2026-09-14 - Community Preservation Committee

00:10All right, let's begin. Call to order

00:13our September 14th meeting of the

00:15community preservation committee. Um,

00:19our first order of business is to

00:21reorganize ourselves.

00:24Um, and to that end, certainly if there

00:27are any nominations at all for chair, I

00:31have one I would like to make. I I have

00:33enjoyed being the chair. Um, but I don't

00:36think it's something anyone should do in

00:38perpetuity.

00:39Um, and you're all amazing, competent,

00:43and capable. Uh, but I would like to

00:47nominate Diane Jones to be chair of the

00:51community preservation committee for the

00:53next year.

00:56>> There second.

00:57>> There's a second. Are there any other

01:00nominations?

01:02Well, then all in favor of Diane Jones

01:06being chair, please say I.

01:09>> I.

01:10>> Anyone opposed? Congratulations,

01:13Diane, and thank you.

01:15>> Thank you.

01:16>> Um, so either I can continue to run this

01:20meeting if you'd like, or you can jump

01:22over here and take over. It's up to you.

01:24>> I'll tell you what, you're there

01:26already. Why don't you continue for

01:28right now? And then, but the next time

01:30you got to sit at my left elbow.

01:32>> Pardon?

01:33>> You got to sit at my left elbow next

01:35time.

01:36>> Yes, I will. Thank you.

01:38>> Maybe. Uh so the next um position is

01:41we're looking for nominations for vice

01:44chair for the coming year. Are there any

01:46nominations for that?

01:48>> Well, I would nominate you.

01:51>> I think you do need detail for a second.

01:53I can't do that since it's me.

01:57>> I would nominate um Deborah Mooney.

02:00>> Second.

02:03>> You get to ask. All in favor?

02:05>> All in favor?

02:06>> I I

02:09Thanks.

02:10And then for clerk, I'd like to nominate

02:14Wii.

02:16A third second.

02:19>> Second.

02:20>> All in favor?

02:22>> Any opposed?

02:24We are officially reorganized.

02:27Thank you all. Uh next order of business

02:30is to review and approve our minutes

02:32from August 3rd, which feels like a

02:35hundred years ago. Um, are there any

02:39additions, clarifications,

02:42or corrections to be made to those

02:44minutes?

02:49>> There being none, is there a motion to

02:52approve our

02:58>> trouble hearing the right side of the

03:00room? I'm sorry.

03:01>> Move to approve.

03:02>> Second.

03:04>> All in favor?

03:05>> I Any opposed? Any abstensions? Great.

03:09We have approved our minutes.

03:12That is crashing the agenda. Uh next up

03:16is our department report. And you've got

03:20a few things for us, Emma.

03:22>> I do. Yes. Um so first, uh just a few

03:26general updates. The first is that the

03:28master plan kickoff meeting is this

03:30Wednesday, September 16th. So more

03:33updates to come there. But just wanted

03:35to provide the date of that meeting. Um,

03:38also the planning department staff

03:40presented to the select board about the

03:43ideas and also a draft report in regards

03:45to 15 Maple Avenue, formerly Empire

03:48Cleaners. Um, so nothing is finalized

03:51yet, but currently the town is focused

03:53on finding a useful balance for that

03:55space, most likely between open space

03:57and parking. Um, but obviously it's yet

03:59to be finalized. um something for the

04:02CPC to keep an eye on because there may

04:04be an opportunity to support any related

04:06projects. Um but more updates to come on

04:09that as well.

04:11Uh planning department staff also

04:13received correspondence from Skip

04:15Bernett in regards to the potential for

04:17another CPC project at First

04:19Congregational Church. Um he's been

04:22placed on the October agenda as a

04:25discussion item. So, just to note, he's

04:27not looking to formally submit an

04:29eligibility application at this time,

04:31but is interested in coming forward to

04:33the CBC to discuss the eligibility of a

04:36potential project.

04:39Right. Um, and with those, I'll get into

04:42the one the updates listed on the

04:44agenda. So, first is the quarterly

04:46budget report. Um, so I know we have a

04:50few new members, so I thought it might

04:51be helpful just to run through what the

04:53structure of the report is.

04:56Um so quick run through. Um the report

04:59is updated quarterly uh for CBC members.

05:03Um it breaks down uh each project that

05:06the CBC has approved. Um so I will share

05:09on my screen now so you can follow along

05:12as I break it down.

05:30So

05:34>> Oh, it's sideways. Okay. If you if

05:37you're able to turn behind you, the

05:38screens behind you do have it in the

05:40correct orientation. Um, so

05:45this is um the quarterly budget report,

05:48like I said. Um so first thing to note

05:52um like I said this is updated annually

05:55and the first set of numbers that you

05:57see in the report is the uh reserve

06:00balances here. So these are the same

06:02numbers that are given to uh the town

06:05meeting members or were given to the

06:07town meeting members in May of 2026. So

06:10these uh include projects that uh were

06:13approved in um you can see the May 2026

06:17town meeting um as well as for turning

06:20funds. You can see those as well. And

06:22then uh the total as of uh town meeting

06:27um is there as well.

06:30So those are not um what you would call

06:33live numbers from Munice. Those are the

06:36numbers that are reported out uh to town

06:38meeting members. However, um beneath it,

06:41if you scroll a little further into the

06:44report, um

06:47these numbers here, um these numbers are

06:50uh reflective of what's in Munice. So,

06:53they're live numbers of the budgets for

06:56uh the different CPC projects that are

06:58active currently. Um, so this is an

07:01overall uh chart that has a breakdown

07:05for each project. And then if you

07:08continue going on,

07:10there's also a separate page for each

07:12project. So this will have a narrative

07:15of an update uh where the project is at,

07:19if there's any action that's needed from

07:21the CPC, as well as an individual budget

07:24graph for the project as well.

07:27Um, and like I said, there's a separate

07:29page for each project, so there's a lot

07:31to look through here. Um, but I did want

07:33to share just a few um, updates that I

07:36wanted to highlight. Um, the first is

07:39the rental assistance program. Um, so on

07:43September 8th, an award letter was given

07:45to the Metro West Collaborative

07:47Department or development, sorry. Um,

07:49they were chosen as the consultant for

07:51the rental assistance program. So,

07:53that's an exciting update on that

07:55project.

07:56Um also wanted to share about uh

08:00Arowwood. Um not this not this uh piece

08:04of Arowwood. This is the playground

08:05design but the Arowwood Park uh

08:08playground itself. Um that was approved

08:10in May of 2025. Um so the playground is

08:14complete and there was the the grand

08:16opening and ribbon cutting that happened

08:18on August 25th. Um, if you weren't able

08:21to attend, there's a great video of it

08:23up on the Shrewsbury Media Connection

08:25YouTube that I would definitely

08:26recommend checking out. Um, the last

08:29step uh for this project before it can

08:31be officially closed out is just the

08:32placement of a sign. Um, and then we'll

08:34await an official project close out, but

08:37an exciting update from that project.

08:40Um, also wanted to give an update for

08:43Camp Wanigan. Um, there was a sign

08:46placed uh at Camp Wanigan that I can

08:48pull up for all of you and you may have

08:52seen it already if you've driven past

08:54there.

09:10>> Yep. So, that's the the sign there. Um

09:14yeah, it look it looks really great. So

09:15I just wanted to share that with all of

09:16you because I know there had been um

09:18discussion about a sign at previous

09:20meetings. Um so it is up um just waiting

09:24to finalize uh last payments and then

09:27awaiting a project close out for this

09:28project as well.

09:32And then the um last update I wanted to

09:35share was about Dean Park. So, the

09:37contractor for Dean Park has uh

09:41resurfaced the surface of the basketball

09:43court because there was some cracking um

09:45that had been happening there. So, the

09:47basketball court is resurfaced uh

09:49currently just awaiting um the

09:52contractor to be able to fit in uh the

09:55basketball court for the new drainage

09:57system that CPC approved in uh June. Um,

10:01so that will hopefully help with some of

10:04the water retention issues that we think

10:06caused some of the cracking. Um, so that

10:08new drain, um, just awaiting that. And

10:12as a reminder, um, about the drain as

10:14well, that is not, uh, new funds that

10:17CPC is approving. That is included in

10:20the existing project budget. It was just

10:22a a change of the scope of the project.

10:28Right. And lastly, um going back to the

10:31quarterly budget report, um there is a

10:34new section um per the request of the

10:36committee at the end of the report

10:38that's an appendex of completed

10:40projects.

10:42So scroll down to that. Um

10:46yeah, right here we have closed out and

10:48completed projects. So the first section

10:51is for projects that are pending town

10:54meeting approval to be officially closed

10:56out and have those returning funds

10:58brought back to the account they were um

11:00originally expended from. Um and I also

11:03did want to correct myself. I think at

11:05the last meeting um I said there was

11:07around $40 returning from the ledger

11:09restoration. It's actually $48. So even

11:13more that um is up for uh approval to be

11:17returned at the next town meeting. And

11:18then below that, there's a section for

11:21closed out projects that have already

11:23had their funds returned.

