The Board of Selectman Meeting

The DW director will present his recommendation regarding Ship Pond Road to the Board of Selectman at their August 4th Meeting. The Agenda is attached here...

 Board of Selectmen
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Town Hall Mayflower Room, *6:30 PM*
6:30 p.m. Executive Session
The Selectmen will hold an Executive Session pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 21, Paragraph
6, to consider the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property, as an open meeting on these
matters may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the body. Following executive
session, the Board will reconvene in open session.
7:00 p.m. Call to Order
7:05 p.m. Public Comment
7:15 p.m. Public Hearing: Change of Shareholders TGIF Restaurant
7:20 p.m. Morton Park
7:40 p.m. Plymouth Housing Authority
8:00 p.m. Appointment for Board of Voting Registrars
Republican Member - Gean C. Richards Term Ending March 31, 2018
8:05 p.m. Licenses and Administrative Notes
One Day Wine and Malt Liquor License- Shockyard Fitness & Social Club - 08/20/15
from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for a Chamber Networking Event
One Day All Alcohol Liquor License - Plymouth Guild Inc. - 09/25/15 from 6:00 p.m. to
11:30 p.m.
One Day All Alcohol Liquor License - Plymouth Guild Inc. - 10/17/15 from 6:00 p.m. to
11:00 p.m.
POLE PETITION - NSTAR Petition 2052287
One petition covering the installation of five (5) pole relocations on So. Russell Street in Plymouth.
These pole relocations are necessary to accommodate the Town of Plymouth in reconstructing the
existing sidewalks.
POLE PETITION - NSTAR Petition 2005278
One petition covering the installation of one (1) new pole on So. Russell Street in Plymouth. This pole
location is necessary to upgrade the existing system for this area.
Exclusive Vending Rights- Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce 08/29/15
Transfer of License Agreement - Private footbridge connecting 120 Warren Ave to
Plymouth Long Beach (from Edward G. Roche to Cori A, Anderson)
MassWorks Infrastructure Grant Program Proposal
MBTA Commuter Rail Service - MassWorks Infrastructure Grant Program Proposal
Approve permit for Dr. Andrew Vitz and Ian Davies to capture and band Semipalmated
Sandpipers at Plymouth Long Beach
Ship Pond Road - Phase 1 Work
8:10 p.m. Committee Liaison/Designee Updates
8:15 p.m. Old Business/Letters/New Business

The Planning Board Meeting Recap

 

 The Planning board meeting was held on Monday, May 4.  DPW director Jonathan Beder presented his report to the Planning Board.  The Manomet current wrote a good article recapping the meeting that I am linking here. http://manometcurrent.com/pave-ship-pond-road/
Basically they agreed that the DPW's recommendation of adding gravel is a good place to start.  Sam Chapin, a spokesperson for Wildlands Trust was there and spoke in opposition of any plans the DPW  may have for widening or drainage. I tried to ask him what WLT objections are.The environmental damage caused by dust from gravel roads is well documented.  It’s a health hazard for both humans and wildlife.  Environmental Science for road design has come a long way, and drainage areas can be designed to become environmental enhancements for the wildlife in an area.
  He just repeated that they own 150 acres of land abutting SPR and made it clear that the town would have to take the property by eminent domain in order to use any of it.  This would cost the town millions of dollars in litigation.
Wildlands Trust owns property assessed at almost $18 million in the town of Plymouth.  All of it is 100% tax exempt. We support them every time we pay our tax bills. They should be discussing how they can work with the DPW to make SPR safer, not threatening the town with costly legal issues.
I think we need to start applying some media pressure to WLT to get them to reconsider their stand. This isn't just about applying gravel, without some drainage and widening,  any improvements are likely to be short lived. I'm gong to send a letter into the Old Colony memorial.  I urge you all to do the same. It’s time for them to start acting like the local community conservation group that they claim to be, and not the self-serving behemoth that they have become.

Next Step - The Planning Board Meeting

The Planning Board Meeting 5/4/2015

The next step for this "Road Review Process" is the Planning Board Meeting. The planning board will review the DPW director’s report, along with the Road Advisory Committee’s recommendation.  They’ll add their input and send it along to the Selectman who will ultimately make the decision on what (if anything) will be done on Ship Pond Road.  Please try to attend this planning board meeting to show support.  The greater presence, the better we are heard.  Since this meeting is a public forum and was listed in the open meeting notices, I suspect that some groups that oppose improvements to Ship Pond Road will be here.
I believe that Ship Pond Road is on the agenda for 7:30, and the meeting will be held in the main meeting room on the first floor of Town Hall.  I'll send another reminder a few days before and confirm the specifics.

Robyn Risso
robyn@valinorfarm.com
http://paveshippondroad.blogspot.com/

Time to make some noise!

The long awaited DPW directors report will be presented to the Road Advisory Committee at their April Meeting.  This meeting will be held at the Cedarville Community Center at 6pm on April 2nd.

This is your chance to voice your concerns and hear what the DPW has to say about the future of Ship Pond Road.  PLEASE attend this meeting.  We really need to fill this room to make ourselves heard.  If you can't be there send a family member.

Hope to see you all there!

Pot Holes (this is Old Sandwich Road, but Ship Pond is just as bad).

March RAC meeting rescheduled

The March Road Advisory Committee meeting has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for Thursday APRIL 2 6:00 pm at the Cedarville community room. Jonathan Beder,  Plymouth's  DPW Director is expected to be at this meeting to present his report the the RAC.  This is your chance to voice your concerns and hear what he has to say.  Please try to attend if you can, it's important that we have a presence at theses meetings!    

A recap from the January Road Advisory Meeting

The January Road Advisory Committee meeting was held on Thursday, January 8. A couple of Plymouth Fire Fighters came in and spoke about how frustrating it is for them when they are responding to an emergency and can only travel at 5 mph because of the road.  I passed around a few pictures.  One showing how bad the road was a few weeks ago.  The other was a picture of a School Bus and Delivery Truck that got stuck trying to pass each other.  (Thanks Dan!)  People that don't drive on roads like this really don't understand our frustration.  The pictures help.
Sid (Town Engineer) showed us a map that they have put together with the various drainage requirements that will be necessary as part of the paving project.  One of their biggest concerns is that residents will not be willing to grant the town drainage easements, forcing the town into eminent domain takings that are very costly.  It just goes to show how complicated this process has become.  The RAC is working on some statistics to show how much money it's costing the town to maintain SPR as gravel. Money that would be better spent towards paving. I think they all agree it needs to be paved, our job will be to convince the Selectman that it's time to do it. JB (DPW Director) will be in attendance at the next RAC meeting to present his full report.  Aaron Wallace  (Plymouth Emergency Management director) will also be at the next meeting to discuss Ship Pond road as an evacuation route.  PLEASE attend this next meeting if you can.  February 5th, 6:30pm at the Cedarville Community Center.