59]
thing we can look at too, and
[23:00]
we can maybe talk to the town
[23:02]
as they work on plans, the, um,
[23:05]
the back section closer to the
[23:07]
trees was the preschool play
[23:09]
area. And the preschool is all
[23:10]
just consolidated to Merrimack.
[23:12]
So there's no preschool at
[23:13]
Bagnell anymore. So that space
[23:15]
may be possibly repurposed into
[23:17]
shade structures or natural
[23:19]
shade.
[23:20]
Or more playgrounds.
[23:20]
Or more playground. Yeah. They
[23:22]
have lamented that there's only
[23:23]
four total swings and Reese's
[23:25]
only 20 minutes, so the line
[23:26]
doesn't get through. Yeah, so
[23:28]
that could be I've sort of
[23:31]
thought of that as a and I'm
[23:32]
like, I don't think we want to
[23:33]
muddy and try to make this too
[23:35]
big a project. Right. Um, but
[23:36]
that kind of a bolt on to like,
[23:38]
additional playground equipment
[23:39]
may be interesting at some
[23:40]
point in the future.
[23:41]
As well. And yeah, I mean, and
[23:43]
remember, it's not this is the
[23:45]
only time we'll ever have a
[23:46]
chance to do things. I mean,
[23:48]
you know, it's it's nice to see
[23:50]
when you look back at some of
[23:51]
the old minutes and some of the
[23:53]
old videos, you'll see. And we
[23:54]
were just talking about this a
[23:55]
bit is you'll see some of the
[23:57]
things that were that were
[23:58]
ideas back just a couple of
[24:00]
years ago. They're now in
[24:01]
place. And, you know, the, the,
[24:04]
the process from idea to
[24:07]
approved to funded to complete
[24:10]
it, you know, and so it's, it's
[24:12]
great to have these sort of
[24:14]
brainstorm sessions about what,
[24:16]
what might be good for, you
[24:18]
know, fiscal year 2028. Yeah.
[24:20]
And so, um, you know, bookmark
[24:22]
it in your brain and, you know,
[24:24]
work on the thing that you've
[24:25]
got there and, and maybe, maybe
[24:27]
you can expand scope, right, if
[24:28]
it makes sense. And given
[24:30]
what's going on, uh, one
[24:32]
question I have that's not
[24:33]
necessarily exactly relevant to
[24:35]
it, but, uh, is, you know, in a
[24:37]
tangent is did you have you
[24:40]
seen the have you seen the, uh,
[24:42]
the, the, um, the garden. How's
[24:45]
the garden looking?
[24:46]
I heard the garden looks really
[24:47]
good. Yeah. Um, but I haven't
[24:49]
personally seen.
[24:50]
It yet. Gotcha. Yeah, yeah. I
[24:51]
want to take a, you know, I
[24:53]
need to take a peek over there
[24:54]
and check it out, but, um, but
[24:55]
that was a project that, you
[24:57]
know, you had this this land
[24:58]
that was really fallow, and,
[25:00]
um, you know, um, someone from
[25:02]
town stepped up and said, hey,
[25:03]
I want to, you know, kind of, I
[25:05]
want to grab this. And then,
[25:06]
you know, just two years later,
[25:07]
I know, I know that my daughter
[25:09]
has had, you know, field trips
[25:11]
to the garden and had a great
[25:13]
time. You know.
[25:13]
He's been really planted things
[25:15]
and had, like, tastings. Yeah,
[25:17]
it was fun. So looking this up,
[25:19]
I was on like the, the my map,
[25:21]
the Groveland like the mapping.
[25:22]
And they do have they have
[25:24]
historical overhead stuff. And
[25:26]
so I like I was curious because
[25:28]
I had the old playground from
[25:29]
before, but you could see when
[25:31]
they had the garden before and
[25:32]
then it went fallow and then
[25:33]
came back with the, with the
[25:35]
overhead. It was kind of neat
[25:36]
to see. It's like, oh, they
[25:37]
built the new playground. But
[25:39]
then the garden wasn't good.
[25:40]
But then the garden came back.
[25:41]
So it was neat to see over. I
[25:43]
think it was nine years worth
[25:44]
of overhead, uh, photography
[25:46]
that to see the, the garden
[25:48]
coming back. And yeah, I know
[25:50]
my kids really enjoy that too.
[25:51]
And I don't think that the
[25:53]
garden as a, as an activity is
[25:56]
dead as far as like complete. I
[25:58]
think there's I think there's
[25:59]
definitely some room that they
[26:01]
can expand on it. And it's been
[26:02]
such a positive thing. So
[26:04]
that's, you know, thinking
[26:05]
about potential future
[26:06]
projects. That's something that
[26:07]
I definitely.
[26:07]
Want to do. They don't want
[26:08]
shade in the garden. It's good.
[26:11]
Except for the plants that want
[26:12]
shade. Right. You know, so.
[26:13]
I mean, yeah.
[26:14]
Talk to the.
[26:15]
Garden planter under the new
[26:16]
shade structure for, uh, you
[26:18]
know, some lettuces that don't
[26:19]
get scorched.
[26:22]
Um, so Kate's with us now.
[26:24]
Fantastic. So that's awesome.
[26:26]
Um, and it is. It's good
[26:30]
because there was something I
[26:30]
wanted to talk to you about
[26:31]
coming up that we haven't
[26:32]
reached yet. Okay. Um, but any
[26:34]
other questions about the
[26:36]
future CPC projects that we're
[26:38]
talking about right now?
[26:39]
Nope.
[26:41]
All right. Open space and
[26:43]
recreation. Uh, we still are.
[26:45]
We? You know, we're still not
[26:47]
locked in on what's CP funds
[26:49]
and what's not as far as the as
[26:50]
far as that, um, and we're not
[26:54]
really ripe for a work for a
[26:56]
trail work day for purposes of,
[27:00]
uh, moving forward, the
[27:01]
enhancement, the trail
[27:02]
enhancement project. However, I
[27:04]
do think I do think, um, you
[27:06]
know, Mike and I were out on I
[27:08]
think it was Meadow Pond, uh,
[27:11]
doing some work, and, uh, there
[27:13]
was there were some spots that
[27:14]
really could use some help. So
[27:15]
I think, uh, there were a
[27:17]
couple of fields, a couple of
[27:19]
the trails that, you know,
[27:20]
could really use some tender
[27:22]
loving care, just as in a
[27:23]
cleanup way. So I will check
[27:26]
into those before the next
[27:27]
meeting. Particularly, I'm
[27:28]
thinking about Meadow Pond and
[27:31]
Town Forest.
