Royalston Open Space Committee
Minutes
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Meeting Date: March 10, 2005
Members Present: Aaron Ellison, Elizabeth Farnsworth, Beth Gospodarek,
Dean Lisiewicz, Patty Carrier, Christine Beckert Long
Others Present: Pat Jackson, Vyto Andreulinas
Acting Chair: Aaron Ellison
Acting Clerk: Christine Beckert Long
The meeting convened at 7:30
p.m. at town hall.
Maps: The
committee still has no definite answer about where the maps prepared in conjunction
with the
Open Space & Recreation Plan are kept. Beth will do further research. The committee did examine
the NHES BioMap/Living Waters map, and Kim provided copies of the report "Core Habitats of Royalston."
(1) The Select
Board voted to assign its right of first refusal on a previously discussed
Chapter 61
parcel to the Mt. Grace
Land Conservation Trust, who will purchase the
property and resell
it to the state.
(2) The owner of the other previously discussed parcel has renewed the property into Chapter 61.
Also, however, Beth reported that a possible donor in town has expressed a willingness to pay
for the preservation of this property. The committee briefly discussed possible future efforts to seek donors.
Acquisition Funds:
(1) Aaron will find out more about a Conservation Fund of about $14,000 under the control of the
Conservation Commission. Aaron will also recommend to the Select Board that funds generated
by the sale of
town-owned timber be dedicated to open space, perhaps via the Conservation
Fund.
(2) Chris delivered a summary of what the Community Preservation Act is, how it is adopted,
what it can be used for, and what its potential impact would be in Royalston. The committee agreed
that there is no time to pursue it this year, but will decide at a later time whether and how to proceed.
To
view the Community Preservation Act summary, click here.
Assessment Issues:
(1) Aaron reported that the OSC may at some point want to investigate how conservation-restricted land is
valuated by the Board of Assessors. The town does not have a differential tax rate for such land, but
because its real estate value is very low, its assessed values should also be very low, a fact which can
be used as an inducement to property owners to protect their land.
(2) Vyto reported that the assessors have quite a list of properties labeled
U, for unknown owners.
Chris will get a list of such properties, and Aaron will find out if Mt. Grace Land Conservation Trust
officials know anything about their status and what might be done to protect those deemed valuable as open space.
(3) Elizabeth reported that there is still hope regarding the planned subdivision
off
Chestnut Hill Rd. in Athol. (The parcel is part of the viewscape from Tully Lake in Royalston.)
See the Friends of Tully Lake website for more information on this issue.
Community Development Plan:
(1) Planning Board member and Montachusett Regional Planning Commission representative
Vyto Andreulinas reported on the existence of the 2004 Community Development Plan,
which he and two others on the Bylaw Project intend to use to begin true planning in town
and to prepare proposals for town bylaw amendments. Vyto is working on an executive summary
of the hefty report, but he will also see if another copy is available for the library. The plan has
obvious repercussions for open space, as well as for housing, transportation and other services;
Aaron suggested
that OSC member Kim MacPhee, who also serves on the Bylaw Project, act as
liaison.
Public Outreach:
(1) Beth reported that the OSC can “hang” an OSC page onto the library’s website.
Elizabeth will develop a draft page for review by members.
The committee discussed the possibility of using the page to spread information about and interest in open space.
(2) Beth will list our meeting dates in the town newsletter, which is sufficient
publication for the Open Meeting Law.
(3) Aaron will find out if Mt. Grace has a booklet or other resource describing
options for landowners seeking to protect their land.
Internal Business:
(1) Members already sworn in voted unanimously to elect Aaron Ellison as chair and Christine Beckert Long as clerk.
[Note: This vote will have to be retaken. With 9 members, our quorum is 5, and we did not have 5 voting members present.]
The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.