COCHITUATE RAIL TRAIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF MEETING
April 22, 2009
Attendance:
Name |
Affiliation |
Term Expires |
Present |
|
|
|
Yes |
No |
Josh Ostroff |
Board of Selectmen |
June 30, 2010 |
X |
|
Evan Paglialuca |
Conservation Committee |
June 30, 2010 |
X |
|
Cheryl Byrne |
Finance Committee (clerk) |
June 30, 2009 |
X |
|
John Griffith |
Recreation and Parks |
June 30, 2011 |
|
X |
A. Richard Miller |
Bicycle and Pedestrian |
June 30, 2009 |
|
X |
David Camacho |
Member at Large (vice chair) |
June 30, 2009 |
X |
|
Karla Sangrey |
Planning Board |
June 30, 2011 |
|
X |
Peter Henry |
Member at Large |
June 30, 2010 |
X |
|
Matt Daniels |
Member at Large (chair) |
June 30, 2010 |
X |
|
Jan Henderson |
Member at Large |
June 30, 2011 |
X |
|
Patrick Reffett |
Community Development Director |
June 30, 2010 |
|
X |
The meeting was called to order by Matt at 7:09 p.m.
Minutes of December
Reviewed the minutes from March 2009; on a motion by Matt, seconded by Jan, the minutes from March were approved unanimously by all those eligible to vote.
Update on Framingham Design Review
Framingham continues to move forward and hold public meetings. Committee members encouraged to sign up at www.crtrail.org to receive Framingham updates.
Update on Paperboard Site and Environmental Issues
On April 15th, the Planning Board voted to approve the development of the Paperboard site. Evan stated that PCBs have been found; a consultant has been hired and hearings will be held regarding this situation. Potential migration of contaminants to Pegan Cove is the primary concern for the Conservation Committee.
CSX Update
a. Appraisal: Josh has been working with Planning Board members Julian Munich and
Patrick Reffett to determine issues that need to be addressed with the appraiser. In
particular the discussion has focused on whether 1) the land which abuts the right of way has been valued too highly, and 2) the appraisal does not consider that values of land near Route 9 have been capped per the FAR schedule. Josh hopes to meet with the appraiser within the next week so that the appraisal can be presented to the Board of Selectmen during one of the May meetings.
Regional Issues: Once the appraisal has been finalized, the Natick CRT committee will work on coordinating efforts with other regional rail trail projects.
Bridge repairs: Josh noted that CSX continues to make bridge repairs. The Town of Natick is not involved.
5) Outreach Efforts
Newsletter: The next newsletter will be prepared after the design RFP and appraisal are finalized.
Year End Report: Josh confirmed that a year-end report was submitted by Karla.
c. Natick Days – September 12, 2009: Matt is planning to attend the April 29th kick-off meeting for Natick Days to reserve a table for the CRT committee.
6) Design RFP/RFQ
Following the March meeting, Jan prepared a draft RFP, which was submitted to Patrick Reffett for review. Pat’s comments were received April 22nd . Jan, Pat and Josh will continue to revise the RFP. The draft will hopefully be ready for review by the CRT Committee at a May 13th meeting.
Once the CRT committee has approved the RFP, Josh will present the RFP to the Board of Selectmen, ideally by the May 18th BOS meeting. It is expected that the Design RFP would be finalized and out for bid approximately 60 days after Selectmen approval.
General Growth Properties, Inc. (GGP) Natick Collection Funds
Josh informed the committee that 1) funds are secure even though GGP filed for bankruptcy protection, and 2) these funds are available for Natick CRT purposes for approximately 2.5 more years. In 2011, any unused funds revert to open space usage. In 2013 any unused funds would be returned to GGP.
Potential Funding Sources
The discussion focused on whether or not the committee should solicit private funds or rely solely on public funds. The committee will revisit the question of how to raise private funds. The feeling was that creation of a 501 (c)3, or “friends of the rail trail” organization would be appropriate. The CRT Committee was originally a task force created to advise the BOS but not necessarily advocate for the trail. A nonprofit organization could advocate for the trail, take the fund raising initiative and eventually take the lead in maintaining the trail. Cheryl Byrne will look into a 501(c)3
Future Meeting Dates – Tuesday, May 19th
A May 19th meeting has been tentatively scheduled. However, Matt will contact committee members to see if there would be enough attendance to meet Wednesday, May 13th so that the Design RFP and possibly the appraisal can be reviewed and finalized by the committee.
The committee tentatively set the June meeting for Tuesday, June 16th.
Other Business
The committee will look for information regarding the “Moving Together” conference that will be held October 2009 in Boston.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:06 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Cheryl Byrne and Matt Daniels
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