11:28Um, but any questions about the

11:30quarterly budget report or any of the

11:32updates that I gave.

11:39I have one question.

11:42Uh, so in the first page there's a table

11:44with a beginning and ending balance.

11:48um against the CPC fund balance

11:52>> in this chart right here.

11:55>> Uh yeah, there's one more table below it

11:57at least in what I'm seeing that says

11:59CPC fund balance and there's a beginning

12:01and an ending balance.

12:03>> Um can you speak a little bit about that

12:06like

12:07because I'm trying to understand where

12:09those numbers came from?

12:10>> Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so this

12:12ending balance is a sum of these numbers

12:16here that are in green.

12:18>> Yeah, that it's off by a couple of

12:19dollars if I add them up.

12:21>> Um, it's probably a rounding error. So

12:24these were these were rounded. Um, so if

12:28it's a difference in the rounding,

12:32>> just how they were added up on the Excel

12:35sheet. Okay.

12:43Great. Um, next I uh wanted to share the

12:49C3 uh CP3 report memo with the

12:51committee. Um, so this is something that

12:55uh similar format to what was shared

12:57with the committee last year um

12:59regarding the CP3 report. So, I know we

13:03had discussed uh what the CP3 report was

13:06at our our last meeting um and it has

13:10been officially submitted. Shrewsbury

13:12has officially submitted the report um

13:14ahead of the deadline which is tomorrow,

13:16September 15th. And I've received

13:19confirmation from the coalition that

13:21Shrewsbury's new projects were received

13:23by the Massachusetts Department of

13:25Revenue. So the purpose of the memo is

13:28really just to provide um CBC members

13:31with an update about what's included in

13:34uh the report. Um so it details all CPA

13:37projects that were approved during the

13:39most recent fiscal year as well as

13:41projects that were closed out during um

13:43the the previous fiscal year. Um, and

13:47let me

13:49believe I have it up.

13:51Share this.

13:57There we go. So, yeah, it's the same

14:00format as um the one last year, just

14:02with the updated um projects that have

14:04been um either approved by town meeting

14:06or closed out.

14:13Are there any questions about uh the

14:15memo or the CB3 report as a whole?

14:20>> I have one.

14:21>> Yeah,

14:21>> maybe it's nitpicky.

14:23>> You got fiscal year 2026 projects.

14:27>> The three projects you list

14:30fiscal 27, are they?

14:34>> Um no. So the start of the um fiscal

14:38year 2027 is uh July 1st 2026. So these

14:43were before um that deadline.

14:47>> Yeah. But these projects were at

14:51May 2026 town meeting fiscal 27.

14:55>> Yeah. So this is the way the CP3 report

14:58lays it out. It's the way that you're

15:00requested to enter them through the

15:02state. So they do it by um not by fiscal

15:05year if that makes sense. Um but it's

15:09they have it's like a drop down but it's

15:12for the year 2026. That's what it's

15:15labeled as on the CP3 report. So I just

15:18use the same terminology that the CP3

15:21report

15:22>> talking so loud you to me it's a

15:25vibration. I'm having trouble.

15:26>> Oh I'm sorry.

15:28>> Go back to how they do the state. What?

15:33>> Yeah. So on the when you're submitting

15:35the CP3 report uh to the state, the way

15:38they have it set up is it's listed as

15:412026 projects. So this terminology is to

15:46stay consistent with how the CP3 report

15:48is submitted.

15:49>> So they go by the calendar.

15:52>> They go by um they go by fiscal year,

15:56but it doesn't always line up. And I've

15:59talked to the coalition about it. I

16:01think it's just the way that the the

16:04state formats it. Um, but it's just to

16:08stay consistent with the way that you

16:09submit it to them.

16:11>> I mean, it's no big deal. I just

16:14>> All right, that's fine.

16:18>> Any other questions about that?

16:26>> There's no other questions for Emma. The

16:28report has been food report has been

16:31submitted to the state and there's

16:33nothing further that we need to do about

16:35that. Um, are there any questions for

16:39Emma before we move on about the

16:41quarterly report?

16:46>> No. Well, the quarterly report. Yes. I

16:49guess

16:51it's not so much a question as a

16:52comment, but

16:54I don't know if I got any questions. The

16:56report wasn't posted till like 4:30 this

16:59evening. So, I have not even looked at

17:01it. So I guess I will

17:05>> definitely feel free to reach out

17:07>> once I look at it.

17:09>> I mean, it will be up to Diane, but it's

17:12possible that at the next meeting if you

17:15want to ask some questions, have a

17:17chance to digest. We can put that under

17:19discussion items for next month's agenda

17:22and give you a time to look at it. Will

17:23that work?

17:24>> That's fine.

17:25>> That okay, Diane?

17:26>> Yes, it's a great idea.

17:28>> All right, we will do that.

17:30Uh, next on the agenda is discussion

17:32items, but we have nothing listed under

17:34that. Emma, is there anything that you

17:36wish for us to All right, but we'll move

17:39on to action items.

17:43Uh, and the first of that is our

17:45community preservation plan for fiscal

17:48year 27. Um over the last few months,

17:51folks have had an opportunity to um make

17:55edits, suggestions, update goals, or

17:59anything from your area that you may

18:01represent. Um at this time, all of those

18:05edits are completed. Correct, Emma? And

18:07all that's left is for us to approve it

18:10and then that will be what the P Do you

18:12have any

18:14>> once again? You know, trying to look

18:16through this report. I have comments on

18:18it, but

18:21somehow I had a problem trying to

18:23redline stuff

18:26on on the web on the Google Drive. So, I

18:30mean, if I want to make comments, I

18:32guess, do I have to how do I do that?

18:35>> Best way is to give them to Emma and she

18:38can put them into the document or if

18:41there's questions about parks that any

18:43of us have a hand in, we can try to

18:46answer them. Well, I do have some

18:48questions about some of the perfect that

18:50type of stuff. I I mean, let me just use

18:53an example. And again, do I how do I

18:55publish this? Right at the beginning, it

18:58basically says

19:00um

19:02CPA funds give community the opportunity

19:04to invest in quality of life projects.

19:09So, the real fundamental question is

19:13does everything have to be equality? It

19:15doesn't identify anything else. So I'm

19:17making the presumption when I read this

19:20as somebody not knowing what I'm

19:21reading. Unless it's a quality of life

19:24project, it doesn't qualify.

19:27>> I think in general any of the projects

19:29that we're looking at are about making

19:32shrew improving Shrewsberry

19:34>> maybe improving Shrewsberry.

19:37Maybe we should change the wording.

19:39>> I think that's the wording we've used

19:41since our first one.

19:43>> [laughter]

19:43>> doesn't mean it's the right one.

19:45>> That's right. I mean, I know

19:47and that's going to be kind of one of my

19:49points.

19:49>> Okay.

19:50>> A lot of the wording in here probably

19:52goes back to the original wording and

19:55has never been updated.

19:58So, I mean, I' I've got some comments,

20:01but you know, without holding up the

20:03meeting, I mean, I would like to go to I

20:07mean, page 14, you still have a 2025

20:09date on it. It doesn't look like they

20:12even updated.

20:13>> Yeah. So, that was that was brought to

20:15my attention. Um, Muki did bring that to

20:17my attention as an edit and it has been

20:19changed.

20:20>> Page 18 is 2025 date. Also, it talks

20:24about the acreage that we have that is

20:27um open space. So, I don't know. We have

20:33more than that since 2025. That should

20:35be looked at.

20:37>> That figure is still the same. I can

20:39update the year though.

20:41>> I mean, the the community housing one, I

20:45have a lot on that, but I'd like to go

20:48to page 30.

20:52It it talks about the minimum goal is a

20:560.5%

20:58of the town's year- round housing

20:59inventory.

21:01That's that's a half of 1%, which is

21:03only 72 units. And I'm not sure what

21:07they're referring to.

21:09But then they go on, if the town's new

21:11affordable housing production is equal

21:12to or greater than 1%

21:15of a year round inventory, the

21:17certification will remain in effect.

21:20Shouldn't that be 10%. I think so.

21:23>> It says 1%.

21:24>> Mr. Rick, you're

21:26>> Yeah, I think I think the proper

21:28percentage would be 10%.

21:29>> And the 0.5 probably should be five%.

21:32>> Yes.

21:32>> So, I mean, that's probably been there

21:34since the beginning, too.

21:35>> This is the first time I've really read

21:37through this.

21:39I I don't um I'm I'm new here.

21:42[laughter]

21:43>> Yes, we're both playing.

21:44>> Um and I but I I would also point out

21:47that I was a little bit concerned that

21:48um the delineation of where you broke

21:51off from one subject to another into the

21:53housing section wasn't clear and and if

21:58that could just be cleaned up to make

22:00sure that it's a

22:02it's titled properly. I it didn't look I

22:07don't have my laptop with me but

22:11>> yeah I can show you on my end what I I

22:15see um is it this heading that you're

22:17referring to?

