WASHINGTON PLANNING BOARD

Town Center Vision Subcommittee – Working meeting Minutes

September 24, 2019

Members present: Jim Crandall, Lolly Gilbert, Andrew Hatch, Bert Bodnar, Noah Chidester and Nan Schwartz.

Visitors: None

1.0       Call to Order - The meeting was called to order by Chair Lolly Gilbert at 6:30 PM in the Town Hall.

2.0       Gilbert opened the meeting and asked about the minutes of the last meeting and Jim requested a small change that everyone agreed to, Schwartz will make the change and repost the minutes.

Gilbert reported that she put the boxes and comment sheets at the Library, Town Hall, and at the Church. We will keep an eye on the comment sheets and replenish them as needed. Schwartz said she will put the comment sheet online so that people can fill them out and email them. We figured we would keep the boxes out for 6 weeks and then tally the responses.

Bodnar said that he had just looked at the Town Pound area and was pleased to see what was done to clean it out. He thinks that maybe more can be done to dig out gravel and remove stones. Crandall thinks they need to remove more gravel from the parking area in front of the pound and maybe remove one parking space to dig out in front of the pound. Bodnar will follow up with the BoS about it.

On the landscaping, access and parking around the Town Buildings Crandall reported that he spoke to Noah Chidester to see if he was interested in working on a plan for the site. He had a plan of the site for Chidester to work from. Chidester gave us a scope of work and estimate for doing the work. Gilbert asked about a reasonable time frame for getting the drawings done. Crandall said he would like the drawings done for Christmas, in order to have something to present and a budget item for Town Meeting. He would like to create a list of priorities (access and parking, etc). Hatch said it would be a long list and some items would be controversial, and we need to come up with a shorter list of things people can get behind. He said that last year the BoS talked to Ed Thayer and the Fire Department and came up with some ideas for driveway access. We should look at those drawings. Chidester said there are options for making a driveway look better. Chidester said he has drone capabilities to get good high-resolution overhead shots to help with design. Hatch suggested that this be done as a donation. Chidester will speak with his brother about it. Gilbert asked about paving as opposed to gravel, everyone agreed that gravel is preferred. Hatch mentioned the cistern by the community garden. We also need to identify the leach field area and any other important features that need consideration. Gilbert said she and Schwartz can meet with Parks and Rec about the playground and updates that could be done there (possible seating, picnic tables, equipment upgrade). They will attend the P&R meeting on October 9^th with Crandall.  We discussed walkways from the lower parking lot, We will meet with Ed Thayer to help define things. Hatch said that with 2020 Old Home Day next summer the timing for a beautification and improvement projects is good. Chidester said that after the first snowfall he would be able to dedicate time to the project. Hatch asked if there was a landscape architect Chidester could work with and Chidester said he has a friend with those qualifications that he can work with. Hatch also has someone he could recommend. Crandall asked about a deposit to get Chidester started. Members will bring the estimate to the PB meeting and get a commitment from them to move forward.

On the walking tour item, Schwartz said that Kluk will work with her and Gilbert on the tour, we will try to have it done for Old Home Day 2020. Hatch said it would be great to have the tour accessible on a mobile device. We will consider this and see how it can be done.

Hatch mentioned that next summer the state is repaving the Rte. 31 section through town. Crandall said he is going to call the DOT district supervisor to talk about road, walkway and crosswalk issues. Hatch said that he was unable to attend the UVLSRPC/DOT presentation on pedestrian and bicycle issues but he filled out the online survey and he encouraged us to go online and fill it out too, at: https://nhpedbikeplan.com/

3.0       Next meeting – We set the next meeting for Tuesday, October 28^th at 9:00 AM and try to have Ed Thayer and P&R members attend.

Meeting adjourned at 7:35PM.

Respectfully submitted:

Nan Schwartz, Planning Board Secretary