Hinesburg Trails Committee Meeting Minutes

Updated: 8/20/09, 9/18/09

Date:  Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Place:  Hinesburg Town Hall

Time:  7:00 PM

Attending:  Colin McNaull, Cathy Ryan, Launa Lagasse, Lenore Budd, Jason Reed, Robert Kennett

Absent: Stewart Pierson, Martha Keenan, Jason Reed

Last meeting’s minutes accepted.

We welcomed our newest member, Robert Kennett who is most interested in walking in Hinesburg as an alternative to the car, to the Trails Committee.

LaPlatte Headwaters Update – No report, this LTHF Committee only meeting on a monthly basis.  The next meeting is Thursday, August 20 and Lenore will see if there is an update on brush hogging of the Hidden Meadow.

Hinesburg Town Forest – No news.

Ancient Roads – No news further than they are having a public meeting on Tuesday, September 1, 2009.  The exact time and location to be formally announced.  (Assuming Town Hall at 7:00 PM.)

Colin reported that Equine Census project postponed till 2010.

 FOTW (Friends of the Wheel) Funding Request was tabled until we find out what the expenses will be for using UVM Students in the charrette process.

Burritt Property Acquisition – Further action on this has been turned over to the Hinesburg Land Trust and Andrea Morgante who have the expertise required to see if the parcel can be incorporated into the LHTF.

Town Web Site - We spent time discussing how to make the Hinesburg Town Website easier for those who wish to get to the Trails Committee section and the maps that have been developed.  In the past, there was a direct link to town maps in the left hand column of the home page.  Cathy volunteered to use the work that she and Greg have done in this area to coordinate it with Aaron Kimball and Jeanne Wilson.  This generated a further discussion on the issue of which public are we serving, Hinesburg neighborhoods in relation to see how private trails should be handled, the town itself, and the wider Vermont community.  We want greater public participation and use but the question remains how much more and what the public will consist of?

Sub Committees of One or Two – This concept is really about what responsibilities can be shared and handled by other committee people and whether we really want to do them on a regular, monthly basis.  This needs to be addressed at September meeting.

Trail Advisories and Guidance – We decided that we were not in the position to put out trail advisories as the Green Mountain Club or the FOTW do, especially in the spring or after a major storm.  We did decide that we should be able to try to get a Trails Column in the Hinesburg Record and have a monthly article.  Colin will get the news deadlines and Greg will work to get the first article published.

Russell Trails and Thistle Hill Connection – Colin to follow up with Howdy Russell for a guided tour for us on Friday, September 11th at 5:45 PM or Saturday, October 10th at 9:00 AM.  He or course is free to choose a better date and time for him.

There is an inherent connection from Partridge Hill Road via Red Pine Road to Lavigne Hill Road if all the property owners were amendable.  This would be a long range project “fuzzy line” project.

Assistance from and collaboration with UVM

It was decided to send Lenore’s Student Project Ideas for David Raphael’s UVM Recreation Management 138 Class (fall 2009) as reviewed by the committee as is to David Raphael ahead of our meeting with David on Thursday, August 27, 2009 at Town Hall at 4:00 PM.  Colin, Lenore, Martha, ???????? will be attending to see how project would fit into his class’s work and our needs.

Student Project Ideas for David Raphael’s UVM Recreation Management 138 Class (fall 2009)

Updated: 8/20/09

1. Inventory conditions and recommend improvements to Hinesburg’s existing public trails and trailheads. (work with subcommittee) Launa
            
2. Compile and document existing GIS data on public trails (and trails with landowner permission on private land) into one usable “layer.”  (work with Alex) Lenore
   
3. GPS any trails on public land (and on private land with permission) that have not been GPSed.  Add to layer (above).  (work with subcommittee members and Alex) Colin
4. Research and write up for the Committee the steps required to have trails information legally incorporated into the Official Map and the Town Plan.  (work with Town Administrator or Alex) Greg
   
5. Design, implement, and analyze* a survey of town residents to determine their attitudes towards and preferences for future trails in the town.  (work with subcommittee) Probably should combine electronic, paper, and interview methods and cover such topics as modes (e.g. walking, horseback riding) and frequency of current trail use, desired future uses, and desired future locations. Jason
   
6. Design and help run a public charrette to garner public input on desired locations for trails.  Probably needs to be before Thanksgiving (11/26/09). (work with subcommittee) Stewart
   
7. Help committee analyze and compile results of charrette, survey, and any other public input into recommendations to Select Board and Official Map.* (work with committee) Martha
   
8. Critique the presentation of trails information on the Town’s website and suggest improvements/enhancements (e.g. trail descriptions, GPS data files).  Compile stats on visits to trails portion of the Town website.  Work with the Town’s webmaster toward implementation.* Cathy
   
9. Review Hinesburg trail information at http://www.localmotion.org/trails/, suggest improvements/updates, and suggest other appropriate websites for posting information on Hinesburg trails.  Cathy
10. Scout and seek landowner permission for viable 4-season connection between the lower portion of the LaPlatte Headwaters Town Forest Committee and the Bissonette Meadow. (work with Colin and LHTF Committee, particularly Tim Clancy) Colin

* possible second semester projects

Free flowing discussion on the project that will serve us in our face to face meeting on the project on Thursday.  (Not in any order of importance and incomplete.)

We will need to be respectful on the demands for Alex’s time.

The committee will have to provide point people as outlined above for the final project.

We will need to clarify what committee members will be able to do and not do.  The same applies to the students.

Greg pointed out that this is a process approach that will enable us to have a town charrette the week of November 16^th, early in the week, as UVM is shut down for the Thanksgiving Week.

The goal would be for a meaningful charrette to take place together with various forms of information gathering to make recommendations to the Select Board for addition to the Official Town Map and the Town Plan, the “fuzzy lines” where greater connectivity is desired by the town and eventually become feasible in the future.

We will need the students in charge of each section to attend our meetings.

Some of us feel that we may be biting off more than we can chew in such a short period of time.  Robert is optimistic that with Raphael’s experience in doing this for a living albeit with a paid staff, he will be able to meet our needs with his UVM students.

Currently Tabled Items for future discussion and action.

1.  Trail Stewards

2.  Robert’s Rules of Order

3.  Establishing formal partners to network with them in a regular and systematic way was brought up again and we need a committee person to move this forward.  Now we need to complete the spreadsheet for these contacts and the mailing list that will get information out to them in a timely manner

            Selectboard

            Town Administrator

            Conservation Committee

            Zoning

            Development Review Board

            VAST

            FOTW

            Four Wheelers

            LHTF – LaPlatte Headwaters Town Forest

            Hinesburg Town Forest

            Ancient Roads Committee

4.  FOTW funding request.

5.  New Chair for Trails Committee

Next meeting date: September 16, 2009

(Third Wednesday of the month)

Submitted by Colin McNaull, August 20, 2009