22:17>> Yes.

22:18>> Yeah. I guess some of the sections there

22:21was a clear, you know, title. Um but

22:24then for the housing there wasn't. So

22:27>> Okay.

22:31>> Yeah, it might be. I know sometimes it

22:33gets a little wonky too if

22:35>> I might have been wonky with it. I was

22:36looking at it. So,

22:37>> right.

22:38>> I'll go back.

22:39>> Okay. No,

22:40>> bring that to your attention.

22:42>> Thank you. I appreciate that.

22:43>> Again, back on page 29 even the stated

22:47date. You referred to June 29th, 2023

22:52as the number of uh lowincome housing

22:55units in town. So, it hasn't been

22:56updated since June 2023. This document.

23:01>> Yeah.

23:02I think if you have a lot of edits at

23:05this point, um, every member of this

23:08body was asked to look several times to

23:11look at their sections and make updates.

23:14I think we started that process back in

23:16June. Um, so let's call this last call

23:21and you any corrections and questions

23:24need to be directed directly to Emma. I

23:27think in the interest of us not

23:29accidentally messing with the format, we

23:33that is a document that we can't

23:35necessarily redline. So if you want to

23:40email Emma, call Emma, make an

23:43appointment with Emma. Um, and let's one

23:46more time each of us commit to going

23:48over the sections that we are

23:50responsible for. and Emma will bring us

23:54one more time, one more draft for our

23:57next meeting and we'll make sure we get

24:00all of those changes. If there's a a

24:03question on a specific section that um

24:06one of our colleagues represents John,

24:08we can certainly ask them specifically

24:11if they might not have if they made

24:14changes but they're not reflected or

24:16they provide to do it, we can check with

24:19them.

24:19>> Well, I for one will a point to connect

24:22with Emma because being new here and

24:25this is only my second meeting, I wasn't

24:28too clear on the deadlines here. So, um

24:31I'll get I'll get to you before the next

24:32meeting.

24:33>> Sounds good.

24:33>> And I agree with you, John, that there

24:35are some updating that needs to be done.

24:37So,

24:38>> I just didn't know how to do it and that

24:42was my first look at the document.

24:44You're right. I know the start of the

24:46June, but again,

24:49I'm not sure.

24:49>> It's not done until we've got it right.

24:51>> I know. And I'm not sure when this was

24:52posted. We talked about it.

24:56>> Officially, I couldn't find it on the

24:59Google Drive again,

25:00>> but I should have asked. That's my

25:03fault.

25:03>> It was sent out after the the last

25:05meeting. Um, yeah.

25:07>> But yeah, I'm happy to to take another

25:09swing at it and bring back another

25:11version for the October meeting.

25:14fill up Dian's first agenda nicely.

25:18>> You're welcome.

25:19>> Thank you.

25:20>> So, we'll all take another look

25:22>> and get those additions and corrections,

25:25Sam, and make sure we've got it right.

25:27>> How do we get

25:29>> So, thank you, John, for that. You were

25:31very thorough.

25:32>> This is on the Google.

25:35>> Yes, it is in there. Um, Emma, actually,

25:37could you email everyone the direct link

25:40to that document? That might be easier

25:43to give everybody a

25:45>> chance to take a look.

25:46>> I'll resend the email ID sent out after

25:48um our meeting in August.

25:51>> That would be great.

25:55>> So, we'll revisit that next month and

25:58we'll get information from Emma in be in

26:00in the meantime. Um our next action item

26:04is we have a new project eligibility

26:06application that is also in the drive.

26:10Um maybe meetings. We could have a few

26:13hard copies just if folks don't have

26:15their laptops or mine often I sometimes

26:20leave my charging port in other states

26:23but just so that we've all got access to

26:26it but um we have

26:31it

26:37actually

26:42there.

26:49There we go.

26:52So, our first our project eligibility

26:56application, and I'll remind everybody

26:59because I say it all the time, we're

27:01considering whether or not this project

27:03is eligible by the standards of

27:06community preservation legislation, not

27:08whether or not we like it, not whether

27:10or not we can afford it or want to put

27:13it forward to town, just whether or not

27:16it is eligible.

27:18So, is there someone here who'd like to

27:21tell us about this eligibility project?

27:24Emma, you got anything for us?

27:26>> Yeah, I will share. Um, and I also just

27:28note, um, I know Chris did want to be

27:30here tonight, but the SDC meeting was

27:32also this evening. Um, so he wasn't able

27:35to attend. Um, but I'll just give

27:38overview. Um, the application is being

27:42submitted um by the planning department.

27:45uh engineering the engineering

27:47department is the co-sponsor. Um so the

27:50main catalyst for the application was

27:52comments received uh and two consecutive

27:54community hearings held by the CPC in

27:57which a resident commented um on certain

28:01uh dilapitated parts of the stone wall

28:04that runs along the length of the Maple

28:06Avenue recreation area. Um so this

28:08project would ideally be the first step

28:10in a larger multi-step stonewall

28:13rehabilitation project. Um so the uh

28:18idea of the project is to create a small

28:21pocket park um which is really just a

28:24very kind of what it sounds like very

28:26tiny park um that would be across from

28:29Crescent Street. Um so at the very

28:31beginning of uh the Maple A recreation

28:35area um right up against the woods ab

28:38budding the police department where we

28:40are now. Um so there's already a section

28:43of this wall um that's falling down

28:46where the pocket park um is uh is going

28:50hopefully will be going. Um and people

28:53already kind of utilize this spot to hop

28:55over the wall and get into the field

28:57area. Um anecdotally we've had um

29:01residents and staff have have seen that.

29:03Um so the section the project would

29:06include this section of the wall um

29:08being removed to create a small entryway

29:11um that would create a small park that

29:13would have um a few benches, a water

29:16fountain, and a trash compactor. Um, so

29:19these would be placed on top of paper

29:22stones to fit the character of the area

29:24and would actually be very similar um to

29:26the area that is outside the police

29:28station that's in um kind of like a

29:30semicircle um

29:34uh shape and has similar pavers and

29:36benches there as well. Um so uh the

29:41project would fall under the recreation

29:43category and would be categorized as a

29:46creation um project. So it' be

29:49recreation and create would be the two

29:52categories that it would fall under.

29:56Yeah, that's the general overview. Um

29:58and obviously if eligibility was

30:00approved then a lot more information

30:03would come with the funding round.

30:06>> Can I ask a question? Absolutely.

30:09>> How big what what kind of dimensions is

30:12a pocket pot like this?

30:14>> Yeah. No, that's a great question. Um,

30:16and I actually, if you give me a second,

30:19I can find a photo for you.

31:24Now, this is obviously just a a quick

31:27Google search, but you can see like an

31:29example um

31:33like right here even. Why is it

31:35sideways?

31:37>> Um, it's the correct orientation if you

31:39look behind you. Um, just a a tech issue

31:43with the the other one. Um, so this

31:45grassy part, uh, you know, would not

31:48even, you know, be included in in what

31:50the park is. The the park that's um, you

31:54know, being presented would really just

31:55be like it would be smaller than this

31:58even. Um but just a very small um kind

32:02of area that usually has some benches,

32:04some pavers. Um they are not um very big

32:10in size, but do provide um good

32:13amenities, especially considering that

32:15there's already the recreation area

32:17there.

32:18>> I imagine there can't be that many

32:20benches otherwise there'll be a bench

32:22and a goal.

32:23>> Correct.

32:23>> With soccer field that gets lined there

32:25twice a year.

32:26>> Correct. Yep. Um yeah, so it it would um

32:30the dimensions uh would be made to

32:33accommodate uh the existing soccer

32:35fields there to make sure there's no

32:37interference with uh the soccer soccer

32:39games that happen.

32:44>> So um between the pavers is that grass?

32:50>> Um no. I believe the pavers would be

32:53placed uh close enough together um so

32:56that there wouldn't be need for for

32:58grass in between the individual pavers

33:02similar to um what is next to us outside

33:07the the police station. Um similar to

33:10that.

33:13>> So any trees included in this?

33:16>> No. No trees um planted.

33:22So ultimately our consideration is

33:24outbound whether or not this fits the

33:28definition the allowable uses of CPC

33:32funds. Um creating recreation does do

33:37that. When we get more detail you might

33:39change your mind but on the surface I am

33:43curious. It seems I felt online on the

33:46book I feel like original paper

33:49application had a couple more questions

33:52to eligibility than this, but is

33:56creating a a small park on town land

34:01that is recreational land already. Do we

34:05consider that an allowable acceptable

34:08use? Is it eligible for us to consider

34:12further?

34:15That's the only question we have to

34:20Well, does this does this use

34:25improve the recreation land there? Or do

34:29people sit there and watch the

34:32recreation from these benches or how

34:34does this how does this

34:38fit into the recreation category?

34:41>> Creating recreation is an allowable use,

34:44>> right?

