HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-03 CONCOM-min
Minutes – Lexington Conservation Commission Land Management Subcommittee October 3,
2011
Commissioners present: Duke Bitsko, Phil Hamilton
Others present:Members of the Advisory Group to the Subcommittee Stephen Hilzenrath, Maria
LoConte, and Fran Ludwig; Emily Schadler, Conservation Assistant
Phil Hamiltonopened the meeting at 8:05am in The Ellen Stone Room, Cary Hall
The Subcommittee and Advisory Committee members continued to review and discuss signage
and outreach/community education on the regulation of dogs in Willards Woods. Topics
discussed included:
Signage:
Several suggestions were made for changes to the proposed language on the three examples of
entry signs that had been circulated before the meeting. There was a consensus that the language
should be more definite in its rendition of the rules. It was agreed that Phil would incorporate the
comments into a new draft and would circulate the draft by the end of the week. Suggestions for
changes to that draft should be submitted to Phil as soon as possible after that, to enable the
distribution of a further draft for discussion at the next meeting.
There followed a discussion of the on-leash zones at the entries to Willards Woods and of the
signs to be used to delimit those zones. After examination of a map, it was agreed that on-leash
zones would be established in only two places, the entrance from Brent Road/Hathaway and the
entrance from the North Street parking lot. Most of the dogs enter the property through those
entrances and it is there that the problem of uncollected dog waste is most serious. In addition,
the establishment of on-leash zones at the less-used entrances could require frequent re-leashing
of dogs that are not exiting. The group agreed that the on-leash zones would be established by
topography, rather than by distance form the entrance, and (1) that the Brent Road on-leash zone
should extend from the Brent Road/Hathaway entrances to the intersection of the main path with
a path from the left at the beginning of the large open field and (2) that the North Street on-leash
zone should extend from the parking lot to the end of the plateau on which the picnic area is
located. Because of the morning rain and the time, the group decided to forego a site visit at this
time.
Several suggestions were made for the language of the signs designating the beginning and end
of the on-leash zones. It was agreed that Phil and Emily would incorporate those suggestions
into a template from the Trustees of Reservations and circulate it for further suggestions, to be
submitted to Phil before the next meeting.
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Draft MINUTES – LEXINGTON CONSERVATION COMMMISSION MEETING September 13, 2011
Community Education:
The group agreed that, before the signs are installed, we should ask that notice of their
installation be posted on the FOWW website. It was also suggested that we post a short survey
to enable users of the website to comment on the signs and offer suggestions for their
improvement. Notice of the new signs should also appear in the Lexington newspapers. Our
plan is to install temporary signs, to be replaced eventually by permanent ones.
Time did not permit showing the Boulder video, but it was agreed that we should show it at the
next meeting. In the meantime, Phil will contact Florence Del Santo of LexMedia to see if
LexMedia can assist us in producing a community education video similar to Boulder’s.
Approval of Minutes:
Duke and Phil voted to approve the minutes of the meetings of 1/28/11 and 9/13/11.
The meeting adjourned at 10:25 a.m.
Respectfully submitted by,
Phil Hamilton, Conservation Commissioner
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