[Denis MacDougall]: On March 29, 2023, Governor Habley signed into law a Supplemental Budget Bill which, among other things, extends the temporary provisions pertaining to the Open Meeting Law to March 31, 2025. Specifically, this further extension allows public bodies to continue holding meetings remotely without a quorum of the public body physically present at a meeting location. and to provide adequate alternative access to remote meetings. The language is not making any substantive changes to the Open Meeting Law other than extending the expiration date of the temporary provisions regarding remote meetings from March 31st, 2023 to March 31st, 2025. The first item on the agenda, request for an extension of an order of conditions for McDonald Park improvements, DEP file number 215-0206. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation has a request to extend an order of conditions regarding improvements to McDonald Park. Most of the approved work has been completed within the terms of the original order. Activities in the original order still to be conducted include constructing the playground at the northeast portion of the park, invasive species management, and tree planting. The proposed activity is located within the 100-foot buffer zone to borderline and subject to funding, Inland Bank and bordering mid-shade wetlands and the 200-foot river area, the Mestre River.
[Heidi Davis]: Great. Thanks, Dennis. And again, thanks to you all for coming. Does somebody want to speak about where the project's at and give us any updates?
[Emily Ehlers]: Absolutely. Hi, I'm Lauren Block. I'm a senior environmental scientist from Parr Corporation. And also here with me is Skylar Chick from Shadley Associates, the landscape architect of the project, and Ruth Pellifield from GCR. So, is it okay if I share my screen?
[Denis MacDougall]: In one second, and you can do it now.
[Emily Ehlers]: Great. Thank you. Okay. Can everybody see it?
[Heidi Davis]: Yes.
[Emily Ehlers]: Great. So, as Dennis mentioned, we're here to discuss the extension for the order of conditions for the McDonald Park improvements project. This park improvements project was originally approved in 2016 under a 5 year order of conditions and then was extended back in 2020 is set to expire in January of 2024. So we're requesting an additional three-year term to complete the work as DCR works on securing funding for the last remaining components of the project. Just to orient you to the site, if you're not familiar with McDonald Park, here's Mystic Valley Parkway, Fells Way, and the Mystic River, and then in red here is the limits of McDonald Park. Then flipping over here to the master plan, of the approved work from back in 2016, which included different improvements throughout the park, invasive species removals, as well as a playground up here in the northeast corner of the park adjacent to the police barracks. Now back in 2020, when we came back for the extension, we also amended the order to approve a more compact design for this playground. So the playground currently shown on the plan is the updated design under the amended order of conditions, which actually had a smaller footprint and took work further outside of wetland buffers. In addition to the playground, there are a few other miscellaneous work items yet to be completed, including some of the invasive species management work and some tree plantings throughout the park. At this time, we're happy to take any questions about the work that's been done and yet to be completed. and that pretty much sums it up.
[Heidi Davis]: Great, thank you. So I'm sorry, could you remind me what is left to be done?
[Emily Ehlers]: So construction of the playground, so I'll zoom into it a little bit here.
[Heidi Davis]: Yeah, those three places, that's it.
[Emily Ehlers]: Yeah, so the playground is over here, and this is the updated design of the playground. The original was a little bit more sprawling and encroached a little further into the buffer. The state police barracks is right here. That's the playground. And then there's just some remaining landscaping, invasives removal, and tree planting throughout the site.
[Heidi Davis]: Has there been invasives removal today so far?
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm sorry, Heidi, did you say invasive removals?
[Heidi Davis]: Yes.
[SPEAKER_02]: There has been a fair bit of phragmites removal through our lakes and ponds, our waterways group. And I believe that might still be ongoing, but it started back in around 2016 or so. They had permitted that separately, actually not as part of this. We have not done any of us through this current one, but we are actually going to be looking at doing that. Hopefully this coming calendar year, 2024, we started. Thanks, Ruth. Yeah, thank you.
[Heather]: Heather, did you have a question? I think I'm fine. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay, good. I, the only question that I have, and it isn't directly related to the playground, but because there has been such a loss of. of mature trees in other aspects of the park. I was just wondering, I know it's disease related. We weren't, for whatever reason, we were not able to get ahead of it. Will there be any attention paid? I don't think it's directly connected to our order. But I would like an update on that. Mainly, we also have access recently to perhaps coming across and have a need to plant trees and have we're looking for locations to do it with another group in town. So I'm killing two birds with one stone here.
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, absolutely. We have a plan to do major tree planting here to replace the many dead and dying ash, which number over 100. And we also took out dead and dying cottonwood that had been the original plantings of the park from the 70s, because they had pretty much lived their normal life. And we, in fact, have sent Shadley Associates Um, a that's from, you know, from where Skyler's is representing. Um. A updated a scope just recently a scope to update their vegetation management plan from 2016 so that we can look look at, um. Well, first of all, the ash weren't even identified as having problems back then. So we're looking at updating that from the trees to tree replacement is the highest priority, but we're also going to be looking at removal invasives and we'll be looking at Miss Valley Parkway tree planting. We have some of the same issues along there. So we do plan to do a very thorough. planning for vegetation maintenance. Thank you. Thank you very much. As that's concerned. You're welcome. And we will be working with Myra for this also, Mr. Grover Watershed Association. Great. Great. Thank you.