34:45>> So, what's the recreation this is

34:46creating?

34:47sitting down passive sitting in the

34:51watching the world go by is considered

34:54recreation. My husband would not think

34:56so. He is a diehard 100,000 mile wig or

35:00whatever he he doesn't stop moving but

35:03for some sitting and watching the world

35:05go by is considered a creation

35:08>> or a place where you can meet with

35:10someone sit down just spend a few

35:13minutes with them or a couple hours with

35:15them. Keep going.

35:20>> So, what do we think? Is there a motion?

35:23If this is eligible,

35:25>> decide whether or not to fund it next

35:28time. But today, it's about whether or

35:29not this is an allowable use.

35:34My experience it is. What did the rest

35:37of you think?

35:42because

35:44I kind

35:52of change or improve the situation.

35:56There was not a recreation area,

36:03but it's already

36:05so

36:07different. I think that's

36:11>> if it's creating a recreational space, I

36:15think it's eligible. But whether or not

36:17it's something we think is worthwhile to

36:20fund, I think is a different question

36:22because I think what you're asking is it

36:24redundant?

36:25>> It's not it's not creating recreational

36:28space already.

36:30We can we are allowed to create and

36:34>> create rehabilitate

36:37or restore recreation.

36:40So

36:41can improve it or rehabilitate it or

36:44make it better than it was

36:48>> processing

36:51>> recreation space be. Let me find our

36:55find our table.

36:59There we go. I could I could vote to go

37:02ahead because I certainly would like

37:04more information.

37:08>> Right now, it's just whether or not it

37:10fits the eligibility criteria. Under

37:12recreation, we can acquire, create,

37:16preserve, rehabilitate, or restore.

37:20>> It says no.

37:22>> No is under support. We can't fix it and

37:25make we can't

37:26>> we can't mow it. We can't paint it. We

37:30can't do maintenance to it. But we can

37:34make it happen.

37:38>> Open space.

37:39>> I mean, would you call this

37:41rehabilitation?

37:42>> Yeah.

37:43>> Would you call it rehabilitating?

37:45>> I would think so. The stone wall has

37:48been tumbling down and people are

37:50clamoring over it. No one's broken an

37:53ankle yet. Maybe they never will, but

37:55it's kind of messy there. And people

37:56have been asking the town to repair the

37:59stone wall uh which is more expensive

38:03than we want to even know about. But

38:05this allows with just shortening that

38:08stone wall a little bit there. This

38:10allows some people to go in there. They

38:12can bring they can walk their dog within

38:14in there. They sit down. They can keep

38:17going. They can come back. They can meet

38:19a friend. And um

38:23it it does make it a usable space.

38:25Whereas with the this the stone wall

38:27being neither here nor there. It's

38:30neither a wall nor not a wall. Um I

38:33think it does kind of restore that.

38:38>> So So by that

38:40>> rehabilitate

38:40>> by that you're creating recreational

38:44space

38:44>> a tiny one. Yeah.

38:48the recreation being sitting around

38:50>> which may be something that some people

38:52need like social activity.

38:55>> Okay.

38:55>> Yeah. Or just time under the trees by

38:58quietly by themselves without their kids

39:00screaming,

39:01>> you know.

39:02>> No, I get it. I'm just trying to get to

39:06that point. I wouldn't be surprised if

39:08some of the um middle school kids who

39:11walk along there in order to get to the

39:14library eventually make ha wreak havoc

39:17there. They if they won't stop for a

39:19while and just hang out together before

39:21they go on

39:24at least not in the winter time they

39:26probably won't but

39:27>> right but

39:28>> spring and fall.

39:29>> Good point.

39:30>> Yeah.

39:33We do have a precedent of creating

39:35access to recreation. That was the

39:38parking lot. We did a camp wig again a

39:41parking lot just for a parking lot we

39:43could not do but that allowed people to

39:46get to the trails

39:48>> be a part of it. So that might follow

39:50that as well.

39:52>> That that makes sense to me. In that

39:54case, I would think that

39:57taking a space where you're either

39:59standing or you would have to sit on the

40:02ground, making it more accessible to

40:05people who would prefer to sit on a

40:07bench. Um, it makes it more accessible.

40:14>> I can.

40:16>> Any other thoughts,

40:18questions?

40:21>> Are we ready to vote? whether or not

40:23this is eligible to move forward.

40:28>> I am.

40:29>> Okay. How about a motion?

40:32>> I think a motion that will be move

40:35forward with the eligibility of the

40:39Maple Area Market.

40:42>> I'll second that.

40:43>> All in favor of determining this project

40:46eligible, please say I.

40:48>> I.

40:49>> Any opposed? Any abstensions?

40:52This project is eligible and we would

40:54welcome a full request for funding in

40:57the future.

41:00Speaking of full request for funding, we

41:03have before us a project funding

41:05application for the 300th anniversary

41:09tree planting pilot project. I am not

41:12going to say that three times fast.

41:14>> No.

41:14>> Um, but

41:16>> Diane, would you like to speak would

41:18like to speak to this? Yeah. So, so I

41:21should be up there.

41:22>> Yep.

41:23>> Sure.

41:23>> That probably makes sense.

41:24>> So, are we going to be able to see the

41:26slideshow?

41:27>> Yes,

41:27>> I'll be able to see it.

41:29>> Oh, yes. You'll be able to see it. Yeah.

41:31And I would recommend that other

41:32committee members also probably direct

41:34their attention um to the back TVs to

41:37see it in the right orientation.

41:48>> See if I can see it.

41:51There we go.

41:55Hi.

41:56Okay, so um this is the 300th

41:59anniversary tree centennial which I hope

42:02you understand is a pun. That pun comes

42:05from my husband who taught English for a

42:08long time. This is not the tsentennial,

42:10it's the tree centennial and it is a

42:13pilot project. So next slide please.

42:17Okay. Um this was um requested by John

42:21Labau who's the chair of the 300th

42:23anniversary committee and he challenged

42:26the committee to plant 300 trees. A

42:29bunch of people and uh clubs and

42:31organizations said no that's really much

42:34too hard for us. And then

42:37um

42:38well I I'm in Tipping Point. I've been

42:41running their meetings there for about

42:43seven years and it is a climate

42:45environmental action group. And we

42:47looked at this and said, "Oh my gosh,

42:50that's really scary. Let's do it."

42:53Because we've been talking about

42:54planting trees in town for a very long

42:56time. It's a huge climate and

42:58environmental

43:00concept, increasing the tree canopy. So

43:04if you see the bottom line there, it

43:06says that for the past 35 years, and I

43:09can't say it's at least that, but really

43:11the last 35 years have been pretty

43:12monumental. There's uh been a lot of

43:15town growth and that has steadily

43:18reduced open space and tree canopy.

43:22Next slide, please. All right, so here

43:24you can see two maps. The one on the

43:27left is um the lower ball field for

43:33um Dean Park. The softball field is to

43:37the right side and the other two are

43:39baseball fields. On the right hand side

43:41you can see an aerial view of um Maple A

43:45recreation area.

43:48All right. And uh so we have actually

43:51updated the pilot project after talking

43:55to a ton of people and different

43:58departments within town government. And

44:01the the consensus was um increase it to

44:04to 50. And also what we learned and this

44:09is very important is that in some places

44:12where it looks like you could easily put

44:14trees, you must never put trees. And

44:16that is because there are underground

44:18utilities or there's something in the

44:20future that's being planned, right? And

44:23I don't know what that is, but the

44:25people who are planning it know what it

44:26is. So, um, next um Oh, and also what

44:31we're hoping is that in each place, Dean

44:35Park and Maple A Recreation Area, we'd

44:37be able to treat plant one ceremonial

44:40tree. Um, and these trees would be

44:45uh a little bit bigger than the other

44:47trees, and they would be accompanied by

44:49signage that gives credits to CBC for

44:52funding.

44:55It'd be cool if we could put something

44:57educational on there, too, but

44:58especially the credit for funding. Okay,

45:01so purpose and goal is just to go real

45:02fast through this because we've done

45:04this before. Um this is to rehabilitate,

45:08restore currently mowed treeless area of

45:12town parks. Native species selected uh

45:15the native trees is what we're going

45:17for. Um are selected specifically to

45:19expand native wildlife, insects, and

45:21plant life. Uh they give shade and

45:24cooling for spectators and all types of

45:26recreational use. And that's a really

45:29critical part right there. um being in a

45:32park and playing soccer or baseball,

45:35that's recreation, but that's not the

45:37only recreation. If you consider Dean

45:40Park, I mean, I've seen people there

45:41fishing. I've seen people uh tossing a a

45:45Frisbee, having family gatherings. Um

45:48I've seen people doing watercolors. It

45:52these kinds of open spaces are used for

45:54all sorts of um recreational activity.