[27:33]
Like branches. Yeah.
[27:35]
Like trees, like trees fallen,
[27:37]
you know, like, uh, paths. Not
[27:40]
not entirely clear. Things like
[27:41]
that. Ultimately, when we get
[27:43]
when we have mapping and new
[27:45]
signposts and all that stuff,
[27:46]
it'll be clearer even when
[27:47]
there's brush and even when
[27:49]
there's, you know, when there's
[27:50]
some overgrowth. But, um,
[27:53]
especially now where we're kind
[27:54]
of in the, you know, in the
[27:55]
middle a little bit, um, it's
[27:57]
sometimes it can use a little.
[27:59]
We can, you can use some tender
[28:00]
loving care and some chainsaws.
[28:02]
Yeah.
[28:03]
I don't have a tiny battery
[28:04]
when it's like this big that
[28:05]
bring camping with us.
[28:06]
Yeah. Exactly. So. And and
[28:09]
we'll get Amelia. We'll get
[28:10]
Amelia to come back and bring
[28:11]
us heavy equipment. But, uh.
[28:14]
But that's TBD. Uh, I'll talk
[28:17]
to Mike. About what? What might
[28:18]
work, and then we'll see if we
[28:20]
can get something in something.
[28:22]
Either either this year or
[28:23]
first year. First thing when
[28:24]
the when it's nice after
[28:26]
winter. Uh, field use fees. I
[28:29]
think this is an ongoing
[28:30]
discussion. Uh, the select
[28:32]
boards put thrown their hat
[28:33]
into that as well. And so I
[28:35]
think there are um, there are
[28:38]
some discussions. So it may be
[28:40]
it may be useful at some point
[28:41]
for us to, um, either have
[28:44]
someone from the Selectboard
[28:45]
come and talk with us here or
[28:46]
have someone from here go to
[28:47]
the Selectboard and sit in a
[28:49]
meeting to talk about it. But
[28:50]
it's definitely something that
[28:51]
is, um, being bandied about as
[28:53]
far as you know. I mean, these
[28:55]
fields are getting nicer. Um,
[28:57]
if if we're using 20 years ago,
[29:00]
you know, pricing, then, you
[29:02]
know, we're due for an update.
[29:03]
And, you know, to the extent
[29:05]
that we, you know, rent out
[29:06]
this stuff, we should be
[29:07]
getting fair value for it and
[29:08]
all that. And, um, certainly
[29:11]
make sure that we're, um,
[29:13]
competitive with everybody
[29:14]
around. Also, um, anything on
[29:17]
Open Space and Rec?
[29:18]
No.
[29:20]
Uh.
[29:22]
The question of like, which
[29:23]
parcels were purchased with CPC
[29:25]
funds, where do we know where
[29:27]
that information is? Where does
[29:29]
it live?
[29:29]
Um, that's a good question. Um.
[29:33]
Well.
[29:33]
I will be meeting with the CPC
[29:35]
very soon. Okay. And at the
[29:37]
meeting where it seems like
[29:38]
most of the recreation
[29:39]
committee is going to be there,
[29:40]
I can ask that question. So I
[29:42]
will ask, uh, Adam Haywood, who
[29:44]
is the chair of that committee.
[29:47]
When is, uh.
[29:48]
That meeting is.
[29:50]
The 24th.
[29:51]
The 21st at 6:30 p.m.. Okay,
[29:54]
definitive.
[29:54]
We've already looked at it.
[29:56]
Okay.
[29:57]
It's only definitively because
[29:58]
I didn't I didn't have it
[29:59]
immediately in front of me as
[30:00]
well. So you've got to see you.
[30:02]
You've got to you're spared
[30:04]
from watching me, uh, fumble
[30:05]
around.
[30:08]
Over here.
[30:10]
Do you want to hear. Oh,
[30:12]
actually.
[30:12]
Thank you.
[30:13]
I just got.
[30:14]
It back.
[30:14]
So. September, what, 20?
[30:17]
We've. So. Monday, 21 to
[30:19]
Monday, coming up.
[30:20]
At 630. So it's the equinox.
[30:25]
For. Oh, nice.
[30:29]
Um, so we will address that at
[30:33]
the meeting.
[30:37]
And that's here as well.
[30:38]
Right. It is. Um. So the next
[30:45]
topic I wanted to put on, and I
[30:46]
want to keep it as a running
[30:47]
topic for us because I think I
[30:50]
think actually, Kate, I'm so
[30:51]
glad you're here. Um, like,
[30:53]
pointed out, a website, you
[30:55]
know, has all kinds of
[30:56]
inconsistencies and problems.
[30:58]
It just doesn't match with
[30:59]
that. And this doesn't, you
[31:00]
know, so what I would like to
[31:02]
do and I mean, you know, you
[31:03]
can say no as much as you want,
[31:05]
like I like to kind of put you
[31:07]
in charge of, at least for the
[31:10]
recreation committee. Okay.
[31:11]
Like trying is trying to see
[31:13]
how we can get the data to be
[31:15]
accurate and current and
[31:16]
updated. Okay. And, you know,
[31:18]
just make sure that, um, you
[31:21]
know, to the, to the best of
[31:22]
our ability where things are
[31:24]
linking that there's the right
[31:25]
stuff..
[31:26]
The links are there.
[31:27]
Yeah, yeah. And you know
[31:28]
because so for example, I was
[31:30]
looking today for pumpkin
[31:31]
pumpkin fest and I've found
[31:32]
information for like I think
[31:33]
2024 and you know. Yeah, but
[31:36]
there wasn't anything about,
[31:37]
you know, this year. And so all
[31:40]
well and good. Fine. But you
[31:41]
know like as we try to sort of
[31:43]
clean things up, you know, for
[31:45]
our spot and our little piece
[31:47]
in the world that that too will
[31:48]
help, you know, on the sort of
[31:50]
broader, you know, Groveland
[31:52]
website and, you know, things
[31:53]
like that. We always talk
[31:55]
about, you know, it's really
[31:56]
important to get the
[31:56]
information out to the people.
[31:58]
And if our information out to
[31:59]
people is all muddled, then
[32:00]
they're like, well, I'm not
[32:01]
going to look at that because I
[32:02]
it's it's not useful to me. So,
[32:04]
um, that's something that I
[32:05]
want to keep is kind of, um,
[32:08]
you know, evergreen topic just
[32:10]
to sort of make sure that we
[32:11]
move the ball, at least in some
[32:12]
way, on some of the stuff. Um,
[32:14]
yeah.
