The Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission held a short, special meeting on Thursday, February 19 for two grant approvals. One approval was for Sippican Lands Trust and another for the Point Road Bike Path and engineering services in its surfacing and further development.
The virtual Special Meeting began with Chair John Rockwell discussing the community preservation, CPA grant application. Sippican Lands Trust sought a CPA grant for new trail development at one of their properties.
The town may seek to create trails to link up to these new ones, with Rockwell noting anything on the town’s part to lengthen their trails and connect to those of SLT would require permission from the federal government for conservation reasons. The Open Space Acquisition Commission would work with SLT to ensure the trust is responsible for any maintenance of said trails. The chair noted, “we should always be encouraging trail use and tie-ins to our property from land-trust properties or other adjacent properties to increase their use and functionality for the public.”
The board voted unanimously to support the SLT’s application.
Next, the commission moved on to discuss another CPA grant application. This grant would be for the hiring of engineering services for the Point Road Bike Path, primarily the section between Creek Road and Jenna Drive, as noted by Rockwell. The chair said there would need to be the presentation of specifications and company site plans for a public bid on desired work. He added they don’t exactly know yet which conditions the Conservation Commission will request, and so that work will come later.
Being asked by member Norm Hills, Rockwell clarified the grant application would seek an additional $37,600 for said engineering consulting. The submittal of the application was approved with a unanimous vote.
The next regular meeting of the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission is scheduled for Thursday, March 5.
Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission
By Sam Bishop