45:58And the freedom of that is is part of

46:00the beauty of having these parks. So and

46:03finally um planting these trees uh

46:07improves public health there has public

46:10health benefits. So next slide. Okay. So

46:14um

46:17doing this

46:19pilot project uh include it it entails a

46:22whole lot of town partnerships um

46:24including working with

46:28Leah who is Chi Warden um and with the

46:32recreation Wow what happened there

46:34recreation department parks and planning

46:36departments and other departments uh I

46:39mean it's actually a pretty wide

46:41coalition

46:42uh so So, in uh Dean Park, uh you can

46:45see maybe some of the areas that we're

46:47looking at, but I would rather not spend

46:49too much time on the words instead of

46:51looking at maps and at the photographs.

46:55They're much easier for people to

46:56understand. So, we haven't completely

46:59decided where these trees will go. And

47:01in fact, we don't have to decide right

47:02away. If we're putting 25 trees in Dean

47:06Park, which is this map here, those

47:08trees will be swallowed up by that park

47:10pretty rapidly. and identifying exactly

47:14where we want them to go. We got a

47:15little bit of time to think about that.

47:17If you look at the softball field, which

47:19is the solid um white fan on the right

47:22hand side along the drive the drive area

47:26to the right, there's a lot of space for

47:28trees. And then in that area behind the

47:32uh back stop, there's a fair amount of

47:34area for trees. As you go along the road

47:37going west

47:39uh to the other entrance,

47:42um it's harder to put in trees because

47:45of utilities. You we can put in some

47:48trees. There is a tree there that's

47:50dying. That tree could be replaced, but

47:53we can't put in the dense, lovely, lush

47:56tree um

48:01row of trees that I was hoping. We can't

48:03do that. um especially since um from the

48:07road over to the parking lot that's all

48:10um utilities over there. However, to the

48:13left of that leftmost baseball field is

48:17a very large area without trees and most

48:20of it is plantable.

48:22And so it's my thought that that would

48:26be a great area for a ceremonial tree

48:29and a few other trees and making it very

48:32nice for people who are watching their

48:34kids play ball or their kids just

48:36wanting to run around under a defined

48:39space. Kids like a defined space. If you

48:42have an area that is trees, kids know,

48:44this is defined and they want to be

48:46under there and that way you don't have

48:48to worry as much about them. So, um,

48:51they're cooler, they've got more shade,

48:53it's pleasant, and there could be one

48:56central ceremonial tree. Uh, one that

48:59would just grow to be something

49:00spectacular.

49:02If you look up to the farther left where

49:04there's this long rectangle, uh, that is

49:08where the band stand is down in the that

49:10sort of sloping pit of a place. And up

49:13up at the top of the hill is where that

49:15uh, rectangle is. And that area is

49:18essentially a desert. It really does

49:20need trees. There is also a power line

49:24that runs along there. We would have to

49:26choose very carefully never to plant so

49:28that they grow into the power lines.

49:30Let's look at another slide.

49:34Okay, these are the upper fields. Uh,

49:36and you can see the basketball courts we

49:38were just talking about that have been

49:39restored. Um, this is funny. I never

49:43thought about putting trees there, but

49:46uh Ryan was talking about this because

49:49you see the top left area that is sort

49:53of curving around. Trees have been he's

49:56been taking trees out of there recently

49:58over past years and right now. And they

50:01it needs trees. It the it to stabilize

50:05the bank and for shade for cooling. It

50:09needs trees. It would be much nicer. He

50:11thinks that's the place for the

50:13ceremonial tree and that's why we want

50:15to have um a public forum where people

50:19can actually discuss this because that's

50:21where you get buy in and the more you

50:24have buy in the more you have people

50:27protecting the trees. So that I'm I'm

50:30looking for that. I'm looking for

50:32everybody's ideas and who cares what my

50:34ideas are. Let's find out what the other

50:36ones. If you look down at uh Dean Park

50:38Pond,

50:39the top sort of triangular area is

50:43really mucky. How many of you have

50:45walked through that area? Oh, just me?

50:47No, you have as well. Okay. It's very

50:50mucky. It's usually mucky. And after a

50:52rainy spell, it you can't walk through

50:54there. And I've been looking at it for

50:57years thinking,

50:59why is there no willow tree here? Why

51:02aren't there a few willow trees here? It

51:04would be kind of cool and they want

51:07water. That area right next to the pond

51:09would have to be approved by the

51:10conservation commission because uh there

51:13is no there is no there's supposed to be

51:17a 15 foot um buffer zone between the

51:21bank and

51:24uh 15t away from the bank where there

51:26should be native vegetation and there is

51:28no native vegetation. It's grass. It

51:30gets mo and that is really not up to

51:33code if I can put it like that. That was

51:35maybe the way it was a hundred years

51:37ago, but it's not ideal. For one thing,

51:41the tree a tree or trees in that area

51:45would cool the water and that's really

51:47important. Fish die when the water get

51:49too hot. And um you can see on the left

51:52hand side, the west side of this pond,

51:55there are no trees to speak of except

51:57for two magnificent white oaks and a few

52:01other trees in the central area. Uh so

52:05cooling the water is in itself a

52:08marvelous goal and making a place where

52:11people can fish. That is a fishing area.

52:14A lot of people fish down in there or

52:16they fish at the far end where the

52:18parking lot is. And I don't know how we

52:21would get trees in there. I can't

52:23imagine that. Maybe someone else can and

52:25maybe someone else actually will. Um but

52:28to cool down that water and to help it

52:31not be as horribly vulnerable as it is

52:34right now to algae algo blooms. So that

52:37algae grows in large part because people

52:39put fertilizer on their lawns. It runs

52:41down through the stream and it goes into

52:42the pond.

52:44The combination of a hot pond with all

52:47of that fertilizer in there means that

52:51every year that pond eventually turns

52:54mucky green and that kills animals that

52:57are living in there. They don't get

52:58enough oxygen.

53:00Okay. So let's go on to the next next

53:04set of ideas. Okay. So now here you are

53:07now looking towards the softball

53:10um field on the left hand side and you

53:12can see that behind the back stop

53:15there's plenty of area for a couple

53:17trees. Also on the other side of that

53:21you can see going off to the left area

53:23there. And there's another uh slide that

53:26goes with this. That would be the next

53:28slide.

53:30Okay. So now we're looking towards Maple

53:32Le. You can see room for trees right

53:35next to a playing field, right? This

53:38would be good. So, and and as I said, 25

53:42trees can't begin to fill all this area

53:44up. So, next slide.

53:47Okay, here you can see the concession

53:49stand that's behind that baseball field.

53:51This is where when you're entering,

53:52there's this huge triangle of grass.

53:56Again, my personal vote, put a

53:58magnificent tree in there and maybe a

54:00few others so that people can fan out,

54:03but something really stunning in that

54:05area. And I'd love to have other

54:07people's opinions because I think mine

54:09is probably not the loudest. All right,

54:12let's keep going.

54:16All right, here we are looking towards

54:18the band on the right hand side up at

54:20the top of the hill. That's a desert and

54:23people don't like sitting there. So when

54:25they're looking at movies or they're

54:27they're listening to music or they're

54:29just hanging out, they don't hang out

54:31there. They do use that area to start

54:34their sleds in the fall, which is pretty

54:36cool as long as they don't hit the band

54:39stand. So um we could plant so that they

54:43can still bring a sled and have a great

54:45time, but you could have a shady place.

54:49Right.

54:51Next one.

54:53Okay. This is the Maple A playing uh

54:56recreation area. So, you see that little

54:59triangle off to the right hand side? We

55:01didn't know the dimensions, so we put it

55:03in there. That's the proposed pocket

55:05park area. I think it may be a whole lot

55:08skinnier than that. And um I was at one

55:12point asked maybe you could put in some

55:14trees to go with the pocket park. And at

55:17the moment, I thought, don't tell me

55:18where to put trees. And then I started

55:20thinking about this. This is a fabulous

55:22idea. Give people some shade as they're

55:25sitting there. And don't make it so that

55:27you can't use the soccer field, but just

55:29a few not enormous trees, but trees that

55:34can give people a sense of peace and

55:36shade and cool and a sense of well that

55:39defined space that makes it a place you

55:41want to go to.

55:43That's a human need. We don't like big

55:46open spaces. That's the way human beings

55:48are are evolved. Makes us uncomfortable.

55:50If you look towards the police

55:52department, there's a a weird shape. I

55:55don't know the name for that. [laughter]

55:57Um, that area is for some reason simply

56:02mode.

56:04And maybe not in this

56:07this uh particular project, but maybe in

56:09a future one, we could create a grove of

56:12trees there and um make it, you know,

56:16just a better place. But that north

56:18side, that's the north side of these

56:21these two soccer fields.

56:23Trees along there would go beautifully.

56:26Not along Maple A, but along there we

56:30can put in trees. A couple trees on the

56:33left hand side where it looks like it's

56:35all dirt, but not many because that's a

56:38complicated area that just won't

56:40tolerate a whole line of trees. And then

56:44if you look to the left

56:47uh side entirely

56:49of this photograph, you'll see a couple

56:52dots where we just sprinkled them in

56:55sort of randomly saying trees can go

56:56here. And below that there is another

56:59weird shape sort of like a key. And

57:02there

57:03we might be able to do again something

57:05really wonderful. And maybe we we would

57:08even get some help from the town to put

57:09in some benches and a a table or two.