[32:15]
I'm happy to, um, to, to kind
[32:18]
of be the point person for
[32:19]
that. Um.
[32:19]
I knew you.
[32:20]
Would.
[32:21]
That's awesome.
[32:22]
Um, does the like, who's in
[32:25]
charge of the town website?
[32:27]
So I'm not sure, but I think
[32:29]
the, the conduit, the first
[32:31]
conduit for information would
[32:32]
be Annie Schindler would be the
[32:33]
person to reach out to, I
[32:35]
think. And, uh, and so, um, she
[32:39]
probably will have the sort of
[32:41]
keys of the kingdom on who, who
[32:42]
does what and how things kind
[32:43]
of go. And then, then we can
[32:45]
start to talk about, okay, what
[32:47]
needs to be changed, what can
[32:49]
be changed easily. You know.
[32:51]
What's more complicated, right.
[32:52]
And I know last time you guys
[32:54]
had talked about that, there is
[32:56]
somebody who was working on
[32:57]
updating the maps.
[32:59]
Yeah, we talked about that
[33:00]
today a bit too. And so he's a
[33:03]
fellow from West Newbury. I
[33:04]
don't have his name as I sit
[33:05]
here in the second. Uh, but
[33:07]
Mike Dempsey and I are working
[33:09]
on the trail enhancements. So,
[33:12]
uh, Mike, Mike would have his
[33:14]
contact information and
[33:15]
whatnot. And so part and parcel
[33:17]
of that is we are providing
[33:19]
that fellow the information,
[33:21]
the data that he needs to do
[33:23]
the maps anyway. So, um, so
[33:26]
this is timely in the sense of
[33:28]
talking to him about, you know,
[33:29]
how we get it done and making
[33:31]
sure, making sure that we can
[33:32]
get a QR code so people can use
[33:34]
a phone and see a map and, you
[33:35]
know, and that the, the, uh,
[33:38]
the trail signs are geo
[33:39]
located. And so you, you know,
[33:40]
where you are when you are and.
[33:42]
All that kind of stuff.
[33:43]
Um, so the, the maps that he's
[33:45]
making, are they like surveyor
[33:48]
type maps or are they like
[33:50]
public use kind of trails?
[33:52]
The idea is so that they will
[33:53]
be public use trail maps. Okay.
[33:55]
So that, you know, that'll be
[33:57]
what's, um, the QR code that
[33:59]
you'll see when you go to the
[34:00]
kiosk, which for each
[34:01]
particular trail. So the idea
[34:03]
is eventually at every
[34:04]
trailhead you'll see, you know,
[34:07]
okay, this is the such and such
[34:08]
trail. Here's the QR code for
[34:10]
the for the map. Here's a QR
[34:12]
code to donate to the trails
[34:14]
project. You know, whatever,
[34:16]
right? You know, instead of a
[34:17]
little lockbox, right. Live in
[34:19]
the future. It's fantastic. Um,
[34:21]
and then, you know, so so that
[34:24]
information can all be, oh,
[34:26]
okay, I'm starting here and now
[34:27]
I can see all this.
[34:28]
Stuff, so.
[34:29]
Gotcha. That's the idea.
[34:30]
Okay.
[34:31]
Um, but yeah. And any way that
[34:33]
I can be helpful, I'm sure, uh,
[34:36]
I'm sure everyone on the board
[34:37]
feels the same way, you know?
[34:39]
Please. You know, let us know.
[34:41]
And, you know, we'll all kind
[34:42]
of work together to try to
[34:43]
identify where there is, where
[34:45]
they're kind of blind spots.
[34:46]
And there are things that we
[34:46]
can we can improve upon and,
[34:48]
you know, and then to make sure
[34:50]
that the data that we add in is
[34:52]
good data. Okay.
[34:53]
Yeah, I will do that and have
[34:56]
something to report back next
[34:57]
month.
[34:58]
Um, additionally, I talked to
[35:00]
Mike and we we kind of agreed
[35:02]
that we think that the maps or
[35:03]
at least some subset of them,
[35:05]
they're going to be six, right?
[35:07]
Should be done by, uh, Pumpkin
[35:10]
Fest. And so we should be able
[35:12]
to distribute something or
[35:13]
provide information or have
[35:15]
some sort of a blast, uh, on or
[35:17]
before then, okay, to say, hey,
[35:19]
look, you know, we've been
[35:20]
doing some work, and this is
[35:21]
what we've been up to. And so,
[35:23]
um, that's that's the goal as
[35:25]
we sit here today..
[35:26]
And, um, that was what October
[35:29]
like.
[35:29]
October 22nd.
[35:30]
22nd, 22nd.
[35:34]
2nd June. Right.
[35:36]
Okay.
[35:39]
Okay. Um, anybody have anything
[35:42]
about website marketing
[35:43]
outreach?
[35:45]
Nope.
[35:48]
Okay. Very good. On to Roland
[35:50]
de Groveland. Day is coming
[35:51]
right up. It is the, uh, the
[35:54]
11th and 12th. I'm looking at
[35:56]
the map or the calendar.
[35:58]
Yeah.
[35:58]
The calendar map is next
[36:00]
weekend. Not this weekend. So
[36:02]
the 11th and the 12th, Friday
[36:03]
and Saturday are, uh, when it
[36:05]
is, uh, I have not been able to
[36:07]
confirm that we can secure a
[36:09]
booth, but if I do, I will
[36:11]
blast you. And I will say I
[36:13]
will run it at this times. And,
[36:15]
you know, we'll see who who can
[36:16]
man it, you know, for whenever
[36:18]
we're, we're doing it. But
[36:19]
basically, um, if we're, if
[36:21]
we're allowed, if we're
[36:22]
permitted to do it, um, then,
[36:25]
you know, uh, Michelle and I
[36:27]
did, you know, did one before
[36:29]
and we, you know, we got some
[36:30]
like, uh, some cornhole boards
[36:33]
and, you know, hung out and
[36:34]
passed out maps and, you know,
[36:36]
uh, there were folks that said,
[36:38]
oh, I didn't know that there
[36:38]
was a trail over there or, you
[36:40]
know, wanted to talk about
[36:41]
things that they're interested
[36:43]
in in town. And so it's a good
[36:44]
way to just sort of, you know,
[36:46]
shoot the breeze with folks to
[36:48]
see. So if we're able to do
[36:49]
that, we will do that. If not,
[36:51]
I think the plan will be to
[36:52]
have some sort of presence in
[36:53]
some way at Pumpkin Fest, you
[36:55]
know, so we we kind of do get
[36:56]
two bites at the apple in this
[36:58]
sense. And, uh, to maybe hear
[37:00]
what folks are thinking.