[Heather]: That's it for me. I have nothing else.
[Heidi Davis]: Thanks, Heather. Anybody else on the commission have any questions or comments?
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: I'm sorry, you may have already said this, but when do you anticipate completing the remaining work?
[SPEAKER_02]: We didn't. It really depends on when we can identify funding for the playground. As it happens, we actually do have funding for the trees and for a lot of the vegetation management, but tree planting specifically because that's a different budget. We don't know about the playground. Hopefully, we can start it in fiscal year 25, which we'd be starting this summer, July 1, but we're not certain.
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_02]: You're welcome.
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: Just kind of going back to the trees you're going to work with. Can you tell me again who, what are the organizations that you're going to work with and do we have any sort of plan in writing about what was going to replace the ash and what's going to replace many of the trees, the cottonwoods that you're taking out?
[SPEAKER_02]: Not yet. That's what the updated vegetation management plan it will intend to do. So Shelley Associates had done a complete vegetation management plan including recommending more diverse species and, you know, and we are looking for some very specific tree planting locations and species recommendations. And, you know, those have shifted somewhat based on climate change. And we're looking for more diversity. So we don't have that kind of large scale dieback. But so that will come sometime in the next we're hoping. We don't have an exact schedule yet. We're awaiting a proposal. Our goal is to be able to start planting this spring.
[Heidi Davis]: amendable to extending this order? Yeah. Yes. Could we stop sharing the screen now, please? Oh, absolutely. That's great. Thanks. I just need to be able to see the commission and they're too tiny otherwise. Great. Do I have a motion then to extend this order of conditions for an additional three year period?
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: I make a motion. Go ahead.
[Heather]: I make such a motion to extend. Second.
[Heidi Davis]: Excellent. All in favor, Eric? Aye. Caroline? Aye. Heather? Aye. Alex? Aye. And myself, is it aye? Excellent. Thank you very much. Good luck with the remainder of the project.
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you. Thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it. Thank you for coming tonight. Thank you. Take care.
[Heidi Davis]: Bye bye.
[Heather]: Is there any other business that you would need me on this evening?
[Denis MacDougall]: And I don't know if we actually have any other business, because I didn't get you the meeting minutes from last week, so I think.
[Heather]: Then I will say good evening, and I wish you all the best of the season.
[Denis MacDougall]: Yes, and please send us some info from the historical stuff, so we know what's in the news.
[Heather]: On the historical side, Hattie, who can always use a donation. Take care. Bye.
[Heidi Davis]: Bye. Bye. Well, that was record time. Yeah. Well done. Well done. That's all so. Do I if we truly do do we have any other business.
[Denis MacDougall]: I just want to give you a heads up and I pressure that will have everything was here, but I know she needed to bolt. We are going to be getting a filing for from. For a pathway underneath route 28 along between McDonald park and station landing. So, there's already comparable 1 on the side. So, it's basically, it's going to be under the bridge going and connecting basically. So people can continue along the river without actually having to go up on. Crossover under 28, so if you've ever seen it on the side, there's 1 there. It's sort of. That's basically a comparable. Project weren't they before us for some geotech work?
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: Yes, exactly.
[Denis MacDougall]: Yep.
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: Same project.
[Denis MacDougall]: So they, I just had a meeting with them about a week ago talking about some of the logistics. So they're sort of hopeful, like, early next year, have the filing come in. So that's just sort of a little little heads up. And also, we just put out another call for members of boards and commissions. So hopefully we will have some folks. In the pipeline, so we can get another number. So, but that is it. So yeah, so that's sort of coming. It actually turns out that one of the folks working on it was a former intern of ours here in this office. So it was very, very good to see her and chat with her. So yeah, it's very good to see some of our former interns thriving. And... Wonderful. Yeah. And that's pretty much it, I think. Are you trying to think of anything else?
[Heidi Davis]: Yeah, I do have one thing to add. I can't quite remember the dates, but I am not going to be available for a couple of, well, I have four dates in January on Wednesdays that I cannot make. So, but I will, thanks for the, or I need to get that to you.
[Denis MacDougall]: Yeah, email them to me, and then, you know, if we do have the meeting in January, if there's that one date free, we could try to maybe move it to that one, just to make sure. Okay, great, I'll do it as soon as we get off. Okay.
[Heidi Davis]: All right.
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: I'll see you guys.
[Heidi Davis]: No, let's let's have a motion to close the hearing. Right. Okay, I'm pushing to close the hearing. I make a motion to close the hearing.
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: I'll second.
[Heidi Davis]: Great. All in favor. Eric.
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: Aye.
[Heidi Davis]: Alex. Yes. Caroline. Aye. Myself as an aye. Heather would if she was here, but we've got a quorum.
[Denis MacDougall]: Yes, we have four, so it works out well. Thank you very much, and have a lovely rest of the... year and I will email you stuff if things come in. Okay.
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: Have a good Christmas.
[Denis MacDougall]: And I do have decisions to send some to you, some of y'all to get signed and things like that. So I'll be sending you stuff for signatures in the next few days. So, Oh, okay.
[hLm7uOhMYTQ_SPEAKER_57]: All right.
[Denis MacDougall]: Bye.