57:13Again, another people place for people

57:15to have they they can go a third space.

57:20One that's not just one person's space.

57:23Okay, next.

57:25Uh okay, I get lost. Oh, that's the

57:28fallen down stone uh field, stone wall.

57:32And you can see, yeah, someone will

57:34eventually twist their ankle. And they

57:35may not tell you, but they did it. Okay,

57:38so we can keep going.

57:41And this one is looking towards the

57:44police station. And you can see there's

57:45a lot of area where we could um with

57:49time we could put in a few rows of trees

57:53and make it so that it would just be

57:54totally pleasant for people who were

57:56watching the games or for players who

57:58were resting. Um, that's a good place

58:02for trees.

58:05And again, here you can see some trees

58:07come down and nobody does anything about

58:09it. We got a nice tree stump there. We

58:12got another one in the next photograph.

58:15Yeah, see that one off to the left up

58:18there? Trees have been there. They did a

58:20great job and then they came down. We

58:22can make sure they go back up.

58:25Okay.

58:27All right. Now, I know this is

58:29repetitive, but why trees? Well, it

58:32improves air quality. It It's

58:33evaporative cooling. It provides shade.

58:35It's very calming. And this is not a

58:37joke. This actually calms people's minds

58:41to be under trees. That's rare these

58:44days. We need that. It reduces flooding.

58:48Trees absorb like a 100 gallons. I don't

58:50even know how many. When it rains, they

58:52just suck it all up. And so, the area

58:54does not flood. Doesn't get mucky. It's

58:56good. And then slowly it evaporates it

58:59out through the top and it sequesters

59:02carbon.

59:03Okay, next. But why native trees? So

59:08that first one, native trees are more

59:10hearty. They survive better here. So you

59:14can put in a tree that's from Eurasia.

59:17People will think how cute. It looks

59:18nice, but it won't live very long. You

59:22put in a tree that is native to here and

59:25one that is able to adjust to the

59:29changing demands of climate change as it

59:32gets warmer here and more like North

59:35Carolina ultimately. That's been the

59:38prediction for a long time. If we have

59:40trees that grow in North Carolina and

59:43grow here, we know they're going to be

59:45okay, right? And they may very well be

59:48here in a hundred years or 200 years.

59:51That is an affordable tree, right? So,

59:55they are host for pollinators. They the

59:57insects co-evolved with native plants. I

1:00:00would say that we did too. Uh it

1:00:02supports local food webs. And that means

1:00:04that native trees restore ecosystem

1:00:07function. It's just a cool little

1:00:09phrase. It says a whole lot in just a

1:00:12couple words. Okay.

1:00:15So, we've gotten a ton of support as

1:00:18we've been doing this. We have been

1:00:20meeting [laughter]

1:00:23my calendar my my dance card is full. Um

1:00:26we've been meeting well with 300th

1:00:29anniversary committee tree the tree

1:00:31warden who has been hugely supportive.

1:00:35um planning and economic development uh

1:00:37department again hugely supportive

1:00:40recreational recreation department very

1:00:43supportive parks maintenance they've got

1:00:45all sorts of ideas because they work

1:00:47with the trees that aren't working they

1:00:49know what they want they want to put in

1:00:51trees but they it's never going to be in

1:00:53their budget we can help them green team

1:00:56professional we have a professional tree

1:00:58consultant whom we haven't officially

1:01:00hired yet but she's waiting um she's

1:01:03with Davy consultant

1:01:04uh Davy tree consultant and and they've

1:01:06been working with the town of Shrewsbury

1:01:08for about 10 years. They know this town

1:01:10really well. They have mapped the whole

1:01:12darn thing and where they want to put

1:01:14trees and uh they do a whole lot of

1:01:17things that we don't know how to do.

1:01:20They know how to do them. We need tree

1:01:23consultants. So that's what what they're

1:01:25doing up there. the garden club. They're

1:01:27they're actually

1:01:30um interested in this because their 70th

1:01:33anniversary is coming up and they

1:01:34originally said we'll plant 70 trees for

1:01:37our 17th anniversary. And then slowly it

1:01:39dawned on them, oh that is so expensive

1:01:42and it's really hard to do. And then I

1:01:45mean they're the garden club. They can

1:01:47work with us. We can work cooperatively

1:01:50together on their goal and our goals.

1:01:53Then of course the first congregational

1:01:55church, the earth stewardship ministry,

1:01:58Paul over here is representing them. And

1:02:02the historical society, I was just

1:02:04talking with Jim with the historical

1:02:06society and he was we were talking about

1:02:08how these trees are historical.

1:02:11They are part of our history here. And

1:02:13he was saying, "Oh yeah." So we were

1:02:16comparing our seeds for uh shag bark

1:02:20hickory at the moment. I had just taken

1:02:22a walk. I have a pocket full of them.

1:02:24Okay, let's keep going.

1:02:27So, these are efforts that are still

1:02:30under, you know, they're they're

1:02:32underway. Uh we still will need for

1:02:35quite a while to coordinate with

1:02:37planning, with parks, with recreation

1:02:39and all relative departments,

1:02:43right? We need to uh consult with the

1:02:46tree consultant. We for some reason

1:02:49we've called uh Aaliyah a relevant

1:02:51department but I would like to call her

1:02:53a tree warden.

1:02:54Um we we are we are in the process of

1:02:58applying for um DCR grants. There are

1:03:01two in particular that we're looking at

1:03:04and uh we're looking at local funding

1:03:06sources. So we can go on to the next

1:03:08one.

1:03:10Ah that's what you've all been waiting

1:03:11for. This is the

1:03:15implementation budget. Um, so the

1:03:18professional fees right now, let's start

1:03:20at the top. That's the tree consultant.

1:03:24That right now stands at $12,960.

1:03:29Before when it was only what, 20 or 25

1:03:32trees, it was half that.

1:03:35However, when you pass $10,000, suddenly

1:03:38you have to send out a request for

1:03:40quotes. And so, I'm just guessing that

1:03:44that number is squishy. And it can be it

1:03:48will probably shift a little bit. So it

1:03:52may be that it may stand at that but it

1:03:55may not under labor. Labor really

1:03:59includes a lot of supplies. The form

1:04:01doesn't allow us to say that. So um this

1:04:04is the soup to nuts of buying a tree and

1:04:07planting it. So it stands at all the

1:04:11towns that we have looked at, all the

1:04:12cities that we have looked at. It costs

1:04:15about $1,600

1:04:17to plant one tree. Some of those trees

1:04:20only cost like $150. Some of them cost

1:04:23$500. This is an average. Um, and that

1:04:29includes everything. That includes

1:04:32buying the tree, transporting it,

1:04:34digging the hole. It includes the stakes

1:04:37and everything else. It includes

1:04:41a lot of things. And it comes out at

1:04:431,600 a tree for whether you're

1:04:46conquered or you are South Hadley. Uh it

1:04:49comes at that at 50 trees is a lot of

1:04:51money. It's $80,000.

1:04:54But it is it's what everybody else is

1:04:57finding too. So the supplies that are

1:05:01not in that category just to pull them

1:05:03out, signage is one of them. And the

1:05:06other one is is tree diapers. Um, and at

1:05:10first I hated that term and I I just

1:05:12couldn't make myself say it. So, you

1:05:14know how usually when they plant trees

1:05:16they put uh one or two green bags full

1:05:20of water to the side on the stakes and

1:05:23they have holes in the bottom their

1:05:25bottom. They're perforated. They get

1:05:27filled up with 20 gallons of water once

1:05:29a week. The water slowly runs through.

1:05:31So, there are a couple of issues with

1:05:33that. One, you have to pay a lot to have

1:05:37someone come and filled those um bags.

1:05:42And if you're working with volunteers,

1:05:44you don't really know if it happened.

1:05:46And I would like to have something close

1:05:48to 100% uh success rate with these trees

1:05:51because if we're paying anything for

1:05:53trees, let's make them live. Um the tree

1:05:56diapers are like diapers. They absorb a

1:06:00lot of fluid and then they slowly

1:06:02release it. They're about 3 ft wide and

1:06:05the tree is in the center and they

1:06:07recharge with water every single time it

1:06:09rains. So in a year like this one, you

1:06:13probably wouldn't have had to water.

1:06:15Maybe in the beginning in April, I have

1:06:18no idea. But the rest of the year, no.

1:06:21So it really depends on the year. Okay.

1:06:25Um and they last for three to five

1:06:27years.

1:06:29They're not really reusable, but they

1:06:31last for three to five years. What you

1:06:32do is you they will not be seen. They

1:06:35would be covered with either um bark

1:06:38mulch or my favorite which is um wood

1:06:41chips.