[37:01]
Yep.
[37:02]
Okay. I think, uh, the select
[37:03]
board's doing some suggestion
[37:05]
box type things. And I remember
[37:07]
Michelle talking about doing a
[37:08]
suggestion box on the website.
[37:10]
But I don't know, even if we
[37:11]
aren't organized enough to do
[37:13]
that, if this if the select
[37:14]
board folks wouldn't mind a
[37:16]
recreation.
[37:17]
Like an addendum.
[37:18]
Yeah. Well, because they were
[37:19]
just going to have like cars,
[37:20]
you could put it in the, the
[37:22]
like into the box for the
[37:23]
different. It was essentially
[37:25]
like the idea that we don't
[37:26]
want a long survey just like a
[37:27]
hey, I'd like X, I want more
[37:30]
walking trails. And they put it
[37:32]
like if, if that could be one
[37:33]
of the topics that and even if
[37:36]
they would allow us to join
[37:37]
like the town booth or
[37:38]
something too, if we, we don't
[37:40]
have enough for our own booths.
[37:41]
Right. We could kind of be a
[37:42]
presence there. And that could
[37:45]
be an option to just like, I
[37:47]
like that idea of suggestion
[37:48]
because like a full survey is a
[37:50]
big commitment trying to chase
[37:51]
people down. But hey, do you
[37:53]
have an idea? Well, or just
[37:56]
scribbled down?
[37:56]
And it wasn't long ago that we
[37:57]
did do one of those. So I mean,
[37:59]
again, you know, you don't want
[38:00]
to you don't want to obliterate
[38:02]
people's interest, you know,
[38:03]
interest by, you know, blasting
[38:05]
them with what do you think
[38:06]
about this? And what do you
[38:07]
think about that? You know, too
[38:09]
much. Um, periodically it's
[38:11]
good. And certainly if there's
[38:12]
already kind of a presence from
[38:14]
the select board, you know, um,
[38:16]
sort of doubling up on that,
[38:18]
you know, might not be super
[38:19]
helpful, but but certainly, you
[38:21]
know, to the extent that the
[38:23]
kinds of suggestions that they
[38:24]
got, they get will affect
[38:26]
recreation, it's like it's
[38:27]
absolutely information that we
[38:29]
should share and collaborate
[38:30]
on. Yeah. Um, other thoughts.
[38:38]
Do, uh, well, do we have the
[38:41]
any of the suggestions written
[38:43]
down anywhere from the last
[38:44]
time we did this?
[38:46]
Um.
[38:47]
The survey? Sure. Um, yeah. So
[38:50]
that was back in. I want to see
[38:52]
2024. We did. It was like an
[38:54]
anonymous survey monkey survey.
[38:57]
Um, and we got very minimal
[39:00]
responses. Sure. Um, I think
[39:02]
the overall theme was make
[39:05]
trails more visible. Um, um,
[39:07]
from the again, very limited,
[39:10]
like I think we got, I think we
[39:12]
got two. Yeah. To fill out the
[39:14]
survey.
[39:15]
So Upon this committee.
[39:17]
You know, one of them may have
[39:18]
already been on the committee
[39:19]
as well. And then the other one
[39:21]
probably puts a test.
[39:22]
Notice.
[39:23]
Um, yeah. So very, very minimal
[39:25]
responses. But again, overall
[39:27]
theme was just I didn't know
[39:28]
that we had trails. It would be
[39:29]
nice to. Yeah. Have it be more
[39:32]
known. Yeah.
[39:33]
Right. And that is, that is,
[39:35]
you know, dead center on what
[39:36]
we're trying to do with the
[39:37]
enhancement project. And then,
[39:38]
you know, I mean, uh, that and
[39:41]
just like I was saying about,
[39:42]
you know, the project with the
[39:43]
shade, that's not necessarily
[39:46]
the end of it, right? You know,
[39:47]
I mean, so 2028, 2029, you
[39:50]
know, there are there are going
[39:51]
to be more opportunities to do
[39:52]
more things. Hey, I really
[39:53]
liked how you did this on the
[39:54]
trail. We should have more of
[39:56]
that. Or wow, that didn't work
[39:57]
at all. This. This would be a
[39:59]
better this would be a better
[40:00]
idea. You know, some of this is
[40:02]
you plug, you play and you see
[40:04]
you see what works. We put in a
[40:06]
couple big bellies on the on
[40:08]
the rail, you know, on the rail
[40:09]
trail. I want to see how they
[40:10]
how they kind of vest over a
[40:12]
couple of years. You know, if
[40:13]
it's not a big deal with the,
[40:15]
you know, the upkeep and things
[40:16]
that, you know, those sorts of
[40:17]
things, maybe that maybe
[40:18]
they'll be interested you more
[40:20]
of those, maybe that was not
[40:21]
good. And so, you know, it's
[40:23]
it's um, it is definitely a
[40:26]
moving, you know, a moving
[40:27]
target as far as, you know
[40:29]
what, what's the right thing to
[40:30]
do, you know, in a particular
[40:31]
time. But but, um, you know,
[40:34]
I'm encouraged, especially when
[40:37]
I'm going through the, you
[40:38]
know, the sort of rubric of
[40:39]
looking at these old meetings.
[40:41]
And I'm encouraged to see that
[40:42]
some of the things that people
[40:43]
have been talking about are
[40:44]
things that got done. And
[40:46]
that's a great credit, not just
[40:48]
to this committee, but also to,
[40:50]
uh, you know, Andy and Rebecca
[40:52]
and Town Hall and then the
[40:53]
select board and all the folks
[40:54]
who volunteer to help and, you
[40:56]
know, people at the CPC who,
[40:58]
you know, worked, worked to
[40:59]
get, you know, make sure these
[41:00]
things got funded. Uh, you
[41:02]
know, people at town Hall
[41:04]
trying to, you know, vet these
[41:05]
things and, you know, that sort
[41:06]
of thing. So it's it is really
[41:08]
an all hands on deck kind of
[41:10]
approach. And to see, you know,
[41:13]
idea to plan to funding to
[41:15]
completion is awesome. So, um,
[41:18]
maybe, maybe two years ago,
[41:19]
you'll look back on this, you
[41:20]
won't be doing it because you
[41:21]
need meeting minutes, because
[41:22]
Steve's does a fantastic job
[41:24]
getting them every week. But,
[41:26]
um, but, you know, it's nice
[41:28]
every now and then to take
[41:29]
stock of, you know, what the,
[41:31]
the the general trajectory of
[41:33]
the board is or the committee
[41:34]
is. So, um, so I'm happy about
[41:37]
that. Yeah. On that note, uh,
[41:40]
let's look at the old meeting
[41:41]
minutes. Um, as everyone had a
[41:44]
chance to take a peek at these.
