COCHITUATE RAIL TRAIL TASK FORCE
MINUTES OF MEETING
JUNE 6, 2007
Members present: Karen Patterson Greene, David Camacho, John Moran, Karla Sangrey, Josh Ostroff, John Griffith, Adrienne Spelker
Alternate member(s) present: Peter Henry
Chair Josh Ostroff called the meeting to order at 7:05
1) 4/18 and 5/15 minutes
Meeting minutes for April 18, 2007 and May 15, 2007 were approved.
2) Abutter report draft
Josh stated that the goal is to present a draft Abutter Report to the Board of Selectmen on June
18th. The report will not be entirely complete because the CRT Task Force will continue to
accept comments. The comments can then be added as an appendix or an amended report. The
report will include minutes from the outreach meetings, the surveys that Karla has compiled, and
the web surveys. The report will include feedback from both residential and commercial abutters
and will recommend that the Abutter’s comments and concerns be used to help design a project
that takes concerns such as safety, privacy, road crossings, and cost into account. The report will
also include all verbatim comments in appendices, but will also summarize those responses.
The design process should include one or more community meetings for public input. Josh also
recommended sending a copy of the report to all people who asked to stay informed about the
process, as well as all commercial abutters.
Josh asked the committee to approve the format and give to the BOS as a draft. John Moran
made a motion to approve Josh’s outline of the process for the abutter report. Voted unanimously.
3) CSX Update
Josh reported that on May 17th he, Dick Miller and Bob Bois met with CSX and prospective
bidders regarding the process of removing the remaining rails and ties. CSX has only received 2
bids (one company is from PA, the other from IN) for this project and will still have to go before
the Conservation Commission in order to get final approval. CSX expects to undertake the
removal beginning in July with the project completed in a month or so. The ballast is not that
abundant and it is probably ok to leave it there or have the town remove it at a later date.
There will probably be problems with ATVs and dirt bikes using the ROW once the rails are
removed. The Chief of Police will ask for jersey barriers to block the entrances, and CSX
doesn’t have a problem with the Town putting up barriers. The rails will be removed from the
Route 9 bridge, but the ties will remain because they are part of the bridge structure.
4) Community Newsletter
The newsletter will come out this summer. If by then the Board of Selectmen have voted to
approve a conceptual design, it can be reported on in the newsletter. Other possible sections in Page 2 of 2
the newsletter include: a description of the conceptual design process, a history of the town’s
task force, the abutter report, and CSX’s removal of the rails along the ROW.
5) Trail Maintenance
Routine and ongoing trail maintenance can be volunteer-driven, through a “Friends of the Trail”
group, for example. Also, local businesses can get involved by sponsoring half-mile sections
along the trail.
6) Conceptual Design
By a large majority, Town Meeting voted to approve the expenditure of funds ($30,000) for a
conceptual design. The choice of a trail surface is part of the conceptual design. Also, on a
motion by Josh, which was seconded by Karla, and approved by all, Karen Patterson Greene and
John Adelmann were appointed as the members of a new Design RFP subcommittee.
7) Project Next Steps
A review of the project’s next steps based upon a review of the task force’s previous work was
tabled until John is available at next month’s meeting.
8) Task force membership
Josh will contact Julie Hamm, Dean Residences resident to gauge her interest in becoming a
member of the task force. John Moran advocated adding a member of the town’s Public Safety
community to the task force.
9) Summer meeting schedule
The next two meetings of the full task force are: July 10th (7:00) and August 7th (7:30).
On a unanimous vote, the meeting was ended at 9:05
Respectfully submitted by Karen Patterson Greene and Dave Camacho
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