1:06:43Wood chips are they last a long time. So

1:06:46that's that part. And then the other is

1:06:48every now and then there are deer in

1:06:50this town and deer will eat trees. They

1:06:53tend not to eat native trees because

1:06:55native trees have co-evolved with deer

1:06:57and they have evolved so that they taste

1:06:59horrible to deer. The time when they're

1:07:01going to be eaten by deer is when

1:07:05there's so much snow that the deer can't

1:07:07get anything else to browse on. They're

1:07:09so hungry that they would eat anything.

1:07:12And so then you have to make sure that

1:07:14they don't eat a brand new tree. So we

1:07:17don't know if we're going to need to put

1:07:19that budget item in there, which is

1:07:22basically a fence around each tree 4T

1:07:25high.

1:07:27Okay. So that comes out to a total of

1:07:29$97,760.

1:07:36Uh the ongoing annual maintenance

1:07:38budget, that is something that CPC does

1:07:41not cover. Just to let you know, the

1:07:43first, second, and years, it would cost

1:07:47about about 2,500 for watering unless we

1:07:51get lucky and we have tree diapers and

1:07:53we don't have to water very much. the

1:07:55third year less because you have to

1:07:57water trees for two to three years

1:08:00um depending on what's happening drought

1:08:04not drought. So for that we we'd be

1:08:07going for DCR grants and donations.

1:08:10Um and the watering is done May through

1:08:14November for the first one to three

1:08:16years.

1:08:20And uh this is a supplemental funding

1:08:23plan. Um

1:08:26so in addition to seeking CPC funding,

1:08:28TippingPoint 01545 will be applying for

1:08:31mass DCR grants. We'll be applying for

1:08:33other ones too.

1:08:35Once you know if we get funding then

1:08:38it's like a waterhe where we just start

1:08:40just okay now we have to get our you

1:08:42know the next grants um and and really

1:08:46get things going. So um

1:08:51we so we have these two from DCR that

1:08:53we're initially looking at and the local

1:08:56funding which includes the Shrewsbury

1:08:58Town Center um I can't read association.

1:09:02Sorry I have a stigmatism. It's a white

1:09:05on a Latin light blue background. At any

1:09:07rate, the Shrewsbury Rotary Club, the

1:09:08Shrewsbury Garden Club, um Lord only

1:09:12knows what that says. And the bottom one

1:09:14says local philanthropists. Oh, local

1:09:16banks and uh credit unions. Yeah. And

1:09:19then donations and volunteers. We'd be

1:09:22looking for some inkind donations such

1:09:24as perhaps uh bark mulch or things like

1:09:28that or sometimes even uh top soil

1:09:32because every now and then you dig a

1:09:34hole and you find out that there's

1:09:35literally garbage down there and it's

1:09:37been planted with grass for the past 75

1:09:40years and nobody knew about the garbage.

1:09:42Um so we would have to get rid of that

1:09:46soil. We'd have to have it's not soil.

1:09:47Whatever that is, we'd have to get rid

1:09:49of it and we'd have to fill it in. Okay.

1:09:52So, and then we will be de uh creating

1:09:56uh donate um volunteer

1:09:59um training volunteers in the winter

1:10:02time. Okay. I think there's just one or

1:10:05two more.

1:10:07>> Right.

1:10:10>> Yeah. I I if you can look at this this

1:10:12we have a timeline here and it begins

1:10:16with town meeting which will be in

1:10:19December and um then training the

1:10:23volunteers in the winter and uh

1:10:26finalizing planting locations and then

1:10:28finally planting and that will be most

1:10:31likely early April to the through the

1:10:34maybe the first week of May and then

1:10:37start watering. If we can't do it all,

1:10:40then no problem. The fall awaits and in

1:10:43the fall all the roots go dormant. So

1:10:45they're fine. We can just we can flag

1:10:48the trees and hold on to them for later

1:10:50on. Anything after that? I believe there

1:10:52is something. Okay. These places have

1:10:55already had success stories. Conquered

1:10:57South Hadley and Worcester. Each one of

1:10:59them has had to approach it in different

1:11:01ways because uh they're different kinds

1:11:03of towns. Conquered's wealthy. Uh, South

1:11:07Hadley is not. They've approached it in

1:11:09different ways and Worcester uh had to

1:11:12replace all the trees that came down

1:11:13with the Longhorn Asian beetle. So, they

1:11:16went door to door knocking asking people

1:11:18if they wanted a free tree and and they

1:11:22all got funding.

1:11:24So, those are our next steps, our last

1:11:26stops. And

1:11:29um it includes, of course, schedule tree

1:11:32planting brainstorming sessions, which I

1:11:34think sounds really fun.

1:11:37Okay,

1:11:38there we go.

1:11:39>> Thank you.

1:11:43I believe we advertised this as a public

1:11:46hearing. So, or did we? We'll do that

1:11:48next time. All right.

1:11:50So, thank you. There was a lot today. I

1:11:53do have one question before everyone

1:11:55else gets into questions. The uh budget

1:11:58that was submitted with the application

1:12:01is for

1:12:03um the request is $98,760,

1:12:07but your presentation is 97,000.

1:12:10>> Yeah, we went through it and we realized

1:12:13that there's some things that we had in

1:12:15um

1:12:17it's I forget what that was called. It

1:12:20was

1:12:22>> supplies that was already covered.

1:12:23>> Yeah, it was covered twice.

1:12:25>> Okay. So we went through

1:12:26>> number is the accurate number.

1:12:28>> Yes.

1:12:29>> Yeah.

1:12:30>> So I think at this point that was there

1:12:32was a lot of information. Um and I know

1:12:36some of us were sitting up for the first

1:12:37time. Let's start with questions.

1:12:40>> I guess one place that I see being

1:12:43absent is why

1:12:45was the right here in front of the town

1:12:48hall not considered trees?

1:12:52[clears throat]

1:12:52>> That's the most logical place. It is a

1:12:54logical place. Um so uh first of all

1:12:59it's not recreation although sometimes

1:13:01it is with the truck food trucks. Yeah.

1:13:04And when people are sitting there

1:13:06watching parades. Yes. Uh I think it'd

1:13:08be a great place to to plant trees but

1:13:10we can't plant everywhere at the same

1:13:12time. So we're just doing 50 trees in

1:13:15the beginning.

1:13:17>> If if if it would be a great place for

1:13:19uh a ceremonial tree, I'd be happy to do

1:13:22that.

1:13:25I mean, I don't want to get into a long

1:13:27discussion. I think some of the places I

1:13:30would be concerned with like the little

1:13:32league field behind home plate, the kids

1:13:35use that to congregate and warm up

1:13:38before like when they're playing

1:13:39multiple games where you want to plant

1:13:42the trees is where all the kids start

1:13:44warming up, playing catch, doing things,

1:13:46and the trees are going to get in their

1:13:48way.

1:13:49>> Okay?

1:13:49>> I don't know where they go.

1:13:51>> Okay?

1:13:51>> That's always behind concession stand

1:13:53>> behind the concession.

1:13:57>> Uh yes. Uh that kind of thing has to be

1:14:00planned out really carefully.

1:14:02>> Yeah.

1:14:04>> When I was involved, we used to use

1:14:06there's a water out there.

1:14:09I don't think they use it, but

1:14:11>> it's there.

1:14:12>> It's there. Yeah. That's why these are

1:14:15not finished plants. Okay.

1:14:17>> Yeah. And you're right. I mean, town

1:14:19hall would be a marvelous place to put a

1:14:22ceremonial tree.

1:14:24>> Yeah.

1:14:26>> The other thing just

1:14:28basketball courts when you're looking at

1:14:30planting, my my concern with that would

1:14:34be in the fall when the kids do play a

1:14:37lot of basketball. As the trees lose

1:14:40their leaves, the court's going to get

1:14:43full leaves. Especially if it gets the

1:14:45slightest bit, the leaves get wet.

1:14:48going to be able to play basketball

1:14:49unless Box and Rex is going to go there

1:14:52every other day and sweep the leaves off

1:14:54the basketball.

1:14:55>> Yeah, I brought I brought up that

1:14:57question too. Um

1:15:00yeah, it's real important that the the

1:15:02courts just remain courts. Um but there

1:15:05are uh native pines and native um furs,

1:15:10right? Cedar, things like that, right?

1:15:18Carl, did you have something?

1:15:21>> Yeah. [clears throat] Well, yes. Um, I

1:15:24saw the list of the groups you would

1:15:26approach to talk to and it's not. So, I

1:15:29would think she very little should have

1:15:32some kind of say in place of trees

1:15:35because they come before the park

1:15:39sanitary commission all the time to

1:15:41place things like that in cages and

1:15:43things like that.

1:15:46So we generally approve all of that but

1:15:49they they don't own the fields. We own

1:15:51the fields but they invested money in

1:15:55the upkeep of all those fields. So

1:15:58>> yeah and that's all important.

1:16:00>> Yeah. Um you know great idea. Um you

1:16:06know the fact that the placement of the

1:16:09trees isn't quite cemented which is

1:16:12good.