[41:48]
Uh, sorry. Prior meeting.
[41:50]
The meeting, the July 23rd
[41:52]
meeting. Minutes that I have
[41:53]
put in front of you. Okay. Uh.
[41:55]
I'm sorry. Are we voting on the
[41:57]
other ones, too?
[41:58]
Not today. I don't have all. I
[42:00]
don't have all those meeting
[42:01]
minutes completed. Gotcha. So
[42:02]
I, I am working on those
[42:04]
because it's not fair to make
[42:05]
Steve do all those because he
[42:06]
does a good job on the ones
[42:07]
that we can.
[42:08]
Help with that.
[42:09]
Nope. Nope. I, uh, I am not
[42:11]
going to do that. Um, so, um. I
[42:18]
know I sent you guys an email
[42:19]
about it, but the people in
[42:20]
town don't know. Um, it's as
[42:21]
far as prior meeting minutes.
[42:23]
We're working on getting
[42:23]
everything put together so that
[42:25]
there are meeting minutes for
[42:26]
all the meetings that we that
[42:27]
we have, um, video for from
[42:31]
2024 through the present. Um, I
[42:34]
think there are a couple of
[42:35]
meetings that I saw that I
[42:36]
didn't see, you know, a video
[42:38]
for, but there are at least
[42:40]
four that are outstanding.
[42:41]
We've uploaded some of the old
[42:42]
ones that we were able to
[42:44]
locate as well. Um, but I think
[42:46]
there are four there.
[42:47]
Outstanding. I've assigned, um,
[42:50]
you know, watching these
[42:51]
minutes of these meetings, uh,
[42:53]
to members of the committee,
[42:55]
and everybody's been really
[42:57]
super helpful. And very soon we
[42:59]
will get those meeting minutes
[43:00]
approved and then have a much
[43:02]
more complete, um, you know,
[43:05]
uh, array of, of, uh, what
[43:07]
we've been doing here for the
[43:08]
past couple of years. Uh, but
[43:10]
with that, do I have, uh, do I
[43:12]
have a motion to approve the
[43:13]
meeting minutes of July 23rd,
[43:16]
2026?
[43:17]
I'll move to.
[43:18]
Approve..
[43:20]
I have a second.
[43:20]
Oh, I second.
[43:22]
Uh, any discussion? All those
[43:24]
in favor? Aye, aye. All right.
[43:27]
Meeting minutes approved. I
[43:28]
will make sure they get to the
[43:29]
town to town clerk and are
[43:31]
updated on the website. Um,
[43:34]
future agenda items or
[43:35]
planning? Uh, anybody have
[43:37]
anything that they want to get
[43:39]
on the agenda for the next
[43:40]
meeting?
[43:43]
Uh, maybe. I don't know if. Did
[43:46]
y'all talk about, um, mission
[43:48]
statement yet?
[43:49]
Uh, we haven't. And you sent me
[43:51]
something that was helpful and
[43:53]
appropriate. Um, and should
[43:57]
probably form the basis of what
[43:59]
we end up doing about that.
[44:00]
Okay. Um, so let's put it let's
[44:03]
let's have a future agenda item
[44:05]
about mission statement for the
[44:06]
recreation Committee. Um, uh,
[44:09]
Kate did, in fact send me some
[44:11]
very helpful information about
[44:12]
that, that I will help to shape,
[44:16]
uh, and hopefully have
[44:17]
something that we can we can
[44:18]
maybe vote on next time.
[44:19]
Yeah. There. Yeah. I think
[44:21]
there were, like, a couple of
[44:22]
different suggestions in there
[44:23]
of, like, a very short one and
[44:25]
then a more one, longer one.
[44:28]
We can, we can talk about it.
[44:30]
But but that'll definitely that
[44:31]
definitely will go on the next
[44:33]
on the next meeting. Uh
[44:35]
anything else.
[44:37]
I don't think so. I like we
[44:39]
have a nice set of, um, kind of
[44:41]
fixed items that really handle
[44:43]
what we have been talking
[44:45]
about.
[44:45]
So they're pretty evergreen.
[44:46]
Yeah. And, uh, and I mean, you
[44:48]
know, again, it's if you look
[44:50]
from the past, you know, some,
[44:51]
some past, like we were talking
[44:54]
about membership and now we
[44:55]
have a full board. We were
[44:57]
talking about, you know, we
[44:58]
could still use a couple of
[44:59]
alternate members, in fact.
[45:00]
But, you know, like, the things
[45:02]
that were action items are, are
[45:04]
getting done, um, even though,
[45:06]
you know, it's may not be
[45:07]
perfectly as fast as we would
[45:08]
like, but, you know, making
[45:09]
progress. So I am always of the
[45:11]
mindset that if we're moving
[45:12]
forward, you know, we're we're
[45:14]
doing our job and we're getting
[45:15]
in good shape..
[45:15]
Is that a curious because I'm
[45:17]
not sure that if somebody was
[45:19]
interested me, an alternate
[45:20]
member, they would attend our
[45:21]
meetings, but they wouldn't
[45:22]
vote unless somebody was
[45:23]
absent. Is that how.
[45:24]
That I believe that's how it
[45:25]
works. So they contribute to
[45:27]
the meeting. They, um, you
[45:29]
know, they are there and
[45:31]
helpful and understand and have
[45:32]
been present. And then if if
[45:34]
anybody is missing, then they
[45:35]
would, they would take the
[45:36]
vote.
[45:36]
Yeah. But I think the nature of
[45:38]
our committee is it's mostly
[45:39]
the discussion and the
[45:40]
brainstorming and, and that. So
[45:42]
I don't think.
[45:42]
There's not a lot there's not a
[45:43]
lot of votes.
[45:44]
Right.
[45:44]
We're not per.
[45:45]
Se we're not.
[45:46]
So, so right. So having a
[45:48]
having a couple alternate
[45:50]
members would be very helpful
[45:51]
because it would add it would
[45:52]
add to the, you know, it would
[45:53]
add to the soup I think. And
[45:55]
uh, and so I'm definitely
[45:57]
amenable..