1:16:14Yeah, I I don't know.

1:16:16You know, we haven't really heard this

1:16:18from the parks and the parks commission

1:16:21meeting either. You know, you guys came

1:16:24at the end of the day and so but I would

1:16:27think placement is is a big thing. Yes.

1:16:32>> Yes.

1:16:33>> It's it's huge. Yeah.

1:16:35>> Yeah. As a recovering soccer mom, I

1:16:38would suggest talking to um youth soccer

1:16:40as well, just because they do play and

1:16:44often they change the configuration of

1:16:47the fields each season to try to rust

1:16:50the grass or try to

1:16:53there was a retired um Holy Cross

1:16:55physics professor who used to figure out

1:16:57how to squeeze as many many fields on

1:17:00the Glavin as we could because we didn't

1:17:03have to pay the town per player fee. I'm

1:17:07glad that that we did for the other town

1:17:10fields, but um there's some tremendous

1:17:13creativity about lining fields in youth

1:17:16soccer as well, but they may welcome

1:17:18some trees. They also

1:17:23their Glavin fields also could use trees

1:17:26as well. That's maintained by Shu

1:17:29Soccer.

1:17:30>> Well, we're taking notes for the future.

1:17:32Thank you. We're taking notes for the

1:17:34future. Thank you. There's another

1:17:35place. It's uh Arowwood.

1:17:38They need trees. Yeah.

1:17:40>> Housing authority. Housing authority

1:17:41does too.

1:17:42>> It does. And that was one of my first

1:17:44thoughts that if I were living there, I

1:17:47would want to look out my window at a

1:17:48tree.

1:17:49>> Yeah. We'd be happy to work with you.

1:17:51>> Thank you. That sounds marvelous.

1:17:56>> What other questions do we have to

1:17:58Because next month will be the public

1:18:00hearing. We won't make a decision on

1:18:03funding today because we'll want to hear

1:18:05from the public

1:18:06>> before we wait. But we can ask all of

1:18:08our questions. We still have a little

1:18:10time in my longest meeting last.

1:18:14>> So I noticed um you know numbers are

1:18:18very

1:18:20specific that we see a lot of these

1:18:22requests and is there

1:18:27I guess I'm just wondering if you need

1:18:30some wiggle room trees. You're gonna buy

1:18:33the 50 trees then something happens and

1:18:36some costs overrun.

1:18:38>> Yeah.

1:18:39>> So they might So one thing that we know

1:18:41is that uh the cost of trees in 25 and

1:18:4526 might go up. Some of them will go up

1:18:47about 10%.

1:18:49>> So we don't know exactly what that will

1:18:52be. Uh but some of them are going to go

1:18:55up. It's just the way of the economy.

1:18:58So, um, we're staying with the 1,600

1:19:02because that is so well documented.

1:19:06>> Um, but we're aware that we may need

1:19:08some more.

1:19:09>> Yeah.

1:19:10>> I'm wondering why you don't put that in

1:19:12your funding.

1:19:13>> A contingency.

1:19:14>> A contingency.

1:19:15>> Yeah.

1:19:16>> Because I don't know how to put a

1:19:18contingency.

1:19:18>> You don't spend it, it comes back any

1:19:23showed earlier. you know the basketball

1:19:26court $90,000 is coming you could just

1:19:29add a line under the 97 contingency I

1:19:32think

1:19:32>> contingency yeah okay that's that's a

1:19:34great idea

1:19:34>> I think it's very important to um bear

1:19:37in mind that you can't get into a

1:19:40project like this and then have

1:19:41something go wrong and run out of money

1:19:43>> oh absolutely um well we would have some

1:19:46time uh but it it's not a good idea for

1:19:49something to happen

1:19:50>> with trees that that you bought

1:19:53>> yeah you got to Well, some of them you

1:19:55could you could that the um nursery

1:19:58could hold on to for a while. Um but

1:20:00you're right.

1:20:01>> I think the contingency is a good idea.

1:20:05>> The only saving grace would be is

1:20:08they didn't have the cost

1:20:1245

1:20:15because like they said this is a

1:20:16kickoff.

1:20:18>> I gota presume next year the year later

1:20:19you come back for another 50.

1:20:21>> We would love to.

1:20:22>> Yeah.

1:20:28for the pricing. Yeah.

1:20:29>> Yeah.

1:20:32>> Thank you.

1:20:32>> What else do we need to know tonight

1:20:34about this project? There any other

1:20:37questions or comments?

1:20:43That sounds wonderful and thorough. But

1:20:45yeah, we would suggest you think about

1:20:47contingency. Although, like John said,

1:20:49it contingency could well be fewer

1:20:52trees, but you're welcome to include

1:20:54that in the budget. Traditionally,

1:20:57capital projects in town, there's a very

1:20:59healthy contingency added just in case.

1:21:04Um, life is not predictable for sure.

1:21:06>> No.

1:21:07>> Um, and you would absolutely be welcome

1:21:10to submit a an amended budget if you

1:21:12decide to do that when we look at it

1:21:15again next month.

1:21:16>> Okay. Most of your projects put a 10%

1:21:19contingency in

1:21:21>> with most of the projects put a 10%

1:21:24round it off to 10,000.

1:21:26>> Okay.

1:21:27>> Because again, if you don't spend it, it

1:21:29comes back.

1:21:29>> It just goes back. Yeah,

1:21:31>> that's right.

1:21:33>> Yeah. Okay.

1:21:35>> If there are not any other questions for

1:21:37Diane today, and certainly when we have

1:21:39public hearing, if we think of other

1:21:41questions, um, we'll ask them then. But

1:21:44otherwise, thank you for your

1:21:45presentation.

1:21:46>> Thank you very much.

1:21:47>> It's a great idea.

1:21:51>> So that is the last item on our agenda.

1:21:55Oh, John,

1:21:56>> I just wanted two things. Number one,

1:21:59arrow. Um, I did attend the ceremony.

1:22:05I

1:22:07as as if you ever watch I don't know if

1:22:09you watched the video as Kevin said, I'm

1:22:11keeping my speech short because there

1:22:13were like 70 kids ready for the child

1:22:16and I you know when you're there the

1:22:18first day it was a lot of kids were

1:22:21playing but I've driven by a couple

1:22:23times and it's really really getting

1:22:25used and I didn't know this but until I

1:22:30Somebody we know in town lives right

1:22:32there in the Arowwood development. So I

1:22:34had a conversation with her because she

1:22:36was there with a three-year-old kid at

1:22:38the kickoff and it is being used every

1:22:41day to the point where her comment is

1:22:46the people in Arrow would walk there but

1:22:48parking is becoming a problem because

1:22:51all the other people using the cars

1:22:53lined up.

1:22:54>> That that sounds like something we

1:22:56talked about before this happened. I

1:22:58mean it's probably in a good way. Okay.

1:23:00It's not a negative in a sense. And she

1:23:04told me that a lot of people from um

1:23:09the development where the authors are

1:23:10across Gro Street come and the other

1:23:14place is um the apartments at Edge.

1:23:19They're getting a lot of play with

1:23:22parents coming up with their kids from

1:23:23the edge.

1:23:25So the good news is it's been

1:23:27worthwhile. It it's uh being used very

1:23:31very much. Uh the park take a walk

1:23:33through the park way of walking inside

1:23:36was very nice. Very very

1:23:39the kids already you know you look at

1:23:43things that they have for the kids to

1:23:45jump and climb on and the kids are

1:23:46finding unique ways to use it even

1:23:50you think. So that's that's kind of

1:23:54>> it's our first new park

1:23:57in 26 years.

1:23:59>> Kevin,

1:24:00>> so but it's it's getting its use. So

1:24:05>> excellent.

1:24:08>> What else? She said you had chickens.

1:24:10>> The other one was, "Do we have any

1:24:12updates? Have the bid gone out on the

1:24:14maple street lights?"

1:24:17>> No, not yet. I did check um with the

1:24:21town manager's office has not been

1:24:23posted. They're still gathering all the

1:24:24materials needed for the bid.

1:24:29>> Are there any other questions, comments,

1:24:33parting thoughts?

1:24:35All right, then for the last time. Is

1:24:38there a motion to adjurnn?

1:24:41>> Motion to adjurnn.

1:24:45>> Thank Thank you for being our chair. Oh

1:24:48yeah,

1:24:49>> it's been my pleasure.

1:24:51>> What time is the meeting next?

1:24:54>> Yeah, so our next meeting is October

1:24:565th. Um it will be at 6:30 p.m. again.

1:24:59Um but this time we will be back in the

1:25:01select board meeting room. So we'll be

1:25:02back in town hall.

1:25:03>> So it'll be 6:30 p.m.

1:25:05>> 6:30.

1:25:07>> Okay.

1:25:09>> So is there a motion to adjurnn?

1:25:11>> Motion to second. All in favor?

1:25:14>> I. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you

1:25:17everyone.