[45:58]
And a two that.
[45:59]
Were two is two is what we can
[46:01]
have I think.
[46:02]
Okay.
[46:02]
Um, um, so any other future
[46:06]
agenda items that.
[46:09]
I know.
[46:11]
All right. Items are not
[46:12]
reasonably anticipated at the
[46:13]
time of posting. I've got one.
[46:14]
Okay. Um, so, uh, people of
[46:17]
Groveland, uh, we now have been
[46:20]
assigned to our intended to be
[46:22]
assigned as members of
[46:23]
committees in town. Uh, town
[46:25]
emails. Uh, so it is my
[46:28]
understanding that everybody
[46:29]
who is on a board or committee,
[46:31]
um, gets a, gets a town email.
[46:33]
And so it's generally speaking
[46:35]
and it may not be universally
[46:36]
this way. Um, first initial
[46:40]
last name at Groveland may.
[46:45]
Yep. Right. And so, um, if
[46:49]
you're looking to get a hold of
[46:50]
people, the idea is now that,
[46:53]
um, you should be using the
[46:54]
Groveland Mass websites instead
[46:56]
of people's personal emails.
[46:58]
Uh, it's just smoother and a
[47:00]
little more collaborative. And,
[47:02]
uh, we're working out the
[47:03]
kinks, but, uh, collectively,
[47:06]
um, but I think we're we're
[47:08]
going to be trending toward
[47:09]
that. And so certainly, um, if
[47:11]
you're wondering why an email
[47:13]
responded to or things along
[47:14]
those lines, there's a little
[47:16]
bit of uptake happening. So,
[47:17]
uh, try to use the first
[47:20]
initial last name at Groveland,
[47:22]
Ma, uh, for anybody that you
[47:25]
want to get Ahold of.
[47:27]
Have they said if they're going
[47:28]
to do, like an alias like
[47:30]
recreation committee at
[47:31]
Groveland, Ma, that goes to all
[47:33]
of us, because that would be
[47:35]
handy.
[47:36]
That sounds, uh, that sounds
[47:37]
above my pay grade. As far as
[47:39]
tech discussions, but I know
[47:41]
you could talk to about that.
[47:43]
And I know she would have
[47:44]
something to say for sure. So,
[47:45]
uh, I welcome you to to begin
[47:48]
that discussion.
[47:49]
I just because it seems silly
[47:50]
to make people type in five
[47:52]
emails.
[47:53]
Yep. Right. No. True. Um.
[47:55]
So we don't reply all and
[47:57]
discuss.
[47:57]
Right? Exactly. Well, no.
[47:59]
Again. And you know.
[48:00]
Well, do we we have to reply
[48:02]
all though, right?
[48:03]
Well, so no, uh, so.
[48:06]
No, no, no, it's the opposite.
[48:07]
You're right. It's the, it's
[48:08]
you have to reply one.
[48:10]
Lie only to you.
[48:12]
Right. Because the whole, the
[48:13]
whole point is, is and it bears
[48:15]
repeating because it's
[48:16]
something that goes that's at
[48:18]
every committee and every board
[48:19]
is if there's a discussion that
[48:21]
disseminates from the the chair
[48:23]
of the board or the committee,
[48:25]
um, if you start having reply
[48:27]
calls and it's like you're
[48:28]
having a meeting when you're
[48:29]
not having a meeting, uh,
[48:31]
that's available to the public.
[48:33]
And so the idea is, yes,
[48:35]
there's information that can be
[48:36]
exchanged outside of the
[48:37]
public's eye. But when we all
[48:39]
talk about something, it's
[48:40]
supposed to be in a form where
[48:42]
everybody can get together.
[48:43]
Now, there's a there's a grand
[48:44]
total of zero folks here.
[48:46]
Yeah.
[48:47]
So it's, you know, in practice
[48:49]
right now, not an issue. But,
[48:51]
um, maybe someday that'll
[48:53]
change and maybe more people
[48:54]
will come in and maybe more
[48:55]
people will will use the zoom
[48:56]
link as well. And that would be
[48:57]
too.
[48:57]
I would think that part of the
[49:00]
purpose of having the town
[49:01]
emails is so that any discourse
[49:04]
can become part of the public
[49:06]
record.
[49:06]
Sure.
[49:07]
And if that is the case, then
[49:11]
you know, that type of thing
[49:13]
would be like almost, you know,
[49:18]
uh, in the military we say OB,
[49:21]
but what the what's.
[49:22]
An overcome by events?
[49:23]
Yes.
[49:23]
What's a. normal way to say
[49:25]
that.
[49:26]
Right. Well, I think it's like
[49:27]
the there's the two sides of
[49:28]
the public record piece, but
[49:29]
there's also the open meeting
[49:30]
law piece.
[49:30]
Right.
[49:31]
Okay. And that's I think
[49:32]
specifically where we can't
[49:33]
have any we can I can send the
[49:35]
meeting minutes that we're
[49:36]
going to review, but we can't
[49:38]
have a back and forth on what
[49:40]
our mission statement.
[49:41]
That okay. Right. Right, right.
[49:42]
And and if it goes from person
[49:45]
to chair and a person to chair
[49:47]
and person to chair, that's
[49:48]
okay. As we're sort of trying
[49:50]
to formalize the things so that
[49:51]
we can maybe vote on it. Right.
[49:53]
But if it's like, hey
[49:55]
everybody, what do you think?
[49:56]
And then everybody's, you know,
[49:58]
it starts going, you know, from
[50:01]
lateral that it's that it's
[50:02]
problematic.
[50:03]
And then I guess at that point,
[50:04]
like it could get to the point
[50:05]
where you're having discussions
[50:06]
and then you show up at the
[50:07]
meeting and you just have the
[50:08]
vote. And like.
[50:09]
That's what it's designed to
[50:10]
prevent.
[50:10]
Right. Exactly.
[50:11]
So yeah.
[50:12]
Right. And and I mean, we're
[50:15]
watching these videos, I can
[50:16]
tell you this, this committee
[50:18]
does does a good job of vetting
[50:19]
things out. And, you know,
[50:21]
having hashing all their
[50:22]
thoughts out in the open. And
[50:23]
it's, uh, it's a it's a good
[50:25]
forum that way. So, uh, people
[50:27]
of grumbling feel free to come
[50:28]
to any recreation meeting. We
[50:30]
publicize these things. You
[50:31]
certainly can be there. And if
[50:32]
it's if it's a hassle, we
[50:34]
understand we all have lives to
[50:35]
remember. We're volunteers,
[50:37]
even though we have Groveland,
[50:38]
Massachusetts emails now. Um,
[50:41]
we're all volunteers. So, you
[50:43]
know, we understand busy. And
[50:44]
you certainly can use the zoom
[50:45]
link and, you know, do all the
[50:47]
things that you would do at
[50:48]
home anyway. So, um, with that,
[50:51]
any other items not reasonably
[50:53]
anticipated?
[50:53]
That makes me think of a
[50:54]
question regarding the two
[50:55]
previous thing. If a quorum of
[50:58]
this committee is attending the
[51:00]
CPC meeting, do we just have to
[51:03]
be careful, or do we have to
[51:04]
declare it also a recreation
[51:06]
committee meeting?
[51:08]
It's not because when you go to
[51:11]
your CPC meeting, you're not
[51:12]
going as a member of the
[51:13]
recreation committee, you're
[51:15]
going as a proponent of a
[51:16]
project. You're an individual.
[51:17]
You're you're a town
[51:18]
individual. So I don't see
[51:19]
there being any any issue with,
[51:22]
you know, uh, the fact that
[51:24]
three to 3 to 5 of it, we're
[51:26]
not conducting committee
[51:27]
business. Right. We're you
[51:29]
you're an individual with an
[51:30]
individual project. Okay. That
[51:31]
is encouraged and sanctioned by
[51:34]
the recreation committee, for
[51:35]
sure. But at the same point,
[51:36]
it's not a recreation committee
[51:38]
project. Um, so I think you're
[51:41]
wearing your individual hat. I
[51:42]
think it shouldn't be a
[51:43]
problem. But I mean, you know,
[51:45]
fair, fair question to ask.
[51:46]
Anyway.
[51:47]
Um, I also have a question
[51:48]
about this is, um, this is a
[51:50]
new to New England. I've never
[51:52]
been to a town meeting before.
[51:53]
No, nowhere. I grew up, had
[51:55]
town meetings.
[51:56]
Um.
[51:58]
Is like, ah, does each
[52:00]
committee do, like, a report at
[52:02]
that meeting? Like, would we be
[52:04]
expected to, like, bring
[52:05]
something to that meeting, or
[52:07]
is it just kind of like
[52:08]
election y stuff.
[52:09]
Like, so what happens just
[52:11]
just, you know, so, you know,
[52:13]
and it's it was new to me when
[52:14]
I moved to town also a few
[52:15]
years back. So don't feel don't
[52:17]
feel bashful about about it.
[52:19]
Um, the what happens at town
[52:21]
meeting is there are there's a
[52:23]
warrant and the warrant has
[52:25]
these are the articles that are
[52:27]
up for discussion and vote.
[52:29]
Okay. And so the the town gets
[52:32]
to vote on things like the
[52:34]
budget and gets the vote on,
[52:35]
you know, what are we going to
[52:36]
do about, you know, are we
[52:37]
going to buy this piece of
[52:38]
land. Are we going to accept
[52:39]
this project. Are we going to
[52:41]
for for the CPC specific
[52:43]
things? Are we going to fund
[52:44]
these projects? You know, and
[52:46]
so it's a thumbs up or thumbs
[52:48]
down and, you know, like, you
[52:49]
know, people can propose
[52:50]
amendments and, you know, so
[52:52]
there's each of the warrant
[52:54]
articles is like, um, it's kind
[52:56]
of like a ballot initiative,
[52:58]
right? Is the way that I would
[52:59]
sort of explain it to somebody
[53:01]
who hadn't seen one. And so
[53:02]
it's like, do we want to do
[53:04]
this? And there'll be people
[53:05]
that can speak in favor,
[53:06]
there'll be people that can
[53:07]
speak against. And then, you
[53:08]
know, eventually the discussion
[53:10]
happens and then there's a
[53:11]
vote. So, um, it's not that the
[53:15]
Recreation Committee would
[53:16]
like, have in our particular
[53:17]
situation like, uh, you know,
[53:19]
like a presentation that we
[53:20]
have to make, um, you know, if
[53:23]
there's a particular, um, what
[53:27]
will happen is various boards
[53:30]
and committees will take a
[53:30]
position on a, on an article
[53:33]
and say, you know, okay,
[53:34]
finance supports this. And, you
[53:36]
know, CPC supports this
[53:38]
project, you know, supports
[53:40]
this project. Select board is
[53:41]
in favor so that folks have an
[53:43]
idea of what the people in, you
[53:45]
know, what the boards and town
[53:46]
sort of think about these
[53:47]
things. So it helps them to
[53:49]
say, okay, well, you know, this
[53:50]
is something that, you know,
[53:51]
seems to make financial sense
[53:53]
and it's not, you know, uh, you
[53:54]
know, gotcha. An albatross or
[53:56]
something. But, uh, it's, you
[53:58]
know, uh, it's an interesting
[54:01]
it's an interesting couple of
[54:02]
hours, I'll tell you that for
[54:03]
sure. And, um, you in
[54:06]
Groveland. In groveling, you
[54:07]
need 100 people to have a
[54:09]
quorum. And a couple of years
[54:11]
ago was tight. We're getting
[54:12]
better at, um. I was part of
[54:14]
the committee that, uh, that,
[54:16]
um, you know, was formed to try
[54:19]
to encourage, you know, what
[54:20]
kind of things can we do to
[54:21]
encourage attendance and things
[54:22]
like that? Um, but I think
[54:24]
we're getting more attendance
[54:26]
each year. Um, over the last
[54:28]
couple. Um, but it is I
[54:30]
encourage everyone to attend.
[54:32]
And, you know, this is where
[54:33]
you're really your voice really
[54:35]
matters. Because if we are a
[54:37]
town of 6500 people or so and
[54:40]
120 show up to vote on the
[54:42]
thing, you know, to vote on a
[54:44]
$20 million budget. You know, I
[54:46]
mean, I think, you know, you
[54:47]
gotta you got to have some skin
[54:49]
in the game. Yeah. You know,
[54:51]
you should get down there and
[54:52]
be a part of it. Um, so.
[54:54]
So where to, where do the,
[54:56]
like, budget requests for that
[54:58]
budget that gets voted on come
[55:00]
from? And specifically, I guess
[55:02]
the point of the question is
[55:04]
like for say, we wanted to do
[55:07]
something and we needed a
[55:08]
budget for the next fiscal year
[55:09]
or whatever, like where when at
[55:11]
one point, one point would we
[55:12]
request that? Where would that
[55:13]
go in? Like how would we get
[55:15]
that submitted?
[55:15]
Well, so I think if if the
[55:17]
recreation committee wanted to
[55:19]
get some money to do a thing,
[55:21]
um, not necessarily like a PC
[55:23]
project, I think we would have
[55:25]
to reach out to the select
[55:26]
board. I think we would have to
[55:27]
reach out to the town manager.
[55:28]
I think we would have to reach
[55:29]
out to finance. I think
[55:30]
depending on what the topic
[55:32]
was, maybe, maybe we'd need to
[55:34]
reach out to like the
[55:34]
Conservation Commission if
[55:35]
there was something about, you
[55:36]
know, those sorts of things. So
[55:37]
it would depend on what the
[55:38]
project was. But I mean, the
[55:42]
the general answer is you're
[55:43]
probably gonna have to reach
[55:43]
out to a lot of folks if
[55:44]
there's some sort of if there's
[55:46]
an earmark you want to get. Um,
[55:48]
one thing that I learned that I
[55:50]
didn't know coming in to all of
[55:52]
this was, uh, not all pots of
[55:56]
money are accessible for all
[55:57]
things. And money for this has
[56:00]
to go into this pocket, and
[56:01]
money for that has to go into
[56:03]
that bucket. And you can't
[56:04]
necessarily mix them and
[56:05]
intermingle them. And there are
[56:07]
rules about how how things have
[56:09]
to get bid. So, um, it's not
[56:11]
always so simple as I need
[56:13]
money from this. Take it from
[56:14]
the general fund, you know.
[56:16]
Yeah, I work in government
[56:17]
contracting. I know. about
[56:19]
colors of money.
[56:20]
Well.
[56:20]
I don't know. I do not, and so
[56:23]
I would love to read about it
[56:24]
individually when I'm not
[56:25]
wearing my hat as a recreation
[56:27]
board.
[56:28]
It's not.
[56:28]
Fun.
[56:29]
, like, you know, it's not fun.
[56:31]
It's never fun.
[56:32]
So, um.
[56:33]
Okay, so it's not like there's
[56:35]
not a point at which, like, the
[56:36]
select board puts out a request
[56:38]
to all the committees to say,
[56:39]
like, put in your budget
[56:40]
requests for the next year.
[56:41]
That doesn't happen.
[56:42]
Well, okay. It hasn't it hasn't
[56:45]
in our budget currently for
[56:46]
this committee is zero. Yeah.
[56:48]
It has been since I've been a
[56:49]
member. So I mean, if.
[56:50]
We reach out to town
[56:51]
departments for that and the
[56:53]
town administrator coordinates
[56:54]
that and they have hearings in
[56:55]
front of the finance committee
[56:57]
for that, but, ah, yeah, we're
[56:59]
advisory. So if we were to like
[57:01]
going back to the idea of like
[57:03]
scanning the QR code to donate,
[57:04]
if we ended up saying, oh, we
[57:06]
need a revolving fund for trail
[57:07]
maintenance, and the donations
[57:09]
go into that, and when we can
[57:10]
help decide where that is
[57:12]
expended, that would be
[57:13]
something that would have to be
[57:14]
approved by town meeting and
[57:16]
all that sort of stuff. I think
[57:18]
we haven't gotten to that
[57:20]
point. And but when the
[57:21]
recreation committee used to
[57:23]
run the town, the summer pro,
[57:26]
the summer camp program, there
[57:27]
was a revolving fund for that,
[57:29]
and there was money allocated.
[57:31]
So I think there was a history
[57:32]
at one point where this
[57:33]
recreation committee did have
[57:35]
essentially control over some
[57:36]
of that money, even though it
[57:37]
was the the town itself was the
[57:39]
actual administrator of those
[57:40]
funds. We don't have a fiscal
[57:43]
role.
[57:44]
Right. It makes sense
[57:45]
currently.
[57:46]
Right. Currently.
[57:47]
And and I mean, the other piece
[57:49]
of it is a lot of this stuff is
[57:50]
fluid. So the Select board is
[57:52]
interested in hearing what we
[57:53]
have to say about things. And,
[57:54]
you know, as as the town grows
[57:56]
and develops, who knows? You
[57:58]
know, a recreation department
[58:00]
might be an appropriate thing
[58:01]
at some point. Um, I don't
[58:03]
think we're there quite yet.
[58:04]
Yeah. Um, but you never know.
[58:07]
Um, so is that helpful?
[58:11]
Yes. Thank you.
[58:12]
That is.
[58:12]
Helpful.
[58:13]
Awesome. Uh, anybody have
[58:15]
anything else? I do? Uh, let's
[58:18]
talk about the next meeting. I
[58:19]
would like to get it in front
[58:21]
of Pumpkin Fest. Um, so I was
[58:24]
sort of targeting October 8th.
[58:27]
Um, I did check with Emilio,
[58:29]
and he says that works for him,
[58:30]
too. He can also make the 15th
[58:32]
work if need be, but I would
[58:34]
kind of prefer the eighth. But
[58:35]
I can also do the 15th or
[58:37]
either of those dates. Okay.
[58:39]
Either of those.
[58:39]
Dates.
[58:41]
Yeah.
[58:42]
Yeah, I can.
[58:44]
Do I yeah, I think that the
[58:45]
eighth would be preferable.
[58:47]
Preferable.
[58:48]
But let's do it. Let's, let's
[58:50]
set it for the eighth.
[58:51]
Everybody put it in your
[58:51]
calendar.
[58:52]
It gives.
[58:52]
Us the.
[58:52]
15th in case it has the slot.
[58:54]
Right. Putting it in right now.
[58:55]
No it's good, it's good. This
[58:57]
is, this is again we're we're
[58:59]
working towards something. Uh,
[59:01]
recreation Committee.
[59:02]
7:00 works well for me. If it
[59:04]
works well for.
[59:05]
Yeah.
[59:05]
Yeah, exactly. So. And that's
[59:08]
October 8th, and I will make
[59:10]
sure that I'm on top of getting
[59:12]
the getting the agenda out. All
[59:24]
right. We're getting there,
[59:27]
folks. Um, all right, so the
[59:33]
we, uh, we've set the next
[59:36]
meeting for Thursday, October
[59:38]
8th at 7 p.m. in this room. Um,
[59:42]
anything else from anybody?
[59:45]
Um.
[59:46]
I don't have anything either.
[59:47]
I'll entertain a motion to
[59:48]
close at 8:03 p.m..
[59:50]
I'll make a motion to close at
[59